Converting prospects into loyal clients is always a great feeling.
But, it’s easier said than done.
To close a successful sales meeting, reps and agents need to prepare for battle by understanding the needs of their customers, studying evolving techniques to sell financial products, and most importantly, analyzing the state of the banking industry.
And the banking industry is changing rapidly.
For example, the total credit extended globally in 2021 surged to US$ 1,487.60 billion and total deposits grew at a CAGR of 12.38% between 2016 and 2021. In India alone, the Digital Banking Market is expected to grow at a CAGR of 22% by 2024 due to increased internal and smartphone usage.
Additionally, with digitization taking over the industry and customer expectations rising, banks are modernizing their retail platforms to grow revenue, increase efficiency, and lower costs. They’re also trying to improve the lending and collections journey for customers while maintaining the security and data integrity that remains the cornerstone of the industry.
However, the biggest change in the industry is the rising role of data and analytics in digital transformation. Since data-driven actions can lead to improved business performance and decisions, banks are now analyzing various touch points across different digital platforms to help optimize marketing campaigns.[/vc_column_text]
- CRMs are a vital part of maintaining high-performing digital sales teams However, most of them are painful to use, with sales reps growing frustrated with the manual data entry that eats into precious selling time with customers.
- Quality leads are becoming harder and harder to find, with the kind of databases available in most banks being more volume-driven instead of quality-driven.
- Due to too many communication channels and information overload, consumers are less responsive than ever before
- Current sales pitches don’t give customers enough reasons to believe that their bank has their best interests at heart. With every bank out there offering top-notch services, customers want their sales reps to go a step further and feel like trusted friends and advisors.
So, with all of these challenges in the way, how can sales teams in the industry streamline their process, meet the needs of their customers, and get more leads?
- Banks must move away from relying on CRMs as their sole means of data entry. Instead, they should integrate platforms that help drive sales productivity from the ground up for sales teams through industry playbooks, efficient lead management, and automatic data capture
- They must also equip their sales teams with best practices and knowledge so every sales rep can perform at their best. This can be through better training and studying the behaviors of top performers.
- Sales reps should understand when and how to engage with their customers in ways that don’t feel overwhelming or intrusive. This can only happen when they have the right kind of data and proper insight into customer behavior.
In this new age of banking, sales reps need to rework the way they think about selling. Engaging with customers isn’t enough anymore – instead, customers should feel like their sales agents are trusted friends who have their best interests at heart. This can only be accomplished with the right tools that can help sellers increase their productivity, nudge them on the best possible ways to interact with customers, and help them understand how to pitch their products better.
