In this episode of Building Great Sales Teams, we are joined by Brian Covey former USA Olympic Soccer player and Mortgage Mogul.
Brian Covey is the Founder of Covey Holdings and EVP at Revolution Mortgage. Over the last 2 decades, Brian has been building and leading multi-billion-dollar teams.
How do you go from pro soccer player to VP of one of the largest mortgage companies in America – more importantly what did he learn along the way, the answer is A LOT!
Brian has mastered the art of a growth mindset, the art of winning, and the art of staying fit. He believes in integration and health over all things. Brian is a proud father, an influencer, a top rated podcaster and, just simply, a fabulous soccer dad. He throws the suit down and coaches his daughters league with joy several times a week.
Growing up in Memphis, TN his love for the sport of soccer led him to travel the world, compete at the highest levels & experience so much that has shaped him into the husband, dad & leader he is today.
We get a chance to take a trip through Brian's journey from high school soccer star to creating a legacy of love.
There is so much value shared with us and you won't want to miss this!
Connect with Brian:
Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/brian.covey.1422
Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/thebriancovey/
00:00:00:17 - 00:01:01:06
Speaker 1
I don't know that great experiences build great leaders, great leaders, build great teams. This is building great sales teams. All right, guys, We are live today on this episode. So we're recording every Wednesday now and one of the episodes we select a guest that we're very excited about. And today it's Brian Coby. He's a husband and a father to three beautiful kiddos.
00:01:01:19 - 00:01:29:21
Speaker 1
He's a former Olympic US USA soccer player. He's a bass guitar player, which was interesting to find out, as well as the author of Conversations With Kobe featured in Forbes Entrepreneurs. And today, parenting. I've got some questions about that one for sure. And so he's taken Revolution Mortgage from 245 million to 2.45 billion with a B, So I'm excited to have Kobe on the show.
00:01:29:21 - 00:01:37:25
Speaker 1
He's also an authority on high performing teams and has mastered the art of winning and cultivating a champion's mindset. Brian, welcome to the show.
00:01:38:13 - 00:01:46:18
Speaker 2
Doug Thanks for having us as a cool intro and I'm sure we'll dive into all that and what it means and the lessons learned along the way. But excited to be jammin with you.
00:01:47:18 - 00:02:04:07
Speaker 1
Yeah, one of the one of the things, you know, just being in sales for 12 years now and I'm sure you see as well when you're recruiting is there is a connection between high performing sports individuals and high performing business people. Right. And so I kind of wanted to go back and find out, All right, where did this all come from?
00:02:04:16 - 00:02:08:13
Speaker 1
You know, the USA soccer team, where did the love of soccer start?
00:02:09:12 - 00:02:25:26
Speaker 2
And so I'm really fortunate. I grew up in Memphis, Tennessee, and my dad, probably like many people, was my first coach, right? Like in church league and younger. My older brother was five years older. So if you can imagine for all those younger siblings, you know, you show up to the games you're playing in the streets, you go wherever the older sibling goes.
00:02:25:26 - 00:02:42:26
Speaker 2
And so that's how I learned competitiveness being out there on the field in the streets, playing whatever sport we would play, honestly. And I was blessed. Those that follow soccer, you probably know the name Pele, right? You've probably seen a lot of that with Brazil. There was a gentleman that played with Pele Root JR was actually in Memphis.
00:02:42:26 - 00:03:05:20
Speaker 2
So if you look him up, one of the great American footballers and you'll see Kyle was actually at our church and he taught at an early age. I had one of the best like professional soccer players. It really was, it wasn't so much as coaching or anything that he taught me as far as skills, but he really planted a seed, I believe, of a true passion and love for the game still exist today where I coach my daughter, my son.
00:03:05:25 - 00:03:30:16
Speaker 2
I'm involved. I'm on our board here with our Tennessee soccer club. And still to this day, right, like I love the sport, you can't pull it out of me. So I think that seed is what then eventually grew into my competitiveness and competing and I got to compete at some really cool levels. But if you don't have the passion, the drive I think, was Kobe Bryant that said, you know, you look at those early mornings, those late nights doing the work when nobody's around.
00:03:30:27 - 00:03:45:09
Speaker 2
That's the dream that is. And I look back, that's the dream. So I got to live that and I share from that perspective. There's a lot of things in life today as a parent or as an entrepreneur or a business leader. That's the dream. In a lot of times we avoid that journey and what we need to do.
00:03:45:09 - 00:03:47:11
Speaker 2
So I'm sure we'll unpack some of that today.
00:03:48:02 - 00:04:05:18
Speaker 1
Yeah, falling in love with the journey is a huge part of it and getting getting to see, I guess, the insight of that journey from such a young age and then falling in love with soccer after that. I can imagine how that had such a huge impact on you. So I noticed that you had an article in today Parenting.
00:04:05:18 - 00:04:22:28
Speaker 1
You've got three amazing kids. So I wanted to ask, you know, because I have three kids also and they're, I think, younger than your kids. Mine are eight, ten and 12. And so we're getting into that age where it's like, okay, they're figuring out, all right, what do I actually enjoy doing? How did you all navigate that when they were younger?
00:04:23:04 - 00:04:39:04
Speaker 1
I mean, obviously your daughter followed in your footsteps, which is lucky, right, because you get to stay in the game. But how did you and your wife kind of navigate what they were interested in and did they want to do everything as well as the balance along with building your business at that time?
00:04:40:04 - 00:04:59:14
Speaker 2
I'll there some lessons that I learned, but my wife and I just celebrated 20 years being married this past August. So that in and of itself, right, is like, I don't want to overlook that because that is a huge part of how we chose to parent early on. And we are in alignment. Right? And it doesn't mean that you always agree, but I share parenting is a partnership, right?
00:04:59:14 - 00:05:18:15
Speaker 2
And as you choose how you parent, each of you play a role in that. I think being on the same page is for us, that's that's what matters the most. It doesn't mean that's always going to happen perfectly. Let's be real. Sometimes that's where I think some of the parenting we grow and mature as parents. But I'll go back, you know, 2007, 2008, perfect time to have kids, right?
00:05:18:15 - 00:05:41:25
Speaker 2
I'm in the mortgage business, real estate. Wonderful time to have our first kids and the world crash. So I'm being facetious here. Right. But I think it teaches you a lot because in that storm, there's a choice to be made, right? I'm traveling every week. We're trying to figure this out. My wife had been an ICU nurse and now she's staying at home with the kids because I'm traveling and I'm trying to build out my corporate career and all these things that I thought was important.
00:05:42:15 - 00:05:58:01
Speaker 2
So I did a lot of things wrong, which is how I learned how to improve as a parent. And some of those lessons. I would tell you this one, nothing should come before you and your spouse, right? That relationship is what your kids will see. That's how they will model. That's how they're going to feel. The energy. That's how they will know that you actually love each other.
00:05:58:11 - 00:06:15:00
Speaker 2
You want to know where their language comes from, where their emotions come from and everything. Just look at your relationship with yourself, with your spouse. I think that matters. Second part I would tell you, I started to realize, I mean, I was trying to do all these things, those who can relate. If you're a high achiever, you love to compete, you love to go.
00:06:15:09 - 00:06:29:10
Speaker 2
I wanted to be all things to all people. I had trouble saying no. I was a people pleaser. All of this stuff, Doug, that really led me down a path of I wasn't able to show up as the dad and as the spouse and the husband that I needed to be. Unfortunately, I had a coach, a mentor, come along in my life.
00:06:29:18 - 00:06:47:14
Speaker 2
It was like. Brian Like where they're areas instead of trying to create this perfect harmony and balance, introduce me to a term called integration. And integration looks like this. We built out a home gym, so my two youngest are my boys, right? And 714 years old. We get to work out together. Maybe we go walk the dog together.
00:06:47:14 - 00:07:04:06
Speaker 2
We integrate things maybe on my daughter's soccer practice and I'm not her coach. She's training, but there's a track. There's somewhere that I can work out while she's at training and I can be present. There are ways in which your life today that if you were to integrate and approach it in that manner, you wouldn't feel like you didn't have enough time in your day.
00:07:04:09 - 00:07:27:01
Speaker 2
I think that was huge. The last one is give yourself some grace. And throughout my now 20 years being married and our oldest is 15, the lessons I've learned are only valuable if I implement them. I make change in myself. I know I'm a better parent than I was five years ago, but also recognize I'm not the parent that I can be in five years and recognizing that how you show up matters.
00:07:27:18 - 00:07:45:18
Speaker 2
And even this week had an opportunity that my daughter asked. She said, Hey, we've got exams. Can you pick me up from school? Right. That 30 minute drive, 20 minute drive, whatever it ends up being is intentional time that if you're focused on how you show up, you'll actually be able to plant seeds like coaches and mentors did in my life.
00:07:45:27 - 00:08:05:19
Speaker 2
And I think that's where your parenting can live on long after you're sitting with them, making choices and decisions with them. You want them to be at a think properly on their own, to have integrity, have a high value of their self-worth. And so I would say those those are the lessons I look back on and that I shared in that parenting magazine of here's how I'm living it.
00:08:05:19 - 00:08:08:25
Speaker 2
And it's not perfect, but I know it's better than it was.
00:08:09:24 - 00:08:29:15
Speaker 1
Absolutely. You know, I went through something very similar in my twenties when my kids were little, and I'm I'm glad I made that change. Finally, it's where it wasn't about traveling as much as I could and accomplishing all the things it was about. Like you said, the integration, that's a huge piece of it that we just started working on at home right now.
00:08:29:22 - 00:08:48:14
Speaker 1
And one of the thing is, is we do family workouts in the evening. You know, and it's just it's simple stuff, calisthenics. You know, my kids get so into it and they love it. And so we haven't really found the sports for each of them just yet. But, you know, my daughter's in middle school now, so she's trying out all the sports being taught, the fundamentals and everything.
00:08:48:24 - 00:09:09:15
Speaker 1
And so once we find that, I'm sure it's going to take over. Up until now, it's been especially my son drama, you know, like what he called the school plays and stuff like that. They're huge into into theater. And so that's been a big, you know, time constraint there. But like you said, the integration can be a huge piece for it.
00:09:09:15 - 00:09:29:12
Speaker 1
And we are building out a gym in our garage right now so that we're able to work out with them in the morning. So it's going to be massive. I'm excited about it. All right. Let's switch gears a little bit here and get get into the transition from soccer to the mortgage industry. So at what point did you know, okay, soccer was over and it was time to find a career?
00:09:31:03 - 00:09:51:22
Speaker 2
Yeah, I thought about that a lot because in that season I was at a different age and probably thinking different. But I remember my goal was really to play professionally and that was the goal and achieve that. So that's awesome to kind of check the box. When I got there, there was a little bit of a shift of I didn't love it like I did, right, and I didn't enjoy or see myself staying in the league for ten more years.
00:09:51:22 - 00:10:16:04
Speaker 2
And that's really probably would have been my journey. And I saw that would have been the path. And I remember thinking, You know what, I really enjoy other things in my life. Why not go pursue them now? I'm young and and I can go do them. And so I thought if it wasn't like this, you know, bad injury or anything crazy, there was just a moment where I felt myself start to grow and move away from really wanting to compete at the highest level.
00:10:16:04 - 00:10:33:17
Speaker 2
And those are the competed, whether it's D-1 or professionally, you realize you're not completely in, you shouldn't be in, right? That's just that's part of it because with the demands and what's there. So I had seen some friends move into business, right. And they were either, you know, financial advisors or they were learning the mortgage business, real estate, all that.
00:10:33:17 - 00:10:56:20
Speaker 2
And I thought, you know what? I've got a lot of contacts. I've got a lot of people that I know. This really intrigues me because in college I enjoyed finance. You know, marketing, I enjoyed economics. All of that to me was great. Let's be real. I saw friends driving nice cars, having cool jobs, maybe playing golf, you know, having a good time, like maybe that's the career for me because professional sports where I was, I wasn't living the glamorous life.
00:10:56:20 - 00:11:10:07
Speaker 2
There was a very big contrast of that opportunity and so I think once we know we need to make a change, then it's time for us to go pursue that. And that was the next chapter is that unfolded for me. And I went in all in on on the mortgage side.
00:11:11:20 - 00:11:30:17
Speaker 1
And I love that, you know, you had that self-awareness at the time, too, to see that love for soccer, kind of making that curve a little bit. And you didn't stay too long, right. Because then you would have missed that that chance to get straight into the mortgage industry and not get bounced around from team to team or, you know, whatever the case was, whatever future you were looking at in soccer.
00:11:30:17 - 00:11:52:06
Speaker 1
So you recognize that. So, you know, obviously, I'm sure you recognize the climate in the mortgage industry right now and so do you have a message for mortgage officers? Because, you know, we have some listeners that are in the mortgage industry and they're dealing with, you know, higher interest rates now. And so just recently, they kind of leveled out and are going down a little bit.
00:11:52:06 - 00:11:59:09
Speaker 1
So what is kind of your prediction or your messaging to those mortgage officers that are in the industry and struggling right now?
00:12:00:06 - 00:12:18:17
Speaker 2
Well, I'll give you a fresh conversation I had this morning. So this is just off of and I'll kind of frame it up as of talking to some folks that are looking at leaving their current organization and they're looking at joining us right at Revolution. Since I just came over here, a lot of people are just curious like, hey, man, what is different in the markets down here is what I'm hearing from my company.
00:12:18:17 - 00:12:36:03
Speaker 2
Here's what I'm seeing in the news. And a lot of people are struggling with what's real. I mean, you know, Doug, you could read something today and the headline will say something different than what the actual content of the article or the newsletter or the news will say. They're actually counteract each other. Right? And you're like, what is happening?
00:12:36:03 - 00:12:53:28
Speaker 2
Are we in a recession? Not in recession or rates? You hire people not buying. But here's the facts, guys, is homes are bought and sold every day. Right now in your local market, people are getting mortgages and refinancing mortgages. Is it lower than it was a year ago? Sure. But you know what? There are thousands of people in most of the markets.
00:12:53:28 - 00:13:18:05
Speaker 2
They're there. So this conversation this morning was with someone who's been in the business almost 30 years. As I listen to them, they were unpacking all the things about price, their process, their programs. And Doug, what I was hearing was a very transactional conversation they were having with themselves. And they have a belief that that transactional part of the business is what drives their success.
00:13:18:05 - 00:13:42:21
Speaker 2
Or I'm going to propose and just ask you to consider this. What if you and your product and service was you and it could be transformational, meaning the amount of relationships that you have, the amount of impact you have on them, the influence that you're able to gain not only through social but face to face and your ability to grow a massive network, not in just your local community, but right now you may have to think beyond your community, Right?
00:13:42:22 - 00:14:01:24
Speaker 2
I'm in Nashville. Maybe I'm working towards Memphis, Knoxville, up into Kentucky, down into Alabama. Maybe I need to grow my network and where I'm actually soliciting business to expand. That's how I expand. I think too many times we put a constraint on ourselves and were like, Well, these are all the limits. Great. I'm aware of those too. What are we going to do about them?
00:14:01:29 - 00:14:20:03
Speaker 2
Think transformational, not transactional. And if you think that way, you're going to start to show up on social different. Your conversations are going to look different. You're going to have an abundance mentality that you're going to realize that for most lenders call it what it is your single digit market share means that 90% plus go to another lender today.
00:14:20:12 - 00:14:41:16
Speaker 2
Your job let's be clear. Your job is to get more of that business. You can't control how many homes are sold. You can't control how many people refinance, but you can control your actions. Your conversation should be measuring your conversion. You should be measuring what you're doing on social. You should be measuring the people that have sent you business over the last 12 months to see where are their opportunities.
00:14:41:25 - 00:15:05:03
Speaker 2
I'll give you a real life example. That was one of our top producers yesterday, and I asked them, Hey, let's go through your top five referral agents. What percentage of their business did you get this year? One most people don't know to. I would tell you it's probably less than 50%. Statistics will tell us if you're the number one lender with a real estate agent and your lender, then you're probably going to get 65 70% of their business.
00:15:05:03 - 00:15:21:27
Speaker 2
In the rest, go to number two, three and four and so on. Your job is to get to be number one with as many people as you can. Right now you have a laser focus. What I found that laser focus, just like in sports, will allow you to expand and you'll see more of those opportunities and you'll spend your time and energy and your effort in the places that produce results.
00:15:22:07 - 00:15:23:05
Speaker 2
That's where I would be right now.
00:15:24:01 - 00:15:45:16
Speaker 1
And that's massive. And what I love is it's very tactical, right? It's not, you know, a mindset piece. It's very one, two, three. So the first thing is open up your market right? And so if you normally used to doing 100 or 200 mortgages a year and because of, you know, interest rates are higher, that's going down. We'll open up the market which you service.
00:15:45:16 - 00:16:08:24
Speaker 1
Right. And then the second piece of this is focus on the conversion rates in that market that you're servicing. And then the third piece is the referral partners is huge. You know, I talked to my guys about that all the time because we're in solar, right? And one of the best pieces of advice I actually got was from someone that was on your podcast a couple of months ago, Ryan Newman.
00:16:09:07 - 00:16:28:28
Speaker 1
And so we were on a random, you know, he does these random calls within the apex Mastermind network and he'll be like, Hey, I'm jumping on 2 hours, everybody jump on. So I jumped on and one of the mortgage officers in the group asked him, Hey, what can I be doing to increase my income? And one of the things that they said was, ah, that he said was solar.
00:16:29:11 - 00:16:51:00
Speaker 1
Like you just signed up all these people for mortgages and they have brand new homes. You know, the best time to get solar is when you just got the home because you know you're not moving anytime soon, you know. And so the referral fees that go with that will help you through the tough times. You know, when you are spending time expanding your market, doing the prospecting and connecting with your referrals and everything.
00:16:51:00 - 00:17:09:23
Speaker 1
So I thought I thought that was great advice. And then definitely what you just gave too, because again, so many people or influencers or coaches are giving that mindset advice when sometimes people just need a 1 to 3 tactical. This is how I hit each point and this is how I can increase my market share. So that's, that's awesome.
00:17:10:19 - 00:17:25:09
Speaker 2
100%. We need more of that. I was tell you I'll expand on what you said is because solar is such a cool way to do that. What I found is now like even this week you real life examples people are reaching out and they're wanting to invest in multifamily. They're looking for deals, whether it's solar or they're looking to invest wherever.
00:17:25:19 - 00:17:44:28
Speaker 2
This time of year, people are looking to save on their taxes. Right? If you can be the person that connects them and helps them get a win in their life, doesn't have to be in your particular area of expertise. This week alone, I'll create more referrals and probably more revenue for people on my network than I will for myself because I believe in if you give, that's what at some point is going to come back.
00:17:44:28 - 00:17:50:07
Speaker 2
If I serve enough people, you have that mindset, you put it with action, you're going to win.
00:17:50:21 - 00:18:09:29
Speaker 1
Yeah, it's massive. The law of reciprocity, that's that's huge. So the shows about building great sales teams and, you know, we get into all different subjects, you know, because I do believe that part of building great sales teams is being a great leader. And then everything that goes with being a great leader, you know, and having that that balance to work towards it.
00:18:09:29 - 00:18:24:18
Speaker 1
But you build out a team that does 2.5 billion in production. That's massive, you know what I mean? Even in the mortgage industry, right? And so I'm very curious, what are the some of the ways that you focus on developing your team?
00:18:25:26 - 00:18:56:00
Speaker 2
Yeah. So this has changed over the last five years or so. Those numbers, just to clarify, people listen. That was when I just left Loandepot a little bit over a week ago. And so I was there almost five years. We built that at Loandepot, which is the top lender in the country. All of this had no presence. We started in a very small team and what I identified early in that process was I understood my leadership philosophy, which is very much like sports, is the people that train the most, that are the most coachable, that put in the hard work.
00:18:56:09 - 00:19:13:21
Speaker 2
Those were the characteristics. Then I could teach them mortgage foundational things. I could teach you how to run credit. I can teach you how to have better conversations, all those skills I can teach you. But if you're not coachable, you don't have the work ethic. You're not somebody that just generally loves to train and improve probably can be the right place for you.
00:19:13:21 - 00:19:31:18
Speaker 2
So I think clarity of who do you want to attract into your world and your life? I think that's the most important there. And part of our process was this. I think this is the way leaders today can up their game is realize, number one, you are not the sole provider and the only one that can care and take care of your team and help them grow.
00:19:31:27 - 00:19:49:07
Speaker 2
What I mean by that is let's get in the tactics I brought in this year and I will continue to do this every month. Someone that was going to invest in the team and this could be coaches in my life, like I'll give a shout out. Ben Newman's been doing a bunch of stuff with me and our group and you bring in people that are experts.
00:19:49:20 - 00:20:08:12
Speaker 2
Let them pour into your team, invest real dollars, pay people to come in and coach your team to help you because you're not the end all. Be all and everything your team needs right now. We had someone come in during COVID and I think about during that season of working from home and that mental health side of things that is not even in my dad's a psychologist.
00:20:08:12 - 00:20:28:09
Speaker 2
That is not my true area of expertise. Bring people in. And when you build your network as a leader, they're still going to look at you and go, Wow, Doug, you're the one that provides all of this care, the support, the communication, the information. You helped me be a better me that will step down into your culture. And that's what we have been focused on.
00:20:28:19 - 00:20:47:08
Speaker 2
I think great leaders, if I really break it down like I'm a huge Maxwell follower, great leaders are also the best followers. Mm hmm. And think about that. Are you following the right people? Do you have the right people in your corner? You have the right mentors in your life. Are you leading by example in your own growth and development?
00:20:47:18 - 00:21:20:24
Speaker 2
Well, this is what I know and believe to be true. The Brian of five years ago is not the Brian of today. I'm better in so many areas. I'm still falling short in some areas and I'm aware of those. But I'm constantly attacking that process every day and I share that journey with our team. And so I think use what you have, share that with the group and bring people along the journey if they are a part of it and they feel like they are part of it, they will do things that you never could micromanage or beg or even pay them to do.
00:21:21:05 - 00:21:28:14
Speaker 2
People have to want to do it. It's like training, like sports. You have a passion, a desire and a drive. You're going to do it when nobody is even asking you to do it.
00:21:30:02 - 00:21:54:12
Speaker 1
I love it. There's a massive alignment there, too. Over the last year, we've kind of been adding to our opportunity structure. So, you know, we have different levels in our business. On the silver side, you got your setter, your closer, your lead closer manager, VP of sales and so on. Right? And at each level we have training along the way and we call it freedom training because our mission statement is we help each other achieve freedom.
00:21:54:12 - 00:22:16:21
Speaker 1
It's all over the walls, it's on our bracelets, it's on our energy drink, you know, And how are you going to be able to do that if you're only focused on business success? Right? So we bring in, like you said, you got to bring in the experts, you know, And so we've brought people in on mindset. We brought people in on meditation because millionaires meditate, right?
00:22:16:24 - 00:22:35:13
Speaker 1
We brought people in on health and fitness, on building wealth. You know, how to open up an LLC for our new people, stuff like that. And so what we do is when we bring them in and we pay them a fee to talk to our team, we record that training that they do and then it becomes part of our systematic training.
00:22:35:13 - 00:23:07:26
Speaker 1
As they move up in the company. They get this this training that we recorded months ago, you know, So that's one of the ways we get in our way out of that, you know, $500,000 fee, whatever, we pay them to come and speak. And so that's one of the ways that we're doing that. And then the other piece that you said was make them a part of it which aligns really well also, because if you look at a lot of our our SOPs and our training that we've written at the at the bottom, it says created by and you'll see like, you know, myself, my VP of sales Wayne.
00:23:07:26 - 00:23:24:27
Speaker 1
And then every now and then you'll see like a manager we used to have that. Even if they don't work with us anymore, we still give them credit down there that they had an input in that process, you know, like a train, the trainer or something like that. And so I believe in both of those things 100%. I think they're massive for our sales teams.
00:23:25:13 - 00:23:40:21
Speaker 1
So, you know, I imagine you get questions similar to this all the time when you're talking about building sales teams. You know, what do you what do you do in that culture? Maybe turned a little sour. There was an event that happened, maybe it was a market shift and you didn't have a strong enough team in the first place.
00:23:40:21 - 00:23:49:27
Speaker 1
And then there's a market shift and your culture's kind of going downhill. How would you recommend that managers and business owners turn that sales culture around?
00:23:51:02 - 00:24:12:16
Speaker 2
Man Great question. So we just went through this lean in, stronger, faster, communicate more than you ever expected you would need to, because you're actually going to be in a season that you need to weed people out. And it's counterintuitive, right? Because I don't want to lose people. I don't want to have people leave. But the reality is there's a concept called enrollment versus registration.
00:24:12:16 - 00:24:29:07
Speaker 2
And if you think about like in college or anywhere else, you can register for something, right? You can just kind of sign up. Maybe you show up, but you're not all in. If somebody is enrolled and they've paid money and they're truly committed to the vision or that they are, you need to find out who's enrolled versus registered.
00:24:29:17 - 00:24:59:24
Speaker 2
And I would encourage you to do that faster and have the tougher conversations sooner than you need to think through. Most leaders avoid those tough conversations, and what happens is things just kind of keep getting worse and it's that conflict avoidance, right? And they think it's going to get better and it doesn't. And so lean in in those seasons and find out who on your team is equipped that is willing and is truly enrolled in this that can help you create the change that you want to see and recognize you as the leader are the one that needs to lead them through.
00:25:00:08 - 00:25:20:07
Speaker 2
All right. Like you own it. And what I recognized during that season was there were some people that that when times were good, they were good. Times got tough. They either weren't built for it, they weren't willing to adapt or just their mentality. And what they're used to is they're going to find the easy way out, whatever that is, right?
00:25:20:11 - 00:25:41:08
Speaker 2
Not doing the work, complaining about the market. All of those things are hurting your culture today. Your job as the leader, number one is to protect the culture, protect the people. And that doesn't mean that you can save everybody. So be the leader that you set out to be. Set the standard, lean in on the communication in daily touches to find out how people are doing.
00:25:41:08 - 00:25:57:22
Speaker 2
Because I think through that season we're so focused on the business and the results that many times will lose sight of how how are the people feeling? Right? Like, how are they doing as human beings? And from there, when they know you care, it's that old saying of how much you care, they're actually going to engage with you.
00:25:57:22 - 00:26:01:10
Speaker 2
And so you need to sort through that as fast as you can.
00:26:01:10 - 00:26:26:19
Speaker 1
Yeah, I think that's that's huge because as a business owner, you see the financials, you know, you see the lack of sales, you see your your baby drying up, you know, same. And so the sky is falling somewhat. And so it's hard to to to redirect yourself and say, hey, I need to make sure that I am touching base with my people and I have a pulse at the entry level all the way through my level, because if not, then you're going to lose sight of that.
00:26:26:19 - 00:26:54:16
Speaker 1
And then all they hear from the top is, you know, Hey, we need to do this. We need to hit these numbers, we need to get back going and everything, or we need to start making sales again. They don't hear. They don't have anybody listening to them, you know, which when that comes from the owner versus like the VP or something like that, or when that comes from, you know, an individual that's high up in the company that they look up to, I mean, that's maybe all they need that day to go out and put in 110% versus the 60 or 70% they've been putting in before.
00:26:54:16 - 00:26:56:10
Speaker 1
You know, and so and.
00:26:56:11 - 00:27:11:23
Speaker 2
I would tell you the biggest thing, Doug, is there's a word we use collaboration quite a bit and it's thrown around. But if you're asking your team how to help you solve these problems and be very clear of it, guys, here are the two biggest problems we're faced right now. Keep it simple. How can we solve for this?
00:27:12:15 - 00:27:19:07
Speaker 2
If you want your teams involved in that? That is a simple question you can ask in the news. You got to be quiet and listen.
00:27:19:07 - 00:27:39:22
Speaker 1
Yeah, and that focus is is massive, right? And so we we operate on EOC, which is entrepreneurial operating system. And so every every quarter we set these rocks right? And my team tries every quarter, they try to set more than one rock. And I'm like, No, you only get one set, one. You focus on one. You hit that one, you know what I mean?
00:27:39:22 - 00:27:54:07
Speaker 1
And then we'll talk next quarter about this other rock that you have. And what happens more often than not is they hit that one rock and then the other one they wanted to set naturally gets hit because the one rock is being hit, you know, And the the power of focus on that is massive.
00:27:54:15 - 00:27:56:24
Speaker 2
So so obviously there.
00:27:56:24 - 00:28:14:21
Speaker 1
Is the real estate market is is is changing right now. There's a lot of opportunity for people that have, you know, maybe really good credit or a lot of cash. Right. And so a lot of people are taking advantage. They're scooping up homes right now when the market's down a little bit so that when it comes back up, they can take advantage.
00:28:15:01 - 00:28:19:19
Speaker 1
And so is that part of your wealth strategy? What are you doing right now to build wealth?
00:28:20:26 - 00:28:35:21
Speaker 2
Yeah, Over the last couple of years, I've diversified out quite a bit. And I'll say that the number one thing I did is it's got alignment with our CPA. And then we actually brought in a tax strategist that understands some things that I don't understand, right? And they're like, Hey, you should invest here because bonus depreciation on that.
00:28:36:00 - 00:28:55:06
Speaker 2
Here's where income is coming in. I am pretty simple. I use the Warren Buffett philosophy. If you start at that level of I only invest in things that I understand, right? So I'm in real estate, actually, I've got an ATM fund. So the ATMs are doing quite well. We have got our car wash fund and some things that we're doing around car washes because those franchises should be sold.
00:28:55:20 - 00:29:16:11
Speaker 2
Some multifamily properties as well. A couple of luxury rentals down in Orlando. I love Orlando. My kids love Disney. They love the weather and all that. And then we've diversified out into a couple of more tax deferred vehicles that I think will be long term plays for us and more like generational wealth pieces. But that all came from education guys.
00:29:16:11 - 00:29:35:19
Speaker 2
Like I say, all that. It's not to brag, but it is to impress on you that like the Bryan a five years ago didn't understand half of those. Like I understood real estate, right? That's what I've been doing. These other areas. I just started to ask questions and show up in rooms and people would talk about things and I would ask them questions and I would pay for their time and say, Hey, will you coach a mentor me through this?
00:29:35:19 - 00:29:54:27
Speaker 2
Like I don't understand when you're talking about these investments, like, I know you think everybody understands it. I'm reading on line. When you get alignment, you understand where you are. One of my secrets has always been when I have been able to earn money, not to go spend it on things like material things is go reinvest as much as you can, have some fun with it.
00:29:54:27 - 00:30:12:16
Speaker 2
Get yourself the gifts along the way. But I realize for me and it's just a habit is if I have the money sitting in the bank account, I'm like, most feel like I like to spend it. I may go spend it on things that are just more spontaneous. So I've been very intentional. I always know where my next investment is going to be too.
00:30:13:00 - 00:30:34:13
Speaker 2
That would be something I've shifted and dug this year. Like even this week there are two investments. I'm sitting on it at the end of the year that I exactly know When I get this money, I'm going to go and invest in these two funds. Perfect. The real estate funds. Just wondering, I think that's important for you. If you don't have a plan, right, You're just like, I'm just investing or I'm doing this.
00:30:34:13 - 00:30:51:18
Speaker 2
Years ago, I shifted out of being too much in the market itself, the stock market and things there because I don't want to watch it. I don't want to be in that. That's just for me personally. I understand real estate and there's some plays there that I think are bigger. And so that's where I am. That's what I've learned, that's what's worked really well for me.
00:30:51:27 - 00:31:07:27
Speaker 2
And I share that. I don't share quite as much is because I'm not the sole authority on it. But what I would tell anyone listening is you don't have to be. You get people in your corner in your network, then you add value, they add value. That's where your network actually produces your net worth, right? That's when people say that.
00:31:08:10 - 00:31:09:21
Speaker 2
That's what that looks like in action.
00:31:11:08 - 00:31:36:19
Speaker 1
Yeah. I've only been in those rooms and had those conversations the last couple of years. You know, I've been a entrepreneur for 12 for 13 years now, and not until you're 11. Did I get in the rooms that were like, Hey, this is how depreciation works. You mean, A, that you need to it, like you said, instead of just immediately spending the profits from your business, invest them in low risk items.
00:31:36:19 - 00:31:51:13
Speaker 1
You know what I mean? And then when you start getting those profits back, then you spend the money on the nice things, you know. And I always live this life of, you know, up and down on financials because it was all based on how my business was doing versus me being hedged in, you know, real estate or something like that.
00:31:51:28 - 00:32:20:28
Speaker 1
And, you know, a huge another huge thing that you said was that you paid for the expertise. You know, when we think about, all right, if I get on a call, you know, what am I going to charge a client for an hour of my time? Right. You know, in in an hour. My time right now is a thousand for one phone call for one hour, you know, And so the idea that maybe, you know, I pay for an hour someone else's time, maybe it's 23,000 because they understand a lot more than I do when it comes to investing.
00:32:20:28 - 00:32:41:25
Speaker 1
And they can teach me in an hour what could make me tens of thousands of dollars. Right. And so it's sometimes that mindset shift of, hey, I need to pay for experts that can teach me this stuff not only just so I can go and execute on it, but so whenever I pay my CPA or I pay my tax strategist or my lawyer or whatever the case is, I know what I'm talking about.
00:32:41:25 - 00:33:00:10
Speaker 1
And and they're not doing the minimum. I can hold them accountable because I'm like, Hey, you know, Matthew Meehan, which is a friend of mine, taught me about depreciation. You know what I mean? And I don't see any depreciation on this tax return here. So what are we doing? You know, Yes. So I think that's huge. And you mentioned the rooms earlier.
00:33:00:10 - 00:33:03:28
Speaker 1
Are you involved in any master minds right now? And what are those?
00:33:04:18 - 00:33:28:02
Speaker 2
Oh, yeah. So a few different ones have been really impactful for me over the last few years. Recently, I'll start kind of work my way backwards. But recently, you know, I joined Apex with Sterman and those guys and an amazing group there, and I have some friends in it, right? And so I saw what was there. I'll get to go to my first live in January, so I can't wait because that group has a really raw dynamic that I tell people is like, there's a lot of young hustlers in there.
00:33:28:02 - 00:33:49:06
Speaker 2
There's some people that have achieved success, but I love that the feeling I get is there's not an ego like the amount of deals, like I've done some deals offline with some folks in there and what's cool is people reach out. I can give them their expertise and it's just a giving community. So I love Apex one that is for me, probably one of my foundations, of my inner circle with gross debt drive can.
00:33:49:06 - 00:34:09:23
Speaker 2
Jocelyn leads that up and there's some amazing guys that you would know in there and you know, and it's guys that are planning a little bit different world. It's like the Tony Robbins and the Deans and Ed my and those guys that these guys are a little bit wiser in some areas are more family focused. We've got a faith component of that that we spend our time in, which is really important to me.
00:34:10:08 - 00:34:27:23
Speaker 2
But they do live events and some masterminds and that's been there's some real estate guys in there that's been phenomenal as well. We've got an event coming up at the end of January. I'll put a plug in Atlanta that's been phenomenal. And then I've been part of RSA for now with Andy and Ed for, gosh, for years now.
00:34:27:23 - 00:34:53:22
Speaker 2
And I've met some super cool people in there. And there's the weekly call. It is did the live event here in Nashville a little over a little over a month, maybe a month and a half ago. And so I've been spending my time there. The last one that I got more industry specific is one of my friends, Neil is got more of a content creation like how do you create short form video content that'll reach an audience and actually get you and your product in front of more eyeballs so they'll make decisions.
00:34:53:22 - 00:35:14:07
Speaker 2
And by I've been doing that very intentionally with Neil, not so much a mastermind although it is turned into one. And those those are the groups I'm in and I do go to some other mastermind with a friend of mine in the mortgage space, Albert out in California with the driven event, always puts on a first class deal, working closely with coach Michael Burt here in Nashville.
00:35:14:25 - 00:35:35:09
Speaker 2
Now don't say those like I give those guys props because they have built platforms and things. And if you're wanting to know what are guys doing, where should you start? Where should you go? They all offer different price points and different things that I would tell you. One, get in the game. That's always the most important thing to when you're able and actually getting out of your comfort zone to upgrade whatever you do.
00:35:35:23 - 00:35:51:01
Speaker 2
When I started to CEO ticket or VIP ticket, whatever they call it, yeah, I started to meet people that also were upgrading and I realized, Wow, they're like me. I didn't really have the money. I didn't feel like I should be in the room, Like I had all these limiting beliefs. Those are the people you need to be around.
00:35:51:11 - 00:36:02:12
Speaker 2
You're not going really hang out with the speakers, you're not going to hang out. Those are the guys putting on the event. You're not gonna get much time. The people sitting right around you rubbing elbows with, they want the same things you want. You can probably help each other. That's the secret.
00:36:03:08 - 00:36:28:21
Speaker 1
Now, I love that because I remember one of the first things like that that I paid for was a PJ trip with Ryan Stewart in the Philadelphia. Right, And I ended up learning so much, not, you know, because he you pay per seat and they do basically a mastermind. This guy asked you know what's going on your business you know what's everybody's issues right now and then you just kind of workshop those issues but the person talking the most was the guy sitting next to me.
00:36:28:29 - 00:36:45:05
Speaker 1
And he ended up, you know, being the one that kind of taught us all on the plane that day. But you know what I mean? Like you said, you pay for that higher seat and then you end up next to people that you can really connect with and that aren't pressed for time because they're the speaker at the event or whatever the case is.
00:36:45:05 - 00:37:06:18
Speaker 1
That's massive. One of the other things I've also noticed is that RTI is kind of like a foundational mastermind, like everybody is in RTA in one form or another on top of the other masterminds that they're in. But yeah, I'm in Apex as well and one that just started about a year ago. Real business owners, that's actually the sweatshirt I'm wearing right now.
00:37:08:04 - 00:37:34:12
Speaker 1
Their podcast is like a top five podcast. And then they came out with the Mastermind about a year ago, which is very intimate and small. So that's kind of nice. You get a lot more connection in that one. So but yeah, I couldn't agree more investing in those things. You know, when you get to that level that, you can or even if you can't, there's there's so many, so many access points like I think in Apex Entourage is like three grand a year and you can pay that monthly, you know what I'm saying?
00:37:34:12 - 00:37:38:29
Speaker 1
So that's a lower access point. If you're just a high level salesperson or whatever the case is.
00:37:38:29 - 00:37:50:00
Speaker 2
So again, the game got to get in the game. So it's everybody's find your spot, ask guys like us will help get you connected because we were there. Once you get in the game, then you're able to start leveling up.
00:37:50:21 - 00:38:11:15
Speaker 1
Absolutely. And then it's like daily by the second by the hour. Accountability, You know what I mean? I can't get on my book page without seeing someone winning or seeing someone go through a struggle and overcome it. Like there's just like story after story. And so that's probably the best part of being in in these rooms, I can tell you, killing it in the mortgage game.
00:38:11:16 - 00:38:17:26
Speaker 1
You're an author, speaker What are you focusing on next? What's the next big thing for Brian Cody?
00:38:18:27 - 00:38:35:21
Speaker 2
So my new role as EVP, I report straight to our CEO at Revolution Mortgage. And what a cool company. Five years old. They brought me in really strategically help with the strategy and also the execution and development of the team. That'll be everything from personal growth and development from our existing team members, no matter what their role is.
00:38:35:21 - 00:38:56:07
Speaker 2
I believe everybody deserves to have a coach or somebody in their life that's been touring them. I may not have access and so I'll provide that for them and even through like, you know, basically revolution, kind of like college or kind of figure out what we want to call it, but maybe like Revolution University where people have that access and then we're going to grow and expand.
00:38:56:07 - 00:39:15:04
Speaker 2
It's a nationwide companies we're in 48 states will be expanding from there. That will be my focus is getting that really growing and building because I think these it's just like if you look back, most people generate their wealth through downturns right now. I believe we're going to acquire great talent. We're going to be at expand and grow while everybody else is wondering what's happening.
00:39:15:04 - 00:39:31:21
Speaker 2
Oh, the market's down will expand and grow. And the other part that I think is a perfect complement to that is I'm going to continue working on myself and my brand, right? My brand is an extension of who I am. I like my growth and my journey to rise. Document your journey. That's how I do it. I'm not a perfect, polished speaker.
00:39:31:21 - 00:39:51:18
Speaker 2
I don't have all that stuff nailed down. I'm getting asked to speak at a few events this year and I'm just real and raw and I show up and I say, Here's my journey. Hasn't been perfect. I've stumbled, I've had some cool wins. I had a lot of success where I think I have the backing and results to where people can't question like, I've got the results right and I don't go out and brag about them, but I've got them.
00:39:51:18 - 00:40:09:23
Speaker 2
But I also know what it's like to not feel like you're worthy enough or to feel like you're in a slump and know how to work out of it. And so I think that relatability that I always want to bring to the table of Dude, you might see me winning over here, see a success there, but you don't see the other side of what it took to get there.
00:40:09:23 - 00:40:32:28
Speaker 2
And I always want to share that with people. So that'll be my focus, man. And if the book's done well, the podcast has been another extension for me working through some of that. So I'm actually mapping out some of what 2023 will look like as far as the true game plan. Some of that shifted with my move and I'm excited because I can already see things lining up and the growth it's going to happen.
00:40:33:22 - 00:40:40:24
Speaker 2
It's going to be a byproduct. I get to serve more people, right? I mean, that's what it's about. So I can't wait now.
00:40:40:24 - 00:41:14:17
Speaker 1
I'm excited for you as well. That influence is is growing like crazy, too, because you invested in it, I should say. You can see in your short form content and everything that it's very polished. It looks great. And so that's going to be massive for you. I'm I'm excited about that. And I do think, like you said, you know, when it comes to social media and what we're posting on there, you know, whether you have a little influence or a lot of influence, there's there's something there's an opportunity, I feel like in the next couple of years to be a little more vulnerable than people are used to.
00:41:14:28 - 00:41:32:08
Speaker 1
And that's honestly how I've gained a lot of my I don't want to say followers, but I should say fans put it that way. You know what I mean? Because there's a difference, right? There's somebody that follows you because you're in mortgage and you're a leader in mortgage, Right? And then there's somebody that's a fan of you. You know what I mean?
00:41:33:10 - 00:41:57:07
Speaker 1
Their their background is in soccer. They love your story. They saw you speak. Whatever the case is, they want to be involved in everything you write. And when I got vulnerable about, you know, my divorce and then the struggles in my business and stuff like that, and then my eventual remarriage, that's when the engagement went through the roof, you know, because like you said, you connect with people and you're real with them and you're raw and they appreciate that.
00:41:57:17 - 00:42:18:18
Speaker 1
And and it gives them permission to to have that when to you know, I'm saying if they're in the slums or they're going through something like that, you give them permission to overcome it because you did. And you're you know, we aren't anything special to anybody else aside from execution. Right. And so giving them that roadmap and giving them that ability to execute is huge.
00:42:18:18 - 00:42:39:26
Speaker 1
So that kind of rolls into my last question, which is about legacy. And so I have 101 hundred plus podcast episode study of legacy. Now, you know, I've asked this question to every one of my guests, you know, and I speak on building an intentional legacy because of what I've learned from that, because I've had some amazing guests on.
00:42:39:26 - 00:42:45:00
Speaker 1
So my my question is legacy. What does it mean to you and what legacy are you going to leave behind?
00:42:46:07 - 00:43:06:27
Speaker 2
And I love this one, and it's changed for me over the years. Like I've I've gone down this journey of of what that means for me, what that will mean for you. Now, we've got three kids. All that look is legacy for me is that people would say that Bryan loved God is never shy about sharing that. And I loved people.
00:43:08:25 - 00:43:36:21
Speaker 2
I think I can fit everything in those two boxes. And I've thought about that a lot lately, Doug, because in the day, that's all it's going to matter, right? Few generations from now, my family won't know what successes, what I did in the mortgage industry, what speaking, what podcast, what, what, any of that. Right? But if there is a foundation and anchors in the Cody family, that can also be a ripple effect and create positive impact and change in the world that they knew that Bryan and his family and what he stood for.
00:43:36:21 - 00:43:54:11
Speaker 2
He loved God all his heart. He loved people. It made them feel something different about themselves. That's what that's what it's about. That's the legacy I want to leave. And I want my kids to see that not only did I talk about it, but I lived it.
00:43:54:11 - 00:44:20:25
Speaker 1
I love it. A legacy of love. That's one of the greatest legacies you can have. And when you look at the people that have impacted generation after generation after generation, it typically starts from there. It's a labor of love. It's a legacy of love. It's loving others. So amazing answer. So if anybody listening wants to get in touch with you, reach out to you, or just follow the amazing content you have on Instagram, or can they do that over Instagram?
00:44:20:25 - 00:44:43:24
Speaker 2
Somebody had taken Bryan Cove, so make sure you do the Bryan Cove, all the lovely fake accounts that are there. You can find me there over on Facebook and then spend a lot of time on LinkedIn. Actually lately as well. So hit me up. That is me. I engage. One of the things that I love do and I was reading some comments this morning, is some people lately, you know, Doug, you mentioned that everybody out there that's thinking you can't make an impact.
00:44:44:04 - 00:45:04:11
Speaker 2
The reality one of my coaches told me is for every one or two people that reach out and say, man, you're content making a difference, there's probably another hundred plus maybe for you. They're just not sending you that note. But that shouldn't be why you're doing it. Show up. If I can be part of your journey and encourage and inspire you to bring out and share your story, we can make a difference in the world.
00:45:04:11 - 00:45:07:10
Speaker 2
And so that's why I'm going to continue to show up and I invite you do the same.
00:45:08:14 - 00:45:19:08
Speaker 1
I love it, brother. I want to thank you so much for coming on the show. We're coming to an end of our time here and just amazing, amazing, amazing value you've brought to the show. So thank you so much. Right.
00:45:19:23 - 00:45:36:01
Speaker 2
Cool. Thanks for having me. This is always a joy. The the personal investment you make to put this on. I know being on the other side and to be as professional and ready as you are, outstanding job. You change your lives and you're doing wonderful work that most people shy away from applaud you.
00:45:36:19 - 00:45:41:07
Speaker 1
Thank you so much. All right, guys, let's get building.