Let’s first address the elephant in the Virtual Room –
Data is the new currency, and yet are the Banks of today able to tap into the true potential of this currency? Again, why and more importantly how can Data be an enabler in the Digital Transformation of the Bank’s Sales Team?
In retrospect, 2020-2021 has been a springboard for Banks to accelerate their Digital Journey. One of the upsides of the COVID-19 pandemic has been that it has created a ‘Deskless Environment’ – giving rise to a multi-tasking, telecommuting, Mobile-first Sales Force. A sales rep can now browse/ update his calendar, plan his week, schedule meetings, interact with his clients, connect with teams across the globe, and much more – through a few quick clicks on his mobile!
Going into 2022, we’ll see these trends sticking as Digital Banking becomes the New Normal.
These are the Top 5 Commercial Banking trends that rewrote the Sales Playbook in 2021:
1. Digitalization-
The last 18 months saw social distancing catalyze the adoption of contactless technologies. What were digital experiments in 2019 became actionable insights in ‘20-21.
For example, a chunk of the work-week of a sales rep in 2019 would have started and ended on the road visiting clients and stakeholders. In 2021, it’s highly likely that the sales rep will wake up and reach out to his/ her mobile. The Mobile-first sales rep is tech-savvy and scrolls through her calendar to schedule meetings, interact with teams, prioritize leads, and cross-sell/ up-sell products.
2. Virtualization of the SalesForce-
This trend enabled Banks to capitalize on COVID-19 disruptors including remote work, mobile, and virtual interfaces. The stay-at-home order gave rise to the ‘anywhere’ concept as Sales Reps interacted with their teams and clients through SMS, Zoom meetings, WhatsApp messages, and video-audio conferencing. Siloed sales and marketing processes gave way to automated, collaborative engagements – further enhancing lead generation and management.
3. Intelligent Interactions-
Gazillions of data are generated from a Bank daily. How to separate the ‘sense from the nonsense’ and hence mobilize the sales force with timely and actionable insights? 2021 saw Sales managers emphasize quality rather than quantity. This led to –
- A transparent view of the sales pipeline to easily track customer experience from prospect to sale.
- Data segmentation to improve customer profiling.
- Better control and monitoring of sales activities to predict trends and plan robust investments.
4. Insightful Coaching-
2021 reiterated the fact that a sales team can only be as strong as its weakest link.
Consider the following scenario – James and Jane are hardworking sales reps. Both are friendly, follow-up leads and walks the talk yet (and that’s where actionable data scores over assumptions) James consistently converts 2X more leads than Jane. How is Jane not able to deliver desired results even though she made 3X more client calls than James during the same time frame? This is where contextual coaching and manager intervention can assist Jane to course correct and improve performance.
Data Analysis enables sales teams to learn from past experiences, optimize present communication and pre-empt stumbling blocks.
5. Automating Repetitive Tasks
Finally, automation and revamping of legacy systems ruled the roost in 2021. Automating repetitive, low-level tasks, freed sales reps to concentrate on their core strength – selling. Gone are the days of cumbersome paper trails and multiple-click CRMs – that were rarely revisited. The modern Sales Enablement Platform is lean and clean, built keeping in mind the on-the-go lifestyle of a sales rep.
How does Vymo enable your Sales Team in their Digital Transformations?
A recent presentation by Paul Walker, Director of Sales, Vymo US, underlines how Vymo is the apt Personal Sales Assistant to a Commercial Bank’s SalesForce.
Here are the top 5 ways that Vymo trended in 2021:
- Auto-capture of Sales Activities– be it calls, emails, messages, chats, or meetings – both remote and in-person
- Create Gold Standard Playbooks – based on past experiences and the sales interactions of top performers
- Contextually Coach Sales Team – through nudges (suggestions) and next best actions
- Geofencing and intelligent routing – to reduce TAT and discover best-fit sales opportunities
- Integrate with SMS, Email, and third-party conferencing tools like WhatsApp, Zoom, Microsoft Teams, and Webex