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“Without customers you don’t have a business, you have a hobby.” Don
Peppers and Martha Rogers |
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What’s in A Name? Why do we call it Conversation Signposts By:
Bob St. Meyer While there were many bankers and associates that urged SM&H to create a sales-oriented newsletter, no one influenced us more than Brian O’Connor. Brian is the National Performance Executive for Bank of America’s Business Banking Division. Brian has been a friend and confidant to Jack Hubbard and myself for several years. When Brian persuaded us to launch our e-zine we needed a title. We considered many; some straight forward and some more offbeat. When we settled on “Conversation Signposts” our reasoning was simple. Our approach to building sales processes in concert with our banking clients centers around four key signposts to success. We have also long believed that the most important thing bankers sell is conversations. Sure it’s different but we’re a different kind of company. We don’t believe in cross selling. We don’t talk about sales cultures. In fact one client has replaced “sales” with relationship development in their learning materials. We discuss “blitzing” only when we’re opining about the Chicago Bears linebackers’ efforts to sack opposing quarterbacks. Whatever you want to call the newsletter, we hope you’ll keep calling on us when you have questions about customer conversations at the branch, in the field and on the telephone. This month we recap several questions that bankers have written to us about. Clearly our answers are only opinions and they may not be pertinent to every bank in every market. If you have a question that you would like us to address in a future edition, simply e-mail either Jack or I. Our e-mail addresses are at the end of this publication. Enjoy the August 2005 Conversation Signposts. And thanks, Brian O’Connor for urging us to create this practical communications tool. |
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You Have Questions. We Have Answers. Q: I heard you at a banking school recently and you suggested that you were against cross selling. Can you tell me more about that? Certainly it is important to get “deep and wide” with the best and most profitable opportunities in your marketplace. No bank wants any of its divisions to be “one hit wonders.” We have found through our experience, however, that cross selling is an inside out approach – a product strategy versus a demand strategy. Cross
Selling is also like watching six-year olds play soccer. No matter where
the ball goes, everyone (including both goalies) run to it. When a bank
asks associates to cross sell, unfortunately it is many times due to a
gap compared to goal within a certain product set. As an example, when
a senior manager receives a report indicating that a good percentage of
borrowing clients have a loan but no cash management service, the natural
tendency is to inform the next layer of management of this deficit. That
manager tells the next manager who informs the troops in the field that
“we had better start cross selling more cash management services
to loan clients.” The Relationship Manager who wants to achieve his or her goals and to stay in the good graces of their manager decides to talk to clients about cash management services. Instead of understanding if there is a need for the service, the RM tells, hawks, pitches and in general throws the product at every client hoping that a few “bite” at the service. When we are on joint calls with a banker during our in field coaching, we even hear things like; “do me a favor, Jim and buy this cash management product.” If becoming a trusted resource is important to your bank, cross selling is not the direction to take. We believe Cross Solving is the answer. This concept looks at the market from the outside in. Cross Solving puts the client in the center not the bank. The concept is based on the seven basic needs of mid tier business, the four basic needs of a small business and the four basic financial issues the consumer customer deals with. For example, a growing business doesn’t NEED cash management services, it NEEDS to manage its cash more effectively. That means the cash it takes in, the cash it sends out and the cash it gets to keep. When a banker cross solves to the managing cash need, he or she is more likely to ask questions than to make statements or pitch the product. If there is an unmet objective in the managing cash issue, it is more likely to surface during questioning. The questions also uncover WHY the business owner would want to mitigate its managing cash issues. This allows the RM to make a more targeted presentation and creates a better likelihood that the bank will earn the business. Succinctly stated, when the focus is on cross selling, it is all about you. When Cross Solving is accomplished, everyone wins. Q: I heard you in an RMA presentation recently in Boston and you talked about your concern about sales blitzes. What is wrong with them? This is like anything else in life. Nothing is as good or as bad as it seems. However, consider this. It’s Monday morning and you are on your way to the office. As you begin to go over your day in your mind, suddenly you remember that the sales blitz is today. The prospects you will be crossing paths with today are heading to their office as well. Are you thinking, “Yippee! I get to make a bunch of useless cold calls in my territory today.” Are they thinking “Gosh I hope a banker that I don’t know from a bag of dirt will interrupt me and my staff today.” Also think about this. If 20 bankers are involved in the blitz, take 20 salaries times the number of hours it takes to make these cold calls and remove that number from your bottom line. Time is not fungible. When you invest it one way, you can’t use it in another. Therefore, once the determination has been made to go into the field to call on any industrial park anywhere, time is taken from other, more productive things. We believe blitzes are a waste of valuable time. We know that Appointment Blitz days are invaluable in many ways, however. Here’s what one client does. Once a quarter it teams a branch manager with a “buddy” from another part of the bank. This includes commercial, mortgage and wealth management officers. Yes, even the CEO participates. The branch manager is responsible to have two appointments scheduled with clients during the morning. They are also responsible to create a call plan based on where a particular client is in the sales cycle. Prior to the “Appointment Blitz” a rally is facilitated by the CEO. He reminds everyone that the goal is to uncover needs not to push products. He also reminds them that their ticket into the lunch (where morning client calls are debriefed) is to articulate two needs that were uncovered on each of the calls. By the time lunchtime rolls around, 50 calls have been made – all scheduled, all with a purpose. After lunch two more calls are made by the teams – this time on prospects. Same drill as before. There are appointments and this time the calls are planned by the “buddy.” The ticket in to the post-blitz rally is two needs uncovered with each of the prospects. So here’s what the appointment blitz does:
Culture looks like:
Results? They are proprietary. We can report that on the prospect side, the bank is getting back for a second call with prospects over 80% of the time. The bank has also suggested that results from this planned activity far out pace the previous “lets go make a bunch of cold calls” days it used to do. And, suffice it to say, the CEO is most pleased with the deepening of relationships that is occurring and the fact that more prospect calls are being made out of the branches than ever before. Getting “blitzed” used to be pretty cool when we were in college. With today’s lean and mean staffing models and time being so valuable for every entrepreneur, consider saving the “blitzing” for the Sunday afternoon NFL games. Q. My bank requires a plan be submitted before I make a call. I’ve been selling for more than 15 years and I think I know how to do this. What’s your opinion? I’m writing this month’s newsletter on American Airlines flight 2341 from Tampa to Chicago. My extreme hope is that the pilots upfront did their pre-flight checks – even though they appear to have been doing this for a while. We trust that when Julia Roberts makes her Broadway debut next spring that she will rehearse significantly prior to taking the stage in “Three Days of Rain.” Your favorite football team is now at camp preparing for the run at the 2006 Super Bowl. Will the veterans practice like the rookies? In many cases harder since they want to keep their roster spot. For any team that hopes to be successful, it is the preparation that most times makes the difference. According to a recent survey, the business banker at the 95th percentile sales level generated 179% more revenue than the 50th percentile banker. Upon further review it was determine that this highly productive banker was actually in the field LESS often that the 50th percentile producer. The top producer did invest twice as much time (38% to 19%) planning calls than did their lower producing associates. All this leads one to believe that failing to plan is planning to fail. That is not to say the 15 year banking veteran has to go back to square one, nor do they necessarily have to write the plan out. But to go into any call, any closing or any presentation simply calling on expertise to carry them through is ludicrous. Here are some considerations to help make your planning process easier:
Without preparation a sales person, even a veteran, might miss something that can make a difference. Most importantly, the customer deserves it.
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by Don Peppers and Martha Rogers, PhD
This book was released
on June 21, 2005. It is the seventh book written by Don Peppers and
Martha Rogers, PhD – two amazing professionals that have revolutionized
marketing through their One to One process. The company’s newsletter
provides great practical help when it comes to issues around CRM, profitability,
the customer experience and much more. Check out their website www.1to1.com.
ROC looks at enterprise wide solutions to building trust by taking a long term view through the customer perspective. The initial chapter points to a 2004 survey that indicated 75% of senior executives suggested their company would give up economic value in exchange for meeting short term Wall Street expectations. Over 80% indicated they would defer maintenance and research spending to meet earnings targets. This necessary balance between future customer retention and expansion and revenue today is thoughtfully explored in 280 pages. CEOs and senior managers, marketing professionals that must be able to link the bank’s value proposition to its branding strategy and sales managers/sales associates are all good candidates to read this book. The timing is good also as we all attempt to balance what we want to bring in the door and keep in the house in 2005 versus attempting to devise long range customer strategies in 2006 and beyond. |
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We are privileged to have the opportunity to make presentations at the nation’s most prestigious banking schools and conferences. Below is a listing of programs we will be engaged in between now and the end of 2005. We look forward to seeing you and your banking colleagues at these programs. Jack Hubbard Presentations
Dwight Lampley Presentation
Mike Dillon Presentation
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We have had several articles published recently. They include:
If you would like a PDF of any of the above articles call 847-717-4328 or e-mail; jhubbard@stmeyerandhubbard.com
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Forward Conversation Signposts to Your Colleagues Get your colleagues to register and get the most out of the rest of 2005 We’re headed toward the fourth quarter – the final few months of 2005. Conversation Signposts can help you exceed your sales goals this year and get you ready for a great 2006. If someone else at your bank wishes to receive Conversation Signposts forward them this edition and they can then click on the hyperlink below and follow the instructions. http://www.stmeyerandhubbard.com/signup.html
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