Basic technologies for selling banking products. How to teach bank employees to sell insurance products

This is a challenge.
The impossible is potential.
The impossible is temporary.
The impossible is nothing.

Adidas

“I have never met David Davidson, but nevertheless his manager apologized in advance for him. " David doesn't seem like a great salesman, he warned me, don't expect anything special from him. He is a quiet person. David, - continued the manager, - not a person I would continue to look for a new buyer with, but when his activity reaches a certain point, he is sure to get an order. Most of our sellers receive an order from every fifth meeting, David – from every second».

David was a quiet, almost shy man. Many confident salespeople exude confidence; The same cannot be said about David. He is modest to the point of shyness.

However, after an hour-long conversation with him, certain character traits emerged through his shyness. He gave the impression of being an impeccably honest man. He didn't care about protecting his own ego. Therefore, when I asked him questions about his mistakes, he did not start making excuses. He spoke frankly, even when it didn't make him look particularly good.

At some point in the conversation I thought to myself: “ I trust this man " What's more, as the conversation progressed, I found myself telling him things I wouldn't normally talk about with other salespeople. David was the rare type of person who is usually described as a good listener, a rare type of person who is easier to recognize than to describe to others."

N. Rackham

« Planning should be more than a fit of anxiety in the elevator on the way to the client's office, more than a few scattered thoughts at the beginning of a conversation»

N. Rackham

In this chapter we will talk about meeting with a client, and how to get him to agree to switch to your service and get a loan.

We do not consider cases where, having called and agreed on a meeting, you are ready to take out a loan, and the meeting only involves discussing the technical details of lending.

After you have identified a client, arranged a meeting with him, and you know that this particular business has all the necessary characteristics for you, the most important thing comes, namely, a meeting, a personal conversation with the client and a presentation of the banking product.

Here I would like to say right away that you should not try to conduct a sale or transaction over the phone. The phone is not for sale. I would rather define this tool as a one-on-one meeting with a client.

Why won't the phone sell? The disadvantage of the telephone is that it only provides audio communication. When you talk to a client on the phone, you don’t see him, you can’t see his reaction to your questions, you can’t advantageously present your proposal in a visual format.

Secondly, mostly the owners of any form of business are men, and they are more visual (like to see, watch) than auditory (like to perceive by hearing).

The most important thing in selling bank loans is the meeting. As I said before, when you just show up for a meeting, you can assume that you have already made 75% of your sales. Now you have very little left - only 25%.

You also need to take into account that when attracting small and medium-sized businesses, the meeting should always be held with the owner of the business, and not with the chief accountant or hired manager (when searching for information, you can also meet with them). In SMEs, all decisions, especially financial ones, are made solely by the business owner.

Accordingly, the effectiveness of your negotiations may drop significantly if you negotiate with a person who does not make decisions.

At one of Tom Hopkins’ trainings, he gives an example that when discussing the problem of how to achieve an increase in sales in a group of young professionals, there was an elderly person present. So, throughout the entire seminar, he listened very carefully to those present and the lecturer, and when the question came about the most important criterion for sales - what makes sales grow - he said:

« Meet face to face with 25 clients every day and your earnings will increase »

This is the whole secret of sales banking products– if you meet with at least 5 clients a day, you simply cannot fail. And it's true!

Basic tactics for working with clients

The first phrases of a dialogue with a client are common, and I start like this:

« Good afternoon, Ivan Ivanovich. I am Sergei Ivanov, we have agreed to meet today at 15:00 »

After this, you are usually asked to sit down, and then your conversation or presentation takes place in the form of a dialogue.

I would like to point out right away: be wary of making a product offer at the beginning of your conversation. Many clients immediately take the bull by the horns and make an offer head-on. Remember - this is a mistake. Professional salespeople don't do that!

Why are you in a hurry to make an offer at the beginning of a conversation? Many salespeople think that once they have reached a potential client, they now need to talk to him. Make offers, show benefits, talk about financing details, etc.

Below we will present the technique of asking questions using the SPIN method. For a more complete understanding of this method, I advise you to read the book “Selling Using the SPIN Method” by Neil Rackham.

Start the conversation with the client with the purpose of your visit, with the so-called “situational” questions. General questions that relate to the client’s business and its lending conditions. Namely:

- How long has your business been in business?
- What is the average monthly turnover of your company?
- Which bank do you currently use?
- Do you have a loan or line of credit?
- When did you take her?
- For what period is the loan issued?
- How did it happen that you took out a loan from bank xxx, and not from any other bank?

Two important advice when asking “situational” questions:

1. Choose your questions in such a way as to limit their number, but at the same time get all the information you need.

2. Construct your situational questions in such a way that the buyer sees behind them a person who is trying to help him, solve his problems, and not a prosecutor.

At this stage, your goal is to learn as much as possible about current conditions lending to a client at another bank, and also understand what benefits your bank can bring.

The next stage will be the construction of problematic issues. These questions should be focused on the client’s problems and dissatisfaction with his service in the current bank, not yours (someone else’s). What worries him, what problems exist, what is he dissatisfied with.

- What don’t you like about your current servicing bank?
-Maybe you don’t like the remuneration rate?
- Are lenders delaying issuing loans?
- Are they asking you for too many documents?
- Is there any disdain towards you from the bank employees?
- Are the terms of the bank’s loan agreements too harsh?
- Have you ever had a question when you urgently needed money and had nowhere to get it? Urgently.
-Have you ever had an urgent need for money?
- Is there a problem in business development due to lack of financial resources?
- Is the remuneration rate too high?
- Is the loan term too short?
- Did the bank take too much property as collateral from you?
- Aren't you taking any risks by being served by bank xxx?

Before asking questions, always rehearse them before the meeting. Say them several times or ask a work colleague.

In other words, you need to find and develop the client’s dissatisfaction with the banking institution in which he is served, or dissatisfaction with the current financial situation. The more serious and major problems you can “pull” out of a client, the more the potential client will want to switch to service at your bank.

In order to properly draw out existing problems from a client, do your homework first. Collect as much information as possible about the client.

Yes, there are situations where information cannot be found at all, especially in the small and medium-sized business sector. Then working “blindly” is the only possible option, and then you simply meet with the client, and you get all the other information during the meeting with the client.

Is it possible that the client will not have problems? He is happy with everything, he is satisfied with the bank that serves him, the rate is already low! It may well be! As Shiffman said, the client is satisfied with his “status quo” (the current situation). What can you do here?

It is necessary to develop hidden needs, those that the client does not know about. More precisely, he has not yet realized them. And it is quite possible that with your help he will realize them.

My advice: to find information about the company's problems with lending, use the services of accountants. Precisely those accountants who work in this company, make a visit to them.

But don’t make them an offer for a loan, offer to meet and discuss the possibility of cooperation with the bank. Show the tariffs, offer the “Remote Client” system, try to “have a heart-to-heart talk” and at the same time find out problematic issues in working with another bank.

Here is a list of problems that a potential client who is served by another bank may have:

- Higher remuneration rate
- Short term lending
- The loan amount is too small
- No possibility of deferment of principal and remuneration
- Presence of penalties for early repayment
- Presence of fines if the client is unable to repay the debt (important: can the bank make concessions at the client’s request and postpone the payment to the next month)
- Strict conditions in loan agreements (lack of independence in making financial decisions)
- Large volume of pledged property in the bank
- Lack of attention to the client from the bank (they don’t congratulate you on holidays or birthdays)
- Low speed of consideration of the client’s loan application
- Seasonal fluctuations are not taken into account in the repayment schedule
- Deception on the part of management (unfulfilled promises)
- A large amount of information that should be provided to the bank (when monitoring financial condition or initially issuing a loan)
- High tariffs.

Around each of the above questions, the problem can be framed in a way that is clear and strong and makes the buyer feel a strong need to change the current problem as quickly as possible. Namely - change with the help of your service, your bank.

And here we move on to “extractive” questions. The art of “extractive” questions lies in the fact that it is not you who argue that this or that fact can negatively affect the client’s business, but he himself reveals problems and difficulties that can aggravate the situation in the company, with the help of your questions.

Example:

Problem- The loan amount is not large enough (does not meet the client’s needs).

“Extractive” questions (possible consequences of this problem):

1. Will this problem lead to a decrease in production?
2. How much will the speed of business development slow down?
3. Will this problem hinder the development of a new business line?
4. Could this problem lead to loss of business?
5. What would be the estimated amount of lost profits as a result of this problem?

Your questions should address fears and cause “pain” in the client. Your questions should stimulate the client to think about problems. This is the only way to change the client’s “status quo”. This is the only way to encourage a client to cooperate with your bank.

But at the same time, keep in mind that too much desire to influence the client can become counterproductive and lead to the opposite result.

Once you've used "draw" questions to fully develop relevant issues from the list above, move on to "guide" questions.

How to formulate effective “guiding” questions?

1. Use connecting phrases– tie your questions to the client’s answers or statements.

If we offered you more long term lending, for example, 20 years, and not 10, as in the bank xxx, how much easier would it be for you financially?

You said that Bank xxx conducts monthly monitoring of its financial condition. What if we only monitored once a quarter - would it make it easier for you to do business with us?

If we gave you a loan at a rate 2% lower than the current rate, what would you do with the savings?

2. Take advantage of diversity– Be clear and specific, but avoid repeating the same phrase, for example:

How will this help you develop a new line of business?
Will a lower loan payment affect your financial condition?
Will this help reduce operating costs?

Instead you can ask:

What new business line will the savings help you develop?
How will reducing payments on the line of credit affect other expenses?
Will a 2% reduction in the interest rate affect the company's current expenses?

Plan (otherwise you won’t sell)

If you need to give only one piece of advice that can help your sales, then this advice can only sound like this: “ Plan your meetings».

It is recommended to consider 3 points as basic steps for planning your meeting:

1. Plan Progress First
2. Then plan what ask, and not what to tell
3. Use a planning tool to help.

1. Plan Progress First

Progress is getting the customer to agree to an action that moves you forward in the sales direction.

The result of a meeting that did not lead to agreement on action forward to sales, i.e. delay is a failure, no matter what the client thought of you or how well you parted with him.

Progress in negotiations on the sale of a banking product (loan) will be, for example, the following:

· the client's consent to begin collecting documents for financial analysis to obtain a loan;

· an agreement to meet with the Director or Deputy Director of the branch to get acquainted and further discuss the terms of the loan;

· an agreement on the arrival of pledgers or appraisers to evaluate the proposed collateral;

· determination of lending conditions by another bank (sometimes this is quite significant progress);

· agreement on a second meeting (with the resolution of certain types of issues “remuneration rate, loan amount, loan term, etc.”).

After this, define as Meeting goals The best of the above types of Progress is the one that moves the sale forward further than all the others.

2. Plan to ask rather than tell.

· Plan, otherwise you won't make the sale.

· If you want to see the world through the buyer's eyes, you must first understand, not persuade. And asking questions is the best way to understand your buyer.

The secret to successful questions is planning them. Just take a piece of paper and make a list of 10 to 30 questions. Make it a rule to write them before every meeting.

3. Use the planning tool

I will write about it in the next part of the article.

Finally

When conducting a meeting and presentation, keep the following points in mind:

Find common ground with a potential client. It could be a hobby, a person you both know, health, children, cars, you never know...

- “Break the ice” at the end of negotiations.

Be sure to clearly show the approximate loan repayment schedule (you can prepare it in advance or calculate the schedule in the presence of the client on his computer). I can say that very often I sat down with a client at the computer and made an approximate calculation of repayments for the client. For a former creditor this will usually not be a problem.

Bring with you a list of documents required for lending at your bank. Here it is important to go over the items on the list with the client and explain why this or that document is needed and where to get it.

Be sure to show the client the fees that he will have to pay. Because, without indicating them, you can get into a stupid situation when you will be accused of not specifically mentioning commissions, i.e. deceived the client.

Important: from constant conversations with clients, I realized that the simpler and more accessible you explain how to get a loan and what is needed for this, the more realistic it is for you to get a buyer (client). You can even imagine that Bart Simpson is sitting in front of you, and you are explaining to him how to get a loan from your bank. The simpler the better.

Bring with you several negative articles about the bank with which the client works. It is usually not customary to speak negatively about another bank, but in a conversation you can unobtrusively offer several articles about financial fraud in one of the banks. Clients usually read this information very carefully. J

Set yourself up for a negative answer. Allow the client to tell you no. Believe me, it will become much easier for you if you talk to a person who respects you... For any decision he makes!

At the end of any conversation, MAKE AN OFFER!!! If you don't make an offer, then why are you working in a bank? End any conversation you have with your proposal. “Come on, we’ll give you credit!!!” “Come on, we will refinance your loan!!!”

Don't have more than three meetings with one client. It may seem to you that the client is thinking, reflecting, and that one more meeting will solve everything! And the client will transfer to your bank! NO, it won't! Everything will remain in its place, you will only waste your time.

Give indirect compliments. It works and it's cool. For a woman it’s praise for her child, for a man it’s praise for his car. For entrepreneurs, praise the building or form of the business.

P.S.

Last thing: in sales I achieve the greatest results when I work in the flow, in a state of relaxation and drive.

This is a state when I like the client, I enjoy being in his company. I'm kidding. I share my emotions and thoughts.

This can be achieved with rhythmic, pleasant music and alertness. Just listen to music, cheer yourself up, be neutral about the outcome of the meeting and get into the flow.

But you will receive even greater pleasure when you can turn a potential client (wary, not trusting you) into your friend. And this is the most important thing in the art of a seller.

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3. The method of forming the client’s needs and requests is the most complex and requires special skill and knowledge. First, with the help of skillfully formulated, targeted questions and active listening to the answers, the manager identifies the true interests and needs of the client's business. This is achieved through the use of open-ended and clarifying question technology, techniques for giving a positive signal, or reflexive listening techniques. Then, using the summarization technique, the problem is formulated and a solution is proposed.

For example, during meetings with the chief accountant of the enterprise, a problem was identified related to an increase in overhead costs and the need to reduce them. To solve this problem, the manager offers one solution - participation in a salary project, which will reduce the costs of receiving cash from the bank, delivering funds to the enterprise, and issuing them to employees. There is a choice of two options - transferring employee salaries to a demand deposit or a deposit using a plastic card.

The general rule used in any of these methods is that by talking about the features of the services, the manager focuses the client’s attention on the benefits and values ​​that the latter will receive if he uses them.

In order to successfully use the OPT scheme, it is proposed to be guided by the following two formulas:

1. Peculiarities banking services and (or) its advantages + Linking phrase + Value of the service for the client (O + F + C)

2. The value of the service for the client + Linking phrase + Features and (or) its advantages (C + F + O)

Rules for the effective sale of banking products

Rule 1. Selling banking products is the skill of a personal manager.

Selling is a skill. If the personal manager is experienced and a master of his craft, then this seems natural and given by nature. However, sales skills and proficiency are acquired. It should be noted that it is fashionable to learn professionalism in the field of sales and become a master of this matter. You just need to learn and apply knowledge and skills. There are a number of sales techniques, but technique alone, without the appropriate skills, will not help you move far forward. Therefore, a manager needs to improve his skills.

Rule 2: Selling begins with knowledge.

Knowledge is the basis on which the professionalism of a personal manager is built, it is the foundation of his success.

As a professional manager, the following knowledge is necessary:

1. About the bank's clients and the needs of their business. When a manager prepares for a meeting, he must collect and study information about the client and all key managers. The secret of consultative selling is that the manager acts not only as a provider of banking services, but also as an advisor and consultant who can be trusted. He not only sells a banking product, but also brings each client ideas for solving a problem and developing a business. A manager should not focus his attention only on the decision maker. Of course, this is the person with whom you need to have a relationship, since he has the final say, but it is important to be able to obtain information from other employees. To do this, you need to communicate with people, visit enterprises, and make acquaintances.

2. About the banking product or service that the manager offers to clients. Namely: to know the characteristics of the product, its features, value for the client, how suitable it is for the client, what are the advantages of the banking product over similar products of competing banks.

3. About competing banks: their products and services, their prices, advantages and disadvantages of competitors.

4. About the strengths and weaknesses of your bank.

Based on this knowledge, you need to build a conversation with the client.

Rule 3. The manager must be able to “listen” to the client.

Many personal managers believe that their gift of eloquence will help them when selling banking services. However, the main difficulty for the manager is to encourage the client to speak. A manager should not talk more than 45% of the time, but should listen more. It is necessary to ask questions and determine the needs, “hot spots” of the client, because if the manager manages to get the client to talk, this will help to find out what needs the client has, what he needs. After which you can continue the method of solving his question, showing how banking products will help satisfy his desires and needs.

Rule 4. Customers do not buy banking products, they buy benefits.

When offering banking products, the manager must understand that customers are not buying banking products or services, they are buying the satisfaction and benefit that they can receive from these products. Therefore, during the presentation you should not talk exclusively about the properties of the product. The properties or features in the OPC scheme are focused on the product itself. It is necessary to talk about benefits. Benefit or value in OPC is what those same properties mean to the client. The benefit is “focused” on the client. When presenting a banking product, it is important for the manager to show what real benefits these product properties will bring to the client.

In order to find out what benefit or value to present to the client, the manager needs to: firstly, give the client the opportunity to talk about what is especially important to him, and secondly, during negotiations, listen carefully to him, determine what is especially important worries the client. Then show what benefits the client will receive by using these properties of the banking product.

Rule5. The manager must be able to mentally put himself in the client's shoes.

Before selling a banking product or service, the manager needs to imagine himself in the place of the client-buyer in order to determine what is important and significant for the client. For example, what will be most important for the director? trading company for business development, what benefit is important for it and can have an impact on adoption positive decision take advantage of the offered service; In what case will a manager devote time to a personal manager? It is logical to assume that the safety of money will be important to the head of a trading company. convenient time collection of revenue, timely transfer to the current account, reasonable prices, an employee to whom you could contact with questions.

Once the manager takes the customer's position, he will be able to understand the customer and his needs. It is important to remember that clients use banking services based on their own needs. It is important to make the client feel that he is important to the bank. It should be the manager's focus. To do this, it is necessary to talk about his needs, problems, and what the manager can do for him. At the same time, find mutual benefits. For the client, the benefit is the value of the service; for the manager, for example, it is the knowledge that he helped the client solve an important problem and at the same time increased the volume of sales of banking products. When the manager puts himself in the client's shoes, he will understand the clients' problems and how banking products and services can help solve these problems.

The last stage of product-market adaptation is market-to-product adaptation.

Clive James

Types of sales channels for banking products

Mass sales under the “financial supermarket” scheme involve servicing a large number of clients with similar consumer preferences and conducting similar banking operations. Retail sales, as a rule, are carried out stationary and require the creation of a wide branch network. In this regard, the main risk of direct financial losses in the retail business is the failure to fill the capacities that are created for this business with the required volumes of banking operations (banking infrastructure: branches, representative offices, acquiring, registered cash desks, processing, POS terminal equipment, etc. ). If this happens, then we can talk about weak work marketing services banks, which poorly researched market segments and were unable to stimulate demand in the volumes necessary for the retail business.

For example, to develop the card business, the annual issuance volume must be at least 1 million cards and at the same time, at least 100 thousand transactions must be made on them per month. The minimum profitability threshold for express loans is at the level of 200 thousand consumers, and for the SMS banking service - 100 thousand users. Thus, the basis for obtaining sufficient income to maintain the required level of profitability in the retail banking business is turnover on customer accounts.

Main problem retail sales- creation of a system of high-quality cost management at all stages life cycle. Due to the high initial costs of creating a sales infrastructure, it is especially important for the “financial supermarket” to create accessible and cheap products. However, many retail banks are overly keen on expanding their product range, which leads to another problem: the created products do not find demand, and attempts to impose them on customers have a bad impact on the bank’s image. In the retail banking business, the sales manager needs to instill the salesperson's psychology large supermarket. A wide range of services allows us to fully use the principle of interchangeability and complementarity.

Targeted (individual) sales under the “financial boutique” scheme involve searching certain groups clients and exclusive forms of service. The small number of transactions and relatively low initial costs require that sales managers focus on obtaining high margins from the sale of individual products. For example, the minimum threshold for profitability in a “financial boutique” for cash settlement services can be 15-20% of costs. The main risk of the individual form of selling is the loss of a client.

An example is the Trade Finance Bank (LLC), which positions itself as a unique institution in financial market. The bank's mission is to increase the value of clients and the bank itself in mutually beneficial cooperation, which is expressed in the slogan “The art of increasing values.”

The main criterion for the bank’s activities, which is aimed at development various forms services using financial boutique technology (the term Private Banking is more often used), serves quality, which is achieved through uniqueness, reliability and efficiency.

Due to the growing demands individual clients In addition to the quality of service, banks developing a Private Banking strategy are expanding the standard range of services, which includes:

• Personal management.
• Service in a separate room.
• Financial and tax consulting.
• Access to forex transactions.
• Opening of metal accounts.
• More favorable rates and tariffs.
• Real estate transactions.

Based on product characteristics, we can distinguish following methods sales: single sales, bundling, cross-selling, cross-selling. Single sales involve selling a product of one name, for example, opening a current account or obtaining a loan. Single sales can complement an already used product list or be a separate planning object for trial sales.

The most popular strategy today is the packaging of banking products, which can be widely used both at the level of the head bank and a specific sales office. Package selling involves considering available products as individual items in a catalog of interrelated services and allows you to identify and create a set of products that would fully satisfy the client’s needs, thereby guaranteeing the best interaction with him.

The package may include seasonal products (tax payments, holiday deposits, construction loans). For example, if taxes are paid periodically, you can offer advance payment. Banks have adopted the annual introduction of seasonal deposits with a flexible interest calculation system. In case of early withdrawal of the deposit or part thereof, the interest varies depending on the period of actual presence of the funds in the deposit.

The quality of the product is directly related to the quality of service and implies, first of all, a link between customer expectations and what the bank can offer. The concept of sales effectiveness, therefore, includes such a complex concept as a friendly relationship with the clientele, and this element can rightfully be included in the technology of product packaging.

In table 4.1.1 provides examples of traditional packaging of banking products for individuals at the branch level.

Package sales technology requires an appropriate professional level of competence (knowledge of the bank’s product range, the ability to present the products offered, assistance in their use), communication skills (attention, politeness, courtesy, ability to win over).

Table 4.1.1

Examples of traditional packaging of banking products for individuals at the branch level

The ability to maintain long-term communication (for some clients and types of purchased services, the period of communication is longer than for others), respect the place and hierarchical level of communication (for VIP clients, the participation of a manager is required, the provision of a more comfortable environment), the use of necessary regulatory requirements ( appearance, communication with clients, etc.).

In the practice of many banks with large branches, use a method such as sales crossing.

Cross-selling is the offering of related products to the clientele. Along with this, products that have already been consumed can also be replaced, and new products can be offered in return (cross-selling). This strategy brings good profits and allows you to achieve an advantage over competitors. One of the main conditions for the success of this method is the logical construction of the product range in relation to customer requests. Products must be interesting and attractive to the client and included in a package of services that can be offered for sale at any time.

The list of related and interchangeable products for clients not yet attracted, but significant for the bank, may include those products that the current clientele does not use, but may be interested in in the future.

This strategy allows you to plan sales and make optimal use of bank resources. It also allows you to better understand consumer expectations and evaluate the market. Another important aspect of crossed and cross selling lies in the competitive advantage that flows from them. The client feels that his most diverse requests for banking products can only be satisfied in this bank. For example, if a client buys from a bank traveler's checks, he can be recommended to purchase accident insurance during a trip abroad. The strategy of package and cross-selling allows you to establish stable and long-term relationships with customers and increase the share of loyal customers.

To develop and implement a strategy for gaining greater clientele trust, the bank needs to create an effective information system. The sales office must have access to all information about the client: type of relationship with the branch, number and types of products consumed, qualitative and quantitative turnover, main types of demand for banking services, etc. Having such information, it is necessary:

• 1. group information for each client segment;
• 2. prepare a package of products for each client for subsequent cross-selling.

Direct selling is associated with the initiative of the seller, who addresses his offer directly to the client at his location. The volume of direct sales is constantly growing and in a number of European countries already exceeds 50% of the total turnover (in Russia, according to some estimates, no more than 1%).

Direct selling is the most difficult type of selling and requires the seller to master the art of negotiation. The importance of direct sales in banking practice will increase for the following reasons:

• 1. Expanding the network of sales points for banking products and increasing the concentration of clients who have the desire and ability to contact bank managers.
• 2. Gradual transition from passive forms of interaction with the client to a relationship management system. The goal of such a system is not to conclude a single transaction, but to build long-term relationships with the client.
• 3. Growing trust on the part of clients in personal management and increasing requirements for individual service.

All this requires advanced training of bank front office staff and, first of all, client managers. The scope of direct sales is large clients, individual service, complex banking products.

During the period of growth in retail lending volumes, they are very popular various types“tied lending”, when the loan is secured by purchased goods. This type of lending is called POS lending.

POS lending (POS - Point Of Sale) can be defined as a direction of the retail business of banks, providing for the issuance of loans for certain goods directly on the premises of a retail enterprise. Mobile communications and computer equipment have the largest share among high-demand goods.

Among the banks that actively worked in the POS lending market during the period of development of consumer lending, Alfa-Bank, Russian Standard, HCF Bank, OTP Bank, Rusfinance Bank stood out.

The availability of the loan (the decision regarding the execution of a linked loan is made by the bank within 15-30 minutes, and documents confirming income are not required) and the relatively small size (about 20 thousand rubles) lead to increased risks, so banks set interest rates higher than market ones and receive income higher than with conventional lending. This explains the intensive growth of POS lending in Russia since the mid-2000s. until 2014, when the economic downturn began.

The decline in bankers' interest in the POS loan market is quite natural. The potential of such loans is largely limited by the list of goods and services that can be sold through credit schemes. In addition, in POS lending it is extremely difficult to use various online services that are actively developing at present.

The changing economic situation and increasing instability in the banking system forced banks to reorient their sales strategies towards credit cards and the development of POS lending in online commerce. Since 2011, the credit card market in Russia began to grow rapidly. This is due to the entry into this market of the largest issuer of payment cards - Sberbank of Russia, which, in addition to overdraft cards, began issuing revolving credit cards of various payment systems. To issue them, Sberbank of Russia simplified the current procedure for issuing credit cards and introduced a scoring system.

The second area of ​​consumer lending, which has developed dynamically in recent years, is lending for purchases via the Internet. For a bank, a POS loan in an online store has several obvious advantages:

• no need to maintain a staff of specialists at points of sale;
• online store buyers are a more attractive category of borrowers;
• huge audience of online stores.

More than half of Sberbank's retail clients are ready to recommend Sberbank to their friends and acquaintances.

The CSI (Customer Satisfaction Index), which characterizes customer satisfaction with banking services, allows you to evaluate the price-quality ratio of banking products and services in terms of meeting customer needs and requests. In Sberbank branches it is 9.1 points out of 10 possible. Sberbank’s most loyal clients are young people and representatives of the social segment: the figures for these categories are 61% and 57%, respectively. During the year, Sberbank received more than 860 thousand customer reviews. Sberbank conducts satisfaction surveys through phone calls and SMS with a request to evaluate the quality of service after a visit to a branch or a call to the contact center.

Why was it created? Senteo company? What revolutionary thing does it bring to banks?

M.R. I worked for consulting companies for many years. IN JohnRyan We were engaged in consulting in the field of banking transformations. In many ways, this was consulting on cosmetic transformations - the creation of a new brand, a new appearance, a new design of branches, communications. IN PricewaterhouseCoopers I worked in a team that participated in the processes of internal transformation of banks - operational activities, management model, personnel development, cost optimization, risk management. We took old banking models and made new ones out of them. At that time, the process of transformation took place in many Russian banks. But we could only give recommendations. We could not move further with clients. These recommendations, of course, were of interest to bankers from the point of view of modern experience and practices, but many clients expected specific recommendations from us on how to implement their plans.

Consultants are usually characterized by the fact that they give a lot of recommendations, paper documents... and leave. I saw that there was a great need to combine recommendations for external and cosmetic transformation with internal changes that affect the functioning of the bank from the inside: operational efficiency, personnel development and management development, project management and the implementation process. And we decided to create a company that would solve customer problems in a comprehensive manner. A company that could not only focus on the client strategic goals, but also to accompany the client along the entire path of transformation, in its different phases. After all, it’s impossible to take an old bank and - ops! - get a new one in a week.

Almost my entire career has been in banking in developing countries. I have worked in almost 30 countries around the world. It is possible to trace the main stages of the evolution of banks in emerging markets. Banks start with the goal of attracting as many new customers as possible. The key at this stage is the effectiveness of the sales team; the main task is to sell as many banking products as possible and maximize the bank’s clientele. Ten to twelve years ago this happened in Russia. Banks actively began working with salary projects - this was a good way to immediately gain clientele. There was an explosive growth in the customer base.

Then other tasks appeared: the task of retaining customers, the task of increasing operational efficiency to reduce the cost of service. Banks saw that 80% of the acquired clientele did not bring them profit. Banks began to realize that their retail business may not be profitable.

Next, banks were faced with the fact that part of their clientele began to leave them and go to competitors. Often a situation arose when clients received their salaries from one bank, but used banking services from competitors. Bankers have a need to know their clientele better. There is a need to personalize products, customize them, and create new products that meet the expectations of the clientele.

It turns out the following sequence of development:

• Client acquisition, sales
• Improving operational efficiency
• Creating Loyalty

We have developed a unique methodology to improve bank-customer relationships, which allows banks to achieve specific results. There are many different methodologies for measuring bank customer satisfaction. You probably know about the Net Promoters Score methodology, one of the most popular now. The most important question in their methodology is: “Would you buy this product again? Would you recommend this product to your friends? But this is not a completely relevant indicator if we want to understand not past, but future customer behavior. This indicator does not take into account the fact that the client may see other offers from competitors tomorrow or the day after tomorrow. This index only reflects that the client is ready to buy a particular product today.

A good indicator for predicting future customer behavior is the strength of the relationship and the quality of the customer's relationship with the bank. As I said, there are three different cycles of evolution: attraction, retention and relationship building. A bank client does not dream of a car loan, he dreams of a new car. He doesn't need a credit card, he needs the freedom to make purchases when he needs them. At the first stage, the bank’s task is to create a reason why the client wants to purchase a banking product, at the second stage - to remove the reason why the client wants to leave, at the third - to create a reason why the client wants to stay with the bank and reduce his sensitivity to price. The task of the third stage is to create in the client a desire to consolidate all his financial relationships in one place. The global trend now is for clients to have relationships with several banks at once. They may be loyal to a bank within a certain product category: in one bank they have a credit card, in another - a mortgage, in a third - a car loan. Customers make their decisions mainly based on price comparisons.

And we strive, by improving the quality of the client’s relationship with the bank, to reduce the sensitivity of clients to the price of the product, to encourage them to consolidate their entire financial life in one bank. The advantage for the bank is huge. The bank knows its clients, it can assess risks, the cost of servicing clients is much lower, and so on.

If we talk about banking innovations, we can divide innovations at the level of products and channels and innovations at the level experience(impressions) of the client. Over the last ten to fifteen years, innovations have mainly been implemented at the level of products and interaction channels, and technological innovations. The focus is on functionality and access to this functionality. For example, mobile banking as a new channel of access to banking products.

But if you take the emotional aspect, the customer relationship aspect, you will find very few examples of innovation in banks. Few people work on how to impress a client. Some innovations in this area are simply ridiculous. Here, for example, Deutsche Bank - project Q110 . Very beautiful compartments, super design. There are even bowls of dog food and water so dog lovers can bring their pets to the bank. Some try to use aromas in the departments, some try to use sound. Sberbank opened a new flagship branch on Tverskaya, where the Minsk Hotel used to be. The entire façade of the department is a huge screen. I once passed by a few months ago - beautiful, impressive. Surely this branch cost the bank several million dollars. The most modern technologies are used there, but the question is, do these technologies add something to the quality of the relationship with each bank client? I doubt it.

Product and channel innovation are not enough. If you look at emerging markets, ten years ago it was easy to be first with, for example, a new credit card with a grace period. In 2005, when we launched mobile banking at Alfa-Bank it was something amazing, wow! Even in Europe and the USA they were surprised when I showed how you can make a transaction using a mobile phone.

At the first stage of market development, such technological innovations give an advantage, but as soon as the market develops, everyone starts copying your solutions. When a certain level of development is reached, such copying occurs very quickly. The ROI of such technological innovations is much less. The time when the bank has a price or competitive advantage, is significantly reduced. It is becoming increasingly difficult to come up with something completely new. It turns out that all competitors in the TOP 10 are at the same level. Only small, gradual improvements become possible; new, explosive innovations do not occur.

Innovation on an emotional level is a different type of innovation. And here there are several stages - from single contacts to constant contact between the client and the organization, which transforms the client’s life. For example, MP3 players were an explosive technology that changed music industry. Apple has an emotional connection with its clientele. Apple has made several improvements to the MP3 player - they changed the design, added their own software, and added the ability to download legal music. But the key is their integrated approach, bringing together these technological improvements and the relationships that connect Apple with its audience. To date, Apple has sold more than 300 million players, their share of sales is more than 70%. And this despite the fact that the player itself was not invented by Apple.

More good example- Harley Davidson. Consumers have a very strong emotional connection with this brand. People who buy a Harley aren't buying a motorcycle, they're buying a lifestyle. If you look rationally at a Harley Davidson motorcycle, it is unlikely that anyone would buy it based on rational arguments. These motorcycles consume a lot of gasoline, rumble loudly, and often break down. But the person becomes emotionally immersed in the Harley Davidson lifestyle. He makes a decision about his purchase at the level of impressions.

They say that banking services do not evoke such emotional interest in people?

M.R. Indeed, no banking product generates as much consumer enthusiasm as the iPod or Harley. I have never seen a person who was excited that his bank would soon launch a new car loan. Banking products are boring and uninteresting. They don't make people want. What people want is the result that the banking product helps achieve. A bank is only a tool to achieve a goal. Banks have to come to terms with this. We need to stop selling banking products. You need to sell solutions that help people achieve certain results. Let's stop talking about a car loan, let's talk about the solution to buying a new car. And it doesn’t matter what is included in this decision - just a car loan, or a car loan and a savings account, or a car loan, a savings account plus insurance. This package can contain a variety of modules, it is important that it offers a solution to achieve a specific goal. To do this, you need to find out the client’s needs and begin planning ways to achieve goals with him. Not only the goals that the client has today, but also those that he will have in six months, in a year, in two...

It turns out that this is partpersonalfinancemanagement?

M.R. This is part of the new approach. If I go to any bank in Russia today and say that I want to buy a car in six months, everyone will tell me to come back in six months. If I want to buy an apartment in a year, they will ask me to come back in a year. Banking business today is not set up to respond to customer needs that are not relevant to today.

If a client comes and says that he wants to buy a new apartment in eight months, I, as a banker, must offer him a solution for this problem. For example: make payments every month into a savings account, payments the same size as those that would be on the loan. But the advantage for the client will be that there will be six months of payment history. And this will allow those who manage risks in the bank to make a discount on the loan, since they will see the client’s discipline and solvency. Further, if it is our bank that offers a solution where other banks would say to come in six months, the client will be loyal to our bank. Let's say we helped a client find a decision on buying a new car. Two to three months after the purchase, we can invite the client to spend thirty minutes together planning further goals for the next year or two and ways to achieve them.

Do any bankers do this?

M.R. Perhaps only credit unions in the USA are committed to relationships with their clients. Credit unions are structured as non-profit organizations where the clients themselves are the shareholders. Because credit union customers have a strong influence on their management, unions are more relationship-building.

This approach requires a very big change in the mentality of bankers. Now bankers are thinking about two things: how to sell the product and how to service it. To get experience innovation right, you need to think bigger. You need to think about sales, service and connecting with the client to develop the relationship. Clear reasons should be created for contacts with the bank that are not related to sales.

Banks only send me SMS with offers of loans and cards. Enough already!

Let's take a client who bought a banking product. For example, I opened a savings account at a bank. Sometimes he comes to the department to replenish it. This is sales and service. But the bank must build contacts with the client that are not related to sales and servicing of products that the client has already purchased. The reason for such contact must be relevant to the client.

You cannot establish such contact using SMS. It turns out that we need branches.

T.M. This is not so much about a contact channel, nor about a technical gadget or button. We are talking about the very idea of ​​​​developing contacts not related to sales and service of products.

M.R. There is a very simple way to establish such contacts - joint planning. You can propose, for example, once a quarter to jointly review existing tasks and propose options for solving them. You can plan your budget together. For the bank, this action does not cost that much, but it creates a much closer relationship with the client, making the client want to consolidate his financial activities in one place.

In recent years, bankers have been actively cutting their bones and reducing bank branches, since maintaining branches is an expensive thing. And besides, modern users - generations X, Y, millennials - they all live online. Isn't it?

M.R. There is a very big risk in this. Suppose we close our branches and send all users to the Internet, to mobile banking, to ATMs. And it turns out that all the banks are starting to look alike. All IVRs over the phone sound the same, ATMs may differ in color and type of font on the screen, but, in essence, they are the same in functionality. It’s the same story with online banking and mobile banking. They are similar.

Once markets mature to a certain stage, a certain standard is formed, a certain set of channels and products are the same for everyone. Differentiation is becoming more and more difficult. And when all banks are similar to each other, the consumer makes his decision based on the price of the product.

Emotional and customer relationship innovations can be used to reduce price sensitivity. And the cost of additional effort to establish relationships is lower than the benefit of reducing customers' price sensitivity. Those banks that recognize this and start using it today will have another wave of cost advantage that is much harder to replicate.

Here, Sberbank invested many millions of dollars in one branch to create an experience for customers. Is this the right way?

M.R. I wouldn't invest that much. If you conduct a survey of clients and find out how this affected their quality of life, how this affected the quality of their relationship with the bank, it may turn out that it had no effect.

Can you give an example of a bank that implements this approach in practice?

M.R. There is an example of Umpqua Bank. You can give examples from other areas of business. But let's make a small theoretical digression. If you ask clients today what they want from their bank, the answers will be: low interest rates on loans, free services... But if you ask them what they expect from their relationship with the bank in the next five years, the answers will be divided into three groups. First: help when the client has problems. Second: assistance in managing finances and improving the quality of life. Third: assistance in realizing clients' goals and objectives. Regardless of country and region, 90% of bank customer responses fall between these three categories. But bank clients do not see or feel today that banks are interested in their future.

T.M. If we talk about innovations in the sphere of relations, there are still few implemented examples here. Otherwise it would not be considered innovation. To do this, banks really need to go beyond their current activities, beyond the usual model when they only engage in attracting and servicing clients. Today, few people are engaged in developing relationships with clients. Perhaps in private banking banks are focused on relationships. There they understand the importance of relationships.

INprivatebankingEach customer's value is completely different.

T.M. That's exactly what banks think. And we always tell bankers that it is probably wrong to consider each client simply as a cost. If a bank has a million customers, and the bank is so greedy that it does not want to spend money on developing relationships with these customers, then for it customers are not valuable at all. Then all these slogans, such as “We are always with you” and “Your bank” are all lies!

T.M. But clients are sensitive to this. Therefore, banks themselves spoil their reputation in the eyes of the client, and clients do not consider the possibility of long-term financial relationships with the bank. They remain just as price sensitive.

And yet - “examples in the studio”! Who implements innovations in relationships?

M.R. Basically these are small cans such as Umpqua. Umpqua has already done a lot of innovation in customer relationships. You know that they create community centers in their branches. There are several dozen small banks that are taking steps in this direction.

AboutUmpquaThey write a lot, but do they have proven results of such activities?

M.R. Look at their reporting. During the crisis, when many banks failed, Umpqua bought banks. They used the crisis to significantly expand retail network on conditions favorable to them.

The reason I ask questions so persistently is because many bankers perceive such stories as beautiful fairy tales. They want to see ROI. Sberbank installed a huge screen in the branch, but what is the use of it?

M.R. I doubt that Sberbank will receive ROI from installing the screen. But our methodology includes calculations: how much each dollar spent on building quality relationships with clients will bring. We can show the calculation of income and profit from each client. If a bank has a million customers, each of whom uses only one banking product, then the cost of service per customer is very high. And if the same million clients use three banking products, then the bank’s profit will be much higher, and the cost of service per client will be lower. And the efficiency of the branch network will increase.

We show our clients in Russia that according to our research, many people in Russia today, even those with an income level of $600, have banking products in different banks. They can have up to five different products in different jars. If you motivate these people to collect these products in one bank, then the income of this bank will become significantly higher, and the risks will be lower. There are many advantages.

Large global banks find it difficult to make such innovations. Their leadership is very decentralized. Different people are responsible for different products. There are many managers, but no one is responsible for customer relations. This is how their KPIs are structured. And without this, it is very difficult for the top management of banks to influence the situation. They look at the total volume, the total profit, but they don't look at the profit per customer. But if they see this indicator, they will change their attitude.

Therefore, we begin our work with banks by looking at these indicators together with bankers. We look at income per client, look at operating expenses per client, capital costs per client. Then we divide it all into segments. This is a huge eye-opener for bankers. And after that you can structure the business differently. And organize marketing differently.

There is an evolution of management in banks. Ten to twelve years ago, bankers focused on the balance sheet, there was passive business and active business in Russia. Then the focus shifted towards products, and retail and corporate products appeared. And now we are at the stage where there is a focus on clients. There comes an understanding that there is a mass client, there are VIPs. All the same, for now in the minds of bankers there is some kind of mixture between grocery business and client. The next level is relationship orientation.

Read recentlyG.E.MoneyBankopened a new pilot office on Novoslobodskaya, in different colors?

M.R. Making a new office design is easy. But this is “lipstick on a pig's snout” if the design is not accompanied by a serious internal transformation. The bank must understand how to build relationships with clients, how to manage them, and how to measure these relationships.

As I said, it is very difficult for large banks to transform, and there are other, non-bank organizations that are doing this. There is a PFM service in the USA Mint.com. Look, I am a Wells Fargo private banking client here in the US. They have been telling me for five years that they cannot make me a convenient interface in which I would see my finances the way I want - money, investments, real estate in one place. They tell me that their system doesn't allow it. In Mint.com, which is a free site, in fifteen minutes I set up an interface that suits me. There I see my entire financial life, including today market value my property and my car. There I created for myself budget plan, and the system sends me reminders if I spend too much money, or vice versa, if I saved in the current month. The same system sees what commission I pay to my bank and offers me alternative options.

There are non-banks that pose a threat to the relationship between me and my bank because my bank is too big and unwieldy and does not value the relationship with me. There's a company called SmartyPig that made a service that allowed me to automatically send a certain amount toward my savings goals every month. Please note - they withdraw this money from my bank account and send it to my account at another bank, where it sits while it accumulates. Is this a threat to my bank? Certainly.

Services such asPayPalDo you consider banks a threat?

If we look at the banking business simply as a transactional business, then yes. But the bank has greater opportunities to build relationships with clients, support their financial lives, and help them achieve their goals. Banks have the potential to develop closer relationships with customers than any other business. Banks have the opportunity to have almost daily contacts with clients via the Internet, through a call center. If only they showed just a little more interest in their customers.

It’s easy to say that “customer relationships are priority #1,” as is the fashionable saying these days. Similar slogans and promises can be seen everywhere, such as in advertising. But actually fulfilling such a promise is quite difficult, mainly due to the fact that today most banks around the world are not structured in a format that would allow them to build quality relationships with their clients.

Our activities focus on this. We help banks imagine, create, measure and manage healthy, quality relationships with their retail customers that generate profits at the same time.

Reference

SenteoInc. is international company, which has offices in the USA, Spain and Russia. She specializes in projects for the transformation of retail organizations, business training and development investment projects using your own concepts.

The company's consulting division, working on transformation projects for Senteo clients, consists of experienced specialists with various competencies. Our team has implemented more than 200 successful projects in 27 countries, including projects for 16 banks that are among the world's 100 largest.

Using its own and unique methodology, developed over many years and tested in practice, Senteo has a clear vision of the work of banking structures and methods of running a successful business.

More detailed information can be obtained on the website

Banking sales technologies for individuals and legal entities are essentially the same, but it is more difficult for banks to work with corporate clients

Russian credit institutions are constantly improving classic and creating new banking products, services and technologies. Bankers are driven to this by high competition for clients of various levels - from the mass segment of individuals to privileged VIP-clients, from small individual entrepreneurs to large corporations. For each of these clients, banks have a package of financial offers ready. How to convey to potential clients all the information about banking opportunities without the risk of alienating them with excessive intrusiveness, what is the present and future of banking sales technologies - “KS” talked about this with banking market experts.

Sales engine

Definitely dominant in banking sector The “customer market” allows both individuals and legal entities to biasedly choose a servicing credit institution, forcing its competitors to multiply efforts to speed up payments, reduce the cost of banking services, lower lending rates and increase interest on deposits - of course, not to their own detriment, but and not with unlimited margins.

However, all, even the most progressive, developments of bankers are doomed to lie as dead weight if they are not brought to their end user - an existing or potential client. At the dawn of the domestic banking business, it was quite possible to count on the client himself coming to the bank and gratefully accepting all the conditions offered - this is not the case. last resort was determined by the needs of the emerging Russian entrepreneurship in credit resources. However, the situation changed quite quickly, and already at the end of the last century, the supply of banking services noticeably exceeded the demand. It became obvious that simply listing even the most modern and competitive banking products in tariff collections is not capable of ensuring a massive influx of desired clientele into the bank, and the methods used to work with clients are mainly focused on individual attraction. Such methods could no longer ensure the desired growth of the banking business, obviously ensuring a loss in competition. And the task of targeted delivery of banking offers to the widest range of potential clients gradually began to take center stage in financial business development technologies.

As often happens, there was no need to reinvent the wheel - banks in most foreign countries have long gone through the stage of transition from individual customer attraction to mass attraction, having learned not only to offer their services to interested customers, but to actively promote them among potential consumers, thereby forming promising demand market. Essentially, financiers have taken centuries of experience in retail sales of consumer goods and successfully applied it to banking products. Business coach Ekaterina Shulgina, who previously worked at Alfa-Bank, explains this by the fact that the banking market is very developed in terms of sales technologies - everything that appears in the world in the field of sales or marketing, one way or another comes to the banking sector.

Outside Russia, banking sales became so successful that by the beginning of the 21st century, this approach had already begun to reduce its effectiveness due to the depletion of the client base - almost all companies and households in developed foreign countries found themselves involved in the sphere of activity of credit institutions, using banking products to the full extent of their opportunities. Against this background, the weakly saturated Russian market promised very good prospects - and decades-old banking sales technologies were quickly adopted by domestic bankers.

Director of the retail branch of VTB Bank in Novosibirsk Elena Zaitseva identifies activities through direct and affiliate sales, meaning by the latter interaction with clients through bank partners - for example, developers, real estate agencies. According to the head of the branch, within the framework of direct sales, more than two years ago, a division was formed, the work of which is aimed at the end consumer of banking services, and employees of this department are constantly on the road, presenting banking products, communicating with potential clients at the checkpoints of “payroll” clients, visiting meetings organized in labor collectives with the help of colleagues of the corporate branch. Thus, a pool of contacts and recommendations is formed for further work with a “warm base”, within which clients receive qualified advice and the opportunity to submit applications for a particular service directly at the workplace.

“Passive technologies include those associated with advertising in a variety of forms, including direct mail. Active ones are, for example, independent calls to the client. And direct sales take place during personal communication,” this is how bank sales technologies are classified Director of the Siberian territorial department of Vostochny Bank Dmitry Mayevsky. The banker also reveals in detail certain aspects of various technologies: passive sales are aimed mainly at new clients, this is not a very profitable and rather risky segment, so risks are built into the product’s performance, which is why it is often more expensive for new clients than for old ones. Active sales are mainly carried out by contact center employees - here the profitability is higher and the risks are lower, it is possible to create individual banking offers based on the client’s preferences. Direct sales, as a rule, are not particularly profitable; they are aimed more at image goals or at retaining the client, the director of the department believes.

She also spoke about the active use of various sales channels for her products. Head of Strategic Communications Department of Home Credit Bank Irene Shkarovskaya. According to her, the bank uses cross-selling technologies (including telephone) and constantly improves their efficiency.

I don't quite agree with the terminology Director for Retail Business of the Novosibirsk branch of Alfa-Bank Marina Kokoulina. She acknowledges that sales technologies are forms and tools for attracting clients, but believes that this sounds rude, since each client is unique. “Banking services are built on many factors - financial literacy, opportunities, desires to use remote channels of access to the account, existing needs, largely determined by the lifestyle of clients,” the bank’s top manager explains his point of view.

Despite its universality, banking sales technologies, applicable to all categories of clients, have become most widespread in the mass segment - first physical, and then legal entities. Thanks to the use of modern methods of selling banking products - primarily consumer loans in the retail business - Russian credit institutions ensured explosive growth in their loan portfolio at the end of the first decade of the 2000s. However, one cannot fail to mention the evolution of technologies for making credit decisions - the traditional individual approach could no longer cope with the flow of applications from clients wishing to purchase a “credit product” actively sold by bank managers. As a result, a credit conveyor appeared - a technology for fast decision-making based on a standardized algorithm. Now bank loans have truly become a truly mass retail product - accessible to a wide range of consumers and creating a significant share of bank profits. According to Elena Zaitseva, the role of product sales technology in generating profits is difficult to underestimate - without established channels for selling services, banks today cannot generate an influx of new, high-quality customer flow.

Such success in working with individuals led to a further expansion of the scope of bank sales, and legal entities, primarily small businesses, began to be involved in it. “In the context of legal entities and individuals (without division by income), the technologies are essentially the same, but the complexity of the sales technology (number of questions, persuasion techniques) to legal entities is definitely higher,” says Ekaterina Shulgina, explaining this by the fact that legal entities There are more criteria for choosing a bank, and there are more transactions within the bank. In addition, legal entities hold on to their relationship with “their bank” and are not always ready to quickly change it to another bank that sells its services.

Today, small business entrepreneurs have no shortage of banking offers that they receive through a variety of channels. Only a small part of these proposals are translated into actual issuance of loans, but this is already a general problem of increased risks in the modern Russian economy.

New approaches

Implementation modern technologies sales of banking products became a logical step in the development of the Russian banking sector, but it marked quite significant changes in the mentality of a large number of bank managers. If previously, employees of the operating room were limited to minimal communication with clients when accepting documents, now they are responsible for cross-selling products and services, often quite far removed from operational services. And not only on them. Customer focus, knowledge of banking products and services, implementation of sales plans - these are the minimum requirements for any employee of a credit institution who has at least minimal contact with clients due to the nature of his work. “Of course, this sales format required new personnel training programs from banks,” confirms Elena Zaitseva. In her opinion, successful manager in sales is someone who reacts flexibly to changes, is aimed at self-development and the introduction of new technologies and knowledge.

Not all managers of the “pre-sales era” adopted this approach to personnel - some of them were unable to adapt to new trends, moving to departments that were far from interacting with clients, or leaving their jobs at the bank forever.

Bank managers experience rejection of one form or another of sales, says Dmitry Mayevsky. But still, in his opinion, the last two years have taught the banking market a lot, and now everyone understands: you may not like the technology, but nothing new has yet been invented to replace it.

Despite the fact that bank sales are focused primarily on identifying and satisfying the needs of clients of credit institutions, the clients themselves have not always - at least at an early stage - welcomed the increased interest in themselves as potential buyers of banking products. “We ourselves have a mustache” - such a leitmotif was often heard in answers addressed to bank managers who honestly worked technological map sales To no lesser extent, bank employees also had to deal with claims regarding the imposition of unnecessary services. Marina Kokoulina admits: there are mistakes in bank sales, and the human factor also plays a role. However, she is convinced that everything that is intrusive and not in demand by the client cannot be sold. “This is a disastrous path, and we strive to make the world of finance more convenient and interesting,” says the director of retail business.

However, over time, the world experience of relationships between banks and their clients nevertheless took root on Russian soil - and now it is not uncommon for clients to complain about the lack of information received from a banking specialist, even to the point of reproach for the insufficiently active offer of certain banking products and services. As a result, the task of creating a market for demand for its services credit organizations is being solved quite successfully, currently moving to the stage of using remote channels to access clients. Thus, Marina Kokoulina sees the future service in Digital, when the maximum number of operations, offers for clients, new services - everything will be through mobile devices. Irene Shkarovskaya places special emphasis on the development of online sales. According to her information, the bank sells loans to its existing clients through Internet banking completely online, and now 10% of sales are carried out through Internet banking, without the client coming to the office and contacting a courier or call center operator. Dmitry Mayevsky also talks about officeless sales. “We are already starting to implement them using tablets, and in the future the market should be able to issue a loan through a smartphone using an electronic signature,” the banker predicts.

And Elena Zaitseva, confirming the key trend in the development of sales technologies in the banking sector - sales through remote service channels (Internet, mobile banking, functionality of client-banking systems) and a functional ATM network, etc. - nevertheless notes: “We understand that they cannot 100% replace either direct or affiliate channels, just as the Internet cannot replace live human communication.”

DIRECT SPEECH

Ekaterina Shulgina, business coach:

Speaking about the classification “active - passive sales”, I can say that both approaches are used in the banking sector. Passive sales imply, for example, responding to every comment on a social network, interesting events, releasing convenient applications or installing “Pokestops”, as in Sberbank branches - thanks to such activities, events and products, the client’s loyalty rises, and he himself comes to the bank, wanting become his client. Active sales involve direct contact with the client for the purpose of selling - this can be either a sale in a bank branch, when the client came himself with some question, or a meeting at the client’s premises - as a rule, this is a story about legal entities. Technologies active sales are also diverse - this includes cold calling technologies and the well-known SPIN (technology of leading a potential buyer to purchase a product or service).

On the other hand, we can divide sales into direct and cross-sales: in the first case, our goal is to sell the client the main product (for example, a current account), in the second - to sell an additional product that will make his service in the bank more convenient (for example, SMS- notification).

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