Internships can help you find your niche

Black Collegian, Oct 1996 by Gaillard, Kathy

More and more minority college graduates, reluctant to start at the bottom of the corporate pay scale, yearning for independence, and seeking to quench their entrepreneurial spirits, are discovering their niche in the insurance industry.

Coupled with this discovery, a growing number of insurance companies are revising sales recruitment programs to aggressively identify, attract, and retain greater numbers of minorities, according to Ellen Thrower, president of the College of Insurance, in New York.

A career as an insurance agent offers a high degree of independence and flexibility and all the benefits of owning your own business, i.e. responsibility, flexibility, unlimited income potential, and so forth. As many minorities are discovering, a career as an insurance agent can be very lucrative. What's more, the industry is aggressively courting and recruiting minorities who have what it takes to make it. So what does it take to make it as an insurance agent?

Becoming an Insurance Agent

Self-motivation, a competitiveness, and a strong desire to succeed are among some of the qualifications necessary for a successful career in the insurance sales profession. High energy, leadership, and a good work ethic round out the prerequisites for good insurance agents.

When minority insurance agents were asked what it takes to make it in the insurance industry, to no one's surprise they each gave similar answers: perseverance, persistence, determination, and enthusiasm.

Chris Pirtle, a college unit director at Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance Company for the past four years, admits that being an insurance agent has nurtured his competitive spirit born on the high school track and football teams. "It's challenging for me to help people solve their problems, and that's my ultimate goal whether I'm selling life insurance, disability, annuities or securities," he says. Pirtle, who claims he discovered life insurance as a career by accident, was recruited by a friend.

"This business offers exciting and unlimited professional potential to a person who is determined. I seized the opportunity because I recognized the tremendous possibilities this industry offers. For example, the financial rewards are virtually unlimited-determined only by your desire to succeed. Moreover, the challenge and the independence that's so important to me are inherent qualities of this job," said Pirtle.

George R. Barnes, a Prudential Insurance agent, has spent eight years in the insurance industry-the last three in sales. Burned out with a career as a systems analyst, Barnes was seeking a more fulfilling career when a friend suggested he try insurance. "I was no longer content with being a systems analyst. The corporate opportunities were not challenging. For about two years before becoming an agent, I had been looking for something else to do.

"Because I tend to be very relaxed, gregarious, and open, friends suggested I try a career in sales. As a result of a dialogue with a close associate, I got together with someone from the insurance industry, went through a five-step interview process, and here I am today," said Barnes.

Jana Handwerk, an agent with MassMutual Life Insurance, likes the independence and flexibility of working as an insurance agent. Opting to start a family shortly after beginning her career, Handwerk says that flexibility is crucial to her current lifestyle. "Not only do I find my work a lot of fun, but I really like the fact that I'm able to work around my children's schedules. As an agent with two small children at home, I set my own hours and work as much as or as little as I want," she says.

Handwerk acknowledges that before she had children, she worked 60-70 hours a week. As an insurance agent, however, she works about 30 hours a week and till earns an income above average.

Earning Potential

While a lew insurance companies offer compensation options other than commissions, most agents find compensation based strictly on straight commission more financially rewarding.

"Working on commission feeds my competitive spirit," said Pirtle. "If I don't sell, I don't eat," said Pirtle, half-jokingly.

Barnes, Pirtle, and Handwerk are staunch believers that the "sky is the limit" in terms of earning potential for commissioned insurance agents.

"If you have the right mindset, are in the right market, and prospect well, a career in insurance sales can be professionally and financially rewarding," said Barnes.

"There are some agents who in the first quarter of this year have already earned more than $100,000 in sales commissions," he said.

Echoing Barnes, Pirtle said, "The average income for the first year agent is around $25-30,000. Within five years it can be in the $75,000100,000 range. In 1994, the top 500 Northwestern Mutual agents earned an average of $270,265 in gross commissions."

What Kind of Training Is Necessary to Become an Insurance Agent?

Many brokers agree that recruiting young talent-including drawing upon the ever growing pool of qualified women and minorities-makes good business sense for the future.