Building An Effective Marketing Team In 2026

Are your marketing people glorified order takers or proactive advisors? For many agencies, marketing is just the team that formats slide decks or requests quotes from carriers. But true marketing - especially in the B2B insurance space - is about owning the customer journey and building a community of engaged prospects long before the sale happens.My guest, Shelby Fitzpatrick, Manager of Marketing at Sterling Seacrest Pritchard, joins me to discuss what it takes to build a modern marketing department in the insurance industry. Coming from a decade-long career in sports marketing, Shelby brings a fresh perspective to a notoriously stale industry. We discuss the differences between B2C and B2B marketing, why marketing should be treated as a strategic sales partner rather than a fulfillment center, and how to structure your marketing team based on specialized skills rather than hiring "generalists."▶▶ Sign Up For Your Free Discovery Callcompletegameu.com/agaKEY MOMENTS(00:00:00) From College Tennis to Sports Marketing: Shelby’s Journey (00:08:11) Ego, Time Management, and the College Athlete Mindset (00:12:27) Building Community and Engagement in Tennis (00:15:22) The Accidental Jump to Insurance: Joining Sterling Seacrest Pritchard (00:19:01) The Biggest Misconception: Quoting vs. Marketing (00:23:34) Why RFPs Are Your Best Opportunity to Tell a Story (00:26:38) B2C vs. B2B Marketing: Building Trust with the C-Suite (00:30:06) How Agency Leaders Should View Marketing (It’s Not Just Lead Gen) (00:33:05) How to Build a Modern Agency Marketing Team from Scratch (00:37:08) The Role of AI in Marketing: Efficiency vs. Empathy (00:40:18) Shelby’s Lightning Round: Morning Routines, Checklists, and PickleballCONNECT WITH ANDY NEARY📲 Schedule a free discovery call:completegameu.com/agaSubscribe and listen to the Accelerate Your Insurance Sales Podcast 🎙 here:https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/andy-neary7 🎯 Subscribe to the podcast on YouTube 🎥:https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCyqBg5tL_1G1tf7Wo98tMgg💬 Join the Complete Game text community:Text the word BROKER to 414-622-1462Connect with Andy Neary on social media: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/andyneary/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/andy_neary/