6 Steps to Sales

By: Joseph Sullivan and Mark Brandt

A great market, a well located site, all the right products but no growth... Does this describe your institution?

After hundreds of market assessments, and more than 3,000 mystery shops of financial institutions all over the United States, we see a persistent trend toward lack of sales culture developing. More than 75% of these shops have resulted in a lack of aggressiveness, a lack of basic product knowledge, and a general disinterest in taking the next step with a potential customer.

Based on the hundreds of hours we have spent testing and shopping various financial institutions, we have developed a 6 step, easy-to-follow "how to" guide for basic sales culture improvement.

Step 1: The Greeting

• Acknowledgement
• Smile and eye contact
• Use appropriate greeting and tone of voice (on the telephone)
• Make an effort to sound genuinely interested (on the telephone)
• Name exchange
• Shake hands
• Offer seat
• Redirect to appropriate person (if necessary)

It might surprise you to know that financial institutions often get off to a bad start with a potential customer just by getting this first step wrong. If you do not establish a rapport with the customer when they walk in the door, or call on the telephone, then all of the following steps may never stand a chance. By simply saying hello and introducing oneself to a potential customer goes a long way in getting the sales experience started correctly.

Step 2: The Inquiry

• Determine the need
• Restate the need using customer's name
• Determine the timeframe

Often times a personal banker or teller will not ask the customer critical questions about their banking needs. For example, how much does the customer typically keep in their checking account, how long are they able to leave money in an account without withdrawing it, how many transactions do they normally make each month, etc. Without asking these critical questions, the representative will not be able to successfully move on to the other steps in the sales process (i.e. suggesting solutions, suggesting alternative products, etc.)

Step 3: Filling the Order

• Suggest solutions
• Use props
• Complete the order
• Restate what the customer purchased
• Ask if customer has any questions, concerns

It is important that Step 2 be completed in order to be able to recommend a product to a customer in this step. Once the customer has explained their needs and situation, the representative must then make a product recommendation that fits those needs. It is surprising how often employees will not inquire about the customers needs and not make a product recommendation, but rather they only answer questions that were asked of them and go no further.

Step 4: The Cross-Sell (Want Fries with That?)

• Suggest additional products or services that would enhance the original purchase
• Use props
• Fill the order

An important tool in being able to make a sale to a customer is having the knowledge about the products to be able to recommend additional products or services, based on what the customer has expressed an interest in, or based on what the customer's needs might be.

Step 5: Planting Seeds

• Offer suggestions for the future

The customer does not need to be highly interested in all of the products offered or recommended, but planting seeds for future product use will help customers remember your financial institution when that need arises.

Step 6: The Wrap-Up

• Present the customer with any paperwork from the transaction
• Thank the customer by name and offer future assistance
• Rise, shake hands, offer business card
• If convenient, walk the customer to the door

Completing the sale and making the customer feel comfortable before they leave the bank is always important. It is critical to leave the customer feeling comfortable with the representative and the financial institution so that they feel as if they can return for product or service help at any time in the future.