Pros
I worked at SFG part-time, primarily supporting agents/field underwriters, by assisting them in contacting multiple carriers regarding statuses of electronic apps and fewer written ones; ordering initial and replacement supplies; and fulfilling any other general agent support needs. I enjoyed this introduction to the highly lucrative and profitable insurance industry and rose quickly to a more trusted position with added responsibility; and gladly accepted an invitation from one of the office's agents to attend SFG's recent Annual Conference -- August 29th to 31st -- at the Gaylord National Resort and Convention Center at National Harbor MD, since it was nearby and I wouldn't incur any major travel expenses. Initially I was impressed with the venue, to say the least. I attended the Wednesday afternoon Corporate Overview that was very informative, lighthearted and, honestly, delivered the absolute right content for someone considering joining this commission, only, based opportunity -- presenting carrier solutions, consulting and taking important applications for a variety of insurance-based financial solutions, alongside broad individual and family protection solutions; and was equally as impressed. The presenters were engaging, focused, humorous, yet very professional and well prepared; and they outlined the graduated commission structure fairly smoothly, that starts off for everyone at 60% and can go as high as 110%, so for me, it answered that very important question. More of that presentation focused on the 110% 'goal' for all SFG agents and managers; and they clearly showed how it could be attained realistically, with a commitment to dedication to learn a new skill set, hard work and incorporation of all of the voluminous training -- audio mainly with some video -- that SFG provides in its training library. So for that Wednesday almost 1 1/2 hour session, I gladly give that husband and wife team 5 Stars for that important and initial introduction to SFG. The next 2 days though were a little less impressive, where I saw more clearly how the company is structured, the leadership -- owners and managers, the extremely high earners at the top, mostly, and the real challenges a new agent would encounter, likely struggling for a lengthy period especially with the compensation so low and the standard recommendation to purchase leads to buy production. By comparison with other notable IMO competitors, SFG agents or field underwriters basically generate the majority of total compensation, not as much for themselves to benefit, but more so for their coaches, mentors, trainers, etc. -- their up-lines -- who benefit by receiving the lion's share totals of sales force or team compensation from what was referred to as "spread" on their down-line agents or team members. The most positive message conveyed both days though, by comparison, was the emphasis SFG places on its recognized top corporate culture and how they, as I was already somewhat aware, focus as much or more on leadership and personal development -- as on insurance and annuity sales -- which was clearly conveyed and demonstrated on stage, by so many of their leaders, managers and owners speaking to the attendees; and many who have risen from being broke or broken, as they would say, to being very successful with SFG in relatively short periods of time -- 3 to 6 years for many -- which is exceptional given the company is relatively young at just 9 years in business.
Cons
Since I attended the conference to hear more about the compensation model, I honestly was very disappointed to learn it’s only 60% to start, that over time can grow to 110%, but according to a chart I was shown, that increase to the top compensation would realistically take 2 ½ to 3 years, minimum, with graduated 5% commission increases usually every 2 or 3 months, however even that wasn't guaranteed. I was really surprised to hear more of that explanation, that if during that commission graduation period, an agent didn't achieve the targeted volume and other qualification factors, they would lose credit for the month(s) completed and start back at square one, for another 2 or 3 months -- that doesn’t seem either equitable or even close to being fair to adequately compensate someone for their efforts. At least the month or months they qualified could be carried over, like for a 2 month qualification example -- qualify in month 1, but not month 2; and then qualify in month 3 to earn the commission level increase by qualifying in 2 of the 3 months. Additionally, in the Corporate Overview it was mentioned that at the first true level of management where the agent is granted full and irrevocable ownership of their agency -- to be a family legacy or to do with as they please -- it was expected that agent manager would still be in the field with their team producing. That appears for the most part to be the exception and not the norm; and it was clear there are many who have been granted agency ownership, stopped producing on a consistent and regular basis, focus more on recruiting and hiring new people to replace so many who appear to leave regularly, and basically earn a living off of those in their down-line. This appears to be even more prevalent at the highest levels where managers mostly manage, but not train; and have a lot of free time while earning handsomely on their down-line agents’ and lower level managers’ commissions “spread” and additionally with what was described as equity bonuses -- limited to some of those in the 110% commission category. All of that better explained why the commission starts so low and agents most often have lengthy periods before they start earning decent incomes and six-figures, having to buy leads, recommended weekly, that are the source of carrier policy contracts issued and resulting commissions. Additionally, there was a lot of talk about SFG's revenue growth the past 9 years and how in 2017 it exceeded $70MM, but upon further off-line discussions and gathering of real numbers, that revenue amount apparently represents application contracts submitted to carriers, that may or may not have been approved and issued, but there was no talk of actual real revenue attained. Finally, I know from the limited time I worked in a support position the insurance industry is in the Top 5 Wealth Industries in the country, so whatever SFG is actually earning it's definitely in the millions of dollars. However, it was very hard to see and realize that, where for all of the sessions, the only refreshments made available to those of us paying over $100 to attend -- Thursday and Friday from 8:00 AM to well beyond 6:30-7:00 PM with only short breaks -- were water from top loading coolers dispensed in disposable cone paper cups. The attendance was well over 3,000 people, so also there was no way for many who maybe hadn't had breakfast to get lunch in the Gaylord complex with its limited restaurant capacity on the lower floors in the building; and then return in time to participate in the regular human stampede to get a decent unreserved seat for the many sessions -- general and breakout ones. Finally, in order for people to be attentive, focused and refreshed, it's just common sense that at an event like that conference, there maybe should have been something nutritional and/or refreshing readily available, at all times, to help people get through the rest of the day while being immersed in so much positive and valuable information from all, extremely important to be retained, including invited guests and entertainers who spoke on stage; and that was an area where SFG clearly dropped the ball and could have used some of the extra money paid to those at the top and made available even something as minimal as a box lunch for those who weren't allowed to attend or weren't invited to the SFG scheduled lunch event/meeting with the owners -- sure there could have been something arranged for all for lunch in that huge facility, similar to the finale dinner Friday night where all attendees were present.
