Episode Transcript
[00:00:00] Speaker A: Foreign.
Well, hello and welcome to the Bottom Line Me podcast. Today we're kicking things off with a little football talk.
Now, if you're scratching your head and wondering what does football have to do with the title, insurance or real estate industry? Believe it or not, the football field and the real estate and title industry field, particularly in sales, have more in common than you might think. I'm your host, Ann Allard, and my guest today is Cale Gellis. Kale is a seasoned sales manager with a lot of experience in sales and prospecting strategies and he's a die hard Dallas Cowboy fan.
Now I, on the other hand, hand, am a lifelong New England Patriots fan unfortunately as well.
And it's funny, when Cale and I were putting this podcast idea together, we realized that we had more in common than just a love of football. I happened to have a nephew who was recently hired by the Dallas Cowboys as an offensive line coach. So while I can't really root for your team, I can't really, you know, wish them, wish them disaster.
[00:01:23] Speaker B: Hey, you can wear some Cowboys gear on the bye weeks, right? That's all I'm.
[00:01:27] Speaker A: There you go. Oh yeah, there you go. Yeah.
So, yeah, so as I said, you may be thinking, what does football have to do with real estate and Cale and I think actually a lot.
Both requires a lot of planning, adaptability, and certainly grit.
Just like scouts identify top talent for drafts, the sales pros need to learn to research and qualify leads before they make their move. So whether you're on the field or you're in business, I think it's all about execution and adjusting when you need to and certainly resilience. That's the name of the game.
So Cale, welcome. So happy to have you join me today for this conversation.
[00:02:16] Speaker B: Thank you, Anne. I'm excited to be here. I know, I know we've been going back and forth on some dates. I'm glad we finally made this happen. So I appreciate you having me and I'm excited to get going and get talking a little bit, so.
[00:02:27] Speaker A: Well, it was worth the wait to have you.
[00:02:29] Speaker B: I know, I know, right? Yeah. You apologize, Karina Cowboys fan.
[00:02:34] Speaker A: Well, no apology necessary. So. Well, other than a Cowboys fan, before we get a little tactical, tell us a little bit about yourself and your role. Absolutely. Public title.
[00:02:45] Speaker B: Absolutely. So yeah. Kale Gillis.
I've been, I just hit my seven year mark with older public.
It's been an awesome seven years and I, I, I been in majority of the seven years I've been an agency rep in Texas and I just recently Started in January, started to work in the central title division, all 20, I guess 26 states as a sales specialist, working with all the different sales teams, come up with different strategies and we're super excited, kind of just getting that off the ground and really excited to build a community across all the different sales managers and state managers and figure out what's going on to different markets. And we're really looking forward to that. So that's my current role, but my past role, I mean I'm still heavily involved in Texas and I still deal with the Texas reps, Texas agencies, awesome folks and I enjoy working with all them. And it's been a blast kind of starting this new role and understanding the different states and that's what I've been excited about is just dabbling in the different states has been very eye opening.
[00:03:50] Speaker A: To me learning new teams. Well, I have no doubt that you'll be great at it and that you'll be extremely successful. So thanks, thanks for sharing that a little bit about yourself.
So I think a good place to start is with some fundamentals.
I guess in football scouting is really everything.
Teams spend months evaluating players before the draft. So in sales I think prospecting is our version of that.
[00:04:17] Speaker B: So it is. I think you're right. Fundamentals and scouting is, I mean back when you, I mean when a NFL scout's going to recruit somebody, they're actively researching, they're looking at their backgrounds, they're Google and them see if they have any issues. And I think that has to go a lot into your prospect. I mean you have to take the time and sit up and time blocking from whenever I was actively prospecting, you have to set time aside. You can't just say hey, I'll get to prospecting whenever my schedule allows. If you're putting out fires all day, oh, I'll get to prospecting and doing my research here. At the end of the day if you do that, you'll never get around.
I think if you actively set time on your calendar, if that's an hour a day, if that's four hours on a Friday or Monday, whatever that might be, whatever works best for you. I think it's very important to set that time aside to do that and don't let anything else kind of come into that, that time block for you.
But actively researching I think is one of the biggest things. And understanding the marketplace, I mean you reps in your marketplace, you know when new agents come into the marketplace or someone might leave and go to another market or another agency and I think communicating with those peers of yours is one of the best prospecting tools you have, asking your loyal agents, hey, who are the good big players in the marketplace? They'll tell you if they're open to you. And I think that takes trust and it takes account. Like it just, it builds the trust with your existing agencies that cannot open the door to new prospects.
But research is the biggest thing. It's diving into it. This, this Google and Internet is a scary thing, especially with AI blowing up. And it's, it's one of those things, but it's a thing that prospecting, anybody needs to use that tool because they'll pull up the new people in the marketplace and how you, how you go about that finding out prior to your initial reach out.
It's about your peers and it's about people around you talking in the marketplace place.
[00:06:20] Speaker A: Yeah. You know, and I think even with the technology and new ways for us to do that research and identify and qualify prospects, the basics are still the same. As you said, you've got to set the time aside, you've got to do your homework, you've got to ask the right questions, all of those things.
So, you know, what are some common missteps that you see in prospecting and how can somebody, you know, kind of course correct?
[00:06:49] Speaker B: Yeah, absolutely. I think, I think one of the biggest mistakes I see is I, I feel like people always want to take everybody in. They're like, oh, that I want to get every agent you can get and just blow on down the road shooting out of your hip. And I think that that's one mistake that I, I have done in the past where I'm like, I want to go get this sign this agent no matter what. And it, it's a lot more to it. I mean, we got to qualify them for them to be a good or agent, want them to be a, you know, obviously a good remitting agent, someone to be loyal to us, things like that.
[00:07:19] Speaker A: Yeah, yeah.
You know, to go back to our football comparison, we know that coaches rely on game footage to go about refining their strategy. So what kind of data or past interactions can a salesperson rely on to adjust their approach when they're reaching out to a new prospect? Any thoughts on that?
[00:07:45] Speaker B: Absolutely. I mean, I mean, I know every state's different when it comes to data that's kind of pushed out there.
And I know for the most part you can tell who has the majority of the market share in a particular area. And there's some state insurance websites that like put the past year's premium, at least that's how it was in the Southwest, where they'll have an agent. How much premium they wrote on XYZ underwriter? All the way down.
So whenever you're doing that prospecting approach, and I've always referred back to that, to see, you know, if. If it does make sense to reach out to somebody that has five underwriters and only remits 5,000amonth, does that make sense? Probably not.
So I think. I think data that pushed that. Yeah. Yeah. And I think each state's different. I know how. How they pull the data or when the data gets pushed off. But you definitely got to rely on logically thinking, does it make sense to reach out to a prospect whenever a prospect has that many underwriters, good information.
[00:08:46] Speaker A: So now that we've talked a little bit about fundamentals, I think let's move on to the next logical step, which I think is building relationships, earning trust.
In football, the quarterback and the receiver need to develop that trust or that chemistry, and it doesn't happen overnight. What advice would you give to somebody that's trying to build rapport with a potential client, particularly during those early conversations when they're trying to get to know each other?
[00:09:16] Speaker B: Absolutely. I think. I think building the trust and finding that common ground with that process, obviously it's getting that initial meeting is probably one of the hardest things. But once you do get that, how do you build that trust throughout the. The whole report. And Steve Mercer, that runs the Southwest for agency, as always, I don't know where he got this quote, but. But treat. Treat your customers like prospects and your prospects like customers. And that's. And I don't know where he got that. So I'm. I'm quoting Steve, but he might have got it from somebody else.
[00:09:45] Speaker A: Shout out to Steve, for sure.
[00:09:48] Speaker B: But it's one thing that whenever you are prospecting an agent, treat them like a customer. I mean, because whenever you're building that rapport, you're talking, you're finding where their needs are as a whole. I mean, there might be something. One of our tools. We have thousands of tools. We have thousands of different things, but. And that's not the goal when you're prospecting, is to go pitch every tool you have. And I think we all know that it's about understanding and meeting them where they need to be.
And I have an example of an agent that I was calling on for two years, built a good relationship with, and it was one of those deals where it was consistency. It was about going in and trying to find time to meet with them all the time. He very much respected that.
And then conversation got brought up about, oh, workflow and things like that. And we, we kind of decided as a team to provide.
Provide them with a business process analysis without even being a customer. And that's something that we only do for customers for the most part. We took the time out of our day to go spend all day with them, kind of go over their work workflow, which Brendan Nelson does phenomenal at.
And.
And we won him over just because of that. Just by. He was like, you really take the time out of your day to come, put this effort in and make my business better, even though you're not an agent of mine. I said, absolutely, we want the best for you. And he saw that. Loyalty.
[00:11:04] Speaker A: Yeah. That really speaks to, I think the fact that not every prospect or lead is going to be ready to convert right away. And that was an incredible strategy. Any other ideas on how you know or. Or that you share with your sales team and how can they stay top of mind with a prospect who might still be on the fence? What kind of things can you do?
[00:11:27] Speaker B: Absolutely. I think, I think I recently for loan applications, for instance, say if I had to get a new home.
These lenders are calling you nonstop. I mean, it's one. It's kind of almost to the point of being annoying.
[00:11:42] Speaker A: No one wants to be lose my number.
[00:11:44] Speaker B: Yeah, yeah, yeah. And I'm not trying to say that's it's totally different sell than what we're doing, but I think one thing being persistent is being on top of mind but not being too needy and too.
[00:11:55] Speaker A: Yeah, it's a balance.
[00:11:57] Speaker B: It's a balance. And I think one of the conversations that I've had with people, obviously loyalty is one of the best things. Any prospect that's a loyalty is one thing that I acknowledge.
I'm loyal to XYZ underwriter. I said, that's awesome. I love that you're doing like loyalty is one of the best things ever.
And it's about meeting them where they need. And if you find that out and they say, hey, can I reach back out in two months, three months, whatever that might be, get that time. I mean, give them that space and that's completely okay. And I think, I mean, some agents take six months to sign. Some take agents takes two years to sign.
And it's always about understanding, hey, can I reach back out? And having them commit and allowing you to reach back out whenever that time comes.
So.
[00:12:43] Speaker A: Well, you know, I think that's so, that's so interesting and it's so true that, you know, there's a, that that balance is so important.
But I think, you know, the objections oftentimes that we have to overcome, you know, like football players don't quit after they have a tough loss, as we both know.
They regroup and they adjust. So, you know, how would you suggest somebody. And it doesn't even have to be, you know, our audience is broad. We have realtors, lenders, other people that are in the industry that are always struggling, I think, with sales strategies.
How do you handle rejection or prospects who just initially say, no, I'm set, I'm happy where I am. What, what kind of things can you share that could help that?
[00:13:33] Speaker B: I think I, I've always kind of lived my life.
I'm confident in the way I approach things, and I've, I've. I've been turned down before in my life, and it's in a good way. I think getting turned down and I think confidence in how you bounce back and, and no offense to any of the agencies or anything like that, but if I get turned down by a business owner, it hurts a lot more than my wife gets mad at me for not taking out the trash, I'll say that much right now. I mean, so what I'm saying is these, these agencies, these business owners that are pushing back, that's. That's their business. And you don't. Can't take anything personal. If you take things personal in this career, in this, in this job, especially in sales, you'll just be beat up, beat down. And I think confidence, looking yourself in the mirror, saying, hey, you know, that. That's just one person.
I mean, people get their feelings hurt. I've been having my feelings hurt, but it's about, hey, looking yourself in the eye, how do you bounce back? And me, football, great example. I mean, getting knocked down, getting hurt, getting your tail whipped on a. Consistent on a whole game, that person has your, has your number. What are you going to do? You going to quit for football for the rest of the season? No, you're going to get back up.
[00:14:45] Speaker A: You got to call an audible, right?
[00:14:46] Speaker B: Yeah, you got to call an audible. You got to figure it out. So I think that's the biggest thing is, Is for me is, first off, who cares? What if people turned you down? No one's gonna hurt people. Hurt my feelings, but it's not gonna rub me the wrong way. And I'm still go to work and I'm still wake up for my family and keep them moving down the road. So I think that's how I've managed get turned down when it comes to prospecting.
[00:15:10] Speaker A: Yeah, we have to wear a helmet sometimes. There's no question about it.
Yeah, protective gear. Exactly. But let's talk about how we have to pivot sometimes, just like in football, you know, the quarterback might have to call an audible sometimes, you know, things come up or objections change and we have to shift quickly. What do you have to say about how, how do you go about shifting or what kinds of things would you suggest somebody does when, immediately, when they might get a little blindsided even and have to shift, shift a little bit?
[00:15:43] Speaker B: I think, I think it's, it's a team effort, as you know. I mean, shifting and audible. And I think if an agency does come to you and throws a big curveball at you, I mean, don't freak out. I mean, we got a team behind us that has the most experience. I mean, I've been in the industry for seven years, four years of college. But you have a team behind you. You don't need to freak out. Regroup, audible, take that time out, figure out as a team what, how can you approach it. And I think that's the biggest thing, how I've always utilized it, a little.
[00:16:16] Speaker A: Huddle now and then is I think.
[00:16:17] Speaker B: There'S nothing wrong with that, like take a break and it's okay, in my opinion, to tell that person and prospect, hey, let me, let me regroup. I don't, I don't, Let me get back to you on that comment. And I, and I think that's, that is okay.
You don't need to, you don't need to delay your response. If it is email for, you know, a week, whatever it might be, respond to them, answer that phone call, whatever might be, say, let me get back to you on this. This because I, I need to put a little more thought into it. No one needs to shoot off the side of their hip to try to appease an objection.
[00:16:53] Speaker A: Well, and sometimes we, you know, we, we feel like we have to come up with an answer, but the best answer might be, let me give this some thought and get back to you. That, that's absolutely great advice. Great advice. Yeah. All right, so let's talk about crunch time.
Do you have a two minute drill strategy when you only have a short window to make an impression?
[00:17:14] Speaker B: Absolutely. I mean, I think it's about being kind to people. I mean, you got to make a first impression. You got to figure out where the pain point is.
But this, this, everybody, this isn't about title policy. I mean, obviously our goal is to get title policy. That's our, that's our number one goal. But it's about building relations, finding the inner person within, behind that title policy. Because people.
Another quote that I've heard from Mr. Mercer, which, I'm quoting Mr. Mercer every once in a while, but they don't care how much you know until they know how much you care what you. Yeah, and I don't know who you got that quote either, but he told me that. And I think it's, it's the truth and it's one of those deals where. Yeah, yeah, without a doubt, care. Care about their per. Care about them, care about their business. Because in the, in the, at the end of the day, that's their business. How can you show you about their family, about their work, about their business as a whole?
[00:18:07] Speaker A: Yeah, yeah, I think that's a, that's a big part of, to go back to even what we were talking about earlier, building trust or developing a chemistry that is certainly, I think, one way to win the game and win the deals.
No question about it.
So let's talk a little bit about preparation.
What steps can our listeners take specifically to ensure that their prospecting process runs smoothly or effectively?
Any thoughts on that? No, no.
[00:18:44] Speaker B: And I think it goes back to the time blocking being persistence and what I did as a whole. I kept a spreadsheet about how many times I've reached out to somebod and if it's, you know, every, especially on the, the initial reach out, you know, it might be a email followed up by a phone call very quickly, and then you take that two weeks to kind of let them cool off and follow back up. And, and it's about being persistent for, for that, you know, six, seven, eight weeks, whatever it might be, and then taking a break and then coming back. But as you think about how you're prospecting, taking the time.
But if it's every two weeks, you're reaching out to that initial person to try to set up that appointment, make it every two weeks until they might reach back out or tell you to stop reaching out to them.
So I think it's about being persistent in your efforts.
[00:19:33] Speaker A: You know, I have to say I think that's a great bottom line is, you know, preparation and consistent. But I want to give you the opportunity, any bottom line that you'd like to share with us other than what you've already shared to our audience.
[00:19:52] Speaker B: You know, you get knocked back.
No, keep on getting back up. I mean, I think that's the biggest thing in prospecting.
[00:19:58] Speaker A: Keep on getting back up.
[00:20:00] Speaker B: Keep on getting back up and keep on going after it. Because I think building those relationships should be your biggest goal. You want to go out there and understand that particular person's background, how they're doing business, take care, and how they're doing things.
That's kind of the bottom line for me is being persistent.
[00:20:16] Speaker A: I love that bottom line. Just keep getting back up.
[00:20:19] Speaker B: That is going after.
[00:20:22] Speaker A: Excellent. Excellent.
Well, Kael, this was really fun to have this conversation with you. It's always good to talk to you.
So thank you very much for spending some time with me today. And to our audience, thank you all for joining us. And until we meet again, let's all continue to learn, grow, and prosper. And some of you may want to root for the Dallas Cowboys, and others may want to root for the New England Patriots. So we'll leave that to.
To our audience to decide.
All right.
[00:20:55] Speaker B: Hey, thank you. Thank you so much. Thanks, everybody. I appreciate you. And great.
[00:21:00] Speaker A: All right, thanks. Have a good one.
