Complaint Review: Primerica - Minnesota

Ken... come on... you're not talking to a bunch of kindergarteners here. My biggest beef with your comments is the business about "thinking idependantly" (I think that's how you spelled it). Hierarchical marketing schemes like Primerica would crumble in a pile of their own filth if people thunk for themselves! Your company survives by making thousands of people waste valuable time and money thinking they're going to get rich quick, to find a few people that will achieve nominal success and make the company, but probably not themselves, a little money. If these companies wanted people to think for themselves, they would tell people their actual chances of financial success within the organization rather than leading cheesy motivational seminars where hundreds of "new recruits" and five or six guys in nice suits talk about striking it rich while avoiding the reality what is going on. The percentage of people who get suckered in to ventures like Primerica and actually make enough income to keep themselves above the poverty line without secondary employment is less than 1%. A company that would accept a figure like that does not care about people or families.

Ken in Bridgeport: Wow! People like you are the reason why people should avoid Primerica! "Most people join for the sure joy of helping families." Wow! I didn't know that Primerica was the Salvation Army! The only family Primerica agents want to help is their own. There is nothing wrong with wanting to help your own family, but Primerica agents don't have to lie and say "we are in it because we love helping people." Look if you really wanted to help people you would be teachers or social workers. There is a real need for people in those fields and their primary concern is helping people. I was contacted by Primerica and went to one of their presentations. Their main message was not helping families in need. It was more about earning six figure incomes and retiring early. In fact when someone is earning six figures nobody believes that their primary goal is to help people(except themselves). It is also sad that you say if you can't help somebody you will let them know. Fat chance! Since you have no benefits and work on commission what are the odds that would actually tell someone that Primerica insurance is not right for them? If you don't sell Primerica products, you don't eat! You also can't pay rent, which means that you will do whatever it takes to make a sale. There is nothing wrong with wanting to earn money, but Primerica lies to people and if the only way they can make money is by lying to people then they should be ashamed of themselves. Finally, I am appalled that you solicit your services on a website where dozens of people have reported being ripped off by the company that you work for. You really have no shame. Oh that's right you work for Primerica!

This is just a comment in general. The main problem with society as a whole is that people lack the ability to think independantly. Most folks have to be "encourage" by peers and strangers that what they are doing is either the right thing or the wrong thing. It's sad to see people's thought process reduced to the ramblings of others on a computer screen. If you want to know about the company or any company for that matter do your own "REAL RESEARCH".. Put your head in a book. See its history, but better yet try to predicts its future. I love helping families. Many companies do offer the same service as Primerica. So now it comes down to the people which whom you have connected with. Most people join for the sure joy of helping families. Others, however, join just to make a buck which is sad because then both the company and that family suffers. I personally would never offer some a program if I truly didn't believe it would not benefit them and the successful agents would agree with me on that. If your reason for joining is simply to get rich quick, sorry buddy, wrong business. This takes time, effort and a overall caring toward the welfare of people's future dreams. I personally would suggest that anyone duked by an agent contact that agent's office b/c I'm 100% sure that the person in charge will not tolerate such behavior.

DMM please avoid Primerica at all costs! The fact that you have so many worries tells me that you have seen through their lies. In addition if you have other offers, you would be much better accepting them, because you odds of making more money are far greater with any other employer besides Primerica. I wouldn't trust those two agents that offered you advice. While you wouldn't be directly helping them, they are either aware of what they are doing and don't care or are ignorant of their wrongdoings. I myself have been contacted by Primerica and had the same fears. Trust me you are right DMM. Your brother has been brainwashed and you do not need to join him.

DMM You should really ask these questions to your upline or RVP but I'll throw in my suggestions. "1.) Why aren't we more informed before we are pressured to start. I mean that I would like to know every detail about the products before I go presenting them to people. I don't want to look stupid because I know nothing about the products." After you're legal(completely certified), you will meet with a potential client initially to gather the information for the FNA. You will then go back and enter the information into the system. In the beginning you will want to consult with your trainer or other people in the office.(No one has seen every situation). Before the second meeting, you can make sure you're comfortable with all of the suggested services. Buy the time you are field trained, you should have this covered anyway. Also, if you're not happy with your trainer, request another one. This is your business your building. "2.) I am a skeptic by nature and the presentation itself bothers me because (and maybe this is just the presentation that my brother was taught and he is passing to me and maybe all are not like this) during the presentation several questions are posed to possible clients/recruits in a very strange kind of condescending way. Example...."If you could make a lot of money helping others, is there any reason you wouldn't want to?" ok let's say "If you could be the king of the world, would you want to?" Same concept in my eyes. And there are a lot of skeptical people in the world and when you approach them in this way it is a complete turn off." This is part of sales. Each individual will have his or her own delivery and some will simply be better with people than others. About the making a lot of money.... There's no secrets here. You have to work d**n hard to get this done. Also, don't assume everyone is as skeptical as you are. " My trainer has requested that I set up training appointments. Which means I choose the people and set up the appointment with my potential clients and my trainer will come and do the presentation while I watch. Of course then he get all related compensation and I get no part of it. This doesn't seem fair to me. I think there should be a compensatory 50-50 split between the trainer and new agent. Not only that, my trainer was taught to do it this way....he will only do training appoinments if the potential clients are "HOT" market which means he will only do training if my potential clients are married with children, in a house, etc.... which bothers me because, first off I don't know many married people with kids in houses and I'll have to give away all those potential clients in the training process and get no compensation for this. Then when I start my business that part of my market is tapped. Secondly if I were to be in Primerica and other people wanted to join under me I would request that they choose people from diverse markets for their training appoints. For example, one married couple with kids in a house, one single person in a house, and someone in an aparment. That way my trainee would be trained at the end to be able to handle the diverse clientelle they could encounter throughout their career and I wouldn't have to hold their hand 6 months down the road when they have a potential client interested but they are single and they don't know how to handle it. " You need to be trained!!! If you sit there and do nothing, why should you be paid. You can't legally be paid until you are licensed. This is something you will want to do the rest of your working life. Think of it in the long term. You will do 99% of your future business in the correct market. Families with houses and kids and debt. These folks have a need for Primerica's products more than single people in general. You wouldn't sell sand in the desert would you? I'm not saying we can't help a single person. It's just not the market to concentrate on. Your trainer is not taking your clients. He's helping you expand your market. If you and he visit 10 clients. Five of those will submit referrals to you because they were satisfied with the service. Out of those 10 initial visits, you will probably get 30 referrals. You will be visiting these referrals when you are trained. These referrals will submit referrals. Make sense. This is how you build a customer base. The FNA is complimentary. You will also train someone one day. Your upline gets paid well when you make sell sevices. No one is stealing your market. The initial market should be turned over to you when you are ready anyway. "4.)I have been given no literature about the products or services and I have no clue how the compensation works." Why not. Go and get it. It sounds to me like you haven't talked to anyone. "5.) I think there is way too much recruiting involved and if I do decide to join the company recruiting would be my absolute last priority. My upline recruits hard and heavy at every meeting with a potential client. His presentations go something like this .......Hey were the largest company in the world YOU SHOULD DO THIS we can help get you out of debt sooners YOU SHOULD DO THIS you need more life insurance YOU SHOULD DO THIS lets get you invested for your future YOU SHOULD DO THIS Hey if you could make a million dollars is there any reason you wouldn't want to? Ok this is a bit sarcastic but you get my point. Does anybody have any real answers to the questions I posed? I am thinking I may not join, because I've already had other offers and I'm not sure. My brother I fear is a bit brain washed and I feel like this could jeopardize my relationship with him." If you want to build a business, you have to have people working under you as part of your team. Again, you're trainer may not be very good. If you don't like the way he's talking to your market, request another trainer. By doing FNAs and selling services you will be helping families and making some good part time money depending on how many clients you can touch. By building a team and learning how to recruit and train, you and your team will be servicing your office's clients while making who knows how much and teaching others how to build a business. You have a chance to be a financial advisor and run your own business. Not everyone is ready for this. You will not become wealthy from being a Personal Financial Advisor. You become wealthy by becoming an RVP. You have to recruit to get there. Don't be deceived. That's a fact. Hope this helps. If you're not going to commit and give it a legit try, you shouldn't waste your time or your trainer's.

DMM You should really ask these questions to your upline or RVP but I'll throw in my suggestions. "1.) Why aren't we more informed before we are pressured to start. I mean that I would like to know every detail about the products before I go presenting them to people. I don't want to look stupid because I know nothing about the products." After you're legal(completely certified), you will meet with a potential client initially to gather the information for the FNA. You will then go back and enter the information into the system. In the beginning you will want to consult with your trainer or other people in the office.(No one has seen every situation). Before the second meeting, you can make sure you're comfortable with all of the suggested services. Buy the time you are field trained, you should have this covered anyway. Also, if you're not happy with your trainer, request another one. This is your business your building. "2.) I am a skeptic by nature and the presentation itself bothers me because (and maybe this is just the presentation that my brother was taught and he is passing to me and maybe all are not like this) during the presentation several questions are posed to possible clients/recruits in a very strange kind of condescending way. Example...."If you could make a lot of money helping others, is there any reason you wouldn't want to?" ok let's say "If you could be the king of the world, would you want to?" Same concept in my eyes. And there are a lot of skeptical people in the world and when you approach them in this way it is a complete turn off." This is part of sales. Each individual will have his or her own delivery and some will simply be better with people than others. About the making a lot of money.... There's no secrets here. You have to work d**n hard to get this done. Also, don't assume everyone is as skeptical as you are. " My trainer has requested that I set up training appointments. Which means I choose the people and set up the appointment with my potential clients and my trainer will come and do the presentation while I watch. Of course then he get all related compensation and I get no part of it. This doesn't seem fair to me. I think there should be a compensatory 50-50 split between the trainer and new agent. Not only that, my trainer was taught to do it this way....he will only do training appoinments if the potential clients are "HOT" market which means he will only do training if my potential clients are married with children, in a house, etc.... which bothers me because, first off I don't know many married people with kids in houses and I'll have to give away all those potential clients in the training process and get no compensation for this. Then when I start my business that part of my market is tapped. Secondly if I were to be in Primerica and other people wanted to join under me I would request that they choose people from diverse markets for their training appoints. For example, one married couple with kids in a house, one single person in a house, and someone in an aparment. That way my trainee would be trained at the end to be able to handle the diverse clientelle they could encounter throughout their career and I wouldn't have to hold their hand 6 months down the road when they have a potential client interested but they are single and they don't know how to handle it. " You need to be trained!!! If you sit there and do nothing, why should you be paid. You can't legally be paid until you are licensed. This is something you will want to do the rest of your working life. Think of it in the long term. You will do 99% of your future business in the correct market. Families with houses and kids and debt. These folks have a need for Primerica's products more than single people in general. You wouldn't sell sand in the desert would you? I'm not saying we can't help a single person. It's just not the market to concentrate on. Your trainer is not taking your clients. He's helping you expand your market. If you and he visit 10 clients. Five of those will submit referrals to you because they were satisfied with the service. Out of those 10 initial visits, you will probably get 30 referrals. You will be visiting these referrals when you are trained. These referrals will submit referrals. Make sense. This is how you build a customer base. The FNA is complimentary. You will also train someone one day. Your upline gets paid well when you make sell sevices. No one is stealing your market. The initial market should be turned over to you when you are ready anyway. "4.)I have been given no literature about the products or services and I have no clue how the compensation works." Why not. Go and get it. It sounds to me like you haven't talked to anyone. "5.) I think there is way too much recruiting involved and if I do decide to join the company recruiting would be my absolute last priority. My upline recruits hard and heavy at every meeting with a potential client. His presentations go something like this .......Hey were the largest company in the world YOU SHOULD DO THIS we can help get you out of debt sooners YOU SHOULD DO THIS you need more life insurance YOU SHOULD DO THIS lets get you invested for your future YOU SHOULD DO THIS Hey if you could make a million dollars is there any reason you wouldn't want to? Ok this is a bit sarcastic but you get my point. Does anybody have any real answers to the questions I posed? I am thinking I may not join, because I've already had other offers and I'm not sure. My brother I fear is a bit brain washed and I feel like this could jeopardize my relationship with him." If you want to build a business, you have to have people working under you as part of your team. Again, you're trainer may not be very good. If you don't like the way he's talking to your market, request another trainer. By doing FNAs and selling services you will be helping families and making some good part time money depending on how many clients you can touch. By building a team and learning how to recruit and train, you and your team will be servicing your office's clients while making who knows how much and teaching others how to build a business. You have a chance to be a financial advisor and run your own business. Not everyone is ready for this. You will not become wealthy from being a Personal Financial Advisor. You become wealthy by becoming an RVP. You have to recruit to get there. Don't be deceived. That's a fact. Hope this helps. If you're not going to commit and give it a legit try, you shouldn't waste your time or your trainer's.

The reason you're not receiving all of the information about the products and compensation is probably one of two things. 1) your upline doesn't know what he/she is doing or 2) you haven't asked. Personally, I believe that you should be presented with these things right away as I was. The reason you're not able to be compensated on the training presentations is because you're not licensed in the field that is being presented. Or someone is being greedy. Even if you're not licensed in those areas, you should have something...like you licenses paid for, for the amount you would've made on the sales. At my office, my upline has all info out and at every meeting we work on learning more about, let's say, the SMART Loan and how it works. I, too, was very skeptical, but as I looked further into what we're doing, I can see how it works, and works well. About the recruiting, the way that works is that when you train them in, the company wants to thank you so they give you a percentage of the sales. So if you have 10 people in your team, you're making money when they do, and even if you don't work that day. It's how the world works. I would suggest finding a new office to work from.