Your first 90 days as a telesales life insurance agent: a week-by-week ramp

What should my first 90 days look like?

Expect three phases: license and contract, learn the process, then take live calls and build habits. The phases overlap. Your timing depends on your state, your study speed, and carrier contracting. The plan below is a practical template, not a promise.

Epic Life Group is an independent life insurance agency, not an insurance company. Agents sell life insurance by phone, mostly on inbound calls. Epic Life states that no prior insurance experience is needed and that it helps new agents get licensed. Training is mandatory and hands-on.

We do not state income figures. Commission income depends on production, lead spend, chargebacks, and contract level. Treat the first 90 days as an investment period. Plan cash for it. See compensation.

The week ranges are a planning guide only. They are not a guarantee. A state exam date, a background check, or a carrier delay can move them.

Weeks 1 to 2: How do I start the licensing process?

In the first two weeks, choose your resident state path, enroll in pre-licensing education if required, and schedule your exam. Set up a daily study block. Ask your agency what support it offers.

Do these things:

1. Check your state’s rules. Look at your state department of insurance site for pre-licensing, exam, and fingerprint rules. See pre-licensing education.
2. Pick a study plan. Block the same time each day. Short daily sessions beat long cram sessions.
3. Schedule the exam. Book a date that gives you enough study time but keeps momentum.
4. Start fingerprints and background steps if your state requires them. See fingerprinting.
5. Set a cash plan. Add license costs, lead costs, and living costs for at least the full 90 days.
6. Ask your agency for the onboarding steps. Epic Life offers resources and guidance for licensing. See licensing.

Read the how to join an IMO checklist before you sign. Know your fees, release terms, lead costs, and chargeback rules from day one.

Weeks 3 to 4: How do I finish licensing and begin contracting?

Pass your exam, receive your resident license and NPN, and begin carrier contracting. You cannot sell until the license is active and the contracts are in place. Use waiting time to study products and scripts.

After the exam:

• Apply for the license and confirm it on NIPR or your state site. You will receive an NPN.
• Start contracting. Your agency submits you to carriers. Epic Life says it offers contracting support. See contracting.
• Plan additional states. Epic Life states a minimum of 10 licensed states for its agents, and that its most successful agents hold licenses in 25 or more. Read the multi-state licensing guide.
• Learn carrier systems. Get access to portals for quotes, e-applications, and policy tracking. See e-application and agent portal.

If you are still waiting on a carrier, ask your trainer what you can do in the meantime, such as listening to recorded calls or practicing in a simulator. Epic Life lists practice and simulation for objection handling as part of its AI training.

Weeks 4 to 6: What should I learn before live calls?

Learn the sales flow, the products you will sell, the carrier rules, and the compliance basics. Practice out loud. A strong foundation here saves you chargebacks and complaints later.

Focus on five areas:

1. Products. Epic Life lists final expense, mortgage protection, term life, whole life, indexed universal life, accidental death, and fixed and fixed-index annuities. Start with the one or two you will sell most. See final expense agent.
2. Needs-based selling. Learn to ask questions before you quote. See needs-based selling.
3. Underwriting basics. Learn how health questions, build charts, and ratings affect the client. See underwriting.
4. Carrier rules. Focus carriers include Aflac, American Amicable, AIG / Corebridge Financial, American Home Life, Ameritas, F&G, Mutual of Omaha, Royal Neighbors of America, and Transamerica. Learn their product limits and state availability. See carriers.
5. Compliance. Learn call recording consent, privacy, and no-misrepresentation rules, plus how TCPA and Do Not Call rules affect your lead sources. See TCPA and our lead guide.

Use the technology. Epic Life describes a customized CRM, a comparative quoting tool, GIACT bank-account verification, and AI follow-up. See technology. Learn to use each before the pressure of a live call.

Weeks 5 to 8: How do my first live calls go?

Start with supervised calls, review each one, and fix one thing at a time. Your first calls will feel slow. That is normal. The goal is a clean process, not speed.

Epic Life states that training uses real leads to teach its sales process and carrier systems, with daily training and one-on-one sessions. It also describes AI call analysis with custom feedback and scorecards, real-time guidance during calls, and compliance flagging of risky language. See training and inbound calls.

For each call, work through a simple flow:

1. Verify the caller’s state and your license there.
2. Build rapport and confirm the reason for the call.
3. Ask needs questions and listen.
4. Check budget and health fit.
5. Compare options. Explain the plan in plain words.
6. Handle objections honestly. See objection handling.
7. Complete the application accurately. Verify the payment account.
8. Explain the next steps, including the first billing date.

After each call, take two minutes to write one note: what went well, and one thing to change. After each day, review at least one recording with your trainer.

Weeks 7 to 12: What habits build a steady routine?

Build a daily schedule, track your numbers, review calls, and follow up on every issued policy. Habits matter more than motivation. By the second month you should see which parts of the call need work.

Track these numbers weekly: calls taken, presentations, applications submitted, issued-and-paid policies, and lapses. Epic Life states its analytics cover conversion rate, call length, and objection frequency. Use the pattern, not a single day.

Watch the delay between a sale and a paid policy. An application is not income until the policy is issued and paid, and an early lapse can reverse it. Read life insurance chargebacks.

How do I handle money in the first 90 days?

Assume low or uneven income at first, keep a reserve, and track every cost. Commission arrives after policies are issued and paid. Lead costs and living costs arrive sooner. Chargebacks can come later.

Practical steps:

• Budget for the whole period. Include license costs, lead costs, tools, and living costs.
• Separate business and personal money. Use a separate account.
• Set aside tax money. Agents are usually 1099 contractors and handle their own taxes. Talk to a tax professional. See the IRS independent contractor page.
• Reserve part of each commission for possible chargebacks.
• Know your lead cost per sale. Use the worksheet in our lead guide.

Epic Life states that agents buy inbound leads at a discounted rate. We do not call them free. Ask for current prices and refund rules before you buy.

What mistakes do new agents make?

The most common mistakes are rushing to sell before the process is solid, ignoring the numbers, and skipping follow-up. Each one is fixable. Most cost money through chargebacks and lost leads.

• Selling a plan the client cannot afford
• Skipping payment verification
• Not following up after delivery
• Quoting in a state where you are not licensed
• Ignoring compliance flags in call review
• Spending all of an advance
• Switching scripts every day instead of testing one change at a time
• Waiting for motivation instead of keeping a schedule

If you feel stuck, ask for a one-on-one session. Epic Life lists one-on-one sessions and a help desk as part of its support.

How do I know if I am on track at day 90?

You are on track if you are licensed in your first states, contracted with your core carriers, comfortable with the call flow, and tracking your numbers. Income is not the only measure at this stage.

A simple checklist for day 90:

• Active license and NPN, with a plan for more states
• Contracts and appointments in place for core carriers
• Comfortable with the sales flow and compliance rules
• A weekly review habit
• A cash reserve for chargebacks
• A clear read on your cost per sale

If several items are missing, talk to your trainer and adjust the plan. If you are still unsure about the fit, remember that Epic Life states releases are provided quickly if it is not a good fit. Compare your path with captive vs independent, and if you want to build later, read about overrides and downlines.

Next step

Ready to start? Apply and ask for the timeline for your state, the training plan, and the costs in writing, so you know what the first 90 days will take.