The Secret Handshake 2/14/24

Yeah, too far away. No particle stand in my way. No wall that I can't break through. No limits to what I can do.

Johnny Boy, what is up, Perry?

How are you, man? I'm doing good, brother. Good.

It's a beautiful day.

Just got done with a staff lunch. Had my crew out to lunch today. We decided once a month I'm going to take them out and spoil them a little bit.

That's a good idea.

I don't know if it's going to be productive or not, but do our best.

Yeah, you're a good man.

So Yeah, Valentine's. Happy Valentine's Day, bro.

Oh yeah, Happy Valentine's Day. But everybody watching this doesn't know it's not Valentine's Day.

No, they find out now. They just figured out we recorded this one.

Busy, we're traveling, it's a good day. Yeah, so basically, you know, sales aren't where they're supposed to be because, you know, I'm working on this marketing stuff all the time and Daddy's not there. Patting people on the butt, and they got to remember what it was like 6 months ago when I was in the same position.

So what do you think, dude? It like, uh, why do you think you gone affects it?

Key man, clarify.

What would they be doing different if you were there up their butt versus not? What do you think would be different?

I genuinely don't know.

I just—

it's the only thing logical that says This is the problem, you know. The leads are there. Um, you know, we've had a lot of trauma in the den from, you know, surgeries and illnesses and, and, and deaths. And, you know, it feels like every year this time, uh, this time of year there's trauma, right? Does that make sense? I don't know if everybody has that every year, and somehow for me it's every year at February, March.

Makes sense.

Just interesting.

Yeah, we have, um, I wonder, do y'all look at— because we have slow periods too— do y'all look at like things? I think to— obviously you're looking at production, I assume. Yeah. Do you also look at like how many leads came in this year versus last year? How many agents— like how many agents are calling this year versus last year? And the average apps per agent this year versus last year?

Yeah, I mean, we have more talented agents than we did this time last year. We have more leads coming in this time last year. It's my— it's my badass writers that aren't writing.

So they're writing less apps per agent this year?

Yeah.

Okay, so then I guess the next thing I'd look at is, are they making less phone calls this year? Like, do they suck more or are they working less?

I don't know. I don't have that answer. Um, Yeah, anything I would give you would be hypothetical.

Yeah, I would look there, you know what I'm saying? It's like, that's the only natural— it's like, all right, do we just have less talent or do we have lazier people this year?

Yeah, we definitely don't have less talent, that's for sure. I think we have, we have more talent. We have more new kid talent. Um, yeah, like, I was, I was talking to Jamie right before this and she's like, I have 7 apps that need to go in, like they're ready. But here's what happened to the first one. It'll close, just not today, right? Not this one. This one happened. This is what— this one, this is what happened to this one. This is what happened to this one. This would happen to this one. And, and, you know, you're always, uh, you go, well, all right, well, that one's— that's the— it's— it feels like it's just like the perfect storm of bullshit.

Yeah, you know, which happens sometimes. You know that, you've been in this long.

Sure, right? Yeah.

And it's not like, uh, I'm not doom and gloomy Yeah, yeah, you're still printing money. I'm still—

I'm still— we're still fine. Um, yeah, and you know how, like, how it is. You— worst case scenario, life is pretty freaking good.

Yeah, I just wonder, like, sometimes I look back at ours and I'm like, is it something I have to fix, or do I just let it be? Like, for instance, ours is that way. Ours is that way in summer, like June, July, August is like, I want to like take this pen and stab my eyeballs with it. It would feel better than what it feels like watching the lack of production, right? But I've learned, dude, that September, October, November, December is fucking bananas because people are catching up. I mean, so at the end we grew, we grew. Still trying to think what percent it would be. 150 to 209. We added 60, you know, 150. We're like 50% or something like that this year. Like, we went from 150 to 209. Okay, you know what I mean? But there were a few months where we did less volume this year than we did last year. We did— there was, there was a couple months that we did less volume this year with 50% more people.

No, I'm talking we grew 50% production-wise, but there was a couple of months that you didn't.

But there were a couple of months that I was like 2 or 3 million behind for the month from the previous year. Like, we might have done 14 million in a month last year and we did 12 this year, and I lost my shit, right? At the end of the year, we were up 60 million.

Yeah, I think that's the case. I mean, like, the first few weeks of the year we destroyed last year. And then, and then, you know, I— and then everybody got the flu and somebody passed away, and then everybody got COVID and then somebody passed away.

Yeah.

And then, and then all the— and then we took, we took a bunch of the top guys on a trip and it hasn't recovered from that.

Yeah.

And, and, and, and I really, I know that if I just step back away, the world is not ending. But it makes for really long days.

Yeah, I feel that. What I look at in stages like that, or they're like, especially for people watching, it's like, are there any individuals? Not as a whole, but can I take a few people and go like, hey, they need I need to focus on them for something, you know what I'm saying?

Yeah.

And not necessarily because there's— maybe they got something going on, maybe they're having a rut, maybe they're in their head, maybe, you know what I mean? Like, and go, if I can target a few people, at least that lets you fix shit like you want to do.

Yeah.

Because you lose control of the overall with time, as you know, you know what I'm saying? It's like, yeah, I could not show up tomorrow and we'll still do $200+ to $250 million this year, right? If I, if I get in there and I work in certain groups, I'm like, well, I could add $5 million here, $3 million there, $2 million, you know what I mean? Like, I can influence. So I try to— I used to try to— man, man, Amanda laugh— who have like flashbacks of like war stories of the stuff I used to try to control and lose my shit. And then it'd like, after a few weeks or a couple months, you'd be like, oh Oh, everything's back to normal, and I raised— I lost my shit for nothing.

Yeah, I don't— I'm not there anymore where I lose my shit anymore. I'm just— I'm at a place where I'm like, I feel like I need to pick up the phone and apologize to people.

Yeah, which shit? Why? Why do you say that? That's got me curious.

Like, there's people that, you know, that depend on what I do. Yeah, right, like my upline. Yeah, like, I, I'll call and be like, I owe you an apology. We suck right now. And they're like, it's no big deal, Pete. Like, I know it's frustrating. I'm frustrated for you. We know you're doing everything right. You always do, blah, blah, blah, blah. And I'm like, yeah, well, this— I still owe you an apology. No, you don't. Well, you're still gonna get one.

You get two.

Yeah, so now you just got another one.

So yeah, no, I feel that. Yeah.

And then also, like, you know, I've spent, you know, the last 6 months developing those— that training program. It's done. Okay, uh, it's been the last months developing the, the lead system. It's, it's, it's done, right? I've spent the last 6 months, uh, doing all these different things and they're all done now, and I'm, I'm antsy.

That feeling I know. Yeah.

And so it's like you take antsy on top of the numbers not being where you want them to be.

Yeah.

And that's a problem. That's a recipe for, um retiring and building a big deck or something. I don't know.

Yeah, yeah. It's like I was talking to, um, actually I had a, um, I had my first— I signed up to that. I'm doing that, um, monthly, um, call with that David's group, the consulting deal.

Yeah, I got on that for about 10 seconds and the first 3 people said they did the same thing I did and I got off.

Really? The group with like 6 or 8 people on it or whatever?

Yeah, something like— I don't know, there was more than 6 or 8. I was in like the bigger one.

Oh no, no, yeah, I'm doing the where he's— it's so everybody gets a shot to talk and you analyze stuff. So yeah, so mine's a group of 6. Okay, good. Yeah, so a group of 6 entrepreneurs. I don't know any of them previous, no, but nobody's in my space specifically. Um, and, uh, you know, we were, we were talking about like things you're trying to process or go through or whatever. And, you know, he was using some examples in my case that many people like us are very— like, the word he used— like, if you're not, if you're not like actively building something, like actively hunting, chasing something, like you're not in there, right? Do that, like, trigger something mentally where you, you're not wired for that, right? You know, um, he recommended weird, and he goes, I'm not trying to promote my own book, but I— the most recent book I wrote, the Choose Your Enemies Wisely, is him talking about that own, that struggle for, in that journey on it for himself. Um, so coincidentally, I just ordered— I had ordered the book already, and I'm like, all right, I'll read it too. But it's like finding something to focus on, to like beat the living shit out of, in a sense.

Yeah. And that's— and that's where I'm at right now, is, you know, I've got new stuff I'm trying to focus on. Um, but it's just like, it feels like So when, when we were on vacation in Colorado, we opened up this puzzle, right? And it's like a 500-piece puzzle, and it was really small. It was like this big. So all the puzzle pieces are really, really tiny.

Yeah.

And like, my wife and I are sitting there, you know, playing with our glasses, trying to see what's going on. And you're like, I know all the pieces are here. I don't even know what the picture is supposed to look like when it's done. But I think I might see a white bird wing. Let's just start with that.

Yeah.

And that's, and that's where I'm at in, in, in this other stuff that I, that I want to build is like, I want to build something cool and I want to build something interesting and I want to build something unique. And I, I have all these puzzle pieces. I don't know what the end picture looks like. And then people keep dumping more puzzle pieces on the board.

Yeah.

And I'm like, I don't even— they don't even all belong in this picture.

I feel that.

Yeah, yeah, I'm glad you do because I don't— I wasn't sure of that analogy.

I'm there now, dude. Like, I was talking to one of the Integrity guys and, uh, I'm like, dude, I'm, I'm busy, but mentally I'm bored out of my fucking mind. Yeah, like, I need a new challenge. I need something to build. I need, I need I need— yeah, I need something. And so we started talking about some options, and I'm like, I want to say, like— and I don't— I'm not really a puzzle guy. I've done some, it's been a long time. But like, and just, this is us talking out loud, like, if I'm doing a puzzle and I don't know what the fuck's on it, dude, I'm starting with the corners and the edges, right? I mean, so like, what's the equivalent of that here? I don't know, right?

How far we can carry on this metaphor. Yeah.

But I mean, you know, yeah, and I'm like, I'm trying to put— so I'm putting certain pieces in place that I know are going to get me more growth, you know what I mean? Like, we're adding the staffing pieces, we're adding some process in place, like things that I know are going to get us somewhere. But I don't have a clear picture where we're going right now either, dude, you know? And I know some— like, the insurance side, sure, the agents, whatever, that piece is going to grow. That honestly is easy, that part. Today, right? Revenue sources.

Part of me wishes I was content with that because I— if I— if that was all I cared about, I think my life would be— I know my life would be— I don't know that my life would be better, but it would be a lot simpler.

I struggle with that too, dude. I'm not— yeah, I'm okay though, that I'm— I just— I'm not— I don't know what some I don't know what I would do all day. It'd get— I'd be bored out of my mind. I would not— good things would happen, bad things would happen.

If what?

If I didn't continue to build stuff or work on things, or mentally, dude, I'd break down.

Yeah, not—

there's only so much I can go to the gym or fucking play golf, or I'm— what am I going to watch TV? I don't know. I don't know, vacate. Like, there's only so much of that I want to do. So I like to— I like to dive in. Um, I don't know, dude. So I sit with my, my crew and we go like, all right, what can we— what can we add? Or how can we make something more efficient? Or who can we work with to help them grow, which in turn helps us grow? And I literally just fucking like whiteboard stuff. We literally— in Amanda's office, we have a whole— we had to actually get a giant whiteboard 2 days ago because the one we had was too full. And then we took all our stuff and we prioritized it, and then we made little, like, topics, high-level topics. And then in those topics, we put our— here's the 5 or 10 things we have to do to complete that. Then we prioritized them, and as a team, we delegated some. And there's a few things that I'm working on that I'm involved in, and we're like, all right, let's tackle one at a time. And we're just picking little pieces and going, all right, let's put this in place, let's do this over here. I'm kind of logical about it. Yeah, I should probably be that, but I can just stare at a whiteboard for a few hours and just brainstorm, and then Amanda helps organize it. I just like— I like to get my thoughts out, and we just literally start jotting shit down.

Y'all are, uh, y'all are great, uh, business partners, teammates. Y'all are. She's really good at managing your brain.

Yeah.

That's cool.

If I don't get it out, I like, I get stressed. But if I can just get it out, get it on paper, get on the whiteboard, I'm like, all right, now we have a game plan. Now we can, now we can go, all right, what are we gonna do this week, this quarter, this month, whatever. Yeah, yeah. So maybe it made it worse, I don't fucking know, but it works for me.

Yeah, yeah. Well, there you go.

You're in Tampa, must mean content.

Yep, I've been shooting content all day. Gotta do it again tomorrow, and then I think I got more content than I know what to do with for a year and a half. Yeah, I just had some ideas I needed to get out, so I jumped on a plane and got my happy ass here.

I like it, I like it. We have, uh, we're working on that piece still, and I just scheduled, uh I just scheduled a podcast with the guy in Vegas today. This morning.

When are you doing it?

April.

Good. Is that when you were going out anyways?

Yeah, so he, he recommended a date in April, and I'm like, hey, I'm gonna already be here this date in April, can we make it work? I give him like a 3-day range. I was already going to be there, and he's— he— they made it work.

Nice, good for you. Yeah, you'll have fun.

So yeah, we'll see. On that, dude, I don't know that we ain't got anything else crazy going on. Just continue to build, bro.

Yeah, that's enough. Yeah, nice and easy one today.

Yeah, I'm down, dude.

That way we're not annoying people.

All right, we'll get after your stuff. If y'all need anything, let us know.

All right, talk to you later.