Advice needed from seasoned producers

[Nyr085]

Hi everyone I am new here and am I need advice from the experts. I am going to lay out my situation and ask what you would do if you were in my shoes.

I am a newly licensed P&C agent/broker in NYC/Long Island area. Over the last 10 years I was a partner in a large NYC construction company and have a lot of contacts with developers,GCs,CMs, and Sub-Contractors. I have good relationships with all of them and already a couple of them asked me to quote them. I also belong to a nice country club on Long Island that I have many contacts who like me.

My question is, if you have the network/connections and you don't have to cold prospect in order to get your foot in the door of a bunch of middle market companies, how would you go about starting your career as an insurance producer? Would you interview with a big broker like Hub, Usi, Alliant? Would you work for a smaller broker? Or would you go to a general agency?

My first priority is working with a company that can service the accounts and one that is competitive. Second is my compensation of course.

I appreciate any advice given, I like to take advice and not make the same mistakes others have made.

Thanks

[NYagent301]

First you get the money then you get the power. Couldn't help the Scarface quote, but it is revelant. If you want to be a salesman, go with the large broker, and in your case one that has expertise in construction accounts. There you will get the marketing support and resources you need. That is the upside, the downside is if you are approaching middle market accounts $50-$200K, the big boys may be too big for you. It sounds like you are a people person and can control your client relationship. A big broker will want to cut you out of the client relationship so if you ever wanted to leave your non-compete will be enforced and your clients will have already identified with the agency. I would recommend a medium regional broker that can provide the tools you need, especially being new to the business. Going in with no income will not give you any negotiating position, hence my quote above. You then may opt for a smaller agency on a 1099 basis and own your book, once you achieve critical mass in gross commission, you then will know the players in the market and make a move accordingly if needed. Good Luck!

[e-bit]

If you go with a smaller local agency that is experienced in the type of accounts you want to write you'll be much better off. You'll get a bigger split on commission, you won't be squeezed dry and then thrown out by the big guys that really don't care about you and get to keep your business anyway. You'll find you get more assistance in the learning process from the smaller agencies, just make sure they have the markets in place for you and your potential clientele.

Good Luck!