Pros
They gave me a start in this business when I didn't have any previous experience. You get paid training for your insurance and securities licenses (by way of a retention bonus in your fourth month). You are treated very well at training and meetings by upper management. I had dinner with the CEO on my last day of the initial week-long training session. You will feel respected by everyone at the company. Also, you get a base salary ($2000 per month when I started in 2010) as well as that fourth-month bonus. Your first 90 days are based solely on activity, not on sales. However, you will want to have some sales in your pipeline so that you are not scrambling to make your goal at the end of your second 90 days.
Cons
Poor industry recognition. None of my prospects had heard of First Command. When you're just starting out, it's tough enough trying to make it, let alone almost everyone not having heard of your company. Granted, they cater to the military and I was selling to civilians, so that was tough. I would recommend this job more to ex-military people. Also, the company was fined by the SEC in 2004 for selling systematic investments to the military, and that really hurt their reputation in the industry. In spite of this, I felt that the morals of the upper management were very high from what I saw. You are given NO LEADS. You HAVE to sell to your family and friends. I was not comfortable doing this, and I did not make it. I believe I could have under different circumstances. If you know a lot of people with money or who need insurance, you could do very well here. Also, you are given very few existing clients, and the ones you do get already have all the products anyway, so no sales opportunities there. One more thing you should be aware of. This is a VERY independent job (making your own phone calls, doing your own paperwork, scheduling your own appointments, etc.) You are pretty much left alone to do everything, as well as pay for everything (you pay for your own office and supplies). My office rent was around $1000 per month, and then add supplies on top of that. If you are not entrepreneurial-minded as well as financially stable (which you should be if you're going to be advising other people on their finances), then stay away. You will be pushing mainly whole life insurance, because that is what your sales goal is comprised of. Term life sales hardly pay anything. If you are averse to selling permanent insurance, this is not the company for you. Selling investments is secondary.
