[Music]
I’m excited about what y’all gonna do
here at both if I had a theme today
about what I wanted to talk to you about
it would be how to build a team now
first let’s think about what is a team a
team is one it’s a oneness if everybody
has one heartbeat everybody on the same
page now the first step to building a
team you can is you got to lead with
your heart well what is leading with
your heart leading with your heart is
following your instincts following your
gut not your head that’s the reason I
think it’s almost impossible for smart
people to win because they’re always
figuring out the perfect time the
perfect play don’t mess up don’t fail
and they miss the moment let me give you
another unwritten law
I don’t know anybody that’s ever made
straight A’s
that’s ever done anything they see
you’ve got to call the play you’ve got
to call the play you don’t worry about
screwing up you don’t worry about you
don’t worry about messing up you call
the dadgum play you don’t remember by
football analogy if you’ve got two teams
out there Friday night a pretty equal
ability about a 120 plays in a football
game you know and and and at the end of
the game the team that wins there’s four
or five plays that determine who’s going
to win 98 percent of the plays you call
don’t work like they supposed to but you
know you know the team that wins are the
players that they believe that next play
is going to be one of those four or five
plays a hundred and twenty plays the
game they give it every dead gum thing
they got you got to call the dadgum
place
you got a lead with your heart to build
a team leading with your heart is
following your instincts following your
gut not your head having the courage to
call a play if it fails and it probably
will you call a play you call another
dadgum play leading with your heart
there’s believing in you leading with
your heart is leaving in your principles
that’s believing in your system it’s
bleeding in your people it’s believing
in your team see I was trained as a
football coach before al Williams to
call a play in 25 seconds
some people said ours you call too many
plays hard
you call plays too fast are you always
kept chains in two plays spite of me al
Williams built the largest most powerful
sales force in the history of our
industry in fact you know what in fact
you know what we were so big that want
anybody to even came in a close second
let me give you another unwritten law
long you lead with your heart you follow
your instincts you follow your good not
your head you know what you know how
important I believe praise and
recognition is it’s just everything
that’s all what a wonderful job y’all do
with plays and recognition now see
everybody needs praise
everybody needs recognition if you’re
going to build a great team you’ve got
to become an expert on praise and
recognition where’s timing Pam Melton
they’re here somewhere you know it takes
a lot of special people to build a
championship team when we started really
growing at a oeus you know I’d call an
emergency meeting maybe this is Monday
and maybe on Friday and I’d want to do a
hundred t-shirts and all these people
that did our t-shirts and our trophies
they wanted six weeks to get the job
done all this kind of crap you don’t el
Williams you had to operate like right
now
like yesterday and so we I went out to
Snellville Georgia and I found Tommy and
Pam Melton and I said we well I want you
guys to start a company I’m gonna help
you finance it and I want you to be
ready to give us those t-shirts and give
us those trophies and they were just
magnificent and I think they’re here
today and done a lot of this kind of
stuff and y’all ought to use them
because they get it done and they get it
done on time
you know Boca Boca is an unbelievably
special place for all of us say or
William’s people it was here in Boca in
1984 that we celebrated our first
national championship right over there
by the swimming pool in that old meeting
room we drop balloons from the ceilings
with hundred dollars in it you know just
like they did the Republican and
Democratic conventions this year we gave
dozens of Rolex watches out with 1984
national champions on the face of the
watch we had the NSPS dress up in
football uniform so why is dress up as
cheerleaders and we celebrated a
historic victory
but but you know what the life insurance
industry said we didn’t even know we had
a national championship
but but you know what they knew it in
1984 they knew it after we got through
in Boca Hale Williams brought a
different kind of competition of this
industry we started a dadgum war hail
William sent here as we left vocal we
dare you Prudential we dare you New York
life to see if you can take it back
we don’t think you’re good enough we
don’t think you’re tough enough there
would be number one again and you know
what you know what
ar we have won seven straight national
championship to build the build of
national championship team you’ve got to
build with people that can still dream
they can still believe they can still
hope that are still willing to compete
see most people in our country today and
just back then to that have been so beat
up so put down that they’ve just given
up on their dream let me talk to you a
minute about those original 85 people
all those were original 85 people that
founded this company were all coaches or
they had played on a team and al
Williams turned life insurance into a
game see see al Williams didn’t know
anything about business we didn’t have
any MBAs we didn’t have any professional
salespeople we didn’t understand
business plans we didn’t understand
budgets but those early AR Williams
pioneers they understood putting on a
putting on a termite uniform they
understood hitting anything in the wrong
color jersey those early al Williams
people understood what it was like to
get screwed but they also understood
what it was like to get even we were a
team we were together we cared about
each other that al Williams we created a
bubble that was so positive it was
unbelievable we were together we were in
that foxhole together
we were going to fight for you we were
going to protect you there was a special
kind of spirit in AoE Williams we didn’t
just like it we loved it we believed to
win you had to have what I call that
Friday night feeling you had that you
had to be so excited you were just not
to miss any pants see people won’t
follow or believe in a negative dull
disillusioned dadgum crybaby see we
believe that everybody wanted to be
somebody everybody has ever been born on
this earth they want to be somebody and
we believed as a leader in leading your
team it was your responsibility no
matter how hurt these people were to
reach inside of them to grab their heart
to help them believe in them again to
believe that there’s somebody special
again to believe that we’ll put on this
earth to do something important again to
build a great team it begins with you
the leader you’ve got to become a magnet
where people are drawn to you like bees
and a honey bees to honey the most asked
question I get even today in a Oh Ian’s
we sell the coach book up at this little
in his spawn house North Carolina that
in July on and the most asked question I
get today you know 22 years after I
retired it’s hard how did you do it how
did those 85 people do it
Heidi Dale Williams grow from a peanut
of 85 people in one city in one state to
an army of 225,000 people in every city
in every state in Canada well what if
you Bob yusan give up his hundred
thousand dollar income to go to a new
company where the odds were 99% that we
were gonna fail and they ask me all the
time why did Bill dorinda pick up his
family and go to Dallas Texas
didn’t have a pot to pee in hey I’m
Ronnie Ronnie Barnes go to Chattanooga
Tennessee
rusty Crossland go to Denver Colorado
and the president of the company stood
on the first couple of years and said
the odds are about like is the bus or by
I don’t mean being Prudential I don’t
mean changing an industry
I’m talking about the odds are about
like this surviving my all-time favorite
clewd is by Winston Churchill there
comes a special moment in everyone’s
life a moment for which that person was
born that special opportunity when he
seizes it will fulfill his mission a
mission for which he is uniquely
qualified in that moment he finds
greatness it is his finest hour those
originally oh we have thought that this
was our moment that this was our time
these people wanted to do something big
they wanted to do something important
they wanted to leave their mark they
wanted to be somebody but let me ask you
this where could people like us go look
at me where could people like us go yes
we knew was it possible yes we knew the
odds were 99% against us surviving but
where could people like me go where were
some company begin me a chance all we
wanted al Williams was a chance and we
really believed if we had a chance if
somebody would take a chance on us we
really believed we were different we
believed we were special
we believed that one day we would change
the thinking of the largest industry in
the world we believed that one day we
would destroy trash value we believe
that one day our leaders would become
among the most successful in American
business we believe that one day we
would take our people to all the great
places of the world those original Leia
Williams people were big dreamers they
were big thinkers they were big doers
they let me tell you about big big is
Larry Waddell taking his wife and two
boys picking him up in Atlanta Georgia
and moving to Greensboro North Carolina
didn’t have any money didn’t have any
financial security
his ninth month is an RVP his base shop
was doing $100,000
but during those nine months he had
produced the first generation our VP
named Joe Covington that when Larry
Weddell database that month of $90,000
Joe Covington did $60,000 ultimately
layer Waddell food produced a hundred
first generation our VPS that’s big
biggest bob Beus on building a team all
over the United States and Canada of
over 900 our VPS biggest Mike sharp
building a team that produces over four
million dollars a month in premium big
it’s Greg Fitzpatrick when we’re moving
into Canada I’ve become a taking an AO
Williams but being an al Williams leader
that goes into Canada helped us open up
Canada we can only pay those original
people four and a half percent didn’t
even cover his expenses but he went up
there for one year one week every month
losing money but willing to build a team
want to help us tinier new territory
today he asked 50 are VPS in Canada big
is Kip
Ridley for one year running a $200,000
base shop and that very same year
producing four generation for first
generation our VPS the big is dick
Walker becoming an NSD by producing ten
first generation our VPS that do $20,000
each in one month
big is john roarke and Nicolay’s
building a team is always in the top 100
nao williams
fantastic examples of saving your money
and and becoming financially Penn’s a
became financially independent they
could retire do anything they wanted to
but 35 years later they’re still in this
company you know while they’re still
running a base shop while they still
have to help in there are VPS produced
are VPS and build teams to build
financial independence because they love
them because they love being part of a
team big to me is starting with nothing
but a dream starting with nothing but a
dream but just being part of
a group of people this you can count on
that you love going to war with and one
day that team kicking Prudential but to
build a big team you got to have a
crusade and what a crusade you’ll have
today you’ve got to have a crusade you
got to have a cause to fight for it ayo
Williams we were Crusaders first coach
Lombardi says you capture the person’s
heart you capture the man you know folks
it’s not about the money first it’s not
about the money first it’s so so so much
bigger than that honestly folks I never
thought I was capable of making big
money
I never thought somebody like me could
make big money I never expected that I
never sold a new recruit never in 20
years the money first
I always thought though cash value is
evil I thought it was criminal what that
Gulf life agent did to me an angel with
two children selling us a $15,000 whole
life policy when he could have given us
$100,000 term policy I couldn’t believe
what the big insurance companies did to
the families in America
Prudential average size policy with
$4,000 it was our passion sound that
made us different
it was our passion that gave us a chance
there’s got to be the crusade first not
the money al Williams stood for
something al Williams stood for some can
you imagine this little peanut becoming
such a dominant company in this industry
that when you mentioned the word AoE and
people thought it meant something it
meant something out it was not just
another company they are william stood
for something in this industry when you
mention al Williams those 250,000 ages
those 2,000 companies they immediately
felt fear they are merely felt
intimidation they didn’t know where they
didn’t know when but they knew we were
out they
they knew that someday somewhere if they
sold a trash value policy al Williams go
show up it was going to get ugly it was
gonna get ugly we didn’t want to destroy
the copper we didn’t want to cook we
didn’t we didn’t want to be nice
we wanted to straw those Joker’s put
that towel down John let me tell you
something the harder they fall
honestly my the harder they fall and
they were so stupid they should have
been nice they should have just gave up
and you said but the harder they fall
but next year they were the more they
tried to clear us out of business the
more we loved it the more we love see we
did we didn’t look hey hey hey
we didn’t like you today a William we
didn’t like your day a William we did a
lot we loved it we didn’t like the fight
we loved it
we didn’t like the controversy we
thrived on the controversy in 1976 ten
years after I’d left coaching I was in
corporate America with ITT and what
Ellen read and I think the final thing
that happened to me that made me wanted
to start a Oh Williams is I was an RVP
with what Ellen read over the five
southeastern space I had 650 people
licensed on my team in 1960 76 I had 19
people that were ready to be promoted
that had earned the right to be promoted
and what Ellen Reed came out with their
1977 budgets and they gave my
southeastern region two new offices to
open the number one reason were 13
reasons and Waddell and Reed
I read and produced more than all the
next 12 combined and they they allowed
me to open two new offices and 17 people
that had earned the right to be promoted
had to wait another year another 12
months and I couldn’t stand it I wanted
to be part of a company with no limits
I wanted to be part of a company that
would give you unlimited territory you
could go anywhere no protected territory
I wanted to be part of a company that
would give you an unlimited market there
were millions and millions and millions
of people out there that had trash value
policy that needed to be replaced there
were 250,000 life insurance agents that
were selling hundreds of thousands of
policies every year increasing Meyer our
market I want to be part of a company
that had unlimited money that never
asked you to slow down I want to be part
of a company that would give you a
chance to make unlimited promotions that
you promoted the individual when they
were ready but where you could where you
could build it as big as you want and
you could keep getting bigger never
holding anybody back I want to be part
of a company that had unlimited support
think about this
think about this it took us 12 years to
get our own home office y’all are moving
into an on your own home office a time
and another cut in another couple of
months it took us 12 years 10 with ITT
and Waddell and Reed in two and our
first two years today a weeks before we
could get a company to build our own
home office we were a free
we were unique we were different and we
had to we couldn’t fit in with other
companies out there a OEMs finally had
everything in place with no limits now
we had no limits and in February 10 1977
we had to decide how are we going to
grow Leia lives here we were a little
peanut 85 people in one city in one
state how will we go on build this on
you have 225,000 people in every city in
every stage we decided we were going to
do it like McDonald’s did it by opening
new stores let me give you another
unwritten law great companies always
grow McDonald’s was founded in 1984 in
California the first 17 years they
opened 700 stores in 1983 they are
opening three stores a day in 2012 they
had 33,000 stores all over the world to
grow prime America’s gotta open new
stores I had lunch this past year a few
months ago with Truitt khaki the founder
of chick-fil-a he founded chick-fil-a in
Atlanta Georgia in the night early 1960s
for 10 years he only had one store today
he has 1,400 stores and he’s worth four
billion dollars we decided today our
wings that we were going to expand by
the magic of multiplication let me give
you this example of addition versus
multiplication let’s say you are the
only RVP Sheryl on your team that
produces our VPS
you got and produce three are VPS then
you do that ten times that tenth
generation our VP will give you a total
of thirty but but if you’re giving other
people a chance to build a team to have
the same unlimited opportunity you have
you go bill three Cheryl and you help
them bill three you go bill 3 help them
build a team of three and you do that
times ten through ten generations you
would have fifty nine thousand our VPS
that’s thirty versus fifty nine thousand
if those organizations did ten thousand
dollars in premium a month by addition
you would produce three hundred thousand
dollars a month in premium but if you
did it by multiplication would be five
hundred and ninety million dollars a
month in premium that’s magic ain’t that
magic in 1977 the original layer
Williams planned for growth and
expansion was for you to become an RVP
you to produce seven to ten our VPS and
you helped your our VPS build a team of
seven to ten our VPS
let’s look at the magic of
multiplication again you produce seven
but you’re the only person that produces
our VPS so you do that through three
generations that gives you 21
a team of 21 but if you give your people
the same unlimited opportunity you have
you produce seven and then they go out
and produce seven you do that through
three generations that’s three hundred
and forty three are VPS so addition is
twenty one they do ten thousand dollars
a month that’s two hundred ten thousand
dollars a month but if you build a team
of 343 they do ten thousand that’s three
point four million dollars a month
that’s naggy you want to know how al
Williams built an army you know to know
hey we have spread out all over the
United States have an office in every
city and every town even Cairo Georgia
had an al Williams office we did it by
multiplication and you see I believe the
only way to build successful our VPS is
to build strong base
jobs you know for some reason some of
you new people think AO Williams we
didn’t have strong based shots you’ve
got little bitty based shops today
compared to what our people did
it’s just pitiful when I look at some of
your numbers see see al Williams we
believe the only way to build our VP’s
was to have strong based shops see we
look at our base shops different though
we thought we we we thought our base
shots were our DP factories CIC our base
shops were supposed to produce our VPS
not sales we were not just sales
business we built people not sales CA al
Williams had high standards for its base
shops not these pit little old things
y’all Ville I was looking to Dale
Williams way in 1985 a rodea Williams
way in 1985 let me tell you what the
target was for our base shops poor job
the life insurance sales was 15 and
below a so-so job was 16 to 29 a good
job was 31 to 49 an excellent job was 50
or more the target our VP based shop
income we gave people we said to make a
good living you need to have five direct
legs to your direct leg is a team that’s
doing five to ten sales you need five of
those direct you just to make a good
living to make a great living you need
ten directs the build it big time you
need 20 direct legs al Williams believes
strong based shop produces strong our VP
Mary Walker Tom Stafford Lawrence Walker
join me on the stage please for a second
[Music]
[Applause]
[Music]
Bob Safford so you if you want to if you
want to you got a choice of building an
RVP factory where you build a huge team
of lots of our VPS where you build great
well and you can pass it on for
generations bob Safra did that my good
friend died about a year and a half ago
but what a legacy he left you right Tom
making over a million dollars a year in
that unbelievable
and we’ve dictated you remember folks in
nineteen in 1984 when we were here in
Boca ritand that was just a dream we
just hoped we were going to be good
enough to do that one day but it’s no
longer hope it’s no longer a dream it’s
for real my buddy Lafayette Walker
professor in Washington DC he wanted
more than that he wanted to build a
legacy of greatness he went out and
built a great team and he passed away
but he left at his young uns nan
Hey come in Mary didn’t choke it I can I
start crying over this one I tell you I
wish your vision I wish I wish all could
have known
Randall Walker Randall and Mary Walker
in my mind there were millions of us
today I wish we recruited me I only got
two hundred twenty five thousand license
but before you think that’s too little
think about what y’all work that down to
but but you know what
hey John’s put that towel down of all
the millions of people that came through
AoE Williams as I look back I think Mary
and Randall Walker symbolized the
goodness of a a Williams probably better
than any other clock even when even when
those assholes of Citigroup we’re trying
to run this company shut up John
Mary Walker in them even when they were
up there didn’t know what those crap
they were doing almost destroyed this
company they never believed like people
Eve they never fell for their craft
they always lived it like Al Williams
they chant doing this like the best in
the world
Randall died a few years ago wish you
could have known him he was the best but
he and Mary built something great and
they got a great little legacy if they
gonna leave something to Mandy and John
one day I love you down thank you so
when you became when you became an RVP
in al Williams you had your own business
your own company you could make a
decision which way you wanted to go and
whichever way you want to build it we
were fine with that to build a team you
got to have competition to build it big
you got to love to compete you got love
to toughness I love what coach Leahy
said bike in the 1940s up at Notre Dame
he called us running backs together and
he said running backs you’d rather die
at birth
then fumble the football at Notre Dame
that’s the way we felt at al Williams we
love to compete competition is
everything you’ve got to have a
scoreboard if you don’t have something
to play for you and your team get tired
you get bored you give up February 10
1977 when we were that little bitty
peanut we got together in Atlanta
Georgia and we said who do we want to be
and we said who’s number one who’s the
most famous company into the industry
the largest industry in the world in
1977 was the life insurance industry we
said who’s number one who’s the most
famous company out there who’d all
people think the best come in this
industry and we researched and we found
out it was Prudential and we said that’s
what we want we’re going after the best
we gonna knock their ass off so you got
to always have competition on your team
you got to always have somebody going
for number one somebody trying to be
trying to break a record somebody trying
to win a promotion somebody trying to
win a contest somebody trying to win a
t-shirt competition is everything but
then you don’t want angel’ kiss me
goodbye this morning if she said on
don’t go down and make a fool out of
yourself he said can’t you go down and
just talk like a regular human being you
know you don’t do you have to get up
there and scream and holler on your feet
no I just can’t do it to build a team to
build a team you got to be a winner you
got to be a winner to build a team you
got to prove to your people that the
opportunities for real see folks are
they old webs we didn’t believe in fake
it until you make it see al Williams we
didn’t believe you needed a big house or
a big office or big car or wearing fancy
thousand dollar suits having a Rolex
watch so you need to keep the expenses
low you can’t ever be too low with your
expenses your personal expenses and your
business expenses you got to live below
your means you got to prepare for crap
that happens
craps going to happen right what do you
people need to see you do what do your
people need to see you do to build a
championship team they need to see you
always do it first they always had
another unwritten law that if that if
one person can do it and you don’t have
any chiefs you can do it right you ought
to be that one person that can do it
first go prove to your people that it
can be done always be the best recruiter
always be the best field trainer always
be excited always be busy do you know
the best thing you can show you people
is how much money is saved folks I can’t
say the hundreds of part
time people I recruited in this business
by short on my mutual fund statement
with $42,000 that I’d say making
part-time it al Williams I can’t tell
you the hundreds of people I I recruited
in this business by showing them my plan
of financial independence to build a
championship team we wanted promotion
guidelines that were simple where
everybody could understand easily what
they had to do to get to the next
promotion we wanted new recruits to get
promotions fast that’s the way you build
momentum in your team there’s everybody
going out to a promotion everybody going
after sales leader district leader
division leader regional manager our VP
SVP NSD we wanted every new recruit to
see a clear fast path to our VP now
warning folks if you rape your people
they will find out eventually and hate
you example holding people back from our
VP promotions so you can make more money
in the pools
see was mandatory today Oh Williams that
even though you’ve got your own company
within a company it was mandatory deo
leaves and when I say mandatory that
means your ass is going to be fired if
you don’t do it it was mandatory Dale
Williams did everybody follow the
company guidelines you can never have
guidelines tougher than the company can
you believe anybody to do that kind of
crowd
I can their ass so fast you wouldn’t
believe it
as an RVP
you have the right to promote early in
fact you’re stupid if you don’t make
battlefield promotions another unwritten
law you want to purge out is that too
bad another unwritten law you want to
promote people when they have momentum
not wait until they lose momentum
warning every RTP follows the company
guidelines and let me tell you something
interesting folks I was more than a
double stood I produced nine first
generation are VPS Seven original RV
please plus Bob Stafford plus Bob Miller
a hundred percent of my first
generations made it none of them failed
they all were multi millionaires they
all build big teams all my first built
tons of our VPS that became financially
independent but you know what 20 years
later the a Oh William steam those
10,000 are VPS 225 licensed people look
like 90% of them are are VPS that we’re
doing 5,000 10,000 $15,000 based jobs
and yes you know what we even had some
our VP’s fail and you know what if you
build a big team yours is going to look
just like that see if you have a plan to
never have our VPS failed to promote
only $330,000 based shop our VPS but
you’re our VPS to earn two hundred fifty
thousand dollars a year
two bad things will happen to you your
team will always be little and number
two you would have did that you would
have you would have denied hundreds of
people literally hundreds of people the
opportunity to change their life see I
believe it Sheriff I believe it sure is
I believe it’s your responsibility as an
RV plea to push up people to build
people not sell to promote your people
yes when they get the guidelines most of
the time but sometimes early if you
arrow always arrow promoting people
early never arrow holding people back
what was though what was what was the AO
Williams dream I’m almost through now
maybe y’all hang in here how long I’ve
been going oh the dream let me tell you
what the dream was to me I founded this
thing let me just tell you the way I
thought you know because when I founded
a of Williams and I recruited my first
guy Bob you sign that was in 1972 I
started 1967 so I’d already been in this
crap for five or six years right and so
let me tell you what the dream was to me
I had a great life I loved coaching
football I love that that was all I want
to do as a youngster was be a coach and
the dream to be and going in business
and becoming an RVP is I want to be my
own boss I don’t I just and most people
feel the same way all the people in this
room feel the same way the millions and
millions and millions millions of people
out there in America and Canada feel the
same way but I want to be my own boss I
want to be totally financially
independent but that was an obsession
with me and all 85 of those other people
I want to be in this position John where
nobody could put their thumb on me you
know how wonderful it has wrecked yeah I
told John Addison I love old John he’s
got he’s got a heart he leads with his
heart but a John asked me to speak today
and first they I said what time you want
me to speak my first call me is that
well you should start off at 8:30 I said
I don’t I don’t do that no more
I said I don’t even know what an alarm
clock is I said I get up when I want to
get up and I said 95 is packed with
people you know getting to work from
6:00 to 8:00 like Atlanta Georgia I hate
Atlanta Georgia you know I can’t get
nowhere it’s just true right and I said
I don’t speak to 10 o’clock or 10:30 I
get up when I want to shave and shower I
have breakfast and I leisurely ride down
here listening to a Oh William songs see
I’m financially independent I don’t have
to take crap from nobody
[Applause]
see number two the reason I the dream to
me was number one being on boss number
two being totally financially
independent number three was the work
that’s something I’m passionate about
that’s what life’s all about folks I
still love this stuff you understand
that you can you imagine me doing this I
don’t have to do I can be me and norm
we’re playing golf in Dave Francis and
Bill Orenda I could be out there right
now Trump international practicing my
golf game but I’m down here talking to
you because I love it you want to be you
want to have something you’re passionate
about and then the last thing I wanted
is I’m one of the great quality of life
I didn’t want to go in business and just
have a crappy life just for the money
just to go out there and crap screw up
you’re everything I wanted to have it
all I wanted to have a great family I
wanted to enjoy my my business I want to
love my people see the dream we’re
selling it a/o Williams was not running
a base shop forever it was not being a
fanatic forever it was not
field-training greenies four and five
nights a week forever it was not being
on a on a treadmill forever that’s a
nightmare you understand that that’s a
dadgum nightmare our dream of ayo
Williams was there work hard yes be a
fanatic he is half the first few years
but work hard so you can enjoy a great
quality of life I believe in in
achieving this great quad to life you go
through four phases phase number one the
first few years you are fanatic you’re
out there working five four or five
nights a week training these greenies
then you enter phase number two when you
are still running a base shop but you’re
starting to promote our DPS and opening
new offices and then you enter phase
number three where you’re promoting mo
our VPS your our VPS are starting to
promote our DPS and now your base shop
activity becomes smaller you recruit
less people personally you end the feel
less
and then you enter phase number four
where you’re having fun you’re
travelling around talking to your people
hipping them reach that great quality of
life the key to building a successful
business is building trusting
relationships building trusting
relationships is everything this is this
is a relationship business how do you
get people to trust you how do you get
people to love you to commit to you to
be loyal to you they give you a hundred
percent to believe in you another
unwritten law you get people trust you
by you being there by you being loyal to
them by you believing in them but you
got to prove it you got to prove it let
me give you three examples Bob Miller
was the first person I recruited down
here in South Florida in Fort Lauderdale
he had gone out and replaced of coaching
friend of his cash value policy with a
term policy with air Williams that guy’s
whole like I came back and said well if
you wanted term I could say your term
and he replaced our aliens policy with
his term there was maybe three pennies a
month cheaper than our turn and I talked
Bob Bell on the phone he was a little
down and what god and I said Bob next
week I’m gonna be in Fort Lauderdale I
want you to call that coach and set up
an appointment and he said I don’t want
to do that this guy’s a friend of mine
all I wanted him to do was half turn
he’s got term now I’m happy with that
let’s just leave it alone I said no no
Bob that ain’t right I said call that
guy and I want to see Bob made an
appointment I flew down to Fort
Lauderdale Bob Miller and I went out and
we had a meeting with that guy I said
let me tell you something
that ain’t right what you did Bob Miller
your friend came in here to educated you
on by term invest the difference and
that asshole that sold you Plus John
that asshole that sold you cash bad
policy now he’s going to come back
Bob Miller educated you and he’s going
to sell you now turn palsy which that
asshole should have sold you the first
go-round you know and it just cost us
three cents a month’s keeper you gonna
do business but you got to be kidding me
you know what he changed back to their
weaves policy hey hey he never came
full-time but he was an AoE Williams
crusader for the next 20 years you got
to be there with your people when they
need you you got to prove that you’re
loyal to them that you believe in them
that you’re a stud I get up I get an
emergency call from Mississippi
Mississippi insurance department puts us
out of business headline in every major
newspaper L we had kicked out to stage I
call Bill Anderson which was our biggest
guy there the time I said bill called
emergency meeting of all the a OES
people I’m coming I didn’t run from that
I jumped on an airplane we go to a hotel
we have a meeting like this I said let
me tell you something we’re trying to
change an industry did you think it was
gonna be easy do you think those those
Joker’s were going roll over and play
dead that’s what they’re supposed to do
that’s supposed to PI they supposed to
fight dirty
they spoke to try to put us out of
business this is the way it’s supposed
to be but you know what they gonna do it
we gonna knock grass all we gonna come
back two weeks later we were back in
Mississippi that year we had the biggest
year we ever had
I get a call I get a call I get a call
one day from Ronnie Barnes Tennessee
kicks aside to finish for Oh we we go up
there and we straighten that out I get a
call from Ronnie Barnes a few weeks
later the Better Business Bureau took a
full-page ad out and the Chattanooga
Times said warning don’t do business
with ayo Williams gave an 800 number we
do to call and they tell you we’ve been
outlawed in 98 states and all that kind
of crowd
I told Ronnie Barnes I called him up I
said Ronnie go get the best lawyer you
got in Chattanooga will pay for you tell
them we’re going to sue their ass and
they backed off in 24 hours you’ve got a
revealed trusting relationships
you got to be there you got to be loyal
to your people you got to believe in
your people it ain’t good enough to talk
it you got to show it another unwritten
law before any business activity takes
place you must have a relationship first
you must have their trust first let me
give you example I never made a sale on
the first interview I understand some of
you people do that is just almost I
can’t even comprehend somebody doing
something like that you know I mean I
was just a football coach I never had
anybody really train me I sort of
trained myself you know but I said you
know I don’t want somebody to walk in my
house and put pressure on me to buy
something all this kind of crap you know
I never made a sale for 20 years on the
first interview the purpose of the first
interview is to build a relationship you
want to go in there drifts not like an
insurance agent but like a coach right
and you go in there and you’re with his
best friend and you’re building a
relationship right he’s getting to know
you and where you came from and what
your principles are and all that you’re
building a relationship and then the
second purpose of the first interview is
you pick up information
then you take it home you analyze it you
prepare plan then you go back on the
second interview and you make the sale I
don’t know any other way to do it but
that yeah it takes more time to build it
right it takes more time to build it
right but it’s worth it to build it
right the first time trusting
relationships is everything in every
part of your business before they buy a
life insurance policy they gotta trust
you before they buy an IRA they gotta
trust you before they pay $100 to join
Primerica they gotta trust you before
they take off and pay their expenses to
go to the convention they got to trust
you before they go full time they got to
trust you before they make a replacement
they got to trust you in every single
area of your business
trusting relationships is everything let
me give you an example to take back that
will help you write a letter write a
letter to your people folks for 40 right
now Jean Lillian of the North Carolina
I’ve got 220 employees both today I
still average writing at least one
letter every day last week this is an
example letter I wrote our head shell I
said dear Johannes every day I think
about how special you are
you are amazing art trusting
relationships is everything the
simplicity in the common sense of aom’s
if something I was very proud of let me
just give you four examples number one
you’ve got a bill with quality you got
to build it right the first time see we
built with four and five pointers
married got kids got a home have a job
from 27 to 55 do you make exceptions
sure you do but 90 percent of your team
better be 4 & 5 pointers build with
quality and build it right the first
time
number two the AoE and system this
simple we simplified this thing if
you’re a stud
and the better you get the more simple
you simplify things al Williams was a
warm market company we never we never
got on a cold telephone we knock never
not going to strangers home we never
made a cold call al Williams was built
on relationships still number one you
recruit a part-timer
with four or five best friends step
number two the part-timer causes best
friend and sets up an appointment step
number three you get in the field with
that new recruit within the first two or
three or four days that’s it that’s our
whole system the sales process is no
pressure you never sail on the first
interview there’s three steps the first
interview you start building a
relationship you pick up information you
then you go back and you make an
analysis you make a plan you go to step
number two you show the plan you make
the sale step number three you deliver
the policy you are recruit the guy now I
know y’all got this computer crap you
know where you can sit there in the
office and you can zap that damn thing
up and you can get it issued instantly
you get a quick paycheck but that’s a
disaster Jimmy see all this computer
crap y’all got is some good stuff but
the fundamentals of building a team
don’t ever change in any asshole
it tells you the different don’t know
what the hell they talking about
keep it simple keep it simple keep it
let me give you another unwritten law I
think it’s stupid the senior recruited
up one of those Tom Hopkins sales
training crowd it’s so stupid on so many
levels I ain’t even gonna be stupid
enough to sit here and try to explain it
to stupid people number four number four
I told John four times I told John don’t
invite me down here I said John I said
I’m going to upset some of your people
but the people upset needs to have their
ass upset I can tell you that number
four number four had high standards do
it right the first half high standard
you know you know one of the greatest
moment in an athlete’s life is to get
that leather jacket either right Larry
to get that leather jacket man that
meant something right to get that
leather jacket with that kaona that mean
you were good all the girls looked at
that just right man you were a stud you
were part of a team you were something
else you weren’t like all other students
you wear that leather jacket though you
got a responsibility right you out there
drinking and doping in and doing bad
things then people that see you with
that leather jacket they think I’m like
you
they think we you ain’t gon do it I got
this onto a a weird way I wrote this in
1985 the aom’s image a leader must look
like a winner talk like a winner act
like a winner and be a winner dress
conservatively don’t recruit people to
guide these hearings in their eyelids
and nose and and
no alcohol served in any ale Williams
meeting or convention no excessive
offices we make money in the field not
in the office
no limousine Jonah what time out is with
your kids it’s hard to believe but we
had one our VP I was speaking at a
meeting up north somewhere I wanting to
tell you who it is or where it was and
all of a sudden I’m walking into arena
and this big old long limo pulls up if
some guy steps out it’s coming to the
meeting and I put that our VP on timeout
no limousines flashy cars all that crap
on company business you live within your
means you have a good financial image if
you’re going to be a leader in our
company you got to make money save money
pay your bills be a good citizen your
community no profit for selling anything
to your people
hey hey hey have have high standards its
present of all avail wins I’ve always
tried to look dignified check out these
orange shoes I went out here today have
a good personal image don’t don’t let
money and success change you remember
where you came from always be a good
caring person have a great family life
spend time with your family take care of
your family always be positive a
personal example people respond to
things you do in the way you live more
than the things you say always have the
highest standards of honesty and
integrity be honest and be aboveboard
and everything you do let me close with
this
to be a great leader
to build great teams you’ve got to
become a great encourager another unlit
law everybody needs somebody to
encourage them always remember this
flashing sign on everybody’s chest that
you recruit on your team
this says make me feel special made me
feel important I want to be somebody
everybody needs somebody to encourage
them growing up in Cairo Georgia
I was never great at anything I was
never a great athlete just pretty good I
was never a great student just average I
never thought I could make big money I
never thought I could run a big company
in every way I was pretty average on the
outside but I was blessed to have
somebody that was a great encourager in
my life
Coach Taylor made me feel special Coach
Taylor made me feel important Coach
Taylor made me feel like as I was a kid
that one day I was going to do something
really important
Coach Taylor was my one hero in life I’m
71 years low and I remember it just
right now just like it was yesterday
sitting in that lunchroom seeing Coach
Taylor eat with those other teachers and
coaches over there or out on the
basketball court of the football field
I’d look at him I’d say man if I could
ever be good enough to be like him if I
could ever make kids feel special like
Coach Taylor makes me and my teammates
feel that’s the best thing I could ever
do with my life as a kid growing up all
I ever wanted to do was coach was to
make kids feel special all I ever wanted
to do was be like Coach Taylor
everybody needs somebody to encourage
them folks if you want to build a great
team if you want to really make a
difference with your lives if you really
want to change people’s lives go because
later I wanted more than anything in the
world somebody that knew what they were
talking about to tell me exactly what I
had to do to win in this business this
was this was my dadgum life this what
any game this was serious dadgum
business and I didn’t want some sales
trainer I didn’t wolf some motivational
speaker blow it a lot of hot air of my
butt is T I knew there’s somebody that
look like me and came from where I came
from to do it big it was gonna be ugly
it was gonna be tough it was gonna be
hard
I’m excited about what y’all gonna do
here at both if I had a theme today
about what I wanted to talk to you about
it would be how to build a team now
first let’s think about what is a team a
team is one it’s a oneness if everybody
has one heartbeat everybody on the same
page now the first step to building a
team you can is you got to lead with
your heart well what is leading with
your heart leading with your heart is
following your instincts following your
gut not your head that’s the reason I
think it’s almost impossible for smart
people to win because they’re always
figuring out the perfect time the
perfect play don’t mess up don’t fail
and they miss the moment let me give you
another unwritten law
I don’t know anybody that’s ever made
straight A’s
that’s ever done anything they see
you’ve got to call the play you’ve got
to call the play you don’t worry about
screwing up you don’t worry about you
don’t worry about messing up you call
the dadgum play you don’t remember by
football analogy if you’ve got two teams
out there Friday night a pretty equal
ability about a 120 plays in a football
game you know and and and at the end of
the game the team that wins there’s four
or five plays that determine who’s going
to win 98 percent of the plays you call
don’t work like they supposed to but you
know you know the team that wins are the
players that they believe that next play
is going to be one of those four or five
plays a hundred and twenty plays the
game they give it every dead gum thing
they got you got to call the dadgum
place
you got a lead with your heart to build
a team leading with your heart is
following your instincts following your
gut not your head having the courage to
call a play if it fails and it probably
will you call a play you call another
dadgum play leading with your heart
there’s believing in you leading with
your heart is leaving in your principles
that’s believing in your system it’s
bleeding in your people it’s believing
in your team see I was trained as a
football coach before al Williams to
call a play in 25 seconds
some people said ours you call too many
plays hard
you call plays too fast are you always
kept chains in two plays spite of me al
Williams built the largest most powerful
sales force in the history of our
industry in fact you know what in fact
you know what we were so big that want
anybody to even came in a close second
let me give you another unwritten law
long you lead with your heart you follow
your instincts you follow your good not
your head you know what you know how
important I believe praise and
recognition is it’s just everything
that’s all what a wonderful job y’all do
with plays and recognition now see
everybody needs praise
everybody needs recognition if you’re
going to build a great team you’ve got
to become an expert on praise and
recognition where’s timing Pam Melton
they’re here somewhere you know it takes
a lot of special people to build a
championship team when we started really
growing at a oeus you know I’d call an
emergency meeting maybe this is Monday
and maybe on Friday and I’d want to do a
hundred t-shirts and all these people
that did our t-shirts and our trophies
they wanted six weeks to get the job
done all this kind of crap you don’t el
Williams you had to operate like right
now
like yesterday and so we I went out to
Snellville Georgia and I found Tommy and
Pam Melton and I said we well I want you
guys to start a company I’m gonna help
you finance it and I want you to be
ready to give us those t-shirts and give
us those trophies and they were just
magnificent and I think they’re here
today and done a lot of this kind of
stuff and y’all ought to use them
because they get it done and they get it
done on time
you know Boca Boca is an unbelievably
special place for all of us say or
William’s people it was here in Boca in
1984 that we celebrated our first
national championship right over there
by the swimming pool in that old meeting
room we drop balloons from the ceilings
with hundred dollars in it you know just
like they did the Republican and
Democratic conventions this year we gave
dozens of Rolex watches out with 1984
national champions on the face of the
watch we had the NSPS dress up in
football uniform so why is dress up as
cheerleaders and we celebrated a
historic victory
but but you know what the life insurance
industry said we didn’t even know we had
a national championship
but but you know what they knew it in
1984 they knew it after we got through
in Boca Hale Williams brought a
different kind of competition of this
industry we started a dadgum war hail
William sent here as we left vocal we
dare you Prudential we dare you New York
life to see if you can take it back
we don’t think you’re good enough we
don’t think you’re tough enough there
would be number one again and you know
what you know what
ar we have won seven straight national
championship to build the build of
national championship team you’ve got to
build with people that can still dream
they can still believe they can still
hope that are still willing to compete
see most people in our country today and
just back then to that have been so beat
up so put down that they’ve just given
up on their dream let me talk to you a
minute about those original 85 people
all those were original 85 people that
founded this company were all coaches or
they had played on a team and al
Williams turned life insurance into a
game see see al Williams didn’t know
anything about business we didn’t have
any MBAs we didn’t have any professional
salespeople we didn’t understand
business plans we didn’t understand
budgets but those early AR Williams
pioneers they understood putting on a
putting on a termite uniform they
understood hitting anything in the wrong
color jersey those early al Williams
people understood what it was like to
get screwed but they also understood
what it was like to get even we were a
team we were together we cared about
each other that al Williams we created a
bubble that was so positive it was
unbelievable we were together we were in
that foxhole together
we were going to fight for you we were
going to protect you there was a special
kind of spirit in AoE Williams we didn’t
just like it we loved it we believed to
win you had to have what I call that
Friday night feeling you had that you
had to be so excited you were just not
to miss any pants see people won’t
follow or believe in a negative dull
disillusioned dadgum crybaby see we
believe that everybody wanted to be
somebody everybody has ever been born on
this earth they want to be somebody and
we believed as a leader in leading your
team it was your responsibility no
matter how hurt these people were to
reach inside of them to grab their heart
to help them believe in them again to
believe that there’s somebody special
again to believe that we’ll put on this
earth to do something important again to
build a great team it begins with you
the leader you’ve got to become a magnet
where people are drawn to you like bees
and a honey bees to honey the most asked
question I get even today in a Oh Ian’s
we sell the coach book up at this little
in his spawn house North Carolina that
in July on and the most asked question I
get today you know 22 years after I
retired it’s hard how did you do it how
did those 85 people do it
Heidi Dale Williams grow from a peanut
of 85 people in one city in one state to
an army of 225,000 people in every city
in every state in Canada well what if
you Bob yusan give up his hundred
thousand dollar income to go to a new
company where the odds were 99% that we
were gonna fail and they ask me all the
time why did Bill dorinda pick up his
family and go to Dallas Texas
didn’t have a pot to pee in hey I’m
Ronnie Ronnie Barnes go to Chattanooga
Tennessee
rusty Crossland go to Denver Colorado
and the president of the company stood
on the first couple of years and said
the odds are about like is the bus or by
I don’t mean being Prudential I don’t
mean changing an industry
I’m talking about the odds are about
like this surviving my all-time favorite
clewd is by Winston Churchill there
comes a special moment in everyone’s
life a moment for which that person was
born that special opportunity when he
seizes it will fulfill his mission a
mission for which he is uniquely
qualified in that moment he finds
greatness it is his finest hour those
originally oh we have thought that this
was our moment that this was our time
these people wanted to do something big
they wanted to do something important
they wanted to leave their mark they
wanted to be somebody but let me ask you
this where could people like us go look
at me where could people like us go yes
we knew was it possible yes we knew the
odds were 99% against us surviving but
where could people like me go where were
some company begin me a chance all we
wanted al Williams was a chance and we
really believed if we had a chance if
somebody would take a chance on us we
really believed we were different we
believed we were special
we believed that one day we would change
the thinking of the largest industry in
the world we believed that one day we
would destroy trash value we believe
that one day our leaders would become
among the most successful in American
business we believe that one day we
would take our people to all the great
places of the world those original Leia
Williams people were big dreamers they
were big thinkers they were big doers
they let me tell you about big big is
Larry Waddell taking his wife and two
boys picking him up in Atlanta Georgia
and moving to Greensboro North Carolina
didn’t have any money didn’t have any
financial security
his ninth month is an RVP his base shop
was doing $100,000
but during those nine months he had
produced the first generation our VP
named Joe Covington that when Larry
Weddell database that month of $90,000
Joe Covington did $60,000 ultimately
layer Waddell food produced a hundred
first generation our VPS that’s big
biggest bob Beus on building a team all
over the United States and Canada of
over 900 our VPS biggest Mike sharp
building a team that produces over four
million dollars a month in premium big
it’s Greg Fitzpatrick when we’re moving
into Canada I’ve become a taking an AO
Williams but being an al Williams leader
that goes into Canada helped us open up
Canada we can only pay those original
people four and a half percent didn’t
even cover his expenses but he went up
there for one year one week every month
losing money but willing to build a team
want to help us tinier new territory
today he asked 50 are VPS in Canada big
is Kip
Ridley for one year running a $200,000
base shop and that very same year
producing four generation for first
generation our VPS the big is dick
Walker becoming an NSD by producing ten
first generation our VPS that do $20,000
each in one month
big is john roarke and Nicolay’s
building a team is always in the top 100
nao williams
fantastic examples of saving your money
and and becoming financially Penn’s a
became financially independent they
could retire do anything they wanted to
but 35 years later they’re still in this
company you know while they’re still
running a base shop while they still
have to help in there are VPS produced
are VPS and build teams to build
financial independence because they love
them because they love being part of a
team big to me is starting with nothing
but a dream starting with nothing but a
dream but just being part of
a group of people this you can count on
that you love going to war with and one
day that team kicking Prudential but to
build a big team you got to have a
crusade and what a crusade you’ll have
today you’ve got to have a crusade you
got to have a cause to fight for it ayo
Williams we were Crusaders first coach
Lombardi says you capture the person’s
heart you capture the man you know folks
it’s not about the money first it’s not
about the money first it’s so so so much
bigger than that honestly folks I never
thought I was capable of making big
money
I never thought somebody like me could
make big money I never expected that I
never sold a new recruit never in 20
years the money first
I always thought though cash value is
evil I thought it was criminal what that
Gulf life agent did to me an angel with
two children selling us a $15,000 whole
life policy when he could have given us
$100,000 term policy I couldn’t believe
what the big insurance companies did to
the families in America
Prudential average size policy with
$4,000 it was our passion sound that
made us different
it was our passion that gave us a chance
there’s got to be the crusade first not
the money al Williams stood for
something al Williams stood for some can
you imagine this little peanut becoming
such a dominant company in this industry
that when you mentioned the word AoE and
people thought it meant something it
meant something out it was not just
another company they are william stood
for something in this industry when you
mention al Williams those 250,000 ages
those 2,000 companies they immediately
felt fear they are merely felt
intimidation they didn’t know where they
didn’t know when but they knew we were
out they
they knew that someday somewhere if they
sold a trash value policy al Williams go
show up it was going to get ugly it was
gonna get ugly we didn’t want to destroy
the copper we didn’t want to cook we
didn’t we didn’t want to be nice
we wanted to straw those Joker’s put
that towel down John let me tell you
something the harder they fall
honestly my the harder they fall and
they were so stupid they should have
been nice they should have just gave up
and you said but the harder they fall
but next year they were the more they
tried to clear us out of business the
more we loved it the more we love see we
did we didn’t look hey hey hey
we didn’t like you today a William we
didn’t like your day a William we did a
lot we loved it we didn’t like the fight
we loved it
we didn’t like the controversy we
thrived on the controversy in 1976 ten
years after I’d left coaching I was in
corporate America with ITT and what
Ellen read and I think the final thing
that happened to me that made me wanted
to start a Oh Williams is I was an RVP
with what Ellen read over the five
southeastern space I had 650 people
licensed on my team in 1960 76 I had 19
people that were ready to be promoted
that had earned the right to be promoted
and what Ellen Reed came out with their
1977 budgets and they gave my
southeastern region two new offices to
open the number one reason were 13
reasons and Waddell and Reed
I read and produced more than all the
next 12 combined and they they allowed
me to open two new offices and 17 people
that had earned the right to be promoted
had to wait another year another 12
months and I couldn’t stand it I wanted
to be part of a company with no limits
I wanted to be part of a company that
would give you unlimited territory you
could go anywhere no protected territory
I wanted to be part of a company that
would give you an unlimited market there
were millions and millions and millions
of people out there that had trash value
policy that needed to be replaced there
were 250,000 life insurance agents that
were selling hundreds of thousands of
policies every year increasing Meyer our
market I want to be part of a company
that had unlimited money that never
asked you to slow down I want to be part
of a company that would give you a
chance to make unlimited promotions that
you promoted the individual when they
were ready but where you could where you
could build it as big as you want and
you could keep getting bigger never
holding anybody back I want to be part
of a company that had unlimited support
think about this
think about this it took us 12 years to
get our own home office y’all are moving
into an on your own home office a time
and another cut in another couple of
months it took us 12 years 10 with ITT
and Waddell and Reed in two and our
first two years today a weeks before we
could get a company to build our own
home office we were a free
we were unique we were different and we
had to we couldn’t fit in with other
companies out there a OEMs finally had
everything in place with no limits now
we had no limits and in February 10 1977
we had to decide how are we going to
grow Leia lives here we were a little
peanut 85 people in one city in one
state how will we go on build this on
you have 225,000 people in every city in
every stage we decided we were going to
do it like McDonald’s did it by opening
new stores let me give you another
unwritten law great companies always
grow McDonald’s was founded in 1984 in
California the first 17 years they
opened 700 stores in 1983 they are
opening three stores a day in 2012 they
had 33,000 stores all over the world to
grow prime America’s gotta open new
stores I had lunch this past year a few
months ago with Truitt khaki the founder
of chick-fil-a he founded chick-fil-a in
Atlanta Georgia in the night early 1960s
for 10 years he only had one store today
he has 1,400 stores and he’s worth four
billion dollars we decided today our
wings that we were going to expand by
the magic of multiplication let me give
you this example of addition versus
multiplication let’s say you are the
only RVP Sheryl on your team that
produces our VPS
you got and produce three are VPS then
you do that ten times that tenth
generation our VP will give you a total
of thirty but but if you’re giving other
people a chance to build a team to have
the same unlimited opportunity you have
you go bill three Cheryl and you help
them bill three you go bill 3 help them
build a team of three and you do that
times ten through ten generations you
would have fifty nine thousand our VPS
that’s thirty versus fifty nine thousand
if those organizations did ten thousand
dollars in premium a month by addition
you would produce three hundred thousand
dollars a month in premium but if you
did it by multiplication would be five
hundred and ninety million dollars a
month in premium that’s magic ain’t that
magic in 1977 the original layer
Williams planned for growth and
expansion was for you to become an RVP
you to produce seven to ten our VPS and
you helped your our VPS build a team of
seven to ten our VPS
let’s look at the magic of
multiplication again you produce seven
but you’re the only person that produces
our VPS so you do that through three
generations that gives you 21
a team of 21 but if you give your people
the same unlimited opportunity you have
you produce seven and then they go out
and produce seven you do that through
three generations that’s three hundred
and forty three are VPS so addition is
twenty one they do ten thousand dollars
a month that’s two hundred ten thousand
dollars a month but if you build a team
of 343 they do ten thousand that’s three
point four million dollars a month
that’s naggy you want to know how al
Williams built an army you know to know
hey we have spread out all over the
United States have an office in every
city and every town even Cairo Georgia
had an al Williams office we did it by
multiplication and you see I believe the
only way to build successful our VPS is
to build strong base
jobs you know for some reason some of
you new people think AO Williams we
didn’t have strong based shots you’ve
got little bitty based shops today
compared to what our people did
it’s just pitiful when I look at some of
your numbers see see al Williams we
believe the only way to build our VP’s
was to have strong based shops see we
look at our base shops different though
we thought we we we thought our base
shots were our DP factories CIC our base
shops were supposed to produce our VPS
not sales we were not just sales
business we built people not sales CA al
Williams had high standards for its base
shops not these pit little old things
y’all Ville I was looking to Dale
Williams way in 1985 a rodea Williams
way in 1985 let me tell you what the
target was for our base shops poor job
the life insurance sales was 15 and
below a so-so job was 16 to 29 a good
job was 31 to 49 an excellent job was 50
or more the target our VP based shop
income we gave people we said to make a
good living you need to have five direct
legs to your direct leg is a team that’s
doing five to ten sales you need five of
those direct you just to make a good
living to make a great living you need
ten directs the build it big time you
need 20 direct legs al Williams believes
strong based shop produces strong our VP
Mary Walker Tom Stafford Lawrence Walker
join me on the stage please for a second
[Music]
[Applause]
[Music]
Bob Safford so you if you want to if you
want to you got a choice of building an
RVP factory where you build a huge team
of lots of our VPS where you build great
well and you can pass it on for
generations bob Safra did that my good
friend died about a year and a half ago
but what a legacy he left you right Tom
making over a million dollars a year in
that unbelievable
and we’ve dictated you remember folks in
nineteen in 1984 when we were here in
Boca ritand that was just a dream we
just hoped we were going to be good
enough to do that one day but it’s no
longer hope it’s no longer a dream it’s
for real my buddy Lafayette Walker
professor in Washington DC he wanted
more than that he wanted to build a
legacy of greatness he went out and
built a great team and he passed away
but he left at his young uns nan
Hey come in Mary didn’t choke it I can I
start crying over this one I tell you I
wish your vision I wish I wish all could
have known
Randall Walker Randall and Mary Walker
in my mind there were millions of us
today I wish we recruited me I only got
two hundred twenty five thousand license
but before you think that’s too little
think about what y’all work that down to
but but you know what
hey John’s put that towel down of all
the millions of people that came through
AoE Williams as I look back I think Mary
and Randall Walker symbolized the
goodness of a a Williams probably better
than any other clock even when even when
those assholes of Citigroup we’re trying
to run this company shut up John
Mary Walker in them even when they were
up there didn’t know what those crap
they were doing almost destroyed this
company they never believed like people
Eve they never fell for their craft
they always lived it like Al Williams
they chant doing this like the best in
the world
Randall died a few years ago wish you
could have known him he was the best but
he and Mary built something great and
they got a great little legacy if they
gonna leave something to Mandy and John
one day I love you down thank you so
when you became when you became an RVP
in al Williams you had your own business
your own company you could make a
decision which way you wanted to go and
whichever way you want to build it we
were fine with that to build a team you
got to have competition to build it big
you got to love to compete you got love
to toughness I love what coach Leahy
said bike in the 1940s up at Notre Dame
he called us running backs together and
he said running backs you’d rather die
at birth
then fumble the football at Notre Dame
that’s the way we felt at al Williams we
love to compete competition is
everything you’ve got to have a
scoreboard if you don’t have something
to play for you and your team get tired
you get bored you give up February 10
1977 when we were that little bitty
peanut we got together in Atlanta
Georgia and we said who do we want to be
and we said who’s number one who’s the
most famous company into the industry
the largest industry in the world in
1977 was the life insurance industry we
said who’s number one who’s the most
famous company out there who’d all
people think the best come in this
industry and we researched and we found
out it was Prudential and we said that’s
what we want we’re going after the best
we gonna knock their ass off so you got
to always have competition on your team
you got to always have somebody going
for number one somebody trying to be
trying to break a record somebody trying
to win a promotion somebody trying to
win a contest somebody trying to win a
t-shirt competition is everything but
then you don’t want angel’ kiss me
goodbye this morning if she said on
don’t go down and make a fool out of
yourself he said can’t you go down and
just talk like a regular human being you
know you don’t do you have to get up
there and scream and holler on your feet
no I just can’t do it to build a team to
build a team you got to be a winner you
got to be a winner to build a team you
got to prove to your people that the
opportunities for real see folks are
they old webs we didn’t believe in fake
it until you make it see al Williams we
didn’t believe you needed a big house or
a big office or big car or wearing fancy
thousand dollar suits having a Rolex
watch so you need to keep the expenses
low you can’t ever be too low with your
expenses your personal expenses and your
business expenses you got to live below
your means you got to prepare for crap
that happens
craps going to happen right what do you
people need to see you do what do your
people need to see you do to build a
championship team they need to see you
always do it first they always had
another unwritten law that if that if
one person can do it and you don’t have
any chiefs you can do it right you ought
to be that one person that can do it
first go prove to your people that it
can be done always be the best recruiter
always be the best field trainer always
be excited always be busy do you know
the best thing you can show you people
is how much money is saved folks I can’t
say the hundreds of part
time people I recruited in this business
by short on my mutual fund statement
with $42,000 that I’d say making
part-time it al Williams I can’t tell
you the hundreds of people I I recruited
in this business by showing them my plan
of financial independence to build a
championship team we wanted promotion
guidelines that were simple where
everybody could understand easily what
they had to do to get to the next
promotion we wanted new recruits to get
promotions fast that’s the way you build
momentum in your team there’s everybody
going out to a promotion everybody going
after sales leader district leader
division leader regional manager our VP
SVP NSD we wanted every new recruit to
see a clear fast path to our VP now
warning folks if you rape your people
they will find out eventually and hate
you example holding people back from our
VP promotions so you can make more money
in the pools
see was mandatory today Oh Williams that
even though you’ve got your own company
within a company it was mandatory deo
leaves and when I say mandatory that
means your ass is going to be fired if
you don’t do it it was mandatory Dale
Williams did everybody follow the
company guidelines you can never have
guidelines tougher than the company can
you believe anybody to do that kind of
crowd
I can their ass so fast you wouldn’t
believe it
as an RVP
you have the right to promote early in
fact you’re stupid if you don’t make
battlefield promotions another unwritten
law you want to purge out is that too
bad another unwritten law you want to
promote people when they have momentum
not wait until they lose momentum
warning every RTP follows the company
guidelines and let me tell you something
interesting folks I was more than a
double stood I produced nine first
generation are VPS Seven original RV
please plus Bob Stafford plus Bob Miller
a hundred percent of my first
generations made it none of them failed
they all were multi millionaires they
all build big teams all my first built
tons of our VPS that became financially
independent but you know what 20 years
later the a Oh William steam those
10,000 are VPS 225 licensed people look
like 90% of them are are VPS that we’re
doing 5,000 10,000 $15,000 based jobs
and yes you know what we even had some
our VP’s fail and you know what if you
build a big team yours is going to look
just like that see if you have a plan to
never have our VPS failed to promote
only $330,000 based shop our VPS but
you’re our VPS to earn two hundred fifty
thousand dollars a year
two bad things will happen to you your
team will always be little and number
two you would have did that you would
have you would have denied hundreds of
people literally hundreds of people the
opportunity to change their life see I
believe it Sheriff I believe it sure is
I believe it’s your responsibility as an
RV plea to push up people to build
people not sell to promote your people
yes when they get the guidelines most of
the time but sometimes early if you
arrow always arrow promoting people
early never arrow holding people back
what was though what was what was the AO
Williams dream I’m almost through now
maybe y’all hang in here how long I’ve
been going oh the dream let me tell you
what the dream was to me I founded this
thing let me just tell you the way I
thought you know because when I founded
a of Williams and I recruited my first
guy Bob you sign that was in 1972 I
started 1967 so I’d already been in this
crap for five or six years right and so
let me tell you what the dream was to me
I had a great life I loved coaching
football I love that that was all I want
to do as a youngster was be a coach and
the dream to be and going in business
and becoming an RVP is I want to be my
own boss I don’t I just and most people
feel the same way all the people in this
room feel the same way the millions and
millions and millions millions of people
out there in America and Canada feel the
same way but I want to be my own boss I
want to be totally financially
independent but that was an obsession
with me and all 85 of those other people
I want to be in this position John where
nobody could put their thumb on me you
know how wonderful it has wrecked yeah I
told John Addison I love old John he’s
got he’s got a heart he leads with his
heart but a John asked me to speak today
and first they I said what time you want
me to speak my first call me is that
well you should start off at 8:30 I said
I don’t I don’t do that no more
I said I don’t even know what an alarm
clock is I said I get up when I want to
get up and I said 95 is packed with
people you know getting to work from
6:00 to 8:00 like Atlanta Georgia I hate
Atlanta Georgia you know I can’t get
nowhere it’s just true right and I said
I don’t speak to 10 o’clock or 10:30 I
get up when I want to shave and shower I
have breakfast and I leisurely ride down
here listening to a Oh William songs see
I’m financially independent I don’t have
to take crap from nobody
[Applause]
see number two the reason I the dream to
me was number one being on boss number
two being totally financially
independent number three was the work
that’s something I’m passionate about
that’s what life’s all about folks I
still love this stuff you understand
that you can you imagine me doing this I
don’t have to do I can be me and norm
we’re playing golf in Dave Francis and
Bill Orenda I could be out there right
now Trump international practicing my
golf game but I’m down here talking to
you because I love it you want to be you
want to have something you’re passionate
about and then the last thing I wanted
is I’m one of the great quality of life
I didn’t want to go in business and just
have a crappy life just for the money
just to go out there and crap screw up
you’re everything I wanted to have it
all I wanted to have a great family I
wanted to enjoy my my business I want to
love my people see the dream we’re
selling it a/o Williams was not running
a base shop forever it was not being a
fanatic forever it was not
field-training greenies four and five
nights a week forever it was not being
on a on a treadmill forever that’s a
nightmare you understand that that’s a
dadgum nightmare our dream of ayo
Williams was there work hard yes be a
fanatic he is half the first few years
but work hard so you can enjoy a great
quality of life I believe in in
achieving this great quad to life you go
through four phases phase number one the
first few years you are fanatic you’re
out there working five four or five
nights a week training these greenies
then you enter phase number two when you
are still running a base shop but you’re
starting to promote our DPS and opening
new offices and then you enter phase
number three where you’re promoting mo
our VPS your our VPS are starting to
promote our DPS and now your base shop
activity becomes smaller you recruit
less people personally you end the feel
less
and then you enter phase number four
where you’re having fun you’re
travelling around talking to your people
hipping them reach that great quality of
life the key to building a successful
business is building trusting
relationships building trusting
relationships is everything this is this
is a relationship business how do you
get people to trust you how do you get
people to love you to commit to you to
be loyal to you they give you a hundred
percent to believe in you another
unwritten law you get people trust you
by you being there by you being loyal to
them by you believing in them but you
got to prove it you got to prove it let
me give you three examples Bob Miller
was the first person I recruited down
here in South Florida in Fort Lauderdale
he had gone out and replaced of coaching
friend of his cash value policy with a
term policy with air Williams that guy’s
whole like I came back and said well if
you wanted term I could say your term
and he replaced our aliens policy with
his term there was maybe three pennies a
month cheaper than our turn and I talked
Bob Bell on the phone he was a little
down and what god and I said Bob next
week I’m gonna be in Fort Lauderdale I
want you to call that coach and set up
an appointment and he said I don’t want
to do that this guy’s a friend of mine
all I wanted him to do was half turn
he’s got term now I’m happy with that
let’s just leave it alone I said no no
Bob that ain’t right I said call that
guy and I want to see Bob made an
appointment I flew down to Fort
Lauderdale Bob Miller and I went out and
we had a meeting with that guy I said
let me tell you something
that ain’t right what you did Bob Miller
your friend came in here to educated you
on by term invest the difference and
that asshole that sold you Plus John
that asshole that sold you cash bad
policy now he’s going to come back
Bob Miller educated you and he’s going
to sell you now turn palsy which that
asshole should have sold you the first
go-round you know and it just cost us
three cents a month’s keeper you gonna
do business but you got to be kidding me
you know what he changed back to their
weaves policy hey hey he never came
full-time but he was an AoE Williams
crusader for the next 20 years you got
to be there with your people when they
need you you got to prove that you’re
loyal to them that you believe in them
that you’re a stud I get up I get an
emergency call from Mississippi
Mississippi insurance department puts us
out of business headline in every major
newspaper L we had kicked out to stage I
call Bill Anderson which was our biggest
guy there the time I said bill called
emergency meeting of all the a OES
people I’m coming I didn’t run from that
I jumped on an airplane we go to a hotel
we have a meeting like this I said let
me tell you something we’re trying to
change an industry did you think it was
gonna be easy do you think those those
Joker’s were going roll over and play
dead that’s what they’re supposed to do
that’s supposed to PI they supposed to
fight dirty
they spoke to try to put us out of
business this is the way it’s supposed
to be but you know what they gonna do it
we gonna knock grass all we gonna come
back two weeks later we were back in
Mississippi that year we had the biggest
year we ever had
I get a call I get a call I get a call
one day from Ronnie Barnes Tennessee
kicks aside to finish for Oh we we go up
there and we straighten that out I get a
call from Ronnie Barnes a few weeks
later the Better Business Bureau took a
full-page ad out and the Chattanooga
Times said warning don’t do business
with ayo Williams gave an 800 number we
do to call and they tell you we’ve been
outlawed in 98 states and all that kind
of crowd
I told Ronnie Barnes I called him up I
said Ronnie go get the best lawyer you
got in Chattanooga will pay for you tell
them we’re going to sue their ass and
they backed off in 24 hours you’ve got a
revealed trusting relationships
you got to be there you got to be loyal
to your people you got to believe in
your people it ain’t good enough to talk
it you got to show it another unwritten
law before any business activity takes
place you must have a relationship first
you must have their trust first let me
give you example I never made a sale on
the first interview I understand some of
you people do that is just almost I
can’t even comprehend somebody doing
something like that you know I mean I
was just a football coach I never had
anybody really train me I sort of
trained myself you know but I said you
know I don’t want somebody to walk in my
house and put pressure on me to buy
something all this kind of crap you know
I never made a sale for 20 years on the
first interview the purpose of the first
interview is to build a relationship you
want to go in there drifts not like an
insurance agent but like a coach right
and you go in there and you’re with his
best friend and you’re building a
relationship right he’s getting to know
you and where you came from and what
your principles are and all that you’re
building a relationship and then the
second purpose of the first interview is
you pick up information
then you take it home you analyze it you
prepare plan then you go back on the
second interview and you make the sale I
don’t know any other way to do it but
that yeah it takes more time to build it
right it takes more time to build it
right but it’s worth it to build it
right the first time trusting
relationships is everything in every
part of your business before they buy a
life insurance policy they gotta trust
you before they buy an IRA they gotta
trust you before they pay $100 to join
Primerica they gotta trust you before
they take off and pay their expenses to
go to the convention they got to trust
you before they go full time they got to
trust you before they make a replacement
they got to trust you in every single
area of your business
trusting relationships is everything let
me give you an example to take back that
will help you write a letter write a
letter to your people folks for 40 right
now Jean Lillian of the North Carolina
I’ve got 220 employees both today I
still average writing at least one
letter every day last week this is an
example letter I wrote our head shell I
said dear Johannes every day I think
about how special you are
you are amazing art trusting
relationships is everything the
simplicity in the common sense of aom’s
if something I was very proud of let me
just give you four examples number one
you’ve got a bill with quality you got
to build it right the first time see we
built with four and five pointers
married got kids got a home have a job
from 27 to 55 do you make exceptions
sure you do but 90 percent of your team
better be 4 & 5 pointers build with
quality and build it right the first
time
number two the AoE and system this
simple we simplified this thing if
you’re a stud
and the better you get the more simple
you simplify things al Williams was a
warm market company we never we never
got on a cold telephone we knock never
not going to strangers home we never
made a cold call al Williams was built
on relationships still number one you
recruit a part-timer
with four or five best friends step
number two the part-timer causes best
friend and sets up an appointment step
number three you get in the field with
that new recruit within the first two or
three or four days that’s it that’s our
whole system the sales process is no
pressure you never sail on the first
interview there’s three steps the first
interview you start building a
relationship you pick up information you
then you go back and you make an
analysis you make a plan you go to step
number two you show the plan you make
the sale step number three you deliver
the policy you are recruit the guy now I
know y’all got this computer crap you
know where you can sit there in the
office and you can zap that damn thing
up and you can get it issued instantly
you get a quick paycheck but that’s a
disaster Jimmy see all this computer
crap y’all got is some good stuff but
the fundamentals of building a team
don’t ever change in any asshole
it tells you the different don’t know
what the hell they talking about
keep it simple keep it simple keep it
let me give you another unwritten law I
think it’s stupid the senior recruited
up one of those Tom Hopkins sales
training crowd it’s so stupid on so many
levels I ain’t even gonna be stupid
enough to sit here and try to explain it
to stupid people number four number four
I told John four times I told John don’t
invite me down here I said John I said
I’m going to upset some of your people
but the people upset needs to have their
ass upset I can tell you that number
four number four had high standards do
it right the first half high standard
you know you know one of the greatest
moment in an athlete’s life is to get
that leather jacket either right Larry
to get that leather jacket man that
meant something right to get that
leather jacket with that kaona that mean
you were good all the girls looked at
that just right man you were a stud you
were part of a team you were something
else you weren’t like all other students
you wear that leather jacket though you
got a responsibility right you out there
drinking and doping in and doing bad
things then people that see you with
that leather jacket they think I’m like
you
they think we you ain’t gon do it I got
this onto a a weird way I wrote this in
1985 the aom’s image a leader must look
like a winner talk like a winner act
like a winner and be a winner dress
conservatively don’t recruit people to
guide these hearings in their eyelids
and nose and and
no alcohol served in any ale Williams
meeting or convention no excessive
offices we make money in the field not
in the office
no limousine Jonah what time out is with
your kids it’s hard to believe but we
had one our VP I was speaking at a
meeting up north somewhere I wanting to
tell you who it is or where it was and
all of a sudden I’m walking into arena
and this big old long limo pulls up if
some guy steps out it’s coming to the
meeting and I put that our VP on timeout
no limousines flashy cars all that crap
on company business you live within your
means you have a good financial image if
you’re going to be a leader in our
company you got to make money save money
pay your bills be a good citizen your
community no profit for selling anything
to your people
hey hey hey have have high standards its
present of all avail wins I’ve always
tried to look dignified check out these
orange shoes I went out here today have
a good personal image don’t don’t let
money and success change you remember
where you came from always be a good
caring person have a great family life
spend time with your family take care of
your family always be positive a
personal example people respond to
things you do in the way you live more
than the things you say always have the
highest standards of honesty and
integrity be honest and be aboveboard
and everything you do let me close with
this
to be a great leader
to build great teams you’ve got to
become a great encourager another unlit
law everybody needs somebody to
encourage them always remember this
flashing sign on everybody’s chest that
you recruit on your team
this says make me feel special made me
feel important I want to be somebody
everybody needs somebody to encourage
them growing up in Cairo Georgia
I was never great at anything I was
never a great athlete just pretty good I
was never a great student just average I
never thought I could make big money I
never thought I could run a big company
in every way I was pretty average on the
outside but I was blessed to have
somebody that was a great encourager in
my life
Coach Taylor made me feel special Coach
Taylor made me feel important Coach
Taylor made me feel like as I was a kid
that one day I was going to do something
really important
Coach Taylor was my one hero in life I’m
71 years low and I remember it just
right now just like it was yesterday
sitting in that lunchroom seeing Coach
Taylor eat with those other teachers and
coaches over there or out on the
basketball court of the football field
I’d look at him I’d say man if I could
ever be good enough to be like him if I
could ever make kids feel special like
Coach Taylor makes me and my teammates
feel that’s the best thing I could ever
do with my life as a kid growing up all
I ever wanted to do was coach was to
make kids feel special all I ever wanted
to do was be like Coach Taylor
everybody needs somebody to encourage
them folks if you want to build a great
team if you want to really make a
difference with your lives if you really
want to change people’s lives go because
later I wanted more than anything in the
world somebody that knew what they were
talking about to tell me exactly what I
had to do to win in this business this
was this was my dadgum life this what
any game this was serious dadgum
business and I didn’t want some sales
trainer I didn’t wolf some motivational
speaker blow it a lot of hot air of my
butt is T I knew there’s somebody that
look like me and came from where I came
from to do it big it was gonna be ugly
it was gonna be tough it was gonna be
hard
Please follow and like us: