I almost joined the Life Insurance Industry

You may want to read the below post first for the backstory:



Are Top Salesperson Born or Trained



I was offered the job as Recruiter for life insurance salespersons on the spot. Yeah, just like that!

What the hell is a Recruiter?

Well, I am supposed to recruit, train, and motivate the sales agents for the agency. Its leveraging on OPT - Other People's Time/Talent.

Every policy they sell for us, I get a cut of their commissions. Sounds familiar? Yes, its a bit like multi-level marketing. Wink.

I guess the agency boss is not interested or have no time to do this cheerleading work; he prefers to outsource it to specialists like me.


At that time, I'm a management trainee at Robinsons. After so many years on the selling floor, they wanted to make me a buyer. Its like sending a Sergeant to Officer Cadet School (OCS).

I was exploring my options. 

As since I'm not desperate, I decide to find out more about the job before saying yes.



The "pui nei nei" interviewer turned out to be holding the current job of Recruiter in the agency.

He was kind enough to invite me to his office and offered me coffee as I blasted him with my "trust but verify" questions.

Right off the bat, I challenged him if the job of Recruiter was so great, why is he leaving then?

He is 28 years young. Teochew like me. Got his MBA from Canada. He liked life in Canada so much that he decides to emigrate there after returning to Singapore.

Fair enough.

Now comes the interesting bits.

When he recruits an insurance agent, straightaway he and the agency will make money.

Well, don't you think you need a life insurance policy yourself before you sell to others?

Even if you already have an existing policy, your first customer would likely be your own immediate family members right? Next would be relatives, classmates, existing and ex colleagues, etc.

"Smelly, smelly", the agency would gain at least one policy sale the moment someone decides to join them. (Yes, smells like MLM again!)

Where got people interested to help you become a millionaire (that time the phrase financial free not fashionable yet) if they don't benefit from "helping" you? 

There is very little costs to the agency. Its pure commissions remember? Office space is shared. And name cards and promotional materials you can order from the agency. 

The main cost is him doing cheerleading, "If you think you can, you can!"



Only 1 out of 10 agents he recruited will survive the first 2 years. (Same odds as trading!)

The first wave of resignations is around the 6 months mark. After you ran out of "pity fxxk" sales from your supportive relatives and friends, that's when you discover you can't sell shit. Even if you life depended on it!

Sales is meritocratic. Who wants to go to work and be reminded everyday they are F9 (lowest grade in school)?

The next wave of big resignations will be at the 2 years milestone. These are the better ones who can make cold calls and sell to complete strangers without relying on relatives and friends after 6 months.

The trouble is they are not million-dollar-round-table calibre.

80% of sales commissions is earned by 1 out of 10 sales agents. The remaining 20% is shared between the rest of the 9 if you think you can, you can...

Why do people want to become an insurance sales agent in the first place?

Tip: Its the same reason why you got interested in investing or trading. 

After 2 years, with little results to show, add to the mix burned weekends and evenings, the harsh realities of what it takes to make your first million from insurance sales has become a lot more crystal.

That's when an office job with regular salary becomes quite attractive. And like someone just said recently, can even "coast along" too!

With life insurance sales, how to relax? No kill; no meat.



I and the "pui nei nei" talked the whole afternoon. Learned a lot about the industry.

I passed on the job offer.

I can't treat people like that. 


I quit midway through my management trainee program at Robinsons too. I went to IMM to sell sofas with Melandas. 

Yup, I passed on the buyer position too. In retail, to become a buyer is like an uniformed cop becoming CID. What's meant to be, will be. I did become a buyer some years later. 

What we are today is the result of past decisions we have or have not made.

No, its not only about goals or plans. 

I'll throw a bone to younger readers. Find out who makes more. Decision makers or those who come up with goals and plans. Wink.