An Interview with JD Easy

[jdeasy]

^^That is not an accuracte description of my work. While I may in field only two days a week I do work 7 days a week.

I also do doorknock the people I can't get in touch with by phone. I hate doorknocking but I won't throw a lead away until I have made contact somehow.

I suppose I don't "actively" mine my book but I do many upgrades from book. I get calls almost every week from exisiting clients wanting to add coverage or cover another family member.

I also get many referrals. I would estimate that 20% of my business is referrals.

I also use SoC and have for almost 4 years. I used to send a card to everyone I met with, buyers or not. I know send 100% to buyers and make judgement calls on sending to non buyers.

When I say I work 7 days a week that includes "saw sharpening" which I consider part of the job.

 

[PaperHanger]

oh totally agree...in the *field* 2 days a week is what I'm talking about....all those appts don't appear by magic!
emphasis on: I know of some top agents who are actually in the field 5 days a week....it's just amazing you can do better than them in the field 2 days, and no appt setter cost....

for those who aren't in the know, JD is currently #4 on EFES's board for 2012 -- in the field in front of prospects 2 days of the week. I don't care if you work 10 days a week in the office 36 hours a day -- lol -- sales occur in the field and $225k in 100 days is pretty darn impressive.

I didn't realize you do in fact door knock, I mis-remembered via your dislike of it. And I must have misunderstood the interview on the send out cards, i thought it said you used to send them but don't much anymore because it's so many...but that interview was awhile back. or maybe that was just birthdays? idk...how many do you send to each current client per year? and what kind of return $ does that translate to?

I need to get on the SoC I was thinking about 3 cards a year...Holidays, Birthday, and general refferal request....and since I'm not DM right now I'm thinking of efes rebirthing my own old leads....i suppose that's a 'card' to non-clients.

I have never mined my book until recently getting *everything* on my crm app, instead of just my un-presented leads....so far I've had good success with some casual efforts, smkers to non, ROP to Immediate...I have them pop up on my 'Policy Review' querry on my map so I can door knock on the way somewhere.

But trashing the NI/PH.....I've always wanted to do that, but just never been able to...I've just gotta go see them, if for not other reason than to say wtf, don't send in this card again! lol..

 

[jdeasy]

oh totally agree...in the *field* 2 days a week is what I'm talking about....all those appts don't appear by magic!
emphasis on: I know of some top agents who are actually in the field 5 days a week....it's just amazing you can do better than them in the field 2 days, and no appt setter cost....

for those who aren't in the know, JD is currently #4 on EFES's board for 2012 -- in the field in front of prospects 2 days of the week. I don't care if you work 10 days a week in the office 36 hours a day -- lol -- sales occur in the field and $225k in 100 days is pretty darn impressive.

I didn't realize you do in fact door knock, I mis-remembered via your dislike of it. And I must have misunderstood the interview on the send out cards, i thought it said you used to send them but don't much anymore because it's so many...but that interview was awhile back. or maybe that was just birthdays? idk...how many do you send to each current client per year? and what kind of return $ does that translate to?

I need to get on the SoC I was thinking about 3 cards a year...Holidays, Birthday, and general refferal request....and since I'm not DM right now I'm thinking of efes rebirthing my own old leads....i suppose that's a 'card' to non-clients.

I have never mined my book until recently getting *everything* on my crm app, instead of just my un-presented leads....so far I've had good success with some casual efforts, smkers to non, ROP to Immediate...I have them pop up on my 'Policy Review' querry on my map so I can door knock on the way somewhere.

But trashing the NI/PH.....I've always wanted to do that, but just never been able to...I've just gotta go see them, if for not other reason than to say wtf, don't send in this card again! lol..

I think in that interview newby asked about follow up with SoC. For my FE clients I only send the one card. For my med sup clients I send the first card and then they are added to the file for automatic birthday cards. I've never done that for my FE clients. I might be missing something but I don't see the value for that.

The FE market is pretty maintenance so I am in touch with them a lot. They move, they change beneficiaries, they change banks, they miss payments. I contact everyone that misses a payment and most all of my clients contact me for all the other stuff. It's the rare client of mine that contacts the insurance company.

And i disagree that the polices get put on the books only on field days. To me the easy days are the field days. Just traveling around and meeting people and educating them on the market. No way I could do that without the other real work days.

 

[PaperHanger]

And i disagree that the polices get put on the books only on field days. To me the easy days are the field days. Just traveling around and meeting people and educating them on the market. No way I could do that without the other real work days.

Like I said..."ahh doon car" if you put in 10 office days a week, 36 hours a day....it is still a major testament to how much efficiency you can squeeze out of those 2 days in the field. Unless you're selling over the phone, it still takes time to drive to their house, do a presentation, do the app and POS. There's only so many of those one can do in a day.

It's apparent your office days are when alot of the real magic happens.....setting appointments? Working service issues? There are very high quality agents out there who use appointment setters, are in the field 5 days a week, and do the service work on the smartphone in between appts, and they pull less AP than Mr. #4.

fwiw, I was weened at AIL at a '5 days in the field, 3 days in the office' agency. We were major on the appointment setting, but also very major on door knocking esp the NI/PH. The leads were aged and stomped all over. the focus was geared more towards spinning your wheels instead of being trained how to actually work smart. Alot of that has rubbed off on me as persistence, however I've found a thin line to 'insanity' ie doing the same thing, knocking on the same deadbeat's doors and expecting a different response. Alot of it is a waste of time, and all the harping by uplines tends to dilute the real priorities.

Since i'm not full time, i'm trying to figure ways to be as efficient as possible for the time I am able to spend in the field. One thing I do now is get more to the point, after the warmup. When I ask the 3 reasons people send the card, I start laying down the 'life insurance' bombs unlike before. I'm a broker. My job is to get you the best WL policy on the market. Nowadays, on a door knocker, I'm out the door in 5-10 mins if they don't want it. In the past, if someone said "oh we didn't want life insurance", to which I'd reply no problem and I'd still do the whole presentation and assumption close......yes, there is anticdotal evidence that this will make a sale sometimes, but you are confirming my suspisions that overall, much of that is a waste of time.
Just stop kicking that dead horse, the $15 is already burned, get on to the next one....

I've heard of 4 days in the field...I've even heard of 3 days. But I don't believe I've heard of many 2 dayers on the top 100 list, much less top 5. kudos and a prosperous new year!

 

[pcbinsurance]

It looks like JD is uncomfortable (humble) with what you are intending, which is to compliment him and marvel at his prowess.
From what I see here, he's always working---even if it's simply offering advice, doing service work, keeping abreast of each carriers' ongoing myriad of changes, and sharpening his skill set.

The value he gives this Forum is immeasurable.

 

[jdeasy]

^^I appreciate the compliments I just don't like for newbies to get the wrong idea.

The numbers are over my goal and have been for over 4 years. My goal is to write $3000 ap in new business everyweek. I've always told people you have work it backwards once you know your numbers. What's your average premium so that you will know how many apps you need to get to that goal. How many appointments does it take to get that many apps? How many leads does it take to get the needed appointments. For me it would be 10 to 11 leads per week to make my goals. EFES has a 15 per week minimum so I can't just get 10-11 leads. That's why I'm over goal for over 4 years now. I'm not going to just throw away those extra 4-5 leads that I have to pay for.

It took a long time to get to this point and a lot of work. Plenty of studying others not only for what to do but what not to do. I am a student of this business. I have listened to every presentation in the EFES University. Many of them more than once. I have listened to every plug and learn call. I am on my manager's weekly call every week. It's part of my schedule. I couldn't run appointments on Friday morning even if I wanted to because that's when the call is. That goes on my weekly schedule 1st. There is something I've noticed about that call as well. The ones that treat it that way and are on there every week are also all top producers.

I help other agents all the time. Even non Travis EFES agents and non EFES agents.People say I don't get anything for that but I do. It's a paying forward to reciprocate the help I got. Tim W never made a dime on the business he helped me with. Nor asked for one. But if he has a guy struggling and he can't get through to him then he is free to ask me to give it a shot and I will do my best.

I think I'm going to slow down a bit in 2013 but I thought that last year at this time for 2012. 2013 was my best year production wise with EFES. Two years ago I was the number 2 producer with EFES and did a little bit less than this year. I'm now number 4 and only a few hundred from 5th and that could change tomorrow if he turns in business because I am not. That just shows how much EFES is growing.

Those numbers are not important to me. It's nice that they put them up there but the important ones to me are the streaks. The at least $2000 ap submitted week streak I'm at 179 straight weeks. That's a big deal to me. The $10,000 monthly streak is more important. This was my 49th consecutive month with at least $10,000 ap. Those are the places where I put my focus. Being the same week end and week out. Being the same every month. I was consistent like that when I was with NAA. A guy there called me "the machine". If I make those numbers as a minimum every week and every month then the other numbers will just follow. They are still just gravy. Being consistent is the meat and potatoes.

I've been my own boss since 1993. No way could I work a schedule that someone else gives me now. Doesn't mean I can't keep learning. They are talking in this thread about doing more interviews. I think that would be great. I would be very interested in listening to one from Greg. Travis Tubbs would be another fine interview. He may be the best FE agent I've ever met. Tim W would be a fantastic get. I did ask Tim for Newby and he didn't seem to think it was the great idea that we do.

These are people that are out there doing it and not for just a couple of months and thinking they have it "wired" quoting Jody. EFES does that crap from time to time. A guy or gal will have a big month and the next thing you know they are doing a plug and learn call. Three months later they hit chargeback hell and they disappear. I want to hear from people that know what I just said, have experienced what I just said and are still in the business and not just surviving, thriving.

For example, Newby has been going through a slump lately. It's interesting to talk about that with him because he is a veteran and good at this. He basically got away from the fundamentals for while because he had too many irons in the fire. If it can happen to him it can happen to any of us. You couldn't get the same insight from a 6 month agent that's bumping up against his first issues and still wanting to reinvent the wheel.

 

[rousemark]

^^I appreciate the compliments I just don't like for newbies to get the wrong idea.

The numbers are over my goal and have been for over 4 years. My goal is to write $3000 ap in new business everyweek. I've always told people you have work it backwards once you know your numbers. What's your average premium so that you will know how many apps you need to get to that goal. How many appointments does it take to get that many apps? How many leads does it take to get the needed appointments. For me it would be 10 to 11 leads per week to make my goals. EFES has a 15 per week minimum so I can't just get 10-11 leads. That's why I'm over goal for over 4 years now. I'm not going to just throw away those extra 4-5 leads that I have to pay for.

It took a long time to get to this point and a lot of work. Plenty of studying others not only for what to do but what not to do. I am a student of this business. I have listened to every presentation in the EFES University. Many of them more than once. I have listened to every plug and learn call. I am on my manager's weekly call every week. It's part of my schedule. I couldn't run appointments on Friday morning even if I wanted to because that's when the call is. That goes on my weekly schedule 1st. There is something I've noticed about that call as well. The ones that treat it that way and are on there every week are also all top producers.

I help other agents all the time. Even non Travis EFES agents and non EFES agents.People say I don't get anything for that but I do. It's a paying forward to reciprocate the help I got. Tim W never made a dime on the business he helped me with. Nor asked for one. But if he has a guy struggling and he can't get through to him then he is free to ask me to give it a shot and I will do my best.

I think I'm going to slow down a bit in 2013 but I thought that last year at this time for 2012. 2013 was my best year production wise with EFES. Two years ago I was the number 2 producer with EFES and did a little bit less than this year. I'm now number 4 and only a few hundred from 5th and that could change tomorrow if he turns in business because I am not. That just shows how much EFES is growing.

Those numbers are not important to me. It's nice that they put them up there but the important ones to me are the streaks. The at least $2000 ap submitted week streak I'm at 179 straight weeks. That's a big deal to me. The $10,000 monthly streak is more important. This was my 49th consecutive month with at least $10,000 ap. Those are the places where I put my focus. Being the same week end and week out. Being the same every month. I was consistent like that when I was with NAA. A guy there called me "the machine". If I make those numbers as a minimum every week and every month then the other numbers will just follow. They are still just gravy. Being consistent is the meat and potatoes.

I've been my own boss since 1993. No way could I work a schedule that someone else gives me now. Doesn't mean I can't keep learning. They are talking in this thread about doing more interviews. I think that would be great. I would be very interested in listening to one from Greg. Travis Tubbs would be another fine interview. He may be the best FE agent I've ever met. Tim W would be a fantastic get. I did ask Tim for Newby and he didn't seem to think it was the great idea that we do.

These are people that are out there doing it and not for just a couple of months and thinking they have it "wired" quoting Jody. EFES does that crap from time to time. A guy or gal will have a big month and the next thing you know they are doing a plug and learn call. Three months later they hit chargeback hell and they disappear. I want to hear from people that know what I just said, have experienced what I just said and are still in the business and not just surviving, thriving.

For example, Newby has been going through a slump lately. It's interesting to talk about that with him because he is a veteran and good at this. He basically got away from the fundamentals for while because he had too many irons in the fire. If it can happen to him it can happen to any of us. You couldn't get the same insight from a 6 month agent that's bumping up against his first issues and still wanting to reinvent the wheel.

JD, this is probably the best postyou have made. Thanks, Louis

 

[Rearden]

JD -- Still waiting on that ride-along that you promised me... .

 

[rousemark]

JD -- Still waiting on that ride-along that you promised me... .

Thought you were busy watching vampire flicks.

 

[Rearden]

"If Momma ain't happy, nobody's happy."