CASE STUDIES
Situation
Leadership in their retirement business approached us in an effort to change the sales/service culture and approach with their internal sales desk. Team members were hired with the expectation to be part of a “sales” desk, with aspirations to be proactive sellers. They were too often bogged down by internal and operational requests and needing to be reactive, and it was a challenge to be productive in the time they had to grow their business.
Approach
After meeting with team members and leaders and observing them in action, we identified a key habit change based on approaching their customers differently, in a more thoughtful and intentional way. Rather than focusing primarily on “cold calls” to spontaneously catch their financial advisor clients with time to speak, they took a deliberate approach to arrange short meetings with clients that would actually be scheduled on the calendar.
We developed a process to engage advisors to set up these short “phone” meetings, prepare for them, execute them to uncover and qualify opportunities, and establish meaningful follow up. After an initial training program on their new process, we coached and practiced these meetings over the subsequent months to reinforce and reiterate the required habit changes.. We also worked with leadership to instill a practice culture, to continue to drive improvement on this meeting process and fundamental skills.
Outcomes
There was a positive impact on both the efficiency and the effectiveness of the team. In the first year after this initiative was introduced:
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Sales results from the team more than tripled
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Sales per advisor client have increased by 176%
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The culture has evolved; there is greater energy and the team feels more excited about their job because of the focus on sales and growth.
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New team members are becoming productive faster, now that there’s a training and skill building system that enshrines the most productive habits for success.