Who is driving the bus?

The issue of sales culture is nothing new to financial services. We buy books about sales culture; we attend presentations about sales culture; and we read articles about sales culture –yet, many executives are left trying to figure out how exactly to build their own effective sales culture.

The November issue of ABA Bank Marketing Magazine features an article about sales culture, titled: “Is Everybody on the Same Bus?” The article highlights the efforts of two banks: Bank of Smithtown and The National Banks of Central Texas, as they developed two distinct and successful cultures of sales. The title of the article poses the question: “Is everybody on the same bus? – but, before we answer that question, shouldn’t we be asking ourselves: “who is driving the bus?”

This article, like many discussions about sales culture, fails to mention the most important foundational aspect of building a successful sales culture – leadership. Without first developing a culture of leadership within your institution, a cohesive culture of sales is difficult, if not impossible, to establish. The “driver” of a sales culture must be a leadership team that has the foresight to recognize the need to unite the team in an effort to sell.

So, before investing valuable time and resources in developing a sales culture to “get everyone on the same bus” – make sure you know who is driving.

What is good service?

Some will tell you that good service is greeting each customer with a friendly “hello” when they walk into a branch; some will tell you that good service is answering a customer’s questions; others will tell you that good service is service with a smile. While these all may be considered aspects of “good service” – they certainly will not give you a competitive advantage among today’s aggressive financial institutions.

In order to use service as a differentiator, it must actually be a different, and better, level of service than that offered by your competition. Furthermore, the service must be clearly defined and it must be communicated at all levels within your institution; the service must be noticeably different from that of the competition and must be considered valuable in the eyes of the customer.

Consider an article in the December 4th issue of the Chicago Tribune titled “Community banks find niche.” The article highlights Barrington Bank & Trust Company’s efforts to differentiate itself based on a high level of service targeting physicians with a program called Physicians Financial Care. As the article states: “Its Physicians’ Financial Care program, launched Nov. 15, aims to provide comprehensive financial services for doctors, helping them plan for all stages of their careers and run their practices…From eliminating medical school debt to running a practice and planning for retirement, the bank’s program aims to give physicians information and tools to make sound financial decisions.”

This is a great example of a community bank identifying and targeting an underserved niche with a specific service that is indeed different from the services offered by the competition. This is the type of differentiation we are talking about when we say, “In order to differentiate yourself, you must be different – truly different.”

The Color Red and Rubber Bands, who knew?

By now you've most likely seen the (Red) campaign created by Bono and Bobby Shriver. You may have seen coverage of Bono and Oprah's shopping spree at the Gap, Armani, and Apple stores on Chicago's Magnificent Mile. Maybe you've seen a bright red iPod nano floating around. Portions of the profits from all (Red) branded products will fund AIDS relief programs in Africa.

The concept is really no different from Lance Armstrong's "Live Strong" bracelets and the off-shoots from those. Who would have thought a rubber band could be such a fashion statement?

What the (Red) and Live Strong campaigns have done is simple enough. They've taken something as everyday and simple as red products or a rubber band, and used them to create an incredible buzz around world-wide campaigns to fight AIDS and Cancer.

What the marketers behind these successful campaigns knew is that the general public needs a reason to take action. A worthy cause is not always enough. Combine a worthy cause with something the public already wants and then you’ve got something.

The public may never actually want a checking account. But, the public does want the advantages of a checking account. It also wants the house that comes with a mortgage and the interest income that comes with a CD or IRA. Still, few people want to talk about these things. By default, that means no buzz unless, that is, you give them something worth discussing.

We all know that word of mouth is a valuable tool to any organization, so how can you get people talking about your institution? Instinctively we all probably look at our products first. Don’t. Products can be copied, and there are no intellectual property rights to 5.4% APY on a CD.

Challenge yourself to look deeper than that. Look at the experience of doing business with your organization. Find and reward champions of your institution, and make it a priority to continually improve and enhance your customers’ experiences. What about your institution is exciting and different from the rest? Have you created something that people will tell their friends and family about? Find that, or contact us and we’ll help you find it. Then, talk about it until you’re blue in the face (or Red). Better yet, ask your customers what they want; then give it to them, and encourage them to share their fabulous experience with everyone they know.