Ten tips for in-store bankers.

• Position: Marketing News - Brief Article

A bank Lobby in a retail environment is different from a bank lobby in a, well, in a bank, says Michelle Couch, a trainer with Sales Solutions LLC, Memphis, Tenn. It's important to know the difference.

"In an in-store location, there's just an entirely different dynamic when it comes to attracting shoppers to the bank, asking them to pause from their shopping experience, consider the products you're offering and recognize the value of doing their banking and shopping in one location."

She offers 10 suggestions for improving the in-aisle prospecting skills of bank employees.

1. Focus less on the amount of time involved and more on the number of quality contacts you make.

2. Don't approach shoppers at the front door. They won't be particularly conducive to hearing you out if they've just arrived.

3. You can increase your visibility during your prospecting forays by setting up table displays and making storewide announcements over the public address system.

4. Aim your announcements at the audience most likely to be in the store--senior citizens in the morning, dual-income folks in the evenings and on weekends.

5. Where in the store would you go if you were shopping? Go there. That's where your most receptive audiences are likely to be.

6. Use store...