1% Better · S4E2 · Released
Brenda Powell1% better.
I Bet Against Her on Day One. Now She's One of Our Top Producers | Brenda Powell
You opened by admitting you bet against Brenda on day one, and it set up the whole episode. Three times she started telling you what was at stake for her: the home she almost lost, an apology she still gets, and the clients she used to cry over. Those are the moments I'd love to see you stay with a little longer, because that's where this one could go from good to an episode agents pass around.
The one thing
When a guest starts telling you what something cost them, ask one more question before you change the subject. You and Brenda have a real partnership, and one more question at the right moment is how the viewer gets to feel what you heard in the room.
Section 2 of 4 · Keep doing this
What you did great
Start here. These are the moments that worked, and why, so you can do them on purpose again.
You led with your own miss, not her wins. Opening on being wrong about her gives a viewer a reason to stay and see just how wrong, and you closed that loop in the last minute.
“When Brenda Powell walked in, I bet on the other agent.”
You asked what nobody else saw in her, and her answer was the most honest line in the episode. A new agent watching at home who's worried about money may well see themselves in it.
“I was about to lose my home”
You set up prospecting as going out versus sitting by the phone, and she answered with a line agents can carry straight into their week.
“Well, I don't wait for it to ring.”
Section 3 of 4 · The 1%
1% better next time
Small moves, not a makeover. Each one shows the moment, what the person watching missed, and a line you can use on the next recording.
- 1
Chase the mystery she drops
The moment. Seven minutes in, Brenda mentioned that someone still calls her to apologize for something they once said to her. Your next question moved on to her client base.
“she will call me and apologize. Like, you know, I should have never said that to you”
What the viewer missed. It's the kind of line that makes a viewer lean in: someone regretted what they'd said and came back to say sorry. The episode never tells us who it was or what they'd said, and I wanted to know.
Stop her right there with "Wait. What did she say to you?" and then stay quiet. The apology means more once the viewer knows what it was for.
- 2
Turn a big fact into one person
The moment. Brenda told you she spent four and a half years as a caseworker at a homeless shelter. She talked about the help she gave and the trust it built, and then your next question went general, about why most agents get listening wrong.
“So I was a caseworker for them for four and a half years.”
What the viewer missed. Four and a half years at that shelter made me wonder who she still remembers, and we never meet a single person from those years. One person would have shown the viewer who Brenda is better than a summary can.
Ask for the person: "Who from those years do you still think about?" One face the viewer can picture is what usually makes a chapter like that stay with them.
- 3
When she tells you it hurt, stay
The moment. Near the end, Brenda told you she used to cry when she lost a client. She talked about growing a harder shell and making her follow-up calls, and then you went into the outro.
“I mean, I would cry. I would really cry.”
What the viewer missed. That was the most open moment in the episode, one of your top producers admitting that losing clients used to make her cry. I wanted another minute with her there, to hear about one client whose leaving hurt.
Before she moves on, ask "Tell me about one you lost. What happened?" You two have a real partnership, and the outro can wait another minute and a half.
- 4
Ask it open, not either/or
The moment. When you asked how she built a name in her town, you offered two possible answers and she took the second. She told you about being recognized from her Walgreens days, but not when it first clicked for her.
“Did that happen on purpose or was that kind of, just kind of came with the territory”
What the viewer missed. When you offered "came with the territory," she agreed, and I found myself wondering when she first noticed people recognizing her. Asked open, the question might have taken her there.
Ask it short and open: "When did you first realize people in town knew your name?" It invites a moment instead of a pattern.
- 5
End on the Closed Question
The moment. You closed with your own takeaways from her career, and they were good ones. There just wasn't a question left behind for the next guest.
“never give up, take a mentor early, continue to put yourself out there”
What the viewer missed. I'd love to hear what Brenda would ask the next agent. Her question would have tied this episode to the next one and given viewers another reason to come back.
Right before the outro, ask "What's the question you want to leave for the next agent?" It gives Brenda the last word and starts the thread for the next guest.
Section 4 of 4 · Bring it to the next one
The one thing
If you remember one note from this episode, make it this one.
When a guest starts telling you what something cost them, ask one more question before you change the subject. You and Brenda have a real partnership, and one more question at the right moment is how the viewer gets to feel what you heard in the room.
- For the edit. For the edit: the stretch from about 27:25 to 29:00, where we talk about our Medicaid service and an unnamed long-term care company, could come out. It slows things down right before her best advice for new agents.
- For prep. For prep: put the shelter casework and the apology call on the episode builder sheet as "must dig" stories, so they get asked about on purpose next time.