Five ways to improve your in-branch sales program
Say the letters ABC to a true sales person and inevitably images of Alec Baldwin spelling out “Always Be Closing” will come to mind. But the days of Glengarry Glen Ross sales tactics are (thankfully) in the past, and have never really had a place in the credit union world. Yet, opening new accounts and positioning loans is imperative to a credit union’s success. According to creditunions.com, in the 10 years following the recession, the credit union industry has grown its loan portfolio 82.7%. There is still a lot of growth to be realized, and even in today’s digital world, most new sales will be handled by branch employees. This means that the sales program needs to be focused on making suggestions of products and services, opening new accounts and writing new loans… and making sure MSR’s are comfortable with the sales aspect of their role. Accomplishing the task of a soft sale day after day can be a struggle for branch employees. If your results are not where you need them to be, here are 5 areas to look to improve the process:
1. Not Asking the Right Questions and Listening
95% of buyers state that the typical salesperson talks too much, and 74% of buyers said they were much more likely to buy if that salesperson would simply listen to them. Credit union employees have to be good at asking the right questions, so their conversation gives them the information they need to really understand that member. Only then can they give suggestions about meeting the member’s needs.
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