STEP 3. HOW TO GET STARTED SELLING FINAL EXPENSE BY PHONE
Step 3: Finding Elite Training and Support SKILL UP!
It is your responsibility to learn and master your craft. I don’t care who your IMO is, what your
commission levels are or whether you are captive or independent. It is still 100%
YOUR RESPONSIBILITY to SKILL UP
I recognize there are IMO’s that offer truly elite training platforms and have world-class trainers. Some offer top contracts while others don’t. A few are independent, but most are captive. Many IMO’s tout their world-class training programs. In reality, there are not that many truly elite training platforms in the final expense industry and very few in final expense telesales so please proceed with caution.
How to determine if a training platform is elite.
Ongoing Training- Is the training an ongoing process? There is nothing more annoying than realizing halfway through your training that the program was built five years ago and hasn’t been updated since. Truly elite training is a living breathing entity that continues to build on itself. Anything short of this is suspect at best.
Training from A to Z- Is the training right for your level of expertise? I started my call center with two “agents” that had zero sales experience and were not licensed when we hired them. They both were extremely successful in a short period. An elite program should also have content that teaches even the most seasoned vets to close more sales. Training from A to Z means the material covers everything from basic fundamentals to elite level closing skills. Thus, ongoing training is a must!
24/7 Access- Can you access the training when you need to? 24/7 access to training material is a must! Of course, you won’t be able to call your IMO at 3 AM to ask how to close deals but do they have online or printed materials for you to review at your leisure.
One on One- Does the platform provide opportunities to learn one on one? I have trained many agents and I enjoy seeing them succeed. However, I like to set the expectation that one on one training is not constant hand-holding. Once trained properly you will not need much one on one time. You should not need to call your trainer after every call for weeks or months on end to hash out what went wrong on your last call. Remember it is your duty to SKILL UP! Look for answers to your problems. Figure out solutions on your own. Then you can run them by your trainer to see if they can provide additional assistance. Following this process is how you will gain the most knowledge. Your trainer should be more than willing to help guide you and nurture your growth to ensure success. Be sure to discuss one on one expectations with your prospective IMO prior to signing up.
Proven Success- Ask for proof of results! How many 100k producers has the training pumped out. How many 200k and 300k? An elite training program will have multiple successful producers to prove the value is real. Ask how many agents won company trips last year. Did they have any top ten agents with any of the carriers. If they say yes, get proof!
TRAINING AND SUPPORT GO HAND-IN-HAND
Captive opportunities should provide a massive amount of training and support. So much support that the agent spends 95% of their time in presentation mode. Things like scrubbing and submitting apps, customer service, lead generation and conservation should be handled by the captive IMO. After all, you are taking a huge commission cut to have this support. In the event you stumble across a deal that has reduced commissions and doesn’t provide all these things…let’s just say you need to keep looking.
Independent agents may enjoy some of the same benefits but most likely not all. It simply is not cost feasible for any IMO to handle all the dirty work and still provide top-compensation. If you find an opportunity that claims to provide all the same support as an elite captive opportunity and still provide “top-comp” I would suggest you compare the comp to other offers to verify it is competitive, get everything in writing and then sign right up.
In closing the key takeaway should be to verify the claims are legit, make sure your expectations are in-line with what the IMO provides and then take it upon yourself to make the training work. After all, it is YOUR RESPONSIBILITY!
