1: Significant early out-of-pocket expenses [training, licensing, business cards, etc.] and no supplemental tools to cover gas or other business expenses etc. until you make a certain amount.
2: For the first few years, you will be cold-calling recycled leads for countless hours - maybe 1-2 people every 300 calls will actually progress into a sale - if the client shows up at all. The process of a client not bothering to show up when you have driven an hour out to see them is so common there is a term for it at Bankers, known as "getting porched". The phones are brutal; you are calling people on the DNC list and elderly people in the middle of work; expect to face constant rejection and vitriol.
3: Whenever a client cancels their policy, you will get charged for what the company lost - a process known as a "chargeback". This process can lead to you randomly losing hundreds of dollars or more at really inconvenient moments.
4: Commission-based salary ONLY with low commission percentages and zero benefits until you make a certain amount. Upper management takes most of the profit.
5: Do not enter into this job without a significant amount of financial cushion to ease into the transition, When starting out, you work alongside a veteran agent for every meeting. This is helpful, since new agents know absolutely nothing, but it also means commissions are split between yourself and a veteran agent, so even when you do write business, you will only see a mere fraction of the pay.
6: Rise and grind hustle culture, with all the top earners [management, usually] getting lavish paid vacations to spark a tiny bit of hope into the fresh recruits. Constant promises of a cushy 6 figure salary when the reality is that these offices have an insane turnover rate.
7: Long, long hours. Many days can be as long as 12-16 hours [with no base salary, remember], and coming in on Saturdays to call some more is strongly encouraged. You will have to work in your leisure time to search for better leads. You will drive constantly, sometimes for hours, just to show up at a client's house and they are not home.
