Building a High Performing Sales Team, and Managing Key Distributor Partnerships

Over the past decade and a half, Jonathan has dedicated his career to providing support to financial advisors and esteemed leaders in the financial services sector. Through his extensive collaboration with numerous advisors and managers, he has strategically devised and executed plans to enhance business growth, surpass sales targets, and achieve commendable professional advancements. His profound insights and principles have garnered recognition within prominent publications, while his contributions as a keynote speaker at the illustrious LAMP conference have resonated with industry peers. 

What does a typical day look like for you as a regional vice president?

As the regional VP of RBC Insurance, my accountability is to oversee the sales and operations of a small business unit within the Ontario region. While our team may be modest in size but we are mighty. With a workforce of approximately 45 individuals, our primary objective is to collaborate with the most influential insurance distributors in Ontario. Through this partnership, we aim to provide comprehensive sales support, product assistance, and practice management guidance to cultivate the growth of our brand and enhance sales figures.

However, our industry's demands extend beyond mere sales and product support. If we limit our contributions to these areas alone, our position could be readily supplanted. The crux lies in establishing robust relationships and aiding our partners in developing their practices in a truly impactful manner so that they can better serve their clients. Within this framework, my role encompasses leading the region, and offering continual coaching and professional development training for our sales consultants and team managers. Additionally, I am committed to fostering connections with key distributors to ensure our brand is held in high esteem, thereby creating new avenues for success among our personnel.

What are the latest trends and challenges that you see in the insurance sector?

In our industry, it has become a prevailing notion, albeit humorously, that the technological progress achieved by the insurance sector over the course of the pandemic, particularly within the initial year, is equivalent to a decade of advancement. This rapid transformation was primarily driven by the imperative need for adaptation. Before the pandemic, while there were very rare instances of conducting meetings with clients or prospects via Zoom, it was not as prevalent as it is today. In fact, compliance, regulatory requirements, and internal processes at most insurance companies still mandated traditional wet signatures for opening investment accounts or obtaining insurance policies. However, this paradigm swiftly changed. For instance, within our firm, we had invested considerable time and effort in convincing our legal and compliance department to accept digital signatures like DocuSign for our wealth opening documents. When the Covid-19 crisis struck and prompted urgency, this new resolution was quickly implemented within a mere week or two. Although, it was not just us; the whole industry responded to this necessity, otherwise Canadians would have robbed our opportunities.

In result, we witnessed a rapid transition from the traditional face-to-face interactions that took place across kitchen tables or in boardrooms to virtual platforms like Zoom, WebEx, or Microsoft Teams, depending on the organization’s preference. Even before the pandemic, we had begun to embrace this shift to some extent, owing to the practical benefits it offered, such as increased connectivity with brokers and potential brokers without the constraints of physical travel.

"Initiating conversations, maintaining open lines of communication, and proactively engaging with brokers are the small, differentiating factors that truly matter. Over time, these seemingly minor actions accumulate and significantly contribute to fostering meaningful relationships, which have been pivotal in driving our notable growth."

Undeniably, Covid-19 expedited this process, and while we have returned to in-person meetings and events, we recognize and appreciate the efficiency afforded by virtual meetings on platforms like WebEx or Zoom. As an organization, we have successfully struck a commendable balance between the efficiency and effectiveness of these digital interactions, such as Zoom meetings, while also reaffirming our commitment to nurturing relationships by resuming in-person engagements.

As a company, what is the approach that you have taken to keep up with these new technology changes?

Rather than saying our approach was groundbreaking, I would like to say, we have achieved considerable success through effective execution. Leveraging digital channels has significantly expanded our reach to insurance and investment brokers, enabling us to conduct regular webinars on a monthly or quarterly basis. These webinars have successfully attracted a substantial audience of five, six, or even 700 brokers, surpassing the numbers typically achievable in face-to-face engagements. As a result, we have been able to use this scalability to a significant degree.

In addition, irrespective of the prevailing circumstances related to the pandemic, we have continuously enhanced our digital tools to better understand brokers' portfolios. This enhanced understanding has allowed us to proactively identify opportunities within their book of business. This approach has proved immensely valuable for both our organization and the broker, as it moves beyond merely presenting information about RBC's products and processes. Instead, we engage with brokers by offering a comprehensive analysis of their portfolios and presenting specific opportunities that could genuinely benefit their clients. We extend an invitation to collaborate through setting up meetings to jointly explore these opportunities, where we provide detailed insights into the products, and processes, and even accompany them during client appointments, if required. This aspect has greatly enhanced our relationships and value proposition.

Lastly, one element that has consistently contributed to our success is our commitment to coaching and development. While the virtual environment has presented challenges in terms of reduced proximity between our leadership team and staff, we have established a robust infrastructure to deliver extensive coaching and development programs.

What would be your piece of advice to your fellow peers?

By diligently aligning suitable solutions to their specific needs, we move away from a one-size-fits-all approach that may have sufficed two or three decades ago but is inadequate in today's dynamic landscape. Our most successful advisors have developed distinct practices and possess individualized requirements. By tailoring our services to their requirements and timing, we have experienced substantial growth. While this response may appear unexciting, it underscores the significance of initiating conversations, maintaining open lines of communication, and proactively engaging with brokers. In Canada, we compete with approximately 20 other insurance companies for brokers' attention and business. Consequently, it is the small, differentiating factors that truly matter—the art of listening, consistent communication, and taking proactive measures rather than simply waiting for business opportunities to come our way. Over time, these seemingly minor actions accumulate and significantly contribute to fostering meaningful relationships, which have been pivotal in driving our notable growth.