Cunning Sales Management

When sales targets are set and agreed upon by senior management and the sales staff, it should remain as what has been agreed.
The problem is when someone or a number of sales people achieve a high level above their sales targets, most senior management will immediately change the target requirements or criteria.
They do this with the intention of always placing the carrot a little further away from the reach of the poor RMs. All with the intention of making the sales people work even harder while they enjoy the benefits of a good-looking profit & loss statement, with revenues high and expenses kept to a minimum.
Big bonuses and promotional prospects are bright when they play the right game.

Working Hours of Bank Sales Staff

When times are hard, bankers have to work really long hours. Some work from as early as the morning till about midnight. There are some who even go the distance during rush periods (ie end of sales quarter or sales month) and work till 2am. There is just so much work and so little time, bankers have to stay back late to finish their paperwork before they can hand their cases, with all the supporting documents and reports, to the relevant departments for assessment.
Besides hunting for customers, bankers have to attend certain departmental meetings, make appointments to meet customers, persuade them to sign up, gather all necessary documents, prepare all the paperwork which includes keying all financial figures into the relevant computer system, writing reports, and then submitting full documents by the deadline.
All of the above has to be juggled not just for one customer but for a number of customers each month, not forgetting the other servicing issues and matters that pop up along the way from existing customers.
When times are bad and sales down, bank sales people face tremendous pressure and some respond by putting in more effort while others choose to give up.

Commercial Banking

This department can usually be found located above a branch. Products/services include Trade Services (LC/TR, Inv Fin, Import Fin, Export Fin, Factoring, BGs, Shipping Guarantees), Commercial Mortgages, Business Term Loans, Overdraft Facilities, Normal Business Current Accounts, Interest Earning Current Accounts, Commercial Credit Cards etc.
Basically, anything that businesses need to function and grow effectively in our competitive Local, Asian and Global markets.

Retaining Talents

Some banks know how to retain talent within their organisation, while others do not. Some cool, knowledgeable bank sales staff leave the bank not purely because they are heading for greener pastures but rather because they are fed up with the current situation that they are in.
Some senior management people are really too much, placing profits ahead of anything else. Some of these management people are selfish and only think of themselves.
On the other hand, there are also good management people who strike a balance between profits and staff welfare, but these are in the minority.

Roller-Coaster Feelings

Working in banking sales usually makes a person feel the highs and the lows. When times are good and sales abundant, bank sales staff will be in good mood, while the opposite applies when times are bad and sales down.
This is the price that has to be paid. There are good points and bad points in whichever job or career one seeks.
The ups with this job or career is:
- getting to meet different people
- getting to know about various types of business
- may get a chance to job hop into sectors where customers pull us over to
- occasionally get a chance to relax when out to meet/visit customers either for new sales or servicing issues
- get to learn about banking services and may have a chance to hop to another bank
- once in awhile earn large chunks of commission
- get to understand the way people function, it is very predictable, the way people function in this world, all ruled by power, money and benefit.

Women Friendly Bank Sales Management

There are some management staff who are so partial towards the female gender that they can tone down their voices when they speak to the female staff and give in to their unreasonable requests most, if not all, of the time, not knowing that this would damage morale among the male staff and especially the performing male staff.
The pretty female staff can get by by coming in late, going off early, making mistakes, mis-selling to customers, not hitting their sales targets, lazing around on their jobs, all because of a weak manager who so easily succumbs to eye-candy.
This type of manager is totally lousy and useless, even if he is smart at his work, he is not fit to be a management staff, he should be a normal staff who is not managing a team of people.
The same applies to women in management who are biased towards cute-looking male staff.

Learning Bank Products

For Commercial Bankers, having to deal with multi-products is a challenge. There is so much knowledge to be learned when one deals with the various products. It can be difficult for a start but once one gets into it and goes thru the motions, it will soon become second nature.
Of course, during the course of doing it, one can expect some obstacles along the way, especially when the product is new to the sales manager/relationship manager.
Overall, it can be fun learning and picking up the knowledge while attempting to market and sell the many products.
Only thing to bear in mind when one is new, is not to make customers upset.