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Sam Taggart 00:48

All right everybody, this is Sam Taggart with the D2D podcast. And I have a very special treat. And this is going to be a story of a lifetime. And this is a personal friend, Brandon Glover on this podcast. Before we dive in, we had the sales Summit coming up on March 17. It’s 20th out in South Carolina. So make sure you get your ticket as 100 spots law or total. We got about 40 left. But anyway, this, like, I don’t even

01:13
know how to explain this one until we get into it. Just stay with us. It’s gonna be a fun, this will probably be a really fun podcast.

Sam Taggart 01:21
So first off, let me get the backstory. So Randy Glover, he sold you started Solar City, dude. Yeah, solar city like 2013 2013. So using solar before, I was like couple years. And I was recruiting him to socius Yeah, and we’ll get into the story in depth. But now, you know, the last year he went through a lot of transitions and stuff like that last year in March, he only had 35 reps out here in Florida. Now he’s got 158 reps. You know, they did 550 Something deals as 58 last 558 deals

01:52
last quarter, we’re cranking 110 a week right now we’re projected to 11 higher on the quarter that’s in solar

Sam Taggart 01:56
guys. That’s like a lot of deals. And it’s been really fun to watch Brent. I mean, I’ve known Brandon since 2015. So

02:05
it’s been like, there’s been a minute like almost like seven, eight years now. You’re like one of my oldest friends and door to door. Yeah, it’s so wild. Like, no, seriously, bro, I really what do you realize first building out the solar companies and like I remember when you were like the steward or thing or you’re like started cultivate, like bringing all this guys together. Like, I remember when you like first started the mission. Like his first mission was like, I just want to like get integrity in the business. And like, bring everyone together and like the mission you were on there and be like, see what you’ve grown into. It’s like, it’s humbling. And yeah,

02:35
thanks, man. It is.

Sam Taggart 02:37
So I’m gonna tell you the recruiting story before we get into like,

02:41
Can we do this? Yeah, I’m

Sam Taggart 02:45
gonna get I’m recruiting.

02:46
Okay, this is gonna get wrong. I’m recruiting Brandon

Sam Taggart 02:48
to Celsius. And he had Solar City. He was like, I’m outtie I don’t want to be here anymore. So he was shopping like he was shopping. 100% like going after a few people. And you know, he’s like, Hey, he said the only text I couldn’t Facebook talking. We didn’t have any like images. So I had no idea this guy, so we’re texting. And he’s like, Hey, fly me out. Tomorrow, seven o’clock. I was like, okay, he’s like, but I need three flights. I need my assistant and my driver.

03:14
Like, my driver. I’m like, Yeah, I’m like, wait, he’s bringing a driver to his recruiting meeting. I was like, Okay, three plane tickets, not one. And he shows up. He’s got this hot blonde chick. That he’s got this big old black through driver bouncer dude, and I was like, What the heck?

Sam Taggart 03:33
I thought he was Asian. So I built him up in my head to be this Asian dude. And so I started calling him Mr. Miyagi. So whenever I refer to Brandon as Mr. Miyagi, this is why I’m like telling him I guys might do this Asian guy is coming in hot with a driver. And he’s like, I need to deal by tomorrow at nine o’clock. And if it’s not signed, I’m going to them. Like, he’s like a nice card close. Yeah, he’s like, he’s like, I’m gonna be this, this and this. And he’s just like, coming at me hard. And I was like, Wow, this guy’s like, very direct and very upfront. Like, this is not my normal recruiting media. I’m not ready for

04:09
this. I was definitely putting the screws on people. That guy dude, I was like, Dude, you it was tough to handle.

Sam Taggart 04:15
It was so hard. Like, I want to have this kind of dinner, this kind of sign on this kind of this. And I was like, okay, and I’m kind of like, trying to get some big hitters like having somebody that you know, your read. He was a big regional leader doing

04:27
good. Then we’re doing like 200 Plus deals just a month and like back then, like, we really didn’t hit the tempo the volume that we’re doing nowadays, because like back then everybody was like, still trying to like understand the solar model. Like guys were still selling surveys. We’re still pushing installs, but like, No, we were still cranking a pretty decent amount.

Sam Taggart 04:44
You know, I verified with John Frampton, which is the VP of Solar City. I was like, hey, it’s Brandon. Gover guy legit. He’s like yeah, he’s kind of wacky but a little crazy. But uh, crazy. So

04:54
yeah, he’s like, he’s a guy with deathly

Sam Taggart 04:58
Yeah, and I was like, I could see the hard to do with those. I think I could do this. Anyway, I laned him, I recruit the guy,

05:03
he closed the crap out of closed and he did. And so like 10 people and Sam close me,

Sam Taggart 05:09
I felt pretty good to the point where he’s like, Alright, I’m gonna learn this. I’m gonna integrate. I’m gonna move to Utah, instead of in my basement.

05:16
You treated me like family. I love you. I was going through some stuff. And like Sam took me in as like a family friend. And I still to this day, I’ve never forgotten it. You know,

Sam Taggart 05:24
it was fun. I was like, I actually liked like, crazy as he was, I was like, actually really jive with this guy. Because, like, full of energy, like when you eat Brandon, he just like, I was like, so mind blown at your assurity in your energy, and you’re just like, way of doing things. I was like, dang, I need to be more like this guy. Like, I was inspired. I really was. Well come to find out. He just disappears when that Yeah, and I was like,

05:49
going through our times

Sam Taggart 05:50
were dark. No social media. No phone. No no shows did God like what you were there for a month, two months,

05:58
two months. We were like kind of getting the like, groundwork. We got like the first thing I felt like we’re getting stuff going and then I just felt. I mean, it just goes to you completely.

Sam Taggart 06:06
No closure. Nothing disappeared, like God for the house was like what?

06:11
Left him like a 19 year old girlfriend with no clue. Yeah, I felt bad. Well, what happened? Dude, so like, I was going through like real tough times, man. Like, if you ever had a time where like, you were riding that high, and then you ever ever hit like rock bottom, you know. And in the moments like, you have to, like realize that like, when you’re not in a place to lead, then you need to take yourself out of that place, right. And I started realizing that like, I wasn’t making good decisions, and I wasn’t making good decisions for my guys. So I, I knew I had to remove myself from like the industry, I knew I need to step back, reflect on who I was, and like, get myself back on the right track. Because like to be a leader, you have to always put the team first. And if you’re never in if you’re not in a position to put the team first and like you can’t leave. So like truthfully, what happened, Sam is I just wasn’t in position to lead and I knew in my heart, and I had to go. I’m sorry that you just had that guy. But I had to I had to go on a road to redemption. And it wasn’t a short road, dude. It was like, a good like three, four years of like rebuilding, refocusing making amendments with guys like you that I’ve done wrong. And but I knew at times, like we make mistakes, guys remember this mistakes we learned from excuses, destroy? Like, if we went back in time, I 100% did you wrong, right? I burned you. Sam gave me patience, gave me trust, and gave me friendship. I didn’t deserve it. And how good are we now? Solid best friend’s dog?

Sam Taggart 07:45
So I thought he died.

07:50
I was like, I think well, you’d said you had like people chase to do to like,

Sam Taggart 07:54
I don’t know, but all that but yeah, I was like, he’s like, I might be in trouble. I was like, you’re in trouble. Like,

07:59
I definitely got into situations out in California. Did you get out of it? But yeah, that’s what it was.

Sam Taggart 08:05
Like. I was like, What do you mean? Like, what do you do? Yeah, that’s like, maybe you got snapped by the mafia or something. I had no idea. There was rumors, but they’re all not true. Okay, good to know. So he went through his three year hiatus No, and lived in a cave, basically, cave it up and went through some soul searching. And I’m in like, Powell. I vividly remember this is what two years ago a year ago. Yeah. Yeah, over but a year ago, but a year ago, I get a phone call. And it’s like caller ID says Brandon Glover. And I was like

08:50
dude calling me from the dead. Like,

Sam Taggart 08:54
he calls me like sand. And he was really, you know, like, somber voice like very, like, humble. And I was like, you know, not the normal brand. And that I know, like normal brands like,

09:06
like, this are a boy’s name.

Sam Taggart 09:08
And he, he’s like, Dude, I did you wrong. I’m trying to make amends with all my, you know, people that have hurt and you know, I spent a lot of soul searching time. And I owe you a lot of money. So can I can I make it right? Of course, I’m sitting there like public. Yeah, I’ll take my money. But more importantly, he was like, I don’t know when I don’t know how much. I just want you to know that you’re still on my radar, and it’d be yours. You know what I mean? And I was just like, for me, I said, I had two choices. And it was really interesting because I remember I vividly remember this day, and I was like, okay, whatever you need to clear for you. I don’t need the money. I don’t need it. But I need to hold you to your integrity and allow you to go through this repentance and this like process for you, whatever that needs to be for you. Let it be that because I don’t want you to live the rest of your life not feeling like you made it a man, or you fix this. And, you know, and then kind of like, you might have gave a little bit I can remember but not a ton. And, and then what’s crazy is yesterday, I get a random text. It’s just a year later. He’s like, Hey, what’s your ACH?

10:24
There’s 20 grand.

Sam Taggart 10:27
But he was just like, Oh, cool. So what? It’s fun to wake up to that text. And to, you know, still like your conscience. What’s your integrity worth? And my mom everything. My mom always taught me that she’s like, everything. I’m literally in Mexico yesterday, I got slapped in the face, like, homeboy brought the cheque to this, like little cafe. And it wasn’t like the total and I’m with a friend. And I was like, and they were taking like, 30 minutes to bring us. Like it was just like, I’m like, I need to go, I’m gonna miss my flight. Like, we gotta go. And the dude is like, now like, and he walks up. He’s like, Hey, you had our bill wrong. And I was like, slap

11:04
that I just thought of my mom. Like, what’s my integrity? Yes. 30 pesos? Yeah, right. Like,

Sam Taggart 11:08
you know what I mean? Did

11:10
I’ve like found out in life, like, everyone like feels like, I don’t know, if you ever got the moment where you feel like you’re, you’re like trying to take the easy way out. And like anytime that you start selling your integrity, or selling your principles for either positioning or gain, it’s like, it’s like building your house on sand. And like, do you like I’ve seen guys make it very, very far. Shoot, I’ve made it very, very far when I was cutthroat as I was at times and like, but eventually that that momentum that you have, it will fall underneath you is when you sell your integrity, you sell your principles, you have nothing left. And how many guys in this industry have done it over and over again, it always bites them, it always bites him.

Sam Taggart 11:49
And it says karma, it’s like it might be five years down the road might be six months down the road. I mean, he was one of the reasons why I created this blacklist calm, and it’s still a thing, like a two guys hit me hard. And I was like, eff it shouldn’t be doing like this in the space. Because you didn’t just take you took money from a couple people, didn’t you? Like your a couple people money? Yes. Yeah. So I was like, this guy can’t go to another person. I got to stop him from going to somebody else. If that’s the case, I can’t contact him. And nobody would know. So like, one that came from it, which is really cool. But to like, I’m just sitting there going, man, you might even be the one listening to this podcast. I get guys text me all the time. Like, oh, man, this company screwed me. They didn’t pay me back. And I’m like, what? Did you take money from them? Did you? Did you fulfill your agreement?

12:33
Did you? Did you act you said you’re gonna do X, Y and Z to do it. Yeah, a lot. A lot of people don’t realize is like, when in our industry we get like so lost in like, what businesses, but like when you make a commitment and you make a vow and you take money that’s that’s not earned. It’s like, when you don’t follow through with it. Like that is sure is a lie.

Sam Taggart 12:52
Yeah. So it’s stealing. Let’s get that. And then I see reps try to almost always

12:59
be in my in my road back. I’ve been burned myself. So it’s like, have patience. Be humble. And I try to think about what Sam did for me and what you did you know what you did for me when when I get burned? You know? Yeah, it’s

Sam Taggart 13:12
it’s, I’ve gotten money and I’ve had to pay back money. I’ve definitely and like I tried to do it on the highest regard to like, I was like, Hey, how do I like make this right? And I and that’s how I’ve been able to cultivate and Brandon has made amends with a lot of relationships is cool. He’s able to like call people like me and not feel this guilt and shame and like this like crap, I did him dirty like it’s like, hey, we forgive we mess up. You’re in a hard time I know that you’re going through something. I care more about you the individual and you’re okay and safe. Then Like honestly, I was like wow, you’re alive like that was more important to me than like I’m paying you back I was like, how are you doing? Yes. And to see he’s married he just had his first kid moving in the Sweet home in Florida crashing out I mean, when you’re doing 100 A week like you’re you’re making okay money and solar the bills are getting paid Yeah. is ready.

14:06
The houses can actually be bought the house cash

14:09
you don’t rent is paid. We just Airbnb this really bougie

14:17
anyways, Airbnb.

Sam Taggart 14:21
Okay, so let’s let’s Okay, so I wanted to tell that story to give like some preface this podcast and then obviously we want to give you some like nuggets but like you’ve been able to at one influence and lead big teams, your big region on Solstice. Now built up to 157 reps. I really do kind of want to talk about your principles of leadership and just like how you effectively grow you know, how do you effectively grow a team like that that fast? How do you go, so these guys pop in?

14:49
So one, shout out to the standard. We set the standard at BIOS follows. The thing is is like so you go in your day to day as like a leader and you’re like you, you have to follow a few court decisions. So the big, biggest thing that I’ve found is like, you have to embody, the team comes first and every action and every breath, once you realize that, like, your ability to succeed for yourself has only so much capacity, right? And I realized once I actually got my managers working together, once I got my team fully working together at some that Shawn Brinsley taught me, I asked Shawn, like, what’s the biggest advice that you could give me and he said, Get your guys to work together. And I noticed like, during like, q1 q2 of last year, like, we were doing good, we have a lot of talent. But like, we were bottlenecking at growth, and it wasn’t until I really got my guys you start working together, that we started seeing, like the biggest return so remember, team comes first and every aspect and every breath right? Hard times make Hardman so don’t look for the easy way out. There’s no shortcuts in this industry. Trust me. I tried, and it fails, you have to actually actually be obsessed. Sam, you ever played a sport? Athlete, right? He told me guys like coming into this industry. And let’s say sir, like, first few weeks, right? And they’re like, dude, like, what is like, the biggest thing I need to focus on to, like, start leveling up. And I tell the guys like, Dude, we’re in two jobs. We’re in cells, we’re in personal development. And the thing is, is like getting the right mindset of understanding, like, hey, this isn’t a job. This is an opportunity. And like, the best way to look at it is like, we’re athletes, we’re playing a sport, we’re having to get out there and train, we’re gonna have to actually get out there and care about winning, like, you have to actually execute because like, Have you ever had job before, before door to door? I know, it’s tough. You’re just, yeah, I have in it sucks. But when you have a regular job, it’s like, you’re only going to go and do what that job needs you to do, right? Because you’re let’s say you’re getting like 30 bucks an hour? Well, you’re gonna only ever give like that $30 An hour effort. So it’s like, you clock in for eight hours, you’re gonna be efficient for maybe four of them, right? Because you’re only ever pushing to like what you need to do. And if you don’t ever actually figure out that this industry is a sport, and that you’re competing, and that you’re training, and you’re trying to level up who you are to unlock compounded effort, right? Because the thing is, like, let’s say, hypothetically, Sam did have a job. And let’s say hypothetically, like I was your boss, right? Well, Sam can be like, the best worker in the world. If he’s at 20 bucks an hour, he can go out and outwork everyone around them, how much you’re gonna get paid 20 bucks. And like, it’s really hard for guys to understand the mindset. Like if you go home, let’s say that you’re a candle maker, right? And like, you’re the best candle maker in the world, and you go home, you study how to make candles and you get so efficient. Does your pay go up? No. And you have to wait for someone to like, notice it or look at it, right? I always tell my guys is like our industry, being door to door being a commission based job, like, we unlock unlimited potential when we actually invest our time into ourselves, right? And what I mean by that is like, Dude, you go out, and you train, and you work hard, and you bust your butt and you put the team first. And you really, really do that, you will start leveling up and guess what guess what, when you get paid that following Friday, in our industry, when you level up who you are, your checks follow. So like, it is always very vital for everyone to understand, like, how much effort you spend knocking on them doors, to get them customers, you have to have that same energy in that same mindset. Right? Like like almost like religiously every day, focusing on how you improving yourself. That kind of makes sense. Yeah.

18:39
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Sam Taggart 19:10
So how do you how do you start that muscle? I feel like you know that there’s a compound on effort, like a compounding effort. But yet the compound effect goes where it’s like it doesn’t double quickly, you know, I mean, it has a bell so

19:24
here’s the best way to work like my wife’s one. Tell me like I’m getting the dad bod. Right? So like she’s roasting me to get back in the gym. Like have you ever like not worked out in the gym for a while but you need to get back into it? Yeah, you know, like when like you’re like okay, next week I’m gonna go get back into the gym, right? You ever get like nervous think about Yeah, I gotta get back into the gym. Like I know what that looks like. So like everyone wants to know like me guys. I’m a workaholic. For sure hands out like 16 hours a day. Six days a week. Ask my guys is ridiculous. I love it. But I didn’t start that way right. I didn’t start off with that need to work that need to win like with that capacity right or that bandwidth to do it, I tell guys is like when you get that nervous feeling of like needing to go out there and put 1214 15 hours a day, and it’s like, you’re going to feel anxiety, it’s going to be uncomfortable, you’re going to feel the pressure of the weights. But like, when you’re working out your first few weeks, do you not notice like, that’s when you notice a lot of their changes right away unemployment. And that, like motivates you? Well, that’ll same thing will happen, you go out, and you start putting extreme work ethic and you start like, scheduling out and planning your day. That’s another thing. We’ll talk about time in a minute. And that’s gonna be vital to this. But when you start planning out your day, and you go out and you’re starting to work hard, you’ll notice them four or five hours, hours, you’re putting an extra outside of the doors, you’ll start seeing that return the first two weeks, and then you’ll be motivated, right? So like, during the first few weeks, if when you’re working out, or when you’re going out in training, you’re gonna have to push yourself to do it. But once you do that, you’re going to see the results and you’re going to want to do it. What’s gonna happen is, you ever know a guy that’s just like, just like ripped and shredded goes to gym all time? You ever hear a guy say like, Dude, I need to go to the gym? I just don’t feel right. Yeah, right. 100% right, there usually studs, right? Well, the same thing with like, work ethic and execution. And winning, winning, winning is a habit. And so is losing, I’ve learned that too. So like, what happens is like, over time, you start going from the I need to work hard to I want to work hard to like, it is like part of who you’re like DNA is like, I get up every morning at five o’clock. Regardless, when I go to bed. It’s just like, that’s my mechanism now. And it didn’t start that way. It wasn’t easy at first, like I had to force myself for like a year straight of like, getting up at 5am No matter what if I stayed up too late with friends or the wife or if I work too late, like, I had to get up at five because that was like my like campus in my center, right? But over time with compounding efforts if you keep pushing yourself, right? You never know like, dude, Sam, it wasn’t that long ago, a couple years ago is in your basement, right? And I was coming from very humble beginnings. But like, in our industry, you ever hear how the rich get richer, and they always say like, dude, once you have enough money, like you can’t really go poor and long, you’re smart with it. Like, guys need to realize that time and money is the exact same thing. So the same way that like you hear about all these millionaires or billionaires, how they invest their money properly in the stock market. And like, you ever like your guys are always telling you like, Hey, be smart with your money, right? I tell my guys is like, Be Smart with your time. It’s I think at times, like we find fluff we find comfort we try soothed ourselves with like, watching TV too long or this, like, if you ever find yourself bored. That’s due to poor planning. And so I always tell my guys is like respect your time. Like, like, be very, very cautious of it like, Dude, you have like reps in the track how many doors they knock. Like, you got to track like how many hours of efficiency you’re having in a day. And I think like at times, that’s like has been a huge changer for me. So

Sam Taggart 22:59
no, I think that’s huge. Like, I was with a company a week ago. And I was mapping out like how they disseminated leads, like they, they kind of leads all over DFW. And I was like, dude, and I started quizzing the reps, I started being like, Okay, how much time do you spend driving in between homes go into your appointments? And what percent of no shows do you have? And then he said, like, how inefficient like you really only talk to one or two people a week or a day. Yeah. And and I’m like, and then

23:28
microtransactions at times of 20 minute, here’s a 30 minute there, this that that and then just calm down five of those a day or five hours in a day. Yeah.

Sam Taggart 23:35
And so I was like, cool, you don’t get paid to drive. They’re like, Oh my gosh, and I go four or five hours a day in your car. And I probably tell you how many miles are on your truck. And I was like, you times that by 300 days working or however many days you work 200 Something days. And I’m like now tell me you can’t make a ton of money. I was like, yeah, what if I just shaved off two hours of that three hours of that and like held that back in your pocket that back? Yeah. And I’m like, I don’t need to teach you to be better at selling I don’t need to teach you anything but just stop driving around so much guys, like start just going in the same neighborhood and concentrate and you know don’t chase all these squirrels and you know, and it’s a it’s a common thing.

24:13
I think like in sales is something like some that helped me is like, if you ask the guys I work with now they’re like I’m like the over organized spreadsheet guy. But like what gave me success is like in sales were usually what very charismatic, high energy extremely talented people. But organizational skills usually lack Yeah, so like as a leader if you’re like wanting to lead men you’re want to level up like a leader will always provide strength where like his overall comments, common weaknesses with his teams. And so like if you’re a sales guy and like you want the fastest way to level up, you get extremely organized. get extremely organized with your routine with your time like, like center yourself. I challenge all my managers and all my regionals that work under me is I plan out my entire month. Day by day, Monday through Sunday, and every hour blocker, right? It’s like, does it take a long time? Yeah, did I spend two hours a month re planning my rest of my month. And then I have to spend like at least three hours a week during this section to like, map out my entire bi weekly plan. Because either in state routine, I have an out of state routine when I fly out to other markets. And it’s like, does is it like a tedious job to do? Yes. But what it does, it gives me the freedom to know that I can go out and operate and have the highest return on the most valuable asset asset I own. And that’s my time.

Sam Taggart 25:34
Yeah. Huge. So what are so you kind of have these guiding principles of leadership, kind of walk me through,

25:40
you know, we’ll pop off a few. Yeah, so let’s pop through the key thing for leadership. Let’s go ahead and run through them. We talked about the team comes first and every action, every breath, okay, that’s just always making sure the team identity identities before yourself. Like, I know, we do this job for money. I know, we go out there and we have bills, but like, you have to be a team player. And you have to care about your guys. And you have to have a common mission. Right? You work for your guys, your guys do not work for you. Okay, so if you have leadership that’s leveling up right now, like you need to realize and you need to own up to that is like them guys do not work for you. You have to work for them and serve them. Okay? No one is more valuable than the team. Everyone is valued from the first week. So even guys like me and Sam, like, do 10 plus year vet, we’ve built teams, we’ve done this Lottie, Dottie do that setter, that guy that’s coming out his first two weeks first on door, like, That guy has the same value as us. And that has to be shared throughout the entire team, and throughout the entire region. Because like, once you have that identity, and that new setter of two, three weeks, feels that value being a part of the team, like they will rise based off the expectations that the team puts on them. Does that make sense? Yeah. make the hard choices for the right reasons. Guys, like in this industry, like we both have learned together, like there is some times where like, sometimes you’re looking at path of growth, and you’re looking at two to two routes to take, right? Just remember that, like, the path that takes courage usually is the path that takes growth, right? And never try to find yourself looking for comfort, right? Always be patient always be humble. That’s a lesson that Sam actually taught me. Because this dude right here could have freakin Remi called me curse me and like, dude, he gave me love. And he gave me patience. And he gave me friendship. And you’re one of the people that really like, put me back on a good path and like, has made all the difference in my life, dude, thanks. So like, just as a homie, I love you, too. Okay, mistakes we learn from, right. But excuses will destroy us. And what I mean by that is like, Dude, you’re gonna make mistakes. I’ve made so many. And like, I’m telling you, like, as you go through your careers, whether you’re one year in five years, in 10 years, and I’m still making mistakes, but I’m still learning from them. And that’s the difference when you make that excuse. That’ll destroy you,

Sam Taggart 28:05
especially, especially as a leader. Oh, god, yeah, just know, like, if you’re a rep right now, and you’re like, me, and my manager keeps messing up for my leader, or whatever, it’s like, Duh, they’re going to where you can call them out is when they start making excuses of why they keep messing up, and they don’t take ownership over it. Yeah. And then also, where you got to come from is like, Hey, you’re making mistakes, too, probably. So just take ownership of your stuff. You know what I mean? So like,

28:28
it’s always a two way street at times, right? So maintain accountability at all cost. Without accountability, you have nothing guys, like seriously in this industry, like you like if you say you’re going to do something like you need to drive yourself to do it. Because like, it’s not really accountability, say, like, Oh, my quota is 10. This or my quota is a it’s like, you yourself when I said before, winning is a habit, right? Well, so is losing and breaking promises to yourself. And like people understand, it’s like, if you say, you’re gonna go out there and do it, like, you need to give everything you got to hit what you’re gonna say that goal. And it’s fine. Like, hey, if you have a goal of 10, you gave everything you got you had a I love you for it. But if you like coast, because you feel like hey, whatever eight out of 10 is fair, that you’re not doing what you’re capable of doing. And what happens is over time, that becomes routine for you. And the next thing you know, you’re only ever going to live up to the expectations that some other guy or manager or leader has given you. So you’ll never have a true identity of your own. So you have to always go out there and do what you’re capable of doing. You have to always get out there and push because over time, you will keep leveling up, you’ll keep rising. And it’s funny where this will really go once you really have compelling efforts, right? So phones don’t always be a leader before their friend. Dude, you want to talk about a hard lesson to learn. And like this one took me like a good six, seven years. When you guys hear me say this, you’re like what I can’t like manage and work with my homies. No, I’m friends with every dude I work with. I like I like eating Guys I don’t meet or no, like, next thing you know, they’re in the office day in, day out. Next thing you know, we’re best friends. Like you already know, most of your dudes that you work with, are they the homies, but if you’re going to be the one that leads them, and you made you made that choice to be their leader, you brought them in, like, your job as a leader in your duty to be their brother comes way before friendship. So like, you can not allow the comfort zone of that friendship, to stand in the way of what you need to do as a leader to hold them accountable, and to push them to be the best version of themselves. So always a leader before their friend. Okay, have structure, have a schedule, have a plan, dude, off the hip is good for a lot of people in this industry. I know, I know, I used to be that most off the hip type of guy, but will happen is like you’ll bottleneck at your talent level. And what I mean by that is, there’s a lot of very, very talented dudes in our industry that could like rise and multiply and do 10 times more, if they just have structure and organization. Because like your talent will only take you so far in life until you can harness it. Does that make sense? Yeah, 100%. So it’s like I’m always telling guys is like, Dude, get the structure down. So that you can have the bandwidth and the capacity to level up. And then you can rise, love. But if you don’t do that, you don’t put a good foundation. At first, you’ll only dependent on your talent. And when you have when you’re running off emotion, which dude, I do a lot and you know that you’ll do this, right? But you need to have a structure that can keep you solid, because that structure will slowly keep rising and keeping up. If you go for motion, you’ll keep going through the dips, if that makes

Sam Taggart 31:36
this all the time. I know that this is probably the like this one hits home because you know, your habits, your discipline, the structure is what’s going to keep that talent flowing. Versus like the peaks and the valleys of like, yeah, like you said emotional action. And it’s like when I feel like it’ll do it. Because, you know, and I can turn it on like that. So if I need to turn it on. I know I’ll turn it on. And I’m like, why don’t you just always have it on? Yeah, doesn’t destructure tell you when it’s on and off? Instead of like, oh, I need to turn it on now. I’m like, no, like,

32:09
it shouldn’t be an on off switch all the time. Yeah, guys, like, it’s like, when you’re constantly having to like go from like, start and then like, ramp yourself up. It’s like, you’re gonna bottle that caveat. I’m telling you and for your guys, for all you managers out there that I’ll tell you, you know what, one of the most uncomfortable growth points was for me, is when I was going from like, I’m the best manager, I’m the best manager I’m number one. Ooh, to like, I’m up subpar regional. Like dude, I remember when I like first started to try like multiply my teams, I found so much restriction based on like, I didn’t have enough bandwidth to get to all my guys, I didn’t have the structure and foundation to get to all my guys. And that was vital for me to get organized. Right? Like right away get organized. Because as a manager, right when you’re running one team, or you’re a good sales trainer, or going out working with guys, a lot of times industry, we try to do heavy addition. Right? And what I mean by that is like you ever have like when your offices that you show up into and like if you’re there and you’re leading the charge that day or that week, they’re gonna kill it. But as soon as like you leave or you’re there you’re gone for like two or three weeks sales do what? They’re gone. You know, sometimes days today, yeah,

33:19
gone for a day. It’s like Where did everybody

33:21
go? I’ve been gone for hours. I like to go I gotta get through that stuff goes down. No, but so I tell guys to like dude, instead of like looking at like, like, how you lead by from an addition standpoint, like instead of micromanaging or trying to, like, do everything like you need to like start putting behaviors with your guys that create multiplication, like me, when I’m training my guys, I’m going through their their thought process, I’m trying to change behaviors. I’m trying to develop the way that their decision making is being done. If you try to micromanage and control your guys, they’ll never actually rise as leaders and then you will never rise for them. And you’ll bottleneck right there. And guys, one thing you have to always do as a leader, no matter how good you are, you have to stay humble. I am always putting time in with guys like Sam, I’m always taking classes. I’m always trying to learn from guys like Sam that have like paved the way and help guys like me, like really get going in these industries like Dude, no matter how much you’ve done, like we did almost 20 We did 18.2 megawatts in sales last year. And I am constantly learning day in day out how I can become a better leader. Because the only way my guys below me level up that I worked for is that I’m constantly dedicated to improving who I am on a personal level on a business level on a whole person paradigm level. So I make sure I’ve instilled in behaviors and values and it multiplies throughout my region versus me just showing up and doing a great motivational spill for a day or week.

Sam Taggart 34:46
So yeah, what is that? Is that all right? That’s

34:49
pretty much guiding principles like dude, here’s my beat. Like I tell you, I’ll repeat it again. Hard times makes hard men don’t look for the easy way out. Okay? Like I can’t tell you in enough that like, all the stuff that I went through these 10 years of doing this industry has, like, humbled me and shaped me. And like, I can honestly say, I’ve never been happier in a better place than I am now. Yeah, beautiful baby girl. gorgeous wife. I got homies like, Sam,

Sam Taggart 35:16
what was it that like? What had to happen? Or what? Like, what was it that just finally was like, Oh my gosh, I need to make these changes, like, how did you snap out of it? Because I

35:28
started caring about my people more than I care about myself. Like, dude, when you’re a leader, and if you ever choose yourself over your people, you’ve lost everything. And I think in my earlier career, like I did, I did love my guys. But I also loved what my guys could do for me. And I love that what I could get, and I love the money. And I love this. And like, Guys, money is going to come man, like, I’ll tell you what I’ve made. Ever since I started following these principles, I’ve made more money than I’ve ever made my entire life and a few months. But when I was out there only looking for money. And I was trying to look for a deal. And I was trying to do how hard of a negotiator was I know I used to walk in and eff up owners left and right, like, I’d get what I want whatever I wanted when I wanted it. But the whole thing is, is when you have that mentality, you lose sight of what’s important. And you’ll never build something that’s going to stand for 10 plus years. Do anytime that you’re working with guys, you want to keep the end in mind. Never sell yourself short. And never, never sell your guys short. Never put yourself before them ever. That’s what changed for me is when I actually started following the principles we preach. There’s a lot of hypocrites in this industry. And then you got to like, You got to really mean what you preach out here. And like, there’s plenty of guys that talk to talk. But leaders, you got to always walk the walk. Yeah. And I think like I had a humbling experience. I got married, I settled down and I thought like, dude, like, what kind of man? Am I? What’s my integrity worth? Yeah. And I realized, is there not $1 amount that that I’ll sell it for? And I’m just glad guys like you had patience.

Sam Taggart 37:00
No, I’m dude, I’m just like you learn in my own journey. Yeah, do we make mistakes, though, right? I’m serious. Like, even you just saying that. I’m like, man, like, because it’s so easy to kind of put yourself on the spotlight and take, right? Instead of having this like, I’m here to guide and serve and, and be holding space for somebody else to grow. And like, you know, in the position I’m in like, a lot of people look up to me or like, I manage a lot of like, yes, owners or whatever. And it’s like, even then I’m like, Oh man, like how do I keep shining the light back on them and making them all stars and making them the giving them the structures that they’re looking for? And like, you know, and that’s when I’m finding the most value or people you know, it’s like the the mantra I have is like, I will provide so much value people gladly give me their money. And you’re set sense it’s like I’ll provide so much value and change so many lives that they’ll gladly work for me and Phil extreme or So money is a byproduct

37:55
of success guys, like you should never get out and like you should never be out there working your tails off. For like this dollar amount that you want to earn. You have to like, find your mission and find the mission that you and your team are on together and the vision that you’ll share and that’s what you work for. Yeah, I love that. Ours was to be the largest division and region at aka 50% of volume we did it that’s awesome. Dude, when you’re talking about guys is like everyone asked like like what makes us successful? It really is the people in there. You care about do a couple shout outs just

Sam Taggart 38:27
shout him so Hey,

38:28
Palm Bay Joey says SEO Best alone crushing it. They’re doing their regions doing 4040 plus a week they got two teams. Matt Noah out there in Port St. Lucie. I love you homies their upcoming managers that just launched straight dominating. I got Cole Kramer out there he has all these Orlando team Daytona teams are cranking almost freakin 40 deals a week as well. And capital glass out there and Fayetteville that’s the hardest pra hidden team with the lowest 12% attrition Blake Meyers Cole Meyers Alex evil all you boys Joey scary on Oh, I love you gentlemen. And thank you for what you do for this standard and leading the way.

Sam Taggart 39:05
So cool. I mean, very few times I get like the manager owner shout and other people like that, like, just goes to show like hey, and

39:12
John McAfee. Dude, I do we I got I could sit here all day and name all these people because like, honestly, I promise you like, we all work like so hard. And like every person on our team is on the mission. And every person like sees the vision of what we’re building here for the next five to 10 years and it’s just it’s humbling

Sam Taggart 39:30
that’s so cool. That’s cool. Thank you so much for doing this this has been dude fire.

39:35
Oh no, you Hey, you’re the one dude you’ve laid the path for a lot of us guys even like myself to like, you know actually do this business for the right reasons. I know a lot of guys are out there like trying to make the you know hard decisions every day for the right reasons to stick to it. Stick to the principles that you know that in your harder right. Never sell your integrity and if you’ve done some bad you make amends.

Sam Taggart 39:55
Love the head. Go subscribe, share this. Leave a comment. See and do something about it like if you need to make a mess with somebody go make a man go make me go you know own servers takes on some mistakes but we’re here to here to support you and hopefully you got some good value out of this and see guys on the next episode. Later boys