NOVEMBER / DECEMBER 2022 SALES & MARKETING In analyzing those bankers who are successful year after year, we find significant consistencies in prospecting behavior and practice management. These top sales producers adhere to the fact that prospecting is an “A” priority. Successful lenders and relationship managers service accounts just like everyone else. They also have fires to put out and meetings to attend. But nothing gets in the way of consistent outreach to build new relationships. &IWX 4VEGXMGIW JSV &YMPHMRK 6IPEXMSRWLMTW Plan for it Schedule a time each day to make phone calls and stick to the schedule. First thing in the morning works well. The longer you procrastinate, the better chance there is of something getting in the way of this critical activity. You don’t have to like prospecting; you just have to do it. Every day. The more of this activity you do, the more proficient you will become. Be unique Don’t look, act or sound like every other banker. Create a unique approach – don’t just say that you are different. Put yourself in your prospect’s place. Would you take your phone call and be responsive? If not, work on your strategy and script. For example, when you get your prospect on the phone, say “Hello Tom.” and be silent. Wait for the prospect to respond. They will typically say something like “Hi, what can I do for you?” They have engaged. Buyers are conditioned to hear “Hello. This is Joe from ABC Company and I am calling you to ….” Prospects hear this, immediately recognize a sales pitch and quickly disconnect. Building Relationships Takes a focus on prospecting Use calls to screen, not sell Successful bankers understand that the purpose of a call is to set an appointment with a qualified candidate. Stop selling on the phone. Stop seeing just anyone who will see you. Make sure the prospect qualifies or has a potential reason to do business with you. On the phone call identify that the prospect has a problem and ask them to invite you to come and talk about it. The quality of the phone call determines the quality of the appointment. At this point, your goal is to identify if your prospect has a problem that you can solve. Ask questions like, “Can you tell me about the problems you are experiencing?” Ask the question, “Why is this problem a problem?” so the prospect reinforces, in their own mind, that this is something they need to address. If they can’t answer this question, chances are the problem isn’t big enough for them to spend time and money on it. Ask the question, “How much is this problem costing you?” Asking this will make the prospect put dollars to the problem. If the money involved is more than or equal to the price of your product, he is more apt to invite you to visit. Establish that he would like to fix the problem. At this stage, you are trying to see if they have enough information and “pain” to justify a meeting. Keep the following questions handy when you are on prospecting calls. They will help you discover if a prospect is really a prospect: Tell me about your current problems… in your cash management system (for example). How long has this been a problem? What have you done to fix it? When you spoke with your current banker what did she say? What has she done to make this problem go away? Tony Cole *SYRHIV 'LMIJ 0IEVRMRK 3JƤGIV Anthony Cole Training Group LLC Tony@ AnthonyColeTraining.com Anthony Cole Training Group LLC is an associate member of the Indiana Bankers Association.
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