Regional Sales Manager - HDFC Relationship (All Verticals)

Role Overview

This position is for a Regional/Area Sales Manager handling the HDFC relationship across all verticals within the sales function. The role sits in the HDFC Relationship department and reports to the Vertical Head - HDFC Relationship, with the next level reporting to the Relationship Head - HDFC. The unit is Birla Sun Life Insurance Company Ltd., under the Life Insurance business in the zone/region assigned in Kerala, India.

Purpose of the Role

The core objective of this job is to grow business and deliver sales targets for the assigned geography. The role also requires building strong channel-partner relationships, enabling smoother business operations, and guiding a team of Sales Managers so that process discipline and business quality are maintained.

Key Responsibilities

The role covers target delivery, channel management, process coordination, team oversight, and business growth. It includes close engagement with the relationship partner, operational support for sales and service activity, expense control, and persistency management.

Business Impact and Performance Expectations

• Lead a team of about 4 to 5 people, with indirect influence over roughly 20 to 25 individuals depending on the relationship structure.
• Own the annualized premium target, which is expected to be in the range of 5 to 10 crore.
• Take full accountability for sales delivery in the vertical, as this directly affects the relationship's top-line performance.
• Maintain zero customer complaints, since complaint management is treated as a critical priority for the HDFC relationship.
• Drive 80% premium persistency and 80% policy persistency, including 13-month rolling premium persistency.

Major Challenges

• Managing dependence on HDFC Bank relationships, which may have competing priorities, so alignment with stakeholders is essential.
• Balancing internal process requirements with the expectations of channel partners.

Principal Accountabilities

• Deliver premium and revenue targets to support the overall growth of the company.
• Maintain regular interaction with channel partners as per the defined review structure.
• Map key decision-makers and establish a review mechanism based on agreed intervals.
• Push and coordinate all recognition and reward activities run by the company.
• Keep sales and related processes running smoothly to improve business potential.
• Communicate product updates, process revisions, and rule or regulatory changes using the relevant training material.
• Support direct sales and service work, including sales calls, issuance follow-up, and complaint resolution.
• Manage spending carefully by understanding cost needs, securing commitment before allocations, and tracking expenses by Sales Manager.
• Ensure the right people are in the right roles at the right time to improve productivity.
• Maintain people retention at 90%.
• Recruit, train, and develop team members for higher productivity.
• Close position gaps or vacancies within T+15 days.
• Review business quality frequently and ensure the right acquisition mix for profitability.
• Monitor customer complaints and meet the defined resolution turnaround time of T+72 hours.
• Take documented action against employees who default on quality or conduct standards.
• Support persistency from the second year onward so renewals happen on time.
• Share regular MIS updates and communicate with channel partners on a T-30 basis before renewal dates.
• Resolve renewal-related queries quickly and conduct fortnightly internal renewal reviews.
• Identify new business opportunities in the assigned area or relationship to improve productivity and top-line growth.
• Explore innovative ways with the relationship to improve database penetration.
• Drive activation targets, business value targets, and product mix objectives as defined for the relationship.
• Provide inputs on new products and sales pitches based on channel needs.
• Identify training requirements for both internal teams and channel-partner teams.
• Share regular product updates and comparative analysis with bank leadership and hierarchy.

Team and Reporting Structure

Direct reports in this role are expected to be Sales Managers or Senior Sales Managers. Their responsibility is to generate insurance business from the assigned relationship or channel partner, support sales conversion through customer persuasion, and provide pre- and post-sales service along with their dedicated teams. Their work is expected to support sustained quarter-on-quarter growth.

Stakeholder Coordination

The role requires regular coordination with internal teams such as TPD Support, Training, HR, Customer Service, and Client Service teams, as well as external coordination with the bancassurance partner and prospects/customers for business and service-related matters.

Organizational Context

The role is part of the broader HR and administration structure for organizational relationship handling. The document also references sign-off and job analysis details as part of the role documentation.

Additional Notes

This job specification was prepared in June 2017. The document uses Birla Sun Life Insurance Company Ltd. as the unit name and places the role within the Life Insurance business vertical.

Work Context

The position is based in Kerala, India and is an on-site, full-time sales role focused on relationship management, business expansion, service coordination, and team leadership.

Process and Service Standards

The role expects disciplined follow-up on issuance, service issues, complaint handling, and renewal coordination, with a strong focus on internal timelines and partner communication.

Quality and Compliance

Business sourcing must follow company quality norms and internal or regulatory changes. Any default on quality or conduct must be documented and addressed appropriately.

Growth and Productivity Focus

The role is expected to strengthen new business generation, improve database activation, support the right product combination, and build profitable growth for the relationship.

Miscellaneous Document Information

The source includes headings for dimensions, relationships, and organizational relationships, along with sign-off fields for the job analyst and HR leadership. These are retained here as part of the role record.