Bank Sales Corner

Coaching Draftees: Tips for Bank Sales Leaders

  

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Were you drafted into a sales role? You might have been a credit analyst in the commercial lending area who was asked to become a Relationship Manager. You could have been a Branch Manager overseeing the operations of a busy branch and are now tasked with developing relationships with small businesses.

Maybe you welcomed the change in your responsibilities. For some bankers the transition from a technical support or service role to a sales role is relatively easy.  For others, though, it can be a daunting and sometimes dispiriting challenge. Some of the draftees recruited into sales positions struggle with the demands of the new job.

One of the underlying tensions for some bankers is the service to sales dilemma. Some branch managers who have grown up in a strong customer service culture—and more than a few commercial bankers—view sales as unsavory, dishonest and manipulative. They fear that adopting a “sales approach” will threaten their relationships with their customers, creating ill-will and distrust. In some extreme instances their aversion to anything smacking of “sales” makes it impossible for them to become comfortable in their new role.

One task for bank sales leaders is explaining why sales and service are not in conflict. Some have chosen to define sales as the highest form of customer service. Their logic sounds like this: If you take the initiative and proactively introduce something of benefit to a client, you can only strengthen the relationship you have.

Not everybody buys it. Bankers are wary—appropriately in my view—of selling something their customers don’t need. If they are encouraged to put the needs of the client first—ahead of sales goals, for example—their fears about pushing products may be allayed.

But in some organizations the pressure to perform translates into hawking bank products and services.  This can turn well-intentioned but inexperienced salespeople into robots or worse.  In the attempt to “sell” they lose the critical human touch needed to connect with customers.  

Bank sales leaders do well to remind draftees that the goal is to build profitable long-term relationships. The research on the behaviors that drive customer loyalty is clear; successful relationship bankers demonstrate the following:

• Integrity—Are you trustworthy?
• Business acumen—Do you take time to understand the specific business challenges of your customers and prospects? Do you provide them with relevant ideas that will help their businesses?
• Good listening skills—Are you paying attention?
• Advocacy skills—Can you effectively represent the needs of the customer to the bank? Are you skilled at presenting the bank’s position to your customer?
• Passion—Do you wake up excited about what you do? Are you engaged at work? Are you able to communicate that to the people you meet?

For draftees—and for veterans—success comes if you care about the customer. If you forget that and place your own needs first, you’ll inevitably have problems. 

Next Live Webinar: “Getting Referrals from CPAs” on January 9, 2012 focuses on building relationships with CPAs to generate referrals. You will learn:  

• Which CPAs you should target for referrals
• Why your Value Proposition matters
• What the research shows about referrals
• How to plan for your initial meeting with the accountant
• What you should accomplish in the first appointment
• Strategies for staying in touch with CPAs

Special Guest: August Aquila, President of Aquila Global Advisors, who was named one of the 100 Most Influential Figures in the Accounting Industry by the AICPA

Time: 11:00 AM Eastern (10:00 AM Central, 9:00 AM Mountain, 8:00 AM Pacific)

Registration: You can register for the session three ways: (1) Call Susan Lersch at 610-296-4771 or (2) email her at susan.lersch@mzbierlyconsulting.com or (3) go to the Training Center section of our secure Webex website at https://mzbierlyconsulting.webex.com and pay the $225 fee for the webinar by credit card.

Upcoming Webinars:

January 30, 2012 “Branch Manager as lnside Sales Coach and Outside Business Developer” with David Kerstein

February 13, 2012 “Opportunities in Health Care” with Jim Unland