Many students and young adults contemplate what they want to be when they grow up. They consider many different professions and try to realize what they are good at and what they are not so good at. It’s important to know your strongest skills when considering a profession. Are you strong at managing others, selling, bookkeeping, writing, or another trade? These are things to consider when deciding what you want to do for the rest of your life. Insurance agents need certain skills to be successful in their industry. In this article we are going to discuss the top characteristics an agent should have if he/she wants to be a successful insurance agent.

First and foremost, the insurance professional must know their products. There are a lot of different insurance companies and agents in the United States. There is a lot of competition in the insurance industry. Knowing your products is critical to your success. If one agent knows about a certain product their client asks about and another doesn’t the sale is going to go to the more knowledgeable agent. Remember clients will shop around. They want to find the lowest priced products available to them. So they will be talking to multiple agents.

Once the agent has mastered their insurance company’s products they must be able to sell them. Taking a sales course is definitely recommended before you start in the field. Many large insurance companies will offer free sales training to their agents. Insurance companies will invest in their agents because they need them to produce. Agents who do not produce will soon lose their leads . Leads are expensive and not easy to come by so the highest selling producers typically get the most qualified leads .

Once the agent is knowledgeable and has the sales skills he/she is ready to enter the field. When you get a lead, make sure to contact them fast. At least 2-3 other agents probably received the same lead. So speed to lead is very important. If you are able to schedule the first appointment you will likely get the sale. Once you get the appointment, be early or on time and dress professional. Business causal is recommended. Make sure to have everyone making the decision present. You do not want to get a response from the wife when the husband is ultimately making the decision. You may have to schedule another appointment if this is the case.