Pros
Flexibility and "unlimited" comp. The best thing about the position is the freedom and potential for high commissions.
Cons
When I was brought into the position, how I would get paid description was nowhere near reality. Your pay structure is nearly 100% commissions. I was told it would be 60% commissions and the rest in bonuses, but in reality it was more like 90% commissions and only 10% bonuses. Was never told how pay would be captured if clients changed their minds up to 6 months of policy dates. We worked for a mostly life ins. agency and it was sell, sell, sell. Many times I saw things that would not be ethical to say the least. Clients were lied to on a weekly basis just to make a sale. It all began with management. Prudential seems to be in the business to jsut get a person to come in, work 2-4 years, get them to sign everyone they know in the world, and then hopefully they leave after 4 years. Nothing about how our agency was constructed, had any intent on keeping people in the business after 4 years, and this was passed down from home office. Everything was done to keep them there and then wash their hands with them after 4 years. From the high fees you had to pay as an experienced rep, to the low bonus grids that were available to you after 3-4 years. Horrible work environment, and almost everyone seemed to be working against you. Many cases of coworkers sitting down with your clients behind your back and never telling you. I was brought in with the intention of making over "$200K after your 3rd-4th year". I should have known better. In an agency of 80 people, only 4-5 people ever made over $150K/year. These 4-5 people had been with the company for well over 5 years and no one was making $300K after their 5th year with company as was briefly mentioned during the hiring process. My recommendation is, if you do not have a natural market you can work, do not even try and attempt this field. In years of working there, I saw so many poor souls come in, charge a ton of money on their credit cards to buy leads since they had no natural market, and fail miserably after 6mnths, forcing them to resign. Also, no matter how bad you are doing production wise, unless you do illegal things, they will not fire you within the first 4 years so they don't pay any sort of unemployment. Even after 4 years, they will ask you "kindly" to resign yourself, and politely warn you that it looks worse if they fire you vs. resigning.