CEOs on Bank Sales Process
Posted by Ned Miller on Tue, Feb 16, 2010 @ 12:01 PM
This week I had the chance to spend time with three wise bankers, each with 30 or more years in banking. Two are CEOs, the other is a Chief Credit Officer who served as a bank president earlier in his career. When you find yourself in their company it pays to listen up.
Here are some of the things they said about selling in banks, which are relevant whether you're a management trainee or a veteran.
- It is a good time to be a banker. Not an easy time, for sure, but one when it's possible to learn a lot.
- Don't expect things to return to the way they were in 1997 or 2003 or 2007. The banking landscape has changed forever. Don't let yourself get nostalgic.
- You don't have to be a great salesperson to be successful in banking. But you have to be active and visible in your community and committed to pursuing new business opportunities.
- It's not about making calls; it's about building relationships.
- Don't kid yourself: It takes time to develop a professional network.
- Be a good partner. If you team well with bank specialists and line-of- business partners you'll go far-and your customers will clearly benefit.
- It's easy to lose sight of what's important. There's a tendency today to spend too much time thinking about operational or administrative matters. One president remarked that if some branch managers spent as much time worrying about taking care of business customers as they do about locking the vault, they'd be a lot more successful.
- While it's important to learn about the bank's products and services, it's more important to learn as much as you can about your customers and prospects.
Agree or disagree? Send me your comments at nmiller@mzbierlyconsulting.com.