VP, Distribution

Job Description Summary:

Vice President of Distribution, generates sales revenue through the growth and implementation of sales marketing strategies, develops and maintains relationships with agents, brokers, sub-producers, wholesale brokers, and others who control this business in the marketplace.  Vice President of Distribution recruit’s new annuity producers and retains/increase ongoing business from existing producers through a combination of education, assisting and communicating with independent agents and IMOs.  Develop new prospects and interact with existing agents to increase sales of products and/or services. Analyzes and interprets competitor’s products, promotions and point of sale pieces to gain a competitive advantage. The Vice President of Distribution will lead the strategy, growth, and execution of the company's Independent Marketing Organization (IMO) distribution channel.  This executive will develop and manage relationships with IMOs, agencies, brokers, and independent producers to drive profitable sales growth, expand market reach, and strengthen distributor engagement. 

Responsible for driving sales to meet revenue goals by developing effective business plans and sales strategies. Provides leadership and direction to sales teammates and teams through effective communication, setting expectations, and monitoring and driving sales drivers and results.

The role requires deep knowledge of independent distribution, insurance and/or financial services markets, producer recruitment, sales execution, and relationship management. 

Essential Duties and Responsibilities:

• Achieves sales goals, premium volumes and revenue targets with a focus on business development by establishing rapport with and setting clear goals with IMO’s and provides support to agents and IMOs to achieve those goals.
• Develops and implements strategic plans for increasing revenues and premium volume.
• Establish sales objectives, growth plans, distribution priorities, and performance metrics
• Accurately answers agent and IMO questions regarding all products and clearly explains product features, advantages and benefits, including variances by state.
• Works with team to establish contact schedules and frequently meets with or calls out to agents and IMOs to facilitate individual and group meetings, training, promotional seminars, and other discussions.  Prepare materials, demonstrations, illustrations and proposals for all activities.
• Educates agents on product availability, website features and benefits, e-apps and company requirements for in-good-order applications. Assist agents with matching client needs with appropriate product to assure suitability. Assists with the development of marketing campaigns, webinar topics, and hosts webinars as necessary.
• Partner with marketing, products, operations, compliance, and technology teams to support distributor needs
• Identify new market opportunities, strategic partnerships, and sources of profitable growth
• Lead contract negotiations, compensation discussions, business planning, and joint marketing initiatives
• Develop field strategies, sales campaigns, training programs, and producer engagement programs 
• Monitor sales performance, market trends, competitive activity, and distributor feedback
• Ensure distribution practices align with company policies, regulatory requirements, and compliance standards
• Establish effective forecasting, reporting, pipeline management, and performance-review processes 
• Represent the company at industry conferences, partner meetings, and executive-level distributor events
• Lead, coach, and develop internal distribution and sales teams 
• Provide senior leadership with regular updates on channel performance, risks, opportunities, and strategic recommendations
• Implement and monitor programs to ensure we attract, interview, hire, train, develop and retain quality teammates
• Identify and develop talented teammates who are likely to succeed in the company culture, create an atmosphere where teammates are motivated to learn and grow, provide coaching and feedback to ensure the professional development of teammates and identify and groom teammates for advancement
• Help define and execute strategic and operating plans for the organization and ensure a proper risk control environment exists
• Keep abreast of new developments in the insurance market through periodicals, seminars, membership in insurance industry and professional organizations, and insurance brokers and carriers
• Serve as trouble-shooter and problem solver for advisors on product and process issues and maintain a strong knowledge of available corporate resources, referring advisors to appropriate areas as necessary to ensure problem resolution
• Document activity in the CRM system i.e. appointments, sales calls, follow-ups, call campaigns and sales opportunities etc.
• Productively work together and collaborate with other home office departments
• Demonstrate excellent listening skills to better assess an advisor’s needs and determine the type of sales support necessary to accomplish the objective and add value to the products
• Build and maintain strong product knowledge including any related economic, industry and competitor information and prepare routine sales/marketing reports
• Other duties as assigned

Skills and Experience Needed:

• Bachelor's degree or equivalent working experience
• 7-10 years related experience and/or training or equivalent combination of education and experience
• Strong knowledge and track record of success within independent distribution channel
• Demonstrated strong, current relationships within the IMO channel
• Demonstrated success in building sales and distribution
• Demonstrated ability to recruit and retain top selling talent
• Strong leadership, communication and organizational skills
• Experienced public speaker; strong presentation skills
• Ability to drive significant sales and service initiatives
• Ability to develop and execute organizational strategies
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills
• Read, analyze and interpret general business periodicals, professional journals, technical procedures or governmental regulations
• Exceptional problem determination skills with a high attention to detail
• Additional duties and responsibilities as required by management