I am diligently seeking employment and attended a group interview in Macon Ga. for this company. The presentation was informative on the positive side of how much money you could make and how great the company is to work for. The red flag for me was when there was 15 of us in one room and they wanted my ssn to run a background check before the presentation even began. I refused until I knew if this was where I wanted to be or even if they would want me. After the Vice President finished the presentation which did nothing except glorify this company, he then congratulated everyone and welcomed them aboard.There was no Q&A for the candidates just line up and sign up. I did confront the vp and began asking questions regarding the job in inself as nothing was really said about it and I again refused to line up and sign up and explained that I would need research this opportunity and pray about it. In my experience you do not assume that people are going to sign and pay these fees without asking questions or even ask the individual if he/she might be interested in this position. What I found on this site confirmed everything I felt in my spirit while sitting in the presentation. When a vp comes to smozzch you over to work for his company promising "big money" something is not right.I saw nothing professional about this so called interview. I would like to thank all those who commented on this site and I am thankful I had the insight to walk out of there not giving them my personal information as I was the only one in the "interview" that did not sign up. Liberty National should not be allowed to prey on people who are desperatly seeking a paycheck to provide for their families. BEWARE!
OHara
Roswell,#2UPDATE Employee
Thu, October 07, 2010
I can identify with the complaints here.
I hold a number of sales records with various companies. I thought if I could succeed in those companies, I could succeed with Liberty National. I was very wrong!
They tell you on their website that they have many more leads than their agents can handle. Apparently this is not true. In my first three months out on my own, I received exactly one sales lead. When I approached my unit manager about this, I was told "I'm not getting any so you're not getting any.
The "leads" they give you is a book of existing customers you are expected to sell more life insurance. You are also expected to supply a laptop computer and of course, an automobile and all the gas and maintenance. You will also need a GPS as it is necessary. Your "leads" will encompass an area of about 60 miles radius and you are expected to travel it at your own expense. Unless you have been a local delivery truck driver, you can't possibly find all these addresses without one. Figure you're going to have to spend a minimum of $800.00 to equip yourself with the necessary equipment to perform the job.
The job is a straight commission job period. They will send you out with an experienced agent and will pay both of you commissions on the sales he/she makes for the first few weeks. My last three paychecks were $7.xx, $14.xx and $12.xx respectively. Those figures were not enough to pay my gasoline bill and my car gets 32 MPG.. I've been burning an average of $15.00 a day in gas chasing worthless leads "out of the book." All in all, I've spent far more (several thousands of $$$) than I've made with Liberty National.
The training they claim to give new agents is abysmal. I've seen companies with less than 10 empoyees with better training programs than Liberty National. I have constructed better training programs myself as a sales manager with several companies. No matter what you've sold before, insurance is a different animal. Don't count on past success to carry you through in the insurance business. It's simply not the same. My ex-father-in Law was in the insurance business for a short time. He told me that the wash-out rate for new insurance agents was 92%! From my observations, I suspect this is still true. With my training programs, I never had a sales rep fail. I suspect Liberty National counts on vast numbers of new/prospective agents coming through the door and a few of them working out. This seems to be common among insurance companies overall. I've seen a large number of new agents coming through the door to only disappear a couple of weeks later.
If you've got money to burn, go ahead and join Liberty National. You just might be the one that succeeds. You'll need a large number of friends that you can sell and wide ranging contacts. If you have this, you just might be able to make a living. It is well known that insurance sales is one of the most lucrative sales positions there is. A successful insurance agent can literally make $100's of thousands of dollars a year. It's just that there are very few of them and they get all the glory.
.
The truth as I see it
Whitwell,#3UPDATE Employee
Wed, May 19, 2010
I have carefully read the reports here and I understand how the author feels. I felt that way, too, at times about many opportunities in life, as well as Liberty National. The truth of the matter is, the greater the opportunity, the greater the responsibility required to apprehend it. I've always thought I'd have loved to purchase some of that cellular bandwidth the FCC auctioned off many years ago! But the truth is I couldn't have afforded to pay the price nor capitalize on the opportunity. Not everyone who aspires to greatness reaches their goal. How often I have aspired to some great task and fallen short because of my own unwillingness to dig in and do what it takes to get the job done. How many times have I wanted to blame the opportunity instead of taking personal responsibility for my own failure? I can tell you from personal experience that hurt people hurt people. How I have wanted to lash out at others because of my own failures. It's a common human condition.
True, every commission sales opportunity, whether Liberty National or as an outside sales rep for some manufacturer, begins with those in our network. Good sales people have good networks. Not every product fits the program of ANY consumer, be it a two-step wholesaler, reseller or your mom & dad, siblings, close friends...
True, not everyone will produce a six figure income. In commission sales, income is directly proportionate to time, effort, experience, and ability. Timing is essential! That is why in sales you normally start out in the warehouse (or something), then inside sales, then outside sales. Not everyone is a born people person, either. Gregariousness is a trait, usually. Most of the truly high-powered sale persons I have known are ADHD to some extent. They had to learn focus--but once they had they were a force to be reckoned with.
Being negative about Liberty National is as easy as being negative about anything else in life. Chances are those who feel they've been "burned" are just that--"burned"--burned about life, burned about those around them, just deep-down burned. It's a heart condition.
Liberty National is a challenge, not a socialist free-ride. Like any stallion, you may be bucked off--riders beware! BUT, THE STALLION PERFORMS. IT'S YOUR MISSON TO TRAIN THE STALLION. For the fainthearted among us... you can be more than you are but never more than you think you are. You may wish you were a concert-pianist but unless you put in the long hours, you really don't want to do what it takes.
Anonymous
Houston,#4UPDATE EX-employee responds
Fri, April 23, 2010
Background check does not occur until after the person passes their insurance test
Liberty will appoint you with them provided you don't have a debit to another company of more than $500
That debit, or having a "vector" would be the only thing keeping you from getting an appointment with Liberty
Bonuses are paid to upper management dependent upon how many "licensed" agents they appoint. So they'll bonus if you sign up for class and come onboard, or by recruiting you from another company
Directors are required to have 15 recruiting files per week. You completing this "background check" is one file. In actuality, your file will sit there until you pass the state exam, nothing is done until you have your insurance license
Answers
Macon,#5UPDATE Employee
Wed, March 10, 2010
Liberty National has been in business since 1900. The company is sound and stable. There are a few things that have to be remembered about the insurance business and Liberty National that whoever wrote this complaint did not explain:
1. The fees that were mentioned do not come to Liberty National. To sell insurance a person has to be licensed. That license costs money which is the employees responsibility to pay. If the employee doesn't work out with Liberty National but is licensed, they take their license with them and can work for another company. The cost is $75 for a temporary license, $115 for an online class that the state of Georgia requires a person to take before they sit for the actual licensing exam, which is an additional $90. As of January 1 there is also a $53 fee to be fingerprinted. None of these fees are required by Liberty National. They are, however, required by the state of Georgia.
2. It is stated the the VP glorified Liberty National. What does this person expect? Liberty National is a good company. People who do what is asked of them are paid very well. Nothing in the VP's presentation is false. It is all based on company averages and facts.
3. While the first interview is held in a seminar type setting it is expected that anyone who is interested complete an application for employment. On any application with any company that you apply for a social security number is requested. Should a person choose to try a career with Liberty National a background check is completed, but that is not until after management has deteremined that the applicant is an acceptable fit for the company and that the applicant has shown that they are serious about a career by paying one of the above mentioned fees for licensing. Liberty National only acts as a middleman for these transactions.
4. It was said that Liberty National "preys on people who are desperatly seeking a paycheck to provide for their families". This is an outright lie. Liberty National offers people who want a career an opportunity to make as much money as they can by selling insurance and helping the needs of clients. If a person has the "insight" to walk out and pass on a great career with fantastic benefits, that's not Liberty National's fault.