High Sales Targets and Stress.

Some of my readers have expressed concerns over the high sales targets that are set for them by their management. Whether or not you are a PFC, RM (personal, middle enterprises, wholesale) Private Banker, SME Specialist, Mortgage Specialist etc, you will no doubt be feeling the stress lately.
Market is slow and a large number of consumers are sceptical about banks these days. If your targets are AUM (Assets Under Management) based, you will be even more stressed as your performance will be based on the $ that you can bring in. A customer recently said that he would rather put his hard earned $ at home under his bed or pillow than with a bank. And he was real serious when he passed that comment.

Hard And Smart Work Pay Off

There are some bank sales staff who work hard and long hours. They get their networks right, look for customers in the most efficient and effective ways, dont mind putting in the hours on weeknights and even weekends, and work their hearts out when delivering service to customers so that these satisfied customers will either come back for more bank products or recommend their friends and business associates to these bankers.
I know a number of such bank sales personnel who usually would succeed in their various fields. Not only are the monetary rewards good, there is that sense of satisfaction when you have that special bond with your customers who would only want to deal with you. As in all relationships, trust is key.

Some True Stories

I guess in Life, it is always the same. When nothing happens, everything and everyday will just be the same. People go to work and come home to sleep. Basically, nobody cares about 'Anticipation'.
Even certain senior management staff do not draw up Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) for the purpose of guiding people working on the ground.
I have been working in about 3 organisations since I first started working after university. Most senior managers are busy 'playing politics' to climb the corporate ladder and are mainly concerned about their own personal career path. So they do not have the time to do the right things in the office.
For example, when somebody sends an email to a customer with certain information that is not supposed to be sent out, and when a complaint is received, it becomes a big issue that is being discussed at meetings and thru emails. There will be finger-pointing and blame-pushing. Lots of time is spent at this fault-avoiding phase.
Well, in the first place, who is to blame? Senior managers are paid a high salary to do nothing, because their main job is to manage people below them. They only need to use their brains to give instructions to the people below them to get things done. They should have drawn out SOPs to guide the staff so that staff know exactly how to act in various situations. There should also be standard Questions & Answers for staff to refer to especially frontline staff who face customers everyday.
Senior managers have to think of all these issues and have the appropriate systems put in place before anything goes wrong. And if unfortunately, something goes wrong, they should be the ones to shoulder the blame if there are no proper systems in place.

There Is A Saying, 'Never Trust A Politician and A Salesman

There is this saying that I heard. What do you all think? Is there truth in this saying? Please leave comments if you want to, we can discuss this. Dont worry, you can be honest, I dont mind although I am in sales too because I have seen how sales people do things just for money.

Been Busy Lately

I apologise that I have not been writing much the past week or so. I have been rather busy running my own sales. Sales numbers have not been good for me lately, so that means more late nights for me. Gotta look for more clients. This present market situation is real tough, I have readers who emailed me asking me for advice on sales techniques. I hope they are doing well, and I do understand what they are going through because I am also facing the pressure albeit on a different scale and level.

One Arrogant Banker

I met a Team Head in charge of a Sales Team in one of the banks. He thinks he knows everything, and is so full of himself. Actually, he does not know that he is just a salesman who happens to sell a slightly higher-end product, that's all. I admit that I am a bank salesman too. Anyway, this world has all sorts of people. Some think that power, money can bring them success and satisfaction. Well, to each his own.

Female Bank Sales Staff

Some of these female sales staff doll themselves up so much when they go to work. I am not sure why they have to do that, some even wear very revealing clothes. Is it to show their colleagues that they have a nice body, or to capture their male bosses' attention, or to lure male customers into signing up for products?

S$200,000 Entitles You To ........

Put S$200,000 into the banks and you can be members of eg:
DBS- Treasures
HSBC - Premier
UOB - Privilege
Standard Chartered - Priority
Citi - Citigold
A RM will be in-charge of your account and you can supposedly contact the RM almost 24/7 if not there is a special banking hotline for you to call for all banking requests/needs.
You may receive some complimentary tickets to some events happening in Singapore, but perhaps once or twice a year only, unlike the private banking customers who have more privileges.

Weekend Branch Banking

At the moment, only some banks like POSB, OCBC and Standard Chartered offer weekend branch banking for walk-in customers at some of their selected branches.
If I am not wrong, POSB only opens on Saturdays, while OCBC and Standard Chartered open on both Saturdays and Sundays at certain branches.
This is a great idea as busy bank customers have the option of visiting the bank on weekends. Nowadays most people work long hours in Singapore. Some people really do not have the time to go to the bank branch during weekdays because they work till 8,9 or even 10pm almost every night. Of course, there is the other option of internet and phone banking but some transactions or enquiries need to be done at the bank branch itself.

Negotiation

Life is all about Negotiation. One can say that when you are young, you should study hard, get good results, after graduation from university, find a good job and everything else will work out fine.
Well, actually, from my own experience, studying hard when you are young and working hard when you are in the workforce, are all important, however, one of the most essential ingredients to a successful career is to know how to Negotiate well enough.
Everything is about the 'N' word. When you talk with people, you are already negotiating in terms of sharing opinions, which opinion gets the longest talk time depends on subtle negotiation. When you are discussing a business deal with a client, it is either you get the upper hand or the client gets the upper hand, or you strike a balance and meet somewhere halfway. When you work with colleagues in the office, it is either they take advantage of you or vice versa, or strike a balance and meet halfway again. When you are walking in a crowded area, it is either you walk up the escalator first or the other person does, when you want to enter a lift in a crowded place, it is the same case. When you speak with your boss, it is either he/she has they way, or you have your way, or meet halfway again.
Almost everything hinges upon Negotiation. Negotiate well with a certain level of EQ, one can be successful in most things.

MAS Guidelines for Banks

I think this is a good step towards achieving some sanity in terms of bank sales staff and their dealings with bank customers. Please read, thanks. Actually, when something goes wrong in a bank, eg a customer feels that he/she is being treated unfairly because certain crucial information was not conveyed to him/her when he/she first signed up for the bank products and subsequently made a loss, the senior mgt are the ones who should be responsible for the bulk of the blame, not the sales staff.
Just imagine, eg a person wants to slim down and goes on a diet, but when he/she sees a tasty-looking ice-cream or cake, which contain alot of calories, and picks it up with his/her hands and puts it into his/her mouth and eats it, who is at fault? The hand that picks it up or the brain of the person which controls the hand?

Don't Take Customer Rejections Personally

As a sales staff in a bank, we all have to go thru the agony of talking with strangers who happen to be a customer of the bank we work for. If you do not like making conversations with strangers to begin with, then you are not suitable for the job.Also, sometimes or alot of the times, you will meet customers who would reject you upfront or in a slightly rude manner. Don't take this rejection in a personal way, they are not fed up with you personally, just that they may have had a bad experience with a bank recently or they may just be in a foul mood that particular day.Let's put it this way, if a person had just struck lottery which comes with a big sum of money, they will never be rude towards you even if you ask them repeatedly to sign up for bank products. Or if someone had just scored distinctions in all subjects in an exam, they will also likely smile when you approach them. Or if they have just been able to secure a date with the girl or guy that they like. So most of the time, getting rejected while on the job is just a part of the job, do not need to feel demoralised or affected.Main thing to note is, continue to try to look for potential customers to sign up for the bank products on offer. Continue to push on.