What It Takes to Be an Agent
If you have an insurance policy with Texas Farm Bureau Insurance, chances are you know your Agent personally. You may have sat down with them around your kitchen table to review your policies, or stopped by your local office to drop off a check or say hey.
You may have noticed that the Agents come from a variety of backgrounds. Many are former teachers, businesspeople, stay-at-home parents, and everything in between. Some of them started out as policyholders and their Agent told them, “You’d be great at this job.”
So why do people decide to become a Texas Farm Bureau Insurance Agent? And what does being great at the job mean?
There are a lot of different answers to those questions.
Photo by Arts+Labor
What It Takes
Agents who work with Texas Farm Bureau Insurance learn quickly that it’s more than just a job. It’s being part of a team that helps its neighbors deal with some of life’s greatest challenges.
“This career is the biggest blessing you could ever imagine if you approach it the right way,” Justin Shafer says. He became interested in working for the company after Texas Farm Bureau Insurance Agents helped his family deal with the loss of his father.
“It made me realize this could be a career where I could help people,” he says.
Helping Neighbors
Texas Farm Bureau Insurance Agents don’t just write insurance policies. They form lasting relationships with their clients, who are often neighbors they see at high school football games or breakfast. The true reward of the job is getting to help in times of need.
Whether it’s a small house fire or an epic natural disaster, the community turns to its Texas Farm Bureau Insurance agency when they need help getting back on their feet, like after Hurricane Harvey, when Agents and adjusters worked day and night to keep offices open, and file claims and pay them out quickly.
Key to Success
No Agent can be truly successful without support. New Agents start out with an inherited client base, building on the trust formed with clients’ previous Agents. Teams of Agents work together in county offices, with a manager and a lot of group support; not to mention the mentorship program and top-down support from corporate headquarters in Waco.
“I love being a mentor and I’m really passionate about it because I remember what an impact mentors made on me,” says Kristin McGinty, who works with Shafer. “When you meet successful Agents and they tell you, ‘Hey — you can do this,’ it’s really encouraging.”
Culture of Caring
Taking care of its Agents has always been one of Texas Farm Bureau Insurance’s top priorities. By working with good people and training them to be the best of the best, the company ensures its clients get the best service. And everyone works together toward that goal.
“I don’t know a lot of companies where you can go to work and have the top three salespeople say, ‘Call me any time,’ and mean it,” Shafer says. “I’ve never been in a situation where the most important people from the top of the ship to the bottom are genuinely on the same page — that’s just a culture thing.”
That culture emphasizes the importance of family both at work and at home. “We love each other’s families, we know each other’s spouses and kids,” McGinty says. “We just cheer each other on,” she says.
Sense of Adventure
Of course, just because they are close doesn’t mean Agents aren’t competitive. For those who put in the hours and meet certain goals, Texas Farm Bureau Insurance offers incentive programs designed to reward folks who do a great job. Every Agent who hits a certain level wins, so they all cheer each other on. Rewards sometimes even include trips to places like Canada, Alaska, and Hawaii.
“You can see the world if you do this job the right way,” Shafer says.
Learn more about becoming a Texas Farm Bureau Insurance Agent below.
Coverage and discounts are subject to qualifications and policy terms and may vary by situation. © 2019 Texas Farm Bureau Insurance
