Success Story

Posted on January 22, 2009. Filed under: Uncategorized |

At the monthly sales meeting yesterday, as with every other meeting, we started with success stories from each person at the meeting. One young woman who works as an account executive in the telesales area said she had nothing “earth shattering” to report, but she did have a story she wanted to share.

She went on to describe a customer she contacted as a result of this institution’s onboarding project. Every new account opened is contacted within a few days, thanked again for their business and further welcomed. They are briefly introduced to other products and services that might be of interest, and are contacted periodically by phone going forward. Onboarding improves customer retention and increases profits over time. This institution hires outgoing, friendly staff to work in this area, and they have a inate ability to connect with people over the phone. Such was the case with this call – a conversation about future financial plans ensued.

The account exec learned that this woman’s future plans included a home purchase, but she had little credit. The new customer was commuting to a good, long term job, and was planning to move closer to it. She had already started her savings account for the downpayment. The account exec suggested a passbook loan to build her credit rating, and took an application. When it came time to close, the new customer was told she would need to stop into a branch to sign the paperwork. It turned out that there was no convenient branch location off the highway she’d be using to drive home from work, so the account exec suggested using the office she worked from, which wasn’t a branch, but was right off the highway. The account exec drove to a branch to pick up the paperwork for the member on the day of the closing, and met the new customer in her office. It was after hours, most branches were closed, and the new member was thrilled.

It’s important to note two important facts: this onboarding call was made to an indirect auto loan customer, who had never stepped foot inside a branch, and because this institution promotes after hours access to its account execs by phone, this new customer knows who to call for future financial needs, even though she does not live near a branch.

Now that’s a success story!