2 Year Anniversary, My First Sale

Maggie and I had our two-year anniversary yesterday! We stayed pretty low-key, since she has been sick as hell since around Thursday or so. We are going to go to the Cosmopolitan for dinner this Saturday, and maybe a movie before that. I can't believe it has been two years; it seems like less than that and much longer at the same time.

The lady I spoke about in my last post, Louise, bought some Home Health care coverage from me last week, which was my first close of a client that I contacted and developed completely on my own, which is fucking awesome. Home Health and Long-Term care (LTC) are probably the most important products we sell, with almost 60% of people over age 65 needing that type of care at some point in their lives. LTC runs about $150 per day in this area, so without some type of coverage, bills can add up very quickly.

I also got an application for a Medicare Supplement policy today, but his wife had his checkbook, so I couldn't get the first month's premium. I don't know if that was true or bullshit, but either way I am heading back on Wednesday to get a check.

I had one no-show and one reschedule today, which sucks, but if I can get the no-show to reschedule for Thursday, my booking will be in pretty good shape. I already have a 9AM for Wednesday, plus the rescheduled 6PM on Thursday. If I add that no-show, plus the trip to pick up the check for the MedSupp, I only need to book 6 tomorrow. That is still tough, but much more do-able than ten.

Last week I made $1132 (my first solo week!), and this week I am set up to make $430, with two more days in the field. So far, this job is starting off fucking rolling.

Technorati : Bankers, Long-Term Care, Maggie, Medicare

Training with Bankers, Heading Out On My Own, J.J. Redick

Wow, what a week. It's been awhile since I've written, and that is mainly because I have been working so much during the week, getting acclimated to the new schedule, and making up for lost beers on the weekend.

As far as training went, things started out pretty slow. It basically taught me the lesson of qualifying my appointments-making sure that they have the health, money, and decision-making abilities to be worth talking to. Once I got a little better at that, things started taking off (not to mention that Steve was setting some of the appointments, which helped greatly). All in all, between Thursday and Monday, I made roughly a thousand dollars. I also have a second meeting with a lady on Thursday, where I hope to add another five to eight hundred to that total. All in all, not too bad of a start.

I was right, though, that the challenge comes with actually making the appointments. I only set three today, so I am heading back into the office tomorrow morning to try to finish filling up the next few days. Starting tomorrow, I am on my own.

J.J. Redick, by the way, is ri-fucking-diculous. At the start of the year, everybody was talking about his outside chance at catching Johnny Dawkins on Duke's all-time scoring list. Now, with four games left in the year, he is one game away from being the all-time ACC leader, after already breaking the national three-point record. Unbelievable!

Del.icio.us : Bankers Life, Duke, JJ Redick

Real Work Begins

Well, I made it through the week of training, and Friday I started doing some of the actual work of my new career. On Friday, at least, that consisted of making 170 phone calls, 145 of which were either Do Not Calls, or No Answers. Of the 25 people I actually talked to, I set 2 appointments, which I though was pretty good. Of course, I needed to set 5, so that was well below my goal. I am apparently pretty good on the phone for someone just starting, and Steve gave me some better leads that I would have had to wait for some more experience to get.

Today, Steve and I went out on the road to meet with all of the appointments, and I got to learn how imprtant it is to qualify the people I talk to. Two of our three didn't show, and the next one was completely ghetto. Steve is a damn good teacher, and I am gonna really try to just follow his training. My natural tendency is to tweak things to fit what I think is the best model, and with this, I am making an effort to just learn what is taught to me, and learn it well.

Today I made 84 calls, got ahold of 24 people, and set one appointment. Steve already had two, so tomorrow I have to set 11. Fucking tough, I gotta say, but not impossible. Like my dad always said, "Ain't nothin' to it but to do it."

More on Bankers Life

Today was both the most boring and the most exciting day of training. The boring side came from five hours of video training on selling annuities. The material wasn't neccessarily boring, but just the fact that it was five hours of video with no give and take really wears my head down.

Ironically, the exciting part turned out to be our time on the phones. I actually scheduled two appointments for Monday! (Of course, in my excitement, I scheduled them for the same time!) I only dialed 19 numbers, and five of those were either busy signals or answering machines. Now, I know it is going to get tougher and more frustrating than that, but it damn sure feels good to start out with some confidence-building results.

New Katie came over tonight and cooked with Maggie and me. She brought her little lab puppy, Gus, who looks just like Onyx used to. Maggie made home-made pesto, pork chops, mashed potatoes, and asparagus with hollandaise. Fucking awesome! :)

Tomorrow is going to come early. In the morning we work on the phones with our managers, then finish training the rest of the day. Oh- another bonus from today was that I got paired with Steve as my Field Trainer and immediate manager. He did some training, and is obviously really damn good at this job. His mannerisms and style match well with how I want to conduct myself while at Bankers. I was hoping he was who I got paired with. Everything's coming up Milhouse!

Duke-Carolina; Midweek at Bankers Life

Life is good :) Duke held on to beat Carolina last night. My boy from college, David, and Luna John came over to watch it with me, and I don't think any of us have either fingernails or much of a liver left. I actually didn't go to bed until almost 3 AM, so I was fucking exhausted at work this morning.

Speaking of work, training is going well- I think I am gonna be pretty damn good at this, once I get it down. I got business cards today, and my background check came back. The possession of paraphernalia from a few years ago was on there, which was a relief to find was not that big of a deal, since it was only a misdemeanor.

Anyway, more later...

Pictures From Katy Shea's Birthday

Here are some pictures from Kanki:

Me with Maggie, Ali, Caroline, and Emma

Katy and her sister Kerri

Maggie and I (with my mouth full!)

All the Girls

Close Game, State Exam

Well, what a Saturday! Last night Katy's parents took us all to Kanki, which was absolutely fantastic. We stopped back at the Pub afterwards for a drink, then came home and passed the fuck out. Maggie and I got up at 11 or so this morning, and I made everybody omelets.

Duke played Florida State at noon, which was a nail-biter to say the least. Right after that, I had to go take my final state licensing exam, this on for Medicare Supplement and Long-Term Care Insurance. I passed, and had the second-worst picture ever taken (the first being on my Life & Health License).

Maggie just left for work, and I have the house to myself all night.

Course Exam, Katy Shea's birthday

Well, Maggie and I got up and drove two hours to Winston-Salem so I could take the course exam needed to qualify for the state exam. I passed! (By the skin of my teeth!) I could miss 18 questions and I missed 16, but, still, not bad for cramming a ten hour class into under five hours of independent study time. I take the state exam tomorrow at 3PM.

Today is our roommate Katy Shea's 23rd birthday; we are all going to dinner tonight and then out after that.

Back From the Gym, Getting Ready To Study

Maggie and I just worked out for a little over an hour. Capitol Fitness just got these new NordicTrac Elliptical machines that about killed me. In twenty minutes I wore myself out as much or more than 45 minutes on the old ones.

I am about to start a marathon study session for this course exam tomorrow. I have to make a 70 on it to get a certificate, which I need to get into the state exam I already paid for. Almost done, though!

However, my car is obviously not going to work- that is the next obstacle to starting this new career. More on that later...

Duke-BC; State Licensing Exam

Damn, what a game! Duke barely held on to beat Boston College last night- awesome game!

I passed my Life & Health Exam this morning! Now I have to drive to Winston tomorrow morning for the school exam, then turn right around and take my state MedSupp exam here in Raleigh. this shit is wearing me out!

It's Been Awhile...

Whew! It has been a long couple of weeks! After the licensing class last week, I have had all this additional online learning material shit to every day this week, on top of signing up for the Medicare/LTC class (also online). I take the Life & Health state exam tomorrow afternoon, then drive to Winston on Friday for the end-of-course exam for MedSupp/LTC. Then, I have to turn right around and take that state exam on Saturday or Sunday so I can start work on Monday. Damn!

On top of all that, Maggie and I had a big fight on Sunday, which always sucks. We don't fight very often, and when we do, it is usually directly related to alcohol. Sunday was just a matter of her getting tired of being the only one in the relationship making any money, which I totally understand. I asked her before I committed to this if she would be okay with that for awhile, and her automatic response is that it's ok, she supports me. Which, don't get me wrong, is great, but it would be nice if she would admit up front that it would cause problems, which I think we both knew at the time it would. She still supports me, but money stresses get to her more than anything. Hell, they get to me, too. I certainly don't like feeling like one of those boyfriends who leeches of their girlfriend, but I also feel that this period is an exception.

We both knew that there would be this period of growing pains for each of us at some point- for me, when I got out of the bar industry, and for her when she graduates and starts looking for a job. I think it's better for me to go through this down time financially while she is still in school drawing aid, that way I can be earning enough to support her after she graduates.

It just really cuts deep when the person you rely on as your support base makes you feel like you're a burden. But I know she doesn't mean it like that; it's just stress.

On a lighter note, Duke plays at Boston College tonight at 9PM. These games would be much less stressful if I didn't have $175 worth of bets that Duke goes undefeated through ACC play. Seven-down, Nine-to-go, but MAN is it stressful.

Technorati : Boston College, Duke