TL;DR Aflac is a MLM in disguise. They hire you for your leads and connections (and for you to recruit other people) and when those run out you're basically screwed. Every business that wants Aflac already has it.

I joined Aflac because I was told “we need agents” and “We have less than 25% penetration in the market” and that there was huge income potential.

The first two quickly proved to be a lie; in my town of 40,000 people, we have not one, not two, but THREE Aflac districts. All in all about 10 active agents selling the same products to a town of 40,000 people. And that's just the present. This company has been around for decades, after all, and you better believe that every major business that wants Aflac has already got it.

The first step, of course, is to make a list of everybody you might know or have a connection with that you could possibly sell to. The catch here is that you have no way of knowing how many of these businesses already have Aflac until you're appointed with them. Once that happens, your list of leads shrinks rapidly. My trainer, a lady who had lived in this town all of her life, and had done sales for 20 years, saw her list of leads almost completely eliminated before she even started. “Training” involves making a list of prospects, checking that against the do not contact list, and finding out everything you can about that business. It's a time consuming, exhaustive process that you don't get paid for (since Aflac is 100% commission based). Then you have to pray to whatever you believe in that you can actually reach an owner, and that they haven't already turned Aflac down a dozen times. Let's say that the agents in your region average 50 prospects per day, 20 days a month. That's 12,000 prospects every year. Does your town have 12,000 businesses (excluding the “one man shows”, chains etc...)? That's 240,000 prospects over the course of 20 years, and that's a VERY conservative estimate; we're told to try and get 20 activities per day minimum. Yes, those agents will prospect in other regions, but agents in your region will prospect in yours, so it averages out. How many businesses in your region didn't get hit with a single one of those 240,000 prospects?

So why is Aflac actively hiring? And/or why did they hire you? Listen to me very, very carefully: They hired you for your leads. They hope you have a few friends/connections that don't already have Aflac that you can sell to. Remember, this is 100% commission based, so it costs them almost nothing. And if you're lucky, you might open a few accounts; but here's the thing: Once your leads are dried up, you're basically screwed. Oh, and it gets worse: after they have you hooked, they start talking about “nominating”, which is their word for recruiting. Basically, they recruit you, you recruit other people, and those people recruit still other people. Now, if that's not a MLM I don't know what is.

So, what does it take to succeed at Aflac? Well for starters, you need a second source of income. Aflac is 100% commission based, and you work as an Independent Contractor (1099) Almost every agent I met has a husband with a good job that could easily support their family. If you're a single person, this is likely not for you. I don't know of a single recent agent that lives off just their Aflac income. A new agent might gross $40-50k in their first few years- if they're lucky-, and keep in mind that's gross, not net. You are responsible for every single expense, and if you do make a profit at the end of the year, you have to pay taxes on that profit.

You need nice clothes, office supplies, a good tablet or laptop, and most importantly, a reliable vehicle. Yes, they hired you in “City A” and you live in “City A” but you're not actually going to be prospecting in “City A”, you're going to be driving all over the state trying to find somewhere, anywhere that needs Aflac. Your trainer will tell you that your city has been hit hard, and that you need to go to all of these other small towns; of course, every other agent has also hit these small towns. Yes, you can deduct the mileage at the end of the year, but until then all of that comes out of your pocket. By the way, you don't actually get those deductions back as cash, rather you subtract the deductions from your gross income, then pay taxes on the net income to the tune of 30%. So a mileage deduction of $10,000 is really only worth about $3000. (I am not a tax professional, this is not tax advice, this is a broad generalization). So don't get too caught up in the whole “you can deduct that” talk.

You need a source of untapped leads. One of our agents lived on a military base and was able to open accounts that the rest of us couldn't get into. And I'm happy for her, I really am. However, that's not a formula for success for the vast majority of us. And even if you live on a military base you'd better hope you're the first agent who can say that or else they will have already bled the base dry. Your trainer and DSC will give you a whole laundry list of tips and places to find leads- the same list they've given to every agent that has ever worked there. The Chamber of Commerce website has already been worked a million times over. Every visible business has been hit up by every agent ever. The chains (Dollar General, etc...) are corporately owned and you will never get anywhere unless you personally know a C suite executive. Every city and public school is long since taken. Even Aflac knows how bad the situation is; every agent is advised to say “Aflac” as little as possible and never until asked. “Benefits consultant” “Independent Agent” etc... But NEVER Aflac. Because nobody wants to buy Aflac.

You need enough money to get through at least 3 months. Myself, my trainer, and another newer agent all cashed out retirement plans to start doing this. There is a LOT to learn, and new accounts come very, very slowly unless you personally know business owners that are committed to buying.

You need to be able to dedicate at least 40 hours a week for at least 3 months for training.

You need to be ruthless. Aflac is not a team sport, it's every agent for themselves. Your trainer is also an active agent and therefore has no real incentive to train you, except to steal your leads and prospects. Your training will consist of shadowing them as they run their business, and while you'll probably learn the mechanics fairly well, they're not going to do much to help you actually open accounts. Unless of course, they nominated you, in which case they get a cut of your commissions, or if you and your trainer are actually friends. If they don't know or like you? You're screwed.

You need a backup plan. Once your leads, connections and nominations have dried up they have no further use for you, and they likely already have new agents in the pipeline to replace you. By the way- “be your own boss” doesn't actually mean anything as a 1099; they can and will terminate you for any reason and you had better believe that all of your leads and prospects stay with the company.

Can you make money? Sure, the people who got in on the ground floor do very, very well for themselves,and you'll hear all about that, but those huge accounts they opened in the 80's and 90's and 00's are once in a lifetime opportunities. Agents today are basically prospecting businesses with 3-5 employees and to compound the difficulty- I can not possibly stress this enough- every business in your area has already been offered Aflac a dozen times. If you want to be successful here you MUST have multiple large business owners lined up and ready to buy with no hesitation, or you must have something no other agent has to get you in the door. And again, if your leads and nominations ever dry up, there's nothing to stop them from terminating your contract, and even if they don't no leads means no income.

So, is Aflac right for you? If you have a very, very good relationship with someone who will nominate you, take you under your wing, help you grow and learn, and, most importantly, won't betray you, then yes, this could be a good fit, assuming you can survive the first few lean years. This is not a get rich quick job. This is not a single income household job. This is not a job for loners or those new to town. Aflac is a ruthless, MLM meat grinder, and you're the meat.