Beyond the Stereotype: How Life Insurance Became a Startup for a New Generation with Brian Pope

0:01Boom! Shake the room, Fire Nation. JLD here and welcome to Entrepreneurs on Fire. brought to you by High Level, the all-in-one sales and marketing platform. Today, we'll be talking about going beyond the stereotype, how life insurance became a startup for a new generation. And to drop these value bombs, I brought to Brian Pope in the EO Fire Studios. Brian is the founder and chairman of Quility, 2024 Insure Tech of the Year, is a transformative executive with almost 40 years of experience driving product and distribution innovation in the life insurance industry. And today, we talk about a modern take on an old industry, starting strong, tech meets tradition, addition to multiplication, the future of the industry, and oh, so much more.

0:41And a big thank you for sparsing today's episode goes to Brian and our sponsors. Here's something most of us don't think about until it's a problem. Our phone service. Cape is a privacy-first mobile carrier built from the ground up with security as the priority. If you care about protecting your digital life without giving up your smartphone, Cape makes that possible. Visit cape.co to sign up today. Are you ready for the ultimate all-in-one platform for entrepreneurs, marketers, coaches, and agencies? Build funnels, automate follow-ups, manage clients, and even white-label your own software. Say hello to our featured partner, High Level, and visit highlevelfire.com to start your free trial today.

1:28Brian, say what's up to Fire Nation and share something that you believe about becoming successful that most people disagree with. I think there's two things that really come to mind. Number one is that good guys don't win. Good guys and gals don't win. I disagree with that. You don't need to be shrewd and ruthless to succeed in business. You really don't. I've seen it enough times. I think that's, I think that's something that's misunderstood. Um, cause I've actually had people say that to me, Oh, you know, you can't be too nice in business. And it's like, no, you can be a good person. You could be a nice person.

2:07It doesn't mean you're not strong. Uh, it doesn't mean you're not, um, you know, um, really committed to what you're doing, um, and determined. Uh, but you can, you can be a good person and be successful. I think that's one thing that I think a lot of people probably would, might disagree with. Well, that's a stereotype. And listen, we're talking today about being beyond the stereotype, how life insurance became a startup for a new generation. And I want to talk about a modern take, Brian, on an old industry. Life insurance has been around for centuries. I mean, literally centuries, but things, they are changing.

2:46So how is this industry evolving today? And why is such a powerful opportunity for a new generation of entrepreneurs existing right now? A couple of things. Number one, we're in a gold rush. The life insurance industry is one of the last, if not the last, very large industry to adopt technology. So things are changing rapidly. And I've been fortunate in my career that the beginning of my career, I got in when insurance companies started to really outsource their distribution and sales to independent agents as opposed to agents that were employees of insurance companies. So I was kind of on the front end of a massive change in the industry.

3:27And now at the latter end of my career, I'm at a point where I'm in the in the throes of, I think, probably the largest change that I'll see in my lifetime in this industry. And that is the technology revolution. I think for entrepreneurs, where the life insurance industry is very fertile is that it's an industry that's growing, but the population of people that sell insurance is actually shrinking because they're aging out. So there's a lot of people retiring, which means there's a lot of opportunity. The second aspect is because of technology, the ability to get a lot done quickly and be very productive and very profitable has never been better, and it's just going to only get better.

4:19And then I'd say one other aspect of it is it has a low barrier to entry. So, you know, all you do is all you need is an insurance license. It's pretty easy to get an insurance license. And, you know, there's there's no you don't have inventory. You know, you can sell as much as you want to sell. The cost and investment to enter this industry is is minimal. So it's a highly, highly profitable business with low investment. And so really what it comes down to, which I'm sure we'll get into is something you take advantage of that. And there's really some pretty simple ways to do that. Fire Nation sounds to me like opportunity is a knock-in.

5:07And of course, we're going to dive more into that opportunity, what it looks like for you specifically. And I think that might come with, Brian, starting strong. So for someone who's brand new to this business, they're like, okay, I get it. I see the opportunity. I'm fired up about this. What is the best way for them to kickstart their journey? What does real success look like in those first crucial months? The most important, I think, after 38 years in this industry, I say the most important really element that somebody needs to be focused on is going to be a lot of activity, right? You're going to be, you're going to want to be very active and you're going to want to be talking to a lot of people about your product.

5:49Now, I don't, I don't think that really changes that much, but I can tell you that, um, that in all my time, I've seen the most successful people are generally the busiest, right? So they're, they're talking to the most people. and so focusing on making sure that you're doing the right activities, a lot of the right activities, because you can get distracted and you can spend a lot of time on things that don't really lead to productivity and monetary success. You really don't have to focus on a lot to be successful in this business. I would say being very busy. So what does that mean? find a uh a lead source whatever that is i mean it can be referrals i was a a person who when i was in the in the field and was selling was focused on referrals it's a system it's a way to do it and there is lots and lots of resources out there on how to go about doing this there's lead companies that generate leads that will require some investment but if you're focused properly it It's a pretty quick turnaround on your investment.

6:56And I'm talking about weeks. So being very, very busy and active in talking to a lot of people about your product, that's never going away. That's always going to be, I think, the main focus. And that is, I would say for a brand new person, the most important thing. And I don't know that it really isn't the most important thing for every person in the industry to be focused on. You talk about being busy, and I spent eight years as an officer in the U.S. Army, and it became pretty apparent early on that when you needed something done, you didn't look for somebody who had nothing to do because there's a reason why they had nothing to do.

7:33They weren't busy for a reason. You looked for the busiest people to get something else done because busy people were busy for a reason because they got stuff done. They were trusted. They were known. They were liked. They were trusted. They were respected. So Fire Nation, be busy. Put in the reps. Be active. Let's talk about where tech meets tradition, Brian. How is technology transforming the daily workflow for agents today? And specifically, what tools are making the biggest impact for you? Well, ironically, that's a big focus from the company that I am at, that I work for. I'm a founder of.

8:09We, five years ago, we started the company based on trying to develop technology because we saw the future was going to be a evolution of the business. And so I would say the things that I believe in the next few years are really going to change the industry, the way things are being done. They're starting now, by the way. This isn't, it's just going to, the adoption takes a little time. In industry this large doesn't change overnight. So I would say a few things is, number one, how risk and underwriting happens. So you go out, you see a prospect, they're interested in getting insurance, you get the, you know, you write an application.

8:46how that application's processed, and how that risk is underwritten, that's changed. It used to be something that took months, then it took weeks, then it took days, and now it's minutes. And that's because technology can do really a faster job, and that's the digitization process, as opposed to a more analog process of writing a physical application, or even writing an e-application, a digital application. It's how that process works and that risk is done. So an agent can be sitting with a prospect at point of sale, get an answer and an approval for insurance at point of sale. But up until a few years ago, that's not how it worked, right?

9:28So that makes things a lot easier for everybody. It makes for a much better experience for the client. It makes for a better experience for the producer or the agent. And it makes it's better for the company because generally speaking, when you have more data, you can assess risk better. So without trying to get technical here, it just makes the whole process easier. And you can get more finite with how you assess the risks that the clients are not overpaying. They're paying the proper premium. So the costs have come down. The costs have come down for everybody in that entire ecosystem, particularly the client.

10:10Then the other side of it is how you engage with prospective clients. Well, you know, grinding on the phone in however you prospect in our industry, and it's across any industry, it's time consuming, you know. and you're spending a lot of time chasing people, you know, trying to get the appointment and to be able to sit down and discuss this. People are busy. People are interested and they want to get insurance and they want to take care of their family, but people are busy. So, you know, you spend a lot of time chasing those people, just trying to get them on the calendar to meet. And so what you're going to see now, and we've developed a product for this and there's other ones out there's a host of products out there that really automate that so that it has a real human feel.

11:04A lot of it's AI enabled where the client is via particularly text and email is engaging with you or I should say your virtual assistant and to the client, they feel like they're communicating with a human. It's checking in regularly and And, you know, the cool thing about computers, they don't sleep, right? So, and they can hit 100 people at the same time. So, you're going to see these technologies that are really enabling and cutting down on the amount of time you're, again, chasing those people down to try to get them on the calendar. A lot of it now what's happening is it's these digital platforms.

11:48They reach out to the customer. They can, the customer will calendar. well, they'll get on your calendar automatically. So you're not actually having to do it. The platform's doing it for you. The technology's doing it for you. And then just following up, like, oh, well, you know, John, call me next week. Get a hold of me next week. I'm busy this week. Well, you know, the technology, it being AI-enabled, AI is going to really change a lot of this as well. It's accelerating these things. Is that it's listening and it's following up with the proper messaging and cadence so that you're not having to actually physically do it.

12:25So it allows, so what this really does is cut your prospecting down dramatically, you know, 80, 90 % so that you're face to face, you're selling, you're actually in the process activity of actually engaging in sales, the sales activities, not prospecting activities. So you're going to see a lot of these types of technologies that are really going to enable and automate the process of the agent or salesperson. Brian, I want to talk about addition to multiplication, leadership, the scales, the future of the industry. But first, we're going to say a word with our sponsors. Here's something most of us don't think about until it's a problem.

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15:23High level, join the revolution. Brian, we're back. And as I was kind of teasing before the break, I wanted to start off with addition to multiplication. I mean, you talk about turning active work into passive income. How can agents shift from the quote unquote addition game to true financial leverage in long-term growth? When I came into the business, and this really hasn't changed, my mentor, who I learned pretty much in the early years, everything I knew up to that point, and he was a great mentor. He told me there's three ways to make more money in this business. Sell more, sell bigger, or duplicate yourself.

16:04The duplicate yourself part is what you're talking about. And that is training and helping other people get into this, you know, business and to learn how, you know, to succeed. Okay. And what that does is it, you end up building an agency or a business helping others learn the business. Okay. And you get paid to do that. Um, that's the, that's the, you know, the, um, duplicating your efforts process is how do I help a bunch of other people learn a, learn a profession, earn a great living, you know, six, seven figure, uh, earning and really, really build a professional, a profession in a business.

16:50That's the cool thing about our business and our industry is that you can do that. When I, again, when I entered the business, you learned from the people around you. And that's what we did. So now what you have is you have businesses that are really built around, hey, I'll bring you in to the business. I'll teach you everything you need to know how to be successful. I will get paid for a period of time to help you learn this. And then you can start building your own business. You can start building your own agency. That's the duplication process. It's the, and the cool thing is you can do this with this unlimited amount of people.

17:36I've personally trained and mentored hundreds and hundreds of agents over the years and then through others, tens of thousands. It's a business. It takes time to learn our business. It's not something you learn overnight. It's not a, I wouldn't say it's a complicated business. It's difficult in that, you know, you're dealing with a lot of rejection and, you know, that's never fun. But the cool thing is, is when you're working with people that have done it and they've been through it, they can really help you coach. They can coach you and help you through those things to get to the other side of it.

18:15And a lot of it's just because you're doing something new. Brian, let's talk about leadership that scales, because I want to really share with Fire Nation today the top leadership skills that somebody needs to master. And this is for if they not only want to build, but grow a thriving agency. What would you tell them? Leadership always begins with yourself. Learn how to be the best version of yourself that you can be. The great thing is you don't ever need to be somebody else. I've seen every type after tens of thousands of people working with tens and thousands of people. I've seen every type of personality succeed in this business.

18:58People that are very introverted, quiet, wouldn't you wouldn't think they're like a sales giant, but they are, you know, because they work hard. It doesn't require any particular type of personality. So so the stereotype, throw that out. That doesn't count here. Anybody can be successful. I've seen, I had one of the best sales people I ever had that I worked directly with for a long time was a Chinese woman in her 80s that was blind, had very bad English. And, you know, her name was Rose, and she lived in Los Angeles. And I asked her, I'm like, Rose, I don't understand how you sell so much. And she said, her viewpoint was, Brian, who could say no to me?

19:47Right? Like, who could say no to me? Where I'm going with this is, if you just work on becoming the best version of yourself, then what happens is you're going to have the ability to help others find that in themselves. okay but if you're deficient in areas in your own life where you struggle it's going to really show up in your interaction in your interaction with with other people and so you got to focus on yourself first really hone your own leadership uh and and i'm you know there's lots and lots and lots of fantastic leadership material out there i'm a somebody that kind of believes in going very deep on one methodology or one process.

20:31I don't really like the idea of reading, you know, 50 books on a subject, especially leadership. I like to find one leadership, you know, process or author and go really deep on that. And don't get distracted with, I've got to learn all these different things. So the idea is, become really good at leading yourself. And, you know, there's one thing, Tony Robbins is somebody that I admire greatly and really enjoy a lot of his material. And one of the things that he says that I think is really, really cool is he says everybody always overestimates what they can accomplish in a year and underestimates what they can accomplish in 10.

21:16So commitment to the long term is really critical. no matter what field you're in is first and foremost, if you quit, you're never going to be successful. And make a commitment to sticking it out and just getting really good at what you're trying to do. And what happens is things get easier and easier and easier over time. And you get good at things over a period of time. It doesn't happen overnight. Leadership's the same way. It's, it's something that's built. It's kind of like a castle built one brick at a time, right? It's a process. It doesn't happen overnight. I'm not a, I'm not a believer in born leaders.

21:56I think there's people where it's more natural or I was not a born leader. I learned how to lead. And it, it's one of those things that, that, um, it's a skill that you learn over time and commit to that and, and, and don't look at this. Like I want to be, you know, I want to be to the top of the mountain, you know, in three months. Okay. I think that's an expectation that people set and they're setting themselves up for failure. It's more like, I want to get to the top of the mountain and I'm committing, you know, to five years. Now, intermediate goals are really important too, because you want to see your progress, But long-term commitment is one of those things that I think is greatly underrated.

22:42Brian, we talked about a modern take on an old industry, starting strong, where tech meets tradition, addition to multiplication, leadership that scales. If Fire Nation wants to learn more from you, if they want to connect with you, what is your call to action for our listeners today? There's never a better time to start than right now. if you're going to change your life change like change right now i'm not a there's don't get ready to to get started just start and one of the things that i've found in in my career that i've seen people where they're making mistakes is they think they got to get ready and they've got to be they've got to prepare i'll do all this preparation it's like at some point if you want to swim at some point you got to get in the water you got to get in the pool and and you will figure it out People, they underestimate their own ability to figure things out.

23:37The key is just take action. That is, I think, first and foremost, is just dive in and you will start figuring things out pretty quickly. Fire Nation, you're the average of the five people you spend the most time with. You've been hanging out with BP and JLD today. So keep up the heat. And for links to everything we talked about, visit eofire.com, type Brian in the search bar and the show notes page will pop right up. And once again, Brian, where can Fire Nation go to connect with you to learn more about you? Well, my email is brian.popeatquility.com, which is q-u-i-l-i-t-y.com. That's going to be the easiest way to get in contact with me.

24:21Fire Nation, when somebody gives you direct access to their inbox and offers you to connect with them, please take advantage of it. Ask him questions. He's being very generous, very kind. And Brian, I want to say thank you for sharing your truth, your knowledge, your value with Fire Nation today. For that, we salute you and we'll catch you on the flip side. Appreciate it, John. Thank you very much. Hey, Fire Nation, a huge thank you to our sponsors and Brian for sponsoring today's episode. And Fire Nation, freedom isn't a dream, it's a decision. Join the Freedom Circle, my community, where clarity systems and support collide.

24:58Your 90-day path to time and income freedom starts at freedom-circle.com. And I'll catch you there. We're on the flip side. Here's something most of us don't think about until it's a problem. Our phone service. Cape is a privacy-first mobile carrier built from the ground up with security as the priority. If you care about protecting your digital life without giving up your smartphone, Cape makes that possible. Visit cape.co to sign up today. Are you ready for the ultimate all-in-one platform for entrepreneurs, marketers, coaches, and agencies? Build funnels, automate follow-ups, manage clients, and even white label your own software.

25:36Say hello to our featured partner, High Level, and visit highlevelfire.com to start your free trial today.

25:50Thank you.