This Sales Training Made $10,000 in 30 Days In Insurance ft. Hank Stewart | Ep33

With all the money that we spend, all the time that we spend, all how it's like so important that we get the right person. Yeah, I think after all these years I could pick the good ones.

I'm so glad you're saying this, bro. What I learned is I'm always wrong. That's what I know. What is up, y'all? John Wetmore back with another episode of the Insurance Insiders Podcast. Got my dude Hank Stewart, President, I think even Chief Visionary Officer is what I think I read. Of SLS, big-ass insurance company helping a ton of people. And, uh, cool friend, becoming friends.

Learn—

met you out on Cody's, or somewhere, I think it was Cody's thing.

Yep.

And, uh, it's been fun getting to know you, dude, watching you speak and do your thing. Appreciate you getting on.

Same here, likewise.

Yeah, same, brother. What you got in the background over there? What are those? What is that? What's hanging back there?

Got me curious. I'm in the theater. Okay, so, uh, got some, some favorite movies back there, some of the kids.

The theater at home.

Theater at home. Yes, sir.

I love the way you opened the last talk. Do you remember it? Do you remember?

I think I do. I was in a brash mood that moment there.

Well, I think, I guess when you have a nice movie theater at home, they know you ain't broke. I love it, bro. I love it. Business has been good.

Business has been good. I cannot complain, man. You know this industry, all these numbers, folks turning 65 every day. It's gonna be that way for a couple decades, so we should be all right.

Yeah, at least. I don't suspect they're gonna— I don't suspect people are stop— gonna stop turning 65 anytime.

Exactly right.

So I think we'll be good for a while. Yeah, I love it. We'll give them a little— give them a little— obviously you now run a company, but my understanding is— and I don't, I don't know the full story, but I'm, I'm guessing you weren't born rich.

That would be correct.

Yeah. No, you went from broke to not broke.

I went from broke to not broke. Yeah, bro, it was a long way. You know, there's like, there's the 5-minute version, there's a 5-day version, so it depends on—

well, you know, dude, when you go through it, as is— I feel like we're similar age. I could tell the story for, like you said, 5 years, but these kind people that are watching us speak have the attention span of nothing. So I suppose we'll cater to our audience a little bit.

I'll, I'll go quick. We have the Not Bro Gears, you know, obviously child— I'm like, I'm like most of us, man. We came up and yeah, no silver spoon type situation, so all the usual stuff. Uh, came with a big family. I don't know if I mentioned that before, but there was 9 of us coming up— 7 kids and my 2 parents. So that kind of added to the whole dang issue, the whole dynamic of not having money. And so, you know, you, you grow up and, and you want to try to figure out what you're going to get into. I dabbled with the idea that I was going to be a teacher. I actually was like a student teacher for a hot minute, and I realized this is a lot of work. I love it, but they're not making a bunch of money. All the teachers were complaining in the lunchroom, like, okay, I don't want to do this for like 18, 19 years old. And, uh, prior to that, I had a pretty extensive sales background with my dad, working, you know, selling pretty much door-to-door, selling something called the Rainbow Cleaning System. So I had a pretty good sales backbone, and it was like, I'm— make— sit in—

does that make sense? Yeah, yeah.

So it's like, you know, you sell door-to-door from 11 to 18. I'm thinking I think I want a regular job like regular people. So I get to the school thing like, no, I changed my mind, I want to go back into entrepreneurship.

Yeah.

So from then it's like I'm just trying to find my way, find my way. Did a little thing in real estate, made some money, lost some money when the economy took a little U-turn there.

And '07, '08, that time frame?

Yep.

Yeah, buddy, I was in mortgages then.

Yeah, I'm like, let me follow the trends. So yeah, independent insurance industry, and here I am.

No kidding, I love it. So did you start out just selling specific product? How'd you get it? What'd you start out as?

So Medicare Advantage is actually what I started.

Okay, got it.

I don't know if you remember the universal any, any, any plans, but that was, uh, I don't know nothing about that world, dude. Yeah, that's old school, man. It's back before CMS was paying attention, but That's funny. But, uh, yeah, I did, I did very well there with another agency. And then, uh, we started selling, we were selling face-to-face, and then we started selling Medicare Advantage and final expense face-to-face.

Yep.

And then we started selling final expense over the phone, and then I went back to selling face-to-face, and then COVID hit, and now I'm back on the phone.

Got it, makes sense. Makes sense. When did you start? What year? How long you—

2006 is when I got licensed.

Oh, no way. Okay, cool. You're like an OG in the industry now.

Well, that's what they tell me. I don't know. Yeah, but my partner, he's been licensed since '77, so he doesn't— he doesn't give you— who's that?

Who is it?

Rory. Rory? Yeah.

Okay. Yeah, yep, yep, I know the name. That's wild. Yeah, when I say it, when I tell people 12 years, they look at me like I've been in it for 147. I'm like, that's just been 12.

It's like dog years, right?

It's funny, man. I love it.

But if you think about it, it's so transient, right? So people are shocked at two things. They're shocked, A, if you're in the industry for a long time, and they're super shocked if you stay at the same place.

That is true. That is true. That's true. How long you been there?

I've been here since 2010. So going on 14 years.

Yeah, I love it. Climbing the ranks, I assume.

A little bit, yes. I came in, uh, our particular agency, we promote internally. So I came in, you know, came in like everybody else with a dollar and a dream. And then I went from that to building a team to kind of going up the ranks in our business. Then in 2017, I joined the executive team of the agency. Yep. And I was, I think, what was my first title? Vice President of Sales, I think. And then from there, Vice President to President of Sales and Marketing and Chief Visionary Officer, both titles.

I love it. What's the vision, bro?

Man, the vision is to blow this thing up and, and make sure that we can help as many people make money as possible. I, I love our industry, but as you and I have talked about and shared, uh, publicly with Cody's events and other events, if we can take all the good stuff that the insurance industry has to offer, residual income and the motivation and just eliminate the bad stuff. That's our ultimate vision, man, and getting people ripped off for leads and fake training and unethical stuff. So the vision is to— I would like to live in a world and be a part of creating a world where we've got several thousand agents making 6 and 7-figure incomes by helping other families. That's the mission.

It's all possible, dude.

Going down. Well, you know, I know it's possible because of you.

Yeah, I'm doing my best, bro. I don't know how to get rid of all the bad stuff though. I'm trying to figure that out still.

Hey man, but if anybody can figure it out, it's you.

Hey, some, some of the bad stuff is me talking to you is somehow bad to some people. I'm like, this is weird, this is weird. I don't understand.

What are these guys doing talking to each other? John can be friends. Universe, back up.

Oh man, but I feel your pain, dude. I, um, I would love to get rid of the BS and just keep the good. I don't know what that's saying, take the good with the bad. I don't really know what that means, but you know, it's, uh, it's been a journey for sure, dude.

And you're talking about my kid, you got something going on in your background too. You can't be doing too bad yourself. I don't know what's going on back there, but it looks fancy.

It ain't bad, it's, it's, it's, it's fake brick tile, first of all. And I'm in a— I'm actually in my office. I'm downstairs. I have a little podcast studio at the office. I just, um, I should do one at the house. I don't know, I just got— I just finished building my house. Like, we're moving in. We're like at this— you ever built a house? You build that one, you know that stage where you like, you live in it and you get to say your house is done being built, right? But there's still people there every effing day and you don't have— oh bro. That's what we're going through right now.

It's like we're in it, finishers, and then you start seeing stuff because you're in the house, then you start seeing stuff. Hey, what about that?

Yeah, buddy. I'm like, can it— when will it be done? Is there an end? Does it ever end? Yeah, I get up this morning and, uh, I go, I go work out and, um, I come back and I'm walking. So I'm in my house, I've built like my own gym, but I still go, I go to like a CrossFit place because I like the environment and atmosphere and all the people and stuff. But I used to go to a— I used to leave CrossFit and go to like a, like a chain gym, just go use their sauna.

Okay.

And just at any given time, you just don't know who's coming in, who's going to leave the door open, and who's going to chew their gum loud. Just the, the— I'm like, anyway, new house, I built my own gym. I have a gym, I have a sauna and a steam room in it, right? And so I go to go leave CrossFit, I go home, I go to get in the sauna and it's still dark, and I go to walk in and I see a dude walking on my— by my pool with one of them headlamps that lights up. He was working in the backyard in the dark still, right? I'm like, ah, I didn't even— I didn't see the car. I'm just like, oh God, I guess I'm not doing this right now. So we're doing okay, but that's the stage I'm in, so I stay at the office still.

Well, enjoy. But that's a congratulations on that new home. You're able to say something a lot of folks can't say nowadays.

That's true. That's true. We're blessed, dude. It's, uh, it's been a hell of a journey too. What do you, um, so in that vision, man, how do we, how do we get more people paid? Like, what, what's the, what are the roadblocks you see from your— obviously you've trained thousands of agents at this point. What, what message can we give to people? Because that's the goal, that more than 4 people watch this, like, besides my mom and your family, and you know what I mean? Like, how do we, how do we help more people, dude?

I mean, I think a lot of it is— you kind of alluded to it when we first got it started— attention span, right? It's like you almost can't teach people what they need to be taught because a lot of people won't sit tight long enough to listen. And one of the first messages is, you know, in this, in this soundbite world that we live in, delayed gratification. You know, it's like people come in like, hey, If I can't get rich tomorrow, I'm out of here. And it's gonna— you got to give yourself time. You're gonna give some time to learn this business and, and learn this industry. And you got to find a good wellspring to drink from, you know. So find a good source to educate you and then give yourself time. That's one thing. And also to kind of have a, you know, people forget because we call it the insurance industry, you know, it's your own business, right? Every, every agent is an agency of one. So you got all the stuff that every business has. Nothing special. Every business has a marketing budget. Every business has accounting issues. Every business has, you know, what we call chargebacks is what Walmart calls shoplifting, you know, loss prevention. It's like you got all the— you got all the business stuff that it has. So it's like you're running your own business. Learn to run a business and run your business like a business. And another big one too, man, is, you know, to get paid like a, like a, a boss, you got to really work your business like a job. I know we left jobs, and so it's like, jobs are evil, I don't want a job. And I get it. So after about 3 days of that, you have to realize jobs aren't bad. It's just working a job for somebody else can sometimes be a challenge. So you def— you definitely want to work your job, and, and your job is to take care of your family, to work hard and put more hours into your own business than you were ever willing to put into somebody else's. I think Those 3 components, you can build a lot on top of that. Every— all the other layers of education and products and diversification, it's all kind of built on that foundation of realistic expectations, coming in ready to work and, and make it happen.

Yeah, that's true. The guy that mentored me along the way, he used to tell me that selling insurance is the job and use the job to pay for the business, which is the recruiting agency side, right? Yeah, I learned, I learned that early. I was like Ah, I mean, I get that. You know, one of the things drives me a little bit crazy that people say— people that are building, you look at a guy who's not putting in the work and they kind of show up sometimes and don't show up, or they miss all the trainings and then they wonder why they don't know what to say. And a lot of people are like, I just wish they had the entrepreneurial mindset. And I'm like, I, I wish they had a job mindset where they showed up every day. You know, it's like, uh, it'll do yourself some favors if you, if you literally just— and that's all I did, dude. I started in this business part-time and had no idea what I was doing and had no sales background. I was a freaking accountant, you know, but I just kept showing up and listening, bro.

Well, you know, if everybody was like us, there'd be no need for us, right?

Amen.

So team builders, they— I hear them lamenting. I'm like, Dude, this is, this is job security. When people don't do what they're supposed to do, that's job security. But you do want to make sure that we can help them though.

Yeah, yeah. I mean, again, it's— I don't hear a lot of people say that, but I've always— I, I had to learn how to understand that, you know what I mean? It's like, if they were everything I wanted them to be, what would they need me for, right? And then why would I get paid for it?

Yep.

You know, so it's like learning to value the things you currently might be complaining about, because there's such opportunity.

It really is. Everything's opportunity.

Yeah. So many of you have asked if there's an option for more access, more direct coaching. And so we've created a coaching platform called the Winner's Circle, where you have a couple different options. There is a one-on-one option to where we can work directly with you on a regular basis. And then there's a small group setting, 4 to 6 people, really high achievers looking to get to just a new level in their career. We've had a ton of success in this already. First month, Actually, the first guy that joined deposited $7,500, worked with them back and forth, one-on-one. The very next month, he deposited over $30,000. So basically a 5x return on his income in 30 days. So if you're looking for something like that, you can click on the link below, get access to an application because I'm not taking everybody. I do wanna make sure it's a good fit for both of us. And if we feel like you'd be a good fit, we'll set up a one-on-one call directly with me, um, and kind of go through your struggles, what you need help with. And what I expect of people that are joining the coaching program. So if you feel like it'd be a good fit for you and something you want more of, click the link below and we'll see you on the other side. Welcome to the Winner's Circle. What do you— what do you think the— so once you get people into understanding, like, we got to put in the work and all that stuff, what do you think the main things you tend to focus on to get people to, like, make a good living in this business? You know, I'm here, I'm willing to do the work. What am I probably messing up? Where do I need to improve? What do you— what do you tend to work on?

I mean, it's, it's a combination of things. So for example, a lot of people's past is in the way of their present. So they come in with a lot of issues, and it's a combination of past. Like sometimes your financial past is in your way. So a person comes in, they're kind of loaded with debt, and that's messing with their work ethic, is messing with their mindset. So one of the hurdles is kind of showing them a clear path. Let me see what your actual financial problems are, and then let's develop a clear path out. So you're working for something. You're not just sitting there, hamster in a wheel. Um, sometimes people's past gets in their way too, because it's like, you know, well, my dad never made any money, my mom never made any money, who am I? And you have to have a really a sense of self-worth before you start making what you're worth. So you'd be surprised how— well, yeah, I guess you wouldn't be surprised, a lot of people would be surprised how much that just gets in people's way. And, uh, another challenge too is Like you were talking about earlier, you know, people don't realize how much training is involved in this business. Like, not just sales training, but product training and understanding, uh, how to articulate these products to your clients. And number one, you gotta love people. Like, we're in the people business, and, and we're looking to, like, help people on the worst day of their life, and we're looking to teach other people to help people on the worst day of their life. So if you're in there just chasing the buck and you don't love Grandma and Grandpa and just love folks, you're in for a tough road.

He's gonna make it difficult, and it is gonna make it tough. Um, what do y'all— what do you— what do you give advice to people? Obviously, y'all have scaled something pretty damn big, you know. If you want to share certainly stats, you're welcome to, um, just to give people perspective. Up to you if you do. What advice do you give people looking to build something? Like, how do you go from a dude that struggled in the last industry financially, you know, he made a few bucks, lost some money, but now literally running what most would consider a pretty damn big empire over there. Like, y'all are, y'all are a machine.

Well, we're, you know, there's a lot of people bigger than us, a lot of people smaller than us. I think what makes us unique is, is a stat we call PPA, you know, premium per agent. We do anywhere from $40 to $50 million on any given year in sales which again, there's people boasting $100 million and $200 million and $132 million. But what I think is pretty cool is that we have less than 300 agents and we're able to accomplish that, and we sell finalists really exclusively.

Yep, that's a G stat, dude. Holy moly.

So really, absolutely. So, and really, you know, it's 3— the reason they're less than 300 people doing 4 mil a month.

This is like 12, 12, 12 an agent plus. Yep, $12K plus an agent. That's strong, dude. Yep, that's strong.

And so that kind of goes to your question. If somebody's trying to build something, you got to pick your model first of all. So, and neither one is wrong. I've, I've functioned in both. So you can say, hey, I'm going to have thousands of agents because I know that, um, you know, somebody's going to sell 5 cases a week, somebody's going to sell one, somebody's going to sell none. And I don't want to ride that wave, so I'm going to accomplish this with volume of agents. We're more of a career shop, so we're, we're not, we're not a strict career model, but we're more focused on, okay, let's get a small group of people and get the highest percentage of them making 6 figures as possible. Now, you know, you're gonna— the thing is, for that new guy starting out It's probably easier for them to go with volume agents only because you don't have to provide, provide as much financial support when it comes to leads and things of that nature. Challenge there is you're gonna have to spend way more money in marketing because you're gonna have to get more people to get folks to stick. Flip side of it, with us, we spend a lot of money on marketing, but it's not like I'm trying to get 5,000 agents. Our cost is supporting the agents that we have through a combination of either training or, uh, or leads or whatever you're going to provide.

So yeah, yeah, you can spend the money one way or the other.

Exactly right. So my advice to the builder is pick your pony is where you start.

Yeah, it's true. And there's pros and cons to all of it, pros and cons to every company, it's pros and cons to every style. And to be clear, there's people rich at all of them.

Absolutely.

And I continue to say that. I just, I just don't— they all work, you know. So it's like, right, Yeah, I mean, who do you want to be? And, and dude, I didn't see the vision of what we have today. This definitely was like, oh dang, look what happened, right? Yeah, but happy surprise.

Like, huh?

Yeah, yeah.

But most, most business stories that you hear, there's some element of I'm just not that smart, you know? It's like, I was doing my thing and then it all worked out. I got it in my life too, where it's like, hey, this guy was there, opportunity was right, just all worked out.

Yeah, yeah. I mean, I did put in work. I don't think I'm a complete dummy, right? I think I'm like somewhat intelligent. I can learn some stuff, I can implement, I can execute. But I certainly didn't see this. No, you know, and it's like, and again, I got buddies at every— all these companies. It's like, it does work, you know. Um, so keep at it, dude. It, it's fun to see what, um, Where do you think that— how do you— so if you're, if you're focused on a smaller quantity of agents, which is cool and respectable as hell, how do you, how do you go about determining who's a fit and who to invest in? How do you, how do you, how do you hash that out?

So combination of things. You, you can learn a lot about a person in that initial interview, and the world school, we still interview folks and, and, uh One thing we look for is sports in their background.

Yep.

That's always kind of a good start there. And other things we look for is signs of a work ethic. But I'm going to tell you, man, with all the money that we spend, all the time that we spend, all how it's like so important that we get the right person. Yeah, I think after all these years, I can pick the good ones.

I'm so glad you're saying this, bro. I love it because I agree with you 100%, dude. I don't know how to tell.

It's like you try all this stuff— the science, the formulas, the grids, the charts, the graphs, the personality tests, you know. The one you're like, oh yeah, this is right, they don't make it. The way they're like, I shouldn't even hire this guy, he's your next superstar. I don't know.

Yeah, yeah. What I learned is I'm always wrong. That's what I know. If I think you're gonna kill it, you're gonna quit next week. Oh Lord, it's funny, dude. And so then you go like, Joe, Joe did what?

You never know what's inside somebody, man, you know? So I, I don't know, I'm right, I don't know, 7% of the time. I'll give myself credit for that.

There you go. I feel like we probably know what to tell people who have it.

Right.

So it's like, when someone has it, what do you, what do you tend to focus on to point them, get them, you know I mean? Like, how do you go about grooming them, if you will, you know? Or how do you identify them when they're, you know I mean, like, how do you know where to put work?

Exactly. Is that, I mean, I, I, I show up for the people who show up for me. Has all, now that part has worked. So I will always invite a person to something Yeah, meeting, training, uh, one-on-one something. And the people that are willing to show up for that stuff are the ones that you show up for. That formula has been successful.

Yeah, true. Yeah, then you can dive into details from there.

Exactly.

I always word it in a way that, like, I just look for who stands out from the crowd because they're so easy to spot, and you ain't even gotta know what you're damn looking for, right? You know, you think about any group, if I ask anyone who's— who's from everybody you work with, who stands out the most? Everyone has a name right off the rip, right? You know, it's like, all right, let me give a little more to that guy. Now minus that guy, who else stands out? And then it's just— I've just tried to do that, man. Um, and on the flip side, I just try to be the dude that stands out because I know other people are looking.

True.

Still.

Yep.

You know.

Yep. And it's like, you know, people It's almost like, you know, wartime, you know, they need to follow somebody or have somebody worth following, you know. So you got to keep standing up and being, you know, kind of standing up and being counted and letting people know I'm here, you know, maybe, maybe lead is the wrong word, but I'm in the trenches with you.

Yeah. Yeah. You still getting after it?

Well, I'm getting after it from a training standpoint. I don't, I don't do too much personal.

I don't need to be clear. I don't, I don't sell it. At all. I was going to be very highly impressed if you were still doing it. Yeah, because obviously you don't need to.

Yeah, I, I, I— but now I'm a pretty decent trainer though. I do my— I'm pretty active with the sales force as far as giving them the basics. That part I do still get excited.

Yeah, I mean, that piece don't change, dude. Principles are principles. Sales psychology, that whole deal, how to communicate, that stuff doesn't, doesn't change. And it was needed. And to be clear, dude, most people suck at that.

Yeah, that's true. It's so funny, I, you know, we've all got our stuff that we talk about in training classes, but one thing that I really believe in, when Bruce Lee was talking about he doesn't fear the guy who practices 10,000 different kicks, he fears a guy who, uh, practices the same kick 10,000 times, right? And the repetition— people nowadays, I find a big mistake they make, they got too many gurus. That they follow. So it creates almost confusion when it's time to close. They got 7 voices in their head. I'm just not that— I'm too simple, man. I got, I got one approach that I use and I just modify it for every situation. And that's one thing people could learn to make their life a lot easier.

Yeah, I agree, dude. I, um, when I started in the business, because I wasn't from a sales background and I was pretty analytical, just being an accountant, my personality type, I was studying all these people and I'm like Dude, they're using words I've never heard of. I had to Google them, you know what I mean? And I'm like, and they have all these steps, 7 steps to sales, and that NEPQ stuff. And I'm like, well, I got— I don't know. And I'm— I was trying so hard. And one day someone just was like, dude, why don't you just be you and take this simple concept that they need covered? You know what I mean? Like, keep it simple. And I was like, I just talk like I talk now. And like, but be intentional. Like, there's some intentionality behind it, but just be me, right? Dude, that let the lid off. I was excited when I learned I could just— this— the guy who mentored me was one of— and I mean this with all the most respect ever because he helped me so much— the most simple dude ever, bro. And I was like, I'd hear some people give a 47-minute— I get guilty of this sometimes. I'll talk my face off and he'd answer in 3 words, right? I'm like, that's it? Like, that's it, bro. Yeah. So I, I think keep doing what you're doing because I like simple.

Simple's good, man. When I first got started, my whole sales world was my dad and Zig Ziglar. Yeah, I just read his books. And then, you know, you kind of develop your own— like you said, you develop your own philosophy. And at that point, man, you know You don't have to practice being you. Everybody knows how to be themselves. So if you're just a you that knows how to communicate— I always try to tell people, don't try to sell them, just tell them. Just talk to people. Matter of fact, our sales script— I don't even call it a script, I call it a pre-enrollment conversation. It's just some, some stuff we need to talk about before we make a decision on how to help your family. So people are too salesy sometimes. It's better to be natural.

Give an example how one keeps that simple.

From, from a sales standpoint?

Sure. Yeah.

Well, it's like, you know, one of the things that I, I just always look at, if a person— from an insurance standpoint, if a person dies without insurance, that's bad. And if a person dies with insurance, that's good. And I've literally said that to clients before, like, look, at the end of the day, all the stuff that you're saying, bottom line, God forbid, if you were to pass, your family's gonna be without insurance, your family's in a bad situation. If you have some insurance, in a good situation. Let me just ask you a question before we dance all these dances and say all this crazy stuff. You want something good for your family or bad? Like, oh well, probably good. All right, well, let's waste— let's spend time making things good for your family. And I literally keep it just that simple, dude.

I love it. I love— you're such my style, dude. I sold a decent amount of final expense, and I would get to the house. I did— I come from face-to-face, kitchen table. I'd show up and I'd be like, what's up, Hank? John here for appointment. Yes, you need some insurance, huh? What are they gonna say? You know what I mean? It's like, people are like, that's your opening? I'm like, yeah. They go, what if they say no? Ask them if I'm at the wrong house. What up, y'all? Officially releasing my book. You can go on and order it now at johnwetmore.com or click the link below. That's where I go over the 6 basic principles I implemented to go from a struggling agent for my first couple years Fishing nearly half a million bucks a month. And go through stories and examples and exercises that you can do to implement for yourself. Appreciate it. Again, JohnWetmore.com, get yours. Later.

It's, it's so simple, man. You— I, I've another little simple thing I'd say is this: I can only help people that love their families. That's the only thing. That's my only limitation.

Money.

Right, so if you don't love your family, let me know. It's like, I'll pack up right now. And they'll, you know, we laugh about it, but just simple. It's not, it's not complex. It's not a bunch of charts and graphs and illustrations. If you love your family, you got to do something to take care of them. If you don't, I can't help you anyway.

Yeah, I heard someone the other day, I was trying to coach him on some stuff. He was struggling. He'd get through all these appointments and he was struggling getting the banking info. And I'm like, How do you ask for it? And dude, he gave like a 4-minute— the way he does it, like, he— it takes— he goes around in circles explaining why the insurance company needs in all this extra. I'm like, you don't just go like, can I have your routing and account number? He's like, you can do that? I'm like, so when you go buy groceries, bro, what's the little 16-year-old— he's like, tap right there.

Exactly.

It's like Yes, it can be that freaking simple.

We complicate our lives as salespeople. We love to do it.

Yeah, buddy.

It can't be that easy is what we think. It can't, it can't be that easy. But a lot of times it is.

It is. That's again, if for me, I thank God I had another guy that I was trying to get to a high-level sales point and I was trying to figure out the best carrier, the best lead, the best script, the best brochure. I remember when I used to brochures in the house and I thought they were going to help me. And, uh, he's like, bro, you just don't see enough people. I'm like, what do you mean? But what about— and I'm asking all— he's like, dude, you don't understand. You want to make double, why don't you just go see double the people? I was like, stop, right? It's not like I was seeing a million anyway, you know what I mean? I wasn't hardly doing any anyway. And sure enough Like, damn, imagine that.

Start earlier, finish later.

Yeah, buddy. I love it, I love it. Um, cool. What, what kind of, I guess, advice generally do you think that you can add to some people that maybe I haven't asked? Things, things that work well for you, dude, that— I mean, you do this for a living. What do you think they need to hear?

I mean, one of the things that you just said is super important. Is a lot of salespeople kind of fly blind. So that's why it's so scary, because it's like, oh my God, am I going to make a sale or not? You really got to know your numbers. Like in your case, you had to double your numbers based on whatever you were selling. But I like people to drill down even deeper than that. It's like, you know, how many people did you see? Yeah, how much did you sell? How much did you make? And then a lot of people, you know, they do in, in a week what they should be doing in a day. So it takes the mystery out of it when you know your numbers. You know, every— everything I've ever done, I've always known how many outreaches, whatever that thing is, because I mean, I can't control the result, but I can control my effort.

Yeah, the prospecting part.

Got him.

Oh dude, that last meeting was— I'm— I hope it was you because I feel very confident it was you. Didn't you talk about that time thing kind of relative to what you just said?

Collapsing time frame?

Yes, dude, talk about that sucker. That was the way you delivered that at that last event was sick.

Well, what it is, is it's like, you know, you'll ask the person, how long have you been in the insurance industry? Whatever. Been in it for a year. It's like, well, okay, let's break it down. Let's see how long you've really been in the insurance industry. So you start asking them, so how many people do you see a week? So maybe they're like, oh, I see 5 a week. I don't know, whatever the number. I see 1 person a day, 2 people a day, whatever that number is. So I'm like, all right, in order to be successful, you realize you need to be seeing 25— you need to be doing 25 to 30 shows in, in most cases, uh, for sure. And says, if that's the case, let's just use 25 for the sake of conversation. If an actual sales week is 25 visitations, 25 showings, 25 whatevers, if you're seeing 5 people every week, then it's taking you one whole calendar month to accomplish what you should be accomplishing in one week. So if you're sitting there thinking, oh, I've been in the business, you know, for a year— well, no, you haven't. If you're only seeing 5 or 6 people a week, you've only been in the business for like a couple months, 2 months.

Yeah.

And so now all of a sudden you're calculating, well, I didn't make a whole lot of money. Actually, you did pretty good. If you made $30,000, you made $30,000 in 2 months. Yep, you just needed to work another 5, another, another, uh, 4 or 5, 3 or 4 cycles. So that's the kind of stuff I'm talking about, man, where it's like, okay, how much time are you really putting into your business? And you sometimes you shouldn't even be disappointed for the amount of time you're putting in. You're making relative money, you just don't put enough, enough time.

Yeah, so imagine if you only got credit for a week worked every 25 appointments you run. Yep. So if it takes you, you're getting 5 a week, it takes you 5 weeks to get 1 week credit. I was like, dude, I heard that and I hit Amanda. I'm like, dude, I'm— I talk numbers. That was badass. I'm stealing that. And I forgot about it till right now when you said it.

I'm like, oh, you remember the stealing again, huh?

Yes, 100%, dude. I don't need the credit. I'll tell everyone where I got it.

I don't—

I ain't mad at it. I just— I love it. It, it does something different because I use a 40-hour thing. I talk about 40 hours. So like in a book, I break it down. It's like, how many— how much time does each activity get you? Whether an appointment's an hour, a phone call's a minute, recruiting calls 20 minutes. Let's add them all up and see how many hours you really get. And for me, mine were like— mine added up to like 12 hours a week when I did the math. And I was like, shit, what if I just work 40 and let's, let's see what happens. So I just did it in an hour state, but I've never done it in a like, how long have I been in the business. I think it gives such a different perspective because people feel like mine's a very short window, where yours takes a big old window in their head and it goes, nah bro, yeah, you've only been doing this a couple months. I know you've had your license since 1982. But it's like time served, bro.

It is. But you know, the very first time I explained it to somebody that way, it was, uh, it was a husband and wife, and the wife was on the husband's case because he wasn't making money. And I used it with both of them because I'm like, first of all, you're upset because you're saying he's been doing this 6 months and he's not making money.

Yep.

Right. And that's unrealistic because he's not going to learn a whole new career and changing his whole life and getting you out of debt get off all the credit cards in 6 months. I said, but man, I got to get on your case. They were both there together because you have not been in this business 6 months. And I broke it down to him the way that we're talking about it right now. And I said, you know, you're lucky to have made anything based on the fact that you've basically been working this business about 1 month.

So I want y'all watching to be real with yourself, do a little math. 25 presentations a week gets you a week credit. Do a little math and put in the comments how long you really been in the business, and then go home and tell your spouse and all the people you complain to that you heard it from Hank. Yeah, I like it, dude. I, I love giving people a— one of the things I feel like I'm— I've gotten really good at, because I feel like I, I had a hard time communicating with people that were different than me, which I learned is everyone, and not in a mean way, not just— we're just all so different. But giving stories and analogies, dude, has helped. Like, I like creating like this light bulb moment for people, and that's one that I bet you get a lot of. Like, I bet that sticks a lot.

A lot of people have come back to me over the years like, you know, that really— when they started looking at their business like that, yeah, it changed some things for them. Yeah, I used to joke about the Oprah aha moment, you know, that on her show she talked about these aha moments. So I said, yeah, I gave you an Oprah aha moment. You don't like Oprah?

Sorry. Yeah, he doesn't like Oprah. Yeah, I like Oprah. Yeah, it's crazy. That's a good one, dude. You got a pocketful of more aha moments you can share? You keep them in this?

A couple aha moments? Well, that, that one seems to resonate with people a lot. I mean, another one is very simple, but to earn more, you got to learn more. We definitely have said that, but a lot of people don't really monetize that expression, in my opinion. So it's like, they'll pay to go to college and pay for these courses and pay for all this stuff, and it's like a direct connection. Okay, if I invest in this, and I'm gonna be more successful. But when it comes to insurance education, I, I don't see— well, actually, it's been refreshing at 8% Nation. I've seen it more than I'm used to seeing it. People looking to try to get some training, you know, get some actual hardcore training. But that's a big one, man. And, and independent— like, a lot of people like to learn on the job, and that's cool, but I like to practice before I work. So sometimes the most important, you know, the most important training you can get is 15 minutes before you get on the phones or get in front of that client's house to start your day, and that 15 minutes after, kind of doing an autopsy in your day to see what you can analyze and break down.

And notice he didn't say 6 hours before you start working to train. Please don't do— make sure you heard him, 15 minutes.

Yeah, no paralysis by analysis.

Yeah, it's that combo, man. That combo of work and training is deadly. And of course you need leads of some kind, whether you buy them, generate, I don't care where you get people. You need people to prospect and present to. You need training and you need work. And that, that combo, dude, can take you as far as you want to go in this business.

And if you don't have leads, you know, you got to know how to get them. Like, for me, back in the day, I used to— I used to like to fill my gas tank up and, uh, pay at the— pay— I didn't like to pay at the pump. I'd go pay—

go inside.

Go inside. And the reason why is because it gave me a chance to canvass the gas station. So number one, I would get gas— oh, I have a little technical glitch here. Number one, I would get gas at like high-end gas stations. So I like to go to like Shell, ExxonMobil, stuff like that, because anybody who's willing to put high-end gas in their car, they got some money.

That's a good approach, bro.

They got, they got some money, right? And they didn't get a BP. They were kind of particular too, right? So I see the BMW driver and stuff like that. And then, and then, uh, other things too, I could actually see their car, like see the models. Like, I walk, I walk up And on the way back, I'm canvassing all these cars, and I'd wave at people on the way to get my gas, like on the way to the guy. I'd wave, hey, what's up, man? Go Bills or go Falcons or whatever, and see who the nice people were. So then they'd be like, hey, what's up, bro? Go, buddy. So I go in, pay for my gas, then on the way back out, those are the 2 or 3 people I talked to. I got a bunch of sales like that, man.

That's awesome. He's giving you the goods right there. You know he's been in the field trying to probably make some money with that story. Oh my God, that makes my face hurt. That's a good one. I love it, bro. Well, this has been fun, dude. We, uh, we definitely have to connect some more. Um, would love to— would love to do some more stuff with you and, you know, see how we can help each other continue.

Oh yeah, man, I gotta come see this super crib you built, man. You got me excited.

Come on, let's go. Come on. Where do you— where do you live?

I don't remember. I'm in— I'm in Brazelton over by Sheffield.

Brazelton, got it. Cool. I'm in Marietta.

You're west? Marietta.

Yep, yep, yep, yep. Let's set some up, dude. You can come out, let's do it. Bring— let's do an event.

Yeah, I like it even better.

Yeah, let's do something. We'll have it here, we'll have it there, we'll have it at both. Well, one of each.

You know what, that's where we get the— we get the Northeasterners come to my— you come over here with me, I'll come with you, we'll do a buy house event.

Let's do it. Let's set it up. Who wants to come? Hit us up if you're in. We'll set some—

I'll be—

it'd be fun, dude. We, um, we're gonna have something at the house last week and it just wasn't ready, so we, we're doing something internal finally in February, but would love to set something up, dude.

Hey man, if anybody shouts out in the comments, let me know. We, we— I, I can fit a couple folks over here. We can make it happen.

Yeah, I'm all about it, bro.

All right, man.

All right, brother. Anything you want to add and let them go with?

Hey, I want to first of all thank you for the invitation because, uh, this, this is a hot seat to be in, man. So I appreciate that. And I want you to keep doing what you're doing, helping agents to be successful. And for anybody who's plugged into your world and plugged into you, man, my encouragement to them You hear about that why that makes you try and that why that makes you cry, and that is like so legit. You got to have that. You've got to have something that's driving you, something, you know, you got to pay bills and goals and things of that nature. But you need an emotional connection to your business, something that's going to make you wake up on those days you don't want to wake up and keep working on those days that you want to quit. But there is light at the end of the tunnel. Um, you're, you're— whatever you're dealing with, there is a mathematical way out of it. You know, a lot of times we get caught up in life and we think, oh, I'm in I'm just stuck in this hole forever. Anything you got in, you can get out, but you got to know your numbers, you got to have a plan, you got to work the plan. And if I can do anything to help you do that, John can do anything. I know he will as well. So live long and prosper, everybody.

My dude, appreciate you. Y'all have a good one. See you at the next one.

Peace. Later.