Executive TLDR
Will and Pauline were real estate investors with their income concentrated in real estate, the 2008 crash wiped out their income.
They spent over $50,000 chasing scams before finding Primerica through a family connection.
They tested Primerica by booking 40 appointments in their first month and made $8,200 as a district, proof that you can win without being “at the top.”
After about five years, they became RVP and stabilized at six-figure income while raising their family.
When momentum slowed, they held a “board meeting” and shifted leadership, Pauline took over Primerica leadership while Will focused on other businesses.
Pauline entered as a stay-at-home mom, new to the country, with limited English and no financial services background.
She saw a mission: educate their community and help working families who grind for decades without progress.
Their turning point was environment: plugging into Coach Teschler’s voice and standards.
They intentionally pivoted from being “premium riders” to “selling out on recruiting.”
They set a team plan: no looking left or right, recruit aggressively, compete consistently, and show up every quarter to measure progress.
A key proof point: Dina, who thought she could only recruit, ended up #1 in personal premium and earned $50,000, showing skills can be developed.
Pauline emphasizes competing for your last name, bringing value to the environment, and building a team that earns stage time, recognition, and long-term pride.
Table of Contents
Their “why” and the collapse that forced change
The test that proved the model
The plateau and the leadership switch
Pauline’s perspective: mission, licenses, and the community
The real accelerator: environment
The strategic pivot: premium riders to recruiting-focused
Competition as a culture tool
Proof points and belief builders
What a new teammate should do next
FAQs
Glossary
1. Their “Why” And The Collapse That Forced Change
Will starts with a blunt lesson: concentrating 100% of income in one vehicle, real estate, worked until it didn’t. When the 2008 crash hit, so did their income. That pain pushed them to look for a second engine, but the search cost them real money first.
2. The Test That Proved The Model
They did not “believe first.” They tested. Their leader told them to book appointments, so they booked 40 in month one. They earned $8,200 as a district, and what mattered was not the dollars, it was proof that you can win without being the person at the top.
3. The Plateau And The Leadership Switch
After becoming RVP and reaching a stable six-figure level, they hit a new problem: growth slowed. They responded like business owners, not like victims, they held a private “board meeting” and reassigned roles. Pauline became the operating leader in Primerica. Will shifted back to their other ventures.
4. Pauline’s Perspective: Mission, Licenses, And The Community
Pauline describes joining as a stay-at-home mom, only a year in the U.S., limited English, and no understanding of life insurance. She stayed because she saw:
A mission to serve working families and their community
Licensing as a pathway to real skill and ownership
A business model that could be built, not just worked
5. The Real Accelerator: Environment
Her strongest point is simple: you cannot outgrow your environment. Once they plugged into Coach Teschler’s voice and standards, the business “exploded.” She frames it as a requirement, not a suggestion.
6. The Strategic Pivot: Premium Riders To Recruiting-Focused
They were known for production, but it was not scaling. So Pauline decided they would “sell out on recruiting.” The emphasis is that a goal alone is not enough, you need a plan and an environment that enforces the plan.
7. Competition As A Culture Tool
Pauline openly says she wants the stage, the plaques, the full experience. She uses competition as culture: compete for your last name, for the name on the back of the jersey, not just short-term emotions. She even filters people with this, if someone says they do not like competition, she suggests the fit is wrong.
8. Proof Points And Belief Builders
Dina thought she could not sell and was “better at recruiting,” but finished the year #1 in personal premium and earned $50,000.
They take photos of top performers at events to create clear targets and fuel competition.
Their leaders are now earning stage time, including panel spots, because the team adopted the standard.
9. What A New Teammate Should Do Next
If you want to extract the “system” from their story:
Plug into a strong environment immediately, do not freelance the process.
Build consistent appointment volume to create momentum.
Commit to recruiting as a skill, not a personality trait.
Compete quarterly, measure progress, and keep raising standards.
Bring value back to the environment by producing results, not just enthusiasm.
FAQs
1) What was the turning point for their growth?
Plugging into the right environment and committing to recruiting with a plan.
2) Why did they shift leadership to Pauline?
They needed renewed focus and intensity in Primerica while still running other businesses.
3) What did their first month prove?
That you can earn and win early as a district if you book enough appointments.
4) What does “sell out on recruiting” mean here?
Making recruiting the central priority to scale beyond personal production.
5) Why does Pauline emphasize competition so much?
Because competition creates standards, urgency, and a reason to stay consistent.
Glossary
RVP
Regional Vice President, a leadership promotion level referenced in their story.
Premium rider
A producer focused heavily on personal production and premium volume.
Sell out on recruiting
A deliberate pivot to prioritize recruiting and team-building as the growth lever.
Environment
The coaching, standards, accountability, and culture you plug into daily.
Five Star School / ECB
Quarterly or recurring events used as checkpoints for competition, standards, and growth.
If you want, I can turn this into a one-page “speaker breakdown” PDF format with: hook, core message, 5 key points, 3 quotes, and 3 action steps, so you can drop it into your PFSMedia workflow.
Video Summary
00:00
A couple years ago when we did the RVP change, we needed a place to plug in, a place to focus. And I remember at the convention, Coach Teschel said, hey, you can plug in with us. And we needed that voice. And since then we’ve exploded real quick. Guys, my name is Will St. Jean and my beautiful wife Pauline St. Jean. You know, my part is the personal story. So before Primerica, we ran a real estate company. We had 100% of our income vested just in real estate. And you guys know what happened in 08, right? When the crash happened, so did our income. Had a couple dozen investment property and we needed to look for another opportunity. After spending over 50,000, you know, getting into scams. My sister was recruited by one of her college friends.
01:08
And when we came in here, were just looking for a place where we can keep our six figure income so my wife can raise the kids. Long story short, when we got, when were recruited, we didn’t know if this thing was going to work because, you know, we knew real estate, we didn’t know the insurance business, the finance business. So our first month, our leader told us to just book appointments. We booked 40 appointments just to test this thing out. As a district, we made $8,200. And that $8,200 wasn’t even, were not even impressed about the $8,200. It was just that, you know, as a district, you know, you can win here. You didn’t have to be on top because most of the opportunities that we saw, it was only the people at the top that were making money.
01:57
You know, if you’re In South Florida, MLMs are everywhere, right? So, you know, being recruited in this industry taught me a great deal. You know, after a couple years, after five years, went RVP and started making a six figure income. And we floated for the six figure income for a while because were at the position that we needed to raise our family. And seeing and being plugged in and fast start schools like that had gave us a bigger vision three years ago when we saw that our business wasn’t moving the way that it needed. So my wife and I, we had a board meeting and that board meeting, closed door session and we decided that she was going to take over the leadership here in Primerica and then Ira is going to move over to the other businesses that we’ve had.
02:56
And I can tell you the passion, the focus that she has brought what we have here. So with that being said, the co leader of TNGU, beautiful wife Pauline St. John.
03:13
All right, are you guys excited? First, first of all, I want to thank God for this opportunity because we are here. And secondly, I want to thank the team. Tng, where are you guys at? All right, just like Will said, we have them coming all over. Utah, New York, we have Kentucky. So we are building something that we know that long term we’re going to be proud of. So when I took over before Primerica, he says, were in the real estate, I was renewing the country. I was only a stay at home mom when we found Primerica. At that time, only a year in this country, knowing nothing about financial services, no English at all in. He sold me into getting in the company and said that, hey, listen, you can come and get your licenses while you being working from home.
04:10
You can get the licenses. So I got into Primerica not even knowing what life insurance was. But when I started to understand the company, there’s three things that I saw. I saw a company that is out there helping our classes because I couldn’t understand how come a lot of our family members that flew from Haiti been here working hard for 2, 3, 4, for 20, 30 years of their life and barely making it. So I saw an opportunity to go sit down and educate our community. The other thing that I saw was the licenses and the fact that we can come get license and build a business. So guys, it was a long road.
04:56
And when I took over the leadership role, just like he mentioned, we had that meeting and at that meeting, what I told them, I’m like, listen, we gonna have to sell out on recruiting because were always known as the premium riders in our hierarchy. I told them that it’s not working, so we gonna be selling out to recruiting. And it’s good to have the goal. It’s good to know what you need to do, but you need a plan. And thank God I have my sister in the business, Janon, she told me that, listen, you gotta plug in with coach Teschler. You gotta plug in with Coach Teschler. And that was, that’s the first thing that you guys need is the right environment. Yes, you wanna win in Primerica. Yes, you wanna do a lot of things, but what is your environment?
05:53
What are they teaching you? So as soon as we plug into that environment, man, it was just like from then, we just explode. So I remember when I had that conversation in January 2024, we sat down with the core leaders, we told them that, hey, listen, we are not going to look to the left. We are not Going to look to the right. We just going to go and then recruit the world. And one of our top regional leaders, future rvp, Dina. I remember one time she called me, she’s like, man, I think I’m better at recruiting than anything because I cannot sell life insurance. Everybody that comes in front of me, they just want to be recruited in the business. I’m like, yes, that’s what we need.
06:39
She had that conversation in March, and little did we know, she finished the year as the number one personal premium rider, 50,000 income. The person that said that I cannot sell life insurance finish as the number one life insurance rider. So what was that plan that time? I tell everyone in Primerica, you gotta love competing. You gotta love competition. I remember when I. When went to the convention with a few people coming back from the convention, I’m like. The whole time I sat there, I’m like, yeah, I want it all. I want it all. I want the stage, I want the recognition. My husband is the type of person to say, give me the money, I’ll be in the back. But me, I’m like, I want it all. I want to walk the stage.
07:31
I want to get all the plaques, because I have that in me. And when people come to Primerica, the first thing that we tell them that you just got to love to compete. I had one person that told me that I don’t love competition. I’m like, this is not for you then. Because in this company, you got to love to compete. What are you competing for? You’re competing for your last name. You competing for the name in the back of the jersey. And after the convention, we sat down with the team, we’re like, all right, we’re going to compete. That was one thing. So now, thank God, to coach Tesha Costa is like, hey, guys, I’m gonna take you guys to wherever I am. And every three months, this is where we are. ECBs. You guys have to plug in so you can.
08:17
You can start competing. And our first five star school here, which was in January of this year, 2025, we came in and I told the team that we’re going to take the pictures of all the number ones, the number one rvp, the number one regional leaders, the number one division leader, the number one district leader. So we can go and compete because we have to come back here and make a name to ourselves. And they took my word to heart. And coming back here, I’m so proud of them. Tomorrow we have our top two regional leaders. They’re going to be on stage, in the panel, speaking, because we know that, hey, this is what we want. And one thing I told Coach Teshu, I’m like, listen, I’m not gonna be plugged into your environment and not bringing value.
09:08
Because the only thing that I owe you is to go and have success, is to go win. Because that’s the only way we can pay. That’s the only way we can pay. You gotta bring value, man. We love this thing. I. I tell my husband, I wake up every single morning thinking about Primerica. I go to sleep thinking about Primerica because we see a future. We see a vision. We see where we can plant our flag so we can say that, you know what? No one will ever do this to us, to our family’s life. And guys, I’m praying that even if you are new in this room, just look at all the success that we just had on stage. Look at it, all the people making hundred thousand all the way up to millions of dollars.
09:59
And if you were to pay attention, you’ll see that they all look like us. It doesn’t matter where you come from, you’ll find somebody from that stage that look exactly like you. I am proud to say that, hey, I never went to college in the usa. I came from Haiti. I finished my high school there. As soon as I stepped into the usa, thank God I was in an environment that they were not telling me, go get a nine to five, because when I met my husband, he was already working for himself. Then I found Primerica at an early stage in my life in this country. So I’m not gonna go waste the opportunity that we have now. And I’m praying that is the same thing for you.
10:45
So we just gotta go in and I’m looking forward see every single one of you guys. By the time we come back to the next school, we don’t have any places to put people that are making over six figures. So looking forward to it. Thank you guys for your time.
