Your question sheet
Victor Crumity Sr.
Recording Friday, October 23
ThemeThe First Few Minutes: Why Some People Own the Room, and Whether You Can Learn It
SubthemeTalent wins the room, but somebody still has to practice it
Everything Victor needs before the show: what you'll talk about, your questions, five quick ones to answer, and a PDF to keep.
Victor's answers came in 10/21/26.
Confirm in the pre-show chat
- How does he like to be introduced on air: Victor, Vic or Victor Sr.?
- Was Victor the one presenting at the Golden Corral seminar where you met, or were you both there for someone else's?
- Is he still with CarePlus Health Plans, and what's his title today?
- Did he finish a master's in organizational leadership at Rollins College's Crummer School?
- Is Victor Crumity Jr., our Season 2 free-lunch guest, his son?
- What years was he a sales manager at Humana?
Private: for you and Nick's team
What would make this a home run for you?
The "secret sauce" to my success is that I intentionally connect with any person (s) in my bubble. I am always the same and never try to be someone else. The other party's status matters very little. I look for common ground and key on any nuance that I may pick up on
What's a hard day in front of a room you still think about?
I've had many occasions in which I just didn't seem to make a connection in which case I simply moved on to the business at hand and called it a day.
When did you see a room full of people finally decide to trust you?
Smiles, nods, body language, and chuckles are all indications that something that I'm saying is being received.
What's one number you're proud of and would say on camera, like how many seminars you've run?
I haven't done an actual seminar for years, but if memory serves me, I've personally conducted more than a few dozen over the past 40 years. Some of those had a CMS shopper in attendance who always approached at the conclusion to tell me that they enjoyed my presentation style.
Anything you'd rather we didn't ask about?
Nothing comes to mind.
The episode at a glance
What agents are there to get, and how Victor gives it to them.
The story: what we're talking about
Justin met Victor Crumity Sr. at a seminar at a Golden Corral and was instantly impressed by how fast he connected with people and commanded the room; the episode asks what Victor does in those first few minutes, and whether anyone can learn it.
The lesson: what agents will walk away with
The episode tests whether connecting fast with a room is a gift or a practice, and breaks down what Victor does in his first few minutes so you can plan and rehearse your own before your next seminar or appointment.
The promise
Today Victor shows you what he does in his first few minutes with a room, so you can plan your own before your next seminar or appointment.
Victor's superpower
He connects with people fast and can command a room.
Act 1 · Your opening
Word for word. Stop for two seconds at the pause: that's where the edit drops in the cold open.
Act 10:00 to 1:30
Cold open - The Room at Golden Corral
"I need to hear how this ends."
Your opening word for word
"I met Victor Crumity Sr. at a seminar at a Golden Corral, and I was instantly impressed with how fast he connected with people. A lot of us stand up in front of people and wonder if connecting with a room is a gift we just didn't get. Today Victor shows you what he does in his first few minutes with a room, so you can plan your own before your next seminar or appointment. pause 2 seconds I knew Victor when he was a sales manager at Humana. So I want to know what he's doing in those first few minutes that the rest of us miss."
Right after, the ask
If you've ever stood up in front of people and felt the room slipping, subscribe. Every week we break down what works in front of real people, and this week it's Victor's first few minutes.
The questions
Follow Victor, not the list. Never skip a starred one.
★ must askSAY a line you say out loud, right where it sits
Act 21:30 to 9:00
Before - Before Anyone Called It a Gift
"This is a real person. I know someone like this."
Say · your tieI've known Victor for years.
- 1Victor, I'll say it on the record: the day I met you at that seminar at Golden Corral, I was instantly impressed with how fast you connected with people. Take me back before all that. Where were you, and what pulled you into this business?
- 2Do you remember that day at Golden Corral? Take me into that room. What do you remember about the people in it?
Say · cueAfter his Golden Corral answer, stay on it for one more follow-up before moving on.
- 3Before you ever stood in front of a room, who taught you how to talk to people? A job, somebody in your family, somebody you watched?
- 4When you got to Humana, what did you think the job was, and what turned out to actually be true?
- 5Did you sell before you managed, or did they hand you a team early? Take me to the first day you had people counting on you.
- 6Is there anyone in your family in this business? What did you learn from watching them?
- 7A lot of agents think you either have it with a crowd or you don't. When did you first figure out you could hold a room?
If they go thereTake me back to that day. · Who was in the room? · "You could hold a room?" · What did that feel like?
PlantWhat's something about standing in front of people you've never said on a podcast? (after he tells how he first figured out he could hold a room)
Act 39:00 to 21:00
The climb - The Room That Got Away
Tension. "How did they get through that?"
- 8Plenty of agents have stood in front of a room that just wasn't buying it. Has that happened to you? Take me to that room. Where were you standing, and when did you know?
- 9What did you do in that moment? And be honest, what did you want to do?
- 10As a sales manager, did you ever watch an agent freeze in front of people? What did that look like from where you sat?
- 11From the back of the room it looks easy. What part of running a seminar is harder than people think?
- 12When you're the one everybody expects to command the room, are there days nobody sees you're running on empty?
- 13When it got hard, who did you lean on, and who did you deliberately not talk to?
- 14Some rooms stay with you for a while. Go back to that room that got away. What did you tell yourself after that one?
If they go thereTake me back to that room. · "You lost them?" · That sounds like it stung. · What did that cost you? · Help me understand how those fit together.
PlantWhat happens to an agent who never learns to connect with a room? (after he describes the agent who froze)
Say · reset"So you've told us about the room that got away, and I've seen you command a room at Golden Corral. What nobody sees is what you did when you walked into the next room. That's where we're going."If he named a different hard moment in question 8, use his words for it in the reset.
Say · askIf you've ever had a room that wasn't with you, what was the first sign? Tell me in the comments.
Say · askIf you've got a seminar coming up, subscribe now, because next we break down Victor's first few minutes.
Act 421:00 to 31:00
The turn - The First Few Minutes
"Oh. That's what I've been doing wrong."
- 15Go back to the next room after that one. Did you start differently, or did you just keep going? Take me to the first time it worked. Where were you, and what did the room do?
Say · askIf that one changes how you'll start your next seminar, hit like.
Say · cueUse the like ask here only if question 15 is the big answer; otherwise save it for the biggest answer in this act.
Say · callbackBrenda Powell told us to set up shop where the people already are. So let's talk about what you do once they're sitting in front of you.
- 16Walk me through your first two minutes with a room. What are you doing before you say a word?
- 17What's the first thing you actually say? Give it to me word for word.
- 18How do you read a room? What are you watching in those first few minutes that most agents miss?
- 19Somebody in the back has their arms crossed. What do you do with that person?
- 20A lot of agents memorize a script for seminars. Does that help you or hurt you in the first few minutes?
- 21Everybody's got a theory about seminars. What do most agents believe about them that you think is flat wrong?
- 22My book says talent wins the room and systems win the year. Is that true of your first few minutes, or is that part a system too?
Say · your bookTalent wins the room, systems win the year. That's Field Entry 10 in my book.
- 23If you had to explain working a room to someone who's never sold insurance, what's it like?
- 24How do you practice this? Do you rehearse out loud, or do you just get in front of people?
- 25Here's how I'd say the lesson: connecting fast with a room isn't only a gift, it's what you do in your first few minutes, and an agent can plan it and practice it. Is that right, or how would you say it?
If they go thereDifferent how? · Give it to me word for word. · How many times? · Help me understand how those fit together.
PlantWhere were you the day that room got away, and where are you now when you walk into one? (after he describes the first time it worked in question 15)
Act 531:00 to 38:00
The close - For the Agent Who Dreads the Front of the Room
Respect, and a push to act.
- 26What's the one thing about connecting with a room that no amount of practice can fix?
- 27What did becoming the guy who can command a room cost you? Not the money. The real cost.
- 28And what, if anything, did it give you back?
- 29Think about that room that got away. Where do you stand with it now?
- 30Somebody's listening right now who dreads standing up in front of people. What do you want to say to them?
- 31If your younger self were about to stand up at his first seminar, what would you tell him?
PlantIf you had to say that in one sentence to an agent who's nervous before their first seminar, what would it be? (after he answers the younger-self question)
- 32Here's what I'd tell an agent: before Friday, write down the first two minutes of your next seminar or appointment and say them out loud three times. Give me the Victor Crumity challenge. What would you change?
If they go thereLet the silence sit. · "The real cost?" · What did it give back? · Who are you saying that to?
The Closed Question
Say · cueEvery guest leaves a question for the next person in this chair. You're the first, so this one's mine.
Say · cueIf Carla Cox recorded first and left a question, say: Every guest leaves a question for the next person in this chair. Carla Cox left you this one.
Who was the first person who made you feel like you belonged in this business, and did you ever tell them?
- 34What question do you want to leave for our next guest?
Say · cueIf Victor said whether it's a gift or a practice, say it back in his words right before the closing.
Your closing word for word
"I met Victor at a Golden Corral seminar and watched him connect with people fast. Today we went inside his first few minutes. If you think you're just not one of those people, start with yours. Write them down and say them out loud. Send this to an agent with a seminar coming up. Subscribe, leave a comment. I'm Justin Jacobs. This is Closed. You, have a nice day."