This Sales Training Made Me $90,000 Per Month in Insurance ft. Easton Padden | Ep16

How much have you sold on your own pen total? Do you know?

Oh, dude, I've got to be 3.5, 4.5 million. I think between 3.5 and 4 million total sales since 2019.

Personal pen. What up, y'all? John Wetmore back with another episode of the Insurance Insiders Podcast. Got my dude Easton Patton here, who's a freaking sales machine. Easton, otherwise known as Beaston in the insurance world. I hear it very often. And, uh, you'll learn a lot about this dude today and work ethic and selling a lot of insurance. And one of my favorite things, dude, is like remembering all the people that I've worked with over the years that started out poorly and how many of them quit, and just how far you went from the poor start, you know what I mean? So I'm excited. Obviously you share the story all the time, but those that don't know you, to be cool to hear and You know, we'll get into some other good stuff too that you got going on in, in life and business. So I'm excited about it, bro. Appreciate you.

I appreciate you having me on. It's funny, we talk about that, um, quite a bit because I think it's an important part for others to hear, kind of like your journey. Because dude, it's the same stuff. Like, if they see who John Wetmore is today, yeah, like if they were hanging around you in 2012, dude, it's not the same guy. You know, like, man, different dude. So I, I think sharing that, you know, overwhelming feeling of, is this a mistake? Am I gonna go out? Like, that stuff's important.

It is, dude. It's, uh, it's funny. It feels like yesterday in some ways, because I remember I used to pace around when I was in the house. You came around when I was in heavy recruiting, obviously. Zach, I think you came directly from Zach, knowing him previously, if I don't— if if I remember right. And, uh, but I used to talk to you a lot, and I was on the phone every night, all night, all day, all night. This was— what year did you start?

Like '19?

'19? Yeah, yeah, that was heavy, heavy, like sales training stage for me, and working with all the recruits and teaching Zach and others how to build. It was like this weird little time frame, um, and I have a lot of memories due to pacing out on my back porch talking to you early. So do I. I'm curious what yours are because I'll— again, not to be a dick, but you were one of like 40 people I was talking to, you know what I mean?

So I'm—

some of it gets mushed together for me. I'm sure the memory's obviously a lot more clear on your end. Um, so I'm intrigued to hear about it just from your perspective. We've never like talked it out very long before.

You know, the, the big staple, and you know, I've got like a, a handful of memories from that first year, was crazy, dude. Um, if you think about like— I'm gonna— I'll give you an expedited— dude, my first month I did $10 grand in like paid gross sales and I spent $11 on leads my first month. I was like, I didn't really get how it worked at the time, dude. And within 12 months I issued $93 grand within my 12 months of my start date. Like, it happened that fast from like homeless in a month. Yeah, yeah, month 12 in business, um, April to April.

Not $93 for, for 12 months, $93 in one month. Yeah, within 12 months.

Yes. Yeah, within— so awesome. Like, if you just look at— I didn't know it was that quick. Just a year, dang. You're like, wow, that's pretty quick progress. I'm like, yeah, but you guys weren't— dude, you weren't on that roller coaster of just like craziness. And because we were so sales and building focused, dude, I— so I like had broken even by the end of my third month. And then Zach was like, cool, so we're doing an office, you're gonna get a staff, we're gonna run some ads. So I'm like Dude, I just made money. And he's like, sick, let's go ahead and put that back out immediately unless you want to keep doing this phase forever. And I was like, oh, I'm not doing that forever. I was like, yeah, okay, I understand. So then, then it was like, uh, being so naive and moldable was a huge perk for me, to be honest, because I was just like, hey, you guys said to do this, sounds good. And I, I would like to have a large business, so this is what it requires, I'm totally in. Are, dude, some of my biggest. And I, I do— this is the John Wetmore Sales 101. And I, dude, I share it relentlessly because you'll see it on both sides where if somebody is doing a bunch of the incorrect stuff over and over and over and over, you're like, dude, if you're already not selling, do something else at the end, because whatever is happening is not— it's not working. So how about we go just tell them this. Did this was— I literally remember it like it was yesterday. You said, hey, walk in there, and when you sit down, figure out— dude, you don't even need that good of a why. Just like figure out kind of what she would like, and then if she gives you a direction, just go, cool, here's what we'll do today. We're gonna shop carriers, find a company, you're gonna pick a price, I'm gonna do your application, and then if they take you, you're good. And she was like, cool. And I was like She just said yes, and I've been in here 8 minutes. I can't believe this is working. That's like my big, like, exploding memory that, like, we— because we talked a lot, and before we had agreed, like, Zach, dude, he was relentlessly giving me as much info as he could, right? Like, he was— he had my— he's had my back since, like, day one, basically. And he was always all in on me because I was like, you know, putting in as much effort as I could kind of like shell out. And he was like, when he ran into like, I literally can't help him because he's so unbelievably bad, I need to have you talk to somebody else. And then you were like, okay, well, give me some like numbers. Before we talked, it was like, okay, how many leads a week, how many dials, how many appointments, how many clothes? Okay, you're like, well, if this stuff is right, he definitely needs some help because this is like atrocious. I can't even understand it on paper, he's a shitty So I was like, yeah, that's me, dude. I'm— that's exactly how bad it looks and feels, exactly how bad that is.

I thought you were lying about numbers. I'm like, dude, he's spending $2,500, 3 G's, on leads, he's running 40 appointments and doesn't write an app. Like, stop it.

Yeah, but it was equally as not good news for me. Like, people think that, like, it doesn't make me feel good to run 44 appointments and close $600, if you guys are wondering.

You know, I would always joke, and I don't know if this is true or not, but I always say you would write one app for $600 and it was AIG and they'd cancel before you got home.

On the way, on the way home, dude, they would go, oh, you know what, I changed my— they call me 5 minutes after exit. We talked about it. I'm like, yeah, I know we did. I was just at the house. I know we talked about it. Like, yeah, well, we talked about it after you left and we're definitely not doing that. And I'm like, oh my God, am I ever gonna get out of this thing? I had Um, so that's like one of my entry-level staples, and that's what I share with people all the time now. I was like, listen, our, our rule is if you— if I hate how you sell, just like I can't stand your process, I think it's sloppy, you know, you have misses that you— dude, if you sell 40, don't fix it. All good. Yeah, keep doing that. If you're selling 8, maybe we could try experimenting with literally anything else because that's not good. Yeah, and that's the, that's the Wetmore 101, dude.

I love it, bro. If you're looking to transform your insurance sales game in just 12 weeks, this course I put together is for you. Go over 20 different topics, everything from sales to goal setting to lead plans, and everything I've done in the last decade plus having multiple six-figure sales success. I've helped hundreds and hundreds of agents get to multiple six figures all over the country, mentoring and speaking at all kinds of events. So available now, find the link in description. Use the code LAUNCH for a discount code. I remember, you know, my most vivid memory is when I had you record You're In Home. Oh yeah, what do you remember about that? Do you remember it like I do?

I remember almost not calling you about it because I listened to it after And I was like, yeah, dude, I for sure am not buying from me either. So it was like, listen, I'm out of courtesy because I said I would, I will send this to you. But dude, I totally get it. Like, this was a train wreck. I wouldn't have bought either.

Yeah.

And it's so nice, dude. This is where like the virtual sales game just steals all of it because you can record everything and listen to it in real time. Like, it didn't used to be where you just record all of your appointments from day one and then get real-time feedback, where it's like, dude, we can— you can have 2 or 3 presentations in the morning and we can break at noon and I can hear them, you know, fix it. Wrong, wrong, wrong, wrong. Here's what I would try instead. Find one thing, you know. That's a big difference.

My favorite part of it was like— and I still do it to this day— but my favorite— I remember the thing you were really good at is like you were almost not a mean way, but you were like robotic about following instructions, right? But I remember thinking like, dude, you're not giving any leeway. You're not like having conversations. You're just trying to go like 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, make sure I hit all. And not— it wasn't you naturally. Your natural personality wasn't coming out early. And, uh, I remember you would— you, like many others be like, dude, that's what I say. I'm, I'm saying that, you know. And I'm like, I'm sure you are. My guess is it probably just coming out poorly, you know, in your version of it. And I, I had, I had the same realization, dude. First time I recorded my stuff and listened to it, I was like, oh. And the cool part of it is you don't even really gotta know what the hell you're doing when you hear it. Like, if you just pretend you think you hear what you're saying, it doesn't work. But if you record it and listen, you don't even have to know how to train, and you'll hear shit that you don't believe. You'll be like, oh, I didn't know I said that. Or like handling objections, or when they respond, it's like, that was your response to that answer, bro?

Well, some of it is unintentional, like disrespect or rudeness, like because you're in the moment and you're like, no, this is, this is supposed to be my response. But it's 100% how you give the response, tonality. Yeah, where it's like, yeah, but when you say it like that, that's like really disrespectful and rude. And if rude does not sell, which I found out obviously, uh, you know, this like hard— I'm gonna draw a hard line and hard close everybody. Like, I, I'm gonna be honest, that's my least favorite kind of training ever because I think it's stupid and inaccurate. Um, people that fake like they're hyper-aggressive and all their close— I'm like, dude, shut up. Anyway, I was like, dude, if I can disconnect and be gentle That was like one of the big hearing yourself. It's like, dude, that is for sure rude unintentionally. And a lot of it's because you're not listening. Yeah, like if you're not listening, which is— that's a big piece that I was missing. Like, yes, I had the words like that I'd figured out, and then I figured out the order to say them in, and then I'm just blank staring at my sheet, not acknowledging anything that's being said. Like, oh, I lost my spouse. All right, got it. So next section, I'm like Dude, you gotta pay attention, man. And you're not doing it in a, you know, on purpose, but you're not listening at all. And that's the biggest thing that I can find now when I listen to calls is like, dude, you're not engaged, you're, you're robotic. You're literally me week 3 and you're just, you're saying the words, getting a response and moving on without— how long were you guys married for? Like, something that minute is a— it swings the appointment.

Like actually giving a shit.

Weird. Empathetic-based sale and you actually have to care. It's wild. It works.

Yeah, yeah, it's true, dude.

But it's—

what's wild to me is like, it makes sense week 1, week 2, week 3, like all that's normal. The part that's hard is when people are in like year 2, year 3 and they're still doing it, you know what I mean? It won't listen and won't adjust. I'm like, ah, that's what I always loved about your deal. No one has— I don't know, I can't name a person in 12 years that out the gate ran as many appointments as you did consistently. I don't have your— and I don't know a close second, to be honest. Like, out the gate and stuck with it. I've had people do it and then bail, you know what I mean? But I don't know that you ever stopped. I think you still do work most people.

Yeah. And, and, uh, you know, the, the nice thing is if you do all of that stuff early and like you give it up and you put it in and you keep the appointment count high. The dude, the biggest problem that people have is they develop a skill set and they change their schedule like they're freaking Zuckerberg all of a sudden in the bank. They're like, oh dude, nope, just had a $23K month in gross sales, so you know, basically I've figured this out, you know. And then their whole thing changes. That dude, if I will give my credit for anything early Like, I did have a lot of appointments, not that they went great, but once I learned the insurance sale, the only separator was I never fixed or I never changed my calendar, dude. I had 38 to 44 appointments for 2 and a half years. I didn't change it and I never missed, ever, never in 2 and a half years missed 38 to 44. And that's like, think about how good your skills go up your first 6 to 12 months and now you're in month 12, like, dude, I— how can I possibly get better? And then you find because of the volume one small adjustment that takes you from 93 to 104 and then 107 and then 127. You know, like, that was the changes, was just the skill set. I got better at finding money and all that stuff, um, but the schedule was locked, dude. That was very helpful.

Well, let's, let's let it— I want to hear.

So early, early schedule, in-home stuff. It's Monday, Thursday is dial day. So, um, I was a pretty large fan of trying to abuse the weekends to get some supplemental production in. In the beginning, it was non-negotiable. Like, I door knocked 12 hours every Sunday for my first 3 months because I'm like, obviously, you know, I don't have anything and all my cards are getting turned off. So like, I'm door knocking to try to like get enough wiggle room not to pay rent, to buy some more leads the next week and give it another rip. Um, so that, like, I was never worried about— I was going to figure it out eventually. At least that's what I conned myself into believing, which, you know, thankfully worked out long term. But dude, Monday was, you know, dial as hard as you can. It's always like, how fast can I book 22 appointments, you know? Because if I've got 11 lined up— well dude, let's talk about that adjustment first, because I was having appointment days where I would stack 14 appointments in a day where I'm like double and stacking all these hours. And like, and then you're like, hey dude, you sat with 6. Last week out of 52. Like, maybe we cut some of the BS appointments out and like, let's try to figure out schedule-wise like who's going to be around that you got a shot of seeing. So I went down to having 11 appointments a day, which I, I think is like 8 to 8:30, every hour and 15 minutes you can book 11. So I was running 8 AM was my first one, 8:30 was my last one, historically, like consistently. And then if I could sneak like a 6:30 or 7 in, I would always pitch like a, like a 6 to 6:30 AM appointment, um, especially on travel trips, because I'm like, dude, I'm already out here, what am I going to do anyway? I mean, I might as well see if someone will let me in the door at 6 AM. And Albuquerque was kind of like the only place that would consistently let me in. I never— I almost always had a 6 AM appointment in Albuquerque when I was running out there. Don't have no idea why that is, it just worked out that way. So that was my— I would dial, you know, sometimes it would take me, you you know, early, it would take them to like 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 at night to get my schedule stacked. And then once I had like a blend of leads where like, hey, we're doing some final expense and some mortgage protection paper, like those are so easy to book. Like I would, when I was flying to Montana on my travel trips, dude, I would have 29 appointments before 11:30 in the morning and direct mail leads booked, ready to roll before I took my flight out. So I drive to DIA because I couldn't afford the flight out of Springs. I would get there at 6 o'clock, get all my stuff set up in a tiny corner in the airport, and I would just hard dial until 11:30. I would always book my flights between 1 and 3 PM because like that was my, you know, 1 to 3, 1 to 4, where I was like, hey, it's quieter dial time. So if my schedule's not full, I can land, you know, get to my parents' house because that's where I'm from, and then finish my schedule. Um, but that was non-stop, 11 appointments, you know, 4 days a week. That's my 44. And then You know, if I'm traveling, I'm going to swing Sunday appointments, of course, or I would use Sunday as a dial day for Monday and Tuesday, and then I would fly back Wednesday, um, and get ready to fly to my next location, you know, same day or the next day.

How often did you sell at home versus travel? Um, early, the first couple years.

First year, um, I was— I only was going to Montana for travel trips my first year. Yeah, so everything I was doing was I was ordering like Facebook leads in different areas of Colorado. Like, I didn't do— this is hilarious— I didn't know I could order leads where I lived. So my first 2 months, I'm driving to Fort— that's like 3 hours to drive, and I'm ordering leads 3 hours from my house for Facebook leads. I'm booking, I'm driving all the way up there, not selling anything. So I get back, you know, last appointment's at 8, no-show obviously, get home at 11, and then I'm back up to, you know, Fort Collins, Greeley you know, super northern Colorado. So then they're like, well, you— why don't you order them where you live? And I'm like, it's been sick information. Like 2 months ago, if you guys were wondering, found out I could order local. So I started doing like a split of going to Denver and then going like way north and then running some home and then running southern Colorado. So tons and tons of drive time. Um, I was home a lot my first year as far as like being home every night except for like my Montana travel trip. Um, That's— yeah, year, year 2 to 3 is where we like went into this crazy direct mail hunt where we found out like, hey, these— I like to book these, these are nice, and I will just spend, you know, $25,000 a month on leads, and I'll fly all over the country and spend another $20,000 traveling, and, you know, I'll sell 120 and life's going to be sick, it's going to be great. And that's kind of what we did for a few years after that. Um, but yeah, first year was like lots of Final Expense Facebook stuff with like a little splash of mortgage towards like the very end of the year.

Yeah, and I love how casually, for those that were like, wait, what? Or have to rewind, let's spend $45,000 a month to make $120,000. Life is good.

That's a good exchange.

Hell yeah, it is. Yeah, you're kidding me.

You want to talk about performance pressure, bro? You fly out somewhere and you're, you're $5,000 in when you show up. So like you've got to sell $5,000 to go neutral. And that was pretty much like that was it, you know. You always were gonna have to— your first 5 was like, okay, trips paid for, profit.

Yeah. What made you go as hard as you did? And see, like, what were you thinking the whole time?

Um, I would say it was a, it was a couple of different things, dude. So initially it was like, you know, Zach was like the guy I was running with at the time, you know. So you wanna— and dude, how lucky is that, by the way? Like, I just unintentionally happen to work with this guy who's like so insanely messed up in his brain like me, where he's like, well dude, why don't we just not take any days off for like 3 years and then we'll have big companies, that'd be sick. And I was like, oh, that sounds good, um, I'm super down. And then, you know, since he had already— he was like, uh, maybe what, a year and a half like in front of when I started.

Yeah.

So, you know, I mean, when I— we linked was doing like 100, and he had hit VP, and then they were doing like 110, 120 a month, um, as a group, like when we first connected.

And he was probably doing 40 of it plus, right? 40, 50 of it.

Yeah, I was doing 40 to 50 of it.

We had like 4 guys, you're saying? Yeah, yeah.

So like, let's just say there's 5 of us total.

Yep.

Um, and you know, kind of one of those, like, thankfully I was so moldable. But dude, I've, I've had 70-hour-a-week jobs since I was 12 years old. Like, I got my first full-time job at 12 working on somebody else's farm picking up heavy shit and moving it around all day. It's like, it sucked, and they paid us no money. So I'm like, all right, so I've been working 70 hours a week since I was 12. That was, you know, X amount of years ago. You're telling me that if we just do a really good job at this, they're going to pay us like this kind of money? I was like, I don't understand what the complaint's about. I'm totally down. So initially it was financially is why I came and worked so hard, because I was like, I'm gonna make money and I'm I'm by far like the least intelligent in my friend group. Like, they're all medical field dudes, like dental practice, doctors. Like, all these guys are super smart that were my college roommates.

Got it.

And then I'm like, I'm kind of here to do sports, and if I graduate, that's pretty awesome. Um, yeah, which, you know, so I found this and I was like, dude, this is what they get. All that smack talking about like how I'm the dumb one. Like, dude, I'm about to make so much money and I am going to absolutely bring it up every chance I get to see them. You know, it's kind of like give this big F you to outside people. So money was a big motivator early. Um, wanting to be a good partner to Zach and like plug in and learn and move with him was another big motivator. And then I, you know, I made Lindsay, my now wife, um, a promise when I got into this thing And I was like, I don't really know if any of the information I'm getting is accurate because I, I knew nothing about the industry, nothing about the company. I was like, if these people that I'm talking to and met are actually selling at this scale, like, I don't know if you remember talking to Zach in 2019 versus talking to him now, a lot different person. Oh yeah. So I'm like, this is the guy that everybody's talking about, the company, like this young hungry killer. And it was like Zach, who was awkward to be around. And I was like, if this is the dude, we are going to be having a crazy life ahead of us if I can figure this stuff out, you know. And so that was my pitch to her. It was like, if, if he is doing it— and I met this, I met two other Hall of Fame producers, including you, at that first meeting I went to two weeks in. Flew out to South, South Carolina, maybe, wherever the meeting was.

You were at that one? Yeah, that's— I have memories of that one with Sean and Zach meeting out there.

Oh yeah, yeah, Athena and Josh were there. Like, you know, flew out and met with all those guys.

I I realized that was your first one. Got it.

First one ever, dude. 14 days in, flew out there. Um, okay, so I got out there. Yeah, and I met these people that were clipping 200, 300, 400. Um, I met you and you're like, yep, accounting background, got a big business, Hall of Fame producer. I'm like, dude, it's just like a bunch of nerds. Like, it's just like a bunch of weird smart people that, like, I've always felt like I had relatively good social skills because I've all just like, I've always been that kind of a personality, like wanting to make friends, be loud, talk to people, and, you know, make the funny stuff, you know, here and there, whatever. So I was like, I just like, I had so much belief that I was going to be able to figure it out. Um, so promising, um, knowing the kind of money that you can do in the space, like if you can figure it out how to execute financially at a high level, like the, the money can be so obnoxious. And we are 1/10,000th of the way into like what an insurance career can be and where we're at today. Like, we are scratching what this thing can do. So, uh, those were some big, big factors.

Yeah, I think it's funny that people just look at the initial work and they're like, even if you— because, you know, you get some people are like, for the money, I wouldn't even work that hard, you know what I mean? My family and I, blah, and I'm tired, all the stuff. But I think they missed the foundation you set up, you know what I mean? And the example you provided, because you're set— your top year was at $960,000 on your own pen.

Just shoot, 940 technically was the first, was my biggest individual year.

How much have you sold on your own pen total, do you know? Like, how much— do you have any idea?

Oh dude, I've got to be like, uh, 3.5, 4.5 million, I think, between 3.5 and 4 million total sales since 2019.

Personal pen?

Yeah.

That'll change your life a little bit.

I was making $43 grand a year in corporate rental car stuff before, so Yeah, you know, again, 70-hour-a-week gig, dude.

Yeah, crazy.

What's the team? What's—

so you talked about where you're at today, being a small piece. Where are you at today?

Um, so this will be our third year that we have a group doing over $10 million a year. Um, our, our biggest year is $17.5 million as a, as a little company, um, for what we've done, uh, so far. And I feel like one— I think this is my favorite part— is, dude, think about how many people have quit that were like significantly better and bigger than I was early. Like, all of them. And I'm just like, losers. No, no offense. Like, dude, thanks for quitting. You have to— dude, all you literally have to do— like, you've gone through it, I've gone through it. Like, dude, there's these like Mount Everest peaks where like, it could not possibly get any better for me right now. And then you just get freight trained and ran over, and then it drags you for hundreds of miles. And then you're like, okay, well, the good news is if I just figure out like, hey, the industry is changing, here's some adjustments I need to make. Um, I'm gonna— you know, if you ever want to check on what you're doing in your business, John's a great guy to call if you guys are wondering, because he'll basically punch you in the face with like stats. And then you're like, damn, I'm really not doing anything on this part of the business. It makes sense why we're not growing. So, which we've had that conversation a handful of times. Um, but that's, that's what makes me so excited to be here is, dude, we're— dude, I'm 5 years into insurance. I'm 5 years into a career.

It's insane, you know, isn't it?

Like, most people do 20 to 30. Now imagine what this thing can be in 20 years if you just— yeah, have some, like, work consistently like a job, dude.

Yeah, I know people, and I've met people. You see, I speak at a lot of events and shit, dude. I, I meet a lot of people that have been in the business 20-plus years, and they still have to sell every week. To pay their bills, like, and they ain't living like high level, you know what I mean? It's like just getting by kind of stuff. And I'm like, nah, you, you went at this the wrong way, you know? Or be satisfied with it and don't bitch, you know? I mean, I ain't mad if you don't want to do— just don't complain about it, you know? I remember though, 2019 was a big year for us, dude. We blew up that year. A lot of y'all, a lot of y'all really figured this thing out that year. Um, certainly I had to, I had to make a lot of changes, and we, we tripled in volume that year with a lot of y'all breaking out all at the same time. And it was a, it was a big year for us as a total group.

I felt like there was a 2-year stretch where like that was like everybody was just dialed for like 2 years.

Yeah, it was nice.

And that was a big— the needle was moving. Massively. That was fun.

It was never— it was funny on my end. It was like, because we had a pretty good— I was— I had been printing money for like 2 and a half years, 3 years prior to that. But everyone I thought that was going to be there and build it big in, say, '17, '18, who really popped in in '19, '20, '21, it wasn't anyone I thought it was going to be. It was all, yo, like, y'all didn't— y'all weren't even here yet. You know what I mean? And I had managers, if you will, trying to say they were going to do stuff. And the ones I thought were gonna pop, dude, it was like, it was all these new people that came up from continued hiring and recruiting and others and referrals and warm market hires and stuff like that. And it was like, whoa, I didn't see that coming, dude.

Was that hard? Like, was that a hard thing for you to figure out? Is the, like, you just wait, guys. Like, dude, you have no idea what I'm about to do here.

Yeah, it was, um, it was wild, dude, because I had so much— and you, I know you understand this piece— like, I had— I saw so much potential in people, you know what I mean? And I was trying to get so many more people to buy in and have the belief that you did, but I was doing it— I didn't know it at the time, but I was trying to stretch the wrong people because they verbally said they wanted maybe some of the financial stuff I was able to have, and others, you know, I mean, it's not like I— hell, I learned this from so many people, same as you. I'm a student of the game, um, you know, and sort of made it my own. But you know what was hard was like pulling away from those people because they weren't changing and evolving or really listening, and, and, and putting my time, energy, and attention into others, and kind of the fallout of some relationships in that sense, you know what I mean? Because it was like, oh, John's not always there every day anymore, you know what I mean? I had to like distance because people weren't changing, and I had to learn how to articulate like, dude, if you're not coachable, like, I'm not trying to be an asshole, but I'm trying to build something. What do we talk for? And I probably did a poor job of expressing that in a lot of ways, you know what I mean? But that was hard, that transition from like kind of the old crew to the new crew. That was, that was tough, dude. Um, and I probably handled it wrong in a lot of ways, but you know, live and learn in a sense. I don't, I don't fully regret it because I learned a lot about people though. That was the hardest for me, was people I had friendships with and relationships with that just, they hit their ceiling, you know what I mean? Their vision wasn't any further. Um, so that was, that was tough, dude. That was, that was a tough couple years in that sense.

So I think the, you know, your— my belief now in others is built on effort instead of verbiage, which, amen. You know, to your point though, one of the, the hardest part is you, you see like all this potential, like, dude, I— and it's because like we're like, dude, if, if we're figuring out how to do this on any scale, like, all you have to do is do these exact things for such a tiny window of time, you know. And the— when I was at the height of my travel schedule, like 2021, actually halfway through 2020 all the way through 2021, that, that 18-month window, I was gone every weekend, dude, from home. I was home Wednesdays for 18 months. I was gone, you know. So I'd see Lindsay once a week, and then, you know, if I had a home run weekend, which was rare, then we would have date night on Friday. But it was pretty much like, hey, I'm going to be home you know, either late Tuesday or Wednesday. So that's one of those days we need to figure out our stuff. Those are some of my best memories because it was so difficult and you were so vested in like, I'll do anything to make this thing work. Like, I built a lot of really cool memories traveling all over the country just to sell to Amish people in Pennsylvania. Like, that's a staple memory I get to have forever. I would never have gone out there before, and now I've seen all these crazy places and met all these people. So I think the pursuit of— look, people are just on the hunt for this massive result. And I didn't probably do as good a job of it as I could have at the time. It's like, dude, this is so crazy fun that I get to just buy plane tickets, fly over the country, come home with $20 grand a weekend. Like, dude, this is actually really fun stuff. You know, you don't have much personal time then, but in— dude, that is like some of the peak enjoyment that I've had since I've been here was when it was just hard and fast every day, nonstop, relentless business, sales, business, sales, recruiting. I mean, it was so much fun.

Yeah, we have, we have really good memories of that early building the company, me and Mark and, you know, I mean, all the guys, Andrew and just the original crew. Oh dude, it's hard and you can't recreate that stuff either, you know what I mean?

It's just different now.

Yeah, yeah, it is. What's, um, which one do I want to ask first? How was that? Let's stay on track. I do have a couple other questions, we'll go back, kind of going back. How was that on with Lindsay, family, like what was that like being gone all the time? And I—

because yeah, it was hard. I mean, we got— we just got married in 2020, you know, July. So we basically had— we're brand new newlyweds or whatever, and I'm like, cool, I just picked up like 4 states, so this is going to be my calendar for a bit. Um, one thing, and I can't remember if it was Zach— somebody had given me a nice little piece like, hey, listen, if you're gone all the time and you're crushing it and you can get your wife some nice shit, it'll buy you a little, like, flexibility, you know?

So, like, sounds like Stephanie. She tells people all the time.

It could have been your wife that was like, hey, as long as you do this, you'll be good. Um, I think, you know, the, the hardest part I remember is, like, me being gone all the time, and then I'm just like, I'm coming home and I've got this tiny window So I'm just like a little human hurricane coming home, leaving my stuff all over the place, you know, still on the phone while I'm home the entire time. And then like, all right, I gotta go, it's 9 PM. Like, I'm answering calls at 9:30 or 10 o'clock and I'm like in bed. She's like, you just— you just got home. Yeah, you know. And I'm like, I know, but result. Like, this is what we're chasing. Like, we just need to make it a little bit longer. Are you good? You know. And thankfully, this is where I did get pretty lucky, is like, dude, she never once questioned what I was doing or like what the goal was. She's like, dude, I get it, I got you, can you not leave your shit everywhere, but also I totally got you, you know. Like that little stuff like that. Pretty simple. Challenging, um, challenging for sure, but like, you know, I would, I would do it 100% would do that for, you know, 2 to 3 year roll over and over if I knew that, like, you can buy your freedom.

Yeah. What's the equivalent of that today in today's world? Telesales, obviously building a team, you're training people. I assume 99% of people aren't using the method we did to build. Y'all took what we did and put it on steroids, you know what I mean? It's like, I remember being early traveling One dude did it and I was like, that's genius, and I followed. And then other— and you know what I mean, it turned into what you came into, but y'all took it to another level, you know what I mean? But I'm curious, today what's the equivalent of that, you know what I mean? Because everybody wants a virtual intel— I mean, you get it, you deal with this shit every day, dude.

I, I think it is like, it is way simpler now, like from a concept standpoint. Like everything is plugged in. I, I would say maybe the equivalent would be opening up office, office space and recruiting to an office, you know. That's like maybe your risk now, um, which it's crazy that people don't want to do that because I'm telling you right now, dude, that, that hour drive that I made to freaking Parker from my house Mondays and Thursdays is the only reason I'm in business because I could go in there And I'm like, all right, Zach's validating this again. We're doing some more hands-on training. You know, we were still doing like some Zoom dial stuff kind of, you know, then, but that— you'll never replicate that in-office training and culture ever, I don't think. Um, and we see it now, the guys that are blowing up, dude, they got spaces and they're full of animals. So, uh, the, the discipline that's required in virtual sales blocks is really, really hard. I can't stare at a screen for 12 hours. I can run out in the field for 14, no problem, because you're just like house to house to house to house, and everything is different. It's a new experience every time you go into a place— different people, different stuff, same concepts. The virtual thing, it's, it's harder for some to stick around because it's screen time. Like, dude, you just have to sit and dial and dial and dial, but then you're like, hey, I just did a live call to close. These guys will do You know, like, hey, $2K a day keeps the doctor away stuff. Like, that's how you never get ahead ever, ever. It's like you make your one sale for the day and you split. Like, dude, you just— you're missing 8 hours. So the equivalent would be like, hey, if you get your sales stuff done, you now have 6 hours to do outbound, you know, some kind of like recruiting stuff. Um, if you, if you want to have a business, or if you're like, hey, I just want to sell a lot and please don't ever talk to me about managing because I don't want to do it. Then dude, just sell for 10 hours a day on the phone. It's so easy and cost-effective compared to flights, hotels, rental cars, out of states, being gone, blah blah blah. Um, but that, that discipline is a new game with virtual. It's a lot harder, I think, to stay focused for like these working hours.

Give them some sales stuff on the, on whether you want to— probably makes sense to talk more about virtual stuff, I would think, given That's what a majority of people are doing today. But whether booking— like, because you— I have a note here, like, like I was booking 20-something appointments basically before lunch, you know what I mean? So I would love to get into some phone stuff specific and sales stuff, um, to give them.

Yeah, sure.

And I'll let you pick how you want to roll with it.

Well, by my virtual strategy is like, if from a simplified issue life insurance standpoint, um, I want to just do as many call to closes as I can. If people want to book appointments and send them 38 confirmation texts, emails, all that stuff. Big, big proponent and fan of doing that because you are going to have to schedule people that are busy working, whatever. Um, but I, I think you're looking for people with a 15-minute block that you can take action on the spot. Um, that's where the majority of our success as a group is coming from. And when I'm personally selling virtually, dude, it's about getting people on the phone and then like getting them into decision mode while they're on the phone. Like, that is the name of the game virtual for, for us. Um, if you're doing IBC, IULs, annuity appointments, they're going to be a couple touches of those things, all good. Um, but booking, you know, 20 appointments like back to back to back to back days where you just have like maybe 15 per day as an example for like 4 straight days, dude, it's a— you literally have a 50/50 shot if they're going to answer again or not. Like, so your odds are getting an F basically, which is not great. So if I can control that more, like, it's worth a little press to at least get some more information. Even if they're in a rush and pressing you off the phone, I want to gather, like, hey, I'm working. Hey, all good, do you have like 60 seconds? Because I'm just calling to schedule an appointment. And then how long can I keep them after that 60 seconds is up to just data gather? Like, working full-time? Are you married? Is this just for you? What time do you guys both get off work and are home? Um, any reason you would not be available at this time? Like, okay, I've only got an 11:30 PM or an 8 o'clock left. You have a preference? Like little stuff like that to try to drag honesty out of people and then really lock in a good time. If I can get through some like health questions and like do a basically pre-screen an entire appointment because I can keep them on, I'll do that. And then when I get to numbers, I'm just going to reschedule it for when they're both home from work in the evening. Like, okay, this will give me plenty of time, John, to do some shopping. So if I've gone through age, income, house, health, current insurance info, and I know exactly where I'm going to put you and what company, I'm just going to push you out. Like, okay, this gives me perfect amount of information. Um, what time did you say your wife's going to be home this evening? Even though that they're the decision maker and they don't need anybody else.

You're feeling them like they don't want to do it now, they're busy, all that. That's when you do that piece.

Yeah, like, hey, you got 60 seconds, I can grab some info from you and then I'll call you back for our appointment tonight.

And then why is getting some of the info important to you versus just scheduling it?

I want them to have a reason to pick the phone back up. Like, I've— if I can get any— some people will say like, hey, if you can get the social on the— I don't think that's a good idea. I don't think most people give it to you and they'll hang up anyway. Um, but you can get birthdays, beneficiaries, like, hey, do you have a driver's license so I can at least put your identification information down on here? Something small like that. Um, but I basically want to prep a mini call, and then when I call them back in the evening with both parties there, I'm going to reopen the entire appointment and actually slow it back down. So I've already— I already know they're getting this product for this price, and this is what they can afford because I have like a mini budget and some health stuff. But I'm always going to press, because if you're like, okay, cool, yours will be $120, I can call you back tonight and do the app, like, good luck, dude, they already got what they wanted, they're never answering. Yeah, um, but if I can go, okay, well, a little tricky, um, this should give me enough information, it'll give me the afternoon to spend some time shopping around to kind of make sure we're picking the right company. And then obviously when I talk to you guys tonight, you guys will kind of build out the price exactly how you want for the coverage, all that stuff. And I'm very generic about it. Um, and then what did— what time did you say you guys are like at home settled after dinner relaxing for the evening? Okay, cool, 6:30. 5, 7, whatever. I'm gonna place that time, um, and then let them know, dude, you're gonna get a text and email reminder. It's gonna send you a Zoom link automatically. You don't have to get on that thing. It's just like a generic reminder so you know I'm going to be calling you, because I don't want to catch you guys off guard tonight when I call back. Cool. And then they've got like— that's my— if I'm gonna book an appointment, that's, that's how I'm gonna do that stuff.

Yeah, makes sense. How do you, how do you get them— how do you know when you're gonna close one on the spot. And let's— how do you, how do you get there from like, hey, this is Easton, to like, yo, I'm taking a nap?

Um, if I've got— if it's a single person or they're— it's two of them but they're retired or retired disabled, Social Security, whatever, um, if we've got all parties in the same place, like, it's like, hey, cool, you guys got like 10 minutes to just tear through this really quick, doesn't take me very long. That's all I need is a yes and that they've agreed, like, yep, this is my info, this is what I'd send over to you. Um, I feed them my little John Wetmore line that I train every week, like, I'm assuming you guys are like most looking for something small, $15,000, $20,000, $30,000. Everybody says yes, now we have a direction, or they'll correct you. Super easy, you know. So like, I feed them that, they give me back, well, really we'd kind of like to, you know, maybe have some of the house knocked down. It's like, okay, cool, now this is a different appointment. Perfect. But I just— I'm always hunting for direction. And if it's a generic life lead, like, was this again something small, $15,000, $20,000, $30,000? Are you guys more looking to do some income replacement type stuff, maybe knock the house down? Like, were you guys kind of on the hunt for— and I'm just like, doesn't matter what they say. Perfect. Um, that's what my job is. And so now you got direction. So I'm looking for direction and then decision-making parties present? And if I get the yes on that, then we're going to jump into, you know, sometimes you have to reset and you'll jump into like the why, because you were like pretty generic with the stuff up front. Like, got it. So who, who is in charge? You go tomorrow, like, who's in charge of handling all that stuff? Oh, the wife. Got it. She around? Okay, if she's around. If she's not around, again, are we going to do this right now or later? Let's assume that she's around. Okay, got it. You mind snagging her really quick? I'm assuming you die, she's in charge of everything. Yep. Okay, awesome. Um, go ahead and bring her in. Uh, you know, if they press, oh, she— I do all this stuff. Got it. Is she the one getting the check when you're dead? Cool. I'm the one that helps with that part. So would you mind grabbing her? I'm sure she's going to have questions and she needs to have my info because again, something bad happens, she calls me. Fair enough. Okay, they'll get her. Everybody's— now we got both parties ready to make a decision. I'll bring it back up. Hey Mary, just talking to John. Uh, he mentioned basically he goes tomorrow it's going to be not really an easy way for you guys to shell out maybe $15,000, $20,000, $30,000 or whatever. Plus it sounds like there might be an income adjustment when he dies. So basically what we're going to do and what my job is, is X, and then I'll just walk them through like, hey, this is how it works. Have you guys done this before? Hey, when you talked to the guy a couple of weeks ago, is there a specific reason you guys didn't try to see if you can get the green? I didn't even— they didn't even tell me they talked to somebody. I'm assuming that they've already talked to somebody within the last 2 weeks because they all have. It's like, hey, I'm assuming you're like most and you've, you know, kind of given this a rip before. When you talk to the guy, what, a couple months ago or a couple weeks ago, whatever it was, was there a specific reason you guys didn't move forward? Yeah, he wanted $100 for $200 grand. Okay, got it. Now I know that it's a price problem. Now I can be a lot more careful. So, and it could be, you know, and if they're like, I've literally never looked at this at all. Okay, why are we 72 and have never bought insurance? Is it a price issue? Is it an eligibility issue? Like, why did this come up now? So like, no, I've never looked into this. John, you're 72. You guys have never had the discussion of like, how is everything getting paid for and income getting replaced? Handle and house it. Like, you guys have never talked about what's going to happen financially if you pass. I'm assuming like the procrastination phase is well past due and we need to figure out at least some kind of small financial relief for either one of you in the event that you guys pass. Does that sound about right? Yes. Okay, cool. Do you know how this works since you've never done it before? No. My job is super easy, John. There's like 30, 40, 50-some companies that we can like shop through and rate check all that stuff. It's all about the same stuff. So I'm going to just go through a handful of questions with you guys and I'm going to shop around to see who do you guys pair with the best. And whatever that company is, you guys from there will custom design your own plan and price. And then once you have that selected, All I do is I just shoot your stuff to the insurance company and make sure they'll give you a green light offer for what you guys are asking for. Does that sound easy enough? And like, that's my whole structure phase. Like, so I've got intro for credibility, ESN license, email, all that stuff. Hey, why do you want to get it? Why have you not done it? If you talk to the other guy, what was the reason for no purchase? So then I have info. Cool. Do you know how this works? Awesome. My job is easy. Here's what we'll do. Does that sound fair? Awesome. Everybody's on the same page now. We've already closed a sale. Now it's suitability, budget, good app.

Yeah, that's just going through the motions at that point.

Yeah, but if you, if you rush that first piece, dude, like if they are 75 and haven't bought and you don't figure out why that is, you're already going to be fighting a battle at the end.

Hell yeah, because they are procrastinators. So you just call it what it is. Yeah, and assume they're done with it. They're done with that program. I like, I like that piece too.

Yeah, I'm assuming you guys are like most and you're like, damn, I'm 75 and like if I go, big problem for the spouse or big problem for the kids, whoever that person is. Like you're basically just trying to leave them some financial help instead of none, which is your current strategy. Is that fair? Yes. Okay, sounds like we can move forward. And then now we can have an appointment and you can do the rapport stuff and you can go back into the why and you can figure out the money stuff and You know, all that.

But a lot of people trying to do all that crap up front, build all this weird friendship thing. And it's neat that you're like, really, it's this crazy combo of like assumptiveness, direct, pretty informal. Like you just speak who you are. Let's say that's just who you are.

Yeah.

Um, in the, the left, the It's short because your intentions are so— are your questions are so intentional. Yep.

You know, now there's room for supplemental questions that are tucked into there, like, you know, are you single, married, widow, divorced? Hey, I'm widowed. Sorry to hear that. How long are you guys married for? You know, have you always lived in Ohio? You know, dude, a couple of small follow-ups are like, hey, I'm paying attention and I care.

It's the building rapport in the middle. Part.

Yeah. Now I don't want you to tell me about all your individual grandkids' hobbies. I will literally hang up the phone and apologize for the disconnection and call you back if we get too off track too long.

Stop it.

Yeah, got to, dude. If we're, if we're on grandkid number 6's life story, like, I will just hang up, be like, Mary, I don't know if that was your phone or mine, but I lost you. My bad. Uh, we were just talking about, you said you're gonna have your oldest— it looks like your oldest, right, is the beneficiary for— okay, cool. So anyway, I'm sorry we got off track. Proceed. And then I'll just jump into like where we need to go for the rest of the appointment.

So good.

Like, I mean, because you, you will, dude, you will have an hour and 55-minute conversation and like we still are not talking about insurance yet, man. Like, that'll burn you a lot.

I remember when I was new, dude, Brent taught me when they're going on and on, because I would say I sold a lot of final expense early And, uh, I used to get— I used to struggle with like how to get them to shut up and not come off like an ass. I didn't know how to do it, especially, dude, crazy enough, especially after a sale. They want to bake you cookies and hang out, tell you, you know what I mean? Like, you, you get too good, it's like they just want to chat forever. I didn't know how to like leave the appointment. And he was like, bro, just stand up. I was like, wait, what? He goes, yeah, just stand up. They'll stand up with you and it'll all work out and the appointment will be done. I'm like, dude, no way. So I try it one day, sure as shit. And now I do that. Like, we'll be out to dinner with some people. We're out to dinner with some friends a couple weeks ago and it was like, it was going on too long and you could tell it wanted to end, but no one wanted to be the first one to be like, can we be done? So I stood up, everybody else jumped out of their seats. You know what I mean? It just— and I always say like, telesales is interesting because they can just hang up on you. But I never thought, well, shit, I can hang up on them too.

You can call them right back and apologize. It's the same thing. If it's the 32nd time that I've called you before noon and you, you answer upset, I'm gonna put like, dude, I don't know what's going on with like your voicemail stuff. I've been trying to get in all morning. Super sorry about that. Anyway, John, I'm Easton calling you back about this X thing. Um, same, same stuff for me.

Every time I talk about calling people a lot and triple dialing and triple dialing multiple times, people are like, but they're all so mad. I'm like, you're telling me you can't overcome that one?

Which, you know, that they're hiring at Applebee's because that is like a baseline that you've got to figure out ASAP. Like, you've got to be able to defuse just a little bit of a micro defuse situation. Um, yeah, I love, I love that.

That's so good. I love it. Um, you said— I'm curious, this is— they got it on there. Uh, my team always likes to look up stuff. And what did you— what were you— you talked earlier about— I'm just shit curious. You went to college for sports, but what did you— they said— yeah, what did I do? Did I read something?

Am I crazy?

Let me see if they sent this here. Before I bring it up. Anyway, I thought I read something. Tell me about the sport. What did you do there? I don't remember everything.

Um, so I pole vaulted, track and field event, um, in college.

Really?

Yeah.

I remember this.

So what I, what I said, it was kind of like a, hey, interesting fact. And I only brought it up because it's— I just found out like within the last 3 weeks, um, that I'm getting inducted into our Collegiate National— or like our Collegiate Athletic Hall of Fame.

Dude, that's what I was just looking for. I'm like, I swear I read that somewhere. I don't know where I saw it. It's not on the note they gave me. I'm like, but I didn't want to mess up and be like, yo, that's crazy.

Yeah, so that is a, a really important part of like my life and my—

over the thing. And yeah, yeah, it's—

I think it's a lot more simple than people think. You don't It's like you don't just start and you're like, oh, am I gonna get scared because I'm 18 feet in the air? Like, it doesn't start like that initially. Like, you just gradually get a little bit better over time, so you don't notice the small differences. Um, and when you're going to fame—

College Hall of Fame or School Hall of Fame? Not that either one is less important.

Yeah, collegiate. Yep, our athletics, uh, collegiate athletics Hall of Fame stuff.

No shit, when's that coming?

September. I'm going, I'm going back to Montana in September to do the little ceremony and have them say some nice stuff, which is cool.

How's that feel?

It feels pretty good. Um, it's, uh, it's hilarious to me to think about because I was a wildly late bloomer athletically in my life. Really? Um, so that— I would say that this is a big, like, baseline to my life story, like kind of like my upbringing through like athletics. And dude, my high school track coach said in front of our entire team that I was the most unathletic person he's ever seen physically face to face try to do stuff. Yeah. Um, when I went to walk on, I wanted to be a D1 athlete like a lot of youngsters, and I walked onto a school that said like they've got a slot, and then our first week of practice I got cut from the team. Um, and then I ended up transferring around a little bit, went to a small school. When I came back up to Montana, so it was the University of Montana that I was— I wanted to be an athlete at, and Carroll College is this tiny little NAIA school. So I broke that D1 college's facility record in front of both of the coaches that cut me from the team. Stop it. And beat all their athletes.

Yeah, like height. Yeah. 12-foot height.

Yep, yep. So I would have been the highest pole vaulter in that school's history had they not cut me from the team. But instead I was at a little tiny school doing my thing.

No kidding.

Um, but yeah, it ended up, you know, it was kind of just like, you know, this is my opportunity to give the birds and like, dude, I can do this. Like, it's a classic, you know, you guys don't think that I'm good enough yet because you haven't actually tried to help me get better. And which is why this place was like such a relief, because I'm like, dude, we don't even care that you're shitty at all. Like, we will help you be less of that and get better. Like, I didn't have— dude, I was 19 years old the first time that I had a coach go, dude, I think I can, I think I can turn you into like a national champion in college, um, if you're willing to like come here, let me train you, and like work. If you're willing to put it in, I think I can make you like take you to where you can win. Um, and I did, dude. I won 3 straight national titles in college as a 7-time All-American. I was the first individual, uh, national champion in my college's history and the first three-peat ever, um, which is why, you know, they're inviting me to some sick Hall of Fame stuff. So it was at a small college, like, I'm also not an idiot, like, I'm not an Olympic reason, bro, cut it out, that's fucking badass. Um, it's a— it's, it's exactly about the peak that I could have performed at based on what I'm given genetically. So, you know, it's kind of like I never lived in this thing where it's like I could win the Olympics. I'm never going, ever. Never. Yeah, like those guys are significantly different. But I did, you know, I did what I could with great coaches and I had a pretty badass team that I got to do my thing with. So it was fun.

It's funny, the correlation to everything we just talked about.

Yep. Started when I was— started when I was a little youngster, dude.

No kidding.

Just kind of held on to grudge. I'm a, I'm a grudge machine, by the way. I don't forgive anyone ever. Like, I'll move on, but I don't forget stuff under any circumstance. Yeah, like, I've got, you know, some people keep like a— well, I don't know if anyone else does, but dude, I keep a list of like, I cannot wait to have a conversation with like this, these people. Like, and if I run into them You know, I just—

that's how my personality is, which is, you know, told me one or two of the— some photo. I can't— I don't want to bring it up now, but it's like— I can understand. I've heard, I've heard. So you're a big like, 'F you, watch me' kind of guy? That's how I am. Yeah, dude, I'm very similar.

That was never supposed to be anything.

Fuels me. Like, 'Watch me.' That— I'm a— yeah, I can relate to that.

And now, dude, you got like, 'F you, watch this,' and you have a support system, and you have a business that's like built to help you win. Now I can really kill everybody. Like, hometown's 500 people, nobody leaves. You work at the railroad or you farm. Like, there's nothing to do there, you know? And I'm not, you know, I definitely am not like shitting on people that never, you know, go out. And like, they— if they're— dude, if you're happy, you got a family, all good. I couldn't be happier for you. Um, but like, I was just not meant to do anything with my life. So like, to find something that is like this crazy perfect fit for me is like the biggest blessing of all time. And it came from me getting literally fired from my job. Like, that's what forced me into the industry, is I got fired. So it's a crazy, you know, culmination of like, what am I going to do with my life and where am I going to go? And I found this crazy thing, and like, I don't know if I can even do it, and I'm not supposed to make any money. And like, now it's turned into this literal life-changing experience. And I mean, obviously within one year my life had changed dramatically. And like within 5, it's just more.

I can't wait to see where it goes, bro. It's been—

yeah, I love it here, dude.

It's been fun to watch. A lot of cool things happen to a lot of us. Let's stick with it.

Yeah, dude, that— this not quitting stuff, it's crazy how it works if you just keep showing up. Like, and it's like, you'll still have it always. Like, there's always going to be just like this. Oh my God, another thing that I got to figure out how to, you know, get through this like Great Wall of China. Now I've got it in my business again. All right, well, I mean, I guess we'll get moving, you know, that— because people will get over like, oh, I got over my first sales hurdle, and then I survived my first year. And then, dude, you have your first like major like $100,000 hiccup in your business, that will send people out like that. Does And if you don't go and you figure it out and then you stay, dude, then you, then you get into another tier of people that you're surrounded by. And then, then it, then it blows up even bigger because like, welcome to the show, you know, kind of thing. Um, but that, dude, if you just press— and how many times that happened to you? Like, dude, it's always stuff and you just, you just roll, dude.

It's never— yeah, still to this day, dude, it's not. And now I've become thankful for it because I know it weeds out most people and it gives me opportunity. But it took me years to figure that out, dude.

If you're pissed and you hate what's happening in your business and you're not sure how to get to the other side, so is everyone else. Everyone else is at your level and in your position. It's happening to everyone. And if you just don't— well, if you just don't call, leave the other stuff out. But dude, if you can just hang on and like surround yourself with the right people. Like, dude, if I'm going through hard stuff, I can call you, I can call Zach, I can call Sean, whoever. Like, I do— I can make a phone call. Like, obviously, hey John, you've been through this literally 9 times. How did you go from here to here? And you're like, oh, this is what I did, so give this a shot. I'm like, cool, all good, we'll keep rolling.

So sick, I love it. Leave them with whatever you want, dude. We'll end If anything you wanted to cover that we didn't get to cover, or any insights, or anything you want to give people, dude, I'll give you the floor for the last few minutes.

Dude, everybody wants help. They want to figure out what to do next. The worst thing that you can do is make the perfect plan for so long you don't do anything. You know, like, here's a hilarious personal share between us. I was like, hey, I'm building out this new ad system for recruiting and I just got to get it put together so I can start like, you know, rebuilding some of our business. And you're like, dude, if the only way to grow your business costs a lot of money, like no one's ever going to be able to duplicate it and you're never going to be able to move the needle efficiently. Like you need to learn how to teach people how to do stuff that doesn't cost money to build their companies. So like talking to waiters, talking to people at the gym, small stuff like that. So I'm like, in my mind, I'm like, I'm putting together this immaculate plan to grow my business. And then you're like, how many people on your team are like super excited about spending $10 grand on marketing and recruiting stuff? I'm like, shit, uh, nobody. So why don't you figure out how to just do— just start talking to people, man. The, the 6-foot rule, anybody within a 6-foot radius that gets brought up. Like something that small and uncomfortable can lead to— it's the Brian Adams story. It's one of my favorite things that he shared at convention. He was working in some clothing shop, it's like what, he's 19, and some guy just goes, hey, I don't know if you'd be interested. Brian built a $25 billion company. So like that, if you don't talk to people that you run into, like, can you imagine not, not being the guy that brings Brian into your business? Not hiring John, not hiring Zach because you didn't want to spend 8 cents on an ad. Like 3 different examples, but you don't want to lose those people because someone else is willing to talk to them. And can you imagine losing that kind of a player because you were uncomfortable? What an idiot. Yeah, so that's what I fixed. Uh, a little self-share.

I love it. It's good, man. And there is a— there is a— there is a time for that, you know what I mean? But I think it was just early, you know what I'm saying? It's like duplicatable because it is— it is duplicatable, just to way less people. Yeah, you know, when you don't have that base, it's like, all right, you know, very few. So I love it. I love the inside, dude. Had fun, learned something new, you know.

I love getting on here with you, dude. We've— it's— we've been, uh, been through some crazy stuff in the business, and, um, we have pretty fortunate.

I think a bunch of us should just get together and let it rip, like live or recorded or make a show or do— yeah, I mean, like just tell it all. Yeah, it's so hard to do in a setting like this because we could spend weeks together and probably never run out of stories, dude.

They're so— there's just like so much information and experiences that everybody has had that, you know, like, this was my— you know, I think this— these $100K losses, when you, when you hear that on the outside You're like, oh, I, I can't imagine, like, how did you not freak out? Because I was one of 50 people that are all elite-level business owners. Walmart builds a billion dollars of theft in a year, bro. Like, you're gonna be okay with $100 large, especially if you know how to sell. See you in 2 months, it's out, gone, done deal. So you will definitely have to do that sometime. That'd be a blast.

Yeah, you got people freaking out when they get a $612 roll-up. I'm like, oh Lord, 30 minutes. But even I felt weird complaining about $100 grand when Mark's was like $300, you know what I mean? And I'm like, oh, you mean so mine's little? Got it, you know.

Yeah, and it doesn't feel little to you, so that's why you reach out, like, because this is the biggest thing that's ever happened to you. And it's a— the first chargeback, it's like the world is crumbling. Like, dude, it's $1,200. And then you're like, John was talking about he just ate 100 G's. I'm like, oh well, 1,200's not that bad. Yeah, you know, so first thing to you, it's hard, but you did that. You just— the perspective, somebody's always had it worse in almost every case, you know. And with that, as we found out, dude, quitting does not solve anything.

No, it doesn't. I love watching— I love watching some of the ones that did give up. I mean, like, how'd that work out? Yeah, I mean, and just, it's— I feel bad in some sense to see where people end up when they give up on themselves. But again, it provides opportunity to people like me and you, so I'm mad at it either.

So it just, just, yeah, opens up the, opens up the door to let them, you know, me sneak in a little bit higher, and I'll just keep doing that on repeat.

I love it, dude. I appreciate your time, dude. Thanks for sharing. Those that, uh, watching, certainly do all the cool stuff like, like and follow us, and we appreciate y'all. We keep giving you more, more and more stuff. So thanks for your time, bro.

Appreciate you, dude.