Proven Ways To Improve Your Bank?s Sales Culture In 30 Days!

by Rick Wemmers, BOL Guru

There are numerous services, books and training companies who offer to show banks how to address this question. I have two problems with these sources:

1. They usually provide too little, too quickly and the training doesn?t stick.
2. They are bought with the wrong expectations.

It is abundantly clear to me bank employees don?t hire on to be sales people. They are accustomed to and fully expect to have people come to them for ?help, not go seek them out.

I would like to offer a fresh approach to bank training, based on what I know is working today for many businesses including some banks.

Step # 1 ? The bank CEO makes a public commitment to his employees he will do what it takes to improve sales revenues within the next 6 months. A specific goal is promised for a kick-off meeting in two weeks. New training and assistance will also be outlined.

Step 2 ? Create two prospect lists ? A & B, either businesses or individuals.

The A Prospect List should be no longer than 12 names. These 12 are prospects who no one in the bank knows of any reason why that prospect couldn?t become a customer.

Here?s why I recommend 12 names:

• It is easily remembered by all who can help
• It get much more constant focus than a longer one
• The conversion rate on short lists is significantly higher than for long ones.

The B Prospect List should be no longer than 25 names. These 25 are desired but there is a known reason that this prospect most likely won?t become a customer, at least right away.

Here?s why I recommend 25 names:

• These are good prospects but just don?t justify immediate attention.
• This list, while longer, is still manageable and memorable.

By having these two lists everyone in the bank can easily see who the bank would like to capture. They can better feed helpful information because they know the specific targets everyone will be working on.

Let me point out these lists are not cast in stone. They are ?living? lists and can, should be adjusted frequently, as new information becomes available.

Step 3 ? Hold Employee Kick-Off Meeting More and more companies today are seeing the value of having ?all? employees on the sales team. Not only on the team but helping set goals, activities and rewards.

Many bankers just don?t see this. They feel it is the sole responsibility of the officers to set and manage the bank?s major selling efforts. Sure, CSRs and tellers are expected to ?cross ? sell? but the big sales efforts are for and by top management. Right? Wrong!

Why put the whole burden on officers? They don?t like to sell any more than the rest. Why not leverage the resources of ALL employees? Make the job easier for everybody.

Hold the kick-off meeting announcing goals, sharing prospect lists and ask for every one?s help during the next 30 days.

Step 4 - Hire a Sales Coach I know. The CEO is the coach! Right? How many bank officers see their CEO as a sales coach? Few I would say if they are truly honest.

Most bank management struggles with politics, personalities and personal priorities. This encourages the ?herd mentality?, encouraging all to keep a low profile and stay on the move. Excuses for missed calls and failed conversions are the usual ones and accountability very spotty. And as far as providing helpful information, advice and direction to one another, not a chance..

A good sales coach, who understands bank management selling, can be worth his weight in gold. He isn?t encumbered with politics. He has a big bag of helpful tips and tactics. He can be a personal confident without jeopardizing a career path. He can add accountability that is acceptable to everyone. He can be the spark to light the fire of excitement.

How long should the coach be involved? I would strongly recommend 60 days. With the proper CEO support, the right coach, after a kick-off session, can provide ongoing reinforcement by phone, email or occasional site visit. Less than 60 days won?t give the program a chance to build its own momentum.

Step 5 - Do Your Homework. Most bank sales calls are very general ? ?We want your business?any part of it.? ?We?re good people!?

Any good salesman knows the value of ?call preparation?. The same applies for bankers but most feel just being friendly will get the job done, eventually. There?s nothing wrong with relationship building calls, it just isn?t what I see works best when you are out to build the bank?s business quickly.

Get to know your prospect before you make the first contact. Learn what problems his business/industry faces, concerning finances, banking services. . Know something about the history of his business, his future plans and where your banking services can help.

Find out how he feels about his current bank relationship and don?t wait to ask him directly. Identify what specific bank service(s) he wants needs but isn?t getting from his bank.

Think about it. Aren?t you more interested in talking to someone who has obviously done his homework and talks about your needs, regarding the product he is selling.

Step 6 - Quarterly sales plan There is nothing wrong with having an annual growth goal, just don?t wait until month 9 to check the progress. Meet every month and review progress to date. If not on plan for the year, adjust immediately. If a team member isn?t performing, do something about it quickly. Malingerers will hurt the rest of your team.

Those are my 6 proven steps for quick bank sales culture change with significant results. They certainly are not for most banks, just those who want to take giant growth steps. If you would like to know more, give me a call.

First published on BankersOnline.com 7/7/03