Gaining sales agility: Customers are reluctant to buy until you convince them that you are an invaluable source of financial information. New technologies such as Linkedin are changing the sales landscape. Having problems adapting? An expert gives tips on agile learning and explains how it can help you make a successful transition to current market expectations.

AuthorKonrath, Jill

SO MUCH TO LEARN. SO LITTLE TIME. If you're like most bankers, your head is spinning with all .the new things you have to deal with. New products. New services. New technology. New competitors. You might even be in a new position.

Then, when you. throw in all the changes that are going on around you, life gets even more complex. Markets constantly shift. Your organization may be growing, shrinking or reorganizing. A volatile economy alters priorities.

Changing clients

More than anything else, your clients are changing. Average sales cycles have increased 22 percent in length in the past five years. According to CEB, a leading consulting firm, today's business buyers are 60- to 70 percent of the way through their decision process when they initiate contact. And, Forrester Research shows that the first viable vendor to reach a decision maker and set the buying vision has a 79 percent close ratio.

But the problem is no one wants to meet with you to learn about your financial services institution or your portfolio of products. To them, it's boring. Mundane. Something that every banker wants to talk with them about.

Rather than listening to your pitch, they'd much prefer to go online to check things out--when it fits their schedule.

Here's the deal. Your prospects and clients have no time to meet with talking brochures. Instead, they want to work with highly knowledgeable human resources. They want experts who can continually bring them ideas, insights and information to address today's problems. They want forward-thinking guidance on how to stay on top of their game in an ever-evolving marketplace.

In short, they want more!

Tough assessments

Let's get back to you now. Are you prepared to give them what they need? Do you have the depth of knowledge required to be that invaluable resource? Are you up-to-date on the industry trends that could be impacting their business? Do you think about what your prospects think about?

I 1 Usually when I ask bankers these questions, it's like I've pushed their panic button. Their eyes open wide and a look of fear crosses their face. Even this quick self-assessment reveals some serious knowledge deficiencies that would undercut their relevance.

But it's not just that you need to know more today, you also need to behave differently. They're expecting insightful questions and wise counsel from you.

So then, I start asking bankers what they've done to upgrade their skills in the past few years. Those who are honest, typically tell me they're doing pretty much the same thing they've always done. Basically this means they're dropping further behind.

The agile secret

If any of this rings true to you, please consider this your wake-up call. There's still time to take action. Some bankers already have. They've committed themselves to becoming the invaluable resource that their clients need.

They know it's an ongoing process that will require them to keep studying, growing, adjusting and adapting. They realize that they'll screw up along the way, but they accept it as part of the learning process. They ask tons of questions, experiment with different approaches and challenge themselves to get even better.

Most bankers can't figure out how they have time to keep up...

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