Where to begin. People get into the financial services and insurance industry for the flexibility and for the opportunity for great pay and residual income. This place has NONE of those. First off the training for the new reps is abysmal. The company basically gives you a laptop and you spend the next 8 weeks completing a series of "modules" that really don't teach you anything other than Western & Southern's completely OUTDATED "sales process". They don't teach you anything about actually prospecting for new business and believe it or not VERY little about their products. Starting in week 2 you take a break from these horribly boring modules and start studying for the VERY difficult and challenging S.I.E. (Securities industry essentials) exam which NEEDS TO BE PASSED in order for you to keep all of your starting "salary" of a paltry $615 a week. This is where management is very dishonest in my opinion. During the interview process they promise a LOT but deliver very little. You'll be told that you'll receive a "salary" for your first 2 years of employment, and after that you'll be making so much in production bonus and renewals that this salary is no longer needed. What they FAIL to tell you is that your $615 dollars per week drops gradually during those two years, AND, if you do not hit certain benchmarks (like passing the securities exams and hitting production goals) you'll LOSE that salary and probably starve or lose your home. The companies client acquisition and marketing programs are almost non-existent. They have a few lead vendors that they use but the rep HAS TO PAY for the leads out of his/her own pocket. They offer a paltry $124 in "marketing" money that most reps need for other things like gas money. Oh and one other thing, not only does the company require that you get securities registered, they make the reps PAY FOR IT out of their paychecks! This comes out to around 500 dollars. The company still has the mindset that the only way to get business is by picking up the phone and cold calling. This is so archaic its almost laughable. They'll "give" you a book of business to work and they'll tell you that there are a lot of cross sell opportunities in this book, but don't believe a word they say, the book consists of 70 to 90 year old clients that purchased a 10,000 whole life policy 50 years ago and have no intention on buying again. Now to management and upper management. The staff managers (they typically manage a staff of 4 to 6 reps) are really very good, hard working people that try their best in an impossible situation. The agency managers are usually pretty decent as well. You'll have your outliers but that's pretty common in most companies. The PROBLEM is with upper management, in particular the Division VP's. These people are absolutely clueless and will micro manage the DEATH out of you. Instead of coming up with "light bulb" moments all they really do is stare at a computer screen all day and literally scrutinize the staff managers and reps Outlook calendars. The micromanaging in this company is absolutely astounding. The company says they have the "right" to micromanage like this because the reps are "employees" and not independent contractors. On the surface that seems OK. But when ALL YOU DO is micromanage your people and add absolutely ZERO value other than that how can you continue to hold a job? The company has been bleeding reps and managers for the past few years. People are leaving in DROVES so what does the company do? They micro manage EVEN MORE. Its laughable! So in closing here's my honest advice to anyone that may be interviewing for a position here and is literally reading this now as part of your research. LOOK ELSEWHERE. There are a TON of fantastic Financial services companies out there. If you take this position, fully expect to leave within 6 months.
