How David Makes $8,000/mo as an Appointment Setter

Okay. We are in the studio. We've got David with us, community member for pretty decent while now. But David, I wanna bring you in so you could kind of chat on your experience coming from not in sales at all to getting into this high-ticket sales space, to obviously getting in the community and now doing what you're doing, which like Is, I'd imagine, something that a lot of people would want to be doing. So, uh, first and foremost, man, thank you for coming on.

Yeah, no problem. Happy to be here. Always, always happy to help back out.

For sure. Um, so let's, let's take it back, man, before, and, and I guess like share, share when this was, but like you weren't in sales. What were you doing before you even hopped into this space?

Yeah. So I'd been in like real estate marketing for like the past like 10 years. I was working like a title company doing marketing, just kind of climbing the corporate ladder, got towards the top and just kind of realized that the money I was hoping to make wasn't available to me. Like even after all that like time and work. So started like kind of reaching out to see different things. I think I did like the trial with dropshipping. I think a lot of us have done dropshipping.

Yeah.

Then I did like insurance sales and stuff for a little bit. Didn't like love that. And then kind of like tripped and fell in the high ticket space kind of on accident and just kind of, you know, stuck to it.

Yeah. How did you, when you tripped and fell and somehow found yourself in high ticket sales, did you, did you have any experience like going out and doing this, like attempting to do it on your own?

Uh, not very much. Um, I early on got like a singular offer through like Twitter, I think. Um, but like at that point I had already like consumed like some training, uh, through like Discords and stuff like that before I like attempted to do anything. I'm like a really like analytical person that likes to have things figured out at least a little bit before doing it. I know some people just like dive right in and Trial by fire.

Yeah. Yeah. I'm, I'm the same way. Like I wanna make sure all my, my steps are planned out and sometimes that's to a fault, you know? But yeah, you know, we're, we're both doing all right, so it's not too bad. But anyways, man, so you got into the space, you somehow landed an offer through Twitter. From what I understand, it wasn't necessarily the dream offer that you were hoping for. Um, when did the, you were, you've been in the community for some time now. When did the community come into play or like come onto your radar?

Yeah, I think it was about this time last year. I'd been in like another Discord, uh, server and you were in there as like a guest, uh, kind of talking about like networking and Facebook groups and stuff like that. And I think at that time, like that was really valuable to me because like, I didn't feel like I needed training. I felt like I needed an opportunity.

Yeah. And then it was just kind of natural, like you were, you're kind of already in the space. You're like, well, I might as well commit to it. Like, let me get in, get in here. See what, see what's all going on. What, what happened after, after you joined? Like how did things start to progress from there?

Yeah, so right away I was just still like sitting back. I was working, like I said, a 9 to 5 job. I had a mortgage and a car payment and stuff, stuff that I feel like a lot of people in the space don't have because they're a little younger than me. So I was still kind of like feeling it out. I was looking around trying to make sure I got the perfect opportunity. You know, you and I had done some one-on-one stuff, and like that kind of gave me confidence that like I was going in the right direction. So it was, it was a little bit of just like studying and And figuring out what a good offer looked like, you know, because in the beginning I think that I would apply for these offers. It felt like they were good offers and then they're like scams or like someone trying to get me to, um, buy their course or something like that. So like it took a little bit of time, I think, to figure out what a good offer was to where like then I could start building myself to compete for those offers.

Yeah. Yeah. What were some of the things that you started to look out for once you realized they were Important within the offers?

Yeah. Yeah. I think one of the big ones was figuring out like, you know, how good of an offer it was, was if they doxxed themselves, like if they were willing to like talk about like who they were and what they've done, what the numbers looked like. Some of the shadier people would just talk about like an opportunity that wasn't actually real so they could like hook you and, and get you to buy their course and stuff. It wasn't saying they'd give you a job. And then after you learn like how to get rid of stuff that's false and fraudulent, then it's like you start looking for base pays and how much money a company's currently making and why they're expanding. Things like that to kind of figure out like which one of these are hiring because it's a good opportunity that's growing and who's hiring because they have a crazy high turnout rate and everybody leaves in a month.

Yeah. Yeah. Those are all like, I would say some of the most important things and it comes with time. Like you have to consistently expose yourself to evaluating these opportunities. 'Cause if you just like look at one every now and again, like you're not really gonna be able to tell or, yeah, I mean, be able, you can guess, but you can get a vibe from it. But like, unless you're looking at a lot of offers, like it's hard to compare.

Yeah, when I was first looking, I would say that like I would spend like an hour to an hour and a half going through like Facebook groups and stuff pretty much every day, just trying to, I mean, first identify good ones and then apply to as many of those good ones as I possibly could.

Yeah.

Um, like I met John Cardis first, like actually like before I, I was in here. Um, that was like someone I identified really early on and like once I like met him, like the questions he asked and stuff, you could tell it was like, Trying to figure out if I was a good fit instead of like trying to sell me something. And like those, those kind of like questions and stuff became something that was really important also.

Yeah, that's a good point too. Like what kind of questions do they ask you on these interviews? And also, to be fair, John is a recruiter, but not like the offer owner, right? But still, it still applies. Um, so you, I know. Or I think I know that you probably ended up on maybe one or two other offers that weren't necessarily optimal before you landed the first one where you like started to gain traction, right?

Yeah, I had that first one. Um, it was like, it was, I was the only setter there. It was like me and a DM setter. Uh, I, I took it because they gave me $40 per qualified appointment. Um, I only got $50 a close, um, which kind of balanced it out, but it felt like it was more in my control. Um, so like during that time it was really just like get reps and figure out what I was doing moving forward and, um, trying to get my feet underneath of me. Um, Yeah. Obviously there wasn't a lot of money there, but it was still a really valuable experience. I mean, I think it's important just to, if you're able to afford yourself the lack of money and, and time to Uh, just kind of figure it out by actually learning on the job a little bit. There's just nothing like actual experience.

Yeah. Yeah. And so like for you, one thing that a lot of guys do is like they sit around waiting for the perfect opportunity and then they're not really applying themselves. And so that, that opportunity never comes and then they're like, oh, this stuff, it, I tried it, it doesn't work. But for you, you like got your hands dirty. Were you doing that part-time alongside your main job at that point?

Yeah, I was still working a 9 to 5, then I would come home and like 5:30 to 8:30 every day, I'd just be like calling leads as much as I could.

Yeah. So when, when did the, the first offer come where you like started gaining traction, like the one you were on most recently?

Yeah, that was like June or July of this year. It was actually like pretty recent. Um, I kind of figured out that there was, uh, like setter opportunities out there that required, that had bases.

Mm-hmm.

Um, but they were a lot more higher competitive. So then I started like trying to figure out what I could do to match the resumes of the setters I was battling against to, uh, get there. That's when I like really started dialing in with like learning a sales process and, uh, getting experience and, uh, like one-on-one calls with you and things like that. So where I feel like I could give myself an edge up. Um, so since I knew that I couldn't have the resume of some of them, I instead focused on the things I could, like learning to talk better, uh, making better Loom videos, getting a nice setup, things like that to where I felt like I could compete for those base pay jobs and get into a good offer to kind of start, you know, full-time.

Yeah. And then you, I mean, you went in there and you crushed that opportunity, like you were the top guy for. The whole time you were there. Um, and it was a, you know, not a small team. They'd been around for a little bit. Um, what were some of the things, like when you found that offer, what were some of the things that you did to get up to speed quickly and, and become like the top performer?

Yeah, the first thing was, and I think it's really important when you, I mean, once you're, you're around for a little bit, I think you can learn to read scripts without reading them. Uh, but to get there, I think one of the most important things was, you know, I would shoot Looms every day of me like going over the script so I could hear them back and figure out what was wrong with them instead of just practicing it over and over again. Like some people tell you, like I've heard people say like, read your script in the mirror.

Yeah.

Um, but that doesn't actually let you know how you sound. Um, so like, you know, I would shoot Looms on it every day and like identify the things that I needed to work on. And then the next day I would just focus on fixing that thing. And, you know, I did that repetitively until I got on the phones to where I, then I'd have real calls to kind of go back on.

Smart. Were other people doing that as well, or was that just you? Like on that offer?

No, it was something that the, the setter trainer in there had talked about, but I think that people just felt they were like above doing that. You know, they had been on the offer and stuff for a little longer, I guess. And, um, you know, I, I think a lot of people don't want, they want to put in the grinding work. You see a lot of people that are willing to grind. Um, but I think like in the beginning it's like 6 hours of grinding and 2 hours of studying and training is like the way to like really like ramp up quickly.

Yeah. You have to reflect, like you have to take a step back and look at things, you know, take your, take your emotions out of it and just like, look at things like, is this what, is this good? Is this what I should, is this what anyone should be doing within this role? A lot of people can't do that.

So yeah, yeah. Like I said, I think like the grind mentality is like really upfront in this space, but it's not treated the same way to like step back and learn.

Yeah, that's one thing, dude. 'Cause like I have a lot of people reach out to me and I know if people are reaching out to me, like they're reaching out to potential job opportunities about this, they're like, I have literally zero value to bring, but I will grind. It's like zero value. Like there's no, like, I already have 200 guys that I know that are ready to grind, you know? It's like, so the fact that you, you really, you identified that. And also you're not like some 18-year-old kid, which like maybe your frontal lobe is a little bit more developed so you could identify that. But like you differentiated yourself and then you got into that role and you did well.

And then. Yeah.

Like within that role, you started doing kind of like management-esque things and learning and helping the manager. And then you landed yourself in the role that you're in now, which is like where I think a lot of people would like to be. What you and I have talked about this quite a bit, like now you're to the point where it's like, dude, really? Like almost any appointment setting job, like you're landing interviews, you're being Heavily considered. Why do you think that is?

I think, you know, that you don't see very many people that make like a wave early on. You know, I think there's a lot of people out there with like 8 months of resumes that with a lot of experience, but like they never stood out anywhere. They just like go and they work and, you know, even if the numbers are good. So I think being able to get that manager experience Uh, early on kind of speaks to, you know, that I was willing to go above and beyond in, in the position. I mean, even before I was getting any credit for it, I was like helping to hire. I was, you know, saying, hey, like, I don't think this is working right in the script. What can we do to fix it? Um, so I was just really like going above and beyond even what I was getting paid for. And so I think that that's something that people look out for. Um, once you, once you get past it, even past the numbers and past the value. Yeah.

Yeah. And I'm curious, without having the opportunity to do those things in your last role, do you think you would've, do you think you would've had the same shot at landing the role you're in now?

No, not at all. I mean, I, you know, I think that what it really gave me the ability to was to get on an offer early that isn't set where I could help build something out. Which, you know, that's kind of like here is I, you know, I was the first setter in to where like, if something's not working, I have the ability to fix it. Um, so like if I didn't know how to do those things and I didn't know what was going on, I don't think that like I would've even been considered.

Yeah, that's true. And just so the audience knows, um, the caliber of opportunity that you found yourself in, like what, what, what are things looking like for you right now? Or I, I think you're in month 2, right? Right. Like it's still early.

Yeah.

Like what does it look like? Yeah.

So this is actually my first full month. I started midway through November. I'm on track monthly to be somewhere between like $6,000 and $10,000 with $3,000 of that coming from like a, like a base. It's a really high base for a setter position. You don't see that a lot. I think it's, like I said, partly related to that a lot of stuff isn't built out. You know, there's not like a process that was already done. Um, I'm doing script work almost every day trying to like dial things in there, uh, figure out what texts are sent the best, a lot of things like that. So I think that's partially why the pay was higher because like there's so much unknown currently going on.

Yeah. Well, a lot of, a lot of companies that have unknown in this space, they still bring people on commission only and expect them to stay and grind it out. Right. But these guys, it seems like they, they care just a little bit more, right? Like they're giving you a livable base pay. They're taking you out, like they're flying you out to Florida on a trip in January, right?

Yeah.

So, and they're delivering a good service from what I can tell, like, which is also a really important thing.

Yeah. That's, you know, I talked about the stuff that was important to me before. And I think that's stuff that you start to consider as you're in the space more is like how good the offer is. Um, is the owner somebody that you actually wanna work for? Uh, that's like, you know, is there different, different stuff? Like I got in there and they sent me $100 worth of free merch. Like that, that was like a big green flag.

Yeah.

Um, that's all stuff that you don't really consider when you're just trying to get your foot in the door somewhere. You're like willing to overlook those things just to find somewhere that you can make money and, and start a name for yourself. But as you get further and further into the space, you start looking for more and more things, I think, that indicate like, how far can I take this?

Yeah. Yeah, it's good. It seems like you found yourself in a good spot. And also as far as that, like kind of, you know, lifestyle that you're able to live within this role, like you're not banging phones 12 hours a day, you're not cold calling. Like what does that look like for you?

Yeah. So actually pretty much the entire pipeline's prequalified. They've got like a really good form that's like has to be filled out to even be in the pipeline. So I mean, it, it is still, you know, lukewarm to warm outbound dialing, but I already know that they're at least prequalified. They mostly know who we are. They don't always know what we're doing. I think like the, What we're doing now is a little newer to the space still. You know, I think that there's a lot of, you know, there's, there's a lot of offers like it, but this is kind of like a state-of-the-art new one. I don't want to get too much into that. I don't want to—

Sure.

Dox myself a little bit. But so there is like some explaining and stuff, but like, that's always okay as long as people like know who you are. That's really important as a setter. It's like having an audience that knows the company.

Yeah, that's good. But like, as far as your day-to-day, like I think you were saying, you usually have like 2 work blocks and then you got some time in the middle of your day to do whatever, you know, make sure you eat some lunch and go outside or go to the gym, whatever, you know?

Yeah. Yeah. I think that's also something that's, sorry, I didn't mean to cut you off there.

You're good. Go ahead. Go ahead.

But that's something that I learned was like really important. Then is, you know, I, I was working extra hours and stuff to make myself useful and get that. Uh, but like the burnout was like bad, you know, my health started to kind of decline. I gained weight. Um, so it's even something that I think people don't consider is like that middle block that I actually took out is like a really bad time to, to call and dial. Uh, you get like no pickup rate. So instead of like banging my head against the door and grinding, uh, instead take that to take care of other things that are important, you know, go to the gym. Make a nice healthy meal and then just work a little later into the evening when people do pick up and have good conversations.

Yeah, 100%. Well, I guess for, to kind of sum this up, um, being in the community and, you know, there's, there's a lot of things that happen in there, but, um, this job in particular, like you, you didn't land that through the community. Um, but what, what is like some of the value that you've been able to find in the, just being in the community over the last year now?

Yeah. I mean, well, even this one, you know, I might not have landed it through the community, but it was a pipeline that was brought up in the community. You know, I, I applied to this particular pipeline through Serial Sales, so it, it did still play a role.

Cool.

Um, but like, you know, I think most of us that have actually succeeded here Learned the valuable lesson that networking is more important than almost anything else. Um, I think that even once, you know, there, it comes a time when you're still learning and becoming a better setter, a better closer, whatever.

Yeah.

But then, you know, you also figure out that a lot of that time needs to be put towards meeting people and advancing relationships and friendships. And, you know, I think that entire upper tier of jobs is guarded behind, you have to know someone there. And so, you know, just being able to network through serial sales, the live calls, um, you know, the, the one-on-ones that come with it, all those things is, it's really paramount, I think, to knowing as many people you can that's already successful and already somewhere because you never know what door that's gonna open. Yeah.

And I did it. I mean, I think you and I both would agree from the outside looking in when, when people are saying like, Oh dude, like you have to network cuz there's a lot of people that like are on the same page. Like, dude, you need to know the right people. But it makes it sound like interesting, right? It's like, dude, why like networking? Like I'm good at sales. Like I'm just gonna get a sales job. It's like the space operates a little bit differently. It's not like you have to come in here and like set up 15-minute coffee chats and like be corny and whatever, but just like, dude, join live calls. Talk to people. A lot of these, like, I know you have people now that you like will talk to outside the community. And like a lot of these guys, like they start their own group chats and like they just like get around other people who are doing this. And then you just get exposed to so many more opportunities and things you can improve. And I'm even seeing that now, dude. Like there's multiple levels to this space and like these best offers, bro, like where people are making 30, 40, 50 grand a month closing. That, you know, that's above the level where people are making 10 to 20 and then the level below where it's like, oh, I just want to make 3 grand so I can quit my job, you know? So like, you just stay in long enough and like, I don't imagine it'll be long. Like if you keep providing more value than, you know, or the most value that you can, like, I don't imagine it's long until you're managing a team or multiple teams or like you know, making the money that everybody wants to make. So, and not to say you're not like, you're doing well, like you're doing better than a lot of people. So yeah, man, that's, that's good. I guess any other, any other like insights you would share about just your time in the space altogether? Anything that would be helpful to you back when you were starting?

Yeah, I mean, it's stuff that I kind of figured out then. Like I said, I do think I've went relatively far for For being only 4 to 6 months in compared to other people. But like outside of networking, just detail's important. I mean, like having a really nice resume that really, um, not only highlights what you've done, but highlights who you are as a person. Uh, you know, a lot of people hire off of culture fit, you know, if it's close with you and someone else. Mm-hmm. But they can really understand who you are and it lines up with who they, who they are and who they want. You know, that's stuff that gives you the edge over other people. You know, having a really nice Loom video that looks nice and is really professional, but also really shows again who you are and how you speak are all things that can give you edges over other people that you might not realize. So like there's, there's a lot to being like congruent to yourself and being able to show who you are through a lot of different avenues that just give you an edge in the space over a lot of other people. You kind of spoke earlier about me being older. Something I leveraged a lot was that I am older and I have a mortgage and a car payment. Like I have to succeed. So like, it's not just grinding, it's like I have real things on the line. So like finding who you are, what makes you different is probably up there in the top 3 most important things you can do to land better opportunities.

Dude, I, I tell everybody that, that I speak to one-on-one, which is everybody that comes into the community, and I would say you And a few others are the ones that actually take that and you're like, you run with it and like you go and you invest into your setup and you fix your resume and you tweak your, like you actually pay attention to the detail, this, the stuff that like, it's an effort thing. If you're, if you're lacking on that, you're lacking on your resume or you're lazy with your applications or whatever, it's just like. What is gonna happen when you get in the role?

Right.

And so the guys that come in, they land these good roles and they do well. I mean, they pay attention to detail, right? And like, I know you went around, like, dude, when we first met, I don't remember exactly what your setup looked like, but I remember the next, the very next call that we had after we talked about just kind of like Zoom setup, presenting yourself, all that stuff. Like it was like a different situation. Like you turned, put it against a flat wall.

Yeah.

Got the light, got the mic, got all this stuff. And I was like, yeah, there's no way this guy doesn't make it as long as he doesn't give up. So yeah, that's, um, yeah, big, big takeaway, attention to detail. So, um, yeah, man, I think this is, this is good. This is valuable to a lot of newer guys. Um, and especially you guys that do have mortgage, maybe you got kids.

Yeah.

Still possible for you. You just gotta manage expectations. And you, like, you were looking into the space for quite some time before you quit the 9 to 5. Like, you lined something up that made it make sense. And like, that's what I would recommend to everyone. So yeah, I guess that's a good place to wrap it up unless you got anything else.

No, I think, like I said, I mean, the only other advice I can give is like just to keep looking and keep going. I mean, like, yeah, sometimes it takes a couple offers or, you know, I failed 3 interviews before I landed this one.

Yeah.

You know, where like I got in and they wanted me to do a role play and they didn't love the role play. Um, but like, you know, I just continued to educate myself and listen to what I was doing and, you know, then I had their script and I could practice their script and see what they were talking about and just, you know, not, not quitting just when things get hard. I mean, because like, mm-hmm, you know, it's a very volatile space. And sometimes it just takes some time before you get to, to take a big step in the right direction.

Yeah. Well, should do. That's a, that's a good spot to, to wrap it up, but I do appreciate you coming on. I appreciate you being active in the community. We were just on a live call right before this, like 30 minutes, and guys are always in there asking you questions. So if you're watching this and thinking about the community or you're thinking about high-ticket sales, um, get connected to guys like David or People like me, people who are actually doing this and who have skin in the game and who have already succeeded and failed maybe multiple times over, because it just makes this happen so much faster for you. So I think that's a good spot to end it. So David, appreciate you, man, coming on.

Thanks. Yeah, thanks for having me. All right.

Peace.