Latoya Jones

Act 1 · Cold open - Thirty Years in Titusville

35:00 to 33:30

FEELING
"I need to hear how this ends."

Act 2 · Before - From Field Trainer to Broker Services

33:30 to 26:00

FEELING
"This is a real person. I know someone like this."

1. 1★ MUST ASKLatoya, you were in Titusville this fall when Health First celebrated members who've been with the plan for thirty years. That's a long time to trust anybody. Take me back before Health First, though. Where were you, and what pulled you into this kind of work?

1. 2In 2005 you were a sales team lead and field trainer at David Lewis & Associates, traveling the country training car dealership sales teams. You've told me a lot of that was about getting customers to come back. What did that job teach you about people?

1. 3You spent years in automotive helping dealerships keep their customers, then in 2015 you walked into Health First on the broker services side. You've said the industry was different but the fundamentals were the same. What carried over, and what turned out to be new?

1. 4In 2025 you took over managing Medicare sales: new sales, retention and service. What changed about how you see agents once all three were on you?

1. 5You give your time to NABIP Central Florida, and you've called it an organization that advocates for agents' and brokers' rights. Why does somebody on the carrier side care about that?

1. 6You told me about a new agent who called you so excited about his first sale, and you asked him whether he wanted to lay stones or build a house. Take me back to that call. What did you tell him?

IF THEY GO THERE
"Take me back to that moment." · "What did that teach you?" · mirror her last few words · "Help me understand how those fit together."

PLANT
If you had to explain what you do for brokers to someone who's never done your work, what's it like? (after she describes the broker services job)

Act 3 · The climb - When an Agent Calls, Something's Gone Wrong

26:00 to 14:00

FEELING
Tension. "How did they get through that?"

1. 7★ MUST ASKYou told me one of the hardest stretches you remember was when CMS brought in the new marketing and oversight rules and the Scope of Appointment changes. Take me back to that packed conference. What were agents asking you?

1. 8When you led broker services and account relations, how often did an agent call because something had already gone wrong, and what were those calls really like?

1. 9You're the one who hears it when agents are frustrated with the carrier. That sounds like it could wear you down. Does it?

1. 10Be honest with me. What do agents do that makes your job harder than it needs to be?

1. 11Here's what I can't square. You work for one carrier, and the brokers you support can sell every other plan on the shelf. How do you build a partnership with someone who might write your competitor in the next appointment?

1. 12You said oversight shouldn't feel like putting agents in a prison. When you're the one holding agents to the rules, how do you do that and still have their back?

IF THEY GO THERE
"Take me back to that day." · "What did that cost you?" · "That sounds like it was heavy." · let the silence sit

PLANT
What's something about the carrier side you've never said out loud in a room full of agents? (after she talks about what makes her job harder)

Cue
Recap what she actually said in Q7 and Q8.

Act 4 · The turn - Partners, Not a Help Desk

14:00 to 4:00

FEELING
"Oh. That's what I've been doing wrong."

Callback
Sergio told us at the start of this season that the carrier isn't your enemy, and it isn't your boss. It's a relationship. Latoya sits on the other side of that relationship.

1. 13★ MUST ASKYou told me about that hard day, and about the calls that come after something's gone wrong. When an agent stops calling only then and becomes a real partner, what are they doing differently?

Cue
Latoya says trust comes from consistency more than one big moment, when a broker reaches out before there's a problem. If she goes there: "What does that look like in a normal week?"

Cue
Use the like ask here only if Q13 is the big answer; otherwise use it after Q17.

1. 14Take me into that Titusville session this fall, when you celebrated members who've been with Health First for thirty years. What did that moment look like, and where do agents fit in someone staying that long, if they do?

1. 15You've thanked agents by name for hosting seminars, like Rosie Paulsen's team in Zephyrhills and Romilda Pierce in Eustis. Were you in one of those rooms? Take me in. What did that agent do that made it work?

1. 16You've sat across from a lot of agents since 2015. What do most agents believe about carriers that you think is flat wrong?

1. 17Give it to me word for word. An agent picks up the phone to call their broker rep, and nothing's broken. What should they say?

1. 18AEP doesn't leave you much time. What should they bring to that conversation so it's worth yours?

1. 19Health First held its broker kickoff again this fall, and you came out to ours at Andretti too. What separates the agent who leaves a kickoff with something real from the one who just grabs the swag?

1. 20Health First's member benefit sessions brought nearly 400 members to the Melbourne Auditorium this fall. After the sale, how should an agent use something like that with their own clients?

Book
There's a line in my book I keep coming back to. The sale isn't the finish line. It's base camp. And the first ninety days decide whether the client follows you or forgets you. That's Field Entry 7.

1. 21What happens to an agent who never builds a relationship with anybody on the carrier side?

1. 22Here's what I think agents should walk away with, and correct me if I've got it wrong. Treat your carrier's broker rep as a partner, not a help desk. Work together to help your clients understand their plans, and make the first call before something breaks. You told me the sale is how you begin, but the relationship is how you build. Is that it, or would you sharpen it?

IF THEY GO THERE
"Different how? What did you actually say?" · "Take me back to that moment." · "How many, before and now?" · "What can't a broker rep fix for an agent, even when the relationship is good?"

PLANT
Where was that agent a year before they started working with you like that, and where are they now? (after she describes the seminar in question 15)

Act 5 · The close - For the Agent Who Feels Like Just a Number

4:00 to 0:00

FEELING
Respect, and a push to act.

1. 23★ MUST ASKLatoya, from where you sit, what can a carrier never do for a client, no matter how good the plan is, that only the agent can?

1. 24You've worked Health First AEPs since 2015, on the road with brokers and in rooms full of members. What has it cost you? Not the money. The real cost.

1. 25Think back to that hard day you told me about. Where do you stand with it now?

1. 26You told me the number you're proudest of is one. Somebody's listening right now who feels like they're just a writing number to every carrier they're contracted with. What do you want to say to them?

1. 27Go back to 2005, when you were a sales team lead and field trainer at David Lewis & Associates. What would you tell her?

IF THEY GO THERE
"What did that cost you?" · let the silence sit · mirror her last few words · "Where are you with that now?"

PLANT
If you had to say all of that in one sentence to an agent who's never called their broker rep, what would it be? (after she answers question 26)

1. 28Here's what I'd tell an agent: by Friday, call your carrier's broker rep before anything breaks and ask, what's one thing we could do together this AEP to help my clients understand their plans? Give me the Latoya challenge. What would you change?

Cue
Every guest leaves a question for the next person in this chair. This one's mine, to get it started.

Cue
If Victor Crumity Sr. left a question earlier today, use his instead: Every guest leaves a question for the next person in this chair. Victor Crumity Sr. left you this one.

1. 29Who's the one person in this business who believed in you before you'd earned it, and have you ever told them?

1. 30What question do you want to leave for our next guest?