Richardson Marketing Group

In the insurance business, growth does not fail because agents lack ambition. It fails because customer acquisition becomes too expensive. Chasing volume without discipline inflates marketing spend, erodes margins, and turns expansion into a risky bet rather than a repeatable system.

Richardson Marketing Group (RMG) was built around a cost-first approach. The fastest way to grow is to control what it costs to acquire a customer. Instead of prioritizing novelty or speed for its own sake, the firm helps insurance agents engineer predictable, efficient acquisition systems that consistently deliver qualified customers at a lower cost.

For more than a decade, this focus on cost per acquisition has allowed agents to scale with confidence, growing faster through a more disciplined marketing approach.

The architect of this approach is President and CEO Deryck Richardson. Long before RMG became established in the insurance marketing space, he was selling, coaching, and learning firsthand what separates theory from reality. While working in the insurance lead industry as a sales representative and manager, he saw how rising lead prices pushed agents into fragile business models, where a single missed close could erase profitability.

“We didn’t start Richardson Marketing Group to sell more leads,” says Richardson. “We started it to solve the economic problem agents face. If the cost of acquiring a customer doesn’t work, nothing else matters.”

Today, the company primarily serves insurance professionals selling property and casualty, life, and health products. Instead of competing in the crowded market for costly real-time leads, Richardson Marketing Group focuses on aged leads generated weeks earlier but never fully worked. By acquiring this data 30 to 60 days after the initial inquiry and reselling it at a fraction of the original price, the company gives agents access to volume without financial strain.

This delayed approach turns a perceived weakness into a strategic advantage. Aged leads are often undervalued because timing is the real obstacle. Many prospects are overwhelmed by aggressive outreach immediately after submitting an online form, while others are not yet ready to decide. When agents reach out weeks later, urgency fades, resistance drops, and conversations shift toward a more consultative tone. What seems less valuable on paper often performs better in practice.

The economics reinforce this advantage. Lower costs change how agents operate. When leads cost pennies instead of dollars, pressure to close immediately disappears. Richardson is transparent about the tradeoff. Aged leads demand persistence, higher call volume, and comfort with imperfect data. Still, the math is compelling. A $60 to $80 cost per acquisition on a $400 commission creates room for consistency, experimentation, and sustainable growth, replacing short-term survival with long-term stability.

That reality is reflected in the experience of Atlanta-based agency owner Donnie Albert, who initially relied on fresh leads and resisted using aged data. When Richardson challenged him to examine his true cost per acquisition, the results were eye-opening. Paying roughly $150 to $200 per sale, Albert began integrating aged leads in 2017, adjusted his workflow, and reduced his cost per acquisition to about $60.

As the company has grown, its model has expanded beyond insurance into home services such as solar, roofing, windows, and siding. These industries share the same economic constraint as insurance: demand is abundant, but profitability depends on acquiring customers at a sustainable cost.

Richardson Marketing Group has also launched its own insurance agency, Freedom Direct Life Insurance Services, applying the same cost-focused strategies internally. By testing its methods in the field before recommending them to clients, the company reinforces a culture of accountability.

That culture extends to leadership. Richardson continues to sell and coach alongside his team, maintaining credibility by practicing the disciplines he teaches. This hands-on approach has earned the company recognition three times as one of the best places to work in Columbus, Ohio.

For Richardson Marketing Group, customer-centricity is not about chasing trends or promising shortcuts. It is about confronting economic realities, being honest about the work required, and delivering a model that lowers the cost of winning. By centering decisions on the customer’s bottom line, the company enables agents to operate with greater predictability, clearer unit economics, and the confidence to plan for sustained growth.