Week 1: Contracting + Exam

• Work the Onboarding & Contracting Steps start to finish - Phase 1 and Phase 2 are your #1 priority.
• Schedule your state exam, study, and pass. Goal: inside 2 weeks.
• Start the New Agent Course in Training the same day you're onboarded - don't wait for your license.
• Set up your dialing tools: Ringy free trial plus a second number on your phone. Setup notes are in Dialing Tips.

Week 2: License + Paperwork

• Apply for your state license, fingerprints, NPN, and E&O insurance - every step is spelled out in Onboarding & Contracting Steps.
• Make your insurance-only Gmail and text it to Joy.
• Get on the weekly calls: agency meetings Monday 7pm EST, trainings MWF 9am EST. Full schedule is on Training.
• Memorize your first script word for word - start with the Veterans Script.

Week 3: Reps

• Practice your script out loud every day and drill the Objection Rebuttal Database while your license and writing numbers process.
• Make your first 2000 dials. Dial every lead 3x before moving on - the rules are in Dialing Tips.
• Close your first 1-3 deals. We do 100% one-call closes - no appointments, no chasing follow-ups.
• Track every dial and every deal in the Daily Activity Tracker under Tools. Numbers don't lie.

Week 4: Production

• Close 5+ deals. Quote and close on the spot with the FEX and IUL quoters in Tools.
• Log into your Carrier Portals and learn where everything lives.
• Stay on every weekly call - consistency is the whole game.
• Day 30 target: contracted, licensed, 2000+ dials in, 5+ deals closed.

Carrier Contact Info (Save as contacts in your phone for ease)

The Advance

• Most carriers pay your commission up front - roughly the first 6 to 9 months of premium in one check, days after the policy issues.
• Close a $100/month policy at 100% comp and you're looking at about a $900 advance.

As-Earned

• Some carriers and products pay you monthly as the client pays their premium. Smaller checks, but every dollar is yours to keep. No clawback risk.

The Chargeback

• If your client cancels or lets the policy lapse early and you took the advance, the carrier takes the unearned part back - straight out of your next commission check.
• That's a chargeback. Stack enough of them and you're working for free.

How to Avoid Chargebacks

• Write business that fits the client's budget, not your number.
• Set the draft date on a day that works for them.
• Stay in touch after the sale - a quick check-in call saves policies.
• Make sure to over communicate with client. They should know exactly what they're paying, when they are paying it, what they are paying it for. Make sure you congratulate them at the end of the sale and really solidify the deal. Make a friend & keep a sale on the books forever. Make sure they aren't confused about anything.
• Clients who stay on the books are money you keep.

Your Contract Level

• Your comp percentage climbs with production. Hit the required production 2 months in a row and you level up.
• The grids below show every carrier payout by level and exactly what it takes to move up.

The 3 Types of Leads

• Fresh (real-time): someone raised their hand in the last 24-48 hours. Most expensive, best contact rates. Speed wins - call in minutes, not days.
• Aged: the same kind of lead, 30+ days old. A fraction of the price. Lower contact rate, but they were interested once - people have closed aged leads over a year later.
• Referral: free, and the highest close rate you'll ever see. Ask every client: "Who else do you know that needs this handled?"

Call-In Leads (Advanced)

• Live calls patched straight to you - typically $25-$70 per call.
• Buffer times range from about 10 seconds up to 1.5-2 minutes, depending on the vendor.
• You usually need at least 20 licensed states for good call volume.
• These are for experienced agents. Inexperienced agents burn money fast on call-ins - earn your way here first.

What They Cost (Typical Ranges)

• Fresh final expense leads typically run $7-$25+ each.
• Aged leads typically run $1-$5 each depending on age.
• Referrals cost nothing but the ask.
• New agents: start on aged leads. Learn the script on cheap reps before you spend real money on fresh.

What's Realistic

• Fresh: with enough dials, expect to actually reach roughly 30-50% of them.
• Aged: contact rates drop hard - single digits to around 20% is typical. That's normal, not a bad list.
• One sale out of 100 aged dials can still pay for the whole list several times over. Do the math before you judge the leads.

Where Leads Come From

• The agency has in house leads for all lead types - ask your manager what's available and at what price.
• Facebook ads, direct mail, and vendor lists are the usual sources. Different sources, different quality.
• There are multiple trusted lead sources, don't get overwhelmed. Find one lead type and stick with it. If you can't sell 30K a month on one specific lead type then you have no business jumping around and trying different things.

Trusted Lead Vendors

• In house 4x4 leads
• Launchpad Lead Center
• GOAT Leads
• Closr Leads
• Integrity Lead Center
• + More

Rules of the Leads Game

• Speed to lead on fresh - minutes, not hours.
• Dial every lead 3x before moving on. Full rules are in Dialing Tips.
• Leads don't expire - work old leads like they owe you money.
• Track every dial and every deal in the Daily Activity Tracker under Tools. Numbers don't lie.
• The list is never the problem. Dials are the answer.

The Grid Sheet

• The Final Expense Grid Sheet lists every common health condition and shows exactly what each carrier does with it - side by side.
• Find the condition, read across the row, and write the carrier that offers the best class. The last pages have product overviews and height/weight charts.
• Download it, save it to your phone, keep it open on every call.

Carriers from Strictest to Most Lenient

1. Mutual of Omaha
2. Americo
3. Aetna
4. American Amicable
5. Corebridge
6. Chubb / Combined
7. TransAmerica
8. Ethos

The Classes (Best to Worst)

• Preferred / Standard: full coverage from day one, best price.
• Graded / Modified / ROP: limited benefit in the first couple of years, full after. If they pass early, the premiums go back to the family for 2 years. Full death benefit if accidental death in first 2 years.
• Guaranteed Issue: no health questions. Highest price - last resort when nothing else fits. Guaranteed 10% return on premiums if they die of natural causes first 2 years, full death benefit if accidental death.
• Decline: that carrier won't take it. Another one often will - that's the whole point of the grid.

Rules of Underwriting

• "Not asked - allowed" means the carrier doesn't ask about the condition. Don't volunteer it. Place the case.
• Ask the health questions exactly as they're written on the application. Word for word.
• Height and weight matter - the charts are on the last pages of the grid sheet.
• One carrier's decline is another carrier's graded. Check every column before you ever tell a client no.