Share
THE SITUATION
- Large multi-line financial services firm looking to grow revenues, lower acquisition costs, and strengthen customer relationships through better cross-selling and up-selling.
- Stax assignment: Determine how competitors have been successful in cross-selling financial products and services, especially full-service advisory / wealth management.
THE ASSIGNMENT
- We conducted in-depth interviews with 45 marketing, sales, and operational executives at nine multi-line financial services firms, and examined strategies for cross-selling and up-selling financial products and services.
THE BENEFITS
- Based on our analysis and presentation to the Senior Leadership Team, management determined that because they did not have a suite of strong “gateway products,” it made sense to reduce emphasis on their full-service advisory business.
THE FINDING
- Gateway/intermediary products provide legitimacy to ask asset-related questions, make suggestions, and direct customers to solutions. Key gateway products include:
- Mortgage: Access to customers’ financial information and needs.
- Life Insurance: “Emotionally tied” to mortgage and advisory products.
- Depository: Provide a view of assets and can be tied to more complex asset and credit products
- Several characteristics that help enable cross-selling and up-selling:
- View of banking assets — ability to team bankers with advisors
- Retail branch network — face-to-face customer interaction when thinking about financial services
- Significant workplace presence — 401K plan administration
- Captive advisor model — greater ability to share customer data and coordinate marketing efforts
Read More
Competitive advantage in vertical software is increasingly becoming more prioritized. Read more to see how this shift is transforming software platforms.
Grant Thornton Stax supported ETS on its recent acquisition of ACT, a leading provider of college and career readiness solutions. Read more about the deal here.
Grant Thornton Stax supported Corestream, a leading voluntary benefits and employee savings technology platform, on its strategic investment from Lightyear Capital. Read more here.
The Consulting Report has recognized Stax as one of the Top 50 Consulting Firms of 2026, honoring firms that excel in transformation, growth, and efficiency. Read the full list here.
Each month, Inbound Logistics poses a question related to supply chains, with this months question focusing on AI. Read Marissa Licursi's response to this month's question here.
CTE represents an attractive growth market with opportunities across multiple vendor categories. Read more about what factors are driving the CTE market and the history behind them.