Sales is not for everyone.
Sales is not for everyone.
Being an insurance producer is a great gig, but make no mistake - the highs are high and the lows are low.
I often talk to people who have a personality that would do very well in sales IN THEORY.
That is, they present well, are accomplished, well-spoken, very personable.
But the reason that they will not be successful in sales is because they lack some combination of the following critical attributes:
✔️ Grit
✔️ Tenacity
✔️ Competitiveness
✔️ Comfort with rejection
Putting yourself out there is hard.
Hearing NO is hard.
Self-accountability is hard.
This is why sales jobs pay so well: because so few are good at it.
There is a role in the insurance world where you are basically a producer without a sales goal (often called AE). That is, you are responsible for maintaining important client relationships, but you are not tasked with bringing in new business. No required "hunting".
That job is critical because existing business is more profitable than generating new.
But the AE and producer candidate are two very different types of people.
Many agencies will use an assessment to weed out those who aren't cut out for sales. It doesn't mean they couldn't be great hires, it just means that they probably aren't being honest with themselves about their comfort level with cold calling and rejection.
To be successful in sales, you must be incredibly ambitious and competitive because sales relies 100% on your drive and desire to win, unlike most other jobs where you simply show up, do what's asked of you, and get paid. Sales requires you to stick your neck out and get uncomfortable.
I recently began offering a Career Conversation service and it's interesting how many people think they are interested in the idea of being in sales but when it comes down to it, they really aren't a good fit.
Some indicators that you could be a good fit for sales:
👉 You don't let what people might think of you stand in your way
👉 You're incredibly competitive and love to win
👉 Money/success motivate you
👉 Rejection does not deter you
👉 You have no problem striking up a conversation with a stranger knowing you'll have to later convert that to a business discussion.
If you are more the AE-type personality but convince yourself that you're comfortable cold calling/rejection but at your core, you really aren't...the only person you're screwing is yourself.