Prospecting at a bank
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May 12, 2009 3:08 pm
Anyone working in a bank platform ? How do you create referrals ?
How do you coach bank personal regarding how to solicit for referrals ?
What do you have them ask the customer to see if they are interested in a meeting ?
Thank you !
I have every banker ask this…
Mr. Smith, while I have you here, what accounts at other institutions are you concerned about ? (With this market they all have some type of answer) Great, you should talk to Ron about that. (Then they come get me or email me the customers info and I call the next day) Simple but effectiveOminous:
I have tried to communicate with this site and it seems that it is abandoned. You sign up and they send you the same system generated email and all of the commentary on the site is old.http://www.ultimatebankadvisor.com/
Ron 14:
Meet with each team member INDIVIDUALLY. (This process can take weeks to finally meet with all team members.)
These are the questions that I ask – in this order:
Tell me about your previous banking experience? Did you give the investment advisor there any referrals? How did those work out? Have you ever given an investment referral here? How did that work out?
Have them tell you about the last time they made a sale. Here’s what they usually do: They take a FEATURE, turn it into a BENEFIT and encouraged the customer to TAKE ACTION.
This is what I call “transactional sales” that take very little (if any) follow up.
We need to teach the banking staff RELATIONSHIP sales. Is there a difference? YES. If you take the “transactional sales” approach to referrals, you’ll have tellers who think these thoughts:
• What am I referring my customers to?
• I don’t know anything about their products?
• I’m not licensed to talk about their products?
• I don’t know what I’m talking about, so it’s better to not say anything.
This is how your tellers and bankers feel if they don’t know about RELATIONSHIP SELLING. RELATIONSHIP SELLING REQUIRES HIGH TRUST. Otherwise it just won’t work. (Which means that you had better communicate BACK to the referrer so they know what happened with their customer - and get you more referrals!)
Here’s the ideal “script” for relationship sales: “Have you met Ominous? He’s a great guy! He helps out a lot of our clients with different types of accounts. He can have your money work harder for you (or accelerate your plans). If you know what your schedule is, I can help you set an appointment for you today.”
Notice what I didn’t say: Financial Advisor, Financial Planner, Investments, Insurance – all those terms (in banking) bring about an uncomfortable image of a sales presentation. While we may not care as much – the client can be dreading such an interaction. Let’s not plant those thoughts in their minds (or the minds of the tellers).
We didn’t describe investments, insurance – nothing. Just the opportunity to have the client’s money work harder through DIFFERENT TYPES OF ACCOUNTS.
If your client presses, just say that it can involve investments IF IT’S RIGHT FOR THEM. If it’s not right for them, he’ll refer you back to us for CDs or money market accounts.
Step 2: Inspect what you expect!
It’s time to have a contest! Here are the parameters: Divide up the day into 2 segments. For example: 9am – 1pm and 2pm – 6pm.
Whoever introduces you to the most customers between either of those 2 time frames wins! Also, whoever gets the most “No’s” during the entire day – wins! All they need to do is mention you and they can have a greater chance to win!
They should introduce you to ANYBODY – regardless of balances. Especially if you’re in a “secondary financial institution” – like a credit union or community bank.
When running this contest, it is best to run the contest on either the beginning or end of month, the Friday nearest the 15th of the month, or the Friday before a 3-day weekend. The institution will be at it’s busiest time then – and greater exposure for you.
What should they win? Some kind of token item – or even just a $5 gift card. If you’ve got the right culture in the institution, the COMPETITION should be enough to get you introduced to a good amount of people that day.
Now, when you introduce yourself, you can mention whatever you want. I usually stick to 4 subjects: Insurance, investments, financial planning and retirement planning.
The purpose of this contest is to just GET THE TELLERS AND BANKERS TO OPEN THEIR MOUTHS. ANY ACTUAL REFERRALS ARE “ICING ON THE CAKE”. Once they’re in the practice of talking about you, they’ll find it easier and easier – and better referrals will come your way.
I have run this contest at multiple branch locations and have had varying results. One branch, I talked to 23 people, found 4 qualified referrals with a combined total net worth over $1 million.
Another branch, I just finished a contest today - I talked to 43 people, found 5 qualified referrals, and set up 1 appointment on the spot. Of the remaining 4, 3 of them have insurance needs that need to be reviewed.
BUT I GOT THE TELLERS TALKING!!! Remember that 7 out of 10 people that walk through the doors of a bank branch, go to the teller line. TAKE GOOD CARE OF THEM AND GIVE THEM THE TOOLS TO HELP THEM DO THE JOB - AND THEY'LL TAKE CARE OF YOU.[/quote] [quote]Other things to keep in mind: You've GOT to have the branch manager on your side and supporting you.
When a teller gets a big check, the first things that they think about are:
- is this fraudulent?
- will I lose my job?
- is it made payable correctly to the account?
- do the written amounts and dollar amounts match?
- is there a memo in the memo section?
- is there a perforation on one side?
- is it endorsed properly?
- how long has the account been open?
- etc., etc., etc.,
They are NOT thinking that this could be a referral opportunity.
After explaining that there could be a hold placed on the check, this is a great time for the manager to ask what the customer's plans are for the money. The branch manager should say (as appropriate) "I recommend you talk to Ominous. He can help you in ways that I wouldn't be able to. Can I have him give you a call to set an appointment?"
Once you've got the branch manager on your side and representing you well, you'll see more quality referrals come from your banking branches.[/quote]
I have tried to communicate with this site and it seems that it is abandoned. You sign up and they send you the same system generated email and all of the commentary on the site is old.[/quote] Fair enough. Did you buy the books? (Note: I am not affiliated with that site) Here are some of my posts on another forum in regards to working with banking staff: [quote]My approach to working with banking employees for EXCEPTIONAL REFERRAL HABITS:[quote=Ominous]http://www.ultimatebankadvisor.com/
Meet with each team member INDIVIDUALLY. (This process can take weeks to finally meet with all team members.)
These are the questions that I ask – in this order:
Tell me about your previous banking experience? Did you give the investment advisor there any referrals? How did those work out? Have you ever given an investment referral here? How did that work out?
Have them tell you about the last time they made a sale. Here’s what they usually do: They take a FEATURE, turn it into a BENEFIT and encouraged the customer to TAKE ACTION.
This is what I call “transactional sales” that take very little (if any) follow up.
We need to teach the banking staff RELATIONSHIP sales. Is there a difference? YES. If you take the “transactional sales” approach to referrals, you’ll have tellers who think these thoughts:
• What am I referring my customers to?
• I don’t know anything about their products?
• I’m not licensed to talk about their products?
• I don’t know what I’m talking about, so it’s better to not say anything.
This is how your tellers and bankers feel if they don’t know about RELATIONSHIP SELLING. RELATIONSHIP SELLING REQUIRES HIGH TRUST. Otherwise it just won’t work. (Which means that you had better communicate BACK to the referrer so they know what happened with their customer - and get you more referrals!)
Here’s the ideal “script” for relationship sales: “Have you met Ominous? He’s a great guy! He helps out a lot of our clients with different types of accounts. He can have your money work harder for you (or accelerate your plans). If you know what your schedule is, I can help you set an appointment for you today.”
Notice what I didn’t say: Financial Advisor, Financial Planner, Investments, Insurance – all those terms (in banking) bring about an uncomfortable image of a sales presentation. While we may not care as much – the client can be dreading such an interaction. Let’s not plant those thoughts in their minds (or the minds of the tellers).
We didn’t describe investments, insurance – nothing. Just the opportunity to have the client’s money work harder through DIFFERENT TYPES OF ACCOUNTS.
If your client presses, just say that it can involve investments IF IT’S RIGHT FOR THEM. If it’s not right for them, he’ll refer you back to us for CDs or money market accounts.
Step 2: Inspect what you expect!
It’s time to have a contest! Here are the parameters: Divide up the day into 2 segments. For example: 9am – 1pm and 2pm – 6pm.
Whoever introduces you to the most customers between either of those 2 time frames wins! Also, whoever gets the most “No’s” during the entire day – wins! All they need to do is mention you and they can have a greater chance to win!
They should introduce you to ANYBODY – regardless of balances. Especially if you’re in a “secondary financial institution” – like a credit union or community bank.
When running this contest, it is best to run the contest on either the beginning or end of month, the Friday nearest the 15th of the month, or the Friday before a 3-day weekend. The institution will be at it’s busiest time then – and greater exposure for you.
What should they win? Some kind of token item – or even just a $5 gift card. If you’ve got the right culture in the institution, the COMPETITION should be enough to get you introduced to a good amount of people that day.
Now, when you introduce yourself, you can mention whatever you want. I usually stick to 4 subjects: Insurance, investments, financial planning and retirement planning.
The purpose of this contest is to just GET THE TELLERS AND BANKERS TO OPEN THEIR MOUTHS. ANY ACTUAL REFERRALS ARE “ICING ON THE CAKE”. Once they’re in the practice of talking about you, they’ll find it easier and easier – and better referrals will come your way.
I have run this contest at multiple branch locations and have had varying results. One branch, I talked to 23 people, found 4 qualified referrals with a combined total net worth over $1 million.
Another branch, I just finished a contest today - I talked to 43 people, found 5 qualified referrals, and set up 1 appointment on the spot. Of the remaining 4, 3 of them have insurance needs that need to be reviewed.
BUT I GOT THE TELLERS TALKING!!! Remember that 7 out of 10 people that walk through the doors of a bank branch, go to the teller line. TAKE GOOD CARE OF THEM AND GIVE THEM THE TOOLS TO HELP THEM DO THE JOB - AND THEY'LL TAKE CARE OF YOU.[/quote] [quote]Other things to keep in mind: You've GOT to have the branch manager on your side and supporting you.
When a teller gets a big check, the first things that they think about are:
- is this fraudulent?
- will I lose my job?
- is it made payable correctly to the account?
- do the written amounts and dollar amounts match?
- is there a memo in the memo section?
- is there a perforation on one side?
- is it endorsed properly?
- how long has the account been open?
- etc., etc., etc.,
They are NOT thinking that this could be a referral opportunity.
After explaining that there could be a hold placed on the check, this is a great time for the manager to ask what the customer's plans are for the money. The branch manager should say (as appropriate) "I recommend you talk to Ominous. He can help you in ways that I wouldn't be able to. Can I have him give you a call to set an appointment?"
Once you've got the branch manager on your side and representing you well, you'll see more quality referrals come from your banking branches.[/quote]
Nice and interesting topic… In business the banks plays an important role by giving loans and for some other facility…
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