How Life Insurance Agents Are Making $25,000 A Month!

How do you get some of your average producer to make 25 grand a month? >> So, it starts >> And how does that compare to the average IMO and what the average producer normally makes? >> Yeah. Yeah, that's a big difference. Actually, it's a massive difference. And it's almost so much that it's it's hard to believe. Right? So >> Yep. >> [music] [music] >> What's going on, you guys? Welcome back to the CA Power Player podcast. I'm your host, Cody Askins. Man, I'm excited for our guest, dude. This this cat is uh He not only has been successful in the business himself, but he's also been phenomenally successful uh at helping others succeed. He's got a bunch of unique ways of helping agents, um especially experienced agents who are looking for like to be revitalized and get going again, or the new agent that will actually work and that don't want to uh babysit her. Um and he's got uh he looked at all of his agents. This is really cool. He looked at all of his agents and the average producer was earning $25,000 a month. Three had over 50, two over 60, one top producer had over $90,000 last month. We talked through a bunch of different scenarios. He's from Port Saint Lucie, Florida, Blackrock Insurance Group, BIG, Mr. Brandon Elvik. >> Hey, man. Thanks for having me on here. I'm super excited to get into it. >> Dude, thank you, bro. Um you know what's interesting? We had the first conversation we ever had was Power Players Colorado um outside on the deck overlooking this the mountain and you know, that was uh and I and I could tell instantly I was like, this guy is he's no fluff. He keeps it real and he is really like hungry to like help people. You know? Um and so welcome to the podcast. >> Yeah, it is great to be here, you know? I've been watching it for years and and I'm pretty sure that a lot of other people have as well, right? At least 150,000 or so, right? >> Yes, yeah, yeah, yeah, exactly. Yes, yes, yes. We hope We hope they're all still watching, right? Um how how have you got to where I think one thing that's interesting is like I feel like you've done a good job and and again, guys, we're going to keep it real. We're going to go through some some myths, some conspiracy theories, all kind of stuff throughout this podcast. You're going to enjoy it. Um how do how does How do you get to where the average producer uh cuz I know you don't love, you know, babysitting people who don't want to work. Um how do you get some of your average producer to make 25 grand a month? >> So, it starts >> And how does that compare to the average IMO and what the average producer normally makes? >> Yeah. Yeah, that's a big difference. Actually, it's a massive difference. And and it's almost so much that it's it's hard to believe, right? So, >> Yep. >> whenever I originally came into this, my process, my theory was to try to help people make as much money as I could the most efficient way possible. >> Mhm. >> Because that's what I wanted for myself, right? And we went through and we tried to reduce the friction, and we tried to reduce the Kool-Aid meetings and the BS and the nonsense that everybody goes through because you you come into this industry and you get thrown into a room with like 100 other agents, right? Or you get thrown into a Zoom room nowadays cuz they don't do it in person anymore. >> Yeah. >> And it's all about motivation and getting you to just show up in the room to begin with. And I was like, "Man, I'm not interested in that. >> Mhm. >> All I'm interested in is feeding my family. So, I came in and I said, "Where are we getting our leads from?" Okay, it's lead vendors. Well, what are the lead vendors doing? Oh, they're making money off of me. >> Yeah. >> Okay, fair. They're running a business. They should make money off of me. But, also, if I could find a way to circumvent the lead vendor, if I could become the lead vendor for myself, how much money can I save and how much more money can I make if I do that? So, that was the first piece. >> Mhm. >> And then, I started talking to way too many clients, like more than I could handle. So, I had to develop my sales skills. And even though I was brought in on the Kool-Aid and the nonsense, >> Mhm. >> I wasn't really getting any help there. So, I had to figure it out myself. I had to go through, I had to practice step-by-step, and figure out what's going on. So, I had to listen to my own calls and I was like, "Man, if I just had somebody that could help me out, that could listen to this, that could help me with a process, >> Mhm. >> I could create a process that's better for myself. In fact, then I could start duplicating that process and bringing it to other people." And, unfortunately, I didn't get that much of that help. So, I had to figure it out myself. >> Mhm. >> I was probably about $40,000 in, cash-wise, in my first month without making my first sale. >> Wow. >> And I said, "How can I >> It's like you bought a car. >> Yeah. [laughter] Yeah. Well, I I mean, and back then, it was a a nice mid-size car, too, you know? It wasn't It wasn't a cheap one, right? It wasn't a Honda Civic that was pre-owned. Uh so, I said, "Okay, I need to fix this problem. I need to fix this problem that's in front of me, the problem I'm going through. I need to fix it for more people, cuz if I don't fix this problem for more people, it's going to keep on happening over and over and over again. And when I got my start, man, I wasn't trying to be an agency owner. I wasn't fantasizing living the dream. I didn't want to be up on a stage. I didn't want anybody to worship me, dude. I just wanted to help myself, help my family, and then help other people. So, agents started asking me questions. They started asking me questions. They say, "How do you do this? How are you efficiently making 30 to 40,000 dollars a month after being 30 to 40,000 dollars negative? How did that happen from your first 2 weeks of not making a sale to making 8,000 dollars in the next week?" And so, I took all of the systems and the processes I was putting in place and I started I just started sharing the information, man. That's it. Just like when we talk. We've talked about leads. We've talked about sales. I'm just here to share the information. And it's as easy as that. How do you get those agents making 25,000 dollars a month? You share the information instead of hiding it and keeping it secret to the people that needed the most, the people that need to make money fast, the people that want to have a good lifestyle, and they want to progress from whatever level they are at to the next level. >> How did you end up um getting to this point in your career? Like how did it go for you early on in selling? And like obviously, you were figuring out the business, you're buying leads, you're investing a lot of money like you just mentioned. Kind of pick up where you left off where but you weren't getting a lot of help and you you could see like a lack of systems, but you knew you wanted to feed your family. You didn't need all the other stuff, you know, like how did those next few years go and how did you transition into like I'm helping people now. >> So, I started helping out people pretty quickly because whenever somebody's doing well, somebody always reaches out. >> True. >> And that's okay. Because they're just trying to feed their family. They're just trying to trying to make sense of all of this. That's right. So, I started helping out others very quickly and I had an individual that was a part of another group. No names to be mentioned. And he loved sending people in my direction. He loved sending people in my direction. And I was okay with that because we were all making money collectively. Uh but there was a lot of things that were missing. There was a lot of things that were missing. And the fact that even in my mind to think that I would send agents from my group from my agency to someone else and expect them to help them for free. >> Mhm. >> It just seems unethical. And it was good that I was able to learn and help others throughout that process. But they started coming to me not just for help but for guidance. Instead of just hey, how do I overcome this objection? How do I get leads flowing this way? >> Yes. >> How do you make sense of this? Like how do you get to the next level? How do you get more consistent? Why do I feel this way whenever I'm doing the same thing and I make money one week and I don't make money the next? >> Exactly. >> You know, how do you how do you get past that? How did you get past that? And so it it evolved and it changed. And I didn't ask for it. >> Mhm. >> You know, they they say that the best leaders don't choose to lead, they're chosen. And I'm no one special. I'm no one special. But you know what? There was people that were out there that needed help and that were coming to me and they said, Brandon, if you go out on your own let me know when. Because as soon as that happens, as soon as you go out there I'm coming with you. And I'm like, thank you, appreciate it, but not yet. I need to get more knowledge. I need to get more information. I need to actually be in a position where I can help you get to that next level before I'm going to try to help you get to that next level. >> Mhm. >> Okay? So I spent years with my head down working helping other people without reward. And then, >> Mhm. >> I had a shake-up. [clears throat] Someone threatened to put me out of business. Right before Christmas. I have three kids. I have three children, and someone sent me an email and said, "If you don't get me a report of this activity by the end of today, I'm going to put you out of the business. I'm going to bash your name, and I'm not going to let anybody work with you moving forward." >> Mhm. >> And so, that right there >> That didn't sit well with you. >> No. >> [gasps] >> No. >> Rightfully so, but yeah. >> Yeah, and we talked about it. >> Yeah. >> Me and you, we talked about it. >> Yeah. >> And I said, "You know what? I'm done. >> Mhm. >> I'm done playing somebody else's game. I'm done helping people that don't want to help people. I'm going to move forward and help people that need help, because that's the right thing to do. I'm going to go for their goals. I'm going to help them achieve what they want to achieve. And I'm going to put myself up to potentially deal with a lot of heat. And I did. >> Mhm. >> But that was pretty short-lived. Things are going really well now. >> Good. It's cool. Uh and you're still helping people? >> Yeah. >> And you get to help them how? The way you want to help them? You're able to build out the systems and all the things cuz you mentioned something um a lot of agents do feel like it is this complete roller coaster. >> Yeah. >> And then one week I figured it out, I did well, and then I'm like, they're like, "Okay, I got this." And then the next week I I don't I don't know what's going on. I don't know how to get in front of people. I'm struggling. Or they make a bunch of money, and then they're like, you know, take some time off, and it's just the business is just up and down, up and down. >> But it does not have to be that way if you have the right systems and processes in place, you know. >> Mhm. >> Speak to that piece. >> So, we always try to oversimplify things. And And I try to oversimplify things as much as I can. There's a million things going on in my life, in my head, and there's a million things that we can do. But, we tend to try to oversimplify things that should be complicated, and we try to make simple things complicated. So, what I try to do is take a look at all the noise, and what can we oversimplify? How can we break it down to make it as easy as humanly possible? >> Yeah. >> We don't need 15 CRMs. We don't need 15 lead sources. We don't need an SOP that changes every other day. What we need is simple, repeatable, something that you can follow that's easy. So, we took out the friction in the systems, cuz we don't need a million systems. We have one. I don't have two or three CRMs. I don't have 5 million drip campaigns. Because agents spend so long trying to set up their CRM, they're wasting time and not making money. Because they want it to be perfect before it gets started. >> Mhm. >> So, if you're doing that all on your own, trying to perfect everything, spending all of that time, but you're not spending time doing the right activities, which is getting in front of the client to begin with. >> Yeah. >> Placing the policies. Doing the right thing by the client. Oh my gosh, crazy concept. Yeah, we make a lot of money, but we also want to do the right thing by the client, too. Right? I step in, and I assist with those goals in those roles. Because we have a tendency to drift if we don't. >> Mhm. Yeah, we do. I I I feel like too you've done a good job of um you mentioned some of those you know, relationships wanting to keep working with you and wanting to keep getting help and all this kind of things. How do you I feel like people in industry feel like uh they want to like they they stake their claim to people and they own people and like they're theirs. >> No. >> Like you >> to go there? >> They're your guy. They're they're my guy. This is my dude. Do you know what I mean? You can't talk to her. You know what I mean? Like it's a like a it's it's weird. Like it's we're aligned. Like it's you know, that's why we started 8% cuz we're like dude, we can all help each other, you know. People people thought that was weird. Um it's being a little less weird today than it used to be which is good. Uh yeah, I mean you how important is it to do do you even have to earn and continue to earn their trust and their business and their relationship or do you know, do you just you just own them? >> [laughter] >> Uh absolutely not. So, I don't think anybody likes being under thumb. And you know what? Maybe there's some people, but I'm not one of them and I think anybody that goes into this industry wants to be under thumb. You see, the thing is is whenever you don't have a lot to offer >> Yeah. >> you try to control. >> Mhm. >> Because if you have no value you want to put somebody and constrain them into a little box because you don't want them to look out there because >> Yeah. >> look out there, they're going to see some more value because the grass might actually be greener over there. >> Mhm. >> You know, sometimes sometimes you look at the grass and you think it's green over there because you're not watering the grass you're standing in. >> Mhm. >> And those people that try to own other people, that try to limit them, that try to not release them to work with other individuals for better opportunities they're people that are not watering their own grass because they feel entitled to ownership of human beings. I work with agents. I partner with agents. I partner with agency owners. We've got over 150 agents in our organization. I do not own my team. I do not own my agents. I own my processes. I own my responsibility to the people that have put their faith in me. I do not own them. >> Mhm. >> And unfortunately, people that have low value that think in terms of scarcity >> Yeah. >> do those things. They show those behaviors and they pretend that they own somebody because they signed a contract with them 5 years ago. >> Mhm. How many people feel trapped in that scenario? >> I think we all do. Whenever somebody goes from being kind and promising you the world >> Yeah. >> to being distant and not helping you. And then you say, "Hey, I think that I need a positive change in my life. I think I want to try this." >> Yeah. >> You told me when we first started working together that I would have agency, that I would have ownership. That I would have the ability to leave if I wanted to. And we've had a positive relationship, but I'm not growing the way that I want to grow. Can I please leave? And then somebody comes to you and says, >> [snorts] >> "It doesn't matter if I told everybody publicly, no, you can't." >> Mhm. >> And maybe, just maybe, they threaten to completely take you out of the industry. They send emails. You have to get a lawyer. Give him a little spank on the butt. Which I did. >> Sure. >> But there's a lot of people that are out there that are going through that exact same situation. Good people. Good people that are stuck in bad situations where people are trying to put ownership on them. And they need the support. They need the help and they need the ability to get up and go if they need to. >> Mhm. What should people um if people are trying to build a business and they're like, man, I would love to be earning 25 grand a month, you know, or 50 grand a month like several others. Um or hey, I would love to be, you know, uh doing over 90 grand, you know, um what should I look for and what do I need to do >> to achieve that? >> So, you need to ask a couple of questions. More often than not, we kind of go with like our gut feeling, right? We we reach out to a group or like, mhm, you know, I don't know how I feel about that one. You reach out to somebody else. You see, 95% of this industry is dominated by charisma. It is dominated by charisma because how do you become successful in this industry? You're good with people. >> True. >> You're good with clients. You end up placing policies and sales. And then how do you end up bringing agents in? You're charismatic. >> Yeah. >> Right? You have a good positive interaction. You have a good conversation. You put a process in place, some kind of a process. >> True. >> But then there's that 5%. That 5% of people, the people that are not just charisma based. They look at it and they say, I need to figure out what the system is. I need to figure out what's going on because if I am going to do well, I need to understand how this is built. And those are systems builders. Well, you can be charismatic and have systems, too. >> True. >> But what you need to do is you need to systematize what you're doing. Whenever you're reaching out to these agencies, you need to ask a simple question, right? First off, can you prove what you're telling me? >> Mhm. >> I mean, think about that. Have you ever asked anybody, can you prove what you're telling me right now? Or do you kind of just say, you know what? He sounded really confident when he was talking to me. >> Mhm. >> She showed me a leaderboard from last week that shows that she made $15,000. That's the one. I can learn from that person. Ask for a little bit of credibility. Ask for a little bit of proof. Whenever I have a conversation with an agent that's going to join our team, I've had individuals that say, I'm looking to build a team. And I've been struggling with that. You've told me that you have 150 agents in your group. Can you show me how you got there? And they do. I pull up the fact that we have two to 300 applicants per week. >> Mhm. >> I pull up my full-time recruiter who talks with those agents. I pull up my trainer who works full-time with my agents. >> Yeah. >> And I say, these are the individuals that you're partnered with. Oh, and by the way, here's the mentor you'll work with. These were his numbers last month. These were his numbers last year. These are the numbers you can achieve when you plug in with this team of four individuals day one. And those four individuals are me, you, your trainer, and your mentor. >> Mhm. >> How many times are we actually asking those questions before we get in? Or are we asking a couple of simple questions like, how much do the leads cost? What will I be able to achieve? If you're that good, hey, if I make half as much, I'll be sitting pretty. >> Yeah. >> You need to systematize and ask a couple of simple questions. They aren't that hard. And if somebody is offended by those questions, >> there's no proof anyway. >> That's where we need to exercise discernment. >> Mhm. We do get easily uh Yeah, easily easily sold on a dream, you know, like you just get so excited like, "Oh my gosh, it changed our life." And it's like it can, but it doesn't, you know, 8% of agents make it in this business, and it's it's also really challenging and hard, and it takes a lot of work, and you can't be lazy. Um on the front end or when you start making a bunch of money, you can't be just I mean, you can do whatever you want, you know, you but to continually succeed and grow, yeah. You can't. >> Yeah. See, I wouldn't necessarily say lazy for tenured agents. For tenured agents, I would say complacent, right? Because a lazy person, I feel like they just they have no idea what they're doing. They they just they don't even try to begin with. >> Yeah. >> But but whenever we get complacent, that's whenever you've got somebody that makes $300,000 a year that says, "Hey, I'm going to take the next few months off. I'm going to take the next 6 months off. I'm going to take the next year off, right?" And they start to drift, right? They start to drift, they play golf a lot. I keep a healthy relationship. And then they wait until it's too late to get started back up again. And then they've got to go into a free lead program, which is >> Yeah. >> Yeah, [sighs] there's a lot of agencies that are shifting into free lead programs, you know. >> True. What do you think that is? >> Well, we were just talking about control earlier. >> Mhm. >> Whenever you have somebody W-2'd, that you control their schedule and their hours compared to an independent agent, there's some appeal there for a weak leader. >> Yeah. >> And don't get me wrong, I'm not saying that everyone that runs an LOA or everybody that runs a free lead program is a weak leader. In fact, you'll find some of the strongest leaders in those groups because that's a requirement to be successful there. >> But I think there's a lot of agency owners out there that are tired, and they want it to be easy. And I think that they're getting complacent. >> Yeah. >> And so they start offering free lead programs because they feel like that will solve all of their problems. And I started a free lead program due to the difficulties of working with independent agents. And we did pretty well. We scaled up and we were doing like a quarter to almost half a million dollars a month within about three or four months. But I didn't like the model. I didn't like the system. I didn't like that I wasn't able to fully bond and connect with the people that were on my team because we were bringing in so many. >> Mhm. >> I I felt like it was a solution that never needed to be presented. >> Yeah. >> I felt like a lot of the agents that came in were looking for more of handouts than they were looking for an opportunity. And the managers that I had in place were getting very tribal, very controlling, very how many dials have you made so far today? Um micromanaging. >> Because there's an expense tied to it. >> Yes. >> Yeah. >> But I didn't want to be a part of that system. Why would I want to You know, I got into this for freedom. >> Mhm. >> I got into this for flexibility. So why would I intentionally try to limit somebody's freedom and flexibility? That's just like counterintuitive, right? >> Yeah. Cuz that is why they get in this business. >> Yeah. >> Like entirely flexibility, freedom, money. >> Yeah. >> And Yeah, that's a good point. Now, should some of them Do some of them need structure? Or, you know, that's why local offices and career systems exist cuz people, you know, majority of people on the planet think they need flexibility and freedom, but they're not really that driven or motivated to actually work, you know. Just fair. >> Yeah, I >> I don't >> your opinion on that is, to be honest, but And [snorts] you don't have to agree with me just cuz you're on my podcast. Not that you would anyway, by the way, cuz you wouldn't. >> I I have a nasty habit of always trying to tell the truth, even if it gets me in trouble. >> Yeah, I like it. >> And and we've been friends for a while now, and you know that. I Yeah, there have been times. There have been times, so >> Yeah. >> Almost a year. Yeah, [sighs and gasps] yeah. And so so realistically, um I think that we all need structure, and and I think that if you don't find strength from within, you're going to go without. The question is is where's the line? >> Yeah. >> Where do we go from structure and help and heading in a positive direction to control and negative direction? And I think that that's a constantly moving line that we have to be aware of, and we have to pay attention to. Uh so, in independent agency, you need to be given structure in order to succeed. You need to have a team that can plug you into proven systems that are profiting. Cuz profit is a very key piece to this, right? If you don't get started and you don't start making money quickly, I'm sorry, you're not going to make it. People don't come into this industry having hundreds of thousands of dollars saved up to try it just because. All right? There's so many people, so many people that need to make money quick enough so they can pay those bills or furnish their lifestyle. >> Mhm. They've got to pay for a a a current one that they've built up and lost a corporate job or something. They're like, I need some money. Or there's the other side where they um they continue to build their lifestyle while they're selling and making money, and then it's like, oh, I got to keep keep this up, man, you know. >> Lifestyle creep. It's real. >> Yeah. >> It happened. Have I ever told you the stupidest thing I've done once I started getting to financial freedom? >> I don't know. >> I don't think so. >> Probably not. So, the dumbest thing I did, out of all the things I could do, I didn't buy a boat and light it on fire. I didn't do anything too crazy, right? >> That's what the YouTube channel's missing, by the way, for for for insurance sales training, Brandon Novac, that's what it's missing, right there. >> Yeah, yeah, I need to do that. No, no way. So, the dumbest thing I did when I achieved financial freedom is I bought filet steak, right? Filet mignon, >> Okay. >> for breakfast, lunch, and dinner for 2 months in a row. >> Wow. >> I rewarded myself with one of the dumbest things that I could do. I decided, "You know what? I'm going to make it the paleo diet or the the carnivore diet. I'm going to I'm going to lose some weight, and I'm going to eat filet for breakfast, lunch, and dinner." And, you know what I did because I'm so systematic, I pre-cooked it, and I had it all set up, and then I started microwaving filet. I started microwaving filet for 2 months in a row. Yeah, dumbest thing ever, right? Incredibly stupid. >> [laughter] >> Dylan's over there just rolling behind the camera. >> It's But, the thing is is we all do stupid things when we make money for the first time. We all do dumb things because we go, "You know what? I always wanted to have this life. I always wanted to have these things. I wanted the car. I wanted the house. I wanted the boat house. I wanted the secondary house on the lake. I I wanted this trip. I wanted that." >> Fair. >> Right? >> Fair. >> Then, we start to go a little further than that. >> Yeah, you're still >> [laughter] [snorts] >> Ah, I love steak, but I don't know about I don't know about reheating it and microwaving it and you >> [laughter] >> Yeah. >> [snorts] >> We all do those things. That's natural. It's part of the process. But, what we have to do is we have to come back home. We have to come back to center. We have to realize, "What are we working for to begin with?" >> That's right. >> Right? What are we working for to begin with? Why did we get in this industry to begin with? What are my goals? What are my dreams? What am I trying to achieve? Cuz I know it sure as hell is not filet filet mignon microwaved for 2 months in a row, right? That doesn't make a happy Brandon. That doesn't make a happy agent. Does the car make you happy? Does the house make you happy? Does having all the money in the account make you happy? No, it makes you financially stable. >> Yeah. >> What are you going to do with that stability? Where are you going to go from there? >> And too, like okay, so I mean I did the same thing. I I'm starting making money. Made nine grand my first full month selling insurance after being an intern and I went and bought a $42,000 Dodge Challenger SRT8. This was back in 20 uh 2012. Beginning of 2012, like January, February of 2012. >> Nice car. >> Yeah, it was great. Red, loved it. Like it was sharp, man. It was amazing. I you know, I felt like a million bucks. But then later I'm like, why did I spend $42,000 on a flipping automobile? You know, I've been doing this for few months, like come on. So. >> Yeah. >> I can't can relate. We all do I mean, it's almost like do you think it's more of a I guess it's different for different people. Do you think it's more of a need for like I earned I earned this reward or look at me or you know what I mean? Like like it's different for different people, but >> I think I think we're feeding the pain. I think we're feeding the pain of the difficulties that we dealt with and that we're able to overcome those and we're not we're not getting it for us today, we're getting it for us yesterday. And you have to fill that cup back up. And as soon as you fill that cup back up you realize that that wasn't what you wanted or needed. >> No. >> That's what you yesterday felt like you wanted or needed. >> Yeah. >> And some people get caught in that trap. And they keep on going and they keep on doing those same things. And then some people go, you know what? This ain't it. >> Yeah. >> I need to work for something else. >> Correct. Correct. It needs to be cuz cuz I'll notice this too, like my first year I was like, okay, I got to make 100 grand, you know, which is cool and did, but then after the second year it's like, I already hit the target. >> Yeah. >> You know what I mean? And then you do then you can get complacent. >> Yeah. Why? When you sat there, you said I need to make 100 grand. Why? >> Yeah. >> Right? Cuz you said that's the number. That's what I have to achieve. I love achievement. I love numbers. >> Yep. >> But whenever we start setting these things that we think we need, >> Yeah. >> and we achieve them, we realize I don't I didn't actually need that. We're we're we're just fixing some pain from something else. And I don't mean to get too too into psychology, but that's all it is. We're trying to fill a hole that probably wasn't there. So need to find the root cause. What's the real thing that's going on? What's the real problem? You know, it's the same thing with the agency, too. What's the real problem? What's really going on? >> That's right. >> Is it about last week's production? Is it about the leads? Is it about the process or the systems? What What is it? What's actually going Do we dig deep? Are we digging deep or are we looking on the top? Are we looking on the surface? Are we fixing yesterday's problems? Or are we fixing today's problems? And are we humble enough to accept that? >> Are we humble enough to accept that help and that guidance? >> Yeah, that's a good question. I try to be. >> Yeah. I hope I am. >> Sure. But I'm not going to be able to say for sure I am. Somebody else is going to tell me whether I am or am not. >> Right. >> I think that's also another um I want to transition to like some lead you know some lead type program stuff you're working on and doing, but but on that note to kind of like that's a good point because so many people are they're they're like convincing they're like convincing themselves. They're like, you know, but at the end of the day, you can't do this for anybody else. You can't do this unless it's your family, right? But but you know, like that's what I like my team's like, man, Brandon loves talking about his kids. They're like, we love that. Like Brandon loves talking about his family. And it's like I'm like, good. And it would be weird if he didn't want to, and if he didn't want to keep talking about that, you know? So it's like we can kind of mask stuff. Um but as long as we're good for the right reasons, and we realize it like we're doing it you're not doing it for a month or a year. And for me the the year, the year the 100k, to answer your question, which is a good great question, and most people don't ask this, is because my dad was successful. Cody wasn't. And I wanted to prove that like, you know what? I can succeed at this, too. You can do it. >> Yeah. >> Yeah. It fed that, you know, fed that. >> So that that wasn't that day though. That was a whole lifetime >> Correct. >> of watching your father's success and wanting to achieve things. >> Exactly. >> So you weren't working for today, Cody. >> Mhm. >> You were working for Cody growing up saying, I can do this, too. >> Correct. 100%. Well, for all those years that I didn't know if I could. >> Yeah. >> Right? And all those people that are like, well, it's you know, Brian's son or these different things, right? Or like, ah it's he's succeed, you know, he might succeed because of his dad or whatever, right? >> Yeah. Your dad's a great guy. >> Oh, phenomenal. >> Yeah. Every time I see him, it's always a good day. >> He's awesome. >> Thanks, dude. That's cool. Uh what about some lead We get real deep on me. Um but what about like some So what what what How are you helping the agents with the the lead side and, you know, some of the programs you're working? >> Yeah, so >> It's a big that's a big obviously huge part of what we do. I mean, goodness. >> Yeah. Uh so Do you want me to tell the truth? >> Sure. >> Okay. So, I don't want to hurt your feelings because you do have a very successful lead platform. Totally. In fact, some of my agents have used your leads and they're very happy with them. >> Cool. Thank you. >> Uh but on our end, right? When we say but, we always eliminate what we said before that. Sure. Not Not intentionally. >> The majority of lead vendors out there are out there for profit, and they're only out for one lead order. They don't care if you come back after the first batch. >> I agree with that. >> They want the extra money, but they don't care about your success. It's not a shared goal. >> Right. >> And so early on I realized that I needed to create a system that was for a a shared goal. >> Yeah. >> I I'm not going to sit there and create a system in which I endlessly profit off of my agents, and I don't get them making money. >> So >> Absolutely. >> what we did is we started creating lead platforms, multiple lead platforms, and we don't mark up our leads for agents. >> Mhm. >> In fact I [snorts] lose money on my lead platform now, every single month by paying for my staff. We make it up through production. >> Yeah. >> So I got tired so tired of calling clients 500 times a day to maybe talk to five to 10 people. And then half of the time they're saying they never put in the request, they're cussing you out, they're making a very painful experience. >> Mhm. >> And so I said, "What can we do better?" I had top producers. Great men that I work with. >> Yeah. >> Right? I work with I work with Chris, I work with Patrick, I work with Reuben, I work with Reuben's son. >> they're all amazing. I love Reuben, man. >> Reuben is exceptional. His actions are incredible. >> Braxton, his son is 18 years old. He's been doing this for two months. He's been working our lead system, and he made $18,000 in three weeks. He is 18 years old, and he made $18,000 in three weeks. >> That's crazy. You can feel his passion and Chris when he started talking about that. Braxton's a beast, man. >> I'm going to be working with him for the next 30 years. Don't Don't you worry about that. >> Awesome. >> So we decided to take out all of the friction. And we were done. We were done with talking to clients and to people that are never going to be clients. >> Mhm. >> We didn't want to chase people down. We didn't want to try to remind someone why they were being reached out to to begin with. >> Yeah. >> We said, we only want to talk to clients when they want to buy a policy from me. Because it's a healthy process. It's respectful in both directions. >> Yeah. >> It essentially changed the entire process. Which some people in sales aren't going to like to hear this. We're taking orders now. And we're making friends. >> Yes. >> We're taking orders and we're making friends with clients. We're looking after their best interests. We're not trying to convince them that we're a life insurance agent. We're not trying to convince them that we're talking about Medicare. >> Yeah. >> They're calling us asking us specifically to purchase insurance from us. And because of that, we've seen some of our top agents, not all the time, but on certain weeks close 40% of the leads they talked to period. Total leads. >> Mhm. >> Not their presentations, not their closing percent when they get to the end of the process. 40 to 60% of total people they're talking to. >> That's crazy. >> It's absolutely insane. >> high. >> It's the next gold rush. >> Yeah, it's really high. >> Yeah. >> And and if you're not getting on it, I mean you can make 500 dials. >> Sure. >> Every day. >> Do you worry that you're spoiling your agents with that? To be honest. That's okay. As long as it keeps working, it doesn't matter, but >> That's okay. And and that's a part of the development as well. So, the thing is is all I can do is I can give everyone the opportunity that they want and that they're asking for and try to develop them to the best that I can whenever it comes to maturity of an organization. >> Yeah. >> Maturity of a an individual that's doing this process. Will some people get spoiled and entitled? Absolutely. You bet you. >> For sure. >> an agent call me 2 weeks ago. He said, "I waited 15 minutes in between my calls." He said, "15 minutes." You waited 15 minutes between your calls. He said, "Yes. That is unacceptable." So, why is it unacceptable? He says, "I I usually wait maybe 3 minutes in between my calls." >> Mhm. >> I I I I didn't know how to handle it. I almost completely malfunctioned. I was like, "Well, hold on, man. Like, what are you talking about? Like, you're you're upset that it took you 15 minutes in in order to get a hold of a client that asked you to purchase a policy." He goes, "Yes." Dead serious. >> Mhm. >> [snorts] >> Some people's expectations are interesting. But, you know what? Just like with lifestyle creep, expectation creep happens, too. >> Yeah. >> Whenever we have clients that are we hang up the phone and we're getting a hold of another client within 3 minutes. They're calling us. We are not calling them. You start setting new standards and new expectations. And part of leadership is upholding the standards. And I have to keep up to those standards now. Now that I created a system like that, I have to keep doing that. >> True. >> That's part of our value proposition and it's part of my responsibility >> Mhm. >> at this point. And if I can't get there, I got to find a way to get there again >> Right. >> for the entire agency, for all of our agents. So, can it can it create entitlement? >> Yeah. >> Can it spoil people? Sure. Right? But, don't we always try to spoil the ones we love? >> True. >> And it's up to them >> Heck, I've spoiled mine, so I can relate. >> [laughter] >> Yeah. And it's up to them if they're going to reciprocate or not. >> Yeah. True. I mean, most Yeah, good point. Most of my team is walks in walks in on, you know, I don't know, 15 20 appointments on their calendar every week. Automatically including another 100 leads and it's like yeah, it's you're right. We're supposed to. >> And then we're supposed to coach them through not getting complacent and not, you know, their expectations getting out of whack like, "Oh my gosh, I had to wait 12 minutes for somebody to buy." And like bro, what are we talking about? Do you know? >> Yeah. >> Insane. >> Yeah. Yeah, we ran a test. Man, we ran a test and I said okay, let's see what we can really do when we just we just take the whole lead budget out of out of the line. >> Yeah. >> And I set a $5,000 weekly lead budget for one of my agents. >> Mhm. >> And I cut him loose. And he made over $25,000. >> That's awesome. >> Yeah. >> That's awesome. >> like, let's see what we can do. Let's see. Let's just just keep going. >> In a week. >> Wow. >> Yeah. >> That's sick. >> Yeah, net. Placed. Issue paid. >> Not getting paid. >> Not submitted. >> Yeah. It's good. >> $25,000 in one week off of a $5,000 lead budget. >> Mhm. >> He was happy. >> As he should be. >> Submissions was quite a bit higher. >> He'd be ecstatic, but yeah. >> Yeah. Yeah, I'm sure. >> Submissions was quite a bit higher, but we don't really like to track it submissions. >> 70, you know, 70% submission to placed or no? Or is it higher for your agent? >> It it's it's typically higher because we we're trying to place them with level policies. >> Yeah. >> Uh so, we don't really juggle a lot. There's a couple of carriers that are out there right now and and they change over time, but there's a couple of carriers that they are very eager for business and so we'll start with that carrier and it's it's highly unlikely that they're going to get denied or declined or referred to underwriting. But that's also part of the process is that we go through. Part of the the training and mentorship that we go through is making sure you can place your policies. Uh somewhere around 90% of our policies are not guaranteed issue. >> That's phenomenal. >> Yeah. >> And very high. >> Yeah, very high. >> We're not fighting people, chasing them down, and looking for people that are desperate for insurance. We're waiting for them to call us and ask us for insurance. >> That's really good. >> Mhm. >> That's how we're That's how we're growing. >> That's strong. >> We're growing fast. >> Makes sense why you're growing. >> Yeah. >> And growing quick. >> Yeah. >> Really quick. >> Yeah. >> Yeah. Like you'll be doing I told them this earlier. I'm like, "Man, dude, it won't be long. You'll be doing millions a month, like, you know?" Now, I'm not putting expectations. >> It's just like, dude, what are you >> But when you see it and you're helping people and you don't claim people and you're just like, "Ah, we're just trying to make the best system we can and we help people and if they stay around, great. If they don't, great. Like whatever's best for them and their family, like, that's cool. It's a good way to go about it. That's what we try to do here and it's like just different People can feel that and it's just different. Uh if they want to learn more, uh what do they do? Where do they go? What do they look at? What's If they're like, "You know what? I would like to check out what Brandon's doing, man." >> Yeah, so uh so if anybody wanted to reach out directly, uh you can reach out on my YouTube channel, which is Insurance Sales Training. And it has my name in it, Brandon Novick. Uh I've got a few hundred videos on there, a few thousand subscribers at this point. It's growing pretty quick. Uh or you can reach out directly to our website. That's blackrockins.com. >> Mhm. >> blackrockins.com. >> Thank you for not making it blackrockinsurancegroup.com. >> blackrock >> ins >> Yes. Yeah, exactly. Keep it simple, man. >> Yeah. >> Keep it simple. Make complicated things simple. Don't make simple things complicated. >> Amen. I love it. Thank you for being on the podcast. Thanks for all you've been doing. I've loved hanging out with you last year and looking forward to many years to come. So, >> Yeah. >> thanks for being on >> Always happy to see you, man. >> Power Player podcast. Appreciate you, brother. Appreciate you guys. Thanks for hanging with us. Go check out what he's doing, man. Uh Blackrock Insurance, uh Brandon Novick, good dude, cares, very systems-based individual, which I respect and appreciate. Over the years, I've had to improve becoming a very systems-based individual and caring about that and surrounding myself with team members who are great at that. So, respect it, love it, and hope to see you guys on next podcast. >> [music] [music]