Yesterday I had conversations with two of my bank advisor sales coaching clients.  The first conversation was with an advisor who came to me as part of a corporate sales coaching agreement.  Take a look at the excuses he made in only one hour:

• Our customer base has no money
• (My former bank) is better / has wealthier, older clients - has fantastic relationships.
• (Present Bank) is different
• Branch managers are order takers / sell the product of the month / have poor product knowledge
• Branch managers don’t market
• Branches don’t have many commercial customers
• Branch managers turn over every six months
• Does not see any business potential coming from the branch managers or loan officers
• Has to get loan officer approval to call on their clients
• Tellers provide referrals but he gets “none, nada…they don’t have the relationship”

In case you wondered, he has very poor production.

Later in the day, I spoke with another advisor who could see nothing but opportunity.  He earns a great income, but still wants to grow his business.  He views his relationship with his banking colleagues as a partnership, and looks for ways to help them grow their business.  In addition to reviewing his marketing plan, he wants me to help him improve his fundamental sales skills.

This advisor sells six times more than the previous advisor.

What comes first – the attitude or the production?  Consider your attitude toward all aspects of your business.  Examine how you can improve, and make plans to pursue that improvement.  Your basic beliefs about your opportunity always translate into tangible results.  Ask yourself if your attitude empowers or hinders you.  Guard your attitude with your life, and constantly look for ways to improve – and you will!

Good selling!

Technorati Tags: bank advisor, sales coaching

Selling financial services as a financial advisor, stock broker, insurance agent, or banker involves six critical factors to be successful – long term. Short term success is possible without attention to these “Critical Success Factors,” (CSF’s) but long term success requires proficiency on a regular basis in each area. The CSF’s include:

1. Prospecting
2. Sales Approach
3. Presentation
4. Answering Objections
5. Closing
6. Service

Nothing revolutionary here; these topics have been taught since the earliest days of sales training. However, today many firms neglect basic sales training, and we always benefit from a reminder to step outside ourselves and objectively examine our business. Let me ask you a few questions:

• Are you weak in one or more CSF’s?
• Do you pay attention to and seek to improve each factor?
• Do you continually evaluate yourself and your business?

If you are new to financial product sales, or if you are experienced, consider reading my book, The Ultimate Small Cap Business; Building A Financial Advisory Practice. This concise book provides a comprehensive overview of financial service selling and practice management. Look for future posts to provide tips for each of the Critical Success Factors of Sales.

Good selling!

Technorati Tags: financial advisor, stock broker, insurance agent, banker

Yesterday I was speaking to a sales coaching client who works as a financial advisor in a bank in New York. She asked me how to answer an objection that she had received on a recent sales call. After suggesting a response, she asked me about another objection – and then another and another. We spent the rest of our coaching call discussing how to answer a wide variety of objections, and I shared several “techniques” for dealing with objections.

This conversation reminded me that the long lost art of sales training has been, to some extent, marginalized and in some cases forsaken. “Sales trainers” – and I use the term loosely – suggest that selling has evolved. Salespeople should sell in their “own style” they say. Salespeople should listen, ask open ended questions, offer solutions, and then…

What happens is the prospect inevitably says, “I want to think it over,” and today’s salespeople lose the sale, at least temporarily, because they cannot deal with objections and close the sale. Let there be no doubt that selling has evolved and for the better. Professional salespeople do develop their own style, and always have. However, salespeople need a foundation of skills to help them survive – and actually sell something – until they have the experience and wisdom to sell within their style.
My suggestion for this sales coaching client was to make a list of every product and service she presents on a regular basis, and then list the four most common objections she hears to the offering. Then I suggested she consider how to answer these objections. Being prepared in this fashion will make her more confident – and successful – as she grows in her sales skills.

Sales training still provides a foundation for all new financial advisors. With a multitude of resources available there is no shortage of opportunities to learn the ways of the masters.

Good selling!

Technorati Tags: sales coaching, financial advisor, sales call, Sales trainers, selling, Salespeople

Yesterday I was in New York at the National Speakers Association Convention.  While I was in town, I called the office of a sales coaching client who is a retail financial advisor for a large bank.  This bank has about fifty offices spread over seven states from coast to coast.  I provide sales coaching for their advisors, and thought I would stop by and say hello to this particular person.  I called the advisor’s office and asked “Do you know which branch [advisor] is covering today?”  The answer was short and to the point.

“No,” was the reply, followed by silence.  No offer to find out the answer or find someone who could assist me; just a simple no.

First impressions make or break sales.  If I had wanted to discuss opening a new account, I would have chosen not to dig any deeper.  Were I an existing client, I may have considered moving my account.  Shep Hyken, CSP, CPAE is one of America’s top customer service experts.  In an article titled “First Impressions”, Shep states that “Most of the statistics range between eight to twelve good things to make up for a Moment of Misery.” 

Solution: Make certain your staff and colleagues are trained on proper telephone technique.  Script them, and leave nothing to chance.  In today’s world, tolerance is preached on every corner, but never be tolerant of poor or rude telephone technique.  Believe this; your clients won’t be tolerant if they are treated poorly.  Conversely, if people are trained and expected to deliver exceptional client service in every way, people will want to do business with you, and refer you to others.

Good selling!

Technorati Tags: sales coaching, financial advisor, refer

Last Saturday, I enjoyed a special experience. I worked a booth with a sales superstar.

Working a booth at a trade show or professional association meeting exposes salespeople. In a matter of nanoseconds you must identify a suspect. Then you have 30 – 60 seconds to qualify them, make your presentation, answer objections, and ask for the order. As a professional speaker I serve the National Speakers Association – Minnesota as President. In that role I attended a Toastmasters Conference in Minneapolis and manned a booth to create awareness of our educational offerings with Stuart Gray, a fellow professional speaker and entrepreneur, and Director of NSA-MN.

Stuart is co-founder of 4Remarkable Service, a firm “works with restaurants throughout the world helping them implement wait staff training that focuses on service AND sales.” In addition, Stuart is the founder of the Hospitality Business Breakfast, which provides monthly programs of professional speakers as a service to the hospitality industry. Stuart is a master salesperson, and operates from a position of providing extreme value to his customers and clients.

A gentleman approached our booth, and showed interest in our “Institute for Professional Speaker Development” programs. Stuart identified his interest, and made a short presentation of the program. This man said, “Well, that’s interesting, but you may be wasting your time on me,” to which Stuart asked a clarifying question about the man’s question, answered it, and resumed his presentation. The end result – this gentleman changed his mind, and enthusiastically signed up to attend a future information session! The lesson – be persistent, and welcome objections as a request for additional information. Deliver this new information to your prospect with new perspective, and keep selling.

Once again, I was fortunate to witness sales greatness. Stuart, you rock!

Good selling!

Technorati Tags: professional speaker

Michael Roby, a sales and marketing strategist and professional speaker based in Minnesota, is now writing a regular marketing column for Bank Advisor Magazine. The first issue was released in July, with two more issues planned for this year, with monthly publication planned for 2008. Roby has over 30 years of experience in sales, sales management, sales training, and business coaching. He also is an award winning speaker, having been named “Member of the Year” by National Speakers Association – Minnesota. In addition to being a motivational speaker and writer, Roby provides sales training and product launch facilitation for companies focused on building brand and deepening customer relationships. Roby’s website is www.michaelroby.com .

Bank Advisor magazine is a tactical sales and marketing resource that bank advisors read in order to help them reach their goals and do more business. Banks continue to sell more life insurance, annuities and security products directly to consumers which results in a huge opportunity for companies looking to provide products and solutions to the bank channel. Banks need to be quicker and more customer centric than ever before, and Bank Advisor Magazine helps create a dialogue amongst the sales reps and managers to help them achieve new levels of success. Their website is www.bankadvisormagazine.com.

Wiesner Media Financial Group is the leading, independent source for information on sales, marketing and best practice techniques for insurance, financial, banking and benefits brokers and advisors. Wiesner Media Financial Group publishes four magazines: Bank Advisor Magazine, Benefits Selling, Boomer Market Advisor and Senior Market Advisor. ProducersWEB.com, the leading industry web portal, and Advisors Data Source, a data-services division, are also included in the division. In addition, Wiesner Media Financial Group annually produces two leading industry events: Benefits Selling Expo and Senior Market Advisor Expo.

Technorati Tags: sales and marketing strategist, professional speaker, sales training, business coaching, speaker, National Speakers Association – Minnesota, motivational speaker, product launch facilitation

What can you expect here? This blog will be designed to share sales and marketing ideas for people and businesses who wish to grow their businesses. The methodologies and ideas discussed will focus on strategies and tactics designed to increase your business from your best existing relationships, and referrals from those relationships.

My hope is that this will be a clearinghouse for PROVEN sales and marketing strategies. I’m not going to post ideas I THINK will work, but rather techniques that I KNOW will work, because they have worked for me or for other professional salespeople.

I ask that you limit your posts to those ideas that have worked for you. If you want discussion on a potential idea, please make certain you describe your idea as something you are CONSIDERING. This will allow you to take advantage of the experiences and knowledge of others.

I’m looking forward to this journey. May it be profitable and fun for us all!