Wednesday, May 13, 2020 Stamford, CT USA — Amid the current focus on investor innovation in data analytics to gain an edge in their portfolios, there is another area in which asset managers are using analytics to create a competitive advantage: sales. 

A new report from Greenwich Associates finds that top quartile distribution professionals attract close to three times the amount of assets annually as median professionals. The secret weapon is data analytics that allow them to precisely locate attractive targets and tailor custom sales pitches.

“To win in today’s hypercompetitive market, asset management sales teams must be laser-focused on the highest probability prospects and equipped to maximize every opportunity,” says Mark Buckley, Greenwich Associates Principal and author of Sales Performance Excellence: Strategic Prospecting and Engagement. 

To have a lasting impact on sales effectiveness, asset managers must have the right data and analytic platforms, and incorporate them into a sales approach that combines highly talented sales professionals with an organizational commitment to the strategy and the process. 

This new Greenwich Report analyzes how the leading managers in the industry are creating a competitive advantage by building cultures that embed and support an analytics-driven sales approach. It then lays out a framework other managers can follow to replicate this success and provides a checklist of data fields that asset managers can use to target their best prospects.

“In addition to eliminating wasted time spent on low-probability sales opportunities, managers that adopt these practices are winning a disproportionate share of new business opportunities,” says Mark Buckley.  “They are also positively impacting their brand image and ensuring that new client relationships get off on the right footing, and set the groundwork for positive long-term client relationships.”