Marketing. Branding. Lead Generation. Media Awareness. Communications. Call it what you will, few sales organizations seem to devote little time to it, though they know it deserves so much more. But let’s face it, sales people sell, or at least they should spend the vast majority of their time selling. If your sales people are spending any significant amount of their time doing anything other than getting in front of clients and selling, then they are a wasted resource.
Sales people tend to focus on campaigns: “Let’s try this and see if it generates any sales”. If it generates a lot of sales, let’s do it again and keep doing it until it stops working. Then let’s try something else.
While that can be an effective short-term strategy, it’s not building a long term brand. The long haul value is where marketing, branding and communications (online and offline) come into play. The long haul doesn’t generate commissions right away, so it should NOT be done by sales people. Marketing driven by commissions inevitably devolves into “campaigns” that generate commission revenue.
So who should do your marketing? Marketing people. People who understand that building a comprehensive brand sometimes doesn’t pay off in the short-term, but can make the difference in the long-term success of any organization.
Without marketing, you’re basically living paycheck to paycheck; waiting for the next sale to happen.
Good marketing people are expensive. Entry level positions can start at $45,000 in larger organizations. Few small to mid-size businesses can afford this, so they continue to be sales-only organizations with hit or miss marketing strategies.
What does any business do when they need professional help and can’t afford a full-time staff person? They outsource it. Think legal advice, tax preparation, payroll processing, IT, landscaping, janitorial services. You’re probably outsourcing a number of these things already, so why not marketing?
AgencyEvolved is a one source provider for all your marketing needs.
About AgencyEvolved
AgencyEvolved is an outsourced marketing firm, dedicated to insurance agents and brokers. Founded by two insurance industry veterans, our mission is to help insurance agencies evolve by creating long-term growth and value through strategic marketing.