Think-Thank-Thunk

Much has been said about Primerica. Still, many have questions. Is this a company I can trust? Do I have to recruit people to make this work? Will the products actually help people? Can I really make a living doing this and maintain my self respect?

The rest of this page is devoted to answering those questions.

But I need your help. Do you have a story to share? Are you currently, or have you ever been a Primerica representative? If you have some experience actually working with/for Primerica there are hundreds of people who need to hear your story. Please email me at chris@3thinks.com with a report detailing your experience. I will then post your story on this page for the world to read and learn from. I may edit for spelling and grammar, follow up with clarifying questions or add headings, but beyond that you’re experience will be posted as is.

Please do not contribute (email) if you are still in the decision making process, or simply want to voice an opinion. The place for questions and/or observations from outsiders is in the comment section below. Good or bad, positive or negative, I will only publish stories from people with actual experience. Please do not email me with your opinions if you haven’t experienced Primerica in some capacity.

My hope is that we can collaborate here to create a valuable resource others can use to make educated decisions about Primerica and the business opportunity they offer.

And now, let the truth be told:

3/22/09–With Primerica 2 Months: How it all Begins:
By Eric

An Introduction
I recently got on board with Primerica about 2 months ago. I am currently working for AT&T and had a business customer come in inquiring about certain types of PDA devices. Upon giving the customer all of the information I had on the certain device, he advised me that he still had time left under his current contract with another cell phone company & that he would have to wait & switch & I obviously understand the situation & thought that would be it. I noticed the gentlemen had a large championship style ring & asked him if he had won a Superbowl. He said he had not, & although he didn’t necessarily need to share the information with me, he explained how it was an income recognition ring from his company. I found it rather interesting, thanked the gentlemen for his time, & gave him one of my AT&T business cards for the future.

An Invitation
A few days later I get a phone call from the customer randomly. He explained to me that he liked how I was very explanative with him & not pushy like normal sales people even when I knew I wasn’t getting the sale that day. He asked me if I planned on being with AT&T forever & I thought about it & said no. He briefly continued to explain to me furthering the conversation from before that his company helps people build their own business’s & become financially sound. He then asked me if I’d be interested in coming down to a company overview seminar to find out a little bit more about a company called Primerica. After some thought I accepted & went down for the company overview called a “Fire your boss” seminar, led by one of the founders of the company who was currently a National Sales Director.

The Presentation and Compensation
I sat through the presentation (which I found very informative & inspiring) explaining how the company helps people learn how to become financially sound & improve the quality of their life. The way they explained the commission makes sense, & here’s where most people’s views of Primerica seem to go sour. They pay like Real Estate, or a travel agency. There’s a broker, who under him has sales managers, who under them have agents & sales reps. When The agent makes a sale, the sales manager gets an over ride, & the broker gets an over ride as well of course.

Though with real estate, the broker never wants the sales rep/agent to become the broker, because then he wont be able to make commissions & the successful agent will probably end up going elsewhere. With Primerica, the company WANTS you to succeed. There are a lot of different tiers & promotions, & the top of the ladder is a “Regional Vice President” with the company, & the entry position is an agent.

The gentlemen who came into my AT&T store & invited me to come on board was a Regional Vice President with the company for over 20+ years. It’s easy to tell that the gentlemen is clearly established, successful, & did not need to spend any of his time dealing with a young 23 year old AT&T sales rep. But he did. My Regional Vice President (RVP), in the time that he has available & in the time that I have available, has shown me a great deal about the company, the financial industry, & how to become financially sound.

Why is this?

Building a Business of Your Own
Well if I become successful & do business for the company, for him investing his time with me, of course he will make an over-ride, which, I have no problem with. But the beautiful thing about Primerica is, he has a vested interest in my success, because if I do continue working my way up the ladder with Primerica, eventually get my own office & become a Regional Vice President, there’s incentive for my Regional Vice President having trained me & shown me the way to get to that point.

With a Real estate company, they want you to continue working for them & selling forever.

Now, of course, people bring up “pyramid” & Amway, & stuff like that. To that I say, “What business is not a pyramid?” I work for an AT&T authorized retailer. AT&T pays my company, my company pays my store owner, & my store owner pays me. My store owner never wants me to have my own store or take over them. My present company isn’t showing me how to own my own business, or become financially independent.

Helping People
With my first client, my first appointment, we were able to help a client paying $865 a month for less than $1 million worth of cash value life insurance he had over 4 policies. We were able to help him cut his monthly premium down to $265/mo for the same amount of coverage with $25,000 on both of his children. That’s over $7000 a year we were able to save the client, plus the investment opportunities we’re able to offer. Most people don’t know what they’re getting & what they’re paying for with insurance, & Primerica helps people understand & gain a better perspective of where they’re spending their money.

Yes there are other aspects to the business such as recruiting & training, but in what business do you not train & bring in new people that you want to share your success with. While most companies are downsizing, Primerica is always expanding & looking for good new people who would like to either; A) Learn how to become financially independent and/or B) Help others become financially independent & sound.

You get out of it what you put in. Most people do not succeed at lots of things in life because they don’t put forth the right effort. Nothing will be handed to you in life as you travel on & you have to work to put in time to see results. If you ever have any questions, don’t hesitate to e-maill me @ evan.snow13@gmail.com

Hope this helps you out there

“Do not go where the path may lead, go instead where there is no path and leave a trail.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson

Nobody has to remind you how busy you are. That you have a lot on your mind is a given. It’s common. It’s expected. It’s nuts. I get it. So do you.

I’m often so preoccupied on my drive to school that I forget there are two beautiful girls in the backseat–growing up.

I’ll never get this trip with them again. When we get to school, we all go our separate ways. Sometimes (luckily) I snap out of it and remember that this ride, this trip, this moment is unique and special, and VITALLY IMPORTANT.

I tune back in. I listen. I do what I can. And I’m thankful for this moment, because, you know–I only get one shot at it.

It’s a powerful thought. But this one next one will blow your mind. It’s a short story of Buckminster Fuller and his 4-year-old daughter. Read it. It will help you remember what’s really important.

I’ve been reading Gretchen Rubin for awhile now as well. She’s got some smart things to say about staying present. She calls it mindfulness, and she shares a thought provoking quiz you can take, and a touching slide show you can watch.

All powerful stuff.

Image credit

“I have noticed that the people who are late are often so much jollier than the people who have to wait for them.”

“We are generally the better persuaded by the reasons we discover ourselves than by those given to us by others.”