Nothing is as it seems here - Anonymous employee AIL Midwest Employee Review

2.0
29 July 2016
Anonymous employee
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

There is a slight possibility of making good money with this company.

Cons

The business model is based on a bait and switch sales concept that many true sales professionals will find offensive. You will be treated like an hourly employee with mandatory meetings, mandatory office time, extensive control is exerted over your schedule down to when you are allowed to take a break at ten minutes till the top of the hour. Training program is ineffective and not thorough. You will feel completely unprepared when they are done training you and you will be expected to perform and complete tasks they never told you about or provided training for. Insanely long hours. Typically six days a week, anywhere from 10-14 hour days. Forget about this job of you have a family or any kind of social life. Insane amount of turn over because the system is difficult to make money at, the incredibly long hours, the tight control over your every action and the long drive times to get to your territory. They claim to give you leads. That's part of their recruiting sales pitch. However, the leads are simply names of people in the organization's the company has sold their "benefits package" to. They are not qualified leads and the majority either will not even see you because they know your ploy or they won't buy thinking they have to meet with you in order to get their free stuff. There are also a large number who just won't qualify based on their health. Once you sign on with them they tell you you need to get referrals in every home or you won't be able to maintain your business. This is after they tell you while recruiting you that they provide leads so you'll always have someone to call and somewhere to go. You are given names of union or organization members that sent back a response card asking for no cost "benefits" from a letter sent to them from this company. You call those members telling them you are trying to deliver those no cost benefits and set the appointment. Once in their home you are expected to deliver a memorized script designed to build up concern in the member and allow you to sell them insurance. They coach you on the words to say, how to act and how to create enough fear in the members that they will buy your insurance. Explain little to the client and stay away from the word insurance. Instead use terms like protection program, important benefits and tell the members that their union set these benefits up for them. The compensation isn't bad but they will tell you it's the best in the industry. The effective commission rate is around 30% which is fairly low for the industry. The weekly bonus pushes that up to closer to 40%+ However the bonus is based on production and will vary dramatically. The company only wants to approve those in very good health. Anyone with health issues are held and scrutinized harder and then charged a higher rate. That affects your commission and bonus as well. These are called trial applications and rated policies. Once you sign up a member and make a sale, they are fair game for anyone in the office to call on and upsell. You then change your job title from benefits specialist to policy service manager and call on existing policy holders over and over again until they finally sit down with you and you sell them more insurance. Of course if the client gets irritated that they keep getting harassed and cancel, you might lose the prepaid commissions you received and will definitely lose the renewal commission you earned. I have seen an incredibly small handful of people make it more than 3 months while a very large number of people quit during that time. This is the reason for this post. Not to discourage but to enlighten before you quit your job based on what the recruiter said over the phone.

Explore other reviews about AIL Midwest

5.0
1 Aug 2023
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

You can become the best version of yourself here. The same cannot be said for most employers.

Cons

Have to have hustle or you will likely not succeed

5.0
20 Nov 2018
Anonymous employee
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

In my time with Surace-Smith, I have grown myself in more ways than I had thought imaginable. I came in as an aimless guy, wandering from job to job and never feeling like I had the right fit. I never felt any passion towards another job or the people within the job. Now, I have a full vision for myself, my family, and those surrounding me. I've reached goals I never knew I could and gained support from the leaders here very quickly. Surace-Smith is a culture where EVERYONE wins. No matter whether you're brand new, 6 months in, 1 year in, or 5 years in there is always someone ready to help you and guide you to the next place you want to be in your life. I've never seen my commitment levels and discipline align so well until I began this job. That's not even mentioning the part where we get paid. I went from single digit savings to five digit savings in less than 6 months, also stopped living paycheck to paycheck. This place of employment is exactly what you make it. If you want success and a greater vision, you'll have it here no doubt.

Cons

Sometimes it feels like things aren't quite clicking (just need more practice and development) Structuring a job that is not simply 9a-5p Success and accountability go hand in hand so you have to be coach-able and accountable

12
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