How I Sold $800,000 in Insurance Sales My FIRST Year ft. Jagger Hood | Ep97

First month in, I just did exactly what Tanner told me to do. Like, dude, just sit here, work all day. My first day, I still didn't really believe it. And I sold like $5.6K my first day, 3 back to back to back.

Your first day?

Yeah. I didn't know the script. Tanner's yelling at me through the Zoom, yo, say this, say this. And then I was like, holy cow, like they actually want life insurance. Like I just have to read the script and help them put them in the best spot. Perfect. And then I was bought in from there.

Jaggerhood, huh?

Yes, sir.

I love it. Well, I've heard some cool things about you. I hear you're newer to the industry, at least relative to me, and, uh, had a pretty good first year building a team. Would love to hear some more, dude. I appreciate you getting on. Uh, for those that watching, uh, as always, welcome to the podcast. We're live already, bro, so perfect. Appreciate you getting on and, and would love to learn a little bit more about what you, what you got going on. And my goal is always to share with people, to, to help others who watch this thing, uh, figure out, uh, how to get out of the shitty situation they're in.

So no, 100%. I mean, yeah, just kind of a little bit about how everything got started.

Yeah.

Uh, so like straight pretty much out of high school, all I was really doing was I was drinking, partying, like just going down a really dark path. Like I got arrested when I was 17 years old. I wasn't doing the right things. Um, I knew I kind of I always wanted to be successful and I had to change what I was doing. So what I ended up doing, I had a buddy hit me up, kind of got me into knocking doors. I saw he was making money. I was like, you know what? Worst case scenario, if I do bad, I can always go back to school, go back to doing what I was doing. But I just know I needed some type of discipline in my life. I knew it was going to be hard. I wasn't really there for the money. I just wanted to show myself that I could do something hard.

Oh shit, what were you selling? What product? Pest control. Ah, okay.

Yeah, it was fun though. I'm grateful for like everything. I'm still close with the guys that brought me in, but I mean, fast forward like a year of it, I think I made— this was last, or summer and a half before, I guess. Yeah, uh, in like maybe 7 months of work, I think I made maybe 8 grand. Yeah, I was making more money serving tables while attending school. Oh shit. Yeah. Why?

What was tough about it for you?

Just working 12 hours a day, getting told no all the time, having to go to the next store. I'm not the most— I'm pretty introverted. So like the face-to-face stuff probably wasn't the best for me. And then like full accountability, I think it was more just the training that I had. I wasn't really implementing things, right? I'm struggling and like, let me do this. And like, I didn't fully buy into it. And how pest control works, like it's backend money. So you're kind of told, oh, you're going to get these big checks at the end of the year. You can obviously make a lot of money doing it.

I'm not saying you can't.

For me.

I know some people that do well.

Yeah, yeah.

Uh, but how long they keep it is more important, naturally.

Yeah, yeah, yeah, 100%. And, um, from there, uh, Tanner Mendelson— I know you've had him on here before. Yeah, uh, but I've known Tanner for a couple years. Um, okay, me and him met through like mutual friends being degenerates together back in like college and stuff. Uh, but he knew I was knocking doors I think he was a month into life insurance. He FaceTimed me and we weren't super close, but we knew each other. And he's like showing me his bank statements. He's telling me, dude, I get to work from— I'm working from my apartment. Average policy is $1,000. You're making 85% starting commission. I was like, holy shit. He's like, they're sending in requests for the products. I'm like, dude, I'm convincing people to buy bug spray for 20% commission. And then as soon as he kind of showed me everything, I was still like on board. I told him like, dude, I'm down to give it a shot. Like, it's not going to be a worse situation than I'm in right now. But then I remember like I drove down because I just wanted to see everything. I didn't want to get sold a dream again or anything like that. So I drove down to his apartment in San Diego. He showed me everything, how it all works, the lead system, and he's breaking it down to me. And I remember he gets a call from someone, a call-in, and he closes them while I'm there listening. I recorded the whole call too. I have that on my phone. And as soon as I saw that, I was like, holy, like, dude, how do I get started? And then, yeah, just kind of fast forward. Like, I started First month in, I just did exactly what Tanner told me to do. Like, dude, just sit here, work all day. Like my first day, I still didn't really believe it. And I sold like $5.6K my first day, 3 back to back to back.

Your first day?

Yeah. I didn't know the script. Tanner's yelling at me through the Zoom, yo, say this, say this. And then I was like, holy cow, they actually want life insurance. I just have to read the script and help them put them in the best spot. Like, perfect. And then I was bought in from there, made a little over $10,000 my first month, and then slowly started being able to teach other people how to do the same. Now we're here.

Now, on pest control, were you out of state?

Yeah, so I started in Virginia. It was, and I was doing pretty well. I think where it kind of got messed up is we ended up switching companies midway through the summer, and it just happened to be in my hometown, Orange County, California. So I kind of fell back into bad habits being around old friends, and that's where it kind of went.

They're pretty smart with sending people out of state with that because it's like, who the hell— what are you going to do? You ain't around your circle anymore unless all y'all party together. But crazy. Nice. So when was the first month? When did you start selling?

I started last December of 2024 towards the end of December.

12 full months, 2025. And I assume you're doing a shitload of outbound calls too, not just call-ins. You do a little bit of everything. Yeah, yeah, yeah. All final expense or what are you selling?

Uh, yeah, majority just final expense. Uh, pretty obviously maybe a couple one-off situations, but most part just stick final expense.

Yeah, yeah, yeah, I love it. And would you, would you end 2025 with which—

2025 I did about $250,000 per— no, a little under $250,000 personal, and then I think Once our audit goes through, we'll do like $850-ish as a team.

No shit, good for you. Damn, so you're making money now, like legit money right now.

Yeah, it's been, it's been good. I can't, I mean, I can't complain.

I love it, I love it. Would you, do you know what you, do you keep up with that stuff? Like, do you know what you deposited and shit like that last year?

Uh, I'm still, we're full like net and everything. I'm still kind of keeping track of that. I know like my best month was like $36,000 in deposits, a little over that.

Dope.

Okay.

And do you have lead costs or you want a free lead deal or what do you do?

Uh, yeah, so we get our new guys free leads first 2 months, typically spending roughly about $1,200 a week on leads.

That's what you're spending? Okay, cool. Yeah, yeah. So you're spending $5K to make $30K?

Yeah.

Life don't suck. Plus you get override, you're getting— obviously your team's doing Decent. Yeah. Oh, $800,000 for the year. Okay.

Yeah. And for the year we finished. Yeah.

Yeah. In my head I was thinking a month. I was like, you're smashing it right now.

No, this year, by the end of the year, by the end of this year, I think we'll crush that.

Okay. So yeah. Okay. Would you— do you know how many— how much did your team sell in December?

Uh, just like, I know November we did like $160,000. December, December with the holidays. Cut a little bit lower. Did it? We'll finish at like $140,000, but we're getting, getting back on track. Part of that's my fault. I was, I probably should have been a lot more intentional, but you know, we're getting that fixed right now. You'll learn that.

Hey, I'm 15 years into this bitch and there's, it's funny. It's like the ones that work during November, December, record months, but the total tends to go down because a shit ton of people just take, just stop working. It's the weirdest thing ever.

Yeah. And yeah, I take accountability for that because it was my birthday too. I wasn't there. If I'm not there, the team's not, you know what I mean? It all starts with me. But I know like January, February, our numbers should be like— I think we're gonna start to kind of skyrocket. We have a lot of new guys getting paid, which is nice.

Yeah, still making a few bucks though. I mean, doing 60, 80 grand outside of yourself, not bad. Yeah, this is paying some bills for those that can do basic math. I mean, even if you got 5, 10, 15 points on it, shit, life is good. Yeah, that's good, dude. That's good. So what, what, what was different then? What triggered different being in this kind of sales versus— and you said face-to-face, but was that it? Or is it just because you're hiding in your house behind a phone, it was more comfortable? Is there more to it, you think, that made—

I think, uh, because I think for me personally, uh, one, being on the phones, it's a lot like the rejection's not as bad at being told, like 'F you,' 'I'm calling the cops,' like face to face is a— you feel that a little bit more, I think.

You get punched in the face in front of you, right?

Yeah, exactly. Like the dogs barking at you. I've had like a couple get their, like, the little Segways they ride around on, get them stolen from in front of you. That's what y'all do? Yeah, get to the doors quicker. But, uh, yeah, like things like that, like getting told no on the phone, it's like All right, yeah, okay, no worries, sir. Call the next person. Nice and quick, like you're already, you're already on another call within 5 seconds.

Yeah, uh, funny.

But yeah, I think too, just like having a, a product that's like need-based, like the people I'm talking to that need these final expense products, they're telling me, I'm not convincing them to buy it, they need it because So-and-so, their wife, their daughter, they can afford to pay for a funeral expense. They're not going to be in a good spot. They need it. All I'm doing is helping them find the best product, something that fits the budget, something that's going to protect their, their loved ones. Uh, so I think there it's just the sale itself is a lot more smooth. Uh, and then, yeah, like for me personally, like I kind of mentioned earlier, I think what it really was though. For why maybe pest control I wasn't selling compared to now. It's just I was a lot more accountable when I came in. I implemented everything Tanner told me to do. And from there it was like I just saw results.

That's cool. I love it.

Yeah.

I got an email from some dude that's in the industry who I like, but he sent an email that basically said you can't make any money in final expense. They all cancel. It's not real. They all charge back. You're not getting blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. What's your thoughts on that?

I mean, chargebacks are part of sales. I personally, like, it happens. But one thing I have noticed is most of the time, like, chargeback happens for the people. As long as you're doing a good job, it's usually something simple. Like, oh, we— some— someone, they're a little bit older. They fell for something. They had to change bank accounts. It's like, oh my God. Yeah. Can we update that? It's usually super smooth, um, or like maybe the packet, they didn't receive it yet, so we gotta— they got a little—

one of those right before this call, dude. I had a client call me, I need to cancel. I was like, what's wrong? And they went, I didn't get my policy in the mail yet. I'm like, that's not a reason to cancel. I'll get it to you, like I'll follow up.

And yeah, I like— I've had people do that. It's like I sold them yesterday. I'm like, sir, I told you, take about a week to get to you. Like, oh, okay. And they're like freaking out, and then I tell them like, oh, okay, thank you.

It's funny, I've learned that a lot of agents don't even call them back or call them or attempt to save them when they can. Really? I see that, which is wild. But yes, I see a lot of people, agents, that they just, they assume what they assume. And if someone calls to cancel or bounce, or where you just see it on your commission statement, yeah, you know, they don't even follow up to see like maybe there's a banking error, maybe it was just shit happens and, you know, dated wrong, whatever. Maybe they didn't have money in the account, but they want to keep paying it. I mean, stuff happens, but I love it 100%. But you're, you're, you're depositing $30K a month. That's after all the BS, you know, that includes chargeback money. So for those that are curious, we sell an ass ton of final expense, and I think we're pretty good at getting it to stick, you know. I saw someone say something like only 25% of them stay on the books. I'm like, you work at the wrong place, bro.

Yeah, no, yeah, I think too, like, final expense, one thing I, I do like especially for new guys, is it's simple. It's easy to— it's not like you got to run through a whole bunch of stuff. It's, I want to cover my funeral. It's going to be this much a month. Let's check your health, everything. So it's a lot easier to get guys paid. And they understand if they want to— if my guys want to jump, hey, I don't want to— I want to sell IULs. Dude, go ahead. Do what you want to do. I don't know, whatever is going to get you paid the most money, do what you want to do. Sure. But I just think it's a lot easier to teach people, get them paid fast.

Yeah, yeah, yeah. I like final expense better. I've never— I, and I've been doing a long time, I don't— I never really jumped on the IUL thing. I'm mad at people who do, it's just not my jam. I like simple. Yeah, final expense, annuities, bro. I've done more. I've done a lot of— I have sold a lot of mortgage protection. This is not quite as hot today, just lead flow-wise, but I'm a big fan of that too. Okay. Yeah, you'll— it'll come— or you'll see it come around when— yeah, when interest rates lower, Ronnie will get in. I promise your team will get into it when the leads— the lead— the lead flow is a little harder today than it used to be.

I've heard good things about that. Oh, killing mortgage protection.

Yeah, yeah, yeah, it's, it's good shit. Um, cool. Well, let's talk a little bit, I guess, on, on the sales side, dude, like the, the scripting and phone stuff. Uh, just whatever you, whatever you find important that you're teaching your guys, especially let's, let's say like kind of break down the phone You know, from, let's start at the beginning. Like, what do you, what do you find most important there that either you messed up, your guys mess up, or that you're teaching to do well? Just that initial, like, they pick up, what's the first 30 seconds look like for you?

Yeah. Uh, so even before getting into that is I always try and teach my guys is you're going to get an objection at the end of the day, dude. It doesn't matter if they want into, like, they need it. They know they want it. No one wants to be on the phone, right? Like at the end of the day, no one wants to be on the phone. So you just need to— it's all about confidence, all about controlling the conversation, and that's going to help. You just want to buy a couple of seconds here and there. I simply start off like, hey, John. Yeah. Hey, John, it's Jagger. I was giving a call from the Veteran Benefit Office. You doing all right today?

Yes, sir.

Awesome. I was just giving a quick call here in regards to those new final expense and life options for veterans. So you put your date of birth as blah, blah, blah, correct?

Yeah.

Awesome. And John, your main concern is like most people, you were just wanting to make sure that funeral expenses, they don't fall a burden on your loved ones, correct?

Love it. What's your biggest objections up to that point? Uh, or agents? And because your flow is smooth, your whole demeanor changed when you went into it. Yeah, it's like a change in pace and shit was legit. Yeah. Yeah.

I mean, obviously selling final expense, I'm talking to older people, so I want to— I just want to be slow and make sure they understand what I'm saying. From there, the main thing you're getting is just, oh yeah, I already took care of that. Like, okay, perfect, John. And did you get that taken care of through like a veteran program or was that, I like to say, third-party company?

Ah, I like that.

And like, part of that is just—

it's a trigger.

Yeah, you never want to shit on what they have, right? Because then they're going to get defensive. No, what I have is the best, the best. But I'm throwing out— they're telling me, oh, it's a third-party company. They're saying that. Gotcha. And I mean, John, the only reason I ask is there's a new discounted program here where most people are able to get more coverage in place for less of a premium. Did you know how much you were currently covered for? $10,000. I'm kind of running quotes for them. Like a lot of policies I sell too. Like one thing, I don't think I'm like the best salesman in the world or anything like that, but I do love swapping policies. I think it's that once you kind of learn the basics of it, I think it's super easy. And they know they need it. They know they have it for a reason. All I'm doing is getting them a better rate on what they have.

Yeah. A lot of people struggle with this because they are convinced that an exclusive lead, never talks to anyone else. I'm like, no, these fools talk to people.

Yeah.

Um, what do you, what are you looking for to, to replace? Like, how do you, how do you identify it? And I, I get what you just did there, I got you, but like, what are you finding that most people have that you can, that, that you can improve upon? You know what I mean? Like, what are the key points you're looking for to replace?

Uh, straight up just price because they have a shitty company, they're, they're I would say for most people it is going to be price, especially in at least final expense. A lot of people are on fixed incomes, right? I've had people where I could only save them a dollar and I wasn't even going to sell them it, but they're asking me like, dude, anything counts, like please. Because just because they liked me, I built a good relationship early on. But the biggest thing is, yeah, in my opinion is price. It's not like the policy you're getting a whole different thing. It's simply, hey, we can keep you the same exact thing you have, but if I can put more money in your pocket at the end of the month, would that help you, John? Yeah. Okay, perfect. So I'm just going to go over a couple health questions here, see if I can even help you out. Worst case scenario, John, if you don't get approved, you know you're going to be in the best position possible. Okay. Yeah.

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Uh, hmm.

I wrote so many.

I wrote a lot of Ethos early on last year. I don't— I haven't wrote them in a minute. I'm starting to like Trans. Trans. Okay.

I like them a lot too, dude.

It's just so quick. The text code's easy. I don't write a lot of Americo, but I do like them as well. Text code's nice and easy, but yeah, moving a lot towards just Trans. I love it. Okay.

Yeah, I like Transcuz. It gives you that full underwrite right away. That's my favorite. I'm like, that's bomb. Not this little fake approval. You don't have to put in any banking before you get it. It's smooth.

Exactly.

I write a ton of it too.

No, 100%. I love it. They've been good. If something goes wrong, I feel like they're quick with the emails. They're letting me know right away. So I've liked them a lot recently.

That's cool. I love it. I love it. I That's cool. How do you then prevent someone else from coming behind you and doing the same thing? Because straight up, trans ain't the cheapest product out there all the time, as you know.

Yeah. You know, so yeah, I mean, a big—

depends on health, naturally.

Yeah, 100%. I mean, yeah, a big thing there is just doing your due diligence as a broker, right? Realistically, if like maybe a local mom-and-pop shop that's been around for 10 years can beat an AmeriCo price, right? But if I'm running them through the carriers and once you get good, it's not that hard. I can run 3 apps simultaneously, running them through. The best case scenario is if I'm quoting them high, I'm quoting them Trans, boom, they end up getting approved a CoreBridge, they get approved Americo, and they're going to be even more excited. But that's kind of doing your job. Just because someone says they have a lot of health stuff, dude, I'm still going to run them a couple carriers at the same time.

Worst case scenario in that, if you're worried about health, Trans, they'll approve a lot of shit, but pricing maybe not.

Yeah.

So simultaneous, I like it. I like it.

And then two is just building, I think, a relationship. At the end of the day too, how I think about it is if someone swaps my policy, charge it to the game. Shit happens.

Amen.

I just sell another policy. I mean, I do it a whole bunch. Like, I love it. I think it's fun kind of connecting the dots. If it happens to me, it's definitely happened to me, obviously. For sure. But it's part of the game, right?

It is. I think the people that don't sell enough freak out about it more than we do. Like, it just is same. It just is what it is sometimes.

Yeah, 100%.

That's cool. I'm curious, when you're doing the simultaneous, because I know how I do it, are you, are you telling them like, hey, I'm going to try 2 or 3 different companies? Are you just like, hey, another text code? Hey, got you another code.

Yeah.

Do they know what you're doing behind the scenes? Just, just kind of.

So yeah. So usually too, if, if it's like a swap or just like a normal one, I'm, I'm kind of telling them, yeah. So we work with a bunch of A-rated carriers. Cool thing about that is typically One, I'll be able to find you who's going to approve you for that day one coverage. Two, we'll find out who will actually give you that best rate possible. Does that make sense, John?

Yeah.

Okay, perfect. And then so that way they're on the same page as me. They know what's going on. And that does help a lot of the, oh yeah, I want to do this option. Let me go shop around. Let me go ask this. It's like, sir, like we're going to find that out. I'm doing the hard stuff for you. You sit back, pen and paper, take notes. And just make it super simple for that.

Yeah, I found the less I get into the weeds with it, the less they care. I'm just like, hey, I got another code, click this one, give me this one.

Yeah, yeah, I'll do that. I usually will. The only time I don't really tell them is if I maybe quote them lower and they end up getting like— if I quote them a SelectOne, they get denied before I tell them, hey, you got denied, it's going to be this much. I'll start the next application. For them. Yeah, that's right. And then just so that way they don't freak out yet, right? Because sometimes it might be $2 more and like, oh, I got denied, whatever. No, no, no, hang up. I'll start it. Okay. Like, AmeriCo saw a little bit of risk in your history. Good thing we went trans. They did approve you day one. Not a big deal. Only difference is instead of $65, it'll be $67. That's going to be okay, right, John? Yeah, that's fine.

Perfect.

Yeah.

Yeah, I think a lot of people do freak out, like, oh shit, I got you declined. And it does, it makes waves. And that's a, that's a talent, a skill set that people overlook for sure, being able to navigate during that, that weird time.

Yeah.

Um, I did find out along the way, I didn't know, I haven't, I've not written full-time in like 10 years, but I've been messing with it just recently because telesales, and I don't know, it's fun. And I'm just, I'm hiring a direct group again, and so I've been playing and playing with selling a bunch for the last 3 months. And I found out the hard way. Hell, Trans notifies them right away when they get declined. I was like, oh, she, she— as I was doing the other app, she goes— this one lady goes, I just got declined.

And I'm like, how the fuck do you know?

I didn't know it did. I had to learn that they tell them also. They send the email if you do the email, uh, the email code. They, they let them know apparently.

Yeah, I like that they do that though, because I mean, some people that are a little skeptical, it's, uh Yeah, I've never heard of them, whatever. Like, yeah, so they like check your email. I know we did the text code, just check your email real quick, you'll kind of see. Yeah, congratulations, you've been approved.

Yeah, yeah, it's pretty neat. Yeah, it's pretty neat. I love it. Cool. All right, let's, let's move on into a little bit more in the phone. You know, you kind of get that initial thing. How do you— do you go— do you get a why first? Do you get health thing first? How do you like— well, how do you navigate process, if you will? Yeah.

Yeah, let's just say you don't have coverage. I'm at— was the main concern, cover the funeral expense? Yes. Awesome. And were you planning to leave additional money behind? They answer that. And then I'm jumping in. I like— I personally, I like to kind of explain how it works. I'm like, okay, gotcha. Just so you have an understanding, my job, it is pretty simple, John. We're just going to go ahead, spend a quick minute on yourself. I want to make sure we can find something affordable and within the budget, as well as make sure we can get your loved ones protected. And then just spend a quick minute on your health. That way I can navigate which one of our 26 A-rated carriers are going to give you, one, the best price possible, and two, give you that day one approval. Does that make sense? Perfect. I'll go to there and then right there I'm going to the Y. Awesome, John. And I know it is a bit of a tough question, but God forbid, if you were to pass away today, who would be that beneficiary responsible paying for the funeral expenses and kind of picking up all the pieces tomorrow?

And you get whoever— my daughter, my niece, my nephew, whatever.

Your daughter? Okay, gotcha. And what was her name, John?

Shaili.

Shaili. Okay. And do you mind spelling that out for me?

It's S-H-A-I-L-I-Y.

Okay, perfect. And John, is Shaylee— is she in a financial position to kind of COVID the funeral expenses and make sure she's well taken care of when you do pass away? Or is that kind of what got you looking into this?

No, she's, she's definitely not.

I completely understand. And especially, I mean, nowadays I don't think most families are in a situation to cover that. And to help me find something that will protect her, have you thought about if you wanted to be buried or cremated at all?

Buried.

Buried. Gotcha. And John, do you know how much that typically costs nowadays?

Tell me.

Yeah, so what we're seeing kind of nationwide average for the burials, typically anywhere from $10,000 to $20,000. And as of right now, did you have anything, whether existing insurance policy or maybe a significant savings to cover that expense?

We have a few bucks in savings.

I mean, okay, perfect. And if you don't mind me asking so I can help you out in the best way possible, did you— is that $20,000 or about how much did you guys have saved up?

No, not $20,000 at all.

No, not $20,000. Okay, gotcha. And just so we're on the same page then, John, Your main goal is to protect Sheila. You don't want her dipping into any savings funds, anything like that. You want to make sure on the toughest day, seeing you pass away, the last thing she's worrying about is how she's going to afford $20,000 out of pocket. Does that sound right?

Yeah, correct. Perfect.

Now I'll kind of jump into income. Okay. Gotcha, John. Are you currently working, retired, disabled?

Okay. And you get to— you ask income as well. So if I'm— say, just say disability. We get a shitload of those, obviously, on disability.

Mm-hmm. Okay, perfect. And I know most of the people we do work with, usually on fixed incomes, like you said, disability. I'm blanking. I know I'm going to get on the phone.

I know. I know I messed you up throwing in questions in the middle.

No, you're good.

You're good.

Most of the veterans, most of the people we work with typically on fixed incomes, like you said, disability, Social Security, typically bringing in like $2,000 to $3,000 per month. Was that the same for you or a little bit more, a little bit less?

I like that. That's cool. Yeah, I'm like a little bit less. I'm like $1,700.

Okay, gotcha. And with that being said, John, at the end of the month, once you pay all your bills, utilities, any of the fun things you like to do, or just say you're usually left over with just to the ballpark.

Couple hundred bucks, maybe a couple hundred bucks.

Okay. And I mean, John, because at the end of the day, sometimes our hearts are bigger than our budgets. I want to make sure we find something permanent for you. It's not going to lapse on you in a couple of years down the line and all your money goes to waste. With that being said, what would be a comfortable amount you'd feel comfortable allocating into something like this to make sure your daughter's protected? Would that be maybe $50, $75, $100?

Yeah, I don't, I don't really want to be at $100. $50 sounds better than $100.

Perfect. Yeah. And we'll look at some of our more basic plans for that kind of basic funeral expense. Make sure we find something in the budget for you. Okay, John?

Yeah.

Awesome. And just a few questions here, John, on your health so I can see what we can do. And just advancing the script over the health questions, kind of see what's up with them.

Gathering a ton of info, dude, about like— I think so many people skirt over that why. Yours is so— it's not like boohoo, making them cry, but dude, super intentional.

I think too, uh, like one thing that kind of like for newer agents that might have gone over their head that I see them mess up a lot on is when you told me, oh, I have a savings, I need to press you early about that. I need to find out what's up because otherwise I'm gonna get down if they don't like the price. 'Oh, I have a savings. Oh no, I'm good. I have a savings.' I need to make sure we're on the same page. I like to use— make sure— I always like to use the word 'we' a lot. Like, let them know, 'Dude, I'm on your team. I'm going to find you the best plan possible.' Yeah.

But yeah, it was smooth too, figuring out the budget. You didn't ask it too early. You didn't ask it weird. I think some people just straight up ask nothing like, 'All right, what's your budget?' You know, where you kind of eased into it a little bit and threw out a few different numbers, the range there, and just let it let it kind of naturally.

Yeah, I've noticed too, like some people, like, if you can tell they're a little kind of hiding behind the phone, you can tell they don't trust you too much. That's when I like to say that most of the people we work with are on fixed incomes. Yeah. Just so like roughly $2,000 to $3,000. They're just a little bit more open. The worst is like when, oh, you don't need that information. Why do you need that? And they hang up right there. I want them to feel comfortable talking to me, opening up. I don't build a ton of rapport until I get maybe towards the end, towards like, but maybe a couple of things in health. Obviously, if they like to talk, I'll talk with them, but I just kind of matching their personality as well.

What do you, what do you do during that stage where it's not like easy? Obviously I made it easy and this is more for the critics and the a-holes watching that go, they don't ever go that way. You know what I mean? Like when it it's a little bit more bumpy along the way? Give, give some advice there, dude. Like, how are you handling when it doesn't just flow like a script says it should flow? Because that happens a lot, clearly.

Yeah, so I mean, I would say number, like, number one thing before you even jump into that, if you have lead— like, the number one thing is leads at the end of the day. If someone's giving me a hard time early on, uh, they don't want to give me info, why do you need to know my beneficiary, they're being— I know they're gonna they're not going to give me social, they're not going to give me bank info. I'll let them know early on, like, I mean, John, like, can I be honest with you? Like, you sent this request in because you wanted to protect Sheila, correct?

Mm-hmm.

Okay. I'm doing the best of my job to help you. The reason I'm asking some of these uncomfortable questions is I want to be able to help you in the best spot possible. If you can't answer these questions or give me a clear answer, sir, I'm not going to be any help with you. And some people will hang up right there. I don't care. Right. It's just call the next guy. That definitely happens. But I think more is, I think early on, a good thing to do for new agents is to present as much as possible, get as many presentations, get through the script as many times. But once you know you can sell, you can close them. I'm fighting everything early on. I'm— if you're not being clear on an answer, I'm questioning you, like, obviously in a good tone. You know, I completely understand, John, blah, blah, blah. But I want to get everything out of the way early on. Your savings, your—

sure.

You don't want to have to spend more than $50. I'm fighting that stuff early on. So then once we get through, like, when I get to numbers, if I'm getting an objection past numbers, like, I almost am shocked. I'm like, oh, like, what the heck? Because I did such a good job building that early, sending over my credentials, making sure they trust me. So it's usually like, oh, what the heck? But I fight it early on. I'd rather have them hang up on me 2 minutes into the call than waste 30 minutes of my time. Right?

Sure. You mentioned credentials. So do you send it to everyone or only as needed?

I do it. So once I go through health, I kind of run. So I'll go through health first.

I like it.

And then I jump in. I'll just be like, okay, John, so I'm punching this into my system, seeing kind of what the best of it options available are for you. Just before we do so, I just want to explain how the process works. It's not like going to the local grocery store. You see it, you like it, you buy it. We do need to make sure you get approved, obviously. So they'll look at the Medical Information Bureau, kind of explain that part. And then I'll be like, but there are quite a few different benefits and packages we have available for you, specifically designed. I like veterans, specifically designed for veterans. Can you go ahead and grab a pen and paper for me, John? I want you to know exactly how it works.

Sure.

Boom. They go get their pen and paper. Awesome. And before we get into that, John, I'm required to make sure you have couple things written down about myself. I'll start with my name again. That's Jagger, J-A-G-G-E-R. Last name Hood, H-O-O-D. Have them spell it out. Crack a quick little joke. Awesome. And that's so you can remember me. It's Jagger. I'm named after Mick Jagger. They're usually older. They love that. They'll laugh about it. Oh, that's cool. Yada, yada, yada. The next thing, my phone number. And then I'll give them my NPN number. And then once they write it down, I send them a picture over text message with a card that has like all that same stuff, a picture of me as well. And I'll make sure I make them check it though. Awesome, John. And I know those papers go missing sometimes. I sent you a copy of that over text as well. Let me know when you see that. And then that way it's not like I'm having them write down random numbers, a random name. They're looking at it on their end. They see me, they see a picture of me, they see my phone number, they see everything. And then I'll go over benefits. Go over packages and then start the application.

I love it. You show pricing and then how do you, how do you go about getting them to pick one? What's your, what's your process there? ABC, gold, silver, brown, like how do you go?

Bronze, silver, gold.

Yeah.

Go over that with them. And then just simply, and John, given those 3 options, the gold, the silver, and the bronze, which one makes the most sense to protect beneficiary? Uh, and the thing, sit there. Uh, the, the silver one. Perfect. And you got— the thing is, all like new people, they don't jump into it. Perfect. So what we'll do is send in that request and hope to get the approval. Uh, I think the big one there And it's my favorite is either a think about it or like a wife objection. Because if you did a good job building the why, doing all that stuff, they're going to like the way I'll phrase it is, all right. And John, obviously you're going to need to talk to the wife. She'll be the beneficiary. Did you need to talk to her about which option to go with or if you even needed the coverage in the first place? Oh, which option to go with? Okay. Yeah. Perfect, John. I mean, do you mind if I make a recommendation for you? Go ahead. Yeah. So I know you mentioned earlier you don't have coverage in place as of right now, correct? Yes. Okay. And your main goal was to make sure your wife Susan, she's not paying out of pocket. For that funeral, correct? Yep. Gotcha. What most people like to do is we can go ahead and start with the bronze option, make sure it's comfortable, it's affordable, but most importantly, you have that peace of mind that Susan isn't having to pay out of $5,000, $10,000 out of pocket for that funeral. And that way, when you talk it over with her, If we want to increase it, you got my phone number. You give me a call back and we'll upgrade it. Does that make sense? Yes. Perfect. And same thing is I'm not asking him like, let's go ahead and like, is that— I'll ask him like, does that make sense? He says yes. Perfect. So what we'll do is send in that request. I'm jumping into it right away. It's not— he's still going to maybe shoot me some objections. But a lot of times, like when you phrase it that way, because they know they need the coverage, they just don't know how much to go with. Okay, let's start with the bare minimum, cover the basic expense, and then we'll upgrade it down the line. And that works in my opinion. If you do a good job building the why, it works like 90% of the time.

You had them give you another yes kind of indirectly in the sense that it wasn't like you assume that they want it within the way you did it. Like, yeah, hey, we're not trying to figure out if you want this or not. I assume you're just trying to figure out which option to go with with her.

So it's a yes.

I just don't know which one. It's like, all right, well, shit, you're not getting where some people— to them, that's a no. For those of you followed that have followed me for a while, you know, I've, I've helped build this agency up to over $200 million in paid annual premium per year. We have over 5,000 agents a year that sell, and I am rebuilding. We're building a new base shop, helping people build big agencies, get to multi-seven figures in income, or producers that want to, that want to just sell and get to a multi-six-figure sales career. Hit me up. I'm hiring direct. I'm looking to train and mentor winners that want to work their ass off and build something dope. Click on the link below, or you can go to JohnWetmore.com/join and put in your application. We'll see if I'd be interested in working with you. DM me, hit me up, whatever you like.

Mm-hmm. I love it. I'm expecting them to say it because at the end of the day, it's like we are on the phone. I am just having them write down numbers like, yeah, you probably do want to think about it. I'm the same way. But like, right, they know they need the coverage. They told me exactly why early on they needed the coverage. It's simple. We'll start with the basic plan right now. We can upgrade it if we want to leave your money behind, but let's at least take care of something right now. And like, I think a big thing, it happened yesterday. I let one of my guys, they were calling like old, like bank objections I got from like February and stuff. He called someone that gave me a bank objection and his sister answered and he passed away a month ago and he never got the coverage in place. And it's like, who's the bigger asshole? Me saying, oh yeah, no worries, call me back in a week when it works for you, or me doing my best job to make sure your family's protected? Because I know I say the same thing on the phones if people are trying to Yeah, dude, just call me back. I'm never going to call them back. I'll call you back tomorrow. No, you're not. I know you're not. Let's get it done now.

Yeah, I love it, dude. That's good shit. Smooth, smooth stuff. Cool. What else you want to add there? Sales side, anything you want to wrap up with on the sales side? Or at this point, you about covered everything on there, but I'm sure you got some tips, tricks, anything else?

Uh, yeah, I mean, I think, uh, a big thing, maybe for new agents, I guess, is like once you're starting that application process, like that's where I'll build my rapport. I'm very like, unless they're like one of their, like talking their ass off and stuff, I'll have fun with them. I've had some crazy calls. Sure. But for most people, I'm very just like monotone. I'm by the book. Once I get to the application, or I'm getting their social, stuff like that, I'll build the relationship a little bit more. Like, okay, John, like, I know you're in Washington. What state were you born in? I kind of answer, okay, cool. What brought you down to— what brought you— like, you're born in Michigan. What brought you down to Washington? Boom. I'll let them ramble a little bit there. I mean, I like asking like for social too. It's like, dude, just ask for it. Like, okay, awesome, John, being born in Washington, serving in the military, it obviously makes you a US citizen, right? Yeah, they laugh every time at that. Okay, perfect. And go ahead with your social. And they'll just read it off. I just like, it's just all about confidence, just asking them. I think too, just like, like you build the confidence from calling people and getting the reps in. The biggest thing, like that's how it was for me. I didn't know anything. I used to watch, I didn't know any term insurance. I didn't know how any of that worked. I used to at night just watch like videos, like animated little 10-minute videos explaining different types of insurance. So I'd become more knowledgeable about the products. So when they say they have a whole life policy that they just got that's $10 a month for $100,000 of coverage. Like, sir, sir, no, you don't, right? I know, I know what they're saying, uh, and I'll be able to help them in a better way instead of just like bullshitting them on the phone.

I do see an overwhelming majority of people not study their craft at all. It's like really bad, dude. I had a, I had a dude that's in my group running a good-sized team now, younger case, 24, probably a year. How old are you? You look about—

I just turned 23.

Okay, cool. Yeah, dude, same, around the same age. And he's coaching some people, and this guy's 3 weeks in and still doesn't know the phone script. And he's like, dude, what are you doing at night? Like, what are you— how do you still not know this? It's not that deep, you know? And so I— it's neat to hear you just talk about just studying, studying your craft, man, and getting better at what we do and understanding it with time. Yeah, because the reps alone don't do it. If you keep doing the same shit wrong every day, and you're not getting guidance or coached or asking questions or getting better at it. Yeah, it can be tough for people.

Yeah, I think too, like, uh, at least like from training like new guys, getting them like paid is, I think it's more than just like anyone can sit and dial the phones for 10, 12 hours a day. Doesn't one mean like, are you being intentional? Are you like actually fighting objections or are you just like, call it lay down hunting? You're just looking for the person that needs it instead of like building the why, asking the right questions. But like for me personally, it's always been like, it's never been just a sale, like strictly sales. I think it's more like routine, what you're doing in the morning, what are you doing at night to kind of, because dude, getting told no all day, it's not fun. I get told no. Probably 95% of the people I talk to, I get cussed at all the time. But all it takes, especially insurance, is dude, you sell 3 policies a day, you're looking pretty damn good, right? You're making a lot of money. That's all it is. If it takes 1,000 phone calls to make $3,000 a day, would you make the 1,000 phone calls or not? I fucking would.

What do you say to the guys that are making 50 calls, 100 calls, 150 calls a day and pissed?

Oh, get a new job. Like, I'm not— like, I'll tell them. I remember I had one person that started. They're gone now, but their first day on the phones, after 30 minutes, they said, no one's answering the phones. I'm like, bro, how many people did you call? Like, 20 people. Like, yeah, dude. And I tell— I'll show them too. Like just because, like I mentioned earlier, actually working. Like, dude, if you're not getting answers, I can fly through 100 numbers in an hour. So like, I can fly through numbers. If no one's answering, dude, you should be calling more people. I'll be deep on my leads.

Yeah.

But it's just like actually working. And then I think the hardest thing too for new agents, like something I struggled with early on is like this job, dude, it's a roller coaster, right? It's the highs and lows and like getting to the point where like a bad day, a bad week, a bad month, like it's not gonna— it won't hurt you. It's not the end of the world, right? Like it'll all even out over time.

Yeah, it takes time to get there. Yeah, you know, but once you get it, that's why I always tell people it's an easy game. Yeah, when you play it right. You just got to play it the right way, dude, and understand it. So I love it. I love it. Anything that I should have asked you that I didn't?

I mean, dude, I'm probably like, especially Tanner too, I'm in Austin now, but our whole office, we're probably some of the least qualified people to be making the money we're making. Uh, but like, we're all like past degenerates, still like degenerates at heart. Uh, but all we did was we found a vehicle that works and we made a bunch of sacrifices to do what we're doing now. Uh, and we became addicted to it. And like, we're growing pretty fast. Just like, I know you met Tanner Ditties. Awesome.

Uh, he's killing it.

But like, we're not like— we just stick to like, we are who we are, man. We make jokes all the time about some of the stuff we've done in the past or whatever, uh, but when it comes to our business, like, we take it super seriously.

I love it, dude. I love it. Well, I appreciate you getting on, brother, taking time out of your day and sharing. If I can, uh, if I can do anything to help you along the way, dude, don't, don't hesitate to reach out.

I appreciate you. And yeah, thank you again for having me on.

Absolutely, bro. Absolutely. Killer, killer. Keep, keep at it, brother. And I assume I'll see you in a couple weeks at, at our event. So yes, sir, I look forward to meeting you, brother. Awesome. All right, guys, if you need anything, let us know. See you, bro. Hey guys, if you've enjoyed the podcast or any of the previous episodes, if you're on Spotify or any of the other Apple podcast platforms, would love if you'd go in and leave a review for us. Um, if you're, if you're watching on YouTube Comment, like, subscribe, share, do all the things. We'd greatly appreciate it. Helps get the word out to everybody. Appreciate you, and we'll see you on the next one.