Pros
You get a base salary which is based upon the size of your book of business, which if you have a decent sized book can actually be pretty substantial, if not then well... it's not all that great. Depending on man-power and how busy your staff manager is, you could get up to 5 weeks of supervised field time with a manager, which for those new to insurance, is crucial. If selling life insurance products to young people, the rates are great, really tough to beat. But for anyone over i'd say 50 (which most of the established customer base is) most people can find better deals elsewhere.
Cons
The products they sell aren't great. I often give a presentation to a prospective customer and am denied a sale because they have found other companies with a better product at a cheaper rate. This becomes increasingly more difficult as you realize most of your client base and prospects will be low income, retirees without much extra money to spend on over-priced insurance. The biggest con however is that you will spend most of your time collecting monthly premiums. Seriously, you will have to drive your personal vehicle around collecting, in some cases $1 monthly premiums in some of the worst parts of town you have ever seen. Do this times however many people are on your book, and you will see how much of your time is spent on "collecting," and how little is spent on "selling," which is where you you make your money. Your salary and commissions are also based on your collections and while you don't actually get paid to collect, they will dock your pay for any uncollected, or past due premium at the end of the month, even if it isn't your fault. This job would more accurately be described as "COLLECTIONS AGENT,'' as opposed to, "SALES AGENT." This compounded by your weekly and monthly sales quotas, becomes very stressful, especially if you have a family. Oh yes, if you don't have a license, don't expect much help from these guys. They will get you your temporary license (for about $300), give you a study guide and say, "good luck," as you are promptly thrown to the wolves and expected to study in the 3 hours of, "free time," you may have after your normal 12 hour shift. After being there about 2 months, you will take your insurance licensing test and if you fail it twice, you will be fired and they will replace you after getting 2 months of sub-minimum wage labor out of you.This job is also VERY expense heavy. You will have to pay for gas, postage, clothing, etc (without reimbursement). If home office sends out a past due notice to somebody on your book, they will bill you $0.50 for the stamp. Multiply this by as many as 100 people and you can see how your miniscule paycheck shrinks down to nothing. At the end of the day, you will bust your butt for very little money. It is nearly impossible to do everything you need to do on time, and on schedule. There simply aren't enough hours in the day. Combine this with the pay scale that is DESIGNED to find ways to screw you out of your money for things beyond your control, and you have a pretty crappy job here. Would not recommend at all. There are literally hundreds of other insurance companies out there, with better products, and better working conditions. Find one.