I am writing the fact, not what is right or wrong. Trying to be informative. There is nothing wrong to do business in Amway style which is somewhat gray zone business. Again, some people love it. Some people hate it. You are the one to make a choice. Again, I am only trying to be informative. The information I share on this website is that WFG usually does not tell candidates at the BEGINNING.
They sell mainly Western Reserve Life's policies backed up by Aegon Bank, a dutch bank. They surely help people who don't have concrete future financial planning. There is nothing really wrong with it.
1. You pay $100 registration fee. WFG does not pay for you.
2. You pay 52 hr. life agent course study -- various schools are available online, you attend in person etc. etc. WFG does not pay for you.
3. Test fee. WFG does not pay for you.
4. WFG's some offices "seminar" do not offer product training. Each office is run differently, which shows that their head office does not have consistent training program for free.
5. Your commission is only 25 - 35% unless you have at least 3 to 10 agents beneath yourself
6. Multi Level Marketing plus pyramid scheme
7. To learn various kinds of financial products, you pay the tuition from your own pocket. (please refer to no. 4)
8. Your mentor sells not only life insurance but also mutual funds
This model lures the agent by telling them that you would not only gain by sale of yours but also gain by sale of agents under you (Amway Model). The agent should understand that although they are earning bit of other agent's commission, a big chunk of his commission is also eaten by agents above him. Therefore, the commission that the agents get by WFG sales is quite less then the direct sale that they will do with channel other then WFG.
Because WFG believes in quantity more then quality of agents, the application filled quality & the quality of service given to the customers is really poor. This leads to lots of application entry errors, reduced customer satisfaction & at the end, lost customers.
I am currently working for a different insurance company which gives me 85% commission. I do not have to recruit anybody beneath me. I AM NOT LAZY.
The following URL is interesting for you.
http://money.cnn.com/magazines/moneymag/moneymag_archive/2000/05/01/278258/index.htm
Don't worry. I am not saying what' s right or wrong. It is somewhat niche business for the overlooked people. And they help each other. If your client does not mind the sloppy operation with unprofessional management, this is for you. You make money anyway.
Customer service of WFG sucks. Sloppy paper work and slow process. Their web for agents often has bugs. For clients, life insurance products are long term commitment. People sign up for the contract only once or twice in the life.
Life insurance products are basically same or similar at most of the big insurers.
What makes a difference?
Customer service quality. Agents quality. How clearly and quickly can they respond to clients questions and requests.
The complaint has been investigated and resolved to the customer’s satisfaction.
You also forgot one thing, you have to take the Anti-Money Laundering course from WFG University online. If you don't pay to take this course, you will not get paid. They do not tell you it cost money to take this course on your first week. They just tell you it's only a 15 minute exam.
The $100 is for administration fee not criminal background checks. WFG clearly states this on their agent website. Also, you would need more than life insurance to sell the majority of the products. You need to spend more money on getting you Series 6 license.
Other insurance companies charges only $50 for the admn. fee. not $100.
Even their high ranked reps are not so used to high-end prospects/potential clients. They prefer uneducated prospects who do not have a skill to scrutinize the nature of business.
High-end/highly educated people are attracted to big names with long established insurance companies.
If you have to pay $500/month premium, which one would you choose? Shaky one or trust-worthy one?
WFG reps are well trained to talk back a lot on the various website where WFG are criticized a lot, which means that they are not that good insurer. "Look at complaints about other insurers! We are not the only one. They get complained a lot." they would say. Yes there are so many complaints about AllState, Farmers, Geico posted on websites. Read the complaints carefully! The nature of complaints of other big names and WFG is so different. WFG? Mostly about their poor operation and bad customer services, the most critical points. Insurance products are basically the same. What makes the difference is how the clients are taken care of in the long run. Remember that WFG's operation skill is unbearably sloppy and slow.
I looked into this business and in my opinion it's a legit business. It's really hard for people to know what anything is really about without even looking into the business. Although this business seems great, however it's not for me. From my own experience, I looked into it and I believe it's a legit business and there is nothing wrong with their Networking business model. I believe that Networking is the new wave of businesses and it is very effective.
According to Wikipedia, "A pyramid scheme is a non-sustainable business model that involves the exchange of money primarily for enrolling other people into the scheme, without any product or service being delivered."
FTC gives these 8 pointers:
1. Find — and study — the company’s track record.
2. Learn about the product
3. Ask questions
4. Understand any restrictions
5. Talk to other distributors (beware shills)
6. Consider using a friend or adviser as a neutral sounding board or for a gutt check.
7. Take your time.
8. Think about whether this plan suits your talents and goals
I did my research on this company and I believe that any business can work, for the right person.
http://www.investmentexecutive.com/client/en/News/DetailNews.asp?Id=35020&cat=29&IDSection=29&p
http://www.investmentexecutive.com/client/en/News/DetailNews.asp?Id=45502&cat=29&IdSection=29&PageMem=&nbNews=&IdPub=166
http://www.investmentexecutive.com/client/en/News/DetailNews.asp?Id=50267&cat=29&IdSection=29&PageMem=&nbNews=&IdPub=182
And they're not perfect as well:
http://www.investmentexecutive.com/client/en/News/DetailNews.asp?Id=54091&IdSection=8&cat=8
My advice, any business that you want to get in to, you must thoroughly look into it. I don't normally post comments in the internet, but I happened to come across this blog and I think it's a very ignorant and useless information. Just my 2 cents.
Any operation that sells something then immediately trys to recruit you to sell it is bogus.
My home insurance is with Chubb, they are considered top of the line and DIDN"T TRY TO RECRUIT ME!
My auto insurance is with Geico, they are way better than State Farm and Country Companies and DIDN'T TRY TO RECRUIT ME!
I bought my life insurance through YourLifeSolution.com, the provide instant quotes on their website and DIDN"T TRY TO RECRUIT ME!
get it through your head World Financial and Primerica losers, the rest of us dont want to be part of your lame scheme!