Executive TLDR

Espi De Viccaro, Keem Woods, and Johanna Polanco emphasize that leadership starts with presence, commitment, and duplication. They highlight showing up consistently, mastering the system, recruiting aggressively, mentoring new teammates, building culture, and creating override income through developing leaders. Their message is clear: future Regional Vice Presidents must lead from the front, commit fully, and build teams through example, belief, and structure.

Video Summary

Espi De Viccaro opens by stressing commitment to your team and leading by example. She explains that when you recruit someone, your responsibility doesn’t end there. Leaders must stay close to new teammates, guide them step by step, and rally them to every meeting and event. She emphasizes personal presence—showing up consistently without needing reminders—as a standard that teammates will follow. Professionalism matters because leaders set the tone for what the business should look like. She reinforces the importance of being fully licensed, mastering the platform, staying active on company systems, and following the established system instead of trying to reinvent it. Drawing from personal hardship, including her son’s kidney transplant and navigating licensing exams during difficult times, she highlights perseverance and understanding the real impact of financial protection. For her, leadership means preparation, professionalism, and recommitment to doing more.

Keem Woods shifts the focus to recruiting and building direction. He openly expresses frustration about not having enough teammates recognized and explains that leadership growth starts with bringing in more directs. New teammates bring energy, momentum, and fresh belief. He stresses staying connected with everyone who submits an Independent Business Application, even if timing isn’t right. Leaders must talk belief into people during both highs and lows and become strong “master copies” so duplication happens naturally. He explains that building a team allows you to help more families and create override income through developing competent leaders. His conclusion centers on perseverance—feelings get hurt, people quit, disappointment happens—but pushing through and continuing to recruit is what separates leaders from those who fade away.

Johanna Polanco closes with vision, culture, and time commitment. She reflects on being an example to her 18-year-old son and the importance of reprogramming the mind to understand the business model. She reinforces coachability and trusting the system that has worked for decades. Drawing from field experience, including delivering multiple death claims, she reminds everyone that the work truly changes lives. Johanna emphasizes creating a positive, fun, and productive team culture where transparency, empathy, and energy coexist. She speaks about strategy—focusing key producers in the right areas—and the difference between time management and time commitment. Success requires intentional focus, structured recruiting efforts, and willingness to mentor teammates for long-term override income. Her message reinforces that leadership is about vision, culture, and sustained action.

FAQs

What does leading by example mean in Primerica?
It means showing up consistently, following the system, staying licensed, and modeling professionalism so teammates duplicate your behavior.

Why is recruiting emphasized so heavily?
Recruiting builds distribution, creates energy, develops leaders, and generates long-term override income.

What is override income?
Override income is compensation earned from developing and supporting productive teammates within your hierarchy.

Why is presence important in leadership?
Consistent attendance at meetings, events, and trainings builds credibility and sets the standard for the team.

How do future RVPs prepare for promotion?
By mastering the system, building directs, staying coachable, developing culture, and maintaining strong time commitment.

Glossary

Primerica
A financial services company focused on helping middle-income families through insurance and investment solutions.

RVP (Regional Vice President)
A leadership position earned by building a strong, productive team and meeting production requirements.

Independent Business Application (IBA)
The application completed when a new representative joins the business.

Override Income
Compensation earned from the production of teammates you recruit and develop.

Master Copy
A leader who models correct behavior and skills so teammates can duplicate success effectively.

Field Training
On-the-job training where experienced representatives guide new teammates during client appointments.

Transcript:

Good morning.

Good morning. All right, listen, the guys before did an amazing job. Those future reps, right? I’m so excited to be working with them. So it’s funny because we don’t all just call each other and see what we’re going to talk about, but it seems to be a theme.

Right.

We all talk about kind of the same thing. So I’m talking about commitment, right. And I’m talking to myself. Commitment to your team.

Right.

What are you doing for your teammates when you hire them? What is the process that you’re following so that they can go and do what you did and get to where you are?

Right.

You have to go and take those steps. You can’t just hire somebody and let them fall off the wayside. You got to be like, right there next to them, right. The whole step of the way. You have to call them every single day, encourage them, rally them to everything.

Right.

Joe and I may not talk. We’ll talk for a couple of minutes in a few weeks, but he knows that I’m going to be everywhere. It doesn’t matter. He doesn’t have to call me and tell me, hey, we’re having a leadership school, we’re having a training, we’re having whatever it is. He knows I’m going to be there. All he has to do is say it, put it up on the board, whatever it is, I’m there. Right? So you want to teach a team that they need to do that too, but you have to be the first one. The environment in the office, right? I love having the ThunderCats in the office. It is so awesome. I love their energy. I love that they get everybody rallied up.

Right.

But you look at that team, they look professional. What business do you think you’re in?

Right?

Because whatever you’re putting out is what you’re showing the next level of leadership to be.

Right.

So you want to know that you look as professional as the next financial guy that they want to do business with. You want to make sure that happens. So you got to teach your know what it is that you expect from them. Right. Attending trainings events, calls again. Joe doesn’t ever have to call me to say, hey, you need to be here or there. He knows that I’m going to be there. The business. Are you ready for success? What is it about your business that you know? Do you know how to run your business? Are you on Pol every single day?

Right?

If you’re not on Pol every single day, multiple times a day, checking your emails, learning from all those leaders that are making millions of dollars and actually taking time to make those videos and teach us, then you’re not in business.

Right.

You’re just kind of messing around with this thing. So make sure that you get that done fully licensed. You’re in the financial industry business. You need to be fully licensed.

Right?

I’m going for that 26, and I got to get it done. But my husband’s fully licensed, so if I need to get to RVP, we’re ready. I know how to run my business. I know what everything looks like. So you want to make sure that gets done. Listen, I know a lot of you are probably going through that process and everybody’s going through something. And I could tell you I failed at six once or twice. I failed at 63 once or twice. My kids were going through hell.

Right.

My son needed a kidney transplant at the time. My daughter donated her kidney to him. But I got it done. I set a time. I said, you know what? That’s it. I can’t fail another time. I’m not waiting another six months to get this done. So I got it done. So we all have to get that done, right? Follow your upline. Make sure that you’re doing what they’re telling you to do. Don’t just come into Primerica and decide that you’re going to change the system. There’s a system in place for a reason. It works. Right? I know we just don’t all do it, but we have to get better at that. Learning your craft. It was amazing when Joe put that video up for 911 the other day in the office, and he played it again today. My husband was down there. I didn’t know if he was dead or alive.

So you have to really make sure that you understand the importance of what we do in this business, because we don’t know what tomorrow brings.

Right?

Last week, my daughter’s future father in law passed away. He went to work and he didn’t return 60 years old. He did not expect that to happen.

Right.

He wanted to come home to his family. So I’m so excited that I’m in this business because I was able to sit with his wife and talk about, let’s go look at what you have in place and help them out with that.

Right.

Getting on Pol multiple times a day again, knowing the incentives so you can go teach them yourselves. Taking notes is so important. I have books upon books of all the trainings that I’ve done because it’s a way that we can get up here and then teach again.

Right?

And so, guys, let’s just get recommitted, right? We just all have to do more. And I’m so excited to, again, work with you guys. You’re encouraging as heck to see you guys, but I know that I’m, like, right behind because I know most of you have been in the business 13 years. I’m twelve. So I’m like, okay, I’m next, right? So thank you, guys. Let’s get to the topic.

Don’t do that. You make me blush. Cardinal got my presentation.

Presentation.

All right, good.

Great. Okay, great.

My name is Keem. I work with the ThunderCats Nation. Paul and faker tanzarit. You see, I got recognized a few times here, but it’s not about that. I want teammates to get recognized, so I haven’t had enough. Teammates get recognized. It’s cool. I paid a few bucks, but disappointed and frustrated. And it starts with me. And probably you two needed more directs, right? We have Fritz here today, and he’s a $300,000 income earner for the simple fact that he always gets multiple directs. He double digit recruits by himself.

Okay?

So I have a quick presentation to kind of go through since Joe didn’t have mine, and I’ll let you know. I’m so OCD. I’ll let you know when it’s a new subject and you put a bullet point, because that’s how my OCD works.

Okay?

So the title is why I need more direction. Maybe you do too, okay? Simple as that. And the first subject, it starts off saying, it’s not fun being in business by yourself. I did this a few weeks ago back in July, but it’s not fun being here by yourself. Okay, first bullet point. New teammates bring new energy, such as which was stated here on the stage before, right? And if you think about it, at this time, joe had just got promoted. My brother, I’m proud of you. I know it’s cold over there because you’re by yourself, and it’s really cold. So the second thing, the next bullet point is you get excited for the small accomplishments. I was just talking to Mike Rosetto. Mike, I’m proud of you. He got recognized here, but it was by himself. And I was like, listen, when you get teammates a different feeling, okay?

The next subject talks about I talk about become a mentor coach.

Okay?

So talk to everyone who’s put in the RBA. Timing might not be right. Sick life happens. But still, that does not mean you disconnect from them and not communicate to them, because they could lead you to the next person. Next stud. You just never know, right? The next bullet point talks about talk belief into them when they have nothing going on, right? Shanice talk belief into them when they have nothing going on because you just never know. Just imagine if Paul would have gave up on me back in 1999 when I first put in my IBA. Now I’m lying.

All right?

Talk belief into them when they’re experiencing highs and lows in a business. Paul texts at the right time all the time, what’s up, champ? And I’m like, Damn. But then when things are going on, I don’t hear from him, right? Because he knows the perfect time, and that can be you, too, for your team. Okay, the next subject talks about becoming master copy. I think of butts when I think of this, right? Directors become as good as you are. Overcoming objections, doing f a’s. Doing business, and referrals. He brought me onto my first kitchen table appointment with my mother. I learned all the words and everything what to say. Rick right. I learned everything to do through butts.

Okay?

Become a master copy. You want to duplicate yourself as many times as possible, right, fritz. The next subject build a team. So you have some teammates here, fritz. You get to help more families get educated. You have a better opportunity to distribute and so forth. But that comes from building a team, not getting recognized by yourself.

Okay?

We’re here to build. And last but not least, joe, you can relate to this override. We came here for the overrides. Right? You get paid for developing competent leaders, right, Maggie? That’s what we’re here to do.

Okay?

And last but not least, as I wrap up well, I still got time. All right? I’ll take questions after this.

No, listen.

In conclusion, we all get our feelings hurt, some probably more than others. That’s why they have 500,000 all these people in the front row, because they got their feelings hurt more than we did back there. Right, Mike?

Right, Sheldon? Okay.

People always say one thing and do another. It happens to everybody, right, todd? We are all guilty of it, even the creator of this presentation. But you have to preserve and push through the crap to get through what you want in life. And that all starts with recruiting. All right? Thank you for your time.

Good morning, everyone. I want to say thank you to our leader and Denise and Joe Cardino, because one of the thing is, at the beginning, you may not understand why we do so much meeting, but it makes sense, because in life, we have to reprogram our mind because we’re not used to this. So you’ll be like, why? They do so much meeting. So thank you so much, and thank you for our regional vice president, who stick it up, right? And who haven’t given up. And dealing with different type of people in this business is like a skill you got to learn sometimes. Okay? And one other thing. I want to say that I’m really happy that I can work in a company where I can be an inspiration to my son. My son just turned 18 years old. So that shows a lot that when you’re in a company that you can actually say, you know what?

You could do this, because I may not do everything for my family, but maybe I can leave an example and lead them as an example, because you never know, right? And I always say, why not me and you, right? So one of the things that had kept me going and in this time that I have almost like a newborn, right? Ten months that I’m focusing on having a vision. And one of the thing is, you need to have a vision and say, why are you here? And why this company can give you. Because if not, you cannot sustain, because you have to have something bigger than you to be able to put yourself in this company and sustain. Okay? And one other thing, the programming. You got to program your mind to what this business is, because it’s not what you think, it’s what it is.

And it works. Like, I was training my son, right? And I’m telling you, send the character reference. He said, mom, that doesn’t work. That looked too professional. I said, Send the character reference, because it works.

Right?

So one of the thing about being coachable, that I got to work on it. I’m working on it, I’m going through it, right? But my son said, it works, and I said, yes, send it. Don’t worry about it. Whoever said, okay, great, and who didn’t, forget about it. And then the company has a system that had been working for 46 years. So if you know this company work for 46 years, I’ve been doing recruiting training, right? Doing field training. I have paid over half a million in policy. Over four people that have passed away. Me doing field training. All of them, they were not even people that they referred me for life insurance. They were actually field training. So I love recruiting for the reason that I can tap in different market, and I love the diversity of culture. Okay? Remember, what you think is not inside is radiating outside you.

So we have to be careful how we’re thinking and when we approach people, like Mr. Barron was saying, right? And team culture, I always say, what do you want your culture in your business to be like? Do you want your culture to be happy environment that people say, you know what? I cannot wait. I want to bring more people to this business, make money, have fun, right? So those are the things, like when you run a car, do you run a car, like, fast all the time, or do you run a car like, you pause, you go, you move, right? So in this business, we have to be able to have a culture of having fun, work, being transparent, having empathy for our people, because we are not robots, okay? So those are the things that we got to work, and I’m working on myself because I want to be able to create a team in a big hierarchy, okay?

So the culture of the team that I want is something happy, exciting, that people say, you know what? Let’s help. And I never seen no one that deliver a deaf claim that say, oh, my God, why did you do that? Everybody that called me and said, joanna, my family told me to call you. Nobody ever said, Why did you do that? So we do the right thing for people, okay? Because this company do the right thing. Also, strategize. If we have a plan, if we want to do 15 x ten, we cannot just say, oh, 15 x ten. We got to strategize with the people. The key people. I used to work in the jewelry store, and I remember there was a guy named Frick Ducas. He was from Haiti. And then there was another lady, Stacy. Those are the MacDaddy people, those people that were like skillful, right?

So you don’t put them to do a lot of nonsense. You focus. You let them focus in the field so they can actually close on the holidays. Because I used to work at Sales Jeweler before, right, before the medical field. So what they used to do no distraction for those people that were the skillful in that area. So he used to focus, and they used to make the most income, right? And also time commitment. I didn’t say time management time commitment because I had to commit to my time. When people calling me that they want to come to my house and I’m working, I had to say, I’m working. I have a ten month years old, right? Like, my husband think, like, I’m just chilling. And he said, Why are you calling? Why are you talking so much? I said, Listen, for you to get somebody bank account, you better do some talking up in here, right, and get some trust, because you in a zoom.

So I’m like, I’m trying to connect with that client. It’s not like that. Are you able to get the bank account like that? So you say, Let me work so I can make it happen, right? So I have my time management, because he think I’m chilling. And I said, Listen, this person here is talking to be able to provide the client value, to be able to get that bank account, or to be able to bring them aboard and trust they can trust me, that I can show them this business work, right? And also, one other thing. I’m working in the morning with the people that I bring aboard, and in the afternoon, I’m working with people in the field, okay? That’s what I’m doing. And I don’t even have time for myself, okay? And then the last thing that I’m doing before he take me out is to I remember Charlene Lorraine said, and she makes $1.5 million, right?

If I need to babysit a few teammates to have passive income, aka. Override, who are we not to babysit few teammates so we can get what we want. Thank you.

Thank you.