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Scripting Tellers to Maximize Sales
I spend a lot of time conducting one-on-one sales training sessions with tellers. I do this to give each teller the opportunity to express their feelings and talk about issues they have with selling. Through these conversations I have found that in many cases, it is what the teller is saying that is causing them to feel uncomfortable, or worse, causing them not to make product referrals at all. I ask them to write down what they usually say when someone approaches them to cash a paycheck, for example. Most times it begins with mentioning a product, and produces a quick “no thanks” from the customer.
There is a particular tried and true formula for teller scripting that makes everyone feel much more comfortable, and does not feel like “selling”. Once tellers are scripted in their own words using this formula, they become experts at having productive, helpful conversations with customers, and sales occur naturally. I always have them write down their new script, and test it. I also have sample scripts that other tellers have developed that they can try also, until they find one that works for them.
A correct script for teller sales training does not focus on any product or service, it usually begins with a question that prompts clues to customer needs, then a sentence or two pointing to the benefits of an appropriate product. The product itself does not matter to any customer, it is the end result that the customer “buys”. This is the most difficult concept for tellers to understand, but once they do, they become more comfortable in their role as salesperson, because they don’t feel like they are “selling”, and the customer doesn’t feel as if they are being “sold”.
For teller sales training and scripting advice, contact Karen at karen@sterlingmiller.com.
Read Full Post | Make a Comment ( None so far )What Does a Clothing Store Have to do with Banking?
Jack Mitchell is the CEO of Mitchells/Richards/Marshs, one of the most successful clothing stores in the country. In his book “Hug Your Customers” he talks about “Reactive – Proactive”, and the way things used to be at his stores – that the salespeople just waited around for someone to come walking through the door, then they sold some clothing. He says that things have changed, that now “You can’t stand idly twiddling your thumbs until someone walks in the door. You must take actions to bring customers through that door. In other words, you need to initiate the sale, not simply complete it.”
This concept certainly applies to the banking business. When I was a teller in 1973, we did the same thing. We waited for customers to walk through the door and took care of them. There was plenty of business to go around and we didn’t worry much about competition. These days, if you’re not out there advertising and marketing, creating and closely managing an iron-clad sales program, and making your customers’ experiences at the branch extraordinary, they’ll just as easily go to any bank on any corner.
It takes much more than just waiting around to stay in business.
Read Full Post | Make a Comment ( None so far )No More Sales Training for Tellers
Many branch employees, especially tellers, continue to feel uncomfortable with the “sales” aspect of their job, even though they know that the most critical aspect of their job function in the current economy is to sell more banking products and services to customers.
Tellers are conflicted with their role of “salesperson” for a variety of reasons: they think that customers are in the branch for a quick transaction and to get out just as quickly; they think customers don’t want to discuss their personal financial business with a teller; they feel that there is no time to “sell” while customers wait anxiously in line; they feel that selling products or services is a violation of the customers’ trust; and of course, there is the awful fear of rejection!
It is interesting to note that these same tellers when surveyed, indicate that they enjoy the feeling of satisfaction when they help a customer solve a problem, or suggest a solution, a product or service, that makes the life of the member easier.
Herein lies the conflict: tellers feel good when helping a customer solve a problem, but don’t want to come across as if they are “selling” anything to anyone.
Since no financial institution can survive without its customer base using more and more services, what is the solution? How can tellers be made to feel comfortable with their very critical role in the sales process?
The fact is that tellers don’t really need “sales training”. They need an intrinsic desire to interact with members in a friendly helpful manner, the desire to help members find solutions to financial problems, some of which they don’t even know they have, by knowing the basic benefits of each product and service. Most importantly they must have the ability to identify the needs of the member quickly, prompting the member by asking simple questions or making simple observations, even while a long line waits beyond.
Tellers must be familiar with the products offered by the credit union, how they work, and how they benefit the member. Only then can they listen for and prompt cues, and respond by educating the member about benefits during the short conversations they have while handling transactions.
For example, a simple and legitimate question to ask every customer would be “Are you a homeowner?”. For every customer that answers “Yes” the teller responds “We might be able to save you some money with a refinance. We just lowered our rates.” In just a few seconds the teller learned that the customer is a homeowner, and was able to mention a product, a mortgage refinance, that could save the customer literally thousands of dollars! It even feels good! Another example would be when the teller cashes a paycheck for someone who has been waiting in line. The teller says “I’m so sorry you had to wait. We have a free service that would automatically deposit your check into your account so you would have access to your money on payday without having to wait in line. It’s easy to sign up for.” Wow! By paying attention to the transaction and what the customer was experiencing, the teller was able to point to the benefits of Direct Deposit, and just saved the member lots of time and aggravation.
This approach to conversation and prompting, then educating members about benefits, is a significant departure from the high pressure product-oriented “sales pitch” that makes tellers and customers so uncomfortable. It takes little time, offends no one, and if the member says “No thank you”, there is little reason for the teller to feel rejected. In fact, “no” isn’t a bad thing at all – it’s a seed planted for further cultivation.
Tellers are the cornerstone to the sales process and must participate in order for any financial institution to be successful, but sales training is far less important than the teller’s desire to help a customer , and their ability to act.
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Success Story
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!
Read Full Post | Make a Comment ( None so far )Your Balance Sheet and the Bottom Line
Sales programs must be designed to do one thing: grow your balance sheet and affect the bottom line. If your sales program doesn’t to that, it needs to change.
Lots of sources exist to “pump up” your banking sales staff: on site/off site training programs, seminars, motivational speakers, on-line sales training, sales books, DVDs, etc. What none of these programs does is measure and monitor actual results achieved, plot trends, and most importantly modify training and motivational techniques to refect an ever-changing market, and ever-changing group of employees.
The trick to achieving bottom line results is customized coaching/training, and continual monitoring and tweaking of anything and everything in the sales program, including incentives, products, delivery systems, reporting, advertising, and marketing, until balance sheet/bottom line results are achieved. It’s an enourmous undertaking.
The bottom line to achieving your bottom line goals, is to first understand that there is no such thing as a one-size-fits-all sales program, and that great sales programs must be under continual scrutiny by management, and subject to constant change.
Karen@SterlingMiller.com Visit Sterling Miller 978-582-7338
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Read Full Post | Make a Comment ( None so far )If it feels like selling, you’re doing it wrong.
More training this morning. This time, in addition to working on “before” and “after” scripting to learn to talk about the benefits of products and services, rather than the products and services themselves, we also discussed obstacles to selling.
The number one obstacle for tellers is their perception that “selling” means pressuring someone to “buy” something they don’t want or need. Let’s face it, nobody wants to sound pushy, or to make someone else feel uncomfortable. That is not what selling banking services is all about. In fact, “selling” bank services isn’t selling at all; it’s really an educational process. If products and services are presented in such a way that the benefits of the product are discussed, rather than the product itself, many times the education alone is enough to create a need and a sale.
No one “buys” Bill Pay; but they do sign up for a more convenient, cost-free way to pay their bills. Nobody buys Direct Deposit either, they sign up for the safety and convenience of having their checks automatically deposited for them. And, no one buys a CD; they invest their money with the expectation that they will earn a reasonable amount of interest. It’s the EFFECT of the product, not the product, that consumers respond to.
People appreciate being educated on products and services that the bank or credit union offers. They want to know how their financial institution can make their lives easier.
So, if your tellers are still pressuring people to sign up for Bill Pay or Direct Deposit instead of pointing to how these services can save them time and money, most will feel like a used car salesperson, and your customers will want to run out of the branch as quickly as they can, because if it feels like selling, you’re doing it wrong.
Contact Karen Karen@SterlingMiller.com 978-582-7338
Read Full Post | Make a Comment ( None so far )Your Own Customers are your Best Prospects
If you need more sales in any product category, the best place to look for those sales is within your existing customer base, a virtual goldmine for building better relationships and making more sales. For example, most banks and credit unions are looking for more core relationships, checking accounts. How many customers can you identify that have products other than checking accounts? Create a simple marketing plan with a sweet offer, and target that group. Chances are you’ll have better results with your own customers. Why? Because they already know you and have accounts with you – half the battle is already won. How about Home Equity Lines? How many customer/homeowners are in your database? I’m not talking about only the customers that have a real estate loan with you, I’m talking about all the others, the ones that might have a checking or a savings account, happen to be a homeowner, but don’t have a real estate loan with you. It is likely that they have those relationships at another institution. Create a plan, make a sweet offer, and reap the benefits. And, keep repeating your offer every 3-4 weeks over a three month period. Since you are marketing your own customers, they will read your direct mail offering every time you send it. The offer from you will sink in, and eventually when the time is right, they will come to you instead of the competition.
For exceptionally creative ideas to market your own goldmine, contact Fabrizio/Fortuna, specialists in bank and credit union marketing http://www.fabfor.com/home.html. Their work is fresh and timely; their advice insighful, priceless.
For bank and credit union sales expertise go to Sterling Miller.
Read Full Post | Make a Comment ( None so far )Selling Banking Services: it’s not about pushing
If you’re ready to make a difference in your sales numbers, you must train your sales team to understand that everything they do and say to facilate a sale must focus on helping customers make their lives easier, better, and more convenient, and delivering knock-your-socks-off customer service at the same time.
Most banks and credit unions offer a myriad of free services that are designed to make doing business easier, cheaper, and more convenient for the customer, but the customer never buys the product, they buy what the product delivers in terms of benefits, and they respond to the way in which they are treated by the employees – the level of customer service they experience.
Customer emotions play as important a role in the sales process as the benefits of the products and services being offered. If people feel as if they are being cared for at your institution better than they are at the competition, and if they are educated on the benefits of products and services based on their particular needs, realizing how their lives can be made easier, sales will occur naturally and consistently, no pushing required.
Read Full Post | Make a Comment ( None so far )……..more on Teller Sales Training
Today I spent a very enjoyable morning at a branch with two experienced tellers, leading an updated sales training session. They were struggling a bit with making referrals, so I was called in to see if we could work it out. I usually begin sessions by asking if the tellers are comfortable with selling, and if they like to sell. Not surprisingly, the answer is usually “no.” However, when asked if they feel good when they help a customer by recommending a beneficial product, they always respond “yes”. So, the “feeling good” part is what we focused on.
Selling banking products shouldn’t feel like “selling” (more…)
Read Full Post | Make a Comment ( None so far )Low-Hanging Fruit
Yesterday I heard the term “low hanging fruit”, which I haven’t heard since my mortgage brokering days, when we operated Sterling Mortgage Group alongside Sterling Miller. It was a term the originators used for borrowers who called in for rates. You see, when a customer calls you, it means they have a need and are looking seriously for someone to provide the product to fit their need. Originators loved those calls, because at Sterling Mortgage, we had a system in place to insure those rate shoppers became our customers. After all, there were dozens of mortgage companies to choose from.
It occurred to me that bankers spend a lot of time and money trying to reach out to prospects to sell their products to, and probably don’t spend enough time figuring out how to turn rate shoppers, people who are reaching out to them, into customers. These prospects have already made the decision to buy and are looking for someone to but it from! Why shouldn’t you be the one to sell it? The answer is, you should. Banks and credit unions must take advantage of every selling opportunity that they encounter, especially the ones that come to them.
So, how to insure you get more of the business that’s looking for you? First, find out (more…)
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