 You and I both know the insurance world is not an easy world. It is very stressful in a lot of ways, and it is not just for the agent, but also for their teams, especially when it comes to pricing. Like us, we took 42% rate increase in home insurance, flat across the board. We have, we're taking our third one now in literally less than 12 months. We have clients that are going up 200, 300, 400%, 150%. This is the marketplace we're in. And for us to still be producing based on what their knowledge is and how to sell a product, it builds high rewards of what this program does for people. And if agents don't buy into this and agents don't look at this and really get serious about something to help them out, I can tell them firsthand, this has been the only way we've sold business this year is Vlad's class, understanding how to use his language and to overcome these barriers. Because we would not be writing as much as we have without this class. I know for a fact we would. First things first, Shane, could you introduce yourself and give us a little bit of your insurance background? Yes, I'm Shane Reese. I've been an agent with farmers for 25 years. And I was fortunate enough, I am a presence council agent for farmers. Wonderful, that is amazing. So as far as kind of the insurance sales, you've been doing this for a while. Now you said 25 years, how did you come across the one-call-close master class? I ran into Vlad at a farmer's conference and started talking to him. And he was looking at starting his own insurance agency at some point. And I said, hey, I really could use some help with this. What you've done sounds amazing. And in small town America, small town agents like myself, we need to figure out ways to get better at the sales technique and provide an opportunity for our staff to be able to sell. And he said, sure, I'll send you a link. Did it and put my staff through it. And then it's been really, really good. It's really helped us out this year. Wow, wonderful. And I mean, like I said, 25 years, you learned about this training, talked to Vlad. Did you try out any other sort of sales training programs before you started the one-call-close master class? Oh, yeah, we've tried several. Wow. And unfortunately, it's never, it's never came to anything that it's been really super productive until Vlad explains how to get people to say yes. And in tough times right now, we all as insurance people, we understand with what's going on with rates and fire line, especially it's very, very difficult, especially where I'm at. And with this training, you know, and really understanding how to use it and make people say yes to your price no matter really what their concerns may be or whatever the pricing is, it has helped us tenfold and literally has made us relevant this year. Because without it, I don't think we would be selling what we're selling in this really bad market that we're in right now in my geographic area. Wow, I mean, you say selling what you're selling right now. What were you like numbers wise looking at? I mean, I believe you were on the platform for six months now. What was that looking like before you decided to get on the one-call-close master class? So last year, we wrote the most insurance any farmer's days ever written in our state premium wise. We were over $1.5 million. Now, you understand, I live in a town of 40,000 people. My entire state's one million people. And this year with the introduction of Fireline in the west part of where I live in the mountains in Montana, we had declines over $400,000 in declines within the first six months because of Fireline. We are on pace to write over a million dollars again this year. How we're doing it is Vlad's class. What his training is done and helping overcome the hurdles of people saying no and getting them back on track to not a price product but a comprehensive product. And yeah, so right now we're on pace to do a million dollars which I didn't think we would do based on what's going on in the market right now with Fireline. No, absolutely. And a lot of people are really struggling with prices right now. And I feel like that's a really hard concept for them to grasp is building that value versus the actual price itself. As far as kind of going through the training, seems like you have a pretty solid team going and working right now. How did you guys initially go through the training, practicing, morning huddle? What does that kind of look like for you guys? So basically what we did is we made everybody go through the training class and then we also then we started doing the one on ones with my producers would talk. They would either pre-sell or try to sell to another producer or another staff person to really get the script down where it was fluid, where they didn't have to be reading it. They could just react. Any time that you're in a sales type atmosphere, it has to be natural. You have to have a natural talk and a natural flow and not a scripty sound. Because in my area, if they sound a scripty sound, they're gonna get ready. They're gonna hang up. They're gonna be gone. It needs to be natural. And with how Vlad trains this and teaches this and then the one on one sessions with my staff did back and forth. And my staff is very competitive. They literally every day, what did you write? How much did you write? Who has the most production? And this class literally has also helped that because now it's, hey, we're in a race to see who can be the best each day. And it's helped us out tenfold. And I am grateful that I met Vlad and that I became a part of this program that he started. It's amazing. Yeah, I mean, I think it's definitely your buying is one thing, but to see your team as bought in as you, that must make you feel absolutely great as an agency owner. As far as, you know, like you said, the attitudes of everyone, everyone seems more confident. Are you listening to their phone calls? Do they sound like, you know, they're really understanding everything and has there been an improvement with that as well? Oh yeah, it's the level. It's funny to watch your staff grow. Because we have people that have never been in the insurance business are working here that produce for us. And right now my staff outproduces, individually outproduces some agencies in our area. They're that good. And to watch them progress and understand, especially the sales techniques and how to respond and react to negativity. Because you and I both know we live in a world of negativity. Yep. Our world is full of it right now. And it's actually quite depressing, to be honest with you. But to overcome those negativities and understand how to say it, like one of my staffers, it's funny, his name is Matthew and Matthew would get frustrated. He'd get discouraged. He'd be like, dude, why, I couldn't sell this. You know, they said this, this and this. And it was all about price. Now Matthew is killing it. He is bought into the program. He understands what to say. And he is, every day he's writing stuff on a daily basis because he's now has the confidence based on this class. Wow. That is crazy, the fact that, you know, I mean, everyone gets frustrated and everyone gets discouraged. So that must have been amazing to see him grow from that point into, you know, writing business. And he probably feels better about himself and more confident. Oh, you should see him. I mean, every day he's got a smile on his face. He's excited. He's what am I gonna sell? Like he literally, I just gave him a quote to do because I couldn't obviously, I couldn't do it because I was doing this with you. And he just walked in with a big smile and says, you need to come see me when you're done. You know, and just to watch these guys and to watch their mentality, because you and I both know the insurance world is not an easy world. It is very stressful in a lot of ways. And it is not just for the agent, but also for their teams, especially when it comes to pricing. Like us, we took 42% rate increase in home insurance, flat across the board. We have, we're taking our third one now in literally less than 12 months. We have clients that are going up 200, 300, 400%, 150%. And this is the marketplace we're in. And for us to still be producing based on what their knowledge is and how to sell a product, it builds high rewards of what this program does for people. And if agents don't buy into this and agents don't look at this and really get serious about something to help them out, I can tell them firsthand, this has been the only way we've sold business this year is Vlad's class understanding how to use his language and to overcome these barriers because we would not be writing as much as we have without this class. I know for a fact we wouldn't. Yeah, yeah, and definitely. I mean, I think it's fantastic that you have that mentality after seeing what you've been able to produce with your team. When you first heard about the insurance sales hub, were you ever hesitant about getting on board? Yeah, what were some of the thoughts? I was skeptical at first because listening to Vlad, I'm like, man, this guy's a salesman. He is good, you know, but will this really work? And I remember when he talked, I was in a group of people in lots of PC agents that were sitting together and we were sitting there talking and we were all like, man, do you think this really is as good as he says it is? And we all questioned it and pretty soon I kept thinking about it and then I talked to him and I said, hey, listen, you've convinced me to try this program. And his words were, it's probably the best thing that's ever gonna happen to your agency. If they follow the script and they do what needs to be done, it's gonna be a good thing for you guys. And I came back to the office because I'm one of these guys that I always challenge my staff. I make them read books. I make them do fun, challenging things together. We have nights out where we take the staff out just for dinner and a game night or something just to build morality and excitement. And when I came in, I said, hey, I need you guys to start taking the class. They all looked at me like, are you serious boss? We're really busy. And I said, I need you to do this because I think it will help us out and I'll be the first one to do the program myself. I will go through it first, then I'll let you guys, so you know I'm doing it and then I want you guys to do it. As they started progressing and doing it, you could start here and chatter within the office space. They're all talking, hey, I didn't think about using this language or I didn't think about saying, hey, what about this? And it was funny just listening to them try to understand the mistakes they've been making in the past that now that they don't have to make now, they now have the knowledge and the understanding of what they need to do. It's great. Wow, I mean, I think it's like seeing the wheels turn and they're all connecting the dots, right? It's like, wow, this works. It's paying off. I mean, what would you say to someone who's maybe on the fence about getting this program? They don't know if it's gonna work for them. What would you say to someone like that? I would tell them this, if you wanna be successful in this business and you want to overcome hurdles and not feel like every day is a misery or every day is gonna be a denial, you need to try this program. Are you still gonna get denied by people? Yes, this isn't a guarantee. Everybody is gonna say, yes, it's not gonna happen. We all know that, that's the reality. But if I can tell you that I can get 60 to 70% of those people that tell me no right off the bat, within seconds they're saying yes and let's write the policy, that is reality. And that's 60 to 70%, that turns out to be a lot of premium, of a lot of policies and an opportunity to sell even more products to their friends, because now you've just overcome that hurdle. Now they're gonna refer you to everybody. So take the chance, it's well worth it. Honestly, our production this year of what we've produced would not be what it is today without this program because it is a tough, tough market and a lot of no's. Well, we've turned those no's into yeses. Wow, sold, gosh, if I didn't want it now I definitely want this program. Yeah, no, I'm telling you it's great.