Satisfaction of the customer’s needs is the pre-requisite for the existence of the bank. The essence of marketing is about understanding, creating and retaining customers .Each individual working in the bank should be a marketing person, contributing to the total satisfaction of the customer. Thus the first pillar of marketing in banks is its CUSTOMER FOCUS.
A BUSINESS IS NOT WORTH ITS NAME IF IT FAILS TO ATTRACT AND RETAIN ENOUGH CUSTOMERS – NOTWITHSTANDING HOW EFFICIENTLY IT IS CONDUCTED. The bank with convenient retail outlets, branch network and most efficient services will be the ultimate winner in the growing competitive financial market.
Marketing is the management process which identifies, anticipates, and supplies customer requirements efficiently and profitably
Marketing –A MUST
M-Meet
U -Unearth/Understand
S – Serve/Satisfy
T – Transform
FOUR DISTINCT CHARACTERISTICS OF SERVICES
- INTANGIBILITY- cannot be seen, tasted, felt, heard or smelled before they are bought. Benefit can only be enjoyed.
- INSEPARABILITY- Physical goods can be produced, stored and later sold but services have to be sold before production and have to be enjoyed immediately.
- HETEROGENITY/VARIABILITY- Quality depends on who provides them, when, where and how.
- PERISHABILITY- cannot be stored for later sale or later consumption.
Tips and ideas for Banks’ marketing initiatives
- Know what makes you unique
- Know what products and services you are offering and the benefits of each
- Identify who you want to target and why?
- Understand your competition
- Get a Sales plan and monitor sales activities
- Create a referral program
- Pull existing marketing materials and see if they need updating
- Make it easy for customers to do business with you
Four Actions to make the competition irrelevant
Eliminate – Which of the factors that the industry takes for granted should be eliminated
Raise –Which factors should be raised well above the Industry’s standard
Create – Which factors should be created that the Industry has never offered
Reduce –Which factors should be reduced well below the Industry’s standard
Few Marketing Nuggets
- Just a great product will not get you noticed
- A unique identity is the heart of any marketing campaign
- If you want to be in business you have to grab the attention of your target audience
- A great product means nothing. The market is changing constantly. Reinventing the product again and again is the key
- Brands need to keep innovating to grab the “top-of-mind” awareness in the consumer’s mind
- Creating visibility for the brand at a reasonable cost should be the aim of any marketing campaign
- Get noticed, you will get customers
- You need to find a place in the mind of the consumer.
- The more you are seen, the more you will sell.
- The company that targets the market better wins the competition
- Just being a pioneer is no big deal.
- Marketing is about perceptions
- Have superb competitive intelligence
- Sell benefits, not products
- Serve well ,then sell
- Play by the rules. Remember no one likes cheaters
Networking
- Connect and be connected-see every interaction as an opportunity
- Establish common ground-initiate common interest conversations
- Bring your uniqueness to the table
- Nurture and develop-Build relationships and maintain them
- Know your network well-Focus on the important links
The objective of building a network is to build relationships- People want to do business with people they know, like and trust.
- Some rules for cultivating a successful network:
- Go to trade shows, association meetings and business events
- Talk about their business and their interests
- Focus on helping them- Help them and they will help you
- Get business cards and maintain contact
- Follow up with matters of interest to them
- Send thank you notes when you get any communication from them
Sales Planning and execution
- Setting objectives
- Determining operations to meet objectives
- Organizing action
- Implementation
- Measuring results against standards
- Re-evaluating and control
Importance of Sales Planning
- Better implementation of corporate plans
- Provide a sense of direction
- Focus on realistic objectives
- Improve coordination
- Facilitate control
- Ensure healthy interpersonal relationships
- Reduce Uncertainty and Risk.
Importance of Sales & Sales Persons
- Sales persons are the life blood of an organization
- The survival of an organization depends on the effectiveness of its sales force in convincing customers to make the purchase decision and ensuring customer satisfaction with the purchase there after
- A super salesman is one who has the ability to create discontent in a customer about the product he is presently using and convince him to buy the new product the salesman is offering.
- Prevent any of the sales people from venturing into the field without having complete knowledge about the product
- Salesperson should not promise more than what the company can deliver.
- Product knowledge-increasing product knowledge is an essential task for every sales person. It is a vital tool which will help you achieve success in selling. Sales people need to know:
-What the product is
-What the product does
-How the product fulfills customers’ needs and expectations
-Any other relevant information which leads to selling of product or services more efficiently.
- Develop business strategies to meet / exceed targets
- Undertake outbound and inbound activities
- Deploying marketing officers for liability and asset acquisition depending on the area potential.
- Monitoring lead closure and proper corrective actions
- Direct the efforts of MOs towards bulk acquisition of Savings and current accounts
- Helping MOs in preparing their catchment area plan (Territory Planning )
- Enabling cross sell initiatives at branches
- How the product fulfills customers’ needs and expectations
- Any other relevant information which leads to selling of product or services more efficiently.
Building Rapport
- Smile
- Listen
- Do your Homework
- Use the Customer’s Name
- Be on Time
- Dress Professionally
- Give Sincere and Specific Compliments
- Never Knock The Competition
Presenting
- Always Ask – Never Assume
- Let the Prospect Help make The Sale
- Paint a Word Picture
- Use Logic and Emotion
- Speak in Terms of “Investment” rather than “Cost” or “Price”
- Think in Terms of the Prospect’s Needs
- Use a Barometer during Your Sales Presentation
- Ask the Question that almost will produce a “Yes” Response
- Ask Permission to Take Notes
- Use the Power of the Word “Why”
“Big Three” Objections
- No Need
- Not Now
- Price
Closing and Handling Objections
- Always Ask for the Order
- Use the magic of Story Telling
- Challenge your Prospect
- Use “ Therapy” Questioning Technique
- Handle the Price Objection with a Quotation
- Answer Objections with New Information
- Be Professionally Persistent
- Ask the Prospect for an “OK” rather than a “Signature”
- Leave an Order Form When the Answer is not “Now,” “No,” or “I need higher Approval”
- Under Promise and Over Deliver
- Provide Extra Services
- Re-assure After Closing the Sale
Sales Execution
- Pre-sales activities
- Sales activities
- Post-Sales activities
Some Fascinating Sales Statistics
8% of sales people get 80% of the sales
Only 2% of sales occur at a first meeting
People in business often hope and expect to do business the first time they meet a prospect. Yet studies reveal that only 2% of sales occur when two parties meet for the first time.
Research suggests only one in 50 deals are struck at a first meeting, yet many sales people give up after just one or two knock-backs. Perseverance will give you a major edge on competitors
People and companies who don’t follow-up, who do nothing to build up that trust and relationship, cannot succeed, especially in today’s tough economic climate. People need to be sure they’re making the right decision before they commit to a purchase.
Formula for success in sales
- Be passionate about the profession of selling
- Believe in your product
- Believe in your company
- Believe in being a good professional by practicing integrity
- There is no substitute for hard work
- Practice persistence, don’t quit.
- Be a possibility thinker. Always look at possibilities and potential. Be optimistic
- Be knowledgeable about your product, service and industry.
9.Evaluate your performance, daily, weekly, monthly and with each evaluation, note three positive things you are doing and three things you need to improve until the next evaluation. Reinforce the positive and replace the negative.
- Be enthusiastic –it shows belief in your product and in your profession.
- Empathize with your prospect. Put yourselves in the other person’s shoes.
- Become a high energy person. It shows you have a clear destination and the determination to achieve it. Avoid burnout.
- Build self-esteem and display self-confidence.
- Don’t procrastinate. Learn and practice the phrase-‘Do it now’.
- Develop pride in performance. No matter what you do it with great pride.
16.Do the right thing ,the first time and every time.
| A sales Toolkit
1. Ample number of business cards 2. Brochures, flyers, the address of the company and website details 3. Product catalogue or brochure 4. Sample product or other demo materials 5. Laptop ,if there is an electronic presentation 6. Presentation CDs 7. Copy of the direct mail if one was sent in advance 8. Fact sheets about the company /product( if different from the brochure) 9. A fact finding checklist or questionnaire to establish need 10. Testimonial letters
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Making Sales Presentations
A good sales presentation should be well-planned, structured, customer-focused and solution oriented. It must move from a general presentation to specific needs and benefits because customers don’t buy products and services, they only buy benefits and solutions.
Presentation Tips
| Do’s | Don’ts |
| Go with a clear focus and identify your objective | Be casual, careless and callous |
| Take a deep breath, relax and speak clearly | Be arrogant or have prestige issues |
| Be pleasant and behave naturally | Exaggerate and make false promises |
| Establish eye contact and smile | Be pushy and pressurizing |
| Be confident, sincere, honest and courteous | Talk too much or be tense |
| Be proud of your integrity, profession, product and company | Manipulate or lie or conceal information. |
| Keep your presentation to the point, sharp ,crisp and brief | Be offensive or defensive |
| Be sensitive to your client’s needs and time constraints | Try to close the sale without giving a strong benefit. |
| Convert features into benefits | Compromise on values |
| Be prepared to handle objection | Interrupt and joke unnecessarily. |
Being an effective team leader …
- Build trust between team members.
- Inspire and motivate teamwork for achieving goals.
- Influence valuable changes.
- Be open to new ideas coming from team members.
- Consult frequently with key team members.
- Distinguish the team from others – create an identity for the team.
- Encourage and support independent thinking.
- Recognize the skills of key team members
- Ensure that all members understand the missions ahead.
HR Skills required making you “MOST”
- Communication skills: To speak and write persuasively
- Interpersonal skills: To listen and hear what people are saying and react in constructive ways (active listening)
- Motivational skills: To align people who may not report to you toward a goal
- Conflict-resolution skills: To handle friction and inevitable tensions
- Negotiation skills: To bring different groups together in order to reach mutually agreeable goals