Jake Goodyear: How Gen Z Can Crush Sales and Beat the Odds
Timestamps are as accurate as they can be but may be slightly off. We encourage you to listen to the full context.
Podcast Summary
In this episode of the Level Up Podcast, host Paul Alex interviews 19-year-old Jake Goodyear, who has achieved remarkable success in life insurance sales, generating $100,000 in revenue within just five months of starting his sales journey. Jake shares his transformative story from being a socially anxious college student to becoming a confident sales professional. (02:34) He discusses his experience with door-to-door pest control sales, which taught him essential sales skills but lacked scalability, leading him to transition into the life insurance industry. (14:07) Throughout the conversation, Jake emphasizes the importance of mindset, persistence, and surrounding yourself with the right people to achieve success.
- Main themes: Overcoming social anxiety and insecurities, the power of decisive action, building confidence through proving yourself wrong, the importance of persistence in sales, and creating your own identity in new environments.
Speakers
Paul Alex
Paul Alex is the host of the Level Up Podcast, which is currently the #1 business podcast on Apple Podcasts and ranks #19 in all categories with over 3 million monthly listeners. He's a former detective who left law enforcement to become an entrepreneur, building multiple successful businesses including ATM investments that saved him during a career crisis.
Jake Goodyear
Jake Goodyear is a 19-year-old life insurance sales professional from New York who dropped out of college to pursue entrepreneurship. Despite starting with social anxiety and insecurities, he has achieved $100,000 in revenue within five months of entering the life insurance industry. He previously worked in door-to-door pest control sales, which provided him with foundational sales skills.
Key Takeaways
Create Your Own Identity in New Environments
Jake discovered the power of reinvention when he moved to Tampa, Florida for college. (10:17) He realized that "nobody knows me here. I could create who I wanna be starting today." This mindset shift allowed him to overcome his social anxiety and build confidence. The key insight is that changing your environment can provide the freedom to become who you want to be, free from past limitations and others' preconceived notions about you.
Prove Yourself Wrong to Build Confidence
Jake built his confidence by consistently proving his limiting beliefs wrong, particularly through fitness. (11:17) He explains how being "super skinny" and starting to go to the gym taught him that "what that did to my mind was give me control over my outcomes and circumstances." This principle of extreme ownership through small wins creates a foundation for tackling bigger challenges in business and life.
Persistence Beats Talent in Sales
Jake emphasizes that 40% of deals are closed two weeks after the initial lead contact, solely because of persistent follow-up. (17:00) He never stops dialing leads until he gets results, understanding that familiarity breeds trust. This approach requires mental resilience to handle rejection but ultimately separates successful salespeople from those who give up too early.
Investment Directly Correlates with Results
Jake discovered that his business outcomes were "directly correlated with the outcomes that I get" when it comes to investment in leads. (15:27) He buys leads from people who have already expressed interest in life insurance, rather than cold calling, and reinvests profits back into purchasing higher-quality leads. This systematic approach to scaling shows the importance of treating sales as a numbers game with measurable inputs and outputs.
Choose Advisors Based on Relevant Experience
Jake made the difficult decision to respectfully decline business advice from family members who hadn't achieved what he was trying to accomplish. (25:04) He told his mother, "when it comes to building a business, there's no credibility for you to give me advice on that even though I love you." This demonstrates the importance of seeking mentorship from people who have walked the path you want to walk, while still honoring relationships in other areas where they do have expertise.
Statistics & Facts
- Jake generates 3-4 buyers from approximately 300 dial attempts in his current life insurance sales role, demonstrating a 1-1.3% conversion rate. (14:41)
- 40% of deals that actually get closed across all businesses happen two weeks after the initial lead contact, emphasizing the critical importance of persistent follow-up in sales. (17:00)
- Jake achieved $100,000 in revenue within five months of starting in life insurance sales at age 19, starting with only $5 in his bank account and a $900 credit limit. (13:57)
