YouTube Tips For Insurance Professionals with Rod Powell Sr.

Hey.

Hey. Welcome back to the Bullpen Sessions podcast. My name is Andy Neary and this is episode 314. Today I am joined by Rod Powell Sr. Rod has established himself as a distinguished and highly respected professional in the insurance and financial services industry. Currently he serves as the agency principal of Encore Insurance Group in Chesterfield, Virginia. He oversees a full service firm offering solutions in property casualty benefits and life insurance. Beyond his professional achievements, Rod is a celebr author with three notable books to his name. You should get a license, Black Pioneers of the American Insurance Industry and the recent follow up Black Innovators of the American Insurance Industry. His influence extends across the industry as a thought leader featured in podcasts and publications like Independent Agency Magazine, AM Best Insurance Journal, the Near and Far Podcast and the Insurance Nerd. He also hosts the popular you should get a licensed podcast which highlights other professionals and explorers career paths within the insurance industry. I wanted to have Rod on because this man has one heck of a YouTube channel. If you don't follow it today, I highly suggest you go check it out. The you should get a licensed YouTube channel is exploding with over 10,000 subscribers. So in this episode you're gonna learn why video content is important and how you can use a YouTube channel to grow your business. I wanted to do a deep dive with Rod on all things YouTube HEC. He even helped me out with my own channel. So if you have been thinking about diving in the video content game, you're still sitting on the sideline. Or heck, maybe you're just trying to start a YouTube channel. This is a podcast episode you're not going to want to miss. Rod Powell sr. Here we go. Rod Powell Sr. Welcome to Bullpen Sessions. My friend Andy.

Thank you for having me, man. Pleasure to be here.

You know, I know that we just actually met not that long ago and I was really intrigued by your story and so that's why I wanted to have you on the Bullpen Sessions pod. Thank you for joining. You know, you are an advocate, an educator, also the founder of Encore Insurance Group. You got a tremendous YouTube channel that we're going to talk about today. If you, if you're not, if you're tuning in right now, the channel is called you should get a license. So you're doing some really cool things with that show as well. So I just want to dive into a lot of avenues with you, rod, especially the YouTube channel. What you've done to create that kind of growth in the insurance industry as well. So really excited for this conversation. So I'm going to Ask you a question, I ask everybody who's on the show. The industry at large often finds us. Right. None of us really get into the industry by design. How did you find yourself getting into the insurance industry?

Man? You know, it's a really cool story that I. That I enjoy sharing. I mean, my background is in the entertainment industry. I never thought that I would be in the insurance or financial services industry. From the time I was 13 years old, I thought I was gonna be an R B superstar. You know, I heard Jodeci's, you know, Forever My Lady, I was like, that's what I'm doing for the rest of my life. You know, and for 20 years, essentially from time I was 13, up until, you know, my early 30s, you know, that's really where my focus was. It was on music, it was on entertainment. I started a music publishing company at 18, started a independent label shortly thereafter, was able to travel internationally, get overseas to the uk, had distribution agreements internationally all over the world, Went to France, like, tour, toured, you know, all over, and all across the United States as well. Had projects, chart on Billboard, had music, play some film and tv, had an amazing time in that industry. And then when I was in my early 30s, I found myself at a place where.

I said, man, you know, I'm really traveling a lot. My youngest son had just been born, and I really wish that there was an opportunity for me to create some stability in my life and one, you know, kind of just be home more and through. Through that journey in the entertainment industry, what most people don't understand is that you have to be. You have to be very fluid, you know, so sometimes it's hot, you know, sometimes it's cold. You know, I would kind of do things here and there, you know, odd jobs or start businesses or run other. Have other entrepreneurial endeavors. I've always been an entrepreneur, but in 2012, I had just released a project called Ready to Live. It was the last full commercial project that I had released, and it charted on Billboard. I was touring for that record, and I just came to a realization. I was like, man, you know, there's a lot that's happening with this album, but what's not happening is that, you know, I'm not making enough money, you know, doing this. I'm having some great experiences, but not enough money. And for the time that I'm taking away from my family, I need to find something different and pivot. And that being said, I always tell other artists who are in the same position that I was in, especially if They've kind of navigated their own career. They, I mean, you talk as an independent artist, just so you know, it's like you have to. You're calling the record stores to get them to carry your record, you're calling radio stations to get them to play. You're visiting the colleges, you're setting up media days, you're spending money on record promotions. This is not an easy task to do. So when people see performers out there, it's not easy. And I feel like anyone who's had even the most moderate degree of success in that space, they transfer that into other areas of business. They're going to be an executive at a Fortune 500 company, just hands down taking those experiences. I said, how can I find something that is going to give me stability but also going to give me more growth, opportunity and time, you know, to be in my family, put together, you know, my resume based on what I had done. And ended up getting calls from a bunch of insurance companies, one of those companies, just to, you know, kind of put a bow on the story of how I got into the industry. One of those companies called me. They were a worksite marketing company. They dealt in the employee benefits, space, cancer, accident, hard short term disability, life insurance, working with businesses during business hours, helping them to attract and retain employees, protect their bottom line, protect the employees as well. And it was a conversation that resonated with me. I met with that state manager, had no clue what a cancer policy was, didn't know anything about it.

But he started to talk to me about.

He started to talk to me about the time, you know, and he said, you know, if you put time into this, that first 12 months is going to be the hardest. But you're going to look up after 12 months, it's going to be the, it's going to be one of the best, if not the best professional decision you ever made. He said, but I'm not going to sugarcoat it for you. You're going to have to work, you're going to have to put your head down, you're going to have to stay focused throughout that time frame.

I said, hey, you know, if it's humanly possible for someone to be successful, I feel like I could be successful at it. So I'm go ahead and give it a go. Jumped in, you know, it was 100% commission at the time and stepped into it as an agent thinking it would be something part time while I'm still, you know, doing my music interest and things of that nature. And.

Within six months I was like, hey, you know, I think I, I think this is going to be it. You know, I think this is, this is where I'm going to, going to plant my flag in the space I'm going to be in. And here we are, you know, near 13 years later, still, still in that space, still having amazing experiences, still learning. I've met some, some great friends, mentors, you know, partners along the way, and just fortunate for the opportunity to be in this space.

Yeah, this is, for me, it's now all starting to make sense. The YouTube channel probably comes naturally to you being an entertainer at heart, but I am curious.

When you were an independent artist, selling yourself, which, as you shared, is not easy, I'm curious to know how much did that part of your career, because let's face it, you were an entrepreneur. You were selling yourself. Nobody else was going to do it for you. Like you said, you were calling the record stores, you were doing everything to pitch yourself to everybody else. How much of an impact did that have on your ability to come into the insurance industry.

And succeed at sales because you were having to sell yourself all along while you were in the independent, you know, being an independent artist?

Andy, Look, I sold 10,000 albums by myself, essentially, with people who are around me. And that's not a lot in the grand spectrum. And I'm talking about on the first, the first project that I put out independently.

I had help, first of all, first of all, in sales. What most people have to understand, and I think that the good ones do, is that it doesn't matter the product that you're offering. At the end of the day, we're in the people business, so you have to be able to make connections first. I didn't have successes because I was the greatest performer or the greatest, you know, musician or had the greatest records. Although, you know, my stuff was, was good. I feel like it was really good. It was because of relationships that have been established, you know, people. People like me and I like them, you know, and I. Good friendships, and they were willing to, you know, they were willing to help me out or even look at me in some cases over, you know, someone else who they, who they didn't know or who maybe kind of put a bad taste in their mouth. And I think that's, I think that's the core, you know, core of any business is understanding that we're in a people business building those relationships. And then, you know, when you build those relationships and you get those opportunities, make good on them, you know, show people that you know you're not going to let them down and that their opinion and thoughts of you were well warranted.

You know, I've heard this said before from others that have had a lot of success in sales that came from, you know, maybe it was an artist background in music or acting, you name it. You know, in those businesses, when you're told no, you're often told no because of your talent, right? Your looks, your ability, your singing, whatever it might be in our industry, you're. You're often told no. But it's not necessarily personal, right? But I've heard it from a lot of people who, who were in acting or a recording artist who were told no, and it was personal, that it helped them have a lot of success in the world of sales because you're just not as afraid of the no as other people might be. Just because you heard no so many times. Would you find that to be the case coming from music, coming from being a recording artist?

I think that's a great assessment. I mean, I'll go, I'll go even further is, you know, being in that world, it increases your risk tolerance almost to a fault. You know, where the things that would intimidate or scare most people just don't scare you. You know, I've been traveling, you know, from city to city, not even knowing where I was going to sleep that night, you know, so, you know, to go out and call a business, that's nothing. You know, it doesn't even. It doesn't even resonate in a. In a category of fear with me. Like, it's not comparable. So what I found, what I found when I got into this industry is that, you know, a lot of the things that were prohibiting people from going out and making, just making it happen, I just didn't. I just didn't experience. Not to say that I had. I didn't have my own challenges, you know, you know, things that I had to overcome that just, that just wasn't one of them. And I think that's the, you know, at the end of the day, you know, that's really what it's all about. You got to. You got to grind and hustle regardless of. Of what you're doing. And fear, you know, fear, you know, false evidence appearing real, however you want to interpret it, is not something that we really can allow to occupy our space if we truly, you know, believe in ourselves and believe in. In what we want to do. But I do want to touch on that.

That's it right there.

I want to touch on something with that talent comment, that talent piece. And, and the thing about talent is this, right? Just because you're talented doesn't mean you're a good fit for the gig. You know what I mean? If, if I'm doing, if I'm doing drill rap, I'm probably not going to be at the classical music venue, you know what I mean? If I'm. Just because I'm talented in this space doesn't mean I'm a good fit for this space. I think that is also transferable in this industry. Just because I might be technically proficient in a certain area or I may be able to converse in a way that.

Is a form of communication that's going to resonate with one person or not doesn't mean that it's going to resonate with everybody. And I think that lends to why there's so much opportunity in this space too because everyone has specific needs and everything is so customized around what we do on a day to day basis. So yeah, talent, you can have a ton of talent, but you got to have one, you got to have that work. And you also have to know where you fit.

Know your audience, right?

Yeah.

Where they say know your audience well.

And I think you, you bring up a really good point. Talent alone doesn't win business in this industry. You still people stuff to resonate with you. We do business.