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In the wake of significant layoffs of external wholesalers at 41% of firms, internals are relied on more than ever to hold the fort. Longer hours, lower pay than their external counterparts and diminished career opportunities are the dubious rewards for increased sales and service responsibilities, redrawn territories and budget cuts.

We surveyed sales managers and interviewed executives at over thirty-five leading asset management firms for this paper, and learned that internal wholesalers:

• Spend 54% of their time selling and servicing, almost as much time as external wholesalers;
• Receive variable compensation comprising 45% of their total compensation;
• Support more than one wholesaler at 50% of firms;
• Cover 2,000 or more advisors at 42% of firms;
• No longer have a career path to external wholesaling as those positions have vanished.

Excellence in Distribution: Internal Wholesaling identifies levers sales executives can use to maximize the impact of their sales forces:

• Sales Force Structure and Selling Process
• Territory Management
• Compensation
• Technology Deployment

The report contains specific recommendations on the following topics:

• Wholesaler selling and servicing time
• Staffing to obtain productivity improvements
• Maximizing managers' impact
• Territory management
• Wholesaler compensation
• Using technology to drive scale

This report gives asset managers the tools and data needed to improve Internal Wholesaling and includes tactics for insuring internal wholesalers are efficient, impactful, and motivated, and are aligned contributors to the firm's business and profitability objectives.