Why Do So Many Insurance Agents Fail? 
I have a bit of a different opinion about this . I believe most agents fail because they are n't trained correctly . I 've been doing this since 1991 and explored many company 's training programs . In that time , I have n't seen them change . Do you think the market has ? Insurance companies spend thousands of hours and millions of dollars training their agents on products , business plans , and sales skills . I 've consulted with new agents from some of the biggest companies in the country that were on the verge of failure . They did exactly what they were trained to do and they were failing miserably . These are some bright , knowledgeable sales professionals . You know what their companies told them to do ? Buy leads and call them , buy more leads and call them . If that does n't work , you 're not calling enough . Can you believe it ? When you find something that 's not working enough , do it more . I believe that the reason agents fail is that they are n't good prospectors . They 've never been trained in how to prospect or market themselves or their business . Try this , go to 10 agents , any age , any experience , and ask them what their biggest challenge is . I 've asked a lot more than that and I can tell you what the overwhelming answer is : `` I do n't have enough prospects to sell to '' . It 's the same with everyone . If you find someone who says they have enough or too many , they 're service providers , not agents . I watch really smart , professional salespeople struggle at the same time I look at a guy who looks awful , sounds worse , and does n't know anything about insurance succeed almost effortlessly . You know the difference ? That last guy knows how to talk to people . Watch him , he 's always talking to people and he actually listens to them and cares . Bottom line , the best prospectors are the most successful agents . As an industry , we have to begin training prospectors , not salespeople . We have to show new agents how to connect with more people and market themselves . We should spend more time training people on how to find new prospects than we do on how to sell to the prospects they do n't have . I believe there 's a shift coming from price driven , transactional selling back to a relationship based insurance practice . If we treat our products and services as a commodity , so will the consumer . So , let 's take the first step and change the way we train new agents . Let 's first find agents motivated by the profession , not the money -LRB- not that the money 's bad -RRB- . Then , let 's train them on finding good prospects . As I see it , that 's the future of our profession and the companies and agencies that start doing this will be on the front of that wave while the rest try to figure out why their 50 year old training program is n't working . 