Quotas are a huge downside of working for a State Farm agent. They are (understandably) concerned about their own well being and not so much about anyone else's. The most important thing is getting more contracts, even at the cost of existing contracts.
I can't speak for the whole company, but from an agent's staff perspective, there is not a lot of room for growth. You're either staff or the agent. After that I suppose it's possible to move onto the Agency Field Office, but there are only three or four jobs there. Two or three of those jobs, I hear, are for failed agents. Unless you live near one (or want to move near one), the operations centers are too few and far between to be a viable option.
The State Farm training is very poor. There isn't a formal training class as with other companies, and everything is sort of glossed over. There are many details to understand and having inadequate training leads to a lot of mistakes and angry policy holders.
The only benefits are salary and commission. While we sell life, health and disability insurance and retirement vehicles, none of these are part of the compensation package.
You don't actually work for State Farm when you work in an agent's office. You work exclusively for the agent and some of these guys treat their staff members like they're disposable. You can lose your job at any time.
