First Command Financial Services reviews about "commission"

Had to call my friends and family to push whole life insurance High pressure sales Lack of support from boss Commission only, based on whole life sales Rude coworkers Classes based on proving why whole life is good and how you’re “helping” Better than nothing, but clients can do better

To start with First command holds its self out to pay "you" the advisor the most commission possible. Now that I have worked at another firm and have several friends at other top firms in the industry I have discovered that their pay out multiples are the same in some cases and lower in most cases. The kicker to this is that on top of paying you a lower or average rate for the work you do virtually all other firms cover you technology, office, travel, benefits and education costs. This shows a huge flaw in the payment system alone. While the First Command Leadership promotes a narrative of empowering families their commission packages, sales competitions and leadership are all geared to selling the highest commission product to clients. The only way to survive in this company is to continually sell insurance products. This model creates a glaring conflict of interest and when it is address you are told "its just the way it is" In my experience District advisors where either absent or only mildly interested when trying to create a sustainable practice. I was even told I was take bread off of my DA's table after he swept the majority of clients out of my office and into his book so he could get paid more. Despite have a strong base of clients in the area First command leadership chose to actively not service existing clients and instead promote only new accounts. The scars of this practice where evident when I met with several legacy clients who had been passed from advisor to advisor with little to no notification, service or real planning. After talking with several other current and training advisors at other firms I discovered First command actually has the shortest training and mentorship period in the industry. where most firms will pay you while you get licensed first command has you do this on your own time. The difference is dramatic when you consider the 6 months you have to "go independent" vs. the 1-5 years most firms use to teach you how to build a sustainable practice. The culture is very used car sales in fact I even I was even pitched life insurance in my interview. so choose wisely when considering this a career option.

During my employment, I had a $1,700 office bill I had to pay each month, and also a $300 payment that paid for something at the home office (I don’t even know what it was for). You also only get about 4 months on salary so you have 4 months to build your BOB and then you’re fully on commissions.

By their words they will never admit that they want you to focus on selling life insurance but by their actions (mainly their compensation structure and short 6 month salary) you either find clients with millions to rollover into managed accounts or you sell life insurance to active duty military. At the end of 6 months you're 100% commission dependent and will have a ~$1,500 monthly office bill due on top of the basic cost of living in San Diego. This company is great if your young and willing live on a tight budget for 3-5 years possible working a second job to supplement the lack of income or if you're someone who has a pension income who's looking for a second career. Otherwise this company positions itself as a stepping stone to get licensed.

High sales quotas, long hours, difficult work life balance, commission only after nine months

100% commission pay. Heavy prospecting for first few years

Hard to start out, depending on the market you start in. No choice in salary or commissions. It's straight commission. No lenience on your situation. Either hit the "quota" or you are gone. Mandatory "Fun Days" that you have to pay out of pocket for.

-3 months of training at min wage -have to sell a lot of insurance in the first couple of years to sustain pay