Patricia Kerr's marching orders sound simple: “Our goal is to grow sales,” she says.

Making that happen, however, means tackling one of the toughest questions in business: What motivates people?

At Manulife Canada, there's more than one answer. But all of them come under the heading of “improving the adviser experience,” and all of them come under the purview of Patricia Kerr, CMP. Leading a team of 12, including five full-time meeting planners, Kerr began her 12th year at Manulife Canada in Waterloo, Ontario, with a title change from director of conferences and recognition to director of distribution sales support. It's no longer all about the incentive conference — it's about helping producers succeed in their everyday business lives.

It's what executives leading the company's three primary distribution channels — managed general agencies, independent advisers, along with national accounts — call “the value proposition,” she notes; that is, the total package they offer to the producers in their channel. “Whatever the value proposition is in that sales organization — education and training, product launches, road shows, incentive conferences, recognition programs — my team is the support,” Kerr explains.

Relationships Rule

It's a big job that keeps getting bigger as Manulife Financial continues its steady growth. The second-largest life insurance company in North America (and Canada's second-largest public company), Manulife marked the end of 2006 with more than $350 billion in assets under management, some 20,000 employees, and operations in 19 countries.

Having been in acquisition mode for more than a decade, Manulife needs a way to keep an ever-diversifying field in the loop and motivated. “The work Patricia's team does is entirely focused on building positive business relationships with the most professional advisers and distribution intermediaries in Canada,” says John McEachen, vice president, distribution operations, to whom Kerr reports.

Consider a recent study by LIMRA International (a Connecticut-based marketing organization for the financial services industry). Two-thirds of independent producers are eligible for more than one sales contest, the study reported; however, only 37 percent of those will actively pursue more than one contest. What makes them choose which to go after? It's not the prize, the study found. Rather, the deciding factor is “the producer's working relationship with the carrier.”

In other words, your investment in motivation had better touch producers on multiple fronts. As Kerr says, “At the end of the day, we want a producer to say, ‘Everything Manulife offers is a benefit to me and my business.’ The relationship with the company has to be there first and foremost.”

Of course, the bottom line is the bottom line. Says Kerr: “My mandate every day is: ‘What can I do to support the field people in growing sales?’”

The answer for her team is to do more than manage the annual calendar of approximately 250 meetings and events. It's also to gauge the effectiveness of all motivational programs. “I might sit down with the VP of the adviser channel and review a recognition program,” she explains. “Is it meeting its mark? We're focusing on one type of adviser, should we expand it to this other type of adviser?”

Kerr's responsibility extends across the following three producer-focused categories: recognition, sales initiatives, and meetings.

Recognition: Show Your Appreciation

“Our Master Builder service award has been run for more than 50 years,” Kerr notes. “It recognizes significant, continuous production — those who have given us a lot of business for a long time.” The program has five levels of achievement and offers both tangible and intangible recognition. “There is an aura of success around advisers who have achieved Master Builder status,” Kerr explains. “People know it is a huge achievement.” It begins with a lapel pin and tops out with a green jacket (modeled after the coveted green jacket worn by winners of the Master's golf tournament). Along the way are high-end gifts for the office including a leather desk set, a one-time donation to the charity of the producer's choice, and reduced qualification requirements for Manulife incentive conferences. At the highest level (after 25 years of continuous production), qualification for incentive conferences is waived. “At that point, it's pure reward,” Kerr says.

Manulife also runs the Production Club, a yearly program with four levels. Participants choose merchandise with a value based on the level of production achieved. “We will soon be revamping our Production Club,” Kerr says, “because as the average age of advisers peaks and ultimately decreases, there will be different priorities for our audience. We will have to be more flexible because what's important to the adviser will change.”

Sales Initiatives: Build the Brand

Kerr helps manage Manulife Canada's relationships with industry associations that provide networking and educational opportunities for producers throughout the year. For example, Manulife has a huge presence at Advocis, “the Canadian version of the Million Dollar Round Table [a U.S. organization for top-tier producers],” as Kerr calls it. “We have been a sponsor of the annual meeting, we've sponsored keynote addresses, exhibited at the trade show, and we provide an Internet café for attendees. This is the largest single gathering of Canadian producers.”

Manulife has a presence at MDRT as well, holding an event for producers there, and also participates in an average of eight other industry events per year.

The company keeps its name in front of producers through sports sponsorships that lend themselves to exclusive experiences. For example, Manulife is a sponsor of the Canadian Open PGA tournament, with a hospitality tent, tickets to all five tournament days, and spots in the pro-am — in other words, plenty of opportunity for VIP treatment of producers and clients.

Manulife's newest acquisition, John Hancock, is a major sponsor of its hometown Boston Marathon. “We coordinate the Canadian portion,” Kerr says. “We have VIP spots, we can get clients spots to run, and any Manulife employee can run without qualifying. We get a good motivational kick from it.”

Manulife also has some regional events on its sponsorship roster.