Why? Let’s say you’re out with other soccer moms, and somebody mentions they’re planning on building a new home. Hmm, there’s potential for a mortgage there, isn’t there? And since your mortgage lender isn’t present, you need to handle that inquiry and know how to move it forward. 

Now, imagine someone calls in and asks about your CD rates. God forbid someone grabs that phone, starts talking about the CD specials, and doesn’t know how to engage that person beyond the rate. It’s crucial to turn that rate inquiry into a business opportunity where the rate doesn’t matter. Let’s say you’re in operations and you see an opportunity while on the phone with a customer. Do you know how to have that conversation, or do you think that’s for the “big people” over there? 

In community banking, every job is a sales position. Sales isn’t a bad word. Sales is simply helping people get what they need. If people want to criticize the word “sales” in banking, why would we allow that? Just because someone embezzled once, do we want to say that accounting is a dirty word? Sales is about helping people buy the right things. When we understand the goodness in what we do, it becomes one of the most ethical things we can do. That’s when the magic happens. 

When organizations understand that everyone is in sales, they begin their journey to becoming a Top Five Percenter™. If everyone sees and seizes opportunities, revenue comes in faster and more profitably because we’re converting inquiries into full relationships, not just focusing on pricing. Employees feel better about themselves and feel like they’re making a difference for customers, rather than just handling inquiries and moving widgets from one side of their desk to the other. 

That is the essence of community banking—making a difference in people’s lives. Help your team members understand that everyone is in sales and that sales is the most noble of professions.  

To your continued success, 

Roxanne Emmerich 

Please watch the video above and share it with your exec team and board. 

The post Everyone Is in Sales appeared first on The Emmerich Group.

What I’ve discovered is that it’s a significant issue. It’s often the reason why organizations don’t become Top Five Percenters™—people become helpless and resigned. Nobody informed me of this, and I didn’t receive training on it. However, I always tell team members that if they’ve been here for more than a week, they should have used the Internet to find out what they need to know. It’s their responsibility to find a solution. 

It’s their responsibility to navigate around obstacles. From personal experience, being pulled over by a police officer has taught me that saying “I didn’t see the sign indicating the speed limit” is not a valid excuse. There’s no room for that kind of reasoning. Yet, in the workplace, people often believe that their excuses should absolve them of responsibility. There are only two kinds of people: those who live in learned helplessness, constantly explaining why things can’t be done and viewing themselves as victims of their circumstances, and those who rise to the challenge, committed to figuring things out and taking responsibility. 

I am dedicated to finding out what matters and will put in the effort to get it done. You need people in an organization who are committed to overcoming learned helplessness, those who strive to be among the top 5% and contribute positively to the team.

To your continued success, 

Roxanne Emmerich 

Please watch the video above and share it with your exec team and board. 

The post Learned Helplessness appeared first on The Emmerich Group.