10 Reasons Why Wholesalers Love Their Internals…Or Not

The reality is I was both fortunate and lucky.

Fortunate because out of the 5 internal wholesalers I had in my career, 3 of them were heaven sent.

Lucky because it doesn’t happen frequently enough that both internal and external click on all cylinders.

So why do externals love their internals…or not?

The Reasons They Were Loved

• They took ownership – The best partners I had were aggressive self starters that you simply needed to give instructions to, wind up, and let them run.

More times that not they exceeded expectations.

For me the secret was not to micro manage the process AND to inspect what you expect.

• Infinitely coachable – By nature of the beast, internals have to have fairly hard shells – after all you are getting the snot kicked out of you on the phone with advisors.

I wanted to work with folks that were hungry for input and craved constructive feedback.

The best went out of their way to ask , “What can I do better?”

• Over achiever – One internal got his MBA at night after killing it for me during the day.

Another developed his own system to work advisors most effectively.

Still another was the Team Leader of his peer group.

These folks had one over-arching motto: Bring It On.

• Displays passion – One of the best ‘spouse like’ fights I ever had with an internal was over who’s territory it was.

Mine, and he worked in it…or OURS.

It was a bloody screaming match.

Moral of the story: he cared enough to WANT to own it – I should have never argued with that!

• Naturally curious – Go ahead, ask.

And then ask some more.

Internals that have a keen curiosity are at the top of my list.

They want (and need) to understand the details and subtle nuances of the business.

• Doesn’t need to be reminded – One and done.

My best partners needed no pushing, prodding, cajoling or poking.

Tell them what were doing/where we are headed and I’ll consider it done.

…Or Not

• They were a ‘minimum required person’ (MRP) – You know the type.

It’s the person that you ask to make 20 calls and they make 20 – not 21, or 25, simply 20.

MRP’s are checking in at 9:00 and they are out the door at 5:00.

MRP’s will not move us up the sales rankings.

MRP’s will not endear themselves to advisors.

MRP’s will have a short career – at least with/for me.

• Lacked passion – Yes, many internals are younger and just starting their careers.

I understand if they are not 100% clear about where their career path is supposed to lead.

And that doesn’t mean I have patience for a lack of passion.

If I’m all in, I expect my internal to be all in.

It’s the only way to win this game.

• Never turned over NEW rocks – Great internals have the ability to form meaningful relationships with my Top 100 and prospect for new advisors with equal impact.

I get giddy when I think about advisors that wrote top producer like business in one of the far reaches of our territory and I never saw them.

Their introduction to the firm, and their production for it, was attributed to my internal – period.

• Organizational train wreck – The notion that sales people are paid to sell and not be organized is bullshit.

I expect my internal to uphold his end of the deal and be the organizational home office hub of the regions activities.

After all, if you are letting things slip through the cracks with me, what are doing to our clients?

What’s on your list? Leave a comment down below – anonymously of you wish.

Having a great partnership with your internal is one of the keys to having a Career Year. If you need assistance with making that happen you should explore our Coaching Programs and find out how we can assist.

flickr credit