How The Cloud is Reshaping the Sales Culture at Banks

For years, developing a sales and service culture at the branch level has been regarded as a banking holy grail of sorts.

Such efforts focus on profiling by asking customers questions, assessing needs, offering appropriate products or services, which the banks then hope the customer will agree to.

Now compare that approach to actual customer behavior in “the cloud,” where consumers are bypassing the branch or personal bankers, using instead Internet banking or mobile delivery channels, completing loan apps and deposit accounts online, and seeking social media avenues for advice from peers.

Industry consultant Terence Roche from Cornerstone Advisors suggests bankers carefully consider how a sale made in the cloud differs from a traditional branch or call center sale.

Here are some of the early lessons Roche cites about how “cloud” sales differ from traditional branch and call center sales.  His message: The ingredients that may create a competitive sales advantage from face-to-face interactions in the branch don’t always translate to new online channels:

1. In the branch, fulfillment (purchase of product or service) follows an often complicated or time-intensive sales process. In the cloud, ease of fulfillment makes the sale (think iTunes store here).
2. Employee knowledge, not necessarily sales skills, will be the currency of success, and a “first contact” banker who has expertise will be vital to handle issues on the virtual spot.
3. In the branch, the employee personalizes the customer’s experience. In the cloud, banks should give customers the tools to customize their own experience.
4. Profiling is as much about behavior and habits as it is demographics. In the cloud, the “profiling” of a customer can be based on transactions and behavior, not just demographics as captured on a customer’s profile sheet.
5. Cross-channel hand-offs from online to banker will still be needed and must be executed flawlessly.

Roche’s advice to bankers: To remain competitive, address how cloud sales fit in the bank’s overall sales picture and what new skills and capabilities must be developed to meet customers via clicks or mortar.