“Quick, we need to promote this new product; let’s get an ad out, we need activity on this today!” Or perhaps, “We really need to recruit more producers, let’s start doing a little advertising.”

Unfortunately, for some marketing organizations and distributors, this is how their marketing department is being run and how critical marketing decisions are being made day after day, month after month, year after year.

“The most important functions of a business are marketing and innovation. EVERYTHING else is an expense.” – Peter Drucker

It is all too common that Marketing Organizations (MO) and BGAs conduct “new” producer lead generation as a series of isolated activities and are frustrated by the results—an ad here, a direct mailer there, a tradeshow here — with little continuity or overall strategy. Your marketing has to be deliberate or it’s useless.

It is impossible to reach your fullest potential if you are relying solely on hit and run advertising, or are marketing by the seat of your pants. Unless, of course, you are satisfied with status quo.

Every day that you are not marketing is a day you will never get back. No matter how good your plan or promotion is, if you aren’t running it or using it, you won’t benefit from it, period. It is nearly impossible to recruit new producers if you aren’t in front of them on a consistent basis.

Create an advertising/marketing schedule to establish deadlines, accountability and ultimately, to increase results. If you rely on marketing by the seat of your pants, time will pass and your employees will put it on their mental backburner in order to put out whatever fires may be burning in front of them.

Just remember: if you schedule it, it WILL get done.

Your producer lead generation process should be about planned and sustained strategies and tactics. It is not only about the messages or medium that you use; it’s also about the marketing blueprint you devise, the money you allot, the specific offers you construct, and how you will handle all responses as they come in.

The better your marketing process is, the better your lead generation will be.

It isn’t rocket science, just a simple plan of attack that you measure periodically. A mentor and associate of mine, Bill Glazer, who I consider to be one of the best marketers in the world, once said: “Marketing is simple, because it’s all about numbers, and the numbers don’t lie.”

To win the game of insurance marketing, you need to play and you need to be out there in front of the market, not sitting on the bleachers.

As simple as it might sound; you can’t be a marketing organization, if you don’t do any marketing or advertising… period.

Winning marketing organizations play the game, follow the rules (even if they change) and always keep an eye on the scoreboard—to see how hard you need to play. And as with any game, you are going to experience losses and setbacks—this is reality. Just recognize that at the end of the day, “marketing” is your game and “profit” is your winning score. So focus on both and PLAN to succeed with a consistent marketing strategy.