2008 Retail Sales Survey

This three-part survey will appear in the June, July and August editions of Conversation Signposts. Those that complete each of the three parts will receive the completed 2008 Retail Banking White Paper 60 days prior to it being released to the industry. In part one of this study, we focus on infrastructure. Please complete this study only if you are a CEO, Executive Manager, Senior/Regional Manager, Marketing Manager or Sales Manager (including Branch Manager).

The survey is located at: 

http://www.smhtechnologies.com/survey.html

Patrick Stakenas, President and CEO
ForceLogix
847.984.3781
www.forcelogix.com

Patrick Stakenas is President and CEO of ForceLogix, a Chicago-based company that builds on-demand sales performance management and coaching solutions. The ForceLogix SalesForce Optimizer is a powerful, real time behavioral coaching tool. The system is the first on-demand solution that empowers sales management with tools and actionable insight to maximize sales performance. Viisit www.forcelogix.com or call Patrick at 847.984.3781 for a free demonstration of this powerful new tool.

Behavioral research clearly indicates that associates who receive regular sales coaching far outperform their contemporaries and by using technology to track the coaching process, results can be even greater.

Few industries have experienced the roller coaster ride that the banking industry has faced. With the economy in flux and with severe pressure on interest margins, banks are taking a totally different look at managing people to drive improved revenues and, at the same time, provide a world-class customer experience.

Both consumer and business buyers have become much more aware of the products and services offered by banks and the competitive landscape now ranges from the internet to venture capital and community-based banks to national players. More than ever banks have to rely on their front lines to take the conversation from a need into a solution when the opportunity is present. When coaching, training and tracking work in concert, banks realize the margins they desire; it just takes commitment to leading the process.

There has been exhaustive research on coaching and understanding the correlation between sales management coaching and sales performance; the results from this research are overwhelming. For example, St. Meyer & Hubbard coaches are in the field every quarter. Their role is to observe sales management routines, make joint calls and work with senior managers on short- and long-term strategies. Studies indicate sale coaching of this nature can provide a significant return on investment; at SM&H it ranges between 300-1500%.

Studies from the Center for Management and Organizational Effectiveness (CMOE) and the Sales Executive Council (SEC), which have analyzed over 2,500 sales professionals and as many as 500 sales managers, determined behavioral and regular coaching has a significant impact on sales results. Understanding this and applying coaching-enabling technology to the process provides even greater value.

The SEC study also reveals that the amount of sales coaching a person receives drives greater performance and has a direct link to retention. These studies and others have also drawn strong conclusions that tracking the individual being coached increases the level of engagement and overall effort given by these individuals on a daily basis as they can see themselves getting better and are acknowledged more often by both peers and managers.

This translates to increased profitability. You have heard these facts before:

•  It is more profitable to sell five products and services to one customer than one product or service to five customers
• Customers who use multiple products and services become “sticky” with your bank
• The longer a customer stays with a bank, the more profitable he/she becomes

The research also identifies that people perform even better when the coaching skills of the manager are strong. The sales performance index of representatives whose managers had lower coaching capability was 83%, compared to 102% for representatives whose managers had excellent coaching capability.

Using technology enables banks to better understand who is coaching, how they are coaching and who has stronger coaching skills. A technology system designed for managing the coaching process, allows for the manager to capture the essence of the coaching session and even rate the salesperson’s skill level on a given skill. Having a system to manage the coaching process saves banks countless hours and reduces costs as turnover can be better managed and the new-hire ramp-up can be shortened considerably. Managers can track each coaching session and the score associated with the session can roll up to monthly, quarterly and annual reviews. When done, the chance of sales improving is significantly increased.

The concept applies across many industries. The pharmaceutical industry is frequently quoted on how it employs technology to track the coaching process. A senior executive at a Contract Sales Outsourcer (CSO) recently indicated, “Using technology to track our sales coaching process promotes the consistent execution of our coaching and enhances our ability to capture, evaluate and rank a person’s performance.”

Reinforcing training through coaching and tracking short- and long-range behavioral change also provides a huge payback. By combining training with post-training field coaching, the impact on productivity has been reported to increase by nearly 400%. Research has shown that post-training field coaching led to an 88% increase in productivity, whereas training alone led to a 23% increase. The coaching of sales individuals and leveraging of managers to improve sales performance is clearly a non-negotiable activity.

“Learning banks” see training as something employees are engaged in for a lifetime to build a stronger skill set and to provide for personal growth. Typically 87% of what is learned in a “training event” is unfortunately lost in the first month. Coaching and tracking coaching is a must, therefore, to achieve sustained results.

When a manager interacts with a salesperson and has tracked the history of their coaching sessions the manager can better examine the skills that need to be sharpened to deliver the results rather than just focusing on the end of the month financials. When coached well, salespeople have a much greater impact during those precious minutes in front of the customer.

Effective sales coaches also apply personal skill levels to their coaching activities. These competencies include traits like optimism, integrity, empathy and inspiration. When coaching, it is often very difficult to remember content of the previous coaching session, which reinforces the need to capture the essence of the conversation. State of mind plays a critical role in coaching and managing performance.

Providing feedback is also an important part of coaching. The problem however is that feedback given is traditionally based on what is remembered or a point in time reference that stuck with the manager. It is essential that when coached a manager is consistent and bases the feedback on moving the person forward not backwards.

360° coaching is the key. The person being coached must have the opportunity to reflect on the session and provide his/her own feedback. Other managers, peers and executives should also be involved in the process, as coaching is indeed a journey, not an event in time.
Coaching done actively and coaching that is tracked and managed becomes part of a manager’s DNA. There is always a plan, objective, milestone or course of action that should lead to an overall learning plan for the individual. The elements of the learning plan depend on the associate’s goals, but may include taking classes, reading books, writing and practicing presentation skills or shadowing more experienced people.

Measuring objectively is another key aspect to the coaching process as tracking how an individual has progressed toward the goal must be done; progress and process must be measured. Key areas of measurement include both subjective and objective elements. The objective side is usually easy; profit by customer, number of products sold or gross revenue are among the metrics often tracked.

Subjective elements can also be measured and with technology can be tracked and managed:

• Trust-Based Selling Skills
• Exploring for Needs
• Presenting Information Effectively
• Gaining Joint Commitment
• Overall Selling Skills
• Customer Experience Skills
• Team Selling Ability
• Prospecting
• Selling over the Telephone
• Managing Difficult Customers

An ongoing process of sales coaching helps pinpoint daily sales coaching opportunities. Tracking the process uncovers gaps you can use to incorporate additional training on knowledge and skill-building into your team’s workday routine. This all connects to a strategy that supports knowledge and skill-building for each job function.

From our experience, the primary management style and leadership behavior seen in many managers is avoidance. We often hear “we hire adults and if they need coaching, we don’t need them.” If the senior management reinforces the “avoidance environment” through lack of engagement, the culture will never change, associates will never optimize sales opportunities and turnover of performers and customers will be high. Leadership and management development efforts begin with sound coaching and tracking the coaching process. St. Meyer & Hubbard calls this a performance culture–a totally integrated process of commitment, coaching, ongoing learning and integration throughout the bank.

Performance culture development is not difficult. In fact, with a sound process and technology to support it, critical components that create and sustain this environment can be easily managed. Your bank’s profitability increases once you have front line people who are confident and recognize opportunity. Revenue growth does not always mean to cut costs or introduce new products and services. Success may be right under your nose with the people you already have.

Sales Coaching and tracking/managing coaching helps incorporate knowledge and skill-building into the team’s workday routine. It helps you with both service-focused and sales-focused positions within the organization. Individuals learn to identify selling opportunities and skills are enhanced.

Overall, banks can benefit from having a consistent process for coaching and understanding what a salesperson needs to perform better. Once understood and technology is put in place, coaching becomes a daily occurrence or a process, rather than a one-time event.