Influential Entrepreneurs with Mike Saunders, MBA - Interview with Jeremy Lach, President of Empire Marketing Partners-From Annuity Producer to Recognized Retirement Expert

Episode Date: March 10, 2026

Jeremy has spent more than 20 years in the financial services industry building, scaling, and strengthening distribution channels for independent financial professionals across the country. His career began in retail financial services in 1999, shortly after graduating from St. John’s University in Collegeville, Minnesota. He then spent two years with John Hancock Financial, where he built a strong foundation in product knowledge, advisor support, and client strategy.In 2001, Jeremy transitioned into the wholesale channel with American Financial in Minneapolis; a move that shaped the trajectory of my career. Since then, He has dedicated myself to helping independent insurance reps, Advisor Representatives (IARs), RIAs, and Registered Representatives grow their businesses with intention and discipline.In today’s IMO world, support often comes *after* they’ve already proven themselves. Empire was built to change that.Jeremy believes in identifying talent early and backing it immediately, not waiting until production numbers make the decision easy. At Empire Marketing Partners, they support advisors at launch and throughout their growth by being a stable, strategic partner from day one.He is committed to proving that through service, experience, and consistency, they bring more value than anyone else in the space. This isn’t transactional. They operate like family, and their actions reflect that commitment every step of the way.Today, Jeremy focused not only on supporting advisors operationally, but also on strengthening his brand and influence within the industry—aligning with like-minded professionals and firms who are committed to growth, excellence, and long-term impact.Learn more: http://www.empiremps.com/Jeremy Lach is the Founder of Empire Marketing Partners, an independent marketing organization (IMO) that supports licensed insurance professionals. The views and opinions expressed in this podcast/interview are for informational and educational purposes only and should not be construed as individualized investment, tax, or legal advice. Empire Marketing Partners does not provide direct financial planning or investment advisory services to the public. Insurance and annuity products are offered through properly licensed insurance professionals and are subject to state availability, carrier underwriting guidelines, and suitability requirements. Guarantees referenced, if any, are backed solely by the financial strength and claims-paying ability of the issuing insurance carrier. Financial professionals and consumers should consult their own qualified advisors regarding their specific situation before making any financial decisions.Influential Entrepreneurs with Mike Saundershttps://businessinnovatorsradio.com/influential-entrepreneurs-with-mike-saunders/Source: https://businessinnovatorsradio.com/interview-with-jeremy-lach-president-of-empire-marketing-partners-from-annuity-producer-to-recognized-retirement-expert

Welcome to influential entrepreneurs, bringing you interviews with elite business leaders and experts, sharing tips and strategies for elevating your business to the next level. Here's your host, Mike Saunders. Hello and welcome to this episode of Influential Entrepreneurs. This is Mike Saunders, the authority positioning coach. Today we have back with this, Jeremy Latch, who's the president of Empire Marketing Partners, and we'll be talking about how annuity producers can go from a to a recognized retirement expert. Jeremy, welcome back to the program. Always great to be here, Mike. You know, it's interesting that I think that a lot of times, you know, you think about like an actor or an actress that gets typecast. Oh, they're just the love, you know, the rom-com, or they're

just an action. And then one day you see them like breaking out into something opposite. And it's probably because their agent was saying, you know, we don't want you to be only thought about as this. Well, I'm sure in you're in the industry, you have seen producers, financial professionals that just produce and sell and provide annuities. But then when they start talking to their clients about more detailed, holistic, hey, we need to talk about a holistic retirement planner. We need to bring in some legal experts in tax. They start going, well, hold on. I thought you just did my little. And there's a little breakdown.

So I want to really dive into this because I think this is a powerful topic. what are you finding when you're working with your advisors, what do you find that separates kind of like the plain Jane vanilla commodity annuity sellers to a true retirement income specialist? That's an excellent question. And we talk to them all. So in 25 years of me doing this industry, the commodity seller is always talking about one thing, Mike, and that's products, right?

He goes right into rates, caps, bonuses, all that stuff. that's the unique details of a particular product, whereas, you know, the retirement income specialist, he's going to spend his time talking about outcomes, you know? And generally, that's where we spend our time, Mike, is with advisors that talk that way. I mean, everyone can offer a, any organization like mine can offer products, but, you know, we want to spend our time talking with advisors who like to talk about outcomes. And, you know, that is like predictable income, protecting lifestyle, things like that. You know, I mean, it's when you, I've got some firms that that we work.

with here at Empire that don't even really use the word annuity, Mike, during their entire positioning process. It basically just comes up later after they've agreed on their ideas and the objectives, right? So, you know, that is a major difference between, you know, the commodity guy and their income specialist. And, you know, like a doctor, a doctor who doesn't walk into the room, look at you, Mike, and say, huh, you need this prescription. You know, they're going to run test. They're going to ask questions. They're going to understand the full picture first. That's the difference of the commodity guy and the income specialist. Well, it's interesting that you said what you said there because it makes me think of a concept

and a book I've read. And it's all all reiterating what you just said. But it's like you want to sell the futures, not the features, right? Because if all you're doing is talk about in the weeds of look at this annuity, look at this product, but you're not really talking about the big picture. You want to talk about the transformation someone will have. You know, the peace of mind in retirement to know that you're protecting their income. You can never lose money.

You've got cash flow. There's no gap. All of those things. And then, yeah, we accomplished that by this product or this product list. Look at some of those. But that's an interesting mindset shift that you're bringing up because if someone is viewed as a product salesperson, you're a commodity. And guess what happens with commodities?

They get shopped. For sure. Absolutely. Yeah. I mean, how are you positioned your? yourself and your services, that makes a huge difference. You know, I mean, it's if you're, if you're, you know, again, a specialist, really, those, those types of advisors, they compete more on clarity.

You know what I mean? And so, for example, like if the markets are really volatile, Mike, you know, an income specialist clients are going to probably stay calm because they understand exactly how their income was protected. They exactly, they understand exactly what they're utilizing structures for inside their portfolio. They understand exactly what they want. And I view an income specialist to be way more supporter from that standpoint versus the commodity guy where that client might freak out.

And we've heard those conversations before too. Well, let's also talk about another aspect that might make an advisor freak out, which is, okay, I understand conceptually what you mean there. But I'm not really well-burst or an expert in this area, in this area, and this area. And I don't want to bring it up to my client because I'm not really confident in that. So what do you say to that advisor where it's like, okay, be used to that and start learning, of course, but align with some experts that you can bring in because obviously we're not going to give tax advice or legal advice. So you need to bring those experts in. But there actually could be some money management or some other things that you bring in some partners that are going to run that kind of meeting,

but yet still benefit the client and benefit the advisor. What do you say to the people that almost have like a little imposter syndrome? Yeah, I mean, you know, we'll comment on the ones that would actually do it, in my opinion, the right way. You know what I mean? So, you know, I've seen some of the top advisors out there, they're analyzing Social Security timing. You know what I mean? Like when do we take these payments? And by the way, who doesn't have questions or concerns on that stuff?

Right, Mike? So, you know, I've seen advisors that are talking about that. Tax buckets, pension options, income gaps, stuff like that before they even mention anything else in regards to their plan. So what really, really the annuity inside of an advisor who has a lot of experience or is more of the, you know, income specialist, their plan, the annuity is just one tool inside of a comprehensive plan, you know, inside of that deal. So, you know, I look at, you know, how they access that. And advisors have access to several different options and tools that are out in the industry today to compete in those areas that I just mentioned to you, you know,

whether it's Social Security and the tax buckets, pensions, all that. kind of stuff, supplementation. All that stuff matters, but the ones that have those systems and software and technology and access to those and utilize them the proper, the right way, those are the ones that win. So I think that there's an interesting correlation there where you might have some advisors that have really, you know, painted themselves in the corner and would recognize the fact that, you know what, I kind of have been focused on this one aspect, you know, like just annuities and that's what I'm known for. And I do recognize that I need to bring that holistic approach. And I'm going to learn more. I'm going to bring an expert and all of that and talk about retirement income. That's what my clients

need. But what do you say to them about going, how do I really establish myself as that authority, trustworthy, credible person rather than just bring to my clients, rather than just bringing it up in a conversation? Aren't there some ways that you would recommend that an advisor can start to pre-frame and educate and teach, like, so that people can recognize that they do have that knowledge about something other than just annuities, like maybe speaking or, you know, thought leadership kind of stuff. Absolutely. I mean, and you were a huge influence for me on that, Mike.

You know, I mean, positioning yourself with authority makes a huge difference. And, you know, ultimately, you know, when I talk to advisors and especially if they're doing educational workshops, you know, let's just use that as an example, Mike. and advisors doing educational workshops. If you're showing up and you're going to, you know, and really, you know, and how we help advisors do that to where, I mean, they're showing up and they're just basically going to provide information, right, in education.

So, but I guarantee you before that prospect shows up to that workshop, they're probably doing what, Mike? They're probably Googling you, you know, and they're probably like, hey, who is this guy, you know, Jeremy Latch? That's going to be doing the educational workshop today. I want to learn a little bit more about him. You know, you've got to, when you could go out there and do things, ahead of time to where they already show up to that meeting and they view you as an expert,

that is going to dramatically increase both your closings, your conversions and probably your client quality. So, you know, instead of having to spend, you know, a majority of your first meetings with these prospects, just proving your credibility or trying to break down some barriers, now you can spend it solving problems. So that's a huge part of that. You know, and if we really were to put the truth serum lie detector on some of these people that do what you just said, like, oh, I'm going to go Google to see what they're all about. In reality, why are they doing that? Because they're going, do I even want to show up to this thing? I signed up for this event and I don't know.

Or I'm on this guy's calendar and let me see what Jeremy's all about. And I don't know, I'm just going to ghost him. But let me just check him out first real quick just to confirm that, yeah, I'm not going to go to that. And if they do those due diligence searches and it's like, all they see is your web. website and your LinkedIn and your directory listing. It's like, yeah, that says what I thought. That's all they got. But if they start looking you up and go, oh, that's pretty interesting. They've been featured in all of the things you just mentioned, that trust is elevated. And guess what happens then? They show up to the event pre-framed. They show up to that Zoom meeting with you.

And so it's not just the mechanism of checking the box. Yes, I did these things. It's for a reason. It's for that psychological impact that people have. And I think that we are creatures of we're busy. I don't have the time to waste on someone that is just not going to cut it for me. And I feel like too many times we all are like, look, I just want to narrow it to the people that are on top. I might have to pay extra or whatnot. But in reality, in the financial services world, it's not even a matter of paying

extra because, you know, advisors get paid by the carriers. So it's really just, do I trust? this person. That's pretty big and you're not going to scale past a certain level if you don't have that going for you. Mike, that is exactly it. It's all about the trust, right? And if that's established before you've even shaken hands with that prospect, those decisions are going to happen faster with, you know, far less resistance, right? You know what I mean? So we don't want to compete. How do you take, get yourself away from the competitor and that's established that trust before even shake hands? You know, you almost want them thinking in their mind,

I kind of hope that they'll accept me. They'll take me, you know, from, you know, the perspective of that versus, oh, I'm just going to go to this sales pitch. I'm going to have my guard up and I'm going to answer one word responses. Well, that doesn't happen when you have been pre-framed and that trust and credibility is there. People are coming in going, hey, let me ask your opinion of this. How would I, and as soon as you have a client or a prospect asking you things like that, like, hey, let me ask your advice on this. How would it work if and now they're on the same side of the table as you and how is that kind of line of questioning happening? It's because you're trustworthy.

So let's flip the script here and talk about some mistakes. What are mistakes advisors making that you see when they try to grow without strengthening brand credibility? Well, my first, you know, my first thought there is stop wasting money on getting more without. fixing the issue of branding first, right? So, you know, advisors, where they fail is they start to increase all of their marketing money, you know, they're spending without really clarifying their message or their brand, you know, and I've got advisors that I've had conversations with who just say, hey, I'm going to double my mailers and I'm going to double my business, you know, but guess what? You still sound generic, you know, and guess what generic messaging does?

It produces inconsistent results, right? So stop wasting your money. I'm trying to get more. without fixing the issues. So if your message isn't clear and different, spending more money is only going to increase the confusion to your prospects, you know, in my opinion. That's pretty huge. And what you said about the mail or it's like, okay, maybe logistically and literally, you could double production by doubling the mailing, maybe, but how much leakage is happening there? You know, like you could have maybe doubled production with a 30% increase in your mailing because now you've got the foundation more effective. And it's,

and it's really similar to when you were describing that, I thought of this. It's kind of like if you took a Ferrari engine and put it on a V, old VW bug chassis, you know, the chassis is not going to handle it. It's too much. You've got to have a solid foundation.

And that's key. So personal brand, professional brand, that is a big, a big piece of the equation. And I think that that's what that mistake that you're talking about there, it ties into the deep. problem, which is it's a foundational problem. It's not just an execution problem. Well, for sure. And

even with that, too, as well, I mean, even if you don't fix your branding and you just try to be different by doubling your money and expenses and doing more workshops, you're also doing something else. You're primarily relying on product differentiation, right? So products are going to change all the time. If you're doing the exact same thing, just using the exact same story, just selling the exact same products, these change every year. You know, but if you build your brand and you're, your reputation's only going to get stronger, right? So, for example, you know, do you want to be known as the retirement income guy or, you know, that's in your community, right?

If I'm in that, if I'm in a certain community and where I'm working or I'm an advisor, I want to be known around the block as the guy that's the retirement income guy, right? You know, that, again, maybe that's not whatever was going for, Mike, but ultimately if that's something that you're known for versus the product guy, I think you have a huge differentiation than that other guy, right? I mean, being that kind of guy is going to, you're going to outlast any specific annuity features in your community, right? You know what I mean?

All those features can be copied by your competitors. Being positioned like that, that can't be, right? So that's a huge part of the branding. And I've learned a lot from you on that, Mike. Well, thank you. And I would say this too. Here's a big misconception people have about the word branding. It's people think, oh, yeah, I hired my website guy to spruce up my website.

Graphic person got me a new logo. We updated our colors. Branding is not just your brochures logo website collateral. Branding actually is ties into what something else you said. It's the clarity of your message. It's the clear solution you have to a specific problem your prospects have. And it's all of those things around that that, that increased credibility and trust around that message.

Because if you're trying to be all things to all people, oh, anything retirement, I can help you with Medicare and annuityes and insurance and term. And people are like, what? This is not the store where I'm going, pick one.

You need to have that thing like you just said. As an example, you know, the retirement income expert. Oh, what is that? Well, I'm the,

you know, cash flow expert or retirement income. The point is that's the ultimate far end transformation, arriving spot that people want to get to in retirement. How do we get there? Oh, well, now that you understand where we want to be with safety, security, peace of mind, you know, income, cash flow, no gap, never run out of money, all of those things. Well, here's how we can get there because in your specific situation.

So that's a big piece. And I want you to kind of reiterate the fact that I just said branding is not your logo, your colors, your website. It's all around the clarity of your message. clients choose you for who you are, right? Not just what you offer, your prospects and your clients choose you for who you are. And that's exactly what that is, is you mean, you can have all these different tools and all that kind of stuff. But again, the end of the day, the clients choose you for who you are. And when they believe that you could be the guy that could help them for something

as important as, you know, retirement income, help and distribution and all that stuff and mitigate tax consequences and social security income and all that kind of stuff, when they know that you're the guy that could do that, you win, right? You know, I mean, they're going to call you because they believe that you solve that specific problem better than anyone else. That's authority. You know, I remember years and years ago going to a seminar and maybe you remember this person, do you remember the name Peter Montoya? I do, yes. And he and this seminar just has stuck with me for decades.

It was called the brand of you. The brand called you. And it was all on what we're talking about here, the personal brand. So yeah, you might work for XYZ company. But in reality, if you are branding yourself as the whatever expert and you're building relationships with your clients, they're coming because of you. And if you ever change the name of your company or changed the company that you work for or whatever, they're like, okay, that's cool.

So now what were you saying about how we need to do? it's it's your brand of how they perceive you in their mind so that's just so huge and guess what yes you can spruce up your website and get a new logo and look at four options ago i like that one click you check the box you don't need to do it again for a long time um polishing up your messaging and the clarity of how you serve your clients that is literally an ongoing process because you're always watching for people that kind of cock their heads. a little bit and go, how does that work again? And then you explain it, but then maybe you make a mental note to go,

okay, I need to tweak my messaging on that because they didn't get it until I said this. So that's a big point. So let's kind of wrap up with this thought. How can being aligned with the right IMO accelerate an advisor's authority and visibility? Because as you've said a few times, it's not just about, oh, we've got this product or this tool or this software. Yeah, well, Mike having the right IMO is. not just one that provides contracts.

You know, we're going to also provide strategy and the infrastructure you need to be successful. You know, so instead of building everything from scratch, and like I talked about before on previous conversations, Mike, when you're an advisor and you're out on an island and you're out there by yourself, you need a partner. You need help. Otherwise, you're building everything from scratch, you know, so if you've got to build everything from scratch, you don't have a partner. You know, your IMO should help you roll out coal-branded retirement income campaigns, you know.

and all that stuff is pretty easy after a pretty basic interview with an individual trying to figure out what they're looking for and what they're trying to accomplish, right? Yeah. We want to help you design materials and, you know, build that clear message around your brand. That is that is what that is that is a huge part of being aligned with the right organization. If you don't feel that or you don't have that again, like I've always said, maybe it's time to question those situations now. Maybe you don't have the right partner. You know, I've always kind of, you know, jokingly tongue and cheek, been like, if all you're getting is a, you know, a spruced up PowerPoint presentation and going, oh, go give this to your local, whatever, that's not marketing help. I mean, that's, that's old.

That's 90s version. So you need something that is cutting edge, something that is really going to help, you know, amplify your message, increase that trust and credibility. That's really, really huge. And guess what that does. that helps take that annuity producer only, you know, air quotes, to being that recognized retirement expert just like what you've been talking about. So with that thought in mind, if someone is maybe thinking, hey, maybe Empire might be have something that I'm looking for. What's the best way that they can learn a little bit more and then reach out and connect with you? Yeah, I'd say just start directly at the website, www.

EmpireMPS. That's Matt Paulsam.com. EmpireMPS.com. There you'll find a lot of information on who we are, a little bit more about my background and what we do, why there's some advantages. But more importantly, it's got access to me and my email and my phone number directly to contact me, by the way, to have a conversation with me and introduce ourselves and have a 15-minute introduction call. Love it. Well, thank you so much, Jeremy. I really appreciate you coming back on. Happy to be here, Mike. Thank you for having me. You've been listening to Influential Entrepreneurs with Mike Saunders. To learn more about the resources mentioned on today's show or listen to past episodes, visit www. www.Influential EntrepreneursRadio.com.