Re-Engaging a Dealer Network to Drive Insurance Growth

Dealer networks are one of the most challenging audiences to influence. Dealership staff carry multiple products across multiple principals. Their time and attention are finite. Without a compelling and personal reason to prioritise a specific product in a specific conversation, most will default to whatever feels most familiar or requires the least effort.

For Toyota Finance Australia, this meant insurance was being skipped. Not because it wasn't a good product, but because there was no incentive for the person having the customer conversation to make it a priority.

The challenge EVT was brought in to solve was clear: change the behaviour of hundreds of individuals across a national network, embed insurance quoting as a consistent habit rather than an occasional action, and do it in a way that sustained engagement across the full program period rather than spiking at launch and fading.

EVT designed a structured incentive program built around the specific behaviour that mattered most: quoting. This was a deliberate strategic choice. Rather than rewarding sales outcomes alone, the program rewarded the upstream behaviour that led to them, ensuring participants were motivated to quote consistently regardless of whether every quote converted.

The earning mechanic was built around defined monthly criteria. Participants who hit their monthly quoting targets earned Reward Points, redeemable for rewards of their own choosing through EVT's Xtend Rewards Platform. The self-directed nature of the reward catalogue was an important design decision. By allowing each participant to work towards something personally meaningful, whether that was technology, travel, lifestyle products, or experiences, the program created individual stakes that a generic reward structure could never achieve.

The program brand was developed with a strong visual identity that gave the initiative its own presence within the dealership environment, reinforcing that this was a serious, well-resourced program worth engaging with.

To sustain engagement beyond the core earning mechanic, EVT built a dedicated program app that ran participative challenges throughout the program lifecycle. These challenges created touchpoints between reward milestones, kept the program front of mind during quieter periods, and gave participants additional ways to engage with the brand beyond their monthly targets.

Communications were managed rigorously throughout. Monthly performance updates kept participants informed of their standing. Motivational messaging kept the energy high. And the program's digital infrastructure ensured that every interaction reinforced the value of staying active and engaged.

Active dealerships grew from 135 to 193, a 43% increase in network participation.

58 new dealerships were brought into active engagement with the product.

Quote rate grew from 44% to 96%, a 52-point increase across the network.

Near-universal quoting activity was achieved among participating dealerships by program end.

The program did not simply improve the performance of an existing network. It expanded the network itself while simultaneously transforming the behaviour of those already in it. A disengaged majority became an actively performing one.

For Toyota Finance Australia, the outcome demonstrated a principle EVT applies to every program it designs: when you reward the right behaviour, at the right moment, with the right incentive, performance follows. Every time.