Las Vegas agent Tim Maudsley has always had a heart for helping businesses with their commercial insurance needs.
He originally started his career 25 years ago in Southern California and was one of the first agents to offer liability coverage for tattoo parlors. He eventually left sunny California for Alaska and worked with oil and gas clients before relocating and opening his agency in Las Vegas in 2020.
Despite his extensive insurance experience, digital marketing was a world still largely unknown to him. Thankfully, he was able to connect with Melon Local in the very beginning and has since been able to attract fresh leads to the office.
We took a moment to speak with Tim about what it was like transitioning to Las Vegas and his advice for finding the right markets to target.
Melon Local: How did your approach to marketing change when you moved to Las Vegas?
Tim Maudsley: My business model was always a little bit different. I’m one of the few agents in Southern Nevada that focus on small business insurance because of my background.
Most agents don’t like to write workers’ compensation and business insurance, but I love it.
That was always the heart of my marketing plan. But as far as electronic marketing, social media and optimization on Google, I had no clue about it.
ML: How did you find out about us?
Tim: I was introduced to Melon Local through another agent because his office was only a mile up the street from mine. He’s one of the biggest agents in all of State Farm.
He was talking about how I was going to be able to do online marketing and being able to stand out from another 100 agents.
That’s when he brought up Melon Local and how it’s an investment for your agency.
Quite frankly, I don’t understand the algorithms and how things show up when you search for something, but that’s why I hired Melon Local because they do understand it.
Over the course of the two years we’ve been open, whenever my Client Success Manager and I meet, our numbers are consistently exceeding what industry standard averages are.
I cannot demand anything more, especially when you’re in a town that’s so saturated with agents.
ML: What are some of the results you’ve noticed?
Tim: I can only compare my experience to other agents who have different types of representation for social media or their SEO, and when we look at the page views or click-throughs or quote starts, our numbers are always significantly higher than agents who are not using Melon.
I have a couple of good friends who use a different service, and maybe they only have 20 percent of the page views I have.
Whenever we get somebody calling in, we make a point of saying where did you find us or how did you hear about us. It’s usually because of the Google search, and we pop up in the top couple in Google.
ML: For the time you’ve been in Vegas, you’ve been a very active presence here. What advice do you have for agents trying to better connect with the communities they serve?
Tim: You gotta get out of your office and get out into the community and make a difference.
We make it a point to go to at least four to five non-profit events a year. We don’t just show up — we sponsor them. And then we take the time to partner with those folks.
For example, we had a great event at the Hearts Alive Village, which is a low-cost veterinary clinic in Las Vegas. We sponsored over 150 families to get their pets’ vaccinations done for free.
What that does is build goodwill in the community. And we got calls six to seven months later from people who attended the event asking if they could get a quote on home and auto insurance. People remember that stuff!
And then join networking groups, be it a local chamber of commerce or, in my case, I joined the BNI. You can’t just join and be a number. You have to be part of the events.
ML: Any advice for homing in on different types of markets?
Tim: My advice is to pick something and go with it and trust in your gut. You can’t be everything to everybody.
I was asked to mentor a brand new agent, and the gentleman spoke Spanish — that’s a huge asset in this town. And I asked him, “What’s your marketing plan to go after Spanish-speaking households?” And he says, “Well, I wasn’t really planning on doing that.” I said, “Are you crazy?”
That’s what he’s doing now, and he’s killing it! He partnered with the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce and makes regular presentations. There are enough people in this town where you can find something to specialize in.
Want to learn more about how we can help with your insurance marketing needs? Schedule a demo with us today!