I've coached a lot of people into their first year as life/health/mortgage protection agents, and the #1 thing that kills people before they even get started isn't the licensing exam — it's picking a lane too late.

Most beginners spend their first 90 days bouncing between life insurance, health, final expense, and mortgage protection because "more products = more sales," right? Wrong. It splits your attention and you end up mediocre at all four instead of dangerous at one.

Here's what actually works:

1. Pick ONE product to master first. Mortgage protection is usually the easiest entry point — warm leads (new homeowners), simple pitch, fast underwriting.

2. Get licensed before you "figure out your niche." You can't sell anything without the state exam done. Most people can knock this out in 2-4 weeks studying 1-2 hrs/day.

3. Your first 10 clients matter more than your first 10 leads. Everyone obsesses over lead gen. The real skill is the follow-up sequence and knowing how to run a compliant, unrushed first appointment.

If you're thinking about breaking into this industry, the barrier to entry is lower than people think — but the dropout rate in year one is brutal because nobody teaches the actual sequence. Happy to answer questions if anyone's considering it.