In 2002, Jose moved to Florida and picked up a sales position at his friend’s funeral services company. He flew in on a Saturday and started his first day on Monday. He enjoyed helping families through their most difficult times and offering the best solutions to celebrate their family members.
The company realized Jose’s potential and noticed how well he was doing. He was promoted, 8 months into this position, to manage a group of 15 people. In his 2nd year with the company, he received another promotion to managing 3 more groups (of 15 people each). Jose also met his wife, Maebell, while working there (see our February Agent Spotlight for her story).
In 2009, Jose began to feel a stir within him for more. “I knew I didn’t want to work for anyone else … I wanted to be my own boss.” He also said he wanted to work from home, have a flexible schedule, and get paid well for his hard work. He considered real estate, but the market was in a bad spot. In June, he left the funeral services company and in September received his insurance license.
Jose landed his first sales position with another insurance company. He was learning on the go – in a new field and in a new industry. He realized that he needed help; but didn’t know who to trust. Jose hopped around among a few agencies before he went online and found Eric Salazar (National Director of Sales).
“There are a lot of companies out there that you can work with, but you don’t know who is telling you the truth,” Jose said he didn’t trust Eric at first and only bought a month’s worth of leads.
“I didn’t buy anymore because I didn’t trust him yet. But, I said, ‘I want to be successful so I’m going to trust him and give him 6 months. It was the greatest decision I could make. I started to apply exactly what he was telling me and that’s when my business began to grow!”
Jose traveled to California to the Legacy Life home office to meet Eric, Mike Passaglia (President/CEO), and the staff. He said he was hesitant at first and wasn’t sure if he could believe this opportunity was true.
“I didn’t know it was the best way to do business, but now I see that if someone comes into this business and applies exactly what they say – you can save a lot of time and be successful.”
Jose expressed his appreciation for the Legacy Life team.
“I’ve been doing this (insurance) for a lot of years now and I don’t know if there is another company better. Legacy Life is definitely the best IMO in the market.”
Jose and his wife Maebell are both helping families protect their legacies in Florida with Legacy Life. In 2015, he expanded his business by opening another agency. You’ll see him as a regular on the National Leader Board – finishing in the Top 20 in the country in 2016 … almost tying his wife for the #15 spot. He’s on track this year and in the Top 20 once again. Watch out for this power couple helping the good people in Florida!
Jose remembers meeting with a couple in a small apartment in Florida – 40 minutes away from him. Normally his appointments run 20 minutes, but this particular meeting ran for an hour. The wife was being persistent because she really liked the options, but the husband was being very resistant. In the end, the wife convinced her husband that this was something they needed to do. Jose closed the sale.
A week later he received a call – they were canceling the policy. Over the next 2 months, the wife would call Jose – she was convinced that this is something they really needed to do. Jose went back to the home, knocked on their door, and struck up another conversation. This time the husband agreed that this was something they needed.
Jose received another call 3 months later from the wife and she began telling how her husband was a truck driver, was in a horrible accident, and died. Jose was moved after hearing what happened. “You never know … what impact we’re making for these families.”
Get Started:
“It doesn’t matter when you get your license. You can make as much as the person who started 10 years ago. You can get your license today and start selling. If you’re a hard worker, you can do very well here. And, if you don’t know something, eventually you’ll gain the experience to do well.”
Attach Yourself to Someone Successful:
“Nobody knows who’s going to be successful. The best thing you can do is find somebody who IS and do 100% of what that person says. If you try to do it on your own, you will not make it. If you stick with somebody who is successful, it will be easier for you. Give it at least 3-6 months and you will know if it’s good for you. Once you find it – stick with them!”
Jose and Maebell have been married for 8 years and have 2 kids. In his spare time, he loves to travel (at least every 3 months). But, you’ll likely find him on the weekends poolside, with a cold beer and firing up the grills (he has several for different techniques). “I could spend the whole day cooking for everybody else. I LIKE IT!”