How My Insurance Agents Average $23,697 Per Month ft. Brandon Beal | Ep77

Dude, if this thing were— I reference it all the time— if this thing were run like a sport, most agents would get cut on the first day.

Yeah, yeah. You know, but then you become an asshole, right? So it's like, because I'm like, yeah, I just don't think you have it. But every day, 300 guys, or every year, 300 guys at the NFL Combine at Indy get told, I don't think you got what it takes, kid.

And they get cut in a second.

They get cut in a second. There is no second thought about that. Welcome to those watching back to another episode of Insurance Insiders Podcast.

Got Brandon Beal. Here who, funny enough, I know sells a lot, does well, just built a nice big-ass house somewhere in Texas with his family. And I know you move a lot of insurance annuities. I don't know a lot. I don't even know how we connected, dude. I just know we kind of connect, follow each other on social, and you're doing cool things. And like, hell, let's get on and learn about you, bro.

Yes, that's pretty much what I've been doing, man. Yeah, nothing too special, not like what you've built.

Ah, shit, we're all in the game trying to figure it out, right?

That's right, dude. I love it.

Tell us about the journey, man, a little bit. Yeah, I would love to hear. Um, I'd actually like to know a little bit about what you, what you specialize in now, and then we'll kind of get to how you got there.

Okay, I specialize now in fixed index annuities and indexed universal life. Um, it was IUL for the longest with my previous, I would say, practice company for about 6 years, and then I left after some not so savory things happening and started doing my own thing and, um, been loving it ever since. So I'll say that. But, um, no, it started out just IUL, but everybody and their mom post-COVID was trying to sell IUL, right? Yeah. So, um, especially virtually. So I had to figure out, you know, blue ocean strategy, right? You got to figure out what other people aren't doing and go in that direction. Um, some people— I, I learned in 2023 that there are a lot of people doing IUL And there are a lot of people doing fixed index annuities, but there weren't a lot of people who were— they say they were doing both, but there was always a focus, right? Sure. Our focus is on both, and I do believe there's a market for that, the demographic for that, and it's highly lucrative for any agent who's willing to expand their career beyond what they're currently doing. So for many years, John, I was considered the IUL guy, and it was a moniker that I didn't It just stuck. You don't give yourself a nickname, right? Other people give it to you, and it stuck. And I kind of embraced it for a while, but then as you get older, you get a little bit more seasoned, and you get a bit— a little bit more savvy. I didn't like it as much because that meant that I was one-dimensional, you know. And being a former athlete, you— the one thing you don't want to be labeled as is just a shooter or just a passer or a pocket protector, you know what I mean? Like, you want to be— yeah, you want to be that guy that can— if coach says, hey, I need you to do this, no problem, I got it. Or if there's anything that needs to be done, like a, like a Travis Hunter, right? You want to be able to say, yeah, I play both sides of the football, not just one. So I hated being— having that label because it meant that I was only one-dimensional. Sick.

Crazy, crazy. How did you fall— do you— so you said always IUL. How'd you fall into— how'd you get into that at the beginning? Because I don't hear that journey a lot. It's usually something else and then they transition.

So I could probably say this company's name. I had a really good start with World Financial Group. That was my start, and that was their bread and butter, dude. Like, I didn't even know things like term and final expense existed. I didn't know what a whole life policy was. All I knew was IUL, right? And they embedded that, ingrained it so deep into my brain and my heart and my soul that I fell in love with it, man, because I truly felt that there was a need for that, you know, when I got started in December 2016. There was a need for that. And after being there for 9 months, John, I made $0. So even though it was a dope product, right? It was a dope product, but I wasn't selling anything. So it was, you know, primarily, it was primarily warm market, right? Yeah. So they didn't have leads. And I, I was new to California at the time. So I didn't have many friends and family, it was just me and my wife and 2 dogs, right? So that was, that was the extent of the people that I knew. Um, so I left and joined another company who did have leads, and they did have more than just one carrier, uh, to work with. And that's kind of what started my IUL journey.

Got it. Makes sense. What did you love about the IUL? You said you fell in love with it early. Why?

I fell in love with it, man, because, you know, I am one of those guys that's, um, politically correctly say this, I'm not anti-government, I'm anti-IRS, right? So, okay, I like it.

You can be wide open with me.

I'm good. So I'm anti-IRS. And so when I saw that you could stash money in a vehicle, much like a Roth, but you could stash money in the vehicle without limitation, you know, you can stash money in a vehicle that's going to continue to compound over time. I said to myself, and I still say it to this day, why isn't everybody and their mother putting money into these types of things? Right? And then you learn, you grow, you read, you listen, you hang around with the right people in the right circles. You come to find out that lots of multimillionaires— and I would even wager and argue. A lot of billionaires put a lot of money into these types of vehicles. And that's what made me fall in love with it, because that was the selling point. That was the pitch. Tax-free, tax-free, tax-free. You know, your biggest bill every year isn't your car, it's not your house, it's Uncle Sam. You know what I mean? And if I could remove Uncle Sam from the equation altogether and show people that you can stash money, build wealth for you now and for your kids and your heirs later on down the road, why not? Sure, you know what I mean? So that's, that's what I loved about it. I felt like it was a win-win-win for the carrier, for the agent, and for the client.

Yeah, that's cool. I, um, I got into mortgage protection, final expense, and IUL was like an ancillary product. Um, I sold some, a decent amount of, uh, annuities, but I never really sold— only IULs I ever sold was for me and my kids.

Yeah.

Um, so I see the way agents use them, certainly in the wrong ways, You know, I run into those a lot. Um, I see how some people use them now where it's like, it's the right way, but it's not like earth-shattering amounts of money they get, you know what I mean? So I'm curious for you, dude, with— for, for people with money, I, I don't understand like a real-world application how someone would use it to also use it along the way. I get the concept, infinite banking, and I don't know how related they are to what you do, but you know, I would love some real-world— like someone's got some money, you got some cash flow, you How would you, how would you set someone up, or how do you set them up? Um, along the way? Yeah, yeah, just an everyday person trying to take out, you know, $112 grand a year for 20 years at retirement. I'm saying someone that uses it for like tax benefits and maybe real estate, or, you know, I mean, business. I'd be curious if you have any situations like that. I've just always wanted to understand it.

Which, by the way, that's the biggest market right there. Are the people that could only put in $200, $500, $700 a month and take out that $112,000. Because there's not a lot of people that are even making $112,000 a year right now. And if you are and you live where I was in Southern California, you live in Florida, New York, San Francisco, wherever, that's, that's minimum wage now. $100,000 a year isn't a lot of money anymore. You know what I mean? We got vehicles that cost $100,000, right?

Oh yeah.

So it's like, that's not a lot of money anymore, but that is the target market right there. But now if you're talking about a guy that makes $5 million, $10 million a year, You know, my, my thing is, my pitch, so to speak, is 10%, 10% of your income, 20% of your income, no more, no less, right? In order for you to make it worth it down the road, you know what I mean? Now you can get a really good niche with that. You can really dive deep into it and start talking about putting money away, leveraging that money, borrowing against yourself. You mentioned real estate, going to buy a property, fix it up, flip it, take that money, put it back into your property, rinse and repeat. There are so many different ways to use it. It is a Swiss Army knife, Jay. Like, it really is, man. Like, I can, I can go down that rabbit hole, but we'll be on this thing for 3 days, you know what I mean? Like, it's, it, it's very fascinating once you really dive into it. Um, but if you got people with money, then you want to start getting, you know, tax lawyers involved. You want to start getting different game, you know what I mean? Then you got premium finance, you know what I mean? There's a lot of different things that you can do with that, which I'll be honest, I'm gonna go down that hole. I'm not a fan of premium finance just because of ownership. Just because of ownership, you know what I mean? Like, you don't— you don't own the policy 100%.

Got it. The bank, you know, really controls it. Yes. Yep.

Yes. So if I— knock on wood— Ashley and my daughter, they get 50% of the death benefit as opposed to the full 100%, which, as I was taught, something is better than nothing, right? But sure, sure, I would much rather— if there's a $10 million death benefit, I want to make sure that they get it, you know what I mean? Well, Brandon, they're funding half of it. Yeah, I get it. That's why I'm not really a big advocate of it. I've only sold one and it was a pain in the ass to do because it took 9 months to get it done. But it was a 6-figure payout for me, you know what I mean? But at the end of the day, I'm just— time and place, you know what I mean? And I always say, you know, each— under the umbrella of life insurance, each product serves a purpose. It just depends on a certain individual. Like, one is not better than the other one. I hate that in our industry right now. Yeah, well, whole life's better than IUL. You got Doug Andrews and this guy arguing, you got this guy and that guy arguing. It's just like, you both need to shut the fuck up and listen to the other person. It's kind of— it's 100% Like, it's kind of funny, the Democratic and the Republican Party is— I don't want to get into politics, but it's just like everybody just needs to shut up and listen to the other person. You don't have to agree. I don't have to agree with John Wetmore, but I should at least have the decency as a human to be quiet and take in the information he's trying to give me. Then I will give my side, and then we can come to some sort of middle ground if there is one, right? But in the insurance industry, dude, I just feel like term is not better than whole life. Whole life's not better than final expense. Final expense is not better than IUL. IUL is not better than annuity. Like, It depends on the person and what they need and what their current circumstances are. So I feel like, to your point earlier, selling IULs done the wrong way— I also feel like there are agencies out there, you and I have seen them, that's all they push to people, and it doesn't fit that person. Yeah, that policy is going to lapse inside of 6 months, you know what I mean? Because a lot of people don't have $200, $300, $400, $500 a month in disposable income.

Sure, yeah, yeah, it is a fun— it's a funny industry, man.

It is. I love it, I love it.

But at the same time, I'm like, huh, This is— it is quite funny, you know.

It's— for me, it's like football, where it's a love-hate. Like, you'd love to play, but waking up that next day, it's like, yeah, what did I get myself into?

Is that what sport you were in, Maine? I don't even know.

It was both. Well, I grew up a baseball player and transitioned myself into a basketball player, then transitioned myself into a football player while still having basketball in my mind. And a long-armed, long-legged, lanky body, so that didn't quite fit well on the football field for a long time. Then I got injured and that, that kind of went out the window. NFL dreams kind of went out the window. But never made it? Yeah, I had a workout. I had a workout with, with Cincinnati back in 2010 and that part didn't work out. I had a really good workout, played tight end, and, um, I'll spare you the whole story, but the end of the story is I turned for a ball over my shoulder— actually, it's over this shoulder— and, um, put my cleat in the ground to turn for the ball, and my, my body turned but my cleat was stuck in the ground. So there was a there was a pop in my foot. Yep. And I thought it was my Achilles, but it was a little ligament next to your Achilles called your peroneus. And that's what I popped, and that was done. So NFL was done before it ever got started.

Crazy.

Yeah.

You played in college though? I did. Where at?

Northern Illinois, just outside Chicago.

Yeah. Yeah.

Orange Bowl? Heck no, dude. I'm from Missouri. I'm a St. Louis kid. That's why, that's why I'm a Rams guy, even though they're in LA. Like, I'm born and raised Rams guy. Got it. Even though I live in Dallas now, I won't convert to a Cowboys fan.

Yeah, I love it. It's probably a good move. Good move.

Probably funny. That's crazy.

Your brother played too, doesn't he? Play basketball guy, right?

Dude, I got 4 brothers and all of us played, uh, high school, college. And I have another bro, he played, um, well, he was working out with the, with the Green Bay Packers and the New York Giants, herniated disc, his football career also over. But I do have another brother, my middle brother Brad, um, is with the LA Clippers now, so he's a Clipper now.

Okay. Yeah, I thought I saw someone, I saw something It could just be last name, uh, in that— was it the Big Three or something? Is someone in that? I thought I saw some highlight and I'm like, is that— yeah, I didn't know. I thought you had a brother playing.

Nah. Yeah, cool.

I don't know much about it. I saw, I saw— I didn't know if that's like, uh, NBA players playing that also. I don't know much about it.

I just see retired players do. Yeah, so you get these guys that have been removed, no, like 3 to 5 years. Yeah, no one active.

Yeah, got it, got it.

Pretty sure there's non-competes that they signed for that.

Probably makes sense. Yeah, craziness. How, um, how's this been relative to sports for you? Because, you know, I've always heard coming up— I don't have a sales background, I have a pretend sports background, you know, I mean, when I was a teenager and just minor shit, nothing real. Um, but I've always heard, man, to focus on hiring athletes and military.

Yeah, they say that thing in the, in, in the market.

And I've, I've seen a lot of form.

I do—

my biggest mentor was a former athlete. Play—

went—

played big at Auburn, got drafted professionally. His brother-in-law was a pro. I've been around some athletes in, in my space that have mentored me. Um, so curious how that's helped you in, in the journey.

Well, I'll say this, you probably notice a difference between an athlete coaching you and a sales background guy or lady coaching. It's night and day, right?

Yeah, my guy was a sports guy, you know.

Yeah. Um, the thing that's— there's a lot of carryover, John, and anyone with a brainstem can tell you that. But here's where it gets me in trouble, is that the fire, the competitiveness, and the fierceness to my failure can go a little bit overboard. And that, that kind of, you know, it doesn't take well to certain people. They don't take it well, I should say, and it kind of makes them a little bit more reserved, or they want to quit altogether because I'm just too much. I'm an acquired taste, I'll be honest. But my wife is teaching me to just calm down and meet people where they are. Yeah, a little bit about— I hate that word. Um, yeah, I saw your post recently about balance, and, um, yeah, I tell everybody, if you think balance is real, kind of squirrel moment, but go read the, you know, the book Winning by Tim Grover, and, uh, he has a whole chapter in there about balance and how Kobe and Mike, there was no balance. You know, they didn't see their kids for the first 10 years of their life, but that's why they're the greatest. But, um, anyway, yeah, man, um, there's a lot of carryover from sports. You keep tally, you keep score, you know, where the other guy's measuring himself against this guy. And that's one of my faults as well, is comparing myself to John and Shawn Mike and all these other guys, and it's just like, it's hard not to do, uh, and, um, you know, you want to be bigger, faster, stronger than the next dude. You want to be better than the next person. I want you to win as much as you want me to win, but there's always, especially as a male, there's always that little bit of money. I got a little bit of a one-up on John, or John has a little bit of one-up on me. Let me try and let me get up an extra hour earlier than him and go to bed an extra hour later than him. But there's a lot of carryover, man. There's a lot, almost I would say to anyone who's ever— who hasn't played a sport, go play one for a week. And if you don't get bitten by that bug, then you probably can't do entrepreneurship, sales.

Yeah.

And be mentored by someone. Yeah.

I, um, I played enough to understand it, and I get to watch my kids play, obviously, in the way they're taught and coached. And I would love to be able to run the whole— not only my business, like the internal team, W-2, my staff, but the agents. I'm like, dude, if this thing were— I reference it all the time— if this thing were run like a sport, most agents would get cut on the first day.

Yeah, yeah. You know, but then you become the asshole, right? So it's like, correct, I'm the dickhead because I'm like, yeah, I just don't think you have it. But every day, 300 guys— or every year, 300 guys at the NFL Combine in Indy get told, I don't think you got what it takes, kid. Yeah, and they get cut in a second. There is no second thought about that, you know. Now you do get a guy that gets overlooked, like my buddy Kurt Warner, who was, you know, in a bag of groceries in a grocery store. He got overlooked, but then he became a Super Bowl champ, right? So those anomalies exist. But, you know, I had an OG tell me once, you know, for every Michael Jordan that's out there, there's 10,000 guys you haven't heard of. So that's— I, I try to find those people, man, you know what I mean? Because let's be real, you got all the, all the killers right now, you know. I, I know buddies of mine in the industry that have got all these killers on their team right now. And they're set, you know. I mean, not set for life, but they're set, you know what I mean? They're loyal to you. So I want to find those, those tertiary, secondary guys that are just— they don't know they're killers yet, but they've probably played a sport for a couple years and they kind of miss that camaraderie, they miss that competitiveness, they probably still have that edge. I love working with guys and gals like that.

Yeah, that's badass. What, what's the team structure like now? Because I know you're out there with, with a crew. I don't know how big though.

Yeah, and you know, I used to be that person. This is just again me being honest. Um, yeah, I was the person that throws shit to the wall and see what I'll hire everybody right now. And I think that worked.

We've all been there.

We've all been there, right? Because you're so— dude, I saw the drawing on the wall, the writing on the wall, when a guy showed me the math of how it works. And then this guy makes this and you get a percentage of that. And I was just like, I'm hiring everybody and their mother. Like, that was my, that was my first inclination. And then you realize not everybody's cut out. So you have to be a little bit more selective. But in that process, Jay, it took me— this is year 8— took me 8 years to actually say, all right, I'm actually going to dial it back and be a hell of a lot more, especially with this sub-niche of insurance, which is IUL and fixed index annuity. Like, this ain't for everyone. There's a learning curve. The pay cycles are a little bit longer, where some people, they go, they throw out 5, 10 applications a week in mortgage protection, final expense, and get paid 2, 3 grand. I got a gal who just got paid this morning, you know, $25,000, $26,000 from an annuity she wrote 7, 8 days ago, you know what I mean? So there's— to me, it's like, I'd rather have a longer cycle with just 4 policies on the books than to have quick, short little cycles of 12 policies on the books and half of them fall off, you know what I mean? So yeah, dude, um, right now I'm very selective about who I bring on. My group is probably about like 50 people. Very selective because I want to run it more like an advisory as opposed to, um, a multi-level chain. You know what I mean? Which, there's still some of that in there, obviously, because it's insurance, right? This is how it works. Um, but we're very selective about who we bring in.

That's dope. That's dope.

Something you have to be. Yeah.

Get effing paid.

Get effing paid. Get effing paid. Get effing paid.

What up, guys? If you guys are looking to get to a new level in your career, you may have seen that we've been running some workshops in my office in Atlanta. I have them every quarter now. Last one sold out fully. It was a massive success. A couple different levels you can attend. Just a general ticket, get you in the door, listen to 2 days of training, interactive workshop style. We really dive into what you got going on and how to get to new levels. If you're looking to be in a new crowd, higher level up, I have a private mastermind. Last one was at my house. It was insane, all the value that everybody added to each other, and we had a good time. And, uh, I heard it was way underpriced relative to what people got out of it. You can check out some some of the testimonials here, I'm sure. But if you'd like to attend, click the link below. I do them every quarter. The date will be around here somewhere. Look forward to seeing you there. If you are in the insurance industry and you're looking to scale and grow your business, I highly encourage you to check John Wetmore out. Honestly made the cost of the event back in like the first 2 hours of being here.

John Wetmore is a beast. So much value in everything that I've learned here.

It is worth the price of admission.

Make sure you get to the next meeting.

Are you, are you making leads too? I saw the— I saw something with it.

You, you run them? Sick. I, I was running them for the first— when you do, when you leave an agency and you start your own, um, you, you realize really quickly you wear 20 hats in a day. Plus, I was a new father. My daughter was literally 6 months old at the time, so I picked the perfect time to go into business for myself. But, um, that, that was the hardest thing to do, those— that first 18 months, um, running leads, running an agency. Getting contracts together because I literally was doing everything. I barely had time to sell, right? But, um, no, now I have a marketing team that, that helps me run it. And, um, I have a VP of mine who also is— God, I, I couldn't tie my shoes without this dude, but he also helps me run that too.

That's badass. Yeah, I know enough to be dangerous in that world. There's a lot of moving parts. Oh my God, dude.

And people don't realize when you, you charge leads or we charge for leads and it's just, oh, this should be free. If you only knew how much I really put in, like I'm putting in, almost putting in a quarter million dollars a year just into lead generation. I'm sorry, $20,000 a month into a quarter million dollars a year into lead generation, right? And we're charging you $25, $35. Come on, dude.

So what makes a lead good, bro? Everybody wants to know. They want the good ones.

They want the good ones, man. They want the hot ones. It's fresh off the press. And we try to, and we try our damnedest to do that. And you can't appease everybody. But to me, dude, when I was really getting started, probably you, because we're about the same age, but a lead was a name and a number and a reason and an excuse to talk to somebody, right? Um, that was— that's the old school Brian Tracy and all these other, you know, Zig Ziglar. But, you know, name, number, and a good reason to talk to somebody. Now people want name, phone number, who's— who's your mother, what's your mother's social, you know, her Social Security. It's like, you don't need all that, bro. To me, a good lead is a name, phone number, what state they're in, what they're looking for, and why they're looking for That's it. And I can help you with that. You know, they see our ads running on Meta, on TikTok, and they fill out the form. Boom, it comes to us in real time and it gets delivered to our agents' accounts, their CRMs, in real time, and they're able to go. And as you know, speed to lead, that's the name of the game. The quicker you get there, the better odds you have, the better your odds at closing. Um, yeah, dude, so we, we do that, and I— it's taken a lot for me to take step back and realize that, you know, in today's modern insurance society that we have, you know, there are some things that people do need, like a CRM. I was anti-CRM for a very long time. When I got leads, John, it was just leads would come out, I print them off, and I would take notes on that lead. Next lead, you know what I mean? Call this person, they told me something, write that down, and next lead. Now people want everything digital, and I get that. So I'm a dinosaur now, right? So I had to take a step back, stop being prehistoric, and say, all right, fuck it, let's do it. Go y'all's way, you know. But there's some things in terms of like leads that just won't go away. And if you have a name, a phone number, and where they're located, you should be good to go.

Yeah, you ain't getting rid of the hustle. That's what I've learned.

And we want— and we want these leads to call themselves, and it's just like, bro, it don't work like that. It doesn't.

I know, I know the 3 people on Facebook this morning had a lead call them and they closed it. I'm away. I saw it too. I always tell people, I'm like, yeah, I got it, dude. I see it. Yeah.

But I see it.

Stop. Oh man, crazy. What is, um, I want to— I'm curious about more of your, the presentation side, um, of the IUL, because I've seen several different ways people do it. But I would, I would love to know what you're looking for. Client— you kind of mentioned the demographic you're looking for, but we love how you get into it and how you— how you— I assume you're trying to one-call close those suckers.

I was trying to one-call close. Yes. Um, so annuities and IUL obviously operate differently. I, I really believe you Yeah, if you, if you're running annuity leads, you have to be— I don't know, you have to be Brian Tracy to close that thing on the first try, you know what I mean? Like, annuities, I'd say, are probably about a 3 or 4 touch process. Annuities, we want annuities 3 or 4 touch. IUL, we want to close right there, one call if not two at the most. If you're not closing in one or two calls, you're probably not going to sell that guy, you're not going to sell that gal. Right. And our presentation is pretty much, you know, you have your standard, hey, who's this? Or, hey, this is so-and-so, you know, blah, blah, blah, blah. But we go into more of an educational background and which takes a little bit longer, but it gives people more information than probably what they think they needed to make that decision right there on the spot, trying to overcome objections before they even pop up. And if they do pop up, we just refer back to the beginning with, oh, but you said this was the most important thing to you, right? You know what I mean? So it's just like any other script, John. Um, the thing is, I tell people— this is going to sound cheesy as all shit— but I tell people, you have to be Robert Downey Jr., you have to be Chadwick Boseman. Like, these are just words on the paper. Your job is to make sure they come to life, you know what I mean? Like, and people need to be able to believe you. I'm gonna go see the damn, you know, Doomsday movie because Robert Downey Jr.'s in it. I could care less about everybody else because he makes me believe in what I'm looking at, you know what I mean? So if you're not willing to put in the work to hone your craft, which includes making these words on a piece of paper come to life, you can have the greatest script in the world. I got a guy I lost not that long ago because he wanted— shout out to my man Jeremy Miner— but he wanted, you know, Jeremy's stuff. And it's like, okay, great. And now you're over there with Jeremy. How many sales have you made? Oh, none. But you've been over there for shit, 8 months, bro. Like, you got the best script in the world. What? Oh, well. You know what I mean? Like, you could have the best in the world, but if you're not gonna fucking pick up the phone and make the words come to life, you're still not gonna make money, my boy. It doesn't work that way.

I see people that are not Jeremy Minor trying to do Jeremy Minor, and I'm like, yeah, you're missing his point, bro.

Yeah, Jeremy never said that the CRM is supposed to do all the work for you, you know. Jeremy said you didn't have to buy leads, you know. Yeah, no, I love Jeremy though. He's a good dude.

Yeah, I don't know him, but I see his stuff for sure. I know, I know some people that know him and Heard nothing but good things.

Nothing but good things.

Yeah, yeah, that's cool.

Dig it.

Um, what are, what are some of the biggest— I guess on the, you know, all of us trying to prevent objections versus overcome them— what are, what are some of your, I don't know, fucking tips, tricks?

What do you—

what are some good ones, you know, where you're trying to avoid them that you use regular, kind of tools in your belt, if you will?

One of my biggest things with IUL is the whole We, we talk— here's a phrase that's used too much today is, oh, this guy's rich. That's overused today. Uh, wealthy is also overused, but the biggest one is generational wealth. Everybody talks about it, but no one really knows how to get it, right? Or you know how to get it, but you just don't put in that activity to get there, right? Um, and one of the ways to do that, bro, is through life insurance. I don't care if it's a final expense from CFG or whomever for $35,000, you leave that to your kid, you know what I mean? That's generational wealth in my mind. Right. So with an IUL, I tell, especially if I'm talking to a man, if I'm mano a mano with a guy, here's, I'll give out this free game right here. This is what I tell a guy on the phone. I was like, and John, doing this because of what you've done today, your kids and your kids' kids and those, that generation, that lineage 200 years from now will be able to say because of what great-great-great-grandpa John Wetmore did 200 years ago, we never have to worry about money like the Rockefellers. So when I say that to a man, because a man's ego is his last name, that's going to live on forever in perpetuity. He's like, damn, that's actually— that's right. And then I'll say, so now you're a multimillionaire on paper. Now it's up to you to bring it to life. You're a multimillionaire on paper. So right here, we signed off, you're good to go, but it's up to you to keep funding it. That also helps me prevent chargeback, right? So now it's up to you to keep that, that policy funded, because the minute you stop, your future, your wife's, your children's, your children's children's children's future Good point. That's sick.

I like that. It's like, taste it. No one's ever told them they were a millionaire before, not like that.

And that's the— yeah, and that's the thing, dude. I'm trying to make it as tangible as possible because in today's world, sales is given such a bad name. And I, I get it because I see some of the sleazy shit on Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, and just stuff out there that's, you know, shouldn't be sales. Like OnlyFans, right? That's still sales. Got women that are million— I'm not gonna get down, dude.

I want to get on one day, just sit down on a couch and just unfiltered with you. I don't know why, but it sounds like it'd be fun, bro.

And I feel the same, and you're not the first person to say that, dude. It's probably because I'm raw and uncut and I say what's on my mind. And but I'm trying to be more— I'm trying to have more of a filter because you don't know who you're gonna offend. Um, and I don't want to offend people of all— I love all races, backgrounds, religions. But anyway, um Yeah, man, um, that— those are two tidbits for, you know, it's about playing the long game and, and making things more tangible for people, things that we could feel, touch, taste, and smell. Because sales has such a bad name today, I want to make it real. I don't want it to feel like sales. I want to feel like your best bud, neighbor Brandon, just came by just to help you out with something. But this something is what's going to live on long after you're gone, you know what I mean? So selling the IUL, yeah, this is going to give you money today, But in the Bible, I think you're a religious guy, you know, it talks about leaving an inheritance to your children's children. That's this, you know what I mean? And then on the other side with annuities, you know, for my seniors, gotta love them. I had two in my life and, you know, they're, they're gone now. But, you know, the biggest fear amongst that demographic is outliving their money. The biggest fear amongst that demographic is not having enough, you know, in for healthcare. And annuities, especially with LTC built into most of them now, it takes care of both of those, you know what I mean? So you don't have to worry about this, you don't have to worry about that. People worry, worry, worry, stress, stress. I'm stressed right now, you know what I mean? Like, you probably stressed the hell out right now, you know what I mean? But, you know, the annuity and the IUL can take away at least one of those stressors, you know. It's kind of like when you're closing just general life insurance, mortgage protection, term, and, and final expense, and you tell a guy or a lady, you know, um, There was a line I had that I used to use. It totally spaced just now, but it was a good one. I promise you it was a good one. It'll come back to me.

Sit here long enough, it'll come back. It happens all the time to me, bro.

Yeah, that's what happens when you start getting old. You don't write stuff down.

It's true.

I had to start writing shit down.

You start telling stories, dude, and some— you ever like, you start to tell the story and then you forget why you were telling the story? Like you were trying to get somewhere.

Oh yeah, 100%. It's like somebody bring me back around where I was gonna be finishing. Yeah. Yes, I do that a lot. It'll come back to me though.

It's all good. Love it. Um, so you wrote a book, is that true?

I did. It is true.

Yeah, my guy told me you wrote a book. I wanna— what do you got? I'm ready. I want to know.

Again, I was a new father and literally was— she would be— my daughter would be asleep on this shoulder and I'd be typing with one hand.

Stop.

You know, just thought— I'm not kidding. And I'd be typing night after night after night after night, um, this IUL book. And pretty much, dude, it's It wasn't meant to be like a New York Times bestseller. It was just an educational book in itself. That's all it was meant to be. Um, but it just goes over IUL. And I'm one of those people— again, sports, right? I really believe sports has a lot of carryover into business. And if I am playing with the New York Knicks and we have to play against the Lakers the next night, I need to know everything about my opponent. I need to know everything about their roster. I want to know how far back their winning history goes, their losing history goes. Like, Same with an IUL. I need to know everything I need to know about the 401. I need to know everything I can about a Roth, TSP, 403, 529, you name it. Like, I, I know enough to be dangerous, right?

Yeah.

Um, and that book does that. It compares and contrasts a lot of IUL versus those components and then why it's better. And then there's some historical data and here's why it's better, you know what I mean? So that's really what that book was about. I'm working on an annuity book. It was supposed to come out last year, but Things happen, you know, and tough to get out, bro. Yeah. Yeah, I got your book actually. And I'm loving it, dude. I'm loving your book so far. Again, raw, uncut, unfiltered. I like that.

Yeah, I appreciate it. What made you write it? What was that? What drove you to it?

It was actually, you know, one thing I truly believe in is not just having goals, but writing them down. And one of my goals was, you know what, I'm gonna write a book in 2024. And I said, you know what, it was the last thing that I haven't done for that year. And I said, I'm actually gonna be intentional and start working on this book come hell or high water. Hence the late nights with my daughter in a rocking chair, you know, typing up a book. And so that's— I just really wanted to get one out there. I want to get my thoughts on paper. And there's a lot of other books about the same thing out there. And you just want to see, again, that competitor in you. You want to see how you do and how you measure up against the next guy or gal.

It's the more I, the more I learn in life, because I, I started late. I was 35 when I started in this business, and I had— I don't— I'm about to ask—

I was 31.

Yeah, but I, I had no money ever, as you might have read so far in the book.

Yeah.

Um, you know, and you start seeing how, how much this industry can change your situation quick. It's like, I don't know, dude, you fall in love with— for me, it was like sharing the journey too. Because I feel like people can make this shit happen, you know? So I, I'd love to understand a little bit more about your background to see how, um, relatable it is to others. And I don't know, I think it all— I think all of us that do anything in life, people look at us and think we're doing something amazing. We're like, dude, I'm just a dude out here fucking working my ass off. That's it.

Um, that's, that's it, man.

But yeah, what's, what's— I would love to know more about you.

Did you grow up—

I, I'm— background, I want to know a little bit more. How was the journey like, bro?

Starting today, I think a lot of people misconstrue who I am today because of who I'm related to. Really? Yeah. So great question. So I think a lot of people, because I'm related to an NBA player—

got it—

it's assumed that Brandon probably came from money. I could pull up a picture on Zillow of my house that I grew up in. You wouldn't buy that house, John, even as a rental property. You wouldn't buy that house. You wouldn't flip that house. You wouldn't live in that neighborhood. You wouldn't put your worst enemy in that neighborhood. I grew up across the street from prostitution, Section 8 housing, and gangs. And believe it or not, the gangs in my family were like, they protected my family from other gangs. This is— I couldn't make this up. So we grew up with no money. We grew up— I was just telling my wife this, how we would huddle over the stove some mornings because we didn't have, you know, centralized heating to keep us warm. Like, we would have to go turn on the stove to go get warm. You know what I mean? Or if it was really hot, we'd go in the basement where it was really cool. You know what I mean? So I remember one, one day my mom telling me a story about how they couldn't pay the mortgage that month and the bank might take the house away. So I didn't grow up with money. I didn't— I don't come from money. My family doesn't come from money. And I think a lot of that carries over into who I am today and having that chip on my shoulder and playing sports that way and having that chip on my shoulder because I came from nothing. If you notice, there was a foot— there was an NFL quarterback, I can't remember his name, and it's probably why I can't remember his name. But he came from money, and he was drafted into the NFL. And then I want to say maybe a year into it, he's like, this isn't for me anymore.

Yeah.

That's because he already had—

yeah, he was—

everything. He had no hunger, he had no desire. But you see these kids from inner cities, you see these kids who grew up with, with nothing, And then they come into these multimillion-dollar contracts. Like, I'm watching America's Team, the story on the Dallas Cowboys and Jerry Jones, and one of the first guys they talk about is Michael Irvin. And you just look at where he grew up and it's just like, holy shit, that looks like where I grew up, you know what I mean? And, and it's a— and it's just, it's night and day difference, dude. It is night and day difference. So people assume that I came for money, and that, that couldn't be any closer to a fabrication. Um, but there's a lot of carryover. There is a lot of carryover. And I think a lot more guys who come from nothing have a lot more fight, a lot more fight to them. And unless I tell that story, people don't understand why I am as psycho as I am about this business.

So it's 4 y'all, 4 brothers, you said?

I have 4 brothers. Yeah.

So 5 of y'all total?

5 total. I'm the oldest. 5 and a half.

Oldest. Okay. I was going to ask. Got it. Okay. Sheesh. That had to be crazy.

It was, man. We were fighting over cereal, milk, bologna, sugar. Yeah, we fight over everything. Yeah, we still fight about stuff today, which is cool. It's good fights though.

What up, insurance agents? If you're looking for a roadmap on how to win in this industry, check out the book I wrote about a year ago, Do More Now, Get Better Later. Check out the reviews here somewhere. My team's putting them on. I'm getting tons of great feedback about all the people it's helped. Appreciate those of y'all that have bought it. Appreciate all the reviews that are going out. If you're new to following me or the industry, check out the book and get it in your hands now. I want, I want to, I want to hear some stories from mom. What's mom's deal? Mom alive? She doing well? What's the deal?

Mom and dad are both still alive, living in St. Louis, Missouri. They're— my dad is 65. Mom is 63, even though she thinks she's 32. But she's— Mom is where the militance comes from. And that is it. We all get our chill, laid-back, nonchalant kind of attitude from. So we all have a good mix of both. Mom, but Mom is definitely— Mom was a basketball coach, a volleyball coach.

Hot.

So Mom played basketball and volleyball in college. Dad played quarterback and shooting guard in college. Both played at Kentucky State. Uh, my mom's brother was a pitcher for the St. Louis Cardinals. My mom had another brother who was a middle linebacker for the Kansas City Chiefs. Um, no one in my dad's family played pro, but they all played, um, high school and college. So the DNA of athletics definitely runs deep. Yeah, my grandmother played, uh, I think she played one of the first HBCUs. She played basketball, one of the first HBCUs, Mississippi's— I can't remember, it was some school in Mississippi, I forget the name of it, but Yeah, dude, sports runs deep in my family.

Crazy. How old are you now?

I'll be 40 in October, man. And I'm looking—

I'm 48. I'm, I'm a good bit older than you then. I'll be 49 in March, or I just turned 48 this past March, whatever.

When I'm somewhere in the middle, you're still a kid.

Trust me, I'm trying to be, dude.

It's—

it gets hard.

I feel like I'm 90, but yeah, yeah, it does. So you just do a marathon or something like that, bro?

I just got back last night Um, yeah, I did— the most recent event I did was in Whistler, Canada, and it was— the point of it was it was an event that the concept is hiking the equivalent of Mount Everest, right? So the, the company is called 29029, which is the height in feet of Mount Everest, in elevation, I guess. Yeah. Um, so we went to this mountain in Whistler that was 4,000 feet and 4 miles. So it went up 4,000 feet over the course of 4 miles, and I had to hike that. We had 36 hours to hike it 8 times, so the total was like 31 miles uphill, um, in 36 hours.

Yeah, better than me, man.

My knees got back from last night. Uh, man, I've been training my ass off on, on it, you know, and everything hurts.

But that's the goshdamn point. That's the point, y'all. Everybody listening, he trained for it. You don't go write $1 million in premium on a whim. You don't go write $2 million in annuities in August on a whim. Like, no, you train for that. God, I love you, John. Thank you so much.

I trained my— so last year I tried to do it last year. This will give you some more storytelling. I was in okay shape for an older dude, right? I was going— I'd go to CrossFit, I go to the gym. I'm in decent shape, whatever. Um, but I'm not a runner. I'm not an endurance guy. I'm not winning any races at all. It's just not, not me. Um, but I decided I was going to start doing some crazy stuff just to push myself. So I signed up to this event last year and just did my regular training, my regular gym routine. I was like, yeah, it's a hill, I'll walk up it, bro. It kicked my ass last year.

Yeah.

Um, I did 5 out of the 8, couldn't, couldn't finish. And, uh, I was like, you know what? So I got pissed after because I knew like This is one of the first things I went for that I didn't fin— and I punked out. And anyway, so I felt like shit about myself, and, uh, I'm like, you know what, so this year I signed up to 3 of them. So that was the second one. I have another one in a month. And, uh, I was like, yo, this year I'm going to like hire a trainer and actually go for this event. And I spent literally 12 months training for it, dude, day in, day out, every day running, hiking, food, stopped drinking, like the whole deal.

Yeah, that's like my past with bodybuilding. I did bodybuilding for maybe 4 years or so in my early to mid-30s, and, uh, you train all year for 3 minutes on stage, you know what I mean? You train, you diet, you, you cut people out of your life, you cut sugar out of your life and McDonald's and all other shit, dude. And it's just like, you— all of that so that you can have a 6 or 8 pack of abs and 2.5 to 3.5% body fat And if you turn the wrong way with the wrong lighting, you're docked a couple points, and that's the difference between first and third, you know what I mean? But yeah, I get it, dude. Training for 12 months just for one show or one event in your case, I get it. A lot of people don't understand that, but I get it.

We're trying to get them there, dude, with all this stuff. You can't give more info. It's like, shit, crazy. Yeah. How did you go from that background? You said no money, oldest of 5. Mom, dad trying to figure things out to like, you're making real legit money now. Obviously you kind of— the journey of insurance we heard, but I'm assuming there's some kind of gap in the middle.

Oh yeah, there's a big-ass gap in the middle. Holy hell.

I mean, share what you want, bro.

Yeah, yeah, you're— I, I say this to my team, you're talking to the dude, like, if y'all can't relate to me, here it is. Like, you're talking to the guy that lived in his car and showered at his gym and ate off the dollar menu. That's real.

See, that's a shower.

All my grandmother's grandfather's grave. I lived in my car. I showered at my gym, and they knew I wasn't paying my gym membership, but they knew I needed a place to shower. And I still thank them to this day. I still send them a gym membership, kind of a retro pay. And I had to eat off the dollar menu twice a day because I literally had no money.

What age is this?

This would have been 27 years old, man.

Oh, shit. Okay. So like, like me, grown-ass adult with nothing.

Grown-ass man. And I had people to fall back on. Like, I still had mom and dad. I could go back home to Missouri, but I didn't want to do that. I was willing to live in my car and get this, get this thing called life figured out on my own. I needed to be an adult, you know what I mean? And the closer you get to 30, man, and you get it figured out, you're better off for it.

What were you doing for work? What kind of jobs did you have?

I was still doing sales. I was doing, okay, I was doing door-to-door sales in, in the state of New York business to business selling, would you believe it or not, office supplies. I was selling pens, papers, printers, computers, staplers, any frickin' thing on your desk right now. I was selling that literally door to door. Cold. In cold in New York.

Literally cold. Okay.

Yeah, dude, it's fucking— it was, it was hot as hell, then it was cold as hell. But then after, you know, a time of doing that, I moved to— I moved from Chicago to New York, New York to DC. And that's when I became a personal trainer. And, you know, okay, I loved being— I love being in the gym at this time of my life. Like, the gym is where I live, breathe, and die, you know what I mean? Like, that was my safe haven, that was my fortress of solitude. And I said, well, if I could work in a gym, that's just like— and get a free membership out of it, like, that's just dope for me right there, right? Um, and then we moved to California, uh, Ashley and I, and, you know, it just was one of those things to where I thought I was gonna be the next personal trainer to train Hugh Jackman for a new Wolverine movie, but that didn't happen, right? Because I'm kind of Southern California, trainers on every corner like 7-Eleven, right? So I didn't get a chance to do that. And I said I needed more income, I needed more money, because Ashley and me were literally down to like our last couple of dollars, dude. It got, it got so bad— this is me keeping it real— it got so bad I had to ask my wife for $5 to put into for gas in my car so that I can drive to an opportunity meeting for insurance. And that's how insurance actually got started. $5.

Easy.

Yeah. And then I had another, uh, check from personal training come in, which was $200, and I used $185 to get my insurance license. Left me with $15.

Crazy.

That's how, that's how insurance journey actually got started. Yeah. Unreal.

Which is— I can see why you like to take care of your family now.

Oh yeah, dude. And I'm not— it has nothing to do with that. She's just a dope person. Um, and I believe that when you, when you do get married, you're— my job as a man is to make sure that she's, you know, provided for and that she's protected. Like, that's what I am supposed— that's what I'm born and bred to do. I really believe that in my bones. Um, so she could do nothing and I'm still going to do that. You know what I mean? She could give— she didn't have to give me $5 8 years ago, 9 years ago. I still would, I still would do it today, you know, because obviously she's an awesome person too.

Yeah, she's gonna stay home. Is she involved with the business at all, or she take—

she was in the beginning. That, that was the cool part about it, uh, but then it became not cool because you start coaching your spouse and you know how that goes. And, um, yeah, she was like, we tried, it didn't work. I can work with you. Yeah, see, you know, it It does for some people, which is wild to me. And we're just—

yeah.

And that's exactly what happened. So then I started making a little bit more money. Team started getting a little bit bigger. Override's got a little bit bigger. So I said, just, just stay here. Like, I got this. I got this. You take care of the home front. You can go out and get your nails done. You go out and have fun with the girls, whatever you want to do. I got this. You know what I mean? And I actually get a kick out of that today, John. Like, I like— and I'm sure you're the same way. Like, I love that my wife gets to stay home and not do anything. I love that she kind of has this— I call it freedom. She's bored, right? But— and she's with our 2-year-old right now. But I love that I get to go work all day while they play. Like, that, that, that fulfills me. I'm not gonna lie. I love that. Yeah.

Do you— this is funny.

This is—

this is— this question is coming from Conversations with Steph and I. And I don't know how far you are in the book. So depending on how far you are, maybe you'll get it.

I just— I just picked it up. Okay.

So, yeah. Steph, Steph and I— anyway, I'll ask the question. Um, so obviously she's been with you since y'all broke a shit, right? You go through those journey. Did she ever— do you ever get this? Does she ever have anything where people— like, my wife has a thing where if people wonder if she's with me for the money, she's like, yo, let me sit down and let's talk some stories.

Um, I'm wondering if that's a thing in your house too or not.

I don't know.

Yes and no, and I'll explain. So it's, it's not a thing in our house as in people thinking that she's with me because I have money. There were people in the past that thought that she was with me because my brother had money.

Oh, shut up.

Yeah, that's the first time I ever said that out loud. Yeah. Whoa, I didn't think of that.

Got it.

Yeah, so it's like, oh, maybe she's trying to wiggle her way— and that couldn't be any further from the truth. Like, my brother loves and adores my wife. My wife loves and adores Brad. You know what I mean? And for people to think that, that's just— that shows where we are today as a society too. But then you also have to look at actual things that do happen like that, you know what I mean? Those— that's not hard to imagine, but it ain't far-fetched. That ain't happening in my house, you know what I mean?

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

We're 10 years strong.

Yeah, if anyone even hints at it, she's like, uh-uh, dude. My wife helped pay my child support when we were new, you know what I mean? I had to like— help me—

that's—

I got evicted from a house and— yeah, yeah, I mean, she took me in like a stray cat, dude.

That's a woman.

Yeah, yeah, I was in, I was in rough shape when we, when we met. It was pretty bad. I was—

what were you doing before?

I was, um, officially an accountant is what I did mostly. Um, I started later in life. I was in restaurants for 4 years, I was in a warehouse for 4 years, and then I got, um, my accounting degree like in my mid to late 20s, and I did that for a while. And, um, my first side hustle I tried to do was in mortgages. And so I made a few bucks in mortgages, but it was in '07, '06, '07. And yeah, not 9 months in and I got whacked and lost a little bit I accrued. I got a couple houses taken away, I got the car— I grew up in the hood, dude. The first time I had money, I didn't know what to do and I spent it all on rims and shit. That's what I took it away.

That's the truth. So John, I made $60 grand in my first 3 months in insurance, and I still to this day And I'm good with numbers. Can't tell you where that $60 grand went. It was gone. It was gone on month 5. And now I'm back to the drawing table trying to figure out how I'm gonna make more money. I'm freaking out. Ashley's freaking out. But we made it work clearly. Yeah. That's what I tell people too. Like, what I love about our industry is that you can make a shit ton of money fast, but you can lose it even quicker.

True.

If you don't manage it right, you can lose it even quicker if you don't manage it right. Just because you got paid $20 G's today when you think about it, 20 G's really ain't yours until about year 2. You know what I mean? So you really have to— you got a nice loan from Chase Bank right now or from Transamerica right now. Like, it's— you got to take care of that money. Flip— you need to take it, flip it, and go make more money so that if something does fall off, you don't care. Yeah, that's why I teach my guys.

Where do you see most people mess up in this industry? Obviously, if you're in it, you see when it ain't— thinking it's easy when it ain't.

I think it is easy. And here's what people do. I teach my guys, like, this industry is very, very simple, but simple is not to be confused with easy. True. Like, they're not the same thing. They're not mutually exclusive either. Like, they're, they're not the same thing. Make calls. You buy leads, make calls, say what we tell you to say, close the deal, get paid, rinse and repeat. Now, in between each one of those steps, yeah, there's some nuts and bolts, you know what I mean? Yeah, there's some nuts and bolts. And that's why I also say we have to keep it simple and keep it clear. Keep things simple, keep things clear, you're going to be better off. But another common mistake I see people make is thinking that they can survive solely on just one market. It's not going to happen. You need people to talk to in sales. That's why it's called sales. And you need the numbers. If you don't have the numbers, you're going to be like me living in your car. Because going door to door, I didn't have the numbers. I didn't have the, the work ethic. I didn't know that it— I had work ethic, but I didn't know what it really took to do B2B. You had to knock on 50 doors to get one sale. And I was knocking 17, 18, 20 doors, you know what I mean? And I would come back with no sales. But then when I knocked on 50, 60, 70 doors, I come back with one or two sales. So you start to figure out it is a numbers game. So all these gurus on social media right now, they're telling you, oh, stop running the numbers, it's about— they're fucking liars. It is a numbers game. Yeah, I had to go through 5 women to get to my wife who just left with my kid just now, right? That was a numbers game, right? You were— you had a kid with a prior relationship and now you're with Steph. Like, it's a numbers game. Stop it. Everything is a numbers game. It really is. I see you got Grant's book back there, Sell or Be Sold. It's one of my favorite sales books. Yeah, you know what I mean? Everything in life is sales. Everything in life is sales. Another common mistake people make is they don't— they take the training that you do on a Zoom, or like you do a lot of live in-person trainings, I do a lot of Zoom trainings, and then that's it. There's no extra development after that. Yeah, there's no early mornings, mid-afternoons, and late nights. There's no books, there's no other seminars. It doesn't have to just be your IMO seminar. Go to— go to Jeremy's event, go to Cody Askin's event, go— just go and get out and hear and see and listen to what other people are doing, same thinking, you know. There's— I, I really believe the more you develop, the more you educate yourself, the better off you'll be. Because this industry is super simple, but it's not easy. Yes.

You know, this one— I hope this one rubs you, to be honest. It's because people are out there always posting on social media to work smarter, not harder, bro.

That is the dumbest shit I've ever heard. Because anybody in their right mind would know you do both. You work smarter and harder. I'll tell you what, if it's smarter, not harder, tell that to rest in peace Steve Jobs. Tell that to Mike and Kobe. Tell it to LeBron. Tell that to Bill Gates. Tell it to Steve Ballmer. All these people were working harder. And now they're older, they work smarter. Michael Jordan, when he turned 35, he actually said it in The Last Dance, like, I got older, I learned how to work smarter. But the dude still outworked everybody. He was still a workhorse at 35, whooping 26 and 27-year-olds' ass every night. You know what I mean? But the game starts to slow down. Because he understood it, because he developed. Go figure.

It's sick.

I love it, dude.

Ben Badass, anything that, um, you like to cover that I didn't ask about? If you're an insurance agent and you feel like you're stuck, you've hit a wall, you're trying to figure out sales strategies, the scripts to use, how to get like off the ground and get to that top of the leaderboard type status, I have a course that I've put out, super affordable. I'm getting a ton of great feedback from people every day on the strategies they've learned and been able to implement, from goal setting to sales techniques to calendar scheduling, everything you would need to get your business off the ground and get running quickly. jwcourse.com, click the link below and get in there today.

Nah, man, like I told you, I'm an open book, dude. Like, I'm, I'm one of those people, I don't really like talking about me. It's just I know we, we say that in sales, like, what do people like to talk about themselves? Like, I'm— that's not me. Like, I like talking about other people. Yeah. Yeah. Um, but is there anything I want to talk about? Not necessarily, but I'll answer any and all questions, dude. I don't care how, how brazen they may be.

I love it. I love it. What, um, so you obviously read— what's your favorite sales book?

Grant Seller Be Sold is my favorite sales book.

Is it really?

Uh, yeah, it is. It really is, because that's And I'm not gonna go down that route, but it is my favorite book on sales right now. Well, okay, I was gonna— I didn't want to go down a political route, but he, you know, every— well, the bullshit happening in California, um, he, he makes this pitch like he's gonna run for governor, not run for governor, and, and all these other things. I just think him and a few other people actually in our industry, I'm just— they were role models of mine early, and now they're not role models anymore just because some of the shit that's spewing out of their mouth, it kind of comes from a place of of arrogance, ego. And if I'm being completely honest, entitlement. I didn't grow up entitled. And neither did Grant, you know, Grant was a drug addict, an alcoholic, you know what I mean? He turned his life around. So kudos to him. But yeah, anyway, Stellar Be Sold is one of my favorite books. I— because he goes into small synopsis on how everything in life is saying it really is. I could work at a department store, insurance, solar, pest control, or trying to convince my wife how, you know what, I think we should have a kid. Or I have to sell her on the fact, you know what, I don't think we should have a kid. Like, you have to be— you're selling all the time. The president has to sell us on why he should be sitting in that chair. Then he has to sell us on his policies. Then he has to sell that he's going to deliver on those policies. Then he has to sell us on why he didn't deliver on those policies, but he will do it eventually, right? Everything is sales, man. Politicians are the best salesmen in the world. It's true.

I wish I learned it earlier. I was— I tried to tell my kids now to study that shit young.

Yeah. And I do like what Grant's doing with his daughters. Like, he has them making hundreds of phone calls, you know, taking orders and making sales. I want my daughter to be doing that. I think that is awesome. But, and it— I want her to have a college education, but some of the wealthiest Fortune 500 CEOs, man, or 100 CEOs, No, no, no, no Bachelor of Science, no Bachelor of Arts, no, no doctorate. Like, we all know Zuck was a dropout, you know what I mean? And there's— he's not the only one. I, I really believe sales should be taught in schools, and Grant actually says that, and I do believe— I do agree with that. Sales should be taught in schools. It shouldn't be a prerequisite, but you should have the option, you know what I mean, to take sales, you know what I mean? Just like money management should be taught in school. And I think that should be taught in high school, not just your plain Jane economics class, which I took. I'm talking about, like, I learned how to balance a checkbook at 17. Okay, great. But what about stocks, bonds, investments, insurance? You know, I mean, things like, like money management, you know, not buying a car that you're paying $1,000 a month for, you know, I mean, and a house that you're paying $3,000 a month for, and you're negative $2,000. And you got to decide on, do I get my medicine this month, or do I feed my kids? Nobody should have to go through that. right? Learn how to manage your money better. I think that should be taught too.

What was the, what was the turning point, dude, when you— because I can look back and go like, I remember being a broke insurance agent and now I'm definitely not, you know what I mean? You can look back and go, where did that transition happen? You mean like, when did you know, bro, like, oh shit, I think we figured something out? Like, was there a moment or a thing or—

my practice company. Okay, when you're tutored as this person, and then you come to find out behind your back, they're saying something else. Yeah. And that's when the beast was unleashed. That's when the dude needs to be let out of his cage. And it's— dude, I compare myself to Mike, but I'm not— I'm under no, you know, illusion that I'm not Michael Jordan and will never be Michael Jordan. There's only one of those guys. I am not Kobe Bryant, would never pretend to be Kobe Bryant. But there's a lot of similarities. And one of them is, I— my wife, she hates this about me, but you shouldn't hold a grudge in life because it's just a lot of weight. But my grudges are my fuel every day.

Yeah, I get that.

So it's almost like, yeah, that person may live rent-free in my head, but I'm still ahead of that person. Yeah, you know, I mean, because of what they said, because of what they did, because of how I was treated, you know, I mean, I'm one of those guys, John, I'm old school, man. If I get drafted by the LA Rams, that's why I want to retire. Yeah, but every human has a breaking point, you know what I mean? Where it's like, if I'm being treated unfairly, talked about, spit on, the work that I bring you and the income and override that I bring you, you're saying great job, but then behind my back you call me something else. Okay. And I took that personal.

You seem like an F you watch me kind of guy.

100%. And I have— I mean, I've been in therapy about it, and my therapist says, well, when— no, this is real, this is real life. My therapist said for people like you, for like people like me, maybe even Sean, maybe, maybe, you know, PBD, it's like, when is— when you get there, is there going to be another there from there? You know what I mean? And the answer is yes. So it's like, okay, so then you're never really content, and you're never really fulfilled. So we battle with that, he and I, you know what I mean? It's like, no, I'm fulfilled. I have my daughter, I have my wife, I can go broke right now. And that's really all I really care about and need are my two girls. You know what I mean? Money is just a thing to, you know, utilize to either A, make more money or fulfill other people and make them happy. Yeah. You know what I mean? So I don't really— do I like having money? Sure. Do I need money? You do need money for certain necessities. But, you know, we all want to be, I think, in our industry, rich and wealthy and, you know, all these other things. But it's not a dying need. Like some, some of these guys just have this dying desire, and that's gonna run into a brick wall. But I really am an F you, watch me type person, and I make it known to where you, you can watch me.

Yeah, I can tell.

I don't want to be that way, but yeah, that's all good.

Where, where are you in Dallas? You're in Dallas area, right?

Yeah, okay. Not in— no, it's too, too, uh, congested in Dallas, so we're, you know, I know Frisco.

I go up there sometimes.

Yeah, so north, we're east of Frisco. Yeah, probably about 30 minutes east of Frisco.

Yeah, got it.

Cool. I love Frisco, it's a really nice area.

Yeah, it's dope. I get out to Dallas probably a few times a year.

Let me know when you're out here, man. Yeah, for sure. Yeah, get a cigar and a steak, bourbon. You're a bourbon guy, a whiskey guy?

Honestly, dude, so I stopped drinking a year ago. Oh, December. Traditionally a vodka guy.

I'm a vodka—

yeah, I do vodka, lemon, a lemon drop martini. Weird enough, it's my favorite drink ever, dude.

Okay, James Bond. Yeah, 100%.

Hey, and if I was drinking, I'd get you to have one. You would be good.

I would have it.

Yeah, I'm going 2025 with not— I decided I'm gonna go the whole year without having a drink. That was the goal, dude.

That's badass.

Yeah, and I'd like to drink, to be honest.

So yeah, I need to fast for something for '26. I just don't know what, because I don't have any vices. I don't watch a lot of TV. Like, my wife thinks my— I should fast from work, you know what I mean? So that's, that's the really only thing I do all day, every day. You know what I mean? That little time I do have, it's rolling around the floor with my baby girl. You know, I would love to give up something, but I just don't know what. I'm sure there's something I can think of.

There you go. Make your list, give it up. And I had to put my attention somewhere else because I'm that— ah, I did this thing. I watched this video yesterday or day before, and I did it with ChatGPT. And I stole the idea from the video I watched. And it said like they typed in ChatGPT, what's my biggest weakness? And don't explain. And it returned mine as restlessness. So my wife's been wearing me out for 24 hours because she's like pointing out all the reasons why I'm restless. Um, but for me it's like I cut it out, but then I put that focus, that restlessness I have, that drive to achieve shit, I put into the physical side this year and just do crazy endurance events.

Um, that's dope.

Yeah, the last one I did—

say that's one of the best ways to get rid of the the cloudiness and, and yeah, in your mind, just to exercise. Yeah, yeah.

And it's a push, like I've never pushed, like I'm not again. The last— I did an event a month ago and it was in the mountains of Utah. It was 3 mountain marathons in 3 back-to-back days. So Thursday, Friday, Saturday, every day we had to do marathon distance in the, in the, in the fucking woods. It's not like it was on the nice little road or, you know, but no flat plane.

Yeah, very terrain.

Yeah, so I like chasing it. Maybe you can come up with something like that if you got the same.

I do, I, I go through that. I, I, I know when it's coming too. So like, you've been doing this long enough, it's like, all right, Brandon's coming up on month 3, gonna start getting pissed off about everything. It's probably time to take a break. Yeah. Um, yeah, I know it's like my time of the month. It's just like, yep babe, we're gonna have to, uh, let's go to Dallas for the weekend because I can already feel it coming. Like starting to get restless. I'm starting to get PO'd for no reason at all. I do have a question for you, though, if that's cool.

Yeah, absolutely.

How'd you go from— you, same question, I guess— from being where you were, broke 28-year-old, to multimillion-dollar agency? What was your kind of switch and what did you implement?

Yeah, the short version is— and I'm very open book in the book too. I share all my shit in there, which a lot of people don't do.

So kudos to you.

Yeah, so when I was— I was married previously, had 4 kids with my first wife. And when I met Steph, we were both previously married. She had no kids though. So, uh, we get together again. I'm going through the bankruptcy, foreclosed 2 houses, had a car repoed, um, and I got— I got evicted from like one of those, um, the pay-by-the-night motels because I wasn't paying that. So I went to an apartment, I got evicted from that apartment, and this is at fucking 28 years old. Yeah. Um, so anyway, so that was kind of the journey. I get into insurance a few years later. And I'm dicking around with it, dude. I do it part-time, I'm making some money, I go full-time, I'm doing, you know, I'm making more than the $40 grand a year I was making as an accountant. I never made money really, and whatever. But 5 kids, dude, having to, you know, clip coupons for groceries and shit was a pain in the ass.

Yeah.

And, um, on my first marriage, um, there was child support, but there was also alimony that got deferred, and when the deferment date came up, I was like a couple years into insurance, year and a half in, whatever, full-time. And I was pissed about having to pay it. I just lost my mind. I kind of pretended it wasn't there because it was a 5-year gap. And, uh, when it came due, I lost my shit because I was pissed about another bill for $1,000 a month, even though it was for my kids, which sounded stupid to be mad over. Um, and the mentor of mine, again, athlete guy, he was taught like as an athlete. He played football. He was one of these athletes that when he scored, he just hand the ball to the ref and go to the sideline. Just, just him, just chill all the time. Even though he likes to win and wants to eat all the things, but just quiet about it. He walks into my office and was like, yo, what the heck? Because I was losing my mind. I was throwing shit. He goes, well, dude, what the hell's happening? So I explain it, and he knows my story and the history and all the bullshit. And, uh, he goes, dude, can I ask you a question? I was like, yep. He goes, are you really this pissed off over one application a month? What could be handled in one application a month? Yeah. And I was like, huh, no one's ever said it quite like that before, bro. You know what I mean? And I was in the industry enough to have seen people have success, right? You know, and I had just right around that time had a conversation with a dude who became a mentor in other ways about activity in the space. He was killing it, and he, he showed me his activity versus my activity, and I was like, thank God someone fucking finally told me, because everyone previously was telling me the script and the word and the lead and the thing and the time you call them and all the bullshit. And this guy laughed in my face when I told him how many people I was seeing. That all happened within like a couple week period, those two, those two events.

Yeah.

And, um, I got so pissed off, dude, about this alimony thing, and I was like, you know what, I'm gonna go make so much motherfucking money that I never have to worry about $1,000 again in my life, ever. And I just— dude, one day I turned it on, and it just— it was March of 2015, and it's just been fucking non-stop for 10 years.

That's badass, bro. It's like I tell my guys, it's like, well, Brandon, why am I not making any money? I was like, well, if you've been in it this long and you've seen Lori just made $38,000 this week, Cash just made $25,000 last week, Mike is going to make $20,000 this week. Yeah. And you still aren't picking up on anything. Yeah, you know why? You probably really haven't hit your rock bottom yet. And unfortunately, as people, as humans, we don't take action until the worst happens. We don't go to the gym until we're 40 pounds overweight. Yeah, we don't, we don't put down the fork until we're obese, right? We don't, we don't take action on life insurance until someone we love passes away without a policy in place. And now it's like, oh, I should probably get a policy. We don't go get an IUL or an annuity or hell, even a 401 until you see someone you love or care about just lost all their money or died with nothing to leave. You know, it's just, why does the worst have to happen before we take action? You know what I mean? So that's kind of what happened in your case, happened in my case. You know, the car was about to be repoed. Yep, it's about to get evicted. And I was like, nope, I need to do something else. Because this personal training job ain't getting it done.

That's the piece I struggle with most in building, is like, I can tell you all the shit to say. The reality is you probably ain't gonna fucking do it. The reality is you probably ain't gonna fucking do it. And I don't know how to give people that, that, that moment, that spark. I don't, I don't— life gave it to me, punched me in the face, and I was tired of it, you know? Same with you.

People are that way, dude.

Uh, I think it's— I think a lot of it I think a lot of it's around belief. Um, I don't— this would be a good question for you too. Um, I know even though I grew up in the hood and on welfare and single mom, the whole deal, all the bullshit, um, grew up in a— I don't know how similar an environment, but I grew up around hookers and drugs and crackheads too, so it sounds probably in the ballpark. Um, but I always can look back and, and I don't know if this is a hood thing where you're like everyone's trying to get out. I always felt like I could do something other people could. I felt—

I didn't know what it was.

But always was like, dude, if they can do it, so can I. Yeah, I've always had a little of that in me. Um, yeah, and it just took me a long time to do something about it, to be honest.

I felt that too. There's a similarity there too. I've always felt that, and I hate to use this, but I'm going to use this word even though I shouldn't. I always felt like I was special in a way. Yeah. Um, and I just didn't know what it was because I was always gifted in baseball, basketball, football. Yeah. Hell, soccer. Like, I was always gifted in athletics, and I was always gifted in other areas of my life, but they all seem to have failed, you know what I mean? For whatever reason, one reason or another. Um, but it's just like, when you have that switch, this is where it goes back to you being military, law enforcement, you know, athletes. I think a lot of us do better in this space because of the resilience, because of, you know, people always grabbing you by the face mask and spitting in your mouth as they're talking, you know what I mean? Or flip side of that coin, you maybe didn't have athletics, but you grew up in the hood and you want to get out. Yeah, you know what I mean? So I, again, I go back to that quarterback, you know, who signs for a $5 million deal, but he doesn't give a shit because his daddy makes $10 million. So it's like he has no motive, no motivation, no inspiration, which I hate those words too. Um, but he doesn't have those things. So it's just like, I bet you any amount of money, I'll bet you $10 million right now, if he grew up the way you and I grew up, he'd still be throwing the football.

It's true.

Yep, it's true.

Because I sure shit don't want to go back, bro, and I don't want my kids to have nothing to do with that life.

100%. I do want to take my daughter when she's old enough to understand, hey, this is where Daddy grew up. Yeah, buddy, you won't be here. You'll be in Beverly Hills somewhere, but you will not be here. You will not be here. Yeah, that's true. It's true. I love it.

My oldest— no, I had my first at 16, on the way at 16, born at 17. Some oldest, you know, a lot. The, the young one doesn't know shit though. It's all stories and, you know, I mean, memories and baby books and shit where you see the stuff. It's like, what the hell? But it's been fun, dude. I appreciate your time and thanks for getting on. Anything you— anything— why don't you end with whatever you want to share for aspiring people who want to make a change in life, dude? Give them, give them some good words, bro.

Here's one. It's cliché as all shit, but let's sign off with this. You know, I'm a huge nerd in the superhero space. And I truly believe that as fast as a speeding bullet as Superman is, even he can't save everybody all at once. So you have to be your own savior. I don't care how hard you pray to sweet Black baby Jesus. He ain't gonna give it to you if you don't get off the couch. He ain't gonna give it to you unless you put in the work. You know what I mean? So be your own savior, be your own superhero. Pray to God, yes, but also put in the work.

I love it, dude.

That's it.

Brandon Beal, Breeze Wealth. Love it. Appreciate your time, dude. Follow him, we'll put all the links and shit below, but he ain't hard to find online. If either one of us can help, let us know. Uh, pleasure meeting you, dude, officially.

You too, John. Yeah, we'll link up soon in person, man. I can't wait.

Yeah, hit me up, shoot me a text, let's connect.

I will.

Appreciate you.

Awesome. Thanks, Jay.

Take care, man.

See you guys.