Internal wholesalers are sales people who work for insurance companies and investment firms. A person in this position develops strategies to increase sales and actively markets new investment products to outside vendors and partner financial institutions. Large firms often employ several wholesalers, each of whom has ultimate responsibility for maintaining and increasing sales in a particular geographic region.
An internal wholesaler receives information pertaining to newly launched mutual funds, annuity contracts, and other types of securities. The wholesaler has to carefully review the information related to the new securities and develop ways to market the information to sales staff, who deal directly with the public. Wholesalers prepare sales literature that covers pertinent information about new products in terms that sales people can easily relay to prospective customers. Laws require investment representatives to explain the risks involved in investing, and any materials prepared by the wholesaler must comply with laws relating to these disclosures.
Each internal wholesaler works with a team of outside sales representatives who conduct face-to-face meetings with insurance sales persons and brokers. He or she normally schedules a sales representative's meetings and often conducts follow up conference calls to answer any questions that emerge as a result of sales meeting. Brokers and insurance representatives can order investment prospectuses and sales literature through the internal wholesaler and can ask the wholesaler to provide sales ideas or to share information about successful sales strategies used by other representatives.
The internal wholesaler normally reports to a regional sales manager who oversees several sales regions. A wholesaler must compile daily, weekly and monthly sales reports for the regional manager and ensure that sales targets are met or exceeded. Some or all of a wholesaler's salary comes from commissions related to sales, so wholesalers have a strong incentive to perform well. Investment companies normally require wholesalers to consistently hit minimum sales goals and if these goals are not met, a wholesaler can be demoted or terminated from employment. Successful wholesalers normally move into regional sales manager positions.
In order to work as an internal wholesaler, a candidate must have a bachelors degree in finance, accounting, or a related field. Securities laws require anyone involved in the marketing or sale of securities to pass licensing examinations that are conducted by regulatory authorities. Wholesalers must pass these exams and obtain securities licenses before starting work in the job. Licensed securities advisers and wholesalers must attend continuing education classes that include information related to changes in securities laws. These classes are normally conducted at least once a year.
