Hoosier Banker 19 * All statistics are from Objective Management Group evaluations. well as the relationship manager-client relationship. High-touch coaching occurs when managers are proactively asking questions of their team members, giving feedback on a regular basis and showing a genuine interest in the development of the relationship manager. To get started, managers should: 1. Set time aside for a personal goal discussion. This should be done in-person or via a video conference call so that there is eye contact. Relationship managers are motivated first by their personal goals. The goal is to find out what drives the relationship manager and what is important to them. Encourage them to dream big and freethink about their life goals, including family and personal aspirations. No goal should be too big or too small. After that, goals should be translated into SMART (Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic and Time-based) goals. 2. Set professional goals. Begin by asking the relationship manager to consider how meeting their professional goals can help them reach their personal goals. Set professional goals that not only include targets for sales, cross-sell and retention, but also what the relationship manager has shared is important to them. (While many goals are set by lines of business and other institutional needs, creating room for additional goals set in consultation with the relationship manager can be beneficial. If a life goal, for example, is to one day write the great American novel, make it a goal for the relationship manager to identify volunteer opportunities at writing workshops that can be done as part of your institution’s commitment to the community.) 3. Set regular check-ins. Establish a rhythm for follow-up and discussion about both the relationship manager’s personal and professional goals. These check-ins should include managing activities identified in the plan, holding relationship managers accountable to activity levels, helping to identify choke points, coaching how they are doing what they do, asking for the opportunity to observe sales calls and encouraging debriefs. High-touch coaching and selling is ultimately about developing a meaningful human connection, a relationship. This has to begin with the sales manager and the relationship manager before it can translate into a relationship manager and client relationship. When this is accomplished – and it’s not a one-and-done proposition, but an art that requires regular attention – banks can develop service-to-sales career paths for their relationship managers that lead to success for all. HB
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