It is no surprise to anyone in the business of financial services that the world of selling, finding and building relationships is evolving. Banks and their relationship managers must find ways to leverage technology, improve effectiveness and uncover new ways to attract, differentiate and serve their clients.
Certainly, there are bankers who when hired, did not think it was their role to sell or navigate social selling sites. However, the evolution of fintech and the growth of digital and nonbank competition have changed the landscape that bankers operate within. In order to truly serve the whole client today, a financial provider must:
- Confidently and effectively operate in a more remote and digital selling environment.
- Become more consultative in approach, adapting to the state of the informed and empowered client and prospect, who has deep information at their fingertips.
- Become an expert in client specialties; anything less is available online.
- Understand and utilize many of the new tools available to complement selling such as CRM, AI, virtual reality and marketing automation.
Success in selling in the future will involve all of these adjustments; it remains a viable career if bankers also acquire the Core Sales Competencies needed to be successful. Let’s take a closer look at one of them, the prospector or hunter competency. This covers qualities and skills like:
- Will prospect. This is the salesperson who, when held accountable to prospecting activity, will prospect and use all business intelligence tools to do so.
- Prospects consistently. This is the banker who, based on their own internal desire and personal commitment to success in sales, and their sense of responsibility for results, will prospect without direct supervision and will take accountability for their own prospecting activity. It is a consistent part of their calendar every week and they understand how important it is to achieving their goals.
- Prospects via phone and/or walk-ins. A skilled prospector knows that the phone call starts the process. It is one thing to get an introduction, to attend a networking event or to get a response to an email invitation, but all of that effort is for naught until they pick up the phone and attempt to reach the prospect. Regardless of tenure in selling, the phone is still very key to starting the sales cycle and the buying/selling relationship.
- Has no or little need for approval. This relationship manager gets past gatekeepers and has a very powerful message to deliver to the prospect. They are not likely to be thrown off by the gatekeepers’ blocking techniques or the objections of the prospect. They realize that they have a job to do — get the appointment. They build a relationship with the prospect that is mutually beneficial based on the expert value they bring to the table and do not take conflict personally.
- Schedules meetings. The effort of networking and asking for introductions turns into meetings. A banker who puts forth the effort to pick up the phone has one of the necessary characteristics to be a successful hunter, but unless they actually schedule the appointments, then they will continue to struggle to fill their pipelines and meet personal and business goals.
- Recovers from rejection. The banker faces rejection on a regular basis. The difference between this person and an average producer is that they also understand the formula of SW3N — “Some Will, Some Won’t, So What? – NEXT.” They learn from it and move on to find the next prospect.
- Maintains a full pipeline. This is the metric that helps you quantify the strength and skill of hunting skills. Do they have a full pipeline that turns into business? Strong lenders know when to take someone out of the pipeline so that it is not full of pipedreams. They are strong at identifying if a prospect is in their niche.
- Not a perfectionist. Super hunters do not delay that call until the perfect time and they understand that outreach must happen, regardless. They use the right tech stack tools to prepare, but it does not have to be perfect and the concept of an ideal situation does not distract them from activity that must be done.
- Believes they are quickly liked by customers. Wanting to be liked can work against a relationship manager; however, skilled bankers are excellent at building rapport and are easily likable.
- Reaches decision-makers. The hunter has developed the ability to get beyond gatekeepers and wastes little time in the process. They know that nothing of substance happens until they are talking to the right person.
- Gets introductions. Getting introductions doesn’t sound like hunting, but it is a byproduct of the hunting activity. They do more than simply suggest their current client think of them if they encounter someone who needs their service; they proactively ask for names and expect introductions.
- Uses social selling tools. The successful banker uses technology to aid and assist in the traditional methods of prospecting: Pre-approach mail, direct mail, social networking and prospect-facing networking opportunities. The key here is to understand that a prospector does not rely solely on social networking and technology to build their pipeline. They do not sit and play catch hoping for someone to respond to a connection request on LinkedIn. They use current technology applications to supplement and enhance their current prospecting efforts.
- Attends networking events. A true prospector understands the importance of getting face time with many people who have an affinity for their expertise. They also have a consistent strategy and execution plan to attend events and turn events into prospects.
These activities will be critical to how bankers survive and thrive in the future of finding and building banking relationships.
Jeni Wehrmeyer is COO/CMO of Anthony Cole Training Group.