After over 15 years in the benefits industry, I've had the opportunity to see what works, what doesn't, and where real impact happens.  

But I've also lived it personally.  Two of my kiddos were born prematurely, and our youngest had open heart surgery at 7 months old.  In those moments, you don't care about your plan type or deductibles.  You just want to know your family will be okay.  Those experiences changed the way I show up in this work.

I help HR and finances teams to rethink the way they approach benefits. We dig into what’s really driving cost, confusion, and frustration. Then we build strategies that actually fix those issues. It’s not magic, it’s asking good questions, using data better, and caring enough to do the hard work.

Away from work:  I'm a husband, father to three boys, and happiest when we're at a trail head.  Backpacking, snowboarding, mountain biking, and finding new ways to wear everyone out before sunset.

Ryder Kimmes

I help Benefit Advisors and HR Leaders streamline manual actuarial processes through software and consulting ➕ I help Employee Benefit Pros increase revenue through coaching and GTM Advisory.

twelve years ago, i was running grain elevators in rural south carolina.

$34,000 a year. 90 hours a week. no leverage, no upside, no path out.

linkedin changed my life.

it took me from manual labor → to the insurance business → to partner in a company i helped scale and sell → to head of sales for multiple high-growth teams → to running a portfolio of multi-six-figure businesses built on writing, relationships, and human-first selling.

i’m not special.
i just learned how to show up online in a way that builds trust, connection, and inbound opportunities at scale.
now, that’s what i help other people do.

today i’m the founder & principal of tillirson consulting group, the co-founder of red flag writing collective, and president of the board at pathways to healing.

i’ve spent the last decade inside carriers, enrollment firms, and benefits tech companies from pre-seed to fortune 500, which means i understand this ecosystem from every angle.

how i support businesses:

• group training for revenue teams who want predictable pipeline from simple, authentic outbound
• fractional revenue leadership for benefits vendors & brokerages with ~$0–$75m in annual revenue
• mastermind-level writing & social sales programs for people who learn best together
• keynote speaking on modern sales and resilience

outside the office, i’m a dad, a tattoo enthusiast, a multi-instrumentalist, and a community volunteer.
i live in forest acres, sc with my wife brianne, my boys jack and george, and our dog doc holliday.

if you’re here because you want to grow — your pipeline, your brand, or your confidence — you’re in the right place.

currently supporting:

RefMed - UCR and Fee Schedule medical pricing data
Glove Benefits - DPC + ICHRA + Healthshares
Spirence - Preventative Mental Health with 1200% higher utilization than traditional EAPs

𝗰𝗮𝗹𝗹: 803.727.5620
𝗲𝗺𝗮𝗶𝗹: sims@tillirsonconsulting.com

Sims Tillirson

giving you permission to be real af | founder | non-profit board chairman | keynote speaker

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a month after my best ever year in sales, i quit my job. 

everyone was confused. 

i’d just made presidents club and a whole bunch of money. 

but my therapist had been very clear in her last session. 

if i didn’t change something soon, the consequences would be severe. 

i gave every excuse, but her answer was always the same. 

“doesn’t matter if you’re dead” 

so, i called my boss and resigned effective immediately. 

we seem to think mental health issues only affect a certain type of employee. 

but they affect everyone, top performers included. 

the ones carrying your number don’t always tell you when they’re drowning.

check on your people.

i’m not a doctor, but i think i found the cure to depression. 


buy a little truck
let the windows down
crank the feel good music up

bonus points if it’s 80 degrees where you live right now.

i run a successful small business and chair the board of a non-profit. 

i also burned myself pretty bad the other day because i tried to finish steaming a shirt while i was wearing it. 

that’s why your cold emails to CEOs should be written at a 5th grade reading level.

i love talking about balance and my 6 hour work day, but i took my first call at 6 am this morning. 

the truth is i don’t love working. 

but building something of my own sometimes means 

meetings before the kids wake up
vibe coding when the house is asleep
morning meetings watching the sunrise

worth it.

LinkedIn has been my primary growth channel for over 4 years. if I had to start from zero tomorrow, here’s exactly what I’d do.

go ahead and hit save so you can come back to the 4E framework. 

➕ EXPAND my network by sending 10 connection requests to buyers, industry influencers, and COIs (don’t personalize the requests. more will be accepted that way. PS this operation is easiest if you build a list in Sales Navigator first)

🤝 ENGAGE my network by leaving at least 10 thoughtful comments on posts by the people I mentioned above (comment on 2nd an 3rd degree connects as well. comment styles: disagree with the post, expound upon the post, tell a similar story about yourself) BONUS: send DMs that have nothing to do with sales i.e. thanks for liking my post

🧠 ENTERTAIN & EDUCATE my network by creating one great piece of content (should make my audience feel something, should be engaging enough that I’d stop scrolling to read it, should be so authentic to me it can’t be copied. PS talk more about your personal life than your work)

🤑 ELEVATE conversations with people who can buy from me by sending at least 5 video DMs (these should be problem based, not feature based and allow you to showcase personality. try a framework like PAS - problem, agitate, solution. these turn into meetings for me over 20% of the time) 

this is way more work than just posting and ghosting or using automation tools. 

that’s why it works. 

we show up authentic and human. 

even if everyone else wants an easy button.

“let your work speak for itself” is the worst advice i ever followed.

when a client hypes me up, i’m going to talk about it. 

you can call it bragging. 

i just call it proof.

i helped launch a new brand last week using 3 LinkedIn posts. we booked 20+ decision maker meetings during the campaign. here’s the post breakdown: 

monday - poll asking if anyone in my network is using a solution like the one I’m launching. of 166 votes, 69 said yes. (yes really 69)

wednesday - cheeky short form video where i accuse the ceo im working with of lying bc he is selling something no one expects him to sell. he gives a direct pitch for the new biz. only 5000 video views, but they were the right video views. 

thursday - announce my new role with the company (anchored by a story). only 15,000 views. but drove 10+ saves/sends and 10 more website clicks. multiple buyers asked for meetings in the comments. 

and that’s the whole thing. 

on Friday, i DMed everyone who responded yes to my poll and asked for a meeting. 

need to follow up on those who haven’t responded yet, but my calendar can’t handle anymore meetings.  

marketing doesn’t have to be hard.

taplio

The Battle

Ryder Kimmes

Sims Tillirson

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taplio

The Battle

Ryder Kimmes

Sims Tillirson

Followers

Posts

Engagements

Likes

Performance Score.css-goub6s{font-size:var(--chakra-fontSizes-md);font-weight:500;color:var(--chakra-colors-gray-600);display:block;margin-top:var(--chakra-space-1);}Sims Tillirson's LinkedIn Performance

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Performance ScoreSims Tillirson's LinkedIn Performance