How do Northwestern Mutual insurance agents generate leads?
The simple answer to this question is - however they want. A deeper look into this topic reveals why this works for Northwestern and what the pros and cons of 100% commission are.
It all starts with a simple proposal - you can make tons of money selling insurance! Not only is this a lucrative proposal in itself, it is presented to one of the most vulnerable audiences - collage students. Northwestern invests millions in boosting awareness and recruiting on collage campuses and boasts a lucrative internship program.
After scouring the internet and browsing several Reddit posts and Glassdoor reviews it is clear that Northwestern Mutual does not provide its agents with any form of leads (aka. prospects) and many beginners choose to turn to friends and family to get their business started. This might not seem like a big deal at first, but can have dire consequences for the tactless.
As you can see from this Reddit users anecdote - trying to sell insurance to people from your inner circle who don’t need it is sure to burn down some bridges. This is not only this agents problem, but as you can see from the post above Northwestern Mutual also gets dragged through the mud. This causes people to question the legitimacy of the company and categorize it (correctly or not) as a pyramid scheme.
So what lets Northwestern Mutual get away with this and get ranked #1 on a list of best life insurance companies in 2021? It seems they have two things going for them. First, their prestige. The company is an old (Est. 1857) and well known financial institution. Even if some people think the sales pitch from their high school friend sounds fishy, anyone who does 5 minutes of research will realize it is totally legit. Second, their training program. This “award winning program”, considered one of the best, is one of their main selling points for hiring new agents.
To conclude, to the question of “How do Northwestern Mutual insurance agents generate leads?” the answer remains - mostly by calling up family and friends, at least in the beginning. As for the question of “Is this worthwhile for the agents?” this is still being deliberated by current, past and future agents. Northwestern Mutual seems to be getting away with it, but is this a viable strategy for an insurance startup? - that remains to be seen.