[Infographic] Wholesalers Maximize ROI with Continuing Education

Feb. 20, 2013 - PRLog -- As the insurance industry consolidates and competition intensifies, the race is on to determine which carriers will reliably drive revenue, deepen customer relationships and increase customer value. Today, more than ever, it is vital for wholesalers to find compelling news ways to differentiate themselves in an otherwise commoditized market.

Quest CE, premier provider of insurance continuing education and FINRA firm element training, recently invited over 50,000 financial advisors to participate in its nationwide survey. The purpose of the study was to discover the importance advisors place on their continuing education needs and their perceptions of wholesalers who provide continuing education offerings. Overall, Quest CE’s poll reveals that wholesalers offering continuing education generally build stronger, lasting relationships with the advisors they connect with. Even more so, the findings indicate that there is a significant opportunity for wholesalers to drive sales and build relationships with advisors through the use of continuing education.

Key findings of the survey include:

·         70% of respondents believe that wholesalers offering CE are more knowledgeable about the products and services being offered to the industry.

·         63% of respondents said that they view wholesalers offering continuing education as being more professional than those that do not.

·         Over 75% of respondents indicated that when informed that that a wholesaler is coming into their branch to offer continuing education, they will ‘always’ or ‘usually’ attend the session.

Interestingly, the results of the survey reveal that a majority of the wholesalers visiting branch offices do not offer CE training to advisors.  On top of that, only 6% of advisors were able to fulfill all of their continuing education needs through CE sessions offered by their wholesaler. With such influential metrics supporting the use of CE, research suggests that companies who are not utilizing CE are not only missing out on generating profitable business, but vulnerable to losing business to competitors who are successfully leveraging CE.

“When a wholesaler makes an effort to offer CE on a regular basis, he or she can actually become a ‘go to’ contact when advisors’ licenses are coming up for renewal which can lead to an increase in sales growth,” said Quest CE Manager of Business Development Jennifer Greene. “In fact, results from one of our client’s recent cost analysis revealed, that on average, their company’s monthly sales increased by 40% after implementing the use of CE as a marketing resource.”

Results from the survey expose a largely un-touched market for insurance producers to benefit. To conceptualize these metrics, Quest CE created an infographic detailing how wholesalers can maximize their ROI with CE. Through the picturesque flow-chart, Quest CE provides a comparative analysis of CE investment gains as they relate to other forms of investments.

To view the final results of the survey, a whitepaper summarizing the findings and an infographic detailing the potential return on investment, follow the link [ http://www.questce.com/online-course-library/downloads].  To learn more about the survey, or for information regarding Quest CE’s products and services, contact our Sales Department at 877.593.3366 or sales@questce.com.

About Quest CE

For over twenty-five years, Quest CE has been the premier provider of Compliance Education to the financial services industry. In addition to offering Providership Administration and insurance continuing education (CE) for professionals holding insurance licenses and professional designations like the CFP, CPA, CLE, CIMA and CLU/ChFC designations, Quest CE also provides a complete spectrum of FINRA compliance training solutions including annually required Firm Element Training for registered representatives, on-demand Annual Compliance Meetings, Annual Compliance Questionnaires, Needs Analysis Surveys, Outside Business Activity Tracking, Gifts and Entertainment Tracking and Political Contributions Tracking.

Serving more than 535 leading insurance carriers, broker-dealers, banks, and other financial institutions, Quest CE is committed to providing advanced custom solutions at cost effective rates, while providing a level of service that greatly surpasses their competitors. Quest CE is the single source solution for organizations seeking training and compliance needs.