Key Responsibilities and Required Skills for Internal Wholesaler

🎯 Role Definition

The Internal Wholesaler is an inside-sales professional responsible for growing and maintaining relationships with financial advisors, registered representatives, and institutional channels to increase assets under management (AUM) for the firm's investment products. Acting as the primary internal point of contact, the role requires product expertise (mutual funds, ETFs, SMA/UMA solutions), consultative selling, pipeline management, and close collaboration with external wholesalers, product specialists, marketing, and compliance. Success is measured by new business generation, retention of existing accounts, advisor engagement, and effective execution of sales campaigns.

📈 Career Progression

Typical Career Path

Entry Point From:

Client Service Representative (Wealth Management)
Inside Sales / Sales Development Representative
Investment Operations or Call Center Representative

Advancement To:

Senior Internal Wholesaler
External Wholesaler / Field Wholesaler
Regional Sales Manager / Director of Distribution
Head of Institutional / Head of Advisor Solutions

Lateral Moves:

Product Management / Product Specialist
Relationship Manager / Advisor Services
Sales Enablement / Marketing for Distribution

Core Responsibilities

Primary Functions

Proactively engage financial advisors, registered reps, and broker-dealer channels via phone, email, and virtual meetings to qualify opportunities, present relevant investment solutions, and drive product adoption that increases assets under management (AUM).
Build and maintain a prioritized, CRM-based prospecting list; manage daily outreach and follow-up cadence to move prospects through the pipeline using best-practice sales methodologies.
Deliver consultative product presentations and solution-based conversations tailored to advisor needs — covering mutual funds, ETFs, SMA/UMA models, fixed income and multi-asset strategies — to influence placement and allocation decisions.
Work closely with external/field wholesalers to coordinate territory coverage, hand-offs, lead follow-up, and unified messaging for strategic prospects and key relationships.
Maintain comprehensive and accurate records in Salesforce (or comparable CRM): activity notes, opportunity stages, pipeline forecasts, contact details and follow-up tasks; ensure CRM hygiene and reporting integrity.
Execute targeted sales campaigns and product launches in partnership with marketing and product teams, including email campaigns, webinars, literature distribution, and advisor events.
Qualify and route inbound leads from marketing, RFP requests, and advisor inquiries; perform needs analysis and prioritize opportunities for conversion or escalation to field teams.
Prepare and deliver advisor-facing materials (custom pitch decks, fact sheets, performance commentary, due diligence packets) in PowerPoint and other formats to support advisor conversations.
Respond to advisor product, performance and platform questions with timeliness and accuracy, escalating complex inquiries to product specialists, portfolio managers or compliance as needed.
Support account reviews and business planning calls with external wholesalers and product managers to develop territory strategy, identify growth opportunities and set KPI targets.
Track key metrics (AUM flows, conversion rates, advisor engagement, campaign performance) and produce weekly/monthly reports for sales leadership to demonstrate progress against goals.
Identify opportunities for cross-sell and share-of-wallet expansion by analyzing advisor holdings, platform relationships, and product gaps, then propose actionable outreach plans.
Conduct competitive intelligence and market research to identify competitive product positioning, pricing trends, and distribution opportunities; provide insights to product and marketing teams.
Facilitate sales onboarding for new advisors and share classes, including paperwork support, platform setup guidance, and coordination with operations to accelerate asset movement.
Support trade execution and account setup inquiries in coordination with operations and trading desks to ensure smooth client onboarding and timely routing of assets.
Participate in due diligence meetings and product education sessions to ensure deep technical knowledge of investment strategies, portfolio construction, and compliance constraints.
Coach and mentor junior internal wholesalers or sales support staff on call techniques, CRM best practices, product knowledge, and objection handling.
Escalate compliance, suitability or account issues immediately to legal/compliance and follow remediation workflows; ensure all advisor communications meet regulatory and firm standards.
Collaborate with business development and institutional sales to pursue complex RFPs, OMQs (office management questionnaires), and platform approvals for new distribution channels.
Develop and maintain up-to-date advisor segmentation and account mapping to prioritize efforts on high-potential advisors, wirehouses, independent broker-dealers (IBD), and RIA networks.
Conduct regular territory reviews, pipeline forecasting and sprint planning with sales leadership to align goals, identify risks, and adjust tactics to meet quarterly targets.
Organize and host advisor education events, webinars and webcast series showcasing investment themes, market outlooks, and product differentiators to drive advisor engagement and referrals.

Secondary Functions

Collaborate with marketing to test messaging, creative and distribution tactics; provide advisor feedback to improve collateral effectiveness and conversion rates.
Prepare and deliver internal training materials for sales teams on new product launches, regulatory changes and competitive updates.
Assist operations with data requests and documentation for account transfers, record keeping and AML/KYC inquiries where appropriate.
Support ad-hoc reporting requests and performance deep-dives to assist sales leadership in decision-making and territory resource allocation.
Maintain continuing education and certification requirements (SIE, Series 6/7/63/65, or state equivalents) and stay current on regulatory developments affecting distribution.
Contribute to quarterly business reviews (QBRs) and strategic planning sessions with product and senior sales leadership.
Participate in cross-functional projects to improve sales processes, CRM automations, and advisor onboarding workflows.
Represent the firm in virtual and in-person advisor conferences and dealer meetings as needed.

Required Skills & Competencies

Hard Skills (Technical)

Proven proficiency with CRM platforms (Salesforce strongly preferred) including pipeline management, reporting and automated tasks.
Deep product knowledge of mutual funds, ETFs, separately managed accounts (SMAs), model portfolios, and common fund share classes.
Strong Microsoft Office skills: advanced Excel (pivot tables, VLOOKUP/XLOOKUP, basic formulas) and PowerPoint for advisor-ready presentations.
Familiarity with advisor platforms and wholesaler portals (Envestnet, Orion, LPL, Pershing, Schwab, Fidelity) and experience supporting platform approvals.
Experience with sales engagement tools (Salesloft, Outreach) and webinar/virtual meeting platforms (Zoom, GoToWebinar).
Ability to analyze flows, AUM trends and advisor holdings to identify sales opportunities and build data-driven outreach strategies.
Working knowledge of regulatory and compliance requirements relevant to distribution (FINRA rules, SEC marketing/advertising guidance, suitability).
Experience preparing RFPs, consolidated due diligence materials, and institutional onboarding packets.

Soft Skills

Consultative sales approach with strong persuasion and objection-handling skills tailored to financial advisors and institutional gatekeepers.
Exceptional verbal and written communication; able to craft compelling advisor messaging and produce polished sales materials.
Strong relationship-building and interpersonal skills; comfortable influencing without direct authority and building trust quickly.
High level of organization, time management and follow-through with a bias for action and measurable outcomes.
Analytical mindset with attention to detail — able to interpret performance numbers and translate into clear advisor actions.
Resilience and persistence in a high-volume, target-driven environment; thrives under pressure and adapts to changing priorities.
Team player mentality; collaborative across product, marketing, compliance and field sales to execute integrated distribution plans.
Professional presentation skills and comfort speaking in virtual and in-person forums for groups of advisors.

Education & Experience

Educational Background

Minimum Education:

Bachelor's degree in Business, Finance, Economics, Communications, or related field (or equivalent experience).

Preferred Education:

Bachelor’s in Finance, Business Administration, Marketing, or related with concentration in investments or financial services.
Advanced coursework or certifications (CFA Level I/II, CFP, or specialized wholesaling training) a plus.

Relevant Fields of Study:

Finance
Economics
Business Administration
Communications / Marketing
Accounting

Experience Requirements

Typical Experience Range:

1–5 years of sales, wholesaling, advisor support, or inside sales experience in financial services; progressive experience preferred.

Preferred:

3+ years supporting financial advisors, broker-dealers or institutional channels in a wholesaling, inside sales, or relationship management capacity.
Prior experience with mutual funds/ETFs distribution and demonstrated success in driving AUM growth, pipeline conversion, and advisor engagement metrics.