For sales job seekers in the metro-Detroit area, beware of getting involved with Dan CONrado, of 'IPA', and 'ABBA', acronyms for the health insurance marketing his company does. He has been recruiting new agents in the area since this past spring, (he has high turnover), always telling them what "great, real time 'leads' you'll get (meaning the prospect just expressed interest in health insurance in the last day or two), and that you'll be "saving people 20-40% on their health insurance rates".
Well, I worked with him for about 3-4 months, and the "leads" I was sent were typically from people a telemarketer had contacted anywhere from 3-4 MONTHS earlier - and the last batch I got were actually dated 2 FULL YEARS AND 1 MONTH EARLIER!!! - Of course, the great majority of these people can't even recall having spoken with anyone from 'American Business Benefit Association', (marketing arm of 'Independant Producers of America') months or YEARS ago - and have long since obtained health insurance if they really wanted it. You may have some luck in finding someone who wants to "compare" - but not usually. The fact that these company's won't advertise anywhere to gain name recognition doesn't help you reflect credibility either. YOU and your "walk and talk" is all they need for marketing, or so they say!
People are skeptical about agreeing to make monthly payments to an insurance company and trust them to provide 'hassle free' emergency medical care when it's a company they've never heard of!
What you will find yourself doing, after you're told about the "free, qualified leads weekly" AND PAY THE $285 'REGISTRATION FEE' to begin this "WONDERFUL OPPORTUNITY" -is out going door to door to small businesses and 'cold calling'. They aren't even set up to do 'group' policies for employees, and if THAT"S what an employer you talk to wants, it's a big hassle. Dan and the people at 'IPA'/'ABBA' like to call it "Walk and Talk" - sounds more fun that way, doesn't it! They begin recruiting meetings by talking MORE about their "great leads" with little mention of "prospecting" initially - and after you pay your "fee" you start to hear more and more about the art of "walk and talk", and about how "expensive" the leads are! (They're supposedly working on getting better leads - at least that's what Dan and his wife Yvette say).
They've recently opened an office in the Southfield Town Center, and Dan is still advertising regularly on 'Career Builder'. Their health coverage actually seems pretty good, though not always so 'inexpensive' as they like to claim.
Also, their underwriter has A LOT of exclusions, and made about half the few prospects I managed to come into contact with "uninsurable". This may be the case with many insurers - but it doesn't help a 'commission only' sales agent make more sales. They have a seperate "gauranteed issue" policy for those folks, but the provisions are not nearly as good as full fledged insurance coverage.
Despite his big dollar figures he puts in his recruiting ads, you are still 'commission only' - and again, he and Yvette don't really paint you a very clear picture when you begin on this "ground floor opportunity".
Check into it if you like - but heed this forwarning, and proceed with caution. It can take you a LONG TIME to recover that $285! Many people seem to leave without ever achieving that! Michigan is a TOUGH market for this type of selling right now - keep that in mind, too.
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