As a network marketer, with almost 10 years of financial services experience, I’m often approached by World Financial Group representatives to take a look at their business. And, while I never became a WFG rep myself, I did do quite a bit of research on how they started, what they sell, how what their track record has been. If youre looking into the World Financial Group business opportunity, dont join at least, not until you read this review. In this short article review, I will highlight WFG’s background, the various services they market, their pay plan and, whether or not WFG is a scam.
World Financial Group, formerly known as World Marketing Alliance (WMA), is headquartered in Duluth, Georgia and was originally founded by Hubert Humphrey in 1991. Before starting WMA, Humphrey was the #1 Producer for A.L. Williams, now known as Primerica. After Art Williams sold his company to Sandy Weill and The Travelers Group, Humphrey decided it was time to start his own company.
Today, Hubert Humphrey is no longer part of the company and WFG is now a wholly owned subsidiary of Aegon, one of the worlds largest life insurance and pension groups, and a strong provider of investment products. WFG markets various financial services, including life insurance, investments and mortgage products though a multilevel marketing model. Several of World Financial Group’s industry partners include some big names including, Pacific Life, TransAmerica, John Hancock and Hartford Life.
As of this writing, the company has a sales force of 85,000 life insurance licensed representatives, and is doing business in the United States and Canada. Its rumored that the company recruits close to 10,000 new associates every single month, which is pretty impressive for a financial services-based direct sales company.
To join the company, there is a start-up cost of $100 ($125 in Canada) plus any licensing costs that the state in which you live charges. Give or take, it will probably total anywhere between $500-$1,000 for all your licenses, and about 20-40 hours of licensing time. Unlike other network marketing companies that allow you to make money the minute you join, WFG requires its reps to get licensed before they can get paid. And, while this might look like a negative point to some people, keep in mind that because youre dealing with financial products, you must be licensed. The cool thing is that, once you do get licensed, you can make some big commissions for simply writing sales.
Another aspect of WFGs compensation plan is that while there is a licensing requirement, and it will take a little longer to train people because youre dealing with financial products that may get complicated, you only need a handful of producers to make a good income. For example, you can potentially make a multiple six-figure annual income with just 25 active reps.Obviously, you will need to bring in a lot more than 25 people to get 25 people producing, especially because only a small percentage of recruits will get licnesed, and from those that get licensed, only a handful will actually produce. Even still… building 25 producers, who sell 2 or 3 products monthly, is a lot more do-able than building a team of 15,000 to 20,000 reps.
Lastly, there are several other incentives in place including: Contests and trips, a Luxury Car Program, Superbowl Rings and stock incentives you can earn for building a strong business.
With that said, you do have to be aware of all the fees you can incur for building your WFG business. Besides the licensing costs I mentioned earlier, there are costs to do other lines of business, especially if that line of business requires a state license. Theres also E&O Insurance (Malpractice insurance for financial representatives) that will run you close to $100 a month. Also, may be some fee to do business in other states, depending on what products you plan on selling in those states. If youre serious about building a financial services organization with WFG, then dont get too caught up with these fees. After all, if you were to start a traditional financial services firm, you would easily pay much, much more than this.
In closing, World Financial Group (WFG) is definitely not a scam. It may not be for everyone, but it is clearly not a scam. If you put in the time and effort, you can actually build a very lucrative business and make a multiple six-figure income a year.With that said, simply joining WFG does not mean you are guaranteed success. The only thing WFG gives you is a chance to build a business.Ultimately, your success will rely on your ability to brand yourself, market and generate more leads than you can get to. Its extremely vital, if youre serious, to obtain the knowledge and skills that will allow you to personally sponsor 10-20 reps a month. Without knowing how to generate leads, even though WFG is a great opportunity, you will be dead in the water.