Hybrid Wholesaling Evangelism Needs a Break
Cerulli Associates recently released a report on wholesaling, citing the following as a central finding:
Hybrid wholesalers average approximately 50% of the production of a traditional field-wholesaler for 40% of the cost, but work best as complementary resources.
A press release for the report indicated that these numbers make a compelling case for the integration of hybrids within sales teams. To that I say: maybe.
Consider the efficiency results cited by Cerulli. Taking the data at face value – 50% production at 40% of the cost, on average – even moderate variability means firms have a reasonable probability of actually seeing reduced sales effectiveness. We’ve done a lot of this research in the past. Sometimes hybrid wholesaling doesn’t pan out.
Sure, firms need to consider if, and how, to use the myriad sales role definitions that exist between a pure internal and a pure external. There’s real opportunity there. But there’s no need to evangelize hybrid strategies. The discussion should be about the thoughtful and detailed analysis needed for firms to decide what approach is right for them.
Hybrid wholesaling has been around a long time. And it’s not right for everyone.