The Gangster Agent

May 28, 2024 | Announcements

Greg Gaines

The Gangster Agent

Stepping outside of the lines

Here’s to the crazy ones. The misfits. The rebels. The troublemakers.

The round pegs in the square holes.

The ones who see things differently. They’re not fond of rules.

And they have no respect for the status quo.

You can quote them, disagree with them, glorify or vilify them.

About the only thing you can’t do is ignore them.

Because they change things.

They push the human race forward.

And while some may see them as the crazy ones, we see genius.

Because the people who are crazy enough

to think they can change the world

are the ones who do!

~Steve Jobs

(Apple’s Think Different Commercial)

The Gangster in this story, who shall be fondly called the Gangsta going forward, didn’t break any laws, but they broke the rules.

Before launching my coaching business, I was an FSA (Field sales associate) for State Farm for several years. I was successful. My gift was and still is, making the complex simple.

That gift got me an invitation to speak at the Florida Chairman’s Circle Study group. I presented in their Team Member breakout sessions during their big annual meeting. First for Mutual Funds and then for Life Insurance.

Either I did pretty well, or they lost their minds. They invited me to become a full member, which was a big deal! Florida had the #1 FSA team in the country, yet the CCSG invited the 3rd grader to the party. It was there I met the Gangsta.

Despite what you may think of me, I’m an introvert. I’m nice at the end of any meeting, but I usually don’t hang around. I grab my stuff and leave. That’s when the Gangsta stepped in from the background and made her move.

Meet Agent Gretchen Robertson

Okeechobee, FL.

Don’t let the smile fool you; she surprised me.

I want to get you in front of my team.

Can you come to my agency?

It was a great compliment, but it was also a problem. She’s more than 3 hours away and, worst of all, in the territory of one of my teammates, who was a very capable FSA in their own right. I didn’t want to step on any toes.

Gretchen, I’m flattered, but don’t think I can do that. You’re 3 ½ hours away from me and in (the other FSA’s) territory.

I’ll pay you!

It was as if I threw water at the sun; my words evaporated on contact.

Thank you, but I’m sure it’s against the rules.

The only time I’m even remotely close to you is when I visit my family in West Palm Beach at the end of the year.

When you come down to visit your family,

if you come by, I’ll shut the office down,

and you can spend time with my team.

And I’ll PAY YOU!

The Gangsta wore me down, starting a relationship that continues today. At the end of every year, on my own time, I would go down and spend 3+ hours with her and the team she loves so much.

Gretchen was thrilled and would invite everyone into the meeting — her, the sales team, the customer service team, which included the receptionist. She didn’t stop there; she also invited the lawn man, the postal worker, the flower lady, the entire School Board , and the Mayor—EVERYBODY!!

I didn’t know it, but she wasn’t interested in me connecting with the team alone; she cleared her calendar and sat in the front row. During my presentation, I would look over and see Gretchen writing as many or more notes as the team. She was fully engaged.

Her team sends some of the most prolific takeaway emails. They’re not just repeating what I said; they’re saying what it meant to them and how they can implement what they learned.

Why were you so insistent

about getting me in front of your team?

After seeing you in the meeting,

and talking with you, it felt like home to me.

You did a presentation,

and I thought, this is how I would do things.

It wasn’t a crazy sales process

with word tracks that would turn me off as a customer.

You’re selling with a servant’s heart,

and I’m on board with what you’re saying.

Once I left the company and launched my coaching business, Gretchen returned and upped the ante. For two years, she asked me about monthly coaching. But I couldn’t figure out how to overcome the distance or my calendar, so we kept the same format of meeting once a year.

Sometimes, what you can’t fix, someone or something else can. The solution showed up, like most – disguised as a problem.

COVID-19 shut down my traveling and threatened to shut down my business as well. It forced me (kicking and screaming) into something I didn’t want or believe would work—virtual coaching.

If I count the years I worked for the company, Gretchen and I have been together for nearly 10 years. Some people couldn’t pay attention that long, but she and her team are still showing up to listen to me run my mouth every month!

Your message is consistent.

The most important thing

is the mind reset every month.

I never know what it will be,

but I don’t have to prepare for that day.

It’s been the best business decision of my agency,

and I love it so much.

Gretchen found something that matched her heart, and it’s been paying dividends!

Monthly Coaching since 2020

Qualified for Exotic for 4 straight years with no plans to slow down.

2023: $199,000 in premium credits.

That’s impressive for any team, but it becomes amazing once you consider where she’s getting it done: the HUGE metropolis of Okeechobee!

Partners in crime!

I tease Gretchen about being the Gangsta, but it isn’t true.

She saw something she wanted for her team, had the courage to step forward, and wouldn’t let go until she got it.

After all these years, the truth is finally out.

It wasn’t Gretchen; I was the rule breaker! I guess that makes me the Gangsta who colored outside the lines.

There are only a handful of agents that I can call & catch to ask or talk about anything. Gretchen is one of them. I’ve learned from her along the way too, and I’m grateful. The Gangsta ride continues.