September 2007 - Conversation Signposts

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Help Me Understand: Call Night Rant

By Jack Hubbard, Chief Experience Officer

The following is a true and tragic tale.

It’s 6:32 p.m. and I’m about to settle into a great episode of Family Guy when the phone rings. A banker wants to chat with me about a home equity loan and some special rates available at the bank (not my bank). I’m thrilled. I told my wife at dinner, “I sure hope someone interrupts Family Guy just as it gets started to tell me about a home equity loan we don’t need from a bank we don’t do business with.”

So I let the nice lady go on, and on and on about their great rates, tax saving blather and how I can even use the equity in my home to take a fun trip. I travel 47 weeks a year and the last thing I have time for is a vacation.

I say thank you for the information and turn the tables. I ask how often she calls people in the evening, what the bank calls these events, what training she received prior to the calls, what tools she has to be successful and what coaching she is getting (who is observing her on the calls and helping her get better on the next call). Hate is a strong word, but that’s how this banker suggested everyone felt about doing these calls.

Not surprisingly, these Call Nights are regular events in the lives of the bankers at this organization. She told me the bankers call them “Sink or Swim Nights” since they get no training on how to make the calls, no tools to help them succeed and no coaching. They do get pizza and soda and if they take a certain number of applications they receive money.

These events and their consequences occur in the homes of Americans regularly. Bankers hate call nights and so do customers so help me understand: why do we keep doing them this way?

Let’s be clear. Having bankers reach out to the marketplace is a good thing. I am simply advocating we make the process value-focused. For example, we know of one bank that holds regular Customer Check-ins. One or two evenings a month branch associates call targeted customers to learn if there are other ways the bank can be of help. There are no prizes for selling products because the bankers are discouraged from talking about products. The goal of the evening is to ask trust-based questions.

There is a “huddle” before the calls begin during which the manager provides a list of key questions he or she wants the bankers to ask. Questions are practiced prior to calls beginning and a tool is provided to help bankers capture notes.

The manager listens to calls. Coaching occurs throughout the evening. The customer night ends with a debrief including questions from the manager, such as:

Talk about the questions we asked tonight. Which ones worked well and which didn’t?
What kind of answers did you get to your questions?
What needs did you uncover from the questions you asked?
Who was able to ask the most questions? (There’s a prize for that.)
What are your follow-up strategies based on the customer needs you uncovered?

A similar approach can be done on the business banking side. One bank made calls recently on a summer morning to current clients asking about their experiences with the bank and their relationship managers. Without asking one specific sales question the bankers (sales assistants made calls too) uncovered more than 200 cross-solving opportunities–new initiatives the business was dealing with that the bank had no knowledge about.

Next time you ask you’re bankers to pick up the phone, remember that on the other end is someone wanting to watch Family Guy and everyone involved will be better off if the conversation keeps the customer–versus your products–in the center.

Feature Article: The 12 Habits of High Performers (Part One)

By Ron Buck, Chairman & CEO, Solonis Center for Excellence

Aristotle said, “We are what we repeatedly do.”
Excellence then is not an act, but a habit.

Stephen R. Covey, in his book The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, defines a habit as the intersection of knowledge, skill and desire. Knowledge is about what to do and why. Skill is the how to do. Desire is the motivation, the want to do. In order to make something a habit in our lives, all three must exist simultaneously. In business we call our habits best practices. Practices are the repeated use of skills and knowledge in action. Best practices are the specific habits of the highest performers.

A branch teller may be ineffective in his or her interactions with customers because they never really take the time to listen. They may not even know they need to listen. Even if the teller knows that in order to interact effectively with customers he or she needs to listen, they may not have the skill. They may not know how to listen actively. But knowing they need to listen and knowing how to listen is not enough. Unless they want to listen, unless he or she has the desire, it won’t become a business habit. Creating habits requires work in all three dimensions.

Four years ago the Solonis Center for Excellence began an unprecedented research program to empirically determine the key ingredients of frontline high performance. We labeled these key ingredients ‘The Habits of High Performers’. Our findings include the best practices of the highest performing branches and how these top performers balance current customer, employee and operational priorities while consistently outperforming their peers in deposit growth, loan growth and profitability.

Having worked with thousands of executives and branch managers, we have long understood the special characteristics that enable organizations and branches to outperform their peers. But we wanted the quantitative research that correlates high performance directly to ‘The Habits of High Performers’. This research allows us to learn from the high performers and to apply what we learn to other organizations. Thus far, our professionals have studied more than 1,000 branches, including 300 that meet our criteria as high performers. Our ongoing research program provides the first national benchmarks for over 80 sales key performance indicators and unprecedented insights into the habits that make branches outperform their peers. The results are very clear–high performance is definable, quantifiable and achievable.

How Did We Conduct Our Research?
Our professionals use a three-phase performance benchmarking methodology. Each participating branch has incorporated a sales tracking and measurement infrastructure that is monitored in real time. The sales tracking and measurement infrastructure provides reports and scorecards to executives, branch managers and employees. The scorecards include over 80 key performance indicators.

Screen & Identify High Performers
Initially, we score-carded over 1,000 branches. We measured 40 sales process key performance indicators, 20 employee behavioral performance indicators, retention indicators, incremental profit contribution by product and employee, average account balance growth, net new account balances, profit migration and many other key performance indicators.

Determine Drivers of High Performance
We mathematically correlated each of these key performance indicators to sales (deposits and loans) growth and profitability.

Determine Habits (Best Practices) of High Performance
We scored each branch in 25 best practice areas (people, process, strategy, leadership and technology), conducted in-depth employee interviews and made statistical correlations to the key performance indicators.

Today, we have narrowed our research to 300 branches that are our highest performers. Our study has defined the first ever national benchmarks for branch sales performance and has exposed ‘The Habits of High Performers’ (using Stephen R. Covey’s definition of habits). These habits are related to coaching, training, incentives and sales processes. Additionally, we have learned that the highest performers continually balance, align and renew variations of these habits through a careful combination of insight and action.

In the October Conversation Signposts we’ll discuss the ‘The 12 Habits of Higher Performers’ and how best in class retail bankers continually balance, align and renew variations of these habits through a careful combination of insight and action.

About Ron Buck and Solonis Center for Excellence
We met Ron Buck and Solonis through one of his company’s clients. We were impressed with both his software and his approach. Our clients had the opportunity to experience Ron in person at our 2007 Executive Client Forum. The reviews of his presentation were outstanding.

Throughout its 15-year history, Solonis has helped financial services professionals realize their strategic business objectives by delivering innovative technology solutions and consulting. Ron Buck can be reached at 480.588.9870 or at www.solonis.com.

Read Any Good Prospecting Books Lately?

Exceptional Selling by Jeff Thull

Jeff Thull is President of Prime Resource Group. He has implemented business transformation systems for Shell, 3M, Microsoft and Siemens, to name a few. Over a career spanning several decades, Jeff has delivered more than 2,500 speeches and seminars. His latest book Exceptional Selling is about connecting with clients using mutuality. In short, it is about catching versus pitching.

What attracted me to this book at the O’Hare Airport bookstore was the focus on value and the significant value gap that exists in sales. The book also discusses diagnosis (buyer with answers, seller with questions) and how salespeople must become relevant to their clients.

It’s the latest book that begs sales professionals to stop the madness of memorization and product push and become Performance Consultants to their clients and pre-clients.
Exceptional Selling is worth your time and dollars. It will provide RORT (Return On Reading Time).

This ‘n That

Industry Intelligence Webinar
We’re privileged to have the opportunity to partner with First Research and America’s Community Bankers for a practical one hour Webinar titled, Take Control of Your Next Business Conversation with Industry Intelligence. The program takes place on Wednesday, October 17, 2007 from 2:00 to 3:00 p.m. eastern time. We’ll discuss how to use industry intelligence to prepare efficiently for sales calls, execute calls effectively and conduct value-based follow-up. Jack Hubbard will be joined by Darren Pierce of First Research and Bob Siewert of ACB for this workshop. For more information or to register, click on the link below. There is no fee for this program.

http://www.firstresearch.com/images/Campaigns/ACB-email.html.

A Great Learning Experience
As many readers know, our firm is one of a handful of consultants that serve on the faculty of three ABA Banking Schools. If you have commercial bankers seeking some great education and networking don’t miss the experience at Commercial Lending School. Time is running out to register. Hoping we see you in Big D.

The ABA National and Graduate Commercial Lending Schools:
October 19-24, 2007, Southern Methodist University, Dallas, TX

The schools offer top-level education with a focus on:

Risk tolerance management
Economics of competitive pricing and funding
Leadership skills development to optimize profits and performance
The 5 Cs of Trust-Based Selling and Building Commercial Performance Cultures

Apply at: www.aba.com/Events/GCLS or call 1-800-BANKERS.

Register for Conversation Signposts

Bankers tell us the articles and ideas in Conversation Signposts make a difference. If someone else at your bank could benefit from Conversation Signposts, forward this edition and have them click on the hyperlink below to register: it’s FREE!

http://www.stmeyerandhubbard.com/signup.html

Allowing Us to Be an Approved Sender

In today’s security-conscious environment, many times our newsletter ends up as junk mail. To make sure you receive every issue, why not add newsletter@stmeyerandhubbard.com to your “approved sender” list?

		Help Me Understand: Call Night Rant *By Jack Hubbard, Chief Experience Officer* The following is a true and tragic tale. It’s 6:32 p.m. and I’m about to settle into a great episode of Family Guy when the phone rings. A banker wants to chat with me about a home equity loan and some special rates available at the bank (not my bank). I’m thrilled. I told my wife at dinner, “I sure hope someone interrupts Family Guy just as it gets started to tell me about a home equity loan we don’t need from a bank we don’t do business with.” So I let the nice lady go on, and on and on about their great rates, tax saving blather and how I can even use the equity in my home to take a fun trip. I travel 47 weeks a year and the last thing I have time for is a vacation. I say thank you for the information and turn the tables. I ask how often she calls people in the evening, what the bank calls these events, what training she received prior to the calls, what tools she has to be successful and what coaching she is getting (who is observing her on the calls and helping her get better on the next call). Hate is a strong word, but that’s how this banker suggested everyone felt about doing these calls. Not surprisingly, these Call Nights are regular events in the lives of the bankers at this organization. She told me the bankers call them “Sink or Swim Nights” since they get no training on how to make the calls, no tools to help them succeed and no coaching. They do get pizza and soda and if they take a certain number of applications they receive money. These events and their consequences occur in the homes of Americans regularly. Bankers hate call nights and so do customers so help me understand: why do we keep doing them this way? Let’s be clear. Having bankers reach out to the marketplace is a good thing. I am simply advocating we make the process value-focused. For example, we know of one bank that holds regular Customer Check-ins. One or two evenings a month branch associates call targeted customers to learn if there are other ways the bank can be of help. There are no prizes for selling products because the bankers are discouraged from talking about products. The goal of the evening is to ask trust-based questions. There is a “huddle” before the calls begin during which the manager provides a list of key questions he or she wants the bankers to ask. Questions are practiced prior to calls beginning and a tool is provided to help bankers capture notes. The manager listens to calls. Coaching occurs throughout the evening. The customer night ends with a debrief including questions from the manager, such as: Talk about the questions we asked tonight. Which ones worked well and which didn’t? What kind of answers did you get to your questions? What needs did you uncover from the questions you asked? Who was able to ask the most questions? (There’s a prize for that.) What are your follow-up strategies based on the customer needs you uncovered? A similar approach can be done on the business banking side. One bank made calls recently on a summer morning to current clients asking about their experiences with the bank and their relationship managers. Without asking one specific sales question the bankers (sales assistants made calls too) uncovered more than 200 cross-solving opportunities–new initiatives the business was dealing with that the bank had no knowledge about. Next time you ask you’re bankers to pick up the phone, remember that on the other end is someone wanting to watch Family Guy and everyone involved will be better off if the conversation keeps the customer–versus your products–in the center.

		Feature Article: The 12 Habits of High Performers (Part One) By Ron Buck, Chairman & CEO, Solonis Center for Excellence Aristotle said, “We are what we repeatedly do.” Excellence then is not an act, but a habit. Stephen R. Covey, in his book The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, defines a habit as the intersection of knowledge, skill and desire. Knowledge is about what to do and why. Skill is the how to do. Desire is the motivation, the want to do. In order to make something a habit in our lives, all three must exist simultaneously. In business we call our habits best practices. Practices are the repeated use of skills and knowledge in action. Best practices are the specific habits of the highest performers. A branch teller may be ineffective in his or her interactions with customers because they never really take the time to listen. They may not even know they need to listen. Even if the teller knows that in order to interact effectively with customers he or she needs to listen, they may not have the skill. They may not know how to listen actively. But knowing they need to listen and knowing how to listen is not enough. Unless they want to listen, unless he or she has the desire, it won’t become a business habit. Creating habits requires work in all three dimensions. Four years ago the Solonis Center for Excellence began an unprecedented research program to empirically determine the key ingredients of frontline high performance. We labeled these key ingredients ‘The Habits of High Performers’. Our findings include the best practices of the highest performing branches and how these top performers balance current customer, employee and operational priorities while consistently outperforming their peers in deposit growth, loan growth and profitability. Having worked with thousands of executives and branch managers, we have long understood the special characteristics that enable organizations and branches to outperform their peers. But we wanted the quantitative research that correlates high performance directly to ‘The Habits of High Performers’. This research allows us to learn from the high performers and to apply what we learn to other organizations. Thus far, our professionals have studied more than 1,000 branches, including 300 that meet our criteria as high performers. Our ongoing research program provides the first national benchmarks for over 80 sales key performance indicators and unprecedented insights into the habits that make branches outperform their peers. The results are very clear–high performance is definable, quantifiable and achievable. How Did We Conduct Our Research? Our professionals use a three-phase performance benchmarking methodology. Each participating branch has incorporated a sales tracking and measurement infrastructure that is monitored in real time. The sales tracking and measurement infrastructure provides reports and scorecards to executives, branch managers and employees. The scorecards include over 80 key performance indicators. Screen & Identify High Performers Initially, we score-carded over 1,000 branches. We measured 40 sales process key performance indicators, 20 employee behavioral performance indicators, retention indicators, incremental profit contribution by product and employee, average account balance growth, net new account balances, profit migration and many other key performance indicators. Determine Drivers of High Performance We mathematically correlated each of these key performance indicators to sales (deposits and loans) growth and profitability. Determine Habits (Best Practices) of High Performance We scored each branch in 25 best practice areas (people, process, strategy, leadership and technology), conducted in-depth employee interviews and made statistical correlations to the key performance indicators. Today, we have narrowed our research to 300 branches that are our highest performers. Our study has defined the first ever national benchmarks for branch sales performance and has exposed ‘The Habits of High Performers’ (using Stephen R. Covey’s definition of habits). These habits are related to coaching, training, incentives and sales processes. Additionally, we have learned that the highest performers continually balance, align and renew variations of these habits through a careful combination of insight and action. In the October Conversation Signposts we’ll discuss the ‘The 12 Habits of Higher Performers’ and how best in class retail bankers continually balance, align and renew variations of these habits through a careful combination of insight and action. About Ron Buck and Solonis Center for Excellence We met Ron Buck and Solonis through one of his company’s clients. We were impressed with both his software and his approach. Our clients had the opportunity to experience Ron in person at our 2007 Executive Client Forum. The reviews of his presentation were outstanding. Throughout its 15-year history, Solonis has helped financial services professionals realize their strategic business objectives by delivering innovative technology solutions and consulting. Ron Buck can be reached at 480.588.9870 or at www.solonis.com.

		Read Any Good Prospecting Books Lately? Exceptional Selling by Jeff Thull Jeff Thull is President of Prime Resource Group. He has implemented business transformation systems for Shell, 3M, Microsoft and Siemens, to name a few. Over a career spanning several decades, Jeff has delivered more than 2,500 speeches and seminars. His latest book Exceptional Selling is about connecting with clients using mutuality. In short, it is about catching versus pitching. What attracted me to this book at the O’Hare Airport bookstore was the focus on value and the significant value gap that exists in sales. The book also discusses diagnosis (buyer with answers, seller with questions) and how salespeople must become relevant to their clients. It’s the latest book that begs sales professionals to stop the madness of memorization and product push and become Performance Consultants to their clients and pre-clients. Exceptional Selling is worth your time and dollars. It will provide RORT (Return On Reading Time).

		This ‘n That Industry Intelligence Webinar We’re privileged to have the opportunity to partner with First Research and America’s Community Bankers for a practical one hour Webinar titled, Take Control of Your Next Business Conversation with Industry Intelligence. The program takes place on Wednesday, October 17, 2007 from 2:00 to 3:00 p.m. eastern time. We’ll discuss how to use industry intelligence to prepare efficiently for sales calls, execute calls effectively and conduct value-based follow-up. Jack Hubbard will be joined by Darren Pierce of First Research and Bob Siewert of ACB for this workshop. For more information or to register, click on the link below. There is no fee for this program. http://www.firstresearch.com/images/Campaigns/ACB-email.html. A Great Learning Experience As many readers know, our firm is one of a handful of consultants that serve on the faculty of three ABA Banking Schools. If you have commercial bankers seeking some great education and networking don’t miss the experience at Commercial Lending School. Time is running out to register. Hoping we see you in Big D. The ABA National and Graduate Commercial Lending Schools: October 19-24, 2007, Southern Methodist University, Dallas, TX The schools offer top-level education with a focus on: Risk tolerance management Economics of competitive pricing and funding Leadership skills development to optimize profits and performance The 5 Cs of Trust-Based Selling and Building Commercial Performance Cultures Apply at: www.aba.com/Events/GCLS or call 1-800-BANKERS.

		Register for Conversation Signposts Bankers tell us the articles and ideas in Conversation Signposts make a difference. If someone else at your bank could benefit from Conversation Signposts, forward this edition and have them click on the hyperlink below to register: it’s FREE! http://www.stmeyerandhubbard.com/signup.html Allowing Us to Be an Approved Sender In today’s security-conscious environment, many times our newsletter ends up as junk mail. To make sure you receive every issue, why not add newsletter@stmeyerandhubbard.com to your “approved sender” list?