How to ‘Adapt’ to Adaptive 401(k) Selling
At the FI360 Conference in Nashville, John Sullivan from 401(k) Specialist interviews Randy Fuss of CUNA Mutual Retirement Solutions to discuss the concept of adaptive selling in the 401(k) space.
Randy explains that adaptive selling is about recognizing and adjusting to the personality styles of the clients you’re pitching to—typically, plan sponsors or board members. Advisors often have a default selling style, but successful interactions require tailoring that approach to the unique personalities in the room.
To support this strategy, Randy mentions the use of behavioral frameworks such as DISC, Myers-Briggs, and others like Kolbe and CHIRP, which help understand individual communication preferences. He identifies his own DISC style as “high I,” which typically describes extroverted, persuasive communicators who enjoy being on stage.
Notably, Randy introduces a new analytical tool that allows advisors to pull personality insights directly from the LinkedIn profiles of boardroom participants. This tool analyzes public LinkedIn data to provide printouts of individual personality profiles, enabling more targeted, customized presentations. While John jokingly calls this “a little creepy,” it’s acknowledged as a powerful and innovative sales tactic.
The message has been well received at the conference, and advisors are reportedly embracing this data-driven personalization approach to improve client engagement and outcomes.
