In Part 1 we identified the WHO of your sales performance – your buyers and sellers – and in Part 2 the WHY – the messaging and targeting that is working the best. The WHERE – channel performance – can also be examined and leveraged with superior data analytics capability.
Historically, firms have always channelized their data – typically by firm types – broker-dealer, retirement advisor, etc. When a firm has the sales data analytics tools to analyze data by channel it provides new insights that enable you to engage more effectively with these sources of inflow.
There are seven things your sales data could be telling you. How your various sales channels are behaving and what engagement each prefers is a critical one. This knowledge gives you valuable opportunities to nurture sales growth. Sales data analytics can show you the specific behavior of each sales channel and how you can serve each one effectively.
How do your sales prefer to engage?
The rise of mega advisor firms and the structure of intermediary teams means you need a shift of focus to better understand the behavior of the advisors. Your sales data analytics tools should reveal actionable patterns. To know how these key sources of inflows, and potential cross-sales, prefer engaging:
- Do you need to focus more on segmenting the data?
- Do you need to be more focused on understanding your target advisors
- Can you determine their objectives and goals?
By knowing how each of your channels and territories are performing compared to your competitors through sales data analytics, you can fine-tune your messaging, to better target your sales and marketing activities and better focus your firm and more rapidly grow your business.
Concentrating on sales channels and determining their needs relative both to each other and to your competition gives you a competitive advantage. Optimized data and granular data analytics capability provides the visibility you need.
Channel Breakdown YTD of flows
Review of regions shows where you stand in each
YTD vs PYTD Channel comparison
By characterizing how different channels are behaving differently through detailed sales data analytics, sales teams better understand their market by seeing it through the eyes of the seller. Campaigns that are designed, tested, and refined for the needs of each channel are more responsive to the preferences of the sellers of your product. Sales analytics puts you in touch with your sellers in a way simple sales numbers cannot. Beyond telling you merely who your best performers are, enterprise-class sales data analytics can tell you where the potential lies for better performance still.
In Part 4 we will look at the question: “What are your most effective lines of communication?”
