MRL #131- New Producer Bob Had Questions, I Gave Him the Truth

A few days ago, Bob, a noob producer came a knockin:

Every producer has asked the same questions at some point. And depending on who you ask you will get a different answer.

Herein lies the problem…

You’re new (or new-ish) and you don’t know which way is up. Joe Blow says X, John Deer says Y, and your agency principal says Z.

So, who’s right? Who should you listen to? How do you separate signal from noise?

While I can’t answer that for you definitively (that’s for you to decide) what I will say is this:

Stop listening to everyone.

That’s a mental meltdown waiting to happen. When you follow ten different playbooks, you end executing none of them. One person tells you to cold call. Another says build a brand. A third says network your eyeballs out.

Yikes.

Think of it like assembling a car.

You can take a tire from one brand, a radiator from another, and a transmission from somewhere else. But that doesn’t mean they’ll fit together.

That’s what happens when you mix too many people’s advice. You’re bolting together mismatched parts and wondering why the engine won’t start.

Every system has its own design, its own dependencies, assumptions, and philosophy. Pick one “builder” whose “car” actually runs. Study their blueprint. Follow it until you understand why it works.

Then, and only then, start customizing.

For the record, I’m not saying “pick me” either. You may not like my take on things. And that’s okay.

I’m saying find one person whose doing it the way you want and go all-in on their system.

Capiche?

Ok, now on to Bob’s questions.

1. “Am I doing something wrong?”

No.

If you’re truly doing what you say you’re doing, you’re doing fine. You’ve just not been doing it long enough.

The hardest part of this game isn’t skill, it’s patience.

Think about it…

You don’t plant seeds and get fruit the same day.
Most early calls won’t lead to meetings. But those conversations start the pipeline you’ll harvest a year from now.

Your first year in ProducerLand will be the toughest. You’re building familiarity, learning tonality, getting rejected enough times to finally sound natural.

If you stay consistent, the opportunities will come.

2. “Is my $20K target too high?”

20K accounts are great, but don’t let that become a box.

It’s okay to snag smaller wins when they come your way.

Agency owners love clean math:

“We want you to write 10 new deals a year at $20K revenue per year equaling $200K.”

But the market doesn’t care about their spreadsheet.

A $7K win might open a door to a $70K opportunity. A small account can become your best referral source. The worst thing you can do early on is turn away good momentum because it doesn’t fit a model.

Celebrate every legitimate win.

Then build from there.

3. “Should I niche down or stay broad?”

At five months, there’s no need to niche beyond what you’re currently doing.

Right now it’s about getting reps and learning the terrain.

If you want to specialize later, great. But for now, calling across construction and/or manufacturing gives you exposure to different types of buyers and businesses.

You’ll figure out where you get traction by seeing who you naturally connect with.

Start general, collect feedback, then tighten your focus when the data tells you to.

4. “Is calling cell phones worth it?”

Absolutely.

If you have them, call them.

People overthink this. You’re not spamming strangers. You’re reaching out to business owners who might need help. The odds they blow up at you are almost zero. And even if they do, they did you a favor. They identified themselves as someone you don’t want to work with.

Having cell numbers and not using them is like having a key to the front door but refusing to use it because you have windows you can climb through.

Believe me, cell phones are the best way to get to decision makers.

If you have them, take advantage.

5. “What about gatekeepers and my rejection rate?”

Everyone gets ‘We’re good.’

What matters is what you say next.

You can’t stop the objection but you can learn to extend the conversation.

My go-to move is simple:

That tiny line flips the script.

Often times they can’t help but correct you:

“Well, I wouldn’t say perfect... we’re getting increases...”

Now you’ve extended the conversation.

The reality is most calls go nowhere. But remember, your goal isn’t to win every call.

It’s to extend a few calls long enough for curiosity to take root in the decision maker.

Do that enough times and you’ll have no problem setting 4-8 meetings a month.

One Final Thought

Track everything.

Especially early on.

Calls, conversations, meetings. Just like losing weight by counting calories, the small things you miss still add up.

For example, it might feel like your hitting your numbers but after tracking you realize you only hit 25 three days in a row, that’s 45 missed reps. Over a month, that’s 200+ lost chances.

Again, it adds up.

Success isn’t luck. It’s math + consistency.

We actually give you our prospecting tracker inside the producer Playbook.

It’s just one of a bunch of cool and helpful tools inside.

If you’re ready to stop guessing and start winning...

—> Grab the Producer Playbook here.

That’s it for this week.

See you next Monday.

Micah

P.S. Coming Soon: Producer Games

Producer Games is our new app for Producers that gamifies prospecting with a national leaderboard. Track your calls, emails, or drop-in numbers while seeing how you stack up against producers across the country. Competition, accountability, gamification all in one. Launching Nov 1.