“It just takes down so many of the natural barriers,” Matt Daniels, Director of Retirement Plans at Wilshire Benefits Group, said when asked about diving headlong into video presentations and meetings during the pandemic. “Whether it’s the first meeting or that last sales meeting with a prospective client, you’re almost on the opposite sides of the table from each other. It’s not adversarial, but there’s this dance that goes on.”
Zoom and similar services have since leveled the playing field, Daniels told Ross Marino, Founder and CEO of Advisor2X, in a recent episode of the OUTCOMES podcast, and massively increased efficiencies. Noting “we’re all in this together,” from a first-time sales call to a seasoned vet, we’re figuring digital meetings out at the same pace. Things like getting the microphones, lighting, and framing are all areas of concern.
“What it caused initially was actually a sigh of relief,” Daniels continued. “We’re all going to have these mix-ups and hiccups, let’s work through them together …It takes the adversarial nature out of it as we figure it out together.”
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Daniels has over 15 years of industry experience and has extensive knowledge of employee benefits, but a workplace shift toward increased integration that provides holistic wellness to employees has meant a sharper focus from Wilshire on retirement plan financial wellness benefits.
Marino sat with Daniels for a wide-ranging and fast-paced discussion that answered the following questions, among many others:
- How does having a practice that provides specialists in many benefit areas help make the sales process easier?
- What two questions does Matt ask to identify his target prospects?
- Wilshire offers both 3(21) and 3(38) options—why does Matt think most clients choose the 3(21) option?
- What concern does he have about 3(16)? Listen to the end for Matt’s reply to the “magic wand” question Ross poses to every guest.
With more than 20 years serving financial markets, John Sullivan is the former editor-in-chief of Investment Advisor magazine and retirement editor of ThinkAdvisor.com. Sullivan is also the former editor of Boomer Market Advisor and Bank Advisor magazines, and has a background in the insurance and investment industries in addition to his journalism roots.
