Changing Lives

Jim Calhoun

Congratulations to new agent Jim Calhoun on his quick success with FFL! Jim has been able to issue $60k within his first month and has already hired 7 family members! Continue reading below to learn more about his quick start.

Q: How did you get started with FFL?

A: Prior to finding FFL I was working at a different IMO for around 15 years. I was also coaching a wrestling team, and working in ministry along with my wife. I kept seeing FFL agents on Facebook that were sharing their success stories so I reached out to Dave W. about the opportunity. I was tired of knocking on doors/cold-calling and was ready for a change.

Q: You had prior experience in the industry, did you still have a learning curve with FFL?

A: I think you always have a learning curve when starting something new. I was nervous at first to have to dial for appointments. I have a speech impediment where I can start stuttering a lot so that was a challenge for me. But I’m a big believer in when you focus on helping people get what they want, then you’ll get what you want as well. My heart has always been to put the client first so that allowed me to have success out in the field.

Q: Coming from cold-calling, how did you feel about purchasing leads for the first time?

A: I loved it. Some people may view purchasing leads as an obstacle but I think of it as pouring gasoline on a fire. You’ll never be able to keep up with other agents without working off of a lead program, so I tend to spend around $750-$1000 on leads per week. I have no trouble doing that because I’m investing into myself and into my business.

Q: What do you think was the key for your quick success?

A: I think it was being dream driven and goal oriented. I have a wife, 4 sons, and 3 daughters in laws. There are things in life that I want to do with my family, trips I want to take, grandkids I want to spoil. So having that as a motivating factor has really helped me to prioritize, set my schedule and remain focused on my goals.

Q: What are your future goals with FFL?
A: I don’t have a pre-set number yet but I’d like to build a team and help them each issue $10,000 a week as quickly as possible. I’ve already started hiring friends and family who are getting results. That’s really where my focus is because if they succeed then I will too. That’s why Dave W. is so loved at Velocity because he’s out there showing us how to produce instead of just saying it to us.

To join our team, send a text to 954-998-3332

Mikayla Calhoun

Congratulations to new agent Mikayla Calhoun on her early success! Mikayla has received over $15,500 in bank deposits within her first 14 days with FFL! Continue reading below to learn more about her quick start.

Q: What were you doing for work prior to getting started with FFL?

A: I had been working as a captive insurance agent for the past 5 ½ years, but I didn’t have access to a lead program and had to rely on primarily cold calling.

Q: How were you introduced to FFL?

A: My upline Dave and I were working at the same company before he joined FFL. I started seeing him post about having access to leads as well as diverse products. Those were my main issues with my prior company so I decided it was finally time to make a switch.

Q: What did your initial training look like and how long did it take for you to start dialing?

A: Contracting with the carriers took some time so I took advantage of that and immersed myself in our sales training. My first week I was able to go through a boot camp and purchased leads on Wednesday. I bought $490 worth of the Happy Agent Leads which are the internet final expense leads. Then on Friday I was approved by Americo and a couple other carriers so I booked appointments that same night for Saturday morning.

Q: How did your first appointments go?

A: I’m typically a very “Type A” person who likes to plan and have everything in order. But I was also very money motivated because we had used the last of our savings on leads and had bills that were due in only a week. Walking into my first appointment I only felt about 30% prepared. I knew I was going to have to call Dave from the home a few times. I ended up closing all of my appointments and learned so much from that experience. Sometimes you just have to throw yourself into the fire when learning something new so I’m glad I had so much pressure because if I didn’t I probably would have taken a lot longer to get going.

Q: What are your goals for 2020?

A: My husband Sold about $150,000 in supplemental insurance last year, they paid him about $52,000 for that amount of activity because of the difference in commission levels. By January 1st I’d like to make more than $52,000 just to prove that I can beat those numbers in just a few months! He just got licensed this week so that he can start selling life as well, and he’s been so helpful with handling the kids so that I can go out into the field.

Q: What’s the one piece of advice you’d give to new agents looking to have the same type of quick success as you?
A: I’d say to lay down your pride, humble yourself and don’t be afraid to fail forward. You have to fall on your face and mess up to really learn, and you’ll never have success if you’re too afraid of that initial failure.

To join our team, send a text to 954-998-3332

Marysa & Christina Maggio

Congratulations to Marysa and Christina Maggio of FFL Solidity for opening up their new office in MA this past week! Continue reading below to hear about how their journey with FFL led to this huge milestone.

Q: How did you both get started with FFL?

Marysa: I was working at a different IMO initially and started talking to an FFL agent on Linkedin. At that time I was skeptical of the opportunity due to my own bad experiences so I was undecided for around a year before I met Matt Walker and then made the switch.

Q: Did your sister join you at the same time?

Christina: No I was very untrusting and thought it was too good to be true. But then I started seeing the success Marysa was having and I finally decided to get on board. Initially I didn’t really want to build an agency until I started to understand the opportunity available here at FFL.

Q: How did you guys structure your business to be able to be in a position to obtain an office in only six months?

Marysa: Christina handles all of the recruiting and onboarding for our new agents. That allows me to stay in the field and produce at a high level. This past month we issue paid $147,000 and currently we’re already at $100,000 issue paid after only two weeks, so this structure has been working really well for us.

Q: What kind of impact does having your own office have on your business?

Marysa: It’s nice to have a real home base and it’s easier to hold each other accountable because now we have more responsibilities and people depending on us.

Christina: It just makes me really excited to grow our agency. I can’t wait to fill this office up and I look forward to being able to hold weekly BDMs, trainings, etc.

Q: How do you want to finish in 2020?

Marysa: We’d like to have our agency issue paying $350,000 and have 50 unique writers by the end of the year.

Q: What advice would you give to those who’d also like to scale their business?
Christina: My main piece of advice would be to remain diligent about re-investing in your business and be honest with yourself about whether you’re re-investing enough. If you do that consistently you’ll be able to multiply your investment over and over again which will grow your agency.

To join our team, send a text to 954-998-3332

Ryan Gilley

Congratulations to Ryan Gilley on his quick and successful transition into the insurance industry! Ryan went full time after issuing $7,000 in his first few days in the field. He has also hired 4 licensed agents, has 4 in pre-licensing, and is on track to have 15 writing agents by the end of the month! Continue reading below to learn more about Ryan’s journey with FFL:

Q: What were you doing for work prior to getting started with FFL?

A: I was working in law enforcement for 2 years, and prior to that I served in the Army for 10 years as a sniper.

Q: How did you transition from the military and law enforcement to selling insurance?

A: They may seem different but you’re actively helping people in both fields of work. I enjoy being able to find out what my clients need and provide them with coverage in case a tragedy were to occur.

Q: You started out on a part time basis, why did you decide to go full time?

A: My initial plan was just to sell insurance on a part time basis. But I knew that my work schedule would conflict with the schedule of my clients which could make things difficult. I am someone who likes to give 100% to everything that I do. After my first week of success, my wife and I discussed it and decided the best choice for our family was to go full time with FFL.

Q: Even though you’re new I see that you’ve already started building an agency. What made you decide to do that so quickly?
A: Well first it’s because Dave W. is an awesome leader. I then had the opportunity to meet Shawn Meaike as well as some of FFL’s top agents. I heard someone say at a boot camp how they didn’t see the need to try and reconfigure the FFL business model because he had already seen its results. I agreed with that thinking so I decided to start building an agency like I saw other top agents doing. I knew that if I did that right away I’d be setting myself up for success down the road. A couple of the agents I’ve hired are already looking to start hiring for themselves. I expect to have around 15 writing agents by the end of the month and the plan is just to continue to grow from there.

To join our team, send a text to 954-998-3332

Brad Allan

FFL would like to formally recognize Vice President Brad Allan as our agent of the week! Brad sold his first insurance policy with us in 2015 and just had one of his biggest months in November with $187,741 in production! Continue reading below to learn about his past five years with FFL:

Q:What were you doing for work prior to getting started with FFL?

A: I was working as a captive agent with a different insurance agency but had never actually sold a policy with them before finding FFL. My first month here I was able to sell $19,000 and having access to leads was definitely the major difference that allowed me to have success.

Q: What has your production progression been like over the past five years?

A: In 2018 I ended the year with around $80,000 in production. In 2019 I decided to get focused and I was able to go from #166 in the company all the way to #6 with $515,000. Now in 2020 I’ve just issued over a million in total production.

Q: What do you think were the main changes that you’ve made to be able to increase your production?

A: I think never being low on lead flow and making sure to be consistent with my schedule. My actual schedule has never changed but I’ve become a lot more consistent. Along with just getting better over time due to practice I’d attribute my upline John G. as also having a big impact on my success.

Q: What were some things that you struggled with in your first few years that you’ve now mastered?

A: People used to ask me questions like “I don’t have to do this right now right?” I was way too passive when dealing with those type of questions whereas now I drill down and ask “Are you savers? How much do you typically keep in your bank account? How many bills could you pay if your spouse didn’t come home? Okay you’ve got about 6 weeks of bills in the bank?” That verbiage has really helped to drive home the urgency of getting coverage and increasing the emotion that is needed to get them to understand the value of insurance.

Q: What is your goal for 2021?

A: I would like to build a massive team and become a board member! My production is too much of my of my team’s current volume. I’ve doubled my marketing budget to $12,000, and I have staff to help me build. My goal is to have at least 10 writing agents per month.

Q: What is your one piece of advice for a new agent?
A: My advice would be that consistency is the most important thing in this business. Whether your hiring or producing you have to be consistent. I’d also suggest that you start hiring immediately instead of waiting.

To join our team, send a text to 954-998-3332

Marco Conde

FFL would like to formally recognize Vice President Marco Conde as our agent of the week! Marco started with FFL in January 2020 and has already qualified for the Hall of Fame with $514,637! Continue reading below to learn more about his journey with FFL.

Q: Did you have insurance experience prior to getting started with FFL?

A: No I was working as the director of Sales & Communication in a salary position where I frequently had to travel overseas.

Q: What made you want to switch over to commission based insurance sales?

A: I wanted to have complete control over my family’s security. I didn’t want an individual or a corporation to have that type of power over my life anymore.

Q: Was it difficult for you to transition into a completely new industry?

A: I didn’t think that it was that difficult of a transition due to the immense training and support that we have here at FFL. It really helped to shrink my learning curve and get out into the field strong.

Q: How long did it take for you to feel completely comfortable in the field?

A: I would say it took me around a month. I had high goals right from the start but when I didn’t hit them immediately, I started to reach out to top producers for advice. After I had run about 100 appointments was when it really all started to click for me.

Q: How did you feel about investing in leads initially coming from a W-2 position?

A: It was definitely scary investing in leads in the beginning until I realized that I was actually mitigating risk by increasing the amount I was purchasing. I think most new agents think purchasing few leads is the safest move to make, but the more leads you purchase the better chance you have at making your money back and issuing more volume.

Q: What’s your goal for 2021?
A: I’d like to hit around $600,000 personally , And I’d like our agency to be issuing a million a month.

To join our team, send a text to 954-998-3332

Julius Gilgur

FFL would like to formally recognize Julius Gilgur as our agent of the week! Julius recently qualified for the Hall of Fame for the first time with $462,973 in YTD production. He’s also growing his agency that is currently issuing $500,000 a month! Continue reading below to learn more his 2020 growth:

Q: What Changes did you make to be able to qualify for the Hall of Fame this year?

A: I increased my lead investing which increased the amount of appointments I was running. I also made an effort to improve the service that I give to my clients by gaining a better understanding of what the different plans and options are.

Q: How much were you investing in leads in comparison to how much you’re investing now?

A: I was investing $2,000-3,000 a month and now I’m investing $5,000-$7,000 per month. I basically just doubled my investment. I started incrementally increasing my leads by picking up additional counties, different lead types etc. It was scarier in the beginning to get more leads because I wasn’t sure if it would translate into additional revenue, but then I realized the numbers are all very predictable if I make sure to work the leads.

Q: What is your goal issue paid amount when you invest that $5,000-$7,000?

A: The minimal goal is to issue pay $30,000 every month.

Q: How has your schedule changed with this increased amount of leadflow?

A: I used to run around 15 appointments a week and now I’m running at least 25 per week.

Q: What has been your strategy to produce at a high level while still building a large agency?

A: I’ve just been reinvesting most of my commission into advertising dollars which has helped me to increase the amount of people I’m calling. I’ve also had staff for a while but I just hired a recruiter this year to help me as well.

Q: What are your goals for 2021?
A: My goal is to triple in 2021. My agency is currently doing around $500,000 and I’d like to get us to 1.5 million per month by next year. That would allow us to help more families and help more agents

To join our team, send a text to 954-998-3332

Jermaine Clifford

FFL would like to formally recognize Vice President Jermaine Clifford as our agent of the week! Jermaine is leading his agency’s rapid growth and has grown over 114% since January 2020. Continue reading below to hear more about his agency’s progression:

Q: What has changed to help your agency grow since January?

A: A lot has changed for us these past few months. More of our agents are becoming engaged in the system and we’re doing a better job at plugging them in and making sure they’re on training calls, bootcamps, etc. We’re just trying to show them what success looks like. We also have a lot of core guys that are now taking on management roles and leading from the front.

Q: What does your schedule look like to increase agency volume and maintain high production simultaneously?

A: I run around 20-30 appointments a week. Mondays and Thursdays are my dial days and I spend another 4 days out in the field. I also have two full time employees that handle the operational side of things so that I don’t have have to worry about that aspect and can primarily focus on my production.

Q: What’s your strategy to get new agents started quickly?

A: When I’m talking to an unlicensed agent I set them up with expectations like letting them know that I was able to get licensed in 7 days. After that we push them to get through contracting as quickly as possible and then we get them out into the field with Americo and Prosperity. Leads are purchased while they’re waiting for their contracts.

Q: What is your strategy for getting new agents started with leads?

A: We like to get the agents to invest in themselves and have some skin in the game early on. Especially with some of our new lead options that only cost $11 dollars, any agent should be able to purchase 40-50 leads with around $500 in capital. I also think its up the manager’s discretion as to whether or not they want to match that agents purchase or help finance them in special situations.

Q: What are your goals for the end of 2020?
A: Personally I’d like to qualify for the Hall of Fame. The rest of my focus is getting our new agents paid. We currently have 30 people in contracting and once we get them out in the field we’re hoping to start issuing $500,000 as an agency by the end of the year.

To join our team, send a text to 954-998-3332

Alondra Topete

FFL would like to formally recognize Executive Vice President Alondra Topete as our agent of the week! Alondra is FFL’s youngest agent to ever qualify for the Hall of Fame with $437,544 YTD. She is also building an agency that has issued $2,034,825 YTD. Continue reading below to hear more about her journey:

Q: What made you join FFL?

A: I graduated from nursing school and then decided to get my insurance license after graduating as well. My initial plan was to treat it as a hobby and work on a part time basis. I decided to go full time because I saw the financial potential and liked that I’d have the ability to help my Hispanic community and take care of my family at the same time.

Q: What did the training process look like for you?

A: My first six months I was working on a part time basis and I wasn’t producing that much. When I decided to go full time was when I really started to focus on training. I started listening to all the calls almost every night and worked on improving my confidence out in the field. I also think that making sure to only listen to those who are doing better than me has been really influential.

Q: What was the hardest obstacle that you had to overcome?

A: I really struggled with feeling confident out in the field at first. I thought people wouldn’t take me seriously because of my age and other excuses I would tell myself. But I just continued to listen to other successful agents and over time with practice my confidence grew.

Q: How much do you typically spend on leads each week?

A: I typically spend between $1500-$2000 a week in order to issue $50,000 a month.

Q: What has been your hiring strategy?

A: Once I started producing at a high level I began to share my results on social media and people began reaching out to me. I’ve used other platforms like Ziprecruiter, Craigslist etc. but the majority of my team has definitely come from my own social media posting.

Q: What are your goals for 2020?A: Personally I’d like to be at $500,000 but most of my focus is getting all of my new agents to get paid. As a team I’d like us to be issuing at least a million a month by convention.

To join our team, send a text to 954-998-3332

FFL’s 2020 All American Award Recipient

We’d like to recognize Dave Whichard as our 2020 All American award recipient!

In less than a year Dave has completely shattered numerous records for both agency and personal production. His agency went from issuing $22,000 in January to issuing $1 million in October and reached Board Member status. Dave also made a commitment to lead his team from the front by becoming a Hall of Fame producer and issued $407,000 by November!

Continue reading below to learn about Dave’s thoughts on his unbelievable year:

Q: How does it feel to be FFL’s All American award recipient for 2020?

A: It’s an honor. The things that I’ve learned here have blown me away. It was incredible to hear what Shawn had to say when he was giving me the award because I admire him so much. I feel the same about our other leaders like Andrew T. and Tray H. I just look up to those guys, so to be in the same category as them is amazing. I feel really blessed.

Q: You were the fastest person ever to hit board member status and you qualified for the producer Hall of Fame. Were those always your goals?

A: I think everything started to really get going in February right after convention. At that time we didn’t even have staff. That was when I decided I was going to have to issue $400,000. I wanted my team to be able to see how possible it was. I also knew that once the team started to really grow I wouldn’t have the opportunity to spend that much time on my production anymore, so It was something I committed to. Hitting board member status in October was not the initial plan. I knew we could do it but it happened way earlier than I initially thought it would.

Q: What is one thing you learned or changed that’s had the biggest impact on your success?

A: I think the most important thing that I’ve learned is just how incredible of an opportunity this really is. I put all of my faith into our leadership like Shawn, Andrew, Tray etc. I would do anything that they ask me to do because I know they have this business figured out.

Q: What are you looking forward to in 2021?
A: I’m looking forward to continuing to help my team grow. I want to show them that if they just follow the FFL blueprint they can get to board member status even quicker than I did. The other thing that I’m really looking forward to is obtaining a partnership with Integrity!

To join our team, send a text to 954-998-3332

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