I haven't been on the board for some time now... Katrina took us out in southern MS... I am looking to move to Chattanooga next yearto open an Allstate or Nationwide... Allstate sems to be a good living, but the opportunity Nationwide is offering looks very good. I have to move to make a living..... that is very hard for me, but my question is, who has gone the Allstate or Nationwide route? And are you happy? I just married july,22. and now I am planning for my wife and hopfully childern very soon. I am looking to make money, but also looking for stabiltity, and returning to the coast in 3-5 years...
Pleas help
The cross roads
Moderators: Josh, independent guy
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d's insurance store
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Allstate alum
I comment only based on my experience as an Allstate agency owner in the past.
Allstate talks a good game regarding their 'opportunity', using words and phrases that imply you'll be totally independent to run things the way you want, while having the advantage of a crooked A sign out front that will drive the masses to your door based solely on brand recognition.
None of this stuff is put in writing however.
What you'll find is you're totally dependent on the competitive positioning of Allstate in your given marketing area, all the while, fending off their intrusive managers who think that by reading and reciting out of their 3 ring operational binders, they know best how you should be running your office. In addition, you'll be facing Allstate's reality they don't really consider themselves to be 'just' an insurance company. There will be enormous pressure and not so subtle quotas for the selling of various financial products that include not only life insurance, but annunities, banking products and other financial instruments that you may or may not feel like selling.
There are a fair number of success stories in the Allstate agency list, but those who start from scratch stand the best chance of success if and only if you have a strong competitive advantage in the bread and butter personal lines and can build on that to hustle the financial products.
Do a lot of research before you get to the interview stage, talk to some Allstate agency owners 25-50 miles from your intended site to get the 'rest of the story', make sure anything implied can be put in writing and you'll have your best chance of success as a newly minted Allsatate agency owner.
Allstate talks a good game regarding their 'opportunity', using words and phrases that imply you'll be totally independent to run things the way you want, while having the advantage of a crooked A sign out front that will drive the masses to your door based solely on brand recognition.
None of this stuff is put in writing however.
What you'll find is you're totally dependent on the competitive positioning of Allstate in your given marketing area, all the while, fending off their intrusive managers who think that by reading and reciting out of their 3 ring operational binders, they know best how you should be running your office. In addition, you'll be facing Allstate's reality they don't really consider themselves to be 'just' an insurance company. There will be enormous pressure and not so subtle quotas for the selling of various financial products that include not only life insurance, but annunities, banking products and other financial instruments that you may or may not feel like selling.
There are a fair number of success stories in the Allstate agency list, but those who start from scratch stand the best chance of success if and only if you have a strong competitive advantage in the bread and butter personal lines and can build on that to hustle the financial products.
Do a lot of research before you get to the interview stage, talk to some Allstate agency owners 25-50 miles from your intended site to get the 'rest of the story', make sure anything implied can be put in writing and you'll have your best chance of success as a newly minted Allsatate agency owner.