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Where do you look when a branch does not hit their targets? There are primarily three places to look when objectives are not being met:

1. The objectives themselves. Were the targets set too aggressive?

2. The market. Did the market change dramatically? Was this unforeseen?

3. Activities. Did our people engage in the right activities with the required skill level to hit our targets?

If the targets were a stretch but achievable, and the market conditions were close to what we expected, then we have to look inward. The skills and activities of our people are within our influence.  If the team was not engaged in the right activities or their skills weren’t up to the challenge then we can change that. The other question to ask is: “when did we realize that we were not going to hit objectives?” With objectives, it is quite easy to “set it and forget it.” In our sales management training we call that the ostrich approach. That’s when a sales manager sticks their head in the sand after they have set a goal and then just hopes that somehow it will happen. The only time they look at goals is usually when it’s too late to do anything about it if they’re behind.

Another sales management style is to relentlessly focus on the targets. This sales manager is constantly looking at the numbers and when they are down, demands his team “pick it up” and “hustle” up some more business. That’s the equivalent of a hockey coach finding out the team is losing by 3 goals after the first period and simply telling the team to go out and score more goals. Sure, that’s the objective but the coach needs to focus on HOW they can score goals. In a branch environment, a successful sales manager needs to help his team focus on the right activities to help them hit their targets.

A good example of how this is played out in branches is when there is a campaign running. Typically, when a campaign is on the attention, activities, and accountability increase… and the successes follow!  Then what happens when the campaign is over? There is often a lull in activity between campaigns. It is almost like people take a breather and slip into transactional patterns until the next campaign ramps up.

Here are some ideas for combating that dynamic:

1. When a campaign ends have a “regroup” meeting to share campaign success but also revisit the day-to-day expectations around business development. What are the logical problems clients are having given the time of the year? What are the ongoing activities that the team needs to engage in regularly throughout the year to increase their odds of hitting target? Do they have time set aside every week for follow up calls? What about regular networking events? It’s not typically the big push a few times a year that gets the targets met, it’s the little things done consistently over time.

2. Have the experts come in and put on a sales meeting for the front line on what exactly they do for clients, who needs their services, and what to say to make a great referral. For example, how many of your people would not be able to easily explain what was involved in a financial planning session?  In order for them to make an effective referral, they need a few brief, plain language bullet points on what a financial planning session entails and why everyone needs one.

3. Run your own campaign. The successful ingredients to a good campaign can be put into action anytime. You do not need the corporate blessing to identify key activities your team needs to focus on given the time of year. After you have identified the right activities retrain them in a sales meeting. Make sure everyone knows what to do/say/ask and is comfortable doing it. Set some targets, establish a follow up and coaching strategy and then get to it.

4. Step-up file reviews with key people in your branch. Refocus on the day-to-day opportunities that are right there on the client’s balance sheet. Encourage out-of-branch activities to link with targeted community groups or employers.

Nobody likes to miss target. Part of hitting annual objectives is the ability to have a sustained 12 months a year approach to business development – avoiding the lulls in activity between campaigns. The other part is simply ensuring that the levels of activity and skills of our team are up to the task.

There are challenges associated with getting new people up to speed and the “when and how” of introducing sales process concepts.

Here’s what we know about most new people:

1. They have a steep learning curve ahead of them.
2. They can feel overwhelmed with learning the technical aspects of the job.
3. They initially lack confidence in speaking to members about products or needs.
4. They usually come to the job with a clean slate and no bad habits.
5. They should know that “proactive sales and service” is a big part of their job.

The normal progression of training is usually:

1. Orientation – Company philosophies.
2. Technical aspects – Procedures / Banking Systems / Programs.
3. Product knowledge.
4. Sales process.

Tellers have the greatest client contact so we need to make sure that they can be proactive in their conversations as soon as possible. Many will feel that they need to be product knowledge experts before they can start a conversation. This is a misperception. In order to make an effective referral they only need to know the basics of the product category and who or what situation would make it appropriate. We can inject this “sales concept” earlier – right in their product knowledge training:

1. Instead of just features and benefits, link the product to “who needs it?” and “what client situation does if solve?”
2. Link in their mind the product with: “how would I know someone needs it?”

Many times within a very few weeks the new frontline person is speaking with clients – maybe being shadowed by a more experienced staff member. Nevertheless, they are having conversations with clients. This is the time to introduce the concept of “purposeful chit-chat”.  You want them to get to know the clients and build the relationship. Make sure they know that it is most valuable to get to know about the client in the areas of FAMILY / OCCUPATION / RECREATION / FUTURE. Changes here may mean changes in financial needs.

Timing of introducing sales concepts to their training: If the first time we coach them on pro-activity in sales and service occurs after their 90 day probation, we miss the opportunity to catch someone who will be resistant to sales and become a future coaching headache!

Start by training them in the sales process right away. Online training programs like Fusion’s Introduction to Selling Skills for Service People is an easy, time efficient and inexpensive way to get the new teller up to speed in the sales process. You can get the best results from the Fusion On-Line Training Modules if, as a coach, you actively reinforce the content module by module instead of reviewing only on completion (There’s only 7 modules). On-line can’t facilitate role play (practice) so you need to give them that opportunity to make the concepts come to life and in their own words. The on-line program resource material has some great coaching questions – use them!

What to do about employees that have opportunities to do referrals but they just aren’t. Everyone agrees that an approach that is passive, “do nothing” unless the client asks for it is not only bad for sales, it’s also bad service.

For the coach who is inspecting what they expect, the signs and symptoms of order-taking are easy to spot: They don’t get many referrals, loan file reviews show off-book business with no discussion notes, or we hear conversations that should (but don’t) lead to exploring unmet needs or dissatisfactions with a competitor.

As a coach, when we see order-taking the first thing we need to determine is what is behind the behavior. We talked about finding out if it is a “Why” or a “How” that is holding them back.

1. If it is a “Why” then they don’t understand why it is important to be proactive. What’s missing is the core philosophy: Good Sales = Good Service. If we can connect the dots for them between being proactive and solving problems being good service then we can help them see the light. No one wants to give bad service. Ignoring potential client needs, dissatisfactions, goofy banking behavior, or insufficient financial planning has therefore got to be bad service. If we frame everything we want them to do as good client service it is really hard for them to say they don’t want to do it!    If your whole team needs reinforcement on this then use this Sales Meeting Express: http://kb.fusionperform.com/questions/338/Why+Be+Proactive

2. If it is a “How” then what they lack is knowledge, technique, or confidence. We need to coach spotting the opportunities and asking good questions. The quick interview sequence gives them the structure to make it quick, conversational, and all about client needs. Everyone agrees that the only way to get proficient at these skills is through training, coaching, and practice (role-play).    If your whole team needs reinforcement on this then use this Sales Meeting Express: http://kb.fusionperform.com/questions/342/The+Quick+Interview

So what if they know the “Why and “How” but still aren’t doing it? Here are a few possibilities:

A. It is less work and easier to be transactional than proactive.  Nobody wants to think that a staff member might be lazy.  As a coach, the level of your expectations of them will set the level for acceptable activity. It is just human nature so set your minimum expectation higher.

B. They may be order taking due to the “un-training cycle”. Left alone following training, new skills will be constantly worn down by interaction with the public. Coaching is that never-ending activity that holds back skill deterioration and advances proficiency.

C. The “not enough time” excuse. Not enough time to provide the best service for your clients? We’ll give our best service but only if we’re not too busy? When is the next time we will see them? – especially if it is a loans situation. When we hear the “no time” excuse we need to hear what they are really saying: “I’m not skilled enough at the Quick Interview Sequence”. We need to help them develop proficiency to quickly get that potential additional need out on the table, figure out if they want to do something about it, set a next step, and get back to the main reason for the visit. Practice, practice, practice.

D. The misperception that we have already asked most of them for the business and we don’t want to offend them. The only way we can offend is if our conversations are “product focused” not Client focused.” No-one will get tired of us looking out for them and asking about: making them more money, saving them money, making their lives more convenient, providing security, and helping them get things they want.

When you see staff that are order taking begin coaching by figuring out if it is a “why” or a “how” that is stopping them.  Fill the skill or knowledge gap then hold them accountable for change.

Accountability comes from:

1. Expectation. – Do they know what you expect?
2. Communication. – Have they been trained and coached on the “How” and “Why”?
3. Observation. – Inspect what we expect. Measure progress.
4. Correction. Coach on the fly and with file reviews.
5. Celebration. Cheer success.

If staff feel that by using the sales skills taught in training they are somehow doing something wrong, it doesn’t matter how frequently or consistently you coach them they won’t try anything new and you will not see the desired results. Before coaching sales skills it is critical to meet one on one with these people to work through those feelings and lead them to a place where they understand that when they are order taking they are under serving their clients and when they are just randomly pitching product  they are running a risk of alienating their clients (therefore bad service). Going to the client, being proactive, and asking good questions to help them clarify in their own minds the challenges they are potentially experiencing will be perceived by them as exceptional service. It will also yield an increase in sales.

Here are a few suggestions on different coaching activities you can engage in to help bring people onside.

1.     Establish that good sales is the same as good service. If someone will agree that good selling is the same as good service, it will be difficult for them to say they have no interest in getting better at providing a higher level of service to their clients.

2.    Walk the talk – lead by example. Talk about how a client was potentially under served because someone wasn’t being proactive. Keep the focus on the client and less on the lack of sales. Be aware of the little things like saying “pitch”, “spiel”, or “did you get em?” This language can imply that you are only concerned about the numbers and will send a mixed message to the service focused selling that you are aiming for.

3.    Share success stories to resell the vision. Typically a story that tells of a client who bought something more than they came in for and was grateful for the “service”.  Something that demonstrates a sales person going beyond order taking. Staff may not believe you that selling is service, but they will believe the client.

4.    Share negative stories to resell the vision. Typically a story that tells of a client just getting what they asked for and being disappointed in the company after they found out they needed something else or the product didn’t really suit them. i.e. the complaint can be traced back to a lack of sales skills. Again, staff may not believe you that selling is service, but they will believe the client.

5.    Consistency of purpose. Regular sales meetings and coaching.  Avoid turning it on and off or just talking about it.  After a while people think you’re crying wolf. If you really believe that the staff should get good at these sales skills because it is good for the client, why would you discontinue your focus or get distracted?

There are two basic reasons why someone working in a bank or credit union (tellers, MSR’s, lenders, investment specialists, account managers etc) is not cross selling or up-selling: either they do not know what to say to the client, or they know what to say but are not saying it.

A great deal of time is spent in sales management on coaching the sales skill – that is, making sure the team knows what to say. When you are coaching your team for an increase in performance make certain you apply the right coaching remedy to the situation. The tendency will be to focus on sales skill. That may be the issue, but it also might not.

Here is a quick list of the possible reasons why someone that knows what to say or ask a client to get the up-sell is not doing it:

They don’t like selling. They have been through all of the training but do not use the skills because they feel like they are doing something wrong. The concept or idea of selling makes them shudder.

Sales Management Idea: Get agreement that when they are proactive with their clients they are actually providing exceptional service. How do you do that? Share real stories from others in your branch or financial institution where a client complimented a staff member for being helpful. The part that will win them over is when you can show how the staff was actually selling (using the trained sales skills) when they were being helpful. The reverse works as well. Share stories where clients complained and you can trace the complaint back to someone not being proactive (not using the sales skills) and the result was a dissatisfied client.

Lack of accountability. This is one of the major reasons why staff don’t use the sales skills that were trained. The management staff expect them to use the sales skills, but don’t take the time to inspect to make sure they are using the skills.

Sales Management Idea:  Make it important. Identify non-negotiable sales activities you expect and consistently follow up to ensure they are happening. If you really believe your clients can benefit and that it will help your organization why would it be optional? 

They are afraid of rejection. They are afraid the client might turn them down.

Sales Management Idea:  Are they using the right technique? A problem first, solution second strategy should not bring out a fear of rejection. The client would not be rejecting the product or idea, they would be saying they do not have a problem. The staff shouldn’t take that personally.

Forgetfulness. Every time you ask they say they “forgot”.

Sales Management Idea: inspect what you expect. Follow up consistently until they develop the habit at which time you can back off. For example, when reviewing a loan file with a lender ask them every single time you meet to tell you about the client’s retirement plan. How confident is the client in their plan – in their ability to retire when they want? If you ask the lender those questions once a month, they can hide behind “I forgot”. Ask them every day and they’ll start to remember. They will get tired of not having an answer to a question they know they should have, and now know is important to you.

Diagnose the reason the results are not what you want before spending time in coaching. Apply the right fix to the right problem and you’ll see more results.

In a recent newsletter Fundamental Sales Skills for Selling Financial Services we outline how many sales people get bored with the basics of selling and how by having a fresh focus on fundamental sales skills, people can improve their results significantly. But what about sales management? How do you coach these fundamental sales skills?

Here are the fundamental sales skills out lined in that newsletter as well as a few ideas on how to coach them:

People buy solutions to their problems, not products
Here is a simple idea to keep this concept top of mind with your people: when they tell you that they were talking to a client about a product ask them,

“What problem were you trying to solve for them?”

Follow that up by asking,

“Did the client tell you they had that problem?”

These two questions, if asked consistently, will reinforce to your team that good selling is a service focused exercise. If they have been looking at their clients with an attitude that is solutions focused and not just product focused, they will experience more success a feel less like a sales person. Most will do a better job of selling when they feel like they are helping clients. That starts with the concept that people buy solutions to their problems, not products.

Let the customer go first
Make certain your team is getting a full understanding of the client’s situation before they start to recommend products. You can coach this up by asking questions like,

“Tell me about that client you just saw.”

“What did you learn new about them that you did not know?”

“What’s going on in their life right now?”

“How are they feeling about their retirement plans – their ability to stop work one day and afford to do what they want? Are the on track with that plan?”

Your goal is to get a sense as to how well your team is interviewing to unspoken problems, stresses, and difficulties the client has not come in specifically to talk about. When your team gets good at uncovering those problems that are brewing below the surface with your clients, you’ll see an increase in the average number of products cross sold on every opportunity.

Client focused presentation
One of the best ways to tell if your team is doing a good presentation is by knowing that they are doing a good interview. When sales people get a client to acknowledge a specific problem, most are fairly good at presenting the solution in a manner that makes sense to the client. Where presentations get off track is when the sales person does not have a specific problem identified or had the client acknowledge that problem. The result is that they tend to just spew features at the client hoping they will by. You can find out how your team is doing at the presentation by sitting in on a sales conversation, eavesdropping, or role-playing how they presented a product to a client they just saw.

Ask the client to buy
A simple way to identify if your team is asking for the sale is to find out why the client did not buy. Start by asking some basic investigation questions like,

“Which products did you present?”

“Which ones did they buy?”

Referring to the one’s they did not buy: “What was the reason they gave for not buying?”

Be on the lookout for weak objections from the client like they wanted to “think about it” or they are “still going to look around”. Those objections sometimes occur because the sales person did not lead the sale to a conclusion. Let those objections be a flag to you and then simply ask your team member, “Did you ask for the sale?” If they respond that they did, ask them to tell you how – what they said specifically. If most are doing it correctly they won’t have a problem telling you exactly what they said. That is because they’ve thought about it and have made asking for the sale part of their strategy. The people that can’t remember what they said usually are not asking for the sale.

Remember when coaching these fundamentals that each of these skills builds on each other. With that in mind start your investigation at the beginning. There is no sense coaching them to get better at asking clients to buy when they are not starting right by doing a good interview. These skills can essentially be a checklist you run through, checking off each stage to make sure it is being done effectively until you identify the area that needs the most work.

Understand what they should be doing

Why would a client want to meet with one of your financial planners to discuss investments? Focus coaching on what the client ultimately wants when they agree to meet with a financial planner. They don’t want another appointment, they don’t want a sales pitch … life is too busy and complicated for your clients to waste their time like that. They are selfish just like you and me . They want to be better off as a result of spending time with a planner. So why would they meet with them? Because they are unhappy with their current circumstances … their current plan to retire with enough money and they are hoping they will have some ideas on how to improve their situation.

So how does a lender get clients to meet with a financial planner? They need to get them into conversations about retirement or what it will be like when they are not working anymore. Will they have enough money to do what they want when they retire? Most will not. They, unfortunately, don’t come to this conclusion until it’s too late. Your lender’s job is to get them thinking about it NOW by asking them questions, NOT by telling them what they should do. 

The more the client talks about how inadequate their plan is, the more likely it’ll be they will want to do something about it.  Urge your lender to come up with thier own questions but if they are stuck, this one will work: “We’ve got an expert on staff that specializes in helping people retire with enough money. It’s absolutely free to see our planners – would it be worth your while just to meet one of them one day to discuss what you are currently doing and see if they have some ideas on how to improve your situation?”

Here’s a sample conversation a coach is having with their lender that is not getting investment referrals:

Coach: How many people did you meet with this week?

Lender: 10

Coach: Out of those 10 how many had investments elsewhere?

Lender: I don’t know

Coach: Should you know … I mean, if we are really going after wealth management referrals, at minimum, shouldn’t you know how many of the people you met with had investments elsewhere?

Lender: I guess.

Coach: Let’s starting tracking that OK?

Lender: sure

Coach: Out of the 10 people you saw, how many will retire with enough money?

Lender: I don’t know, we didn’t get into it

Coach: Did you get into it with any of them?

Lender: No, I was too busy doing the loan

Coach: No worries, I know it’s busy. How well do you think the average client is doing at saving for retirement?

Lender: Not very good I guess

Coach: I’d agree. Are we doing the clients any favors by not getting them to talk about their inadequate plans?

Lender: I suppose not

Coach: Can we really call ourselves a great service provider if we ignore this obvious flaw in their financial plan?

Lender: No, I guess not

Coach: What do you need to start asking them about?

Lender: Their retirement plans, whether they feel confident in the plan, in the amount of money they are making, in the financial advice they have been given … everything!

Coach: Exactly!

Coach: I’m going to ask you tomorrow the same questions. I also want you to keep track of the number of people you see in a day and whether or not they have investments at another financial institution – OK?

Lender: OK

Coach: If you need any ideas on what to ask the client and at what point in the loan interview to ask it, I’d be happy to go over that with you.

Keep it simple 
If the lender is not getting enough referrals it’s because there is either:
a.    no opportunity (i.e. EVERYONE they saw is totally thrilled with their retirement plans) or …
b.    it’s because they are not engaging the clients in conversations about how they feel about their retirement or investment plan or …
c.    they are trying to get them onto those conversations but are either product dumping (i.e. “you should go speak to our financial planner”) or asking poor questions. 

If there was one thing that would help sales managers be more effective at getting tangible results it would be to …

Sacrifice complexity for consistency

Results will be more evident when managers quit making sales coaching a “mile wide and an inch deep”.

Less is more

Focus and Deliver

Here’s the cycle we see: the coach identifies a host of sales opportunities in their branch and feels they have to coach all of them (mile wide). The sense of overwhelm and a lack of time drives them to do a superficial job of coaching any one thing (an inch deep). Because coaching all of these opportunities is so time consuming and a big deal, they coach less frequently than they should. When they do meet with their team they spend most of the time diagnosing what people are struggling with and not very much time actually coaching sales skill. Because this activity is all so infrequent the manager typically finds themselves on a wild goose chase being led by staff into conversations that have nothing to do with developing their sales potential. The result? Nothing gets accomplished, they run out of time, no action plan is laid out so there is no urgency to follow up. The only thing compelling the manager to meet with the team again is this nagging feeling that they should be coaching because someone told them once that is what good sales managers do. It’s a negative spiral that keeps going downward until the coach stops coaching altogether because they are tired of staff trying to avoid the coaching sessions and because they are not seeing any results. 

If a manager finds themselves in this spiral, we suggest they pick only one or two selling opportunities per group (Tellers, lenders etc) to actively coach. This could be something simple like coaching a lender on what to say when a client tells them they have investments at another institution. Teach the team how to spot the opportunity and PRACTICE CONSISTENTLY what to say to the client.FOLLOW UP CONSISTENTLY to make sure they are saying it. 

If the staff are not trying the techniques it is usually because:
1. They do not know what to say 
2. They know what to say but are nervous about saying it (usually based in a fear of selling)
3. They refuse to try

Any of these three a coach can deal with if they methodically and consistently follow up on previously agreed to action plans.  Because the coach hasn’t bitten off more than they can chew they can be efficient with their time and therefore consistent. The consistent follow up and coaching leaves the staff no choice but to start trying the skill. Once the staff meet with success the cycle starts moving in a positive direction. The staff realize that they can be effective without being pushy. They develop the habit of asking the right questions and saying the right things for that opportunity, which means you have to coach them less. This eventually allows the coach to move on to new opportunities all-the-while spot checking the old habits to make sure they stay in play. Success breeds success and the staff start to see value in the coaching and sales meetings because they actually see it works! 

Everyone wants to be part of a winning team. Sacrifice complexity for consistency and help your people get tangible results that will have them asking you for more coaching.