Bank Sales Corner

Bank Sales Leaders: What Stage Are You In?

  

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In our work with bank management teams we frequently are asked to evaluate the skills of front line sales leaders. We use a grid that lays out four stages, beginning with stage 1.

Here’s a quick summary of the characteristics of stage 1 sales leaders in U.S. banks:

• The Stage 1 sales leader plays primarily an administrative or technical role. Most are either bureaucrats or credit officers, not coaches.
• There is a large span of control (more than 12 team members). In some cases, the sales leader is a producing manager.
• They allow a wide variety of business development and relationship management processes within their teams. “As long as you make your goals I leave you alone.”
• The focus is on closed business, not on lead generation or other stages in the sales funnel.
• Stage 1 leaders usually are not holding weekly sales meetings; they tend to have them monthly, quarterly or “when we need one.” Pipeline discussions predominate.
• Coaching, when it occurs, is usually in a group setting, not 1 on 1. For commercial and business banking teams, most coaching begins and ends with credit, not with formulating a sales strategy.  
• The RMs own the relationships, not the bank. Stage 1 sales managers do not successfully institutionalize customer relationships.

Interested in what the other stages look like? To get your copy of the Progression of Sales Leadership Skills, go to

http://www.mzbierlyconsulting.com/how-do-sales-leadership-skills-progress.