How To Become a Successful Life Insurance Broker

Choose your future job. First off, you have to decide if you want to become an independent broker or a captive agent. If you are going to start your career is a captive agent (i.e. selling only one company’s particular product), find out the features and benefits of the company you have chosen to work for. Feedback from existing agents is the best information to look for; information like this is often found on forums, user groups such as Yahoo Groups and perhaps even the occasional blog.

Do some research. As insurance agent/broker requirements differ from country to country, it’s important to do research before getting started. Your local department of commerce or searching on Google is good place to get started. In virtually all countries, you’ll need a license to sell insurance. This usually involves taking a relatively short course and examination.

Analyze the costs. Don’t forget to account for hidden expenses such as membership dues to industry associations and errors and omissions insurance. There is often a lag time of 2 to 3 months until you get on new policies.  So give yourself a good cushion for the first 6 months in the business before the dollars start rolling in.

Set up an office. There isn’t much required in the way of start-up costs. If you begin your career as an independent broker, you’ll need a small home office with work space, desk, comfortable chair, computer, printer, legal office software and business stationery such as business cards, letterheads and an invoice template. If you’re on a tight budget, you might consider downloading Open Office instead of buying Microsoft Office as your software suite. As your business grows and depending on the number clients who come to visit you , you may want to invest in outside office space.

Work on your skills. To be successful, you’ll need excellent sales skills, as most of your working day will be spent consulting with clients and making sales. It’s very important that you have a tough outer shell – this business has a lot of rejection, especially in the early going. You must also be very well organized, as persistent follow-up is a must. But this must be done in a relaxed manner. You do not want to make prospective clients feel pushed or uncomfortable.

Choose your focus. One of the hidden secrets in this highly competitive industry is in specialization. Your practice could focus on group benefit plans, critical illness insurance, long-term care insurance or providing insurance solutions for key employees--the options are virtually endless. Businesses rarely fail from being too focused; don’t be afraid to focus on a very small niche in the industry and create alliances with other professionals to build a fence around your clients and increase the number of incoming referrals.

Do some marketing. Word of mouth will account for a large part of your new business. But there are numerous strategies to build your prospect pool. You can advertise your services in local classifieds, community publications, or on billboards. You can also build your business online by developing a website with useful content. Cold calling can also be used to generate new clients but the recent advent of do not call lists in Canada and the United States make this more challenging.