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Manuel Soto
Before he was the CEO of TFA Insurance Advisors, before he trained thousands of agents, before he was known as the financial architect, Manuel Soto was just a hungry kid with a mantra. Change what you're doing to change what you're getting. From top producing agent to multi location franchise CEO, Manny's not just designing financial plans, he's building a movement. In this episode, we talk business structures, legacy and why the financial world needs more builders and fewer salesmen. From blue collar hustle to whiteboard strategy. From crisis to clarity. Welcome to Coffees.
Joe
You're, you got about 230 agents now.
Manny
Last time I checked, we had a 223. That was about close to a month ago. So we're probably at close to 250 at this point. So we're, we're aggressively starting to scale. A couple different insurance carriers, VPs of insurance carriers have told me once you go over 200, it's a, it's a beast of its own. That's it. It just, you know, you're not going to recognize some of the people inside of your company.
Joe
So, yeah, we're at that level. You got 870 loan officers and I've heard, unfortunately, I don't know 750 of them. I've heard, but they know me.
Manny
They better know you.
Joe
Yeah, yeah. So that, that's good. And I try to be as relatable, but yeah, it does get confusing once you're over a few hundred. So what is some of your growth strategies right now?
Manny
I just got done speaking a couple hours ago at a, at a real estate group. You know, we, we don't do real estate, we don't do mortgages, we don't do taxes. So a lot of these mortgage and real estate companies and tax firms, they asked me to come speak to their agents and help them with sales and growth and scaling and sales skills, et cetera, etc. So one of the big growth strategies that we have right now is multiplication, not addition and multiplication. We all know public speaking, social media, YouTube, I mean everything that's geared towards it or talking to crowds of people, instead of one plus one, I want to multiply. So public speaking is a big deal.
Joe
Yeah, that's one thing I've found. It's like, you know what's allowing us to scale rapidly is just like I can echo my voice on social media. Any video I put out gets 50, 000 views minimum.
Manny
That's awesome.
Joe
On one platform. And then I, I put them on 10 platforms even.
Manny
That's what I'm talking about. That's multiplication.
Joe
So, so you know, I can get any message out pretty quickly, which is, makes things a lot easier, especially when you're able to multiply that way. So. And then how about, are you, are you doing any seminars, you're doing anything directly for financial strategists to come on board or just work in the relationships?
Manny
Instagram right now is my best platform when I teach these sales strategies. One sales strategy is three to ones. So I tell every salesperson they have to be on Instagram, they have to. And if they post three personal posts and one business every day on their story, they're bound to get something. It's jab, jab, hook. You know, Gary Vaynerchuk said it the best. Yeah. And then they post one on their feedback. So if they're not on social media, they're closing the doors to that aspect of business that's just not smart at all. So that's, that's a no brainer.
Joe
Yeah, yeah, it's imperative to be on social. I mean, that's, you know, that's your open sign.
Manny
Yeah, well, it's free. Free 99. I mean whatever salesperson out there that says that, you know, social media just isn't me. I mean, respectfully, you're, you're just not wanting to acclimate to the social media platform. Who does not like free marketing? That just does not make any sense. You rather pay for leads? You rather go door knock? You rather go beat the street? Come on, let's, let's acclimate to social media. It's here to stay.
Joe
Yeah, I like to, I like for my sales strategy. I like to tell everybody you have to have multiple strategies in place. One of them social media, the other one's lead buys. The other one is voicemail blast. The other one's text message blast. The other one, you know, is, you know, buying Google Ad space. Yeah, I'm doing so much when it comes to marketing. I'm everywhere. I'm on every social platform. I'm on every audio, visual, written platform, blog platform, you name it, I'm on it.
Manny
I believe the same. And you asked a good question. We do senior seminars too and we pay for butts and seats. So normally when I don't know those of you that are, that are seniors or you're north of 50, 55 and you get these coupons in the mail saying, hey, dinner on at Flemings or Ruth's Chris or Mastros. We send out flyers like that. So it'll cost us anywhere between seven to $10,000 per night to put butts in seats. But if you have 35 to 50 butts and seats, you're going to make 5 to 10x on that dinner seminar.
Joe
Anytime. Yeah, all day.
Manny
Yeah.
Joe
So, I mean, being a financial strategist, you know, and people, I got this question on my. My podcast history because I don't have mortgages.
Manny
Mm.
Joe
You know, so it's like, how's a mortgage guy have no mortgages? Like, I just don't want any debt. You know, like, cyclical of market been hit too many times. But like, for you, being a financial strategist, like, what's one big financial mistake that you think taught you the most?
Manny
Funny that you say that and you led into it with having no mortgage. I mean, I'm a big believer in not paying off your mortgage. And the reason why is because I have an acronym called Litter Litr. That is really a full explanation.
Joe
Well, you didn't go through the mortgage crash and lose everything. And then.
Manny
I did. I did.
Joe
Oh, you did.
Manny
Oh, I did. Yeah. So L stands for liquidity. I've been doing financial planning for 23 years, and I've made all the mistakes that every single household makes. So. L stands for liquidity. Your mortgage, if you have equity inside of it, it's truly not liquid. It's only liquid if you have it in cash or if you have a sideline account. So liquidity is a major. Number two is I interest rate. People that have a 3% mortgage right now, they're never refinancing that bad boy. They would be dumb to do so. And they're holding on to sell their property even though they're broke. I is interest rate. That's. That's a biggie. So if I'm borrowing money from a bank or a credit card at 20%, why would I do that and pay off my 3% mortgage? You never want to send more money to principal. T is tax advantage. That's the biggest tax deduction that you have. Oprah Winfrey still has a damn mortgage, and she could pay it off anytime she wants to. She thinks I'm broke. Tax advantage is a major. But the biggest one to me is R risk. So we live in California. I know the big one's never going to happen here in California. But if and when it does and we have a paid off house or we have mad equity inside of our properties, there's a lot of risk there. So If I have 600 grand of equity inside of my house and an earthquake happens and my foundation is cracked, I'm Thinking to myself, damn, the, the lender's not going to help me now because they're going to. They're like, hey, you got 600 of equity? I'd love to have your property and fix the foundation. We need earthquake insurance. And if you want to research it, all you have to do is go through the, the big O, what was it? Hurricane in Florida. The other hurricane, Hurricane Katrina in Louisiana. And just ask some of the people that paid off their properties, that saw their house float down into, into the ocean. It's. It sucks. So one of, one of the big financial mistakes is doing that. Another one is not saving money early. So many people say, you know what, Once the Honda's paid off, then I'm going to start saving and investing. Once little Johnny goes to college, then I'm going to start saving and investing. People never plan to fail. They just fail to plan. So starting early is so, so important. And then lastly is, of course, the big no, no, which is not doing your due diligence when it comes to investing, period. There's a lot of investment advisors. I own a fiduciary firm, a registered investment advisory company. People pay us 1.6% on fees, 1% on fees, when I can get a better rate of return, historically speaking, from the s and P500, which is you can go to Vanguard and get an S and P fund, spx fund, for 25 basis points. So that's a nugget. I just saved lots of people here millions of dollars just on that one thing alone. So I'm a mouthful, bro. So I love it.
Joe
I mean, listen, you're like, I think your industry is probably more saturated than my industry. Everyone calls himself financial guru. How do you distinguish the financial guru and the. Between the financial architects methodology.
Manny
Actually, I don't know if this is current, but years ago, when I did do the due diligence, I think the real estate industry and the mortgage industry was more saturated than the financial planning industry. It's just that you and I were from Orange county, so here in Orange county, there's a lot of fiduciaries, there's a lot of financial advisors, a lot.
Joe
Of mortgage guys, a lot of real estate guys.
Manny
Yeah. Because this is, I mean, it's like the hub. Yeah. I mean, I have an office in Chenille Hills. It's one of our 27 offices that we have. And in Chino Hills, if you do research, the average median household income is $111,000. Here in Corona del Mar, it's 200,000.
Joe
Corona del Mar Yeah, Corona del Mar. That only makes 200 grand in Corona del Mar.
Manny
That's, that's because they're business owners and they deduct it and their AGI.
Joe
And how do they, how do they afford a house that's 1800 bucks a square foot?
Manny
Absolutely, absolutely correct. So there's a lot of old money, there's a lot of old median household income. The wealth transfers over 80 trillion. There's so many attractive things that are happening right now. Like we're in the, we're knee deep in the thick of this. So it excites me, it gets me all pumped up. But what separates us from the competition is me personally is relationships. I mean, I don't know if you guys have seen or known or not. When I met Joe, it was like man crush Friday, man. I was the guy's great speaker. He's very influential, he's got great energy. So I wanted to connect with him just as much as he wanted to connect with me because he's just, he's a high identity guy. So for me it's relationship building. People, people want to be friends with the people that they trust and respect with their money. Obviously that's number one. But number two is we're full service. So if they go to, I'm not going to say any names but Primerica, Primerica only has like one product or they got one investment and they're overpriced and they're, they're. Am I getting in trouble for this? Their fees are super high. So if you get a term insurance policy with Primerica, they're 30% more pricey than any product that I have. So we're the Foot Locker of financial services. We got a bunch of choices. I got aig, I got Prudential, I got Pacific Life, Fidelity and Guarantee where a Primerica has one company, one product and that's your only choice. So that's a big difference. New York Life, I mean all these direct lenders, you would call them in the mortgage field, we're the broker and the direct lender together. That's what makes us do.
Joe
So I mean it's very similar models and we actually call ourselves a hybrid broker banker. We are a hyper broker.
Manny
All the big money makers are, are exactly what you just said.
Joe
You guys offered the service directly under the financial architects, that you guys have your own products.
Manny
Even better. We don't have our standalone, this is the financial architects insurance policy. But we have direct relationships with all these insurance carriers and investment firms. So if, let's say I Talk to you. And hypothetically, let's say you have diabetes type 2 and your A1C sugar levels are at 7.2. They're escalated. I'm not going to put you with LSW. I'm going to put you with AIG or Foresters because they will underwrite your deal a lot better once I get a decline. I've now screwed you from getting life insurance for the next year at least. So it's little underwriting, things like that that make a big difference, that a lot of specialty guys just don't know about it. So it's things like that that are like these, these are all underhanded softball pitches, dude. So things like that that'll make us different.
Joe
Yes, we actually do land. That's why, like we lend our own.
Manny
So through your own bank, right?
Joe
Yeah, yeah. E Mortgage Capital is, we have our own warehouse lines. We write the notes, they pay, we sell it off. So, but like, what is the hybrid approach? Is it underwriting guidelines? Is it like flexibility with underwriting?
Manny
It's underwriting number one. That's the, that's the biggest challenge. Normally, yeah, because there's some insurance policies up to $3 million. It's simplified issue. So you don't even have to take blood, urine, step on a scale, blood pressure, nothing. It's simplified issue. So if I'm outside looking in and I'm, I'm talking to the client and client goes, hey man, I haven't seen a doctor in seven years. I probably want to go simplified issue because I want to make sure that they get insurance when they check their mib Medical Information Bureau. So the underwriting is number one. Number two is product menu. Price matters to a lot of people. So if they get a term policy, for example, I'm shopping it with 80 different insurance carriers to get you the cheapest, most affordable rate based on your height and weight, etc. Another one is cost internal fees. So if you get a permanent policy like a whole life or index life or universal life, there's internal fees inside of the plan. Very similar to mortgages.
Joe
Yeah.
Manny
The difference is you show your fees, we don't. So you almost have to be a smart consumer and say, how much am I paying for fees? I know I'm giving you a thousand bucks a month for my whole life. How much of that is going towards fees? And a sharp salesman or a little bit of a special salesman is not even disclosing that they're like thousand bucks a month. Write the check. Okay, awesome. You know, you're writing Checks. And you have no idea what the internal fees are as far as investment goes. Investments are easy. Way easier than insurance investments. It's more like relationship built. Well, I got a guy at Morgan Stanley, I got a guy at Merrill. Okay, what are the costs? What's, what's the cost that they're charging based on your assets under management? They're charging me? I don't know. Okay, I'll beat your cost and I'll put you in the same asset allocation that they are. So that's what makes it a lot different.
Joe
I like it.
Manny
It's a mouthful, dude. I mean it's, it's so much. Dude, I've been doing this 23 years and I'm still learning, you know.
Joe
So yeah, it's just like our space too. I'm always learning, always, like something new is coming out, especially with AI. How are you guys using AI in your space right now?
Manny
AI is here to stay. It's kind of like social media. If you don't acclimate to the new stuff, you're going to get eaten alive. I know some wholesale companies that we used to do business with and they're like, we're old school, we're kind of family based. And I'm like smiling at them and saying, man, I got to cut real quick because AI is going to take over this space sooner than later. AI can do due diligence on products. AI can literally manufacture plans. But what makes financial planning special? Because I heard that tax advisors are in danger right now because AI may be coming out with an app where I download my PDF and the computer, the AI specialist does my taxes. So they have no room for error. On the human side, financial planning is different. We're a moving target. So let's say you tell me I got $2,000 to invest. Where should I put it? I'm asking more questions like, well, what's important to you? Is little Johnny going to college? When are they going to college? And what's your height and weight? What's your health status? Are you worried about long term care? Does mom and dad need a in home nurse? I'm asking more questions that change over the length of time over 20 and 30 years. So AI in that strategy can only help with underwriting specifics, but they can also help with general questions of a new advisor as well. So we use that inside of our, well, the back end of our chassis.
Joe
Now everybody talks about financial freedom. What's that word, financial freedom mean to you? Because you, you, you tabooed me with no, I I thought financial freedom was being debt free.
Manny
Man.
Joe
Financial freedom means something different to you?
Manny
Yeah. I mean, again, dude, whenever I'm sitting down with a client, I'm more asking about them and what's in their world. Because you, for example, you may believe in, I want to be debt free. Whereas other people, they're like, I want to use my credit or I want to use my company as a conduit to getting more ROI on some money on debt. So if I could borrow money from a bank at 3% and I can make 8% on it, I'm making a 5% arbitrage. It's different. So that's why my job is to really get into their world. I like not having debt, Manny. Now, based on that, what is financial independence to you? And then I would go through something called a fin. A fin is an acronym that stands for financial independence number. So the way that you figure out a fin is you ask the potential client, what is your monthly desired goal? And they go, what do you mean? Well, to live on. Let's say you retired tomorrow. What's your monthly goal?
Joe
Well, that's a moving target with inflation. Well, how are you going to factor in a 23% inflation rate?
Manny
So there's an old. There's an old formula that accounts for inflation whether it goes to eight or whether it goes to three.
Joe
Yeah. But never counted for 20.
Manny
I completely agree. And it's something that, again, is going to be a moving target. And I'm interested to see what goes down. Whether the Fed that raises or lowers interest rates or whether unemployment goes up or down is going to be. It's going to be interesting. We may even go through stagflation, which is a big danger right now.
Joe
Yeah, I mentioned stagflation on some of my videos.
Manny
Stagflation is the worst possible thing you can go through. They talk about deflation being dangerous. Nah, man, it's stagflation that's going to be super dangerous. So let's say in that the fin. You asked me that question. Let's say the client goes, I could live on 20 grand a month to pay all my bills. And I want you to take into account inflation. There's a formula called the rule of 200. So you take the two $20,000 monthly, you multiply it by 200, which is $4 million. That's going to be their fin, their financial independence number. That means that by definition, whether they're 56, 66, or 71, once they hit $4 million through an annuity, you can pay and get paid through principal and, and regular payments. You can get paid the $20,000 a month like clockwork. So it's an old formula.
Joe
Sounds like alimony.
Manny
Yeah, that'll be another conversation big time.
Joe
Alimony sounds like child support. That's funny. No, but I like that financial independence number. Yeah, because that's kind of like how, you know, a lot of us kind of create our retirement models. What do you think the average fin is for someone right now?
Manny
If the average husband and wife make $80,000 a year, which is a mind blower to you because you're in a top notch area here, but the average husband and wife in LA county make I think $87,000 a year. So you would just factor in 87,000 a year. Take the monthly, which let's say is about seven grand a month, multiplied by 200, it's 1.4 million.
Joe
That's crazy. It's 87,000 when the average home to buy in la is like two and a half million, which puts the average mortgage payment around like 18 grand.
Manny
Don't get me started on that. There's literally, I think 13%, 12% of Californians that can buy right now. And if you're sitting in that 12%, half of them don't believe they should buy. They think it's a dumb decision right now. Currently.
Joe
Yeah.
Manny
Now I don't want to go and be controversial. Yeah, I do. So if 6% are looking to buy and they can qualify, that's the reason why the mortgage industry is, is down right now. I mean it's like what, 70, 75% down the real estate industry as a whole. And unfortunately you can't pay the bills like that. California has runaway inflation in my opinion. I think California has just run wrong. Obviously it's a liberal state. I won't get political too much, but there needs to be something to save more business owners because business owners create jobs, they create more paying jobs if the economy is doing well. But unfortunately, you know, economically we're, we're at a standstill right now because of that. Affordability is wild. And I, I normally ask like people that tell me that real estate's going to double in the next seven years or five years. My dad and I said, dad, please explain how, how does that make sense when husband and wife still la county make 87 grand a year. Oh man, it's just going to. Okay, explain to me mathematically how that even makes sense. It can't. So either all the rich guys moved to California or we have some type of economic shakeup that's going to be forcing us to be more affordable.
Joe
Well, we're seeing all the rich people from LA move to Newport beach, and that's because of the fires.
Manny
The fires. I was about to say that. Yeah.
Joe
And. And what's happened as a result of that is Newport beach has gone up like 50%.
Manny
And Newport Beach, Orange county in general, they're. They're a red. A red city, a red county. They're conservative. Vast majority are conservative. And they're mostly business owners. I can see why. I get it. But I won't get that political.
Joe
Now, you. You've emphasized, like always creating additional income streams. What's an unconventional strategy you recommend that has yielded you and others, you know, surprising results?
Manny
I mean, as a business owner, you know, this, Joe, is leverage. I can take a hundred percent of my own efforts and go to work and kill it, or I can take 1% of a hundred people's efforts and get the same type of outcome. So I think leverage, leveraging businesses, leveraging ownership. For me, I own a franchise, so it's a kindle, like a McDonald's, like a Jack in the Box, like a Subway. So TFA is a franchise. I sell the franchise model. So if there's a real estate group and they're down 70%, and I own a financial planning firm, I put TFA inside of their already successful business model. It's like having an extra, like an escrow company within their company already and offering mortgage protection, offering living trusts. There's only two things that get you out of being broke. It's making more money or saving more money. Only two. So if I work a job and I'm making $62,000 a year, I literally have no opportunity to make more money. So the real opportunity is having the opportunity. So if, let's say they pick up a side hustle, they do Uber eats, they Uber, they go work for the financial architects and sell one living trust and make an extra 400, $500 within that model. That's a great side hustle. Again, you can only get out of trouble when you make more or you save more money. Another thing is re budgeting. People never look at their apps. I'm even guilty of this, bro. I got. I got apps on my phone that I didn't even know I downloaded. And you know, it's costing me money every single month. And you know, I don't pay attention to that. Again, people never plan to fail. They just failed to plan and they're just not Paying attention. Edison bills again. Re budgeting, Looking at their cars, looking at their taxes. Some people go to their tax advisor for 18 years and they never check their tax advisor. This guy or gal is a human, just like you are. And if they're making mistakes or they're being lazy with your taxes, it's time to replace them. So these are just some small things making more or saving more money that can help a regular consumer.
Joe
I love that. And I mean, it's just the obvious that helps the regular consumers, but it.
Manny
Takes to your, to your fanning your fire, bro. It takes a podcaster. It takes someone in, in public publication sharing these types of things so that the listeners go, damn, man, he's right.
Joe
I gotta take some action.
Manny
I gotta take some action. Yeah. And that's, that's the thing. Normally to make a sale, you've done sales for years, dude. Normally you got to touch that person five to eight times.
Joe
It's more now.
Manny
Is it really? Yeah, that blows me to my mind.
Joe
It's more around 30 touch points.
Manny
Oh, my gosh.
Joe
Yeah, we got 30 touch points before we get a conversion, man.
Manny
Get it going like.
Joe
And it's going to get worse because society is more add. They're busier than ever.
Manny
Yeah.
Joe
They don't answer phones. They. Now there's. They stopped answering phone calls. Now they don't answer text messages.
Manny
Yeah.
Joe
Now they don't answer voicemails. So it's like, how many times can one be reminded before they actually make a response?
Manny
Right. Wild.
Joe
Wow.
Manny
30. That blows my mind, dude. Like, for me, I'm all action, like, even. Even again. I did a, I did a sales presentation a couple hours ago, and I'm like, hey, when you guys get out of bed, the alarm goes off. You got to tell your mind immediately. Time to go, man. No snooze button. You're wasting an hour just by pressing snooze. It's time to get up, go take a walk for 15 minutes, do something to shake yourself up. And what I find is that people are just so fixated on these habits. One of my best sayings is the chains of habit are too light to be felt until they're too heavy to be broken. We all just have bad habits, man. And shaking out of those habits are so important to regular people that, you know, influencers like, you need to go, hey, man, this is, this is the direction that we're going. Let's go. And they get motivated by your action, your energy, your enthusiasm and your excitement to go and, and push towards that direction. So it's awesome.
Joe
Yeah, it just takes, you know, a few more million of me and we'll have a great society.
Manny
There we go. I'm on board.
Joe
How do you address people who are skeptic? You know, you're, you're the skeptics from your clients who are weary of financial planning due to all the misinformation, their past experiences, all the sales mumbo jumbo, all the BS that they're fed all the time. There's like financial planners are almost borderline taboo again. Like that mortgage broker taboo that we had in 08.
Manny
Yeah.
Joe
Financial planning.
Manny
Yeah. I, I have to get behind it, actually. I, I think you, like, you're like, yeah, you're right, you're right. I hate to say it this way, but rookie advisors are going to get you in more trouble than anything else. Because think about it for a second. Let's say I'm a rookie and, and this was me 23 years ago.
Joe
Like, hey, just do whole life.
Manny
Exactly. No, I was telling them do a vul. And that vul was really expensive at that time. When I first got in the industry in 2003, that was a problem, pricey vehicle to get involved into. I should have just bought a cheap term policy and invest the difference in a Roth IRA. 7, 8, 8 out of 10 people in the United States should get a term policy and invest the difference in a mutual fund or stock portfolio. The rest should be looking at more of a permanent chassis. Or if you're worried about long term care, let's say you're 80, 82 years old and you're like, man, I don't want to bug my, my friends or my family, come take care of me when I just had a stroke. That's more of a permanent chassis inside of that, that plan. So financial planning again is a moving target. But advisors, I mean, if I had to put a fraction on it, bro, God, I feel bad if you're even saying this. Nine out of ten of us just suck. They don't, they don't do their due diligence. They, they take their broker's word for it. And the brokers, they're trying to make as much money as he or she can and they need to go do more due diligence and homework. And I mean, I didn't go to college for a year and go, man, I'm just going to act like I got a degree after four years. That's, that's what I find financial plan planners doing is they're not well read. They don't know economics. They don't. I mean, I look at the S&P 500 every single day like I'm on it. I have my ear to the ground and I'm not even servicing clients anymore unless their net worth is over 3, 4 million dollars. So take me for example. I'm up there when it comes to good advisors. But Dude, I have 220 plus agents. If I had to throw a rock at them, I think like 180, I wouldn't want designing my plans, unfortunately. And I say that as transparently as possible because even my advisors, they need to go get their ass more well read. They need to do the research, they need to go to more trainings than anybody else. And once they've gotten to that point, then that's when they should be doing more financial planning. So right now we're more like, take a senior advisor with you in the field. And these new advisors, they're like, they're cheap. They don't want to share commissions. So instead they're the wild, wild west. And they're like, nah, man, I'm going to go see if I can get as much commission as possible off this client. So you're right, bro. I hate to say it, but you're right. The, the industry as a whole, skeptics have a reason to be skeptical.
Joe
Yeah.
Manny
And my personal opinion is go with someone that has good reviews. I always Google anything. I'll google it, I'll look on Yelp, I'll see if the reviews are right. And if the reviews are right, I look at their complaints and then I go, if the complaints are right, more than likely this guy or gal knows what the hell they're talking about. I vet it.
Joe
Yeah. Good advice. In your journey, what's a pivotal moment, A pivotal moment for you that challenged your philosophy and how did you adapt to that?
Manny
Man, what you just said, that really hits home, I got to tell you. And I feel bad for even saying this, but I think the first two years of me being in this career, I, I, I was winging it. I had no idea. I was just throwing crap up against the wall. And that was challenging for me because I thought I had done my first year, I think I did a little over 200,000 in target premium. Second year, a little over 200,000. And I don't, I don't think I did the right thing for a lot of clients. So I feel bad in saying so, but that's been my biggest challenge because I reacted like we're talking about it didn't take me 30 tries. I reacted as proactive as possible, saying I need to change what I'm doing to change what I'm getting. So I started reading more books. I started analyzing more plans. I started looking at the stock market a little bit more in detail and the lack thereof. I started looking at freaking politics a little bit differently, and it made me a little bit better advisor slowly, one year, by one year, et cetera, et cetera. And you know, now you have this great conversation, like all the questions you're asking me, just so you guys know, we didn't script this out. He didn't like, hey, man, I'm going to ask this question. I already know how to respond to it because I'm very well read. I'm very prepared when it comes to it. So I love the questions, by the way.
Joe
Love it. Love it. Yeah, this is a good one because you got a great mindset, but what role do you think mindset has to play in financial success?
Manny
I think that's a. That's a learned skill. So I'm big on mindset now, but that was a result of being around high identity people. I mean, damn, bro. My. The guy that recruited me in business was Ed Mylett. He's one of the best speakers in the world ever.
Joe
Yeah, I mean, I love Ed Milet.
Manny
One of my good friends is Patrick Bit David. I still talk to him on a. On a regular basis. And they have strong mindsets. Everyone at some point in time is going to quit in business. I mean, my best friend since the seventh grade, he owns several franchises. He's. He's worth lots of money, but he's very humble about it. You know, these are all my associations. And I think your mindset is really indicative of your associations and the lack thereof. That's where it starts. The secondary thing is, even if you don't have that great association, I could have grown up in Kansas, but if I read more or I listen to podcasts and youtubes more, it's like I'm literally in the room with them. And now I. I can adopt their beliefs because belief drives everything. If I believe I can do something significant, I'm going to. If I don't, I'm not. My belief starts with that. But how do you gain belief? You gain it by association. You gain it by the books, the YouTubes and the podcasts that you listen to. So having a mindset, I think is inheritance and indicative of all of the great publication that you're. You're involved into. One of my best Leadership books is by John Maxwell. If he writes it, I read it. So 21 irrefutable laws of leadership. That. That was authored more than, I think, 20 years ago, and it still holds true today. Law, the lid. You know, you want to be around people that are tens, not fours. If you're around five different fours, you're going to become a four, even if you're a seven. So the law of the lid is super important. All those different books, man, I can go on for three hours about mindset to mindset is. Is the absolute pinnacle of something that you. You want to get a hold of.
Joe
Yeah, absolutely. I mean, it's imperative if you're an entrepreneur. Now, do you have a story that comes to mind where a client, like, resisted your advice and the outcome of that resistance?
Manny
Dude, I'll tell you. I'll tell you the most recent. And, and I know he doesn't mind that I say this because he's. He's literally told me that I was right. In 2000, I'm gonna guess 13. I had a guy that I sold life insurance to, and he was making at that time, about 300 grand a year. He got a little term policy, 30 year term. It cost him like $140 a month. The reason why was because he was out of shape. He had diabetes, he had high blood pressure. Physically, he was challenged. And he says, I'll pay 100 bucks a month. It was like a budgeted. It's like, dude, this isn't a mortgage. Like, you know, your family needs $2 million of coverage. Since you make 300 grand a year, the factor was you need $2 million. And he goes, nah, it's too expensive. So I follow up being a great salesperson at that time, because I think I'm a horrible salesperson now. But I followed up, followed up, followed up in 2017, 18. I told him, dude, you should. You're in better shape now. You should get another million, five, two million dollars of life insurance. And he goes, nah, man, it's too expensive. I'm not dying. No. Three weeks ago, he text messages me and says, hey, bro, I have stage four cancer. My doctor says I got about three months to live. I don't believe him. I believe in God. I'm doing all these things. My this, my that. His wife called me five days ago and said he had turned for. I'm getting goosebumps talking about it. He had turned for the worst. And I need to know how to apply for his life insurance when it goes down, because we're putting him in hospital this now. So, dude, I, I could tell you it's really sad when it comes, because think about it for a second. We're, we're blowing and going. We're doing all these different great business things. And a defining moment, paradigm shift happens like that. You look back and you think about all the great, all the other things that you could have taken place. This is a guy, I'm not saying his name, but this is a guy that's filing bankruptcy, Chapter 11, right now. His wife told me. He didn't even tell me that. And he's going through financial hardships. And it literally took him, I think it was like four months to go through financial shambles because, you know, he's going through this physical challenge. He's only going to get a quarter million dollars in life insurance, and they owe way more than a quarter million dollars that she's going to be getting. So she was very appreciative, she was very kind. She cried on the phone. And, you know, I felt bad. And you know, I obviously think back, I take a step back and I think, what could I have done differently? Could I have marketed differently? Could I have had one of my agents reach out more? That's the most recent story, dude. Like, my cousin had a stroke four years ago. Night the same thing happened. I said, man, what an idiot. Here I am, I'm doing great. And I didn't even reach out to my cousin for a policy. So, yeah, that's been the most. Right now, that's tip of the scope school. And it has me kind of circling. I mean, I've paid about a half dozen life insurance policy death claims, but this one got me for whatever reason. I think, I think because his wife called me, I think that's what got me. So he's got kids, you know, he loves his kids. He's. Anyways, it was, it was bad.
Joe
It's always tough.
Manny
Yeah, dude, it was. It sucks. It sucks.
Joe
That's a tough thing to deal with. A couple last questions. Looking ahead, what innovations or shifts in the financial industry are you most excited about? And how are you preparing your clients for them?
Manny
Yeah, I gotta change my state, man.
Joe
I know. Physiology changed.
Manny
Yeah. I just feel so bad about this guy's finance family, dude. Like, like I'm, I'm a recovering people pleaser. So instead of me pleasing everybody and trying to jockey for position on, on how I can help these different people, it just, it shakes me up a little bit. What was your question again?
Joe
How are, like, what does the future of the financial industry look like to you?
Manny
I think it has a lot to do with AI. The future of the financial industry has a lot to do with AI. If I'm in an industry that is potentially going to be taken over by AI, I want to research as much as possible about AI. I'm always researching some up and coming things. I'm always researching what could be making more money at that time. I'm always like ear to the ground when it comes to things like this. So I think AI is going to have a big difference in it. But as far as advisory stuff, I don't believe it will take over. The insurance industry, maybe the investment industry would be affected most. And even then seniors right now, they're baby boomers, so they're not really on the AI stuff. But the X geners and the millennials, you better be ready because they're going to be the ones that come to you and go, what's your AI strategy? And you better be prepared to answer that instead of, well, we're a mom and pop shop, we're not really concerned about that. I want to get concerned about that because that is the future.
Joe
Yeah, it's the same thing. When loan officers come to me, it's like I asked them what's, what's your strategy for building your personal brand? They're like, I don't have a personal brand.
Manny
Like, dumb.
Joe
You're gonna be out of business and you got your days are like maybe 500 days left in the business.
Manny
Yep.
Joe
You know, like, yeah, you got days left.
Manny
Yeah.
Joe
What are you gonna do in these days?
Manny
You know, dude, if I was one of your loan officers, I would appreciate that question because all you're doing is you're trying to help them out to get better. So for me, it throws them off.
Joe
And I'm like, guys, like, you know right now the only place AI can reason is based off the information has online. If you don't have a brand online, how is it going to give you any data?
Manny
100, 100. But that, that's the difference between haters and congratulators. I mean, I hate to put it in two different categories like that, but let's say you're an employee, like a loan officer of yours and you ask that question. A hater goes, I don't need identity, bro. You feed me leads anyways, that's somebody that's comfortable in the zoo. A congratulator is like, man, I never thought about that. I appreciate that question, dude. What's your opinion? I mean, they're talking to a millionaire, that's somebody that's literally sitting there talking to them, trying to make them better. If they see the alternative, that's just really dumb on their part and they need to go to book camp at least when it comes to self development. So the congratulator normally is more action oriented, but I think that's awesome, dude.
Joe
It's a, it's, it, you know, it's the reality, you know, it's just the world we're in. Everyone wanted AI. Everyone wanted things easy. Sadly, AI now requires you to have a brand new. And if you want AI, you got to have a brand.
Manny
What do they say? Ubi? Universal Basic income. I think that that is a real thing. I think that AI is going to put a lot of people out of business. A lot of employees are going to be unemployed and I believe that unemployment will skyrocket and at that point the government will have to enforce some type of ubi. And just so the listeners understand what UBI is, Universal basic income is like a child support check. It's kind of like a government check that says, hey, we know that you can't get a job, we feel bad for you, so we're going to give you 1200 bucks a month.
Joe
Like communism.
Manny
It is, it is.
Joe
Sounds like our socialism. Whatever you want to, whatever you want.
Manny
To call it, but you know how it goes, dude. Whenever, whenever government cannot come up with a solution, send you a check. Unfortunately, society says, well, I need money, I, I count on you, so you need to send me some money. Socialized healthcare, same thing. I mean, people believe in socialized health care. For me personally, I do want to, I don't want to pay for the guy that weighs 350 pounds, that eats cheeseburgers every day because he's lazy. There's always exceptions to the rule, of course. So for socialized healthcare, it's the same thing. It's like, why am I paying a thousand dollars a month for my health insurance when my insurance cost should be $300? Well, it's because we're putting in a pool of other people that need health care. Well, I shouldn't be responsible for them. I go to the gym three times a week, I'm in the sauna, I'm not eating horrible food like that. So, you know, my thoughts are a little bit different. But I'm a little controversial though, pivoting a little.
Joe
You know, you have four kids and you've been fortunate enough to not grow up in poverty and to grow up in poverty. Yeah. Now Your kids are adverse to that. What are you doing right now to teach your kids the same level of grit and that winner mindset?
Manny
Good question, dude. How'd you know I grew up poor? That's some research, huh?
Joe
Every CEO pretty much.
Manny
That's true.
Joe
On that side. Nobody has come to me and said, I grew up rich.
Manny
Yeah. I mean, I grew up a latchkey kid. My mom was on food stamps. I was a little bit embarrassed when I go to the the market with my mom, because back then they didn't have EBT cards. It was like a food stamp, like, you cut it up. And I never wanted that for my kids. I never wanted them to be given anything by me. I have two older boys, they're 28 and 25, and I taught them how to door knock when they were 13 and 15. So I gave them a script and I said, the script. I'm paraphrasing, of course. In an effort for my dad to teach us the value of money, he has asked us to door knock and wash cars for the neighborhood or do yard work. Which of the two would best interest you? And my kids got badass at communicating and doing alternative choice and then isolating the objection. So my son Manny, who's 25, he went to the Navy. His CO for five years, he was at the Navy. His CO would call on Manny to go and communicate about multiple things because Manny was great at communication. My son Dominic is a badass. I mean, he. He communicates with people and he asks why. That's his best question, and he's not afraid to ask why. And this is all because of, as a parent, a single parent, I taught them the value of learning communication and the value of asking questions and not being a little bitch. Those are my two sons. Now my daughter, who's 16 and a half, she's like going through it right now because I'm teaching her how to public speak. So she has 10 vocabulary words that she needs to do, and she needs to create it in a paragraph, she needs to put it in paragraph, and she needs to publicly speak in front of two people at least. So she's done five so far. I pay her 50 bucks each time. And she wanted to go to summer camp this year. And I said, well, you're a little. You're a little short. Well, dad, mom said that. Well, mom, mom reached out to me, said, you make all this money, but you're not well. And I love her mom. I love my daughter's mom. I think we co parent terrific. But I have different values than just giving kids stuff. I'm not going to do that. They need to earn it. And I'm a firm believer that if we create great kids, we'll foster independence the right way, and they will ultimately be terrific adults and we will change society. But what's unfortunate is that people don't take parenting seriously. They make a kid and plop it out, and then they're on Instagram and they're like, okay, I'll just Uber eats you something. Nah, man. I don't want to be from that factory. I want to create players. I want to create leaders. I want to create badasses. So these are just some basic things that I do to work on their mindset.
Joe
I like that I'm gonna have to take that script done. I'm gonna have my kid doing that this summer. I mean, he's 10, but I'm all about breeding them young.
Manny
My bro, when Manny was 13 and Dominic was 15 at the time, I remember them coming home the first day, they're sweaty. It was in the summer. And I started a shirt brand for them called the Hills. You know, Beverly Hills, Agora Hills, all the Hills oriented things are upper class, right? So they went out and they had shirts on said the Hills. People never quitters, never win. Winners are never quit. You know, the Hills, right? And when they first came back, the first day, they go, dad, they walk in, they go, going to be millionaires. I go, what happened, dad? Like the fifth door we knocked, man. This lady comes out, she says, I love your idea. There's no kids out there that are doing this. I'm prepared to write you a check for $5,000. I want a website. I want this, I want that. I go, that's what's up, mijo.
Joe
Let's.
Manny
Let's go. And then he goes, all right, what's next, Dad? I go, you better do a business plan, bro. Go to YouTube. Figure out what a business plan is all about. So they literally go to YouTube for everything. What? YouTube's the second largest search engine in the world behind Google, and YouTube isn't even in different countries. That's a pretty large, you know, search engine. So they literally go to YouTube every single time they need to learn something, I go, YouTube it. When you exhaust all the information, come to me and ask me the question. And they literally did not ask me any questions because they are independent and they answer it on their own.
Joe
So five grand?
Manny
No, they never got the five grand. So, you know, I got to teach them failure, too.
Joe
Yeah, I love that. A couple last questions for sure.
Manny
Goals.
Joe
What's a personal goal you have for yourself, a family goal you have for the family, and a business goal that you have for the financial architects?
Manny
Personal goal for myself has always been the same thing. I know this off the tip of my head because I constantly think about this is happiness. So many people are. My opinion, they're dictated by other people's timelines. So I don't know how old you are, but let's say you're 40 years old and you think everyone else in society says you need to be married, you need to have a white picket fence. You need to live life this way. You need to believe in God and go to church every Sunday. You're living other people's dreams, not your own. And I think that happiness is created by living truly in your own dream, your own steps to freedom. I mean, the journey through life is bliss. It's not the destination, in my opinion. So I. I want to be happy. I live happy every single day here on the podcast. This is. I'm having a great time. I'm gonna leave. I'm gonna probably go to the beach, chill out, get my little sandals on. That's my personal goal on a daily basis, just to be happy. So whatever comes along, that space, terrific. On the family side, I'm real heavy on my kids. Like, right now, my daughter's 16 and a half, and I need to show her the proper example. So I try and spend as much time with her as possible when I'm around her. I try not to be on my phone, even though I'm guilty of being on my phone a lot because of, you know, the business that we run. But my daughter, I want to spend as much time as possible, and I want to show her a good example. She has a great stepdad. Leo's an incredible stepdad. I think that I thank God every day for him. I even text him randomly, go, hey, man, thanks so much for being a great dad to my daughter. And I get goosebumps talking about that because I care about my daughter so much. My two older boys, you know, they're on their own paths right now. I step in with them. But a personal goal of mine with all of them has been every quarter at least, to be on a zoom and talk about their financial goals. Because if you do research, people that are moneyed up live in their 90s. That's wild to me. So when people say money isn't everything, last time I checked, they live longer than everyone else. They have less stress, less Cortisol than everyone else and they give back to society a lot more than everybody else, contrary to what they may believe. So my family goal would be that to get my kids closer together to talk about finances. Matter of fact, I'm going to make that action step once a month just because of this conversation.
Joe
I love that.
Manny
And then business goal. We will have 400 offices within the next five years. We've already plugged out a plan for that. I don't even think it's a big plan anymore. I said it two years ago and now I'm thinking, Damn, 400. I'm really like low balling it, dude. So 400 offices in the next five years should be somewhat simple because we have the winning recipe that makes sense and we have the systems in place to make it go. So you asked some really good questions, bro. You did that on your own or your staff does?
Joe
No, these are. This is. I do this.
Manny
This is what I'll do.
Joe
Yeah.
Manny
Last question. Go for it.
Joe
When you're in front of the pearly gate dates, what do you think God's.
Manny
Going to tell you? In my opinion, God's going to say, manny, you ran with the big dogs, man. 90% of your life was on point and you did the right thing all the time. There's some deficiencies, but I think overall you're a good guy. And granted, you could have done better, but welcome to heaven.
Joe
Let's go.
Manny
There you go.
Joe
I love it. I love, I hope that all your goals, people want to find you. How do they connect with you?
Manny
So my Instagram channel is money business, Manny. That's probably the best handle to take advantage of. I have a YouTube channel called the financial Architects. We don't have a million followers yet, but it's really not for views. It's for publication. And it's easy to grab a video and send it to a client. And that way they get an educational course with in that YouTube so they can find me there on the financial architects on YouTube and you could just google Manny Soto, the financial architects and a lot of publication will come up. I look forward to our conversation and I look forward to knowing Joe at least for the next 50 years.
Joe
Let's go, Manny. Stto a legend. Make sure you connect with him, Manny. Hope you hit all your goals. God bless you. God bless your kids. God bless your family. Let's keep winning, baby.
Manny
Love it. Thank you so much.
Joe
Let's go. Sa.
Podcast Summary: "Redefining the Financial Game ft. Manuel Soto" | Coffeez for Closers with Joe Shalaby
Release Date: May 30, 2025
In this compelling episode of "Coffeez for Closers," host Joseph Shalaby engages in an in-depth conversation with Manuel Soto, the CEO of TFA Insurance Advisors and a renowned financial architect. The discussion navigates through various facets of business growth, financial strategies, the impact of AI on the financial industry, mindset's role in financial success, and the importance of instilling strong values in the next generation.
Key Discussion Points: Manuel Soto delves into the challenges and strategies involved in scaling a financial services company. With his team growing from 223 to nearly 250 agents, Soto emphasizes the complexities that come with managing a larger workforce.
Notable Quotes:
Insights: Soto highlights the importance of multiplication over mere addition in scaling businesses. Public speaking and leveraging multiple platforms for message dissemination are pivotal in reaching a broader audience and driving growth.
Key Discussion Points: The conversation pivots to specific growth strategies, with a focus on social media utilization, public speaking, and seminars. Soto advocates for a "multiplication" approach, using platforms like Instagram to amplify reach and engagement.
Notable Quotes:
Insights: Embracing a multi-faceted marketing approach ensures that messages resonate across diverse channels, thereby increasing visibility and lead generation. Hosting seminars and investing in targeted marketing efforts can yield substantial returns, especially when targeting specific demographics like seniors.
Key Discussion Points: Soto challenges conventional wisdom around mortgages, introducing his acronym "LITR" to explain why keeping a mortgage can be financially advantageous. He stresses the importance of liquidity, interest rates, tax advantages, and risk management in financial planning.
Notable Quotes:
Insights: Soto advocates for maintaining mortgage debt under favorable interest rates to preserve liquidity and leverage tax benefits. He underscores the significance of due diligence in financial planning, cautioning against high-fee advisory services that may not deliver optimal returns.
Key Discussion Points: The discussion turns to the burgeoning role of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in finance. Both hosts acknowledge AI's potential to revolutionize due diligence, underwriting, and client interactions, while emphasizing the irreplaceable value of human relationships and personalized financial planning.
Notable Quotes:
Insights: While AI offers efficiency and scalability, the essence of financial planning—understanding clients' evolving needs and building trust—remains inherently human. Adapting to technological advancements without compromising personal relationships is crucial for sustained success.
Key Discussion Points: Soto elaborates on the pivotal role mindset plays in achieving financial success. Influenced by leaders like Ed Mylett and John Maxwell, he emphasizes continuous learning, association with high-identity individuals, and the importance of belief in one's capabilities.
Notable Quotes:
Insights: A resilient and growth-oriented mindset, fostered through strategic associations and relentless self-improvement, is fundamental to overcoming challenges and excelling in the financial sector.
Key Discussion Points: As a father, Soto shares his methodologies for instilling financial literacy, communication skills, and grit in his children. From door-knocking sales practices to encouraging independent problem-solving, he highlights the significance of hands-on experiences in shaping competent adults.
Notable Quotes:
Insights: Early exposure to real-world financial practices and fostering a culture of accountability and resilience equips young individuals with the tools necessary for financial independence and leadership.
Key Discussion Points: Soto outlines his personal goal of maintaining happiness, his dedication to his family's financial education, and his ambitious business objective of expanding to 400 offices within five years. These goals reflect a balanced approach to personal fulfillment, familial responsibility, and professional growth.
Notable Quotes:
Insights: Balancing personal well-being, family mentorship, and strategic business expansion illustrates Soto's holistic approach to success, ensuring long-term sustainability and legacy building.
Key Discussion Points: Addressing common skepticism towards financial planners, Soto emphasizes the importance of transparency, due diligence, and genuine client relationships. He criticizes rookie advisors who prioritize commissions over client welfare and advocates for thorough research and ethical practices.
Notable Quotes:
Insights: Building trust through ethical practices and proactive client engagement is essential in overcoming industry skepticism and establishing a reputable financial advisory presence.
Key Discussion Points: Soto shares a poignant story of a client who resisted his advice, only to face severe financial and health crises later. This reflection underscores the critical nature of proactive financial planning and the emotional impact of clients' life changes on advisors.
Notable Quotes:
Insights: Real-life client experiences highlight the profound responsibility financial advisors bear and the necessity for continuous client engagement to prevent adverse outcomes.
Key Discussion Points: Looking ahead, Soto anticipates significant changes in the financial industry driven by AI and evolving client expectations. He stresses the importance of staying informed, adapting strategies, and integrating technology without losing the personal touch.
Notable Quotes:
Insights: Embracing technological advancements while maintaining personalized services will be crucial for financial firms to thrive amidst industry transformations and economic shifts.
Conclusion: This episode of "Coffeez for Closers" offers a rich tapestry of insights from Manuel Soto, blending practical business strategies with profound personal philosophies. From scaling businesses and leveraging AI to fostering strong mindsets and teaching financial literacy, Soto provides invaluable lessons for professionals in the mortgage and financial planning industries. His candid reflections and forward-thinking perspectives serve as a guide for listeners aiming to redefine their approach to the financial game.
For more insights and to connect with Manuel Soto, follow him on Instagram or visit his YouTube channel.
Listeners are encouraged to visit the Financial Architects' YouTube channel and Instagram handle @moneybusinessmanny for additional content and resources.