Smart Spotlight: Rich Lloyd on Life at Smart
By Smart Communications
At Smart Communications, our success is powered by passionate people who bring their expertise, energy, and authenticity to everything they do. In this edition of Smart Spotlight, we’re featuring Rich Lloyd, an Account Director, Western Region, who has spent the past five years helping drive new business and strengthen relationships across the insurance industry.
Rich shares what drew him to Smart (hint: he got tired of losing deals to us!), what keeps him inspired, and why he believes listening is the most underrated skill in sales. Read on to learn more about Rich’s journey, his approach to building lasting connections, and how he spends his time outside of work.
1. What is your role at Smart and how long have you been with the company?
I’m an Account Director for insurance for new business, covering everything west of Arizona, plus western Canada. I focus on driving new business while also managing a few select existing customers. I celebrated five years with Smart in November 2025.
2. What did you do for work prior to joining Smart, and why did you make the switch?
Before joining Smart, I worked for other CCM vendors. I spent a few years as a direct seller at MessagePoint, several years in sales leadership at Quadient, and I held roles at IBM and Ricoh during the earlier part of my career.
I made the switch because I was done losing deals to Smart. I admired the technology and the early decision to move to the cloud. Plus, I kept hearing great things about the company culture and people. Many respected colleagues from my previous companies had joined Smart, which made it even more appealing. When the opportunity came up, I jumped at it.
3. What's kept you at Smart?
Without a doubt, it’s the culture and the people. Everyone I work with is top notch, and we all share the same mindset of growing the business while still having fun.
The technology also makes my job easier—our products practically sell themselves, and customers love them so much that they volunteer as references and participate in case studies. That combination of great people, strong technology, and enthusiastic customers keeps me here.
4. What skills are needed to be successful in your role/on your team?
Sales fundamentals are important — solution selling, understanding customer problems, and delivering the right solutions. But the skill I value most is being a good listener. It’s easy to make assumptions, but really listening to customers and digging into their challenges makes all the difference.
Building genuine connections is also key. Many of my customers have become true friends, and I think that level of authentic relationship-building is critical in my role.
5. What's your favorite aspect of your job?
My favorite part is connecting with people — colleagues and customers alike. I love being in front of customers, having conversations, and building relationships. When I moved into sales leadership at Quadient, I realized I missed that direct engagement. Coming back to a role where I can interact with people every day is by far the best part of my job.
6. What are you doing when you're not working?
Outside of work, it’s all about family, and I feel truly blessed. My wife, Steph, and I have a blended family of eight kids, ages 18 to 32, and we’re soon-to-be empty nesters. On top of that, we have six dogs, so our house is never boring!
We love spending time with our kids and friends. We’re about to become first-time grandparents, which is incredibly exciting. Steph has a huge extended family, and every year we gather for a reunion in Nebraska, which is always a highlight for me.