Earning support of distribution

Buying distribution is not all beer and skittles. So says Mercantile Mutual's deputy general manager integrated financial services, Tony Hartley.

Buying distribution is not all beer and skittles. So says Mercantile Mutual's deputy general manager integrated financial services, Tony Hartley.

Addressing the recent Rice Kachor distribution seminar, Hartley said "When you buy distribution what do you get? You get a brand but bugger all else,"

Hartley said when organisations buy a brand they get technology and the people behind the brand, but they do not necessarily get the distributors or the cli-ents. That, he said, has to be earned.

"We can't command the support of our distribution - we must earn the right to receive it," Hartley said.

Hartley said that there are currently two schools of thought about distribution. According to a Life Insurance Marketing Research Association (LIMRA) article groups will aggregate under the Financial Services Reform Bill whereas a con-flicting report from Cerulli indicates groups will disaggregate.

As a group, Hartley said Mercantile Mutual is unsure which way it will go, but to reduce the risk of groups leaving, the group has adopted a strategy designed to add value to the relationship. That strategy focuses on increasing the pie first and the slice of the pie second. "The truth is, if we do that, our own business benefits along with the adviser's business," Hartley said.

One of the first steps the organisation has taken is to help its advisers with business planning - things like direct marketing, development of their own brand and getting them in front of direct networks.

"We help advisers to build their businesses and as a result of that we can say to them, 'We notice that in your business, you do this and this - we have a product we think might help you."