Leaving NatGen was the best decision of my life. To the vets still grinding there: the grass is greener
I used to think National General was going to be where I retired. I loved the company—outside of the pay, I felt the culture was genuine, leadership truly invested in my success, and my managers poured into me so well that I went from having zero sales experience to breaking records. The money naturally followed.
When I started right after the Allstate acquisition, things were great. We had the point system (hitting 43 points a week was top tier), a multiplier based on the book of business, and residuals. Back then, PTO was even paid out based on your previous week's commissions instead of just your hourly rate.
Over the last three years, though, once Allstate rolled out massive changes to the compensation plan, everything changed. I have never in my life felt so humiliated and undervalued at a job.
It took me a long time to finally walk away because I wanted to stay so badly. I had a great schedule, incredible benefits, amazing coworkers, and supportive leadership. I tried to justify it every way I could. But the constant pay cuts caught up with me; as my lifestyle improved over the years, those cuts became significant, and I was left living paycheck to paycheck.
The financial stress completely killed my performance. When you're stressed about bills, your heart just isn't in it anymore. On top of that, I felt awful pushing VIP—it's a great product on paper, but the overwhelming majority of clients are simply not a good fit for it.
I know there are still incredible salespeople holding it down at NatGen, especially the vets who have been there 5+ years. I know you are being deeply undervalued.
I’m fully settled into my new role now (still in sales, but out of insurance), and I’m back to making "old NatGen money," currently pacing around $180k a year.
Sometimes, the grass is greener. You are a great salesperson, and you are worth a hell of a lot more than low six figures.