KQ Article

It has been decades, and it is still happening. A distinct sales culture remains absent from many banks and credit unions Today, some have shelved selling concerns due to more pressing priorities, while others are focusing elsewhere because they think they’ve got sales figured out. In truth, right now presents a golden opportunity for your institution to make the next big sales breakthrough. Here’s why.

 

First, many of your competitors are standing still. They are consumed with asset quality or other matters, hitting the pause button on improving their sales processes. This is like saying that because you’re so busy, you are going to either brush your teeth or brush your hair in the morning, but not both.

 

For argument’s sake, let’s assume your asset quality isn’t perfect. Is this not all the more reason to bring on some high-profit accounts and pull in substantial low-cost deposits and high-margin, high-quality loans? Sales have a tendency to improve asset quality.

 

Second, money is on the run. Troubled banks and credit unions are losing good customers. These are all potential sales for you.

 

The opportunity is clear, you say. But it is less clear how to capitalize on it. Some invisible barrier seems to be holding you back. The truth is, there is no invisible barrier. There are five. These take the form of the following common industry misnomers regarding sales.

 

Many banking salespeople spend an inordinate amount of their time quoting rates. However, most aren’t even properly trained to effectively relieve the consumer preoccupation with rates as the end-all-be-all selection criterion.

 

What if your staff instinctively countered rate concerns with questions such as, “Are you looking for the best rate or the best overall value? May I ask a few questions to identify the service that will best meet your needs and cost you the least over the long term?”

 

Maybe so, but I’ll bet it could be better. Culture is the leading predictor of future growth and profitability. If you’re average among your peers, Gallup says you’re losing at least one out of every three payroll dollars due to disengaged employees. Every financial institution must continually strive to keep its staff involved, excited and energetic about what they do.

 

Like businesses in every industry, many banks and credit unions have some people performing roles for which they are not ideally suited. Most institutions still rely on antiquated personality testing that asks personnel to assess themselves, in order to determine where they will best contribute. Understanding an employee’s strengths and weaknesses is not the employee’s job. It is yours.

 

By doing some rudimentary emotional intelligence testing and running the results against the benchmarks of the financial services industry, one Texas bank significantly improved its productivity and employee engagement. It’s amazing what happens when you get those with a sales aptitude out of operations and into sales. And vice versa..

 

Sales is a system. Accounting is a system. Processing a loan is a system. So is hiring. If you figure out what really works in everything from sales meetings and sales calls to rate inquiries, warming campaigns, and targeting high-profit accounts, all you have to do is get the system to comply, and voila! Sales go up.

 

Yes, but only with the corresponding cultural transformation that is required to support the new sales skills. As stated in other articles in this magazine, sales training often disengages banking employees, because they don’t like to think of themselves as being in sales. The vast majority of sales training that has been done in financial institutions is old-school stuff that positions you as a peddler. Nobody wants to be one of those.

 

If you really want to update your sales techniques, take a long look at what works in service, and start training on that. Address your people not as sales specialists, but as the service specialists and problem-solvers they really are. This new perspective will lead to both better customer and better employee loyalty.

 

Now is the time to capitalize on the new opportunities created by the new financial services marketplace. But you must first address the common misnomers that tend to hold banks and credit unions back. Get those behind you, and your next big selling breakthrough might await.