Ben Gay III and Jason Williford
WHO’S ON WITH US TODAY?
Host: Randy Chaffee
Producer/Director & Co-Host: Wes Wyatt
Guests: Ben Gay III (author of 'The Closers' series), Jason Williford (entrepreneur/author; Ben’s biographer)
ABOUT OUR GUEST(S)
Eighth visit from sales legend Ben Gay III—the book in the middle needs no intro.
Jason Williford discovered The Closers in his early sales days (timeshare → home improvement → real estate), later co-founded Real Estate Expert Advisors (Inc. 5000 at #354, #904, #1345), survived an ICU scare in 2020, and reconnected with Ben. He’s now writing Ben’s biography and aiming beyond the page (documentary/film).
MAIN POINTS
Opening banter:
“Four musketeers,” playful ribbing about why Ben keeps getting invited back—because he’s that good.
Jason’s sales roots & reset: One-call close training, “miss one → 15-minute autopsy → FIDO,” then a run in real estate hyper-growth; life perspective after a near-death ICU stay.
The biography project:
Working title: Born to Sell: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly (title still evolving).
Narrative choice: mostly first-person Ben, layered with lessons (Hill, Nightingale, Mandino, Rohn, Ziglar).
Ambition:
NYT bestseller and a film/documentary (tonal comps: The Wolf of Wall Street—less vulgar, Glengarry Glen Ross, Forrest Gump, Mad Men).
Launch timing:
The manuscript could be completed in weeks, but the team will strategically time the release (e.g., around a holiday or early in the year).
Research ninja:
Jason keeps unearthing receipts—photos of San Quentin warden Red Nelson, tracking down cousin Donna Ashley Gay, and more.
Ben’s prison chapters—both sides of the wire:
Volunteer: ~250 Fridays teaching at San Quentin (People Builders).
Inmate: 6.5 years at Lompoc on a white-collar case he insists “didn’t happen”; hard-won advice: take the deal (unless it’s LWOP).
Ran the warehouse like a business (the “50-lb shrimp” incident), insisted on being addressed as “Mr. Gay,” earned ~$600/mo and sent $550 to Gigi, denied gate money due to a PSI rumor of “$30M in storage.”
Transformation story:
Lamont Bowens—from San Diego gang life to GED → college → law school → practice near the White House, now in the hunt for a youth federal judgeship.
Legacy threads:
The mastermind concept (Hill), Leadership Dynamics lineage (Bailey → Rohn → Robbins), and early-’70s People Builders work that echoed through the industry.
William Penn Patrick arc: Candid look at aircraft, politics (ran against Reagan in ’66), tragedies (ice-cream-parlor crash with 26 fatalities; Patrick’s own fatal P-51 crash; a later ranch owner’s crash)—the book won’t shy away from the dark.
Perspective & humor: Ben at 83—“playing the back nine,” sharing his ringer score (-18 over years), and saluting Gigi for on-air tech saves.
What’s next:
The Closers, Vol. 7 with Randy & Wes is still on the rails.
A boutique “Mastermind of the Century” retreat (with a Sausalito vibe) is in planning, and it will also serve as a filming location for the documentary.
NOTABLE QUOTES
“There are only two ways to get back on: you’re incredibly good, or you suck so bad we give you one last shot.” — Randy Chaffee
“FIDO — F it and drive on.” — Jason Williford
“You can be anything you decide to be if you’re willing to pay the price.” — Ben Gay III
“I did in prison what I do now: I ran a business, I spoke, I taught.” — Ben Gay III
“If you’re going to be an author, learn to spell the word ‘foreword.’” — Ben Gay III (to Randy, on his book)