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Success Stories
- Creating a Uniform Culture
- Driving Organizational Focus on the Right Customer
- Driving Revenue Through Referrals
- Establishing Differentiation Through a Distributor Sales Force
- Executing a New Sales Strategy
- Helping a Client Quickly Turn an Existing Program into Sustainable Action and Results
- Increasing New-Hire Productivity
- Instilling a Winning, Competitive Attitude in the Sales Force
- One-on-One Coaching to Breakthrough Results
- Providing Practical Tools for Sales Management in a Changing Marketplace
- Raising the Bar on Performance
- Results Soar for 700-Agent Call Center
Driving Revenue Through Referrals
Industry:
A Commercial Bank Holding Company, Headquartered in Providence, RI.
Situation:
The CEO of this nationwide bank declared sales would increase by 40 percent during the next year – all through increased business from existing customers. The challenge was to get all bankers from retail, business, trust, investment, mortgage, and private banking willing and able to generate and share referrals. And the bank had only three months to put a process in place.
Analysis:
To gain deeper understanding of the client’s current situation Business Efficacy conducted focus groups and one-on-one interviews with senior managers and peak performers. Current incentive, training, and tracking programs were also reviewed.
The following were needed to successfully achieve the goal:
- Referral goals and sales activities established for each banker.
- Referral skills and “sellable” product knowledge training program designed for each manager and banker.
- Partner groups understanding “sellable” product knowledge for all products.
- Management actions focused on coaching and holding bankers accountable.
- Incentive program motivating bankers to perform the desired referral activities.
- A referral measurement and tracking system created.
- Management engaged and focused on referral activities being successfully executed.
Bankers needed to cultivate their referral skills and product knowledge for all products. Management needed to motivate, coach, and hold bankers accountable for meeting their referral goals.
Execution:
Business Efficacy proposed a three-phase process:
- Phase I: The design phase established banker referral activities, the incentive program, the tracking system, management coaching practices, and the goal setting process.
- Phase II: The buy-in phase involved all management levels. Management team members needed to keep themselves and the bankers focused on the goal, enhance their coaching skills, and collaborate with the other business lines.
- Phase III: In the training phase bankers received “sellable” product knowledge and referral sales activity training. Managers received coaching on how to support the training when bankers returned to the job. Business Efficacy kicked off the initiative at a two-and-a-half-day senior management session. Held at a sports complex, the session represented a management development “coaching camp.” Sports activities simulated “how to coach” the collaboration and referral sales activities just learned. All bankers and managers received their training within 45 days of the initial launch with senior management through the use of five Business Efficacy coaches.
Impact:
- Revenues increased by 40 percent in the first year due to the bankers’ ability to generate and share referrals across all of the bank’s business lines.
- The bank hit all referral goals by the ninth month of the second year.