Success story · Banking · 2007–2009
B2B partner sales: building a channel that did not yet exist
How a concept became a stand-alone unit with full revenue and P&L responsibility – and what remains when a new owner chooses a different course.
- Role
- Project lead for the build-up, then Head of B2B Services
- Period
- May 2007 to September 2009
- Reporting line
- CEO and Sales Director
€20m
Revenue through the partner channel, eight months after launch
- 6sales partners connected
- 0 → 1stand-alone unit with full P&L responsibility
Context and sources at the end of the page
Starting point
A channel grows only as fast as your own branch network.
A consumer finance bank sells loans and credit protection insurance through its own branches. Every bit of growth therefore depends on its own distribution: more volume means more locations, more staff, more fixed costs. In one of the most densely banked markets in Europe, that is an expensive route.
The untapped lever lay outside. Insurance field sales forces, broker pools and financial sales organisations have daily customer contact and advisory conversations in which financing comes up anyway – but no loan product of their own. Pulling that lever was the mandate.
Mandate & role
From project lead to P&L responsibility.
In May 2007, I took on the project lead for building the Business Development department with a clear goal: to create a new, alternative sales channel for financial services products. There were no partners, no team, no processes and no commission model – only the assumption that the market was there. This role in my career history →
After the launch, the channel moved into regular operation, and I took over as Head of B2B Services – with full revenue and P&L responsibility. A trial project became a unit accountable for its own numbers.
A channel from zero
Market analysis, partner selection, commission and risk model. The channel was built before the first contract was signed.
Its own numbers
Annual target per partner, monthly ramp-up curve, allocation to key account management, ongoing risk monitoring instead of an annual review.
Partners on an equal footing
Standards of collaboration, training of partner sales teams, communication at management level – on both sides.
The core
Not one route to the partner, but three.
The most common mistake when building a partner channel is the standard contract: one connection model for everyone. But an insurance field sales force works differently from a broker, and differently again from a bank’s sales force. If you offer everyone the same, you win no one completely. That is why three models were built.
Processed centrally
- Partner sales force captures
- Head office processes
- Bank decides
For large field sales organisations: one access point, one process, no burden on the branches.
Through the branch
- Partner refers
- Branch advises and closes
- An existing customer is created
For partners without their own advisory depth – and an added benefit for the branch network rather than competition with it.
Partner decides
- Sub-broker chooses the route
- System access at the partner
- Remote financing possible
For pools with a heterogeneous broker structure: maximum freedom, clearly defined standards.
The team
Four roles, clearly defined.
The channel was not managed on the side but staffed as a unit of its own – with separate responsibilities for acquisition, account management, process and steering.
Result
In the market, with its own numbers.
Eight months after market launch, revenue through the channel stood at around 20 million euros. Six sales partners were connected, with more in the pipeline: international insurance groups, an Austrian bank and several nationwide financial sales organisations. These were not niche players – the partners were among the market leaders in their segments.
The bank’s employment reference records that the agreed volume and earnings targets were regularly met and exceeded.
Building new business means taking responsibility for numbers that do not yet exist.
Markus Slotta
The turn
And then the owner decides.
In 2009, Banco Santander acquired the business. The new owner realigned the product and sales portfolio – and reorganised the B2B Services sales channel. A portfolio decision, not a question of performance.
That a channel has to be specifically reorganised in a group acquisition says more about its weight than any metric. And it is part of the truth of this mandate: if you build something, you must also be able to hand it over professionally when the owner’s strategy changes.
Relevance today
What still counts today.
The question arises in every organisation thinking about new sources of income: how do you build a channel for which there are neither internal processes nor experience – without disrupting the core business? The answer rarely lies in the contract and almost always in the operating model behind it: who decides, who is liable, who measures, and what happens when a partner misses its targets.
About these figures
Role, period, reporting line and P&L responsibility are documented in the bank’s employment reference. Channel structure, number of partners, team and target architecture come from the original project documents (sales concept, organisation chart as of January 2009, channel planning February 2009).
- Revenue: revenue through the partner channel, measured eight months after market launch. Figure from the channel’s sales controlling.
- Partners: not named. The partnerships were never communicated publicly; confidentiality continues to apply.
- Employees: functions only, no names.
Evidence is presented in a personal meeting.
Your next step
Do you want to build a channel that does not yet exist in your organisation?
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