Tara Townsend

Inquirer
DISC Type : cd

Director, Agency Marketing and Experience at Progressive Insurance

Washington, District of Columbia, United States

Overview

Tara Townsend is a customer experience leader at Progressive Insurance with over a decade of experience using consumer insights and behavior science to deliver growth. With a Master of Science from The Chicago School, she focuses on human-centered design. Colleagues describe her as a strategic, diligent, and reliable leader.

Passionate about understanding human behavior, Tara often seeks inspiration from diverse industries like healthcare and hospitality to enhance customer experiences. She believes in leveraging ethnographic methodologies to uncover user needs and is interested in applying behavioral science to solve real-world problems.

While at AARP, she was part of a select team tasked with the unique challenge of creating a new digital health product for the 35-50 age demographic.

Personality Overview

Demanding

Hard To Convince

Judgemental

They focus on objectivity in a pitch and pay little attention to bells and whistles.  They don’t always try to control the conversation but neither do they like yielding it fully. They can be nudged to make faster decisions by offering what they value.

Topics They Care About

Consumer Behavior Science
Her profile highlights her as a "behavior-obsessed" leader who uses consumer insights and behavior science to guide innovation and drive measurable business growth.
Human-Centered Design
She actively seeks speakers on this topic for events and lists it as a core belief in her professional philosophy for creating superior customer experiences.
Team and Culture
Frequently posts about hiring for her team at Progressive, emphasizing the company's unique culture, remote work opportunities, and employee development programs.

Media Appearances

Tara has no verified media appearances

Work History

2-2026
Director, Agency Marketing and Experience at Progressive Insurance
9-2022 - 2-2026
Director, Customer Experience at Progressive Insurance
5-2017 - 8-2022
Director, Customer Experience at AARP
8-2016 - 6-2017
Senior Product Marketing Manager at Blackboard
10-2013 - 8-2016
Senior Product Marketing Consultant at AARP

Education

2019 - 2021
Master of Science - MS from The Chicago School
2002 - 2004
BS from SUNY Brockport

More Information

Social Presence :

Prographics :

Exp : 21 Location : Washington, District of Columbia, United States Job Level : Mid-senior Designation : Director, Agency Marketing and Experience at Progressive Insurance
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Insights For Selling To Tara

During A Call Or A Meeting

DO's

  • Tell them that you are there to help them create visible impact within their organization
  • Stress on the business value that your product offers
  • Refer to testimonials from others in similar positions

DONT's

  • Do not give up if they are not convinced, try again with a different approach
  • Avoid repeating yourself or making generalizations
  • Refrain from asking too many questions

When Cold Calling

When Writing An Email

While Negotiating & Closing

    The secret to closing fast with Tara is

  • Conviction in the product matters to them, followed by proof points and strong testimonials.
  • Will you ever get a clear answer from Tara

  • They may not be very forthcoming, but they will say no if needed.

Insights For Deal Planning

    How fast (or slow) will Tara move?

  • Their decision making speed is somewhere in the middle.
  • Can Tara take some risk or not?

  • They can take risks but after weighing up the pros and cons.

You And Tara

Personality Compatibility


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