Brian Greenberg is an entrepreneur and CEO of True Blue Life Insurance, but before his success, he broke all the rules when he decided against the traditional sales mantra ABC, Always Be Closing, and changed it instead to
ABN or “Always Be Nice.” His main focus became, how to increase your business's conversion rates by building trust through online reviews.
Brian Greenberg’s strategies resulted in over 50 Million Dollars in Revenue across all of his business ventures and he collected over 10.000 customer reviews and testimonials.
He is a member of the Young Entrepreneurship Council and the Million Dollar Round Table, which places him among the top 1% of financial advisors worldwide.
The cornerstone of his success is excellent customer service. His default response to every situation of conflict is ABN, or “Always Be Nice.”
How did a young graduate of Arizona University’s prestigious Entrepreneurship program realize, that traditional sales strategies needed to be changed?
During his time at AU, he worked on a team developing new strategies for E-Commerce. This was only one of many experiences that would later serve him well, and lead him to last success in this field.
Learning how to sell was another piece of the puzzle that contributed to his success. While working at MetLife as an Insurance agent he found that many clients were ready to buy and close on a simple life insurance plan, without going through a lengthy sales pitch meeting. To be a success in sales he would have to sell a large number of such policies.
With this insight, he had a blueprint for his first online insurance company, which would serve internet-savvy clients who knew what they wanted and were ready to close. He developed his strategy, which took the process of purchasing life insurance 100% online. This meant a radical change in the way life insurance had been sold in the past.
Although his business didn’t take off right away, (he had to move back home for a while), his company started to make a profit and has been growing since 2007.
“I was one of the first to come out and tell people how I've been making money selling life insurance online, and closing sales completely online or over the telephone. This was an industry shakeup since everything before was a Face to Face sales process.”
His strategy put him on the cover of Life Insurance Selling Magazine.
Selling has always included persistent salespeople focused on closing a deal, with strategies that lead a prospect through that process. Greenberg’s mission has been to change the myth that this is the best and only way to succeed in sales.
As a result, he never meets with clients. Face-to-face meetings, calls, or skype calls are possible but not necessary. His policies are purchased online only, through his websites, leaving the option of talking on the phone, entirely with the purchaser.
The ‘Greenberg Way’, changed life insurance sales for a certain group from selling to the client, to be bought by the client. Subsequently, Greenberg was recognized as one of the most creative people in the insurance industry.
Greenberg believes that customer service should be unobtrusive, informative, and efficient. He spends a lot of time upgrading SEO for True Blue Life Insurance. 90% of his customers find his website through online searches.
His boldness and the expert insight he has gained over the years have made him one of the prominent players in the industry. “My conversion rate is double that of most competitors in the direct to consumer’ life insurance industry.”
When asked about obstacles he faced, he responded:
“Since I was one of the first to sell life insurance in a new way, I had to learn how to market online. I learned SEO, PHP, Programming, Website Development, and how to hire freelancers.
I was working with a fully remote team back in 2013. I've spent over 1 million dollars on freelancer platforms like upwork.com.
I have done all the jobs of product manager, project manager, webmaster, quality assurance, and business development. Because of my ability to manage remote teams I have been able to build and market my company for one-tenth the cost of larger companies with nine figures in investment capital.”
Today, his direct-to-consumer life insurance agency True Blue Life Insurance has provided over 1 billion dollars in coverage to his customers.
Greenberg understands the exact challenges in marketing that business owners and entrepreneurs are facing today. He doesn’t only come up with new solutions, but he also likes to share and show a more effective way of doing business.
He knows, that a positive online reputation is key and therefore pays special attention to the design of his websites. For him, the user interface and front-facing programs he builds for life insurance products, are a form of art. He explains that he is not afraid to try new things or to put himself out there as the face of his company.
Brian Greenberg’s strategy of focusing on positive brand reviews to raise a companies conversion rate has proven that the power of the customers’ own voice can make a business succeed or fail. Because he likes to share his knowledge with others,
he wrote the Book The Salesman Who Doesn’t Sell
In the book, he shares advice and expertise on how to better build an online business.
When asked for tips for success, he hits you with: “Try things.”
A dynamic attitude that he seems to have applied throughout his career.
He further explains that an online environment is a place where start-up costs are very low.
“If you have an idea, take the first step…”
And finally: “Don't try to learn everything yourself. Outsource all that you can. Be the product- and project manager. If you make a mistake, think of it as a learning experience. To become a true master, you need to put in thousands of hours. Be patient and play the long game. But you need to be in the game to win.”