The Guardian Life Insurance Company of America is expanding its Retirement Solutions national sales force as it pushes to sell more of its retirement products to small- and mid-sized businesses.

Scott Dolfi

To help it offer its suite of specialized retirement products to businesses, 20 new employees, including 13 regional vice presidents and seven internal sales support team members, have been hired.

“The new sales force is a critical addition to Guardian’s Retirement team and will be instrumental in expanding our product platform across the U.S.,” said Scott Dolfi, Guardian’s executive vice president who runs the Retirement Solutions business.

The regional vice presidents are responsible for sales and support of Guardian’s group retirement products across all distribution channels. The sales team will report to Dale Magner, vice president of retirement product sales.

The new hires will sell The Guardian Choice and The Guardian Advantage products to small- and mid-sized businesses.

The products “offer the features normally available only to large plan sponsors to this growing market segment,” said Margaret W. Skinner, executive vice president of Guardian’s individual products distribution organization, said in a statement.

“We are expanding our sales team to accommodate the enormous demand for retirement products that meet the unserved needs of thousands of small and medium-sized businesses,” Skinner added.

The regional vice presidents will assist financial advisors with prospecting leads, sales and ongoing client support.

In addition to an expanded sales organization, Guardian Retirement Solutions includes a team of 370 professionals that provide superior product design and client service to financial advisors and their clients.  Guardian was recently selected as a strategic partner for LPL Financial’s new Retirement Plus Program, which provides retirement products and support for retirement plan-focused independent financial advisors.