Andy Neary, an introvert who runs Complete Game Consulting, argues that insurance salespeople don't need to network constantly or act extroverted to succeed. He uses LinkedIn video and one-on-one outreach instead of conferences, built his business as a solo sales team, and says forcing introverts into high-energy events causes burnout.
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This is a conversation that I've actually never really spent a lot of time talking about. And I don't share my journey as an introvert very often. In fact, most people would probably be led to believe that I'm an extrovert just because they see me out posting content all the time. I'm out speaking, I'm hosting webinars. It would be easy to believe that I am very extroverted. But I have to tell you, I'm actually the opposite. I am probably one of the most, one of the biggest introverts you know, you'll meet. In fact, it's interesting when I'm out speaking and delivering a keynote talk, being on stage, when I'm in the zone, on stage, in front of an audience, I'm in my zone of genius. However, when I'm done speaking, getting up on stage for an introvert is very draining. And so when one of my keynotes is done, I'll be honest, the only place I want to be at that point is in my hotel room by myself, winding down. Because being on stage, as much as I love it, is actually very draining because I'm an introvert. I am somebody who thrives on a one on one conversation a heck of a lot more being at a large networking event. That's why I don't go to a ton of conferences. It's a lot of people, it's a lot of energy that is very draining for me. And I don't know if you can can resonate with, but I know this for a fact, there are a lot of sales reps in the insurance industry who are born introverts, which means they are not born with the gift of gab or the gift of being able to sell the proverbial ketchup popsicle to a woman in white gloves. And we coach several agencies that have introverts in their list of producers in their team. And one of the things they struggle with is they are constantly trying to get these, these producers to be networking more. And one of the things I've told them is that you listen, you got to understand some of your producers are introverts and they are not going to thrive in a networking situation. Especially if it's a large networking event. That energy is very draining. Introverts are often the type of people who go to a networking event and are wallflowers for the first 10 minutes or so until somebody pulls them into a conversation. That's how I am. So they're not designed to just thrive in that type of environment. Why don't you leverage, why don't you let them leverage more of that one on one, center of influence relationship where they can go have a cup of coffee, a lunch with a center of influence and have that one on one conversation. So I'm setting the stage as an introvert, you know, somebody who does thrive better on a one on one conversation than in a large setting. It's important you understand who you are because if you are trying to force yourself as an introvert, you're trying to force yourself to be extroverted. And it, I'll be honest, I don't think it, it leads to victory. I don't, it does not lead to success because you're going to end up being somebody you're not. Like I said, you're not going to enjoy the process of doing it. It's going to be very draining physically and emotionally and you're just not going to get the results you want. And this is where I land on social media. One would be led to believe that an extrovert is designed to create social media content. And that's what I thought when I started my journey, you know, 10 plus years ago creating content for LinkedIn was am I going to be good at this? Because again, I, I introvert. I don't like putting myself out there, I don't like being out there. I like to be, I'm a pretty private guy at the end of the day and I don't know how I'm going to do. And what I realized was actually pretty surprising. And this is the, this is the message I want to share with you today. When I started diving into my journey as an introvert creating social media content, was it uncomfortable to record videos? Absolutely. Part of the reason was sitting in front of a camera when you hit record, even though you're staring at a camera in a room that is just, that's filled with nobody else but you, you have this sense that you're talking to thousands of people. And again, for an introvert that can feel very, very disorienting. And I had those fears at first too is hitting that record button. I felt like everybody was watching. What am I? You know, I didn't want to fumble my words, but I, what I realized at the end of the day was creating content gave me the opportunity to not have to be out networking and be out mixing with the big crowds as an extrovert, but instead actually bring prospects to me, which is a very, very appealing proposition to an introvert. When I started creating content and I started seeing the results. Having referrals come my way from people I've actually never met before, having direct prospects, DM me or email me saying, hey, we would like to meet with you. What I realized is I could create a successful prospecting blueprint without having to constantly be out there. And fast forward to today. As the founder and CEO of Complete Game Consulting, I am also the head of our sales team. Right now, I'm a sales team of one. We continue to grow exponentially because of our content and we are able to close sales because we are bringing in a ton of inbound leads, a ton of referrals, all because of our content. And again, as an introvert, as a guy who works at home and, and finds it easy to become a hobbit inside the home office, it's created a nice little, nice little strategy, a nice little workflow for us that we don't have to be out at the conferences, out mingling with people and networking with people, and we can grow a thriving practice. And that's what I want to share with you. If you're listening to this episode today and you also define yourself as an introvert and you find yourself in a producing position, whether you are hired by an agency or you run your own, or maybe you, you work for an industry solution, I'm here to give you some really good news. If you're willing to lean into the discomfort of creating content for social media platforms like LinkedIn, you can create a thriving business that doesn't require you to have to be out there all the time. And you can stay in your highest vibration, you can stay in your highest energy. You can create a prospecting blueprint that does not drain you.
