With the new year often comes change.
Whether you’re preparing to graduate and don’t have a career plan or you’re in a rut and are ready for a major life change, senior insurance sales is a fantastic market to get into.
About 10,000 seniors age into Medicare every single day.
Think about that.
10,000 ideal customers are prepped and primed for your services each and every day.
In other words, senior insurance isn’t going anywhere.
Beyond serious job security, there are 5 major reasons that you should seriously consider senior market insurance sales.
1) Money
First of all, it’s true that you can make a great income selling insurance.
Most new agents don’t make very much during their first year, but the beauty of this business can be summed up in one word: renewals.
If you make it to your second year as an agent, you start getting paid again as your clients renew their policies! If you maintain the pace of your first year, you’ll see what amounts to a salary increase of 40% or more in your second year, all because of renewals.
The other bonuses? The harder you work, the more you make. If you need motivation, money is a great motivator…
Finally, most insurance companies offer trips as incentives to sell their products. Sell enough product and you’ll be lining up your free, exotic vacations a year in advance.
2) Freedom
Being an agent can give you freedom to spend your time as you see fit.
You don’t have to clock in and out from 8 to 5, and you can take a long lunch or go to your kid’s ballgame. But freedom can be a blessing and a curse.
If you don’t have good time management skills, this industry might not be for you. Even though you don’t have a boss like you would in the corporate world, you are still accountable to yourself.
You’ll need to sell a certain number of policies to make a living. The temptation to be lazy is always there, but if you can fight it, you’re golden.
Look at the freedom as flexibility, not lack of responsibility.
3) Helping Others
Insurance is all about solving problems and minimizing risk.
With health insurance, selling someone a policy gives them peace of mind that their medical bills will be covered. With life insurance, you’re helping people to protect their families when they die by ensuring they have the funds to cover funeral expenses and to provide income to their beneficiaries.
In addition, Medicare is a confusing topic, and the average prospect doesn’t understand it. They’ll be looking to you for honest guidance to help them choose a plan wisely.
You have the opportunity to help hundreds or even thousands of people, while at the same time making new friends and earning a great living.
4) Low Barriers to Entry
This is a career where you can earn a six-figure income without having a college degree. You do need an education, but you’ll learn as you work, getting better at your job as you go.
You don’t need an office or special equipment. When you’re getting started, there isn’t much overhead. You’ll be fine working from home the first few years (or even permanently).
The only things you really need to get started are a phone, a car, and a computer. Oh, and an insurance license.
According to some reports, the average insurance agent is around 45 years old, for all types of agents. Using New Horizons’ own data, we show 56.4 as the average age of senior market agents. Regardless of which number we use, the important thing here is that our industry is top-heavy with older agents. Over the next several years, many of those agents will be retiring.
That leaves a huge opportunity for younger agents to enter the market, make an impact, and help people. There is a shortage of senior market agents, and there’s a growing demand for what we’re selling.
Is This the Career For You?
The reality of insurance is that it isn’t a cakewalk; this is a hard business. More accurately, it’s a simple business to understand, but it’s difficult to consistently prospect and make calls, get sales, and follow up.
To survive, you should look at being an agent as running your own business. If your business fails, there’s one person to blame.
Do you even want to be a business owner? If you can’t manage your time well, or you need direction from others, an insurance career probably won’t be a good fit.
Do you like people? This is a social business – you’ll be speaking with people constantly, whether it’s knocking on doors, making calls, meeting with people, etc. If you’re afraid of talking on the phone, you won’t make it. Senior age clients aren’t going to text you their business – they want to speak with you.
At first, this will require a lot of your time to get off the ground. If you have children or a spouse who take priority on your schedule, you may want to consider other options.
If you think senior market insurance sales sounds like a potential career for you, download the complete guide to becoming a senior market insurance agent.
Related Reading: Step-by-Step Guide to Getting Started In Medicare Sales
And for those of you who already are in senior market insurance sales, what advice do you have for those thinking about joining the industry? Let us know in the comment section below.
