New York, (December 10, 2009) – In the brutally competitive battle for market share, external wholesalers have been on the front lines. Their compensation waned as asset levels declined. And, they now are selling to an audience of advisors with diminished brand loyalty, changed expectations, and a stated desire for more substantive (not more frequent) support.
Yet, the ranks of external wholesalers have been thinned, with 41% of firms having cut external wholesaling jobs (80% of those by over 15%). Although externals have diminished in number, they still exceed internal wholesalers and hybrid wholesalers combined by 18%.
Steven Miyao, CEO of kasina and primary sponsor of the report, points out that “with such an expensive resource in dwindling supply, managers need to focus the wholesalers’ attentions more than ever. Yet the report shows that average territories span large areas and more than 1,500 advisors, with 42% of managers planning to increase territory size.”
Furthermore, the time external wholesalers actually spend facing clients is under pressure. Average externals spend 57% of their timing selling to or servicing clients and prospects. The rest of their time is consumed with internal meetings, travel, and administration. Some firms manage to have their firms spend as much as 70% of their time facing clients.
While wholesalers may spend too little time facing clients, their managers spend an inordinate amount of time on the road (62%) and meeting with key advisors and head or branch office personnel (43% of time). This effort may come at the expense of time spent leading and managing their organizations to better performance.
The report concludes by drawing a profile of an ideal wholesaler, and identifies ways for firms to develop wholesalers who are knowledgeable and trusted business partners of advisors, and who are fully aligned with the firm’s business and profitability objectives.
Excellence in Distribution: External Wholesaling identifies the key levers that sales executives can use to maximize the impact of their sales forces, and provides best practices, benchmarking data, and recommendations regarding:
- Sales Force Structure and Selling Process
- Territory Management
- Compensation
- Technology Deployment
For more information on the full report, Excellence in Distribution: External Wholesaling, or to learn about kasina’s other studies, visit www.kasina.com.
About kasina
kasina’s commitment to innovating distribution in the financial services and insurance industries has made it one of the most influential strategy consulting firms in its sector. kasina works with a wide variety of clients from five continents, including firms representing 90% of the U.S.’s total assets under management. An overview of services offered by kasina is available at www.kasina.com.