Banking Industry

This Midwest community bank saw their business continuing to deteriorate. The number of new accounts had plateaued, and referrals to other departments (such as wealth management) had declined from prior years. Upper management wanted all employees to become more comfortable and skilled at needs based selling.

Sales Training Needs Assessment 

Given the current economic climate and high unemployment levels, the bank’s sales and business development challenges were daunting.  Rather than watch their business continue to deteriorate, upper management said that they wanted to upgrade the skills of all their employees to sell and service clients.  In addition, they shared that the bank had tried to implement a sales training program a few years ago, but that the other workshop was negatively received because it taught a pushy, hard-sell approach to selling.  Management wanted to ensure that a needs based sales process be taught to their employees.

Sales Training Solution

Because Peak Selling’s Needs Based Selling program is based on a consultative approach to selling, we were confident that the content would meet their needs.  However, due to the prior bad experience in using an outside instructor who endorsed a hard-sell approach, we decided to partner with a local consultant who was known to upper management and who was respected throughout the entire bank.  To save money, they licensed Peak Selling’s sales training materials and used a local outside instructor to teach a series of sales workshops to over 100 employees.   Net results: their referral rate increased by over 50%, and they also saw an increase of 20% in the opening of new core deposit accounts.

A community bank had previously taught sales training to their tellers and other banking personnel but the sales training program was perceived as a pushy approach and did not succeed. The bank still needed to upgrade the sales capabilities of the entire organization, but had to overcome the apprehension and resistance that the sales training workshop had created with the employees.

Sales Training Needs Assessment

Peak Selling consulted with the training department and the SVP for Sales, during which they described the issues created by the pushy sales training program. In addition, they said that they wanted to teach the sales training program themselves to make the participants more comfortable with the instructor. Finally, they said that they were interested in ways to teach the concepts to new employees who joined the bank after the initial training was finished.

Sales Training Solution

Peak Selling designed a customized Needs Based Selling Workshop for the tellers and bank personnel, and then prepared an extensive train-the-trainer workshop for the bank’s instructors, none of whom had taught this type of program before. The trainer training taught them how to teach the sales training program, and also provided them ample opportunities to provide many bank-relevant examples. We taught the initial train-the-trainer sessions, which were divided into three 1-day events, and then consulted 1-on-1 with each instructor when that particular instructor was about to teach the sales training workshop for the first time.

The results of the initial Needs Based Selling Workshop were outstanding. The trainers received the highest possible workshop evaluation scores from 94% of the attendees. From a business standpoint, the referral rate increased by 50% and the amount of new core deposit accounts opened increased by 20%. 

A credit union wanted to develop the future leadership competencies of their officers and managers.

Sales Training Needs Assessment

The credit union was in a growth mode, with plans to add some branches and to expand some others. This meant that new managers were going to be hired or promoted, and that the responsibilities of all the managers would increase. It was essential at this point that the officers and managers develop their leadership skills. The President and senior management team felt that the current officer group was competent, but wanted them to become outstanding leaders who would operate consistently throughout all the branches.

Sales Training Solution

Peak Selling assisted in three ways. First, we led and processed focus group sessions and 1-on-1 meetings to identify the future skills and competencies that were crucial to the long-term success of the credit union. For example: leading a team, motivating employees, building a sales culture. Next, we designed a series of Essential Selling Skills workshops to teach these diverse skills. Lastly, we followed up and reinforced the workshops. The client did an extensive Level 3 and 4 measurement of the training effort, and saw 15% or greater improvement in skill levels and business results.

Large regional bank needed to build a sales culture and upgrade the skills of its employees to sell and service clients.  The down economy required that they needed to save costs.

Business Issue 

This Midwest based bank wanted to build a needs-based selling culture throughout the entire bank. The bank had grown through a series of acquisitions, and the employees from the various acquired branches varied tremendously in their ability and desire to sell.  

Sales Training Needs Assessment 

The training manager wanted to use internal staff, primarily branch managers, to teach over 500 employees. Due to some upcoming marketing initiatives, there was urgency to implement the first phase of this project. Peak Selling consulted with the training manager and learned that this first phase of training would be a series of 1-day workshops to all the tellers and personal bankers. The bank intended to do a second phase of training later in the year with advanced training for the personal bankers. As such, Peak Selling and the training manager identified the key skills in a needs based sales process, and prioritized the skill sets into phase 1 and phase 2 categories.

Sales Training Solution 

Peak Selling designed a customized sales training program for phase 1 with Needs Based Selling Skills and concepts that were suitable for tellers and personal bankers. Key topics included how to build rapport, questioning and listening skills, and how to cross sell more effectively.  Because the workshop was going to be taught by several branch managers, the exercises and lecture were modified to make it easier for a non-trainer to teach.  

The bank saved more than 70% of the original budgeted estimate by working with Peak Selling in three ways. First, we customized a sales training workshop that was shorter in duration than other training vendors yet provided all the essential skills to follow a needs based sales process. Second, they decided to use internal managers as the instructors, for whom Peak Selling taught train-the-trainer skills. Third, they licensed the masters for the training materials, and produced over 500 workbooks themselves. This latter step alone saved them tens of thousands of dollars.

In addition to the customized workshops and trainer training, Peak Selling provided the client with access to online training for their future training needs.  The client’s trainers were advised on how they could personally tutor new employees using the online training to get them up to speed on the same concepts.  This combination of traditional in-person training and sales coaching, along with online instruction provided a very efficient and effective learning system.

A local bank needed to increase the quantity and effectiveness of their prospecting and business development efforts with key customers.

Sales Training Needs Assessment

The bank had recently hired a new president and charged her with the responsibility to grow sales and profits. She quickly identified two critical areas for improvement in commercial loans and business-to-business sales. Peak Selling interviewed the respective managers and identified three major needs. First, they had not segmented their markets and consequently were not focusing their time on the right prospects. Second, they were recycling old leads rather than generating new leads. Third, they needed to improve their selling skills for the initial conversation with prospects; for example: asking better questions to qualify the opportunity.

Sales Training Solution

Peak Selling worked on a series of sales consulting and sales training programs with these groups based largely on our Sales Prospecting and Business Development workshop. The entire team developed a list of criteria for their best customers and markets. The sales training program focused on how to segment their markets and to taught them to concentrate their time accordingly. Peak Selling worked with them in small groups prior to various networking events so that they could practice and rehearse the skills to generate new leads and referrals. Lastly, we taught a series of advanced sales training modules to sharpen their questioning and presentation skills. The client's close ratios and overall level of new business increased substantially.

A regional bank was losing customers, which was validated by poor ratings observed through mystery shoppers, and needed to build a sales and service culture.

Sales Training Needs Assessment

During the assessment phase we studied the mystery shop results, conducted focus groups with the branch managers, and interviewed senior management. It became clear that two initiatives were needed. The first initiative was a Sales Coaching workshop for the managers to enable them to coach and reinforce the selling and service skills. The second initiative was to deliver a series of needs based selling skills modules for the tellers and platform personnel. For example: how to wow your customers; cross-selling; and questioning and listening for needs.

Sales Training Solution

Peak Selling designed and presented our Coaching for Sales Success workshop for the branch managers and various selling skills modules for all the tellers and platform people. Quantifiably, the next mystery shop data showed dramatic improvement in the customer service and selling areas. In addition, the managers were unanimous that the training helped their employees develop more confidence and a positive attitude toward sales.   

This community bank saw their business continuing to deteriorate. The number of new accounts had plateaued, and referrals to other departments (such as wealth management) had declined from prior years. Upper management wanted all employees to become more comfortable and skilled at needs based selling.

Sales Training Needs Assessment 

Given the current economic climate and high unemployment levels in the state, the bank’s sales and business development challenges were daunting.  Rather than watch their business continue to deteriorate, upper management said that they wanted to upgrade the skills of all their employees to sell and service clients.  In addition, they shared that the bank had tried to implement a sales training program a few years ago, but that the other workshop was negatively received because it taught a pushy, hard-sell approach to selling.  Management wanted to ensure that a needs based sales process be taught to their employees.

Sales Training Solution

Because Peak Selling’s Needs Based Selling program is based on a consultative approach to selling, we were confident that the content would meet their needs.  However, due to the prior bad experience in using an outside instructor who endorsed a hard-sell approach, we decided to partner with a local consultant who was known to upper management and who was respected throughout the entire bank.  To save money, they licensed Peak Selling’s sales training materials and used a local outside instructor to teach a series of sales workshops to over 100 employees.   Net results: their referral rate increased by over 50%, and they also saw an increase of 20% in the opening of new core deposit accounts.