TSI Consultants Marketing and Sales Blog

One point of contention for organizations considering investing in the HubSpot Marketing Hub™ has been resolved: the tiered pricing structure based on the number of contacts. Unlike other marketing automation platforms, HubSpot does not charge per user, but they charge for the number of contacts, and that can get expensive quickly.

The COVID-19 pandemic has cut into the sales pipeline for many InsurTech organizations, but the pressure will still be on to finish the year strong. Although the insurance industry and just about everyone else has taken a hit in 2020, insurers continue to invest in technologies and services to maintain and grow their businesses. With that in mind, how does your sales pipeline look for 2021?

If your company has invested in the HubSpot Marketing Hub™ marketing automation system, chances are it’s not being used to its maximum potential. Many businesses claim that marketing automation isn't working for them. In either case, their system becomes a very expensive CRM or email marketing platform.

Many solution providers make the buying experience an unpleasant one. Their approach to engaging with an interested buyer is to tell them everything about their product or service, without fully understanding what the insurer needs. This is an outdated legacy sales approach that goes back to the days when you needed to contact a salesperson to receive any information on a company and their offerings.

One of the most common questions we are asked by our clients is:  "When is the best time for our sales staff to make that outbound call?" There are many opinions in this area ranging from:

"We require all of our salespeople to make 30 outbound calls per day"

To:

"We don't want to bother anyone, so we rarely follow-up with an outbound call."

There are many organizations that have invested significant time, effort and resources in building a new website. These same organizations ask us a very familiar question: Why isn’t our website generating any leads? They become frustrated and disappointed that their investment isn’t paying off. The key to an effective website is being able to cater to all phases of the insurance buying cycle.

The only thing worse than losing a deal is missing one altogether, especially one where you had a high probably of winning.

You’ve heard the old saying that “90% of selling is showing up.” This was true 20 years ago and still holds true today. The difference is that “showing up” early in the insurance buying cycle means showing up online.

Over the past year or so, we have noticed it has become increasingly difficult to connect with contacts at insurers. There are plenty of companies that will accept an inbound call, but at the right time.  If you happen to have a product or solution the insurer is searching for at that specific time, your timing is perfect.  Unfortunately that's not the case the vast majority of the time and knowing when to make that outbound call is key.

In general, organizations that still use a legacy sales approach are struggling to compete.

Selling into the insurance industry has become increasingly difficult. Using a disruptive legacy sales approach magnifies the difficulty.

Regardless of the industry you are marketing to, it pays to understand your target market. Larger companies perform market research on a consistent basis using either internal resources, market research firms or both.  Marketing the wrong solution to the wrong audience spells disaster for sales.