Selling final expense insurance CAN be a lucrative and rewarding career.

BUT…

…choosing the WRONG final expense sales job may spell certain DOOM.

My goal in today’s article is to give you the TRUTH about how to sell final expense insurance.

No BS allowed here!

I want you to discover how to find the best final expense agency to sell for, while learning the common pitfalls many new final expense sales agents find themselves in.

Most likely you’re here because you’re in search for a final expense agency to call home.

It’s likely you’ve seen DOZENS of final expense insurance sales jobs on a variety of employment websites..

Perhaps you’ve talked to different agency managers about opportunities for selling insurance, or received information about different final expense sales systems.

In fact, you may already be involved in final expense sales and are looking for a better final expense IMO to partner with.

Or, perhaps you work full time and are looking to sell life insurance part-time.

If you’re like me, you are skeptical of what you’ve seen so far regarding final expense career opportunities.

Heaven knows there are a ton of options that ALL say their the BEST!

That’s why the purpose of this article is to reveal all the secrets “they” don’t want you to know about selling final expense insurance.

Most importantly, you will realize the long-term consequences of selecting the WRONG final expense sales job.

Simultaneously, you’ll learn how to find the final expense sales opportunity best suited for your personal goals.

NOTE: Are you an aspiring or new insurance agent looking for more insight on how the insurance sales industry works? Check out my free New Insurance Agent Resource Guide to help answer many of your questions (as well as ones you didn’t know you had!).

Overview

• Is Final Expense A Good Career?
• Face To Face Vs. Phone?
• Recruit Vs. Sell?
• Carriers
• Commissions
• Leads
• Releases
• Vesting
• Why I Failed
• How I Came Back
• Lessons Learned

Is Final Expense A Good Career?

While I am an agency owner and trainer, I relate experientially with these potential long-term consequences.

In figuring out if final expense insurance is a good career, I made many of the errors mentioned later.

Like many, I learned through trial and error.

I’ve been at the top, AND at the bottom of the final expense business.

The ultimate goal is this.

I want to empower you to make an informed decision on which final expense agency to partner with.

Further, you need to decided based on what’s best for YOUR family, NOT for the agency recruiting you.

Before covering the 6 major issues to research before joining an agency selling final expense insurance, I want to lay some groundwork on the business’s fundamentals.

Final Expense Is Simple, But Not Easy

Learning how to sell final expense insurance can give you a great opportunity to succeed financially.

I’ve had multiple agents in my agency make between $200,000 to $300,000 a year.

Plus, many of them work 4 or 5 days weekly without overnight travel.

So, the questions is…

How do you succeed in final expense insurance sales?

Let me be clear.

A final expense career is a career in sales.

You are NOT a grocery clerk taking orders!

Instead, you MUST “see these people.”

You must go to your final expense prospects on their turf, spending time getting to know them.

Further, you must show them why your final expense solution is better than other options.

Finally, you must ask them for their money to buy the policy.

All of this activity is a daily, on-going process you will do for the rest of your final expense career.

It’s a numbers game

Selling final expense insurance is not about “elephant hunting.”

In many insurance markets like annuity sales, there are opportunities to score 5 and 6-figure deals.

This is NOT the case in the final expense sales business.

Your target market is fixed-income seniors who can afford an average premium of $50 a month.

Understand that learning how to sell final expense insurance is “in-the-trenches” work.

That’s why I say you must commit to seeing the people.

Seeing the people

A successful career in final expense requires you to constantly write business everyday. Thus, a lack of daily commitment usually leads to failure.

What’s equally important to selling final expense insurance successfully is to have the right tools.

Not only must you have the passion to win, but you must also have the best final expense carrier selection.

Additionally, you must join forces with the BEST final expense agency to create the best odds of success.

Why?

Because you MUST receive the best final expense sales training from the beginning to achieve early success.

Success takes hard work

All said and done, I’m lying if I said good training alone guarantees success.

Remember, while selling final expense insurance is simple, it definitely isn’t easy!

Any marketer or organization saying you’re guaranteed to make money is full of shit.

Beyond good training, you need on-going coaching, quality leads, and proper carrier selection.

With major shifts in other insurance niches such as Medicare Advantage sales and mortgage protection sales, more and more agents are entering the final expense sales business.

Several years back, we saw a 20% increase in the sale of final expense products as an industry.

Plus, there are many multi-level marketing sales organizations getting heavily involved in the final expense market at this very moment.

What’s my point?

Be the best!

There are both more people buying final expense insurance AND more agents selling it.

This means you must learn the best final expense sales presentation to sell and retain the most insurance policies.

If you don’t have the right final expense prospecting, sales training, and carrier selection system, you’re going to lose.

Well-trained agents will take your opportunity away and you’ll likely make little to no money selling final expense insurance.

With that said, let’s describe the seven factors you must research to learn how to sell final expense insurance successfully.

Face To Face Versus Telesales

I get asked this question a lot:

“Can I sell final expense insurance from home over the phone?”

After clarifying, agents express their interested in final expense telesales over selling final expense insurance face-to-face.

The good news is that you CAN be successful selling final expense insurance over the phone… OR selling final expense insurance face-to-face.

Bottom line, the key point is that you should join an agency that matches your goals.

And luckily, we here at Duford Insurance Group recruit agents interested in final expense telesales and teach them how to become top producers =).

This web page on final expense telesales will give you more information on how to sell final expense insurance from home, or from a call center.

Recruitment Over Producing

Most final expense agencies and recruiters are going to sell you what I call “blue sky.”

They’re going to tell you:

“Listen, the sky’s the limit in this organization, kid. See my Ferrari and Rolex watch? You want to be like me? Just do what I say and focus your immediate effort on recruiting, then POOF – instantly you’re making $100,000 to $200,000… maybe more! It’s so easy, everybody’s doing it.”

Be VERY wary if you hear this type of talk.

More likely than not, you’re hearing a marketing pitch to get you in the door versus having an honest conversation about working hard to succeed.

How To Find A Good Final Expense Insurance Sales Opportunity

So how do you find out which final expense insurance sales job is best?

First, talk to successful final expense PRODUCERS, not recruiters.

For example, does this recruiter have years of field experience selling final expense insurance?

Or is he “drinking the Kool-aid” and is ready to build the next multi-level marketing sensation?

You know what I’m talking about, right?

We’ve all seen those persistent people who pitch their vitamins, coffee, laundry detergent, and so on.

Understand this about final expense sales…

This business is NO stranger to multi-level marketing influence.

In fact, it predominates most of the new final expense insurance agent recruiting opportunities.

Here’s my takeaway point…

Multi-level marketing insurance recruiters focus producing AGENTS… NOT producing final expense business.

His goal is to do whatever it takes to sell you on the opportunity.

The question you must ask is this… does he have your best interest in mind?

Bottom line, always get references from other final expense insurance agents that the marketer or the agency has dealt with.

Sniff out the bad apples from the beginning!

How Will The Agency Help?

Training and mentoring is INCREDIBLY important as you begin your career selling final expense life insurance.

For example, here are some of the questions you want to ask your recruiter:

• Do you offer comprehensive final expense training?
• Beyond online videos, what is your strategy in helping me succeed?
• Are ride-alongs available?
• Do you have on-going sales training opportunities, in-person and virtually?
• Can you refer me 2 or 3 final expense agents who have succeeded in your final expense insurance sales system?

Trust me, asking these questions help identify whether or not your final expense marketer is serious about your development and success.

Understand that ALL agencies take a cut of every deal you make.

That’s the nature of selling insurance through a marketing organization.

However, you must ENSURE your final expense agency EARNS his cut.

That’s you it’s wise to avoid fast-talking recruiters that are “all hat and no cattle.”

Selecting the WRONG agency sometimes has irreversible consequences.

Work With The Best Final Expense Carriers

Selling final expense insurance is totally unlike most life insurance sales opportunities.

For example, most agents from traditional life markets can successfully sell for one insurance company.

They make a lot of money selling one company’s products every year, and have loyal clientele not likely to “fire” the final expense insurance agent and get insurance elsewhere.

Only to a certain extent is this true in final expense sales jobs.

Yes, you do have to sell yourself. Of course, likeability and trust matter to seal the deal.

However, what helps you sell the MOST policies with the HIGHEST sticking rate is having access to the best final expense carrier options at all times.

Carry Multiple Carriers

Why is final expense insurance sales so competitive?

It’s a combination of both a large number of agents entering the business, and dealing with various underwriting issues our clients present.

For example, each carrier has different underwriting standards.

Therefore, it’s impossible to “one-stop-shop” your clients.

Otherwise, you force-feed the same high-priced, poor-coverage product on everybody you see indiscriminately.

And the consequences of doing this are disastrous!

Why?

Because final expense agents like me who represent multiple companies and are not beholden to one specific company will end up replacing loads of overpriced, inferior policies.

Most prospects receive final expense solicitations over the phone, on Facebook, and via direct mail replies.

And guess what?

Just because your client has coverage with you doesn’t mean she won’t respond to get a “second opinion.”

Rest assured that multiple final expense agents will call on them over the coming years.

If your policy is replaced, then you have what’s called a charge back.

Too many charge backs can ruin your final expense sales career in a heartbeat.

What will happen? You’ll end up having to pay back the advanced commission since you don’t have policies in place to cover.

Why 1 Company Agencies Are Bad

Delving more into this issue, there is one particular company severely guilty of this.

This company is huge. They recruit heavily.

And they’re the largest final expense insurance sales organization in America.

This final expense carrier that’s named after an American President teaches its final expense insurance agents to sell one singular product.

In fact, they’ll tell you, “This one product fits every situation – there’s nothing like it.”

Think again!

When an agent selling final expense insurance meets with this company’s client… no joke… it’s a guaranteed sale 80% of the time.

For real, it’s like free money, just lying there, waiting to be picked up!

And even if you’re not a “Tony Robbins” charismatic stud-muffin agent… the odds are high he’ll replace that policy.

What happens to the agent?

He goes into debt, gets frustrated, and ends up quitting.

And while the company named after an American president will tell you its prices are fair, experienced and independent final expense agents know…

This company has the HIGHEST premiums in the final expense sales business.

The Need For Multiple Carrier Options

What’s the solution to this?

My recommendation is to NEVER sign up with a final expense agency that ONLY offers one particular company.

It simply fails to work long-term for most final expense insurance agents.

Instead, you NEED to have access to the multiple final expense insurance carriers.

And this means you MUST go independent, not captive!

Why Multiple Carriers Means More Sales

For example, I have 10 to 15 carriers I personally work with. My agency and myself have access to even more.

So no matter the health condition – heart history, cancer, lung problems, diabetes – I quite commonly offer the BEST final expense options at the BEST prices.

You need the know-how and flexibility to match the BEST carrier with the prospect’s health.

This is what gives you the best price and coverage advantages, DRASTICALLY reducing replacement risk.

I cannot express how important this is to your longevity in this career.

As much as want more unsuspecting final expense agents learning how to sell final expense insurance with this particular company to fuel my replacement sales, it’s better that you know the potential consequences you face as a one-company agent.

Instead, look for an independent agency with multiple carriers.

This gives the best chance to sell more final expense insurance while keeping your business on the books.

Final Expense Commissions

Like many new final expense agents, I began in a situation like this.

If you think of multi-level marketing sales, new reps are sold not only on selling the product, but also recruiting their entire social circle.

This process continues on until you are recruited, and the further on down you are in the pyramid, the less money you can hope to make.

And many times, this is exactly what happens to the unsuspecting final expense life insurance agent.

How do you know if you are getting a bad deal?

If you’re final expense commissions below 80% AND you are expected to pay full price for your leads, you’re getting ripped off horribly.

How Do Final Expense Insurance Agents Get Paid?

First of all, do not expect a salary selling in your final expense insurance sales opportunity.

The vast majority of agencies provide a final expense agent salary of exactly $0!

Why?

Because selling final expense insurance is an “eat what you kill” type of business.

What you close is what you earn. You are paid 100% commission.

However, I have heard of a handful of agencies that do provide an initial final expense insurance agent salary.

The agency pays a stipend of a few hundred dollars for the first 4 weeks. In exchange, he gets lots of attention and support.

Ultimately, it’s sink or swim after a month. But initially, he has a good bedrock of financial support to get things up and running.

First Year Commission

In my agency, final expense income potential for new agents with no experience averages between 100% and 110%.

Experienced final expense agents start at final expense commissions between 110% and 125% on average.

In this day in age, any final expense income potential with an average commission below 90% isn’t good.

If you’re not maximizing your final expense commissions, taking into the account the people that cancel their policies, and things that happen with the low first-year commission rate, you will endlessly struggle.

Low Max Commission Ceilings

And in many cases, final expense jobs with low starting final expense commissions have low max commission ceilings.

For example, let’s say you start at a 70% commission, produce consistently, and move up to an 80% commission.

But what if this is the top level commission you can earn?

This exact situation happened to me early on. I was told I could never get more than a 90% commission level.

Avoid addressing this problem at your own peril.

You’ll leave a ton of commission on the table when you shouldn’t have to.

This final expense sales tip alone will earn you tens of thousands of dollars extra in final expense commissions.

Selling Successfully Requires Leads

The final expense insurance sales business is predominantly prospected via final expense direct mail.

To a lesser extent, agents use Facebook final expense leads, telemarketing final expense leads, and free final expense leads like cold calling and seminar marketing.

With that said, you will prospect 90% of the time through direct mail leads.

However, there is a dirty side to buying final expense leads…

The Problem With Many Lead Vendors

I’ve had final expense sales jobs where my leads were (to my surprise) shared with other agents.

Once I ran into the SAME final expense insurance agent and ALL prospects promised they sent in one card, I realized I was getting screwed!

What I did was put a middle man in the way of a quality flow of leads.

Middlemen take a cut of the action. They raise your costs of doing business.

And when someone else controls your lead flow, you’re in trouble.

Even more, middlemen-generated leads may sit in inventory for months, reducing quality considerably.

Added, usually there is zero proof whether or not the leads are new, weeks, months, or even years old.

And what happens with many agents learning how to sell final expense insurance is this…

Upon getting the leads and prospecting them, you discover they’re not really all that interested.

Sometimes they’re even dead!  

Are You Getting Screwed On Leads?

How do you find out if you’re getting double-dealed?

It’s hard to say for sure.

First, make sure the company promises in writing you’ll get fresh leads.

Also, make sure the lead house ideally is a third-party vendor, not tied with the agency.

Partnering with a third-party lead house vendor gives you control.

You tell them where to drop mail, what income demographics to set up.

Another benefit: lead turn-around is faster, meaning you sell and see people quicker.

And just as important, the leads are fresher, meaning you’ll make more sales selling final expense insurance.

Don’t get duped by agencies pushing final expense leads with no record of legitimacy.

Open Releases

What exactly is a “release?”

When you contract with a final expense insurance sales agency, you are contracted through the agency to the insurance carriers.

However, unbeknownst to you, when you sign the producer agreement, you’ve effectively agreed to stay contracted with the carriers through that agency….

…EVEN if you decide not to continue working for said agency!

Guess what? The only way to move carrier contracts is through a “release” agreement.

Otherwise, you have to sit out 6 months and not write that particular carrier.

Why Most Agencies Don’t Release

When you make a sale, you are loaned 9 months’ of premiums multiplied by your commission rate.

If the policy is worth $1,000 and you are paid a 100% first year commission, you get $750 up front after the policy is approved.

However, KEEPING this advanced commission is contingent on keeping the policy on the books.

Every month a premium is collected, you “earn” the commissionable amount of that payment.

But what happens if the client changes her mind and cancels shortly after taking the policy out?

You owe that $750 back!

Remember – the commission you received was an advance. Advance is another word for “loan.”

And when the collateral – the policy you closed – lapses, the company expects you to paid the uncovered balance back.

This is the reason why some agencies don’t release.

Holding your carriers hostage protects them from a bad charge-back write-ups the agency must pay.

And there is truth to that.

What If You’re Charge-Back Free?

Let’s say you’ve done your part as a final expense agent.

The company’s final expense lead flow is bad. And they’re not treating you right.

In my opinion, you have every right to take those carrier contracts, as long as you DON’T owe charge-back money, to the agency that will do you right.

I was in a similar situation as a new agent learning how to sell final expense insurance.

While my agency was NOT fulfilling their promises on consistent lead flow, I had to sit out with several competitive carriers for 6 months, before I could re-contract with them.

Why is this a problem?

It comes back to the competitive fundamentals of selling final expense life insurance.

Yes, you can sell other final expense carriers while your contract is tied up.

But having access to competitive carriers makes a difference in winning and keeping business.

Imagine if all you had access to were the higher-priced carriers with tougher underwriting.

Further imagine if an agent selling final expense insurance like me with access to most competitive carriers coming behind a deal you recently closed.

Wouldn’t it frustrate you if I replaced what you just sold, causing you to lose out on those final expense commissions?

That’s why you ALWAYS ask each final expense agency you are considering a relationship with the following…

“Do you offer upfront release? If I don’t like the way things are going, will you release me?”

Make sure you always get a release in writing.

Full Vesting

This is huge!

For example, some agencies affiliated with the company named after a President has its producers transfer ALL future commissions from terminated final expense insurance agents to their managers if terminated within the first two years of service.

Understand that 60% of your total income final expense income comes in the first year, with 40% accounting for renewals over the next 10 years.

Renewals are fantastic because it allows you to make money when you’re not working.

No Vesting Forces Your Hand

Vested contracts force agents selling final expense insurance to stay with their company for 2 years before even thinking about leaving and taking your renewals.

Think about it.

If your future income is held hostage you can’t help but to think…

“What if something happens in the 23rd month of my contract and they let me go?”

All that hard work… and all that income you’ve rightfully worked for… is now plundered and given to the company.

This is why you should never, ever, sign up with a company that does not vest you immediately 100% from the first day.

To me, it’s immoral to work for a final expense sales company that says that your work now belongs to someone else.

Selling final expense insurance shouldn’t be that way, but it is at these companies.

Takeaways On Learning How To Sell Final Expense

To summarize everything all agents selling final expense insurance need to know:

• Look hard for an agency passionate about agent development.
• Partner with an agency that has carrier product variety.
• Get the best first-year final expense commissions and renewal streams, not getting stuck in a situation with low first-year and renewal commission.
• Make sure lead-development is done using fresh final expense leads using a well-vetted lead house.
• Don’t work with a final expense agency that refuses to release you.
• NEVER work with a final expense agency that does not vest you 100% from the first day.
  
• Decide whether your focus is on face-to-face or telesales.

And now you know what to look for in a quality final expense organization, let me share with you my personal story of failure (then success) in the final expense insurance business.

 Empty heading

Why I Failed

As I’ve field-trained agents and talk with new final expense agents, I realize that many are afraid of failing out of the business.

I have experienced failure in selling final expense insurance.

In fact, within my first year, I failed!

Why?

Because I REFUSED to follow the fundamentals as all successful agents do.

What follows is my account of the reasons why I failed.

Thankfully, a series of events happened that got me back on track in selling final expense insurance.

And this was after I promised I’d NEVER come back into it, too!

I want to discuss how I’ve stayed afloat and continued on all these years.

Help For Struggling Final Expense Agents

The real reason why I’m doing this training is because you need to know the REALITY of selling final expense insurance.

Perhaps you’re about to start the business and are worried you may fail.

Or maybe you’ve experienced success and are going through a sales slump.

My goal is to share my experience with you so you know you’re not alone.

As you’ll learn, if you haven’t considered quitting your final expense insurance sales job, then you really haven’t been in it long enough to consider yourself an advanced agent.

It’s so simple it’s complicated

It’s true!

This business is so simple that it’s complicated.

The way this business has been done is the same way that it has been done for decades.

In fact, I’m still doing the same thing now that I was doing in 2011.

That’s right. The prospects are the same. So are the lead systems, too.

It’s so simple that it can throw creative types for a loop, thinking that tinkering and improving is necessary.

My Story Of Failure

Without further ado, let me give you a quick overview of where I was when I started selling final expense insurance and what caused my temporary demise.

I got my insurance license in April 2011 and started with a really great organization out of Dallas, Texas. The company was Equita.

In fact, if you guys are looking for an agency to work with, definitely look at them. They are very good people. I have nothing but good things to say about them.

When I started, I came under the tutelage of a guy named Andrew out of Atlanta.

He was a top producer with them, had been for years, and continues to be now.

I rode along with Andrew, watched, and thought,

“Wow, you know, this is pretty simple. You just door knock these leads, set your own appointments, hire a final expense appointment setter to call for you, offer what you have, then present some options, and ask for the business. Rinse and repeat. It is very simple.”

Things Start Great

Once I got trained up, I bought leads.

For my first week or two, I did okay.

Then I really got some steam and was writing about $10,000-$12,000/month. 

At the time, I sold final expense part-time because I had a personal fitness training gym providing my family income.

My thought was,

“Well, I’ll give this final expense sales career a full-time effort, even if it is on a part-time basis for the next four to six months, and I’ll see what happens. Then, if I like it, I’ll close my gym down, and I’ll jump into selling final expense insurance full-time because I see some opportunity in it.”

Everything I thought would happen actually occurred. Just the way I described it. I was chugging right along, doing well.

Ultimately, we got to the point where we had some lead issues, and I transitioned to another agency similar to Equita.

Nothing personal, just business.

Then The Problems Begin

This is where the problems began.

I transitioned because I felt stymied by my commission level and lead flow issues.

When I got over to this new organization, I was doing just fine. And, I got to the point where I got over-confident.

I thought about how this business is all about getting in front of the right people.

All you have to do is get in front of 25 people a week. If you’re a good-enough final expense insurance agent, you’re going to sell 6 to 10 deals each week.

What was the problem?

Dealing with deadbeat leads that didn’t buy!

I wanted to eliminate “wasting” time with those non-buyer leads as much as possible.

That is when my creative juices started to flow…

I wondered if there was a way to completely eliminate those groups of people.

That way, I could just focus on seeing the people who actually would buy!

I imagined a marketing strategy that would self-filter dead-beat leads, where I could sit down with only people who want to buy.

I went to work and develop the lead piece that would do the trick!

Shiny Object Syndrome

After creating the lead and mailing them out, I did get response and made some sales.

So my experiment wasn’t a negative ordeal.

However, what happened is that this obsession with trying to optimize my system led me away from the fundamentals.

I got away from what actually worked for the “shiny object syndrome.”

Shiny object syndrome is when your creativity becomes an obstacle between you and the results.

Remember, we’re not selling final expense life insurance to be creative.

This isn’t a creative endeavor. It’s a business, and it’s work.

I came from a personal training business where I created advertisements, and I studied a lot of marketing from gurus like Dan Kennedy.

This meant I had this bias coming into final expense insurance sales that I could make it better because of my marketing “prowess.”

The truth is I didn’t understand the people or the market itself.

I decided to let my ego-driven, creative side get in the way of what actually works.

While I was making these cool, little lead pieces work, I wasn’t working the other system as hard.

Ultimately, what happened was I got results with this thing, but I still got BETTER results using the original system, which I didn’t expect.

Another problem contributing to my downfall – my new agency dropped the ball, too.

I made modifications to my lead program associated with this agency.

In return, I got a lot of prospects from my lead system that just wasn’t good material.

My less-than-expected results from my custom piece combined with my abysmal results with my agency program created the perfect storm.

The Point When I Quit

I put too much time and money into this new-fangled marketing idea. Plus, I got away from the fundamentals of working the tried-and-true lead system.

It was this cataclysmic force that put a ton of pressure on me.

And, I got to the point that I quit.

I remember when it happened.

I was in a church parking lot in Chattanooga. It had been a shitty day.

I didn’t sell anything, and the note on the final appointment of the day said, “Call me before you get here.”

Normally, you don’t call ahead of time. You just run it!

But, I called anyway because I was frustrated.

And guess what happened?

The son who had set up the appointment didn’t answer. Instead, his mother did.

I said, “Hey, Mrs. Jones. David here, I’m just confirming our appointment tonight about life insurance.”

She said, “What are you talking about? I just had two guys who sold me a policy walk out. They just sold me a policy right now.”

I was just completely deflated and frustrated.

I said, “That’s funny, Mrs. Jones, because your son said I could come and help you out.”

She ended, saying, “I’m sorry that you think that’s funny, Mr. Duford, but that’s what happened. Have a nice day.”

Click.

And, that’s the moment I quit.

I was emotionally spent on dealing with dead-beats and the frustrations of running a final expense sales business.

Truth be told, I knew that it was my fault for detracting from what worked.

I let this brain of mine get in the way of the all too simple approach to selling final expense insurance.

It sucked. My son, David, at the time was a one-year-old, and I had to go to my wife to tell her that this wasn’t going to work out.

Even right now, it’s embarrassing to admit. Especially to go to my wife and say that I failed.

It was not something that you want to do if you’ve never done it.

At that point where I was emotionally divorced from selling final expense insurance, and I said, “You know what? I’m just going to look around and do something else.”

Working For Someone Else Sucks, Too

I got a job with a company called Aramark, selling uniforms services.

I made a decent salary and began with an associate sales position.

It was funny because this was my first “real” job. I’ve always worked for myself in a professional capacity up to this point.

I was 28, never worked for anybody else, and absolutely HATED employment.

I started working there, and I never knew what corporate bureaucracy was until this.

I never knew what it was like to have somebody work in a job they hated.

They would complain, but they would never do anything about it!

They would spend literally years working for a company they could care less about and didn’t want to deal with.

I looked around, and I saw all these people, not just in selling but also in administration and management.

I never saw anybody that actually enjoyed what they did. And, what I saw was kind of like death warmed over. It was miserable.

These guys liked each other and were formal with each other. There are good people, don’t get me wrong. I’m not disrespecting them.

You could tell that they just went along to get along, as the old saying was. And, I thought, “God, I cannot imagine myself sticking in something like this.” It was just completely sucking the soul out of me.

How I Came Back

I was 6 weeks into employment, and was spending time with my wife.

I said, “You know, I’m going to figure out how to get back into selling final expense life insurance.”

Further, I committed myself to following the system like I should have done before.

I promised myself no more stupid crap and to keep my head down and WORK.

Here’s How I Did It With A Full-Time Job

Several days a week after 2:00PM-3:00PM and and all day Saturdays, I’d grind it out working my final expense leads.

I’d run 12 to 15 appointments a week selling final expense insurance after my day was over at Aramark.

My goal was to save up enough capital for a proper direct mail campaign as well as to build a bank roll to protect my finances if I ran into more difficulty selling.

Then, my wife got pregnant with twins and that made things a little bit more interesting.

Nevertheless, I determined that that was even MORE reason to work for myself selling insurance.

Fast forward 12 months, my wife was hit by a drunk driver when she was 36 weeks pregnant with twins.

Some person passed out at the wheel. She was going up a hill, and this guy came around and swiped her.

That was my last day in the field selling Aramark. I remember flying home at 95 miles/hour down the highway to get to her.

She was okay. The babies were fine. They delivered via C-section a little bit early.

Now, here I am years later kicking ass and taking names! And that was back in 2012.

Lessons Learned

The first thing I’ll mention is a famous saying,

“Methods are many. Principles are few. Methods always change, but principles never do.”

This is an important saying that reminds us about the importance of fundamentals.

It’s all about the fundamentals in learning how to sell final expense insurance.

Like I said before, this business is so simple that it’s actually extremely complicated.

The reality of selling final expense insurance is there are so many people who have tried the same stupid ideas I did.

I didn’t realize this until later on when I started recruiting.

You don’t need to be a guinea pig for a new lead program or some newfangled idea.

If you want to come into final expense insurance sales and give yourself the exposure to the best, most opportune ways to do things, then sticking to the fundamentals is where it’s at!

Conclusion

I hope you enjoyed my article on selling final expense insurance.

I train new and experienced final expense insurance agents how to sell final expense in my national insurance agency, with the goal of helping you learn the art of selling final expense insurance.

Also, if you’re looking for in-depth insurance training, check out my 3 best-selling insurance sales books, including “The Official Guide To Selling Final Expense Insurance.”

Also, I am a YouTube content creator making videos about selling and marketing insurance with over 11,000 subscribers. If you are a visual learner, you’ll find a lot of value reviewing my video training.

You can also read more about my many Agent Success Stories for more information on what it’s like partnering with me.