There’s a long list of so-called-sales-trainers that have tried to get banks to train their way out of the problem, but all of that is like a Band-Aid® on cancer…

So today, let’s strike the root of the problem in sales:

Wrong people in the wrong seats.

See, when we hire salespeople, we’re looking at all the wrong measurements (and sadly, some aren’t looking further than a resume).

Eighty-percent of sales results are driven by emotional intelligence.

Yes, 80%!

So, if you could only focus on one thing to make a big improvement in sales, what do you think it should be…?

I’ve been inside banks reviewing their team’s emotional intelligence scores and discovered the people who should be the sales rock-stars (based on empirical measurement) are buried in operations, while the front-line salespeople don’t have the emotional intelligence scores that support their success in sales.

The problem you face is not knowing how your people score. Watch today’s video for more…

And, if you are not yet looking at the emotional intelligence scores for all of your team, it’s time to start. There is only one assessment that measures emotional intelligence and includes correlations to over 85 banking positions: The ZERORISK Profile.

For a limited time, and for qualified bank executives, we’re offering a free-trial of ZERORISK. Just call (952) 737-6730 and request your trial, and we’ll give you certificates for two ZERORISK Profiles, plus a complimentary ZERORISK Analysis to help you understand your results.

The post Why The “Hunter-Farmer” Approach Is Flawed And What You Should Do Instead appeared first on The Emmerich Group.

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or call our office at 952-737-6730

There are three points that you must hit to build a sales team that inherently kicks out the weak players and attracts future achievers.

Number One:

Make sure that you have the right people on your team. Sounds logical but you’d be surprised at how few sales managers are picking their team correctly. By using hiring tools that match the person to both the position and the team, you can take away the guesswork as to whether that they will fit in —in terms of passion, skills, behaviors, creativity, drive and results.

Instead of accepting that there is always a straggler, EVERYONE will leap over tall buildings to fulfill and exceed their goals. It’s amazing what can be accomplished by creating a team that doesn’t accept excuses.

How rigorous is YOUR selection process?

• Are you continually increasing the bank’s standards? For those who don’t meet the standards, are you coaching them up or out?
• During candidate selection, do you place a higher value on sales ability or banking experience?
• Do you make sure that your sales people have sales profile? ZeroRiskHR’s research shows that a person who is low risk for a bank sales position will outsell a medium risk profile by 400 percent. Seems like that return on investment of selecting the right people is one you can’t afford to not figure out.

By increasing expectations from your sales team, you are ensuring that their hearts as well as their minds and pockets are in on the deal.

Number Two:

Develop and implement a proven sales process. The consistency will place accountability upon each person and ensure that they are carrying out their goals.

Not to mention, it makes it a whole lot easier on you. By eliminating technique variables, you place every member on your team on the same path towards the same objectives and goals.

And Number Three:

Follow a formula so that you know that a certain number of sales WILL close. Too many sales managers accept excuses and the mediocrity that follows.

By developing a formula, you are eliminating the chance for excuses.

There is no magic in sales – doing the right behavior the right number of times will create consistent results. Hold each team member accountable the same way you are held accountable.

Whenever there is a separation where you are held accountable and they are not, you will breed dysfunction which leads to underperformance.

The point of having a formula is so that those individuals who have a lower closing ratio get to bat more times. This way they both nail down the number of sales they need and practice at getting better so they won’t need so many attempts in the future.

Watch out for imposters. This is someone who has been around for a long time and has a big book of business and contacts but lacks the ability to create and maintain it.

Therefore, the book is only taking up space on your bookshelf. If they are compensated on the volume of that book, they could falsely be rewarded for it in the future (by way of benefit or even promotion).

Avoid this blind pat on the back by analyzing closing ratios. These imposter “top performers” give the illusion of moving a lot of volume, but their kill ratio is far less than their contemporaries. If you start holding them accountable for a higher closing ratio, then reallocate their accounts based on their inability to attain and retain them, the problem will get better.

Protect your team so that only performers are allowed to stay and others are put into jobs that their emotional intelligence suggests they are capable of winning at.

For a quick, 60-minute complimentary coaching session on how you can implement three things immediately to improve your hiring processes, to increase your sales results, call our office at 952-737-6730 or click here.  The reason we make that offer is so that we can show you how to better implement your sales strategy by getting the right people in the right seats and perhaps you will want to be implementing the best sales hiring system that exists.

The post Managing a Kick-Butt Sales Team appeared first on The Emmerich Group.

If you want great employees, you must become a great recruiter. Most ads are written for people who are looking for jobs. The best candidates, however, already have good jobs.

People don’t move for a job that feels the same.

So, follow these five rules to attract extraordinary performers.

1) Spell out EXPECTED ACCOMPLISHMENTS

At least half of your ad copy should be geared toward what you want the person to accomplish. Write this in exciting copy, and you will attract people who want to accomplish great things. Better yet, you’ll exclude people who don’t want to do the work!

Here’s an example: “Lead our sales team of 50 to be number one in our market area.”

Or, “Create relationships with our customer such that they’ll bring all of their financial business to us.”

2) Spell out THE FUTURE

Create a vivid picture of exactly how the person can grow and learn, and you’ll attract those compelled to do what it takes to have a great career and future. Great people want to be a part of great and compelling initiatives.

Capture this by blending it with the future of the company.

Here’s an example: “Become an Internet Marketing guru as you execute a state-of-the-art marketing process on the Internet.”

Or, “Develop your leadership skills as you launch our new location in Charlotte.”

3) Leave out THE DETAILS

Don’t have your ad be a laundry list of duties, academic requirements, or skills. These do nothing more than turn off the best candidates. Because experience is a poor indicator of future success, spend no more than one sentence on this. Keep it vague, and keep it simple.

Here’s an example: “Industry experience and a track record of success in operations are helpful.”

4) Lead with a GRIPPING TITLE

Be creative and interesting with the titles. You’re competing against hundreds of mundane ads, and the title needs to pull them in before any ad is read.

Here’s an example: Instead of “Internet Developer,” says “Internet Guru.”

Instead of “Sales Management Officer,” say “Leading Sales Wizard.”

5) Quickly DISQUALIFY

The end of the ad should ask the candidate to submit a few paragraphs describing their most significant comparable accomplishment. This far beyond the resume in proving they can be successful. Make sure to ask them when they describe that accomplishment who can verify that outcome, and since many people often impact an outcome, how much of it they were responsible for creating.

The post Recruiting Your Next Superstar appeared first on The Emmerich Group.

What if you’ve put together a great incentive program…and it’s not working?

What if you’ve had phenomenal sales training…and that’s not working?

Perhaps you’re solving the wrong problem.

If fact, research shows that emotional intelligence has more to do with sales results than anything else. And, knowing what it is that most matters about emotional intelligence can create a transformation in your sales results.

In fact, 80 percent of sales results are impacted by and driven by emotional intelligence.

So, how do you start to understand the emotional intelligence of your people?

How do you hire the right people into the right spots?

First of all, understand there are key things that need to be assessed to find out that you have someone who can perform in a sales position.

We know from research that if someone is considered to be low-risk for a sales position, there is a 90 percent chance that they’ll be in that job a year later, performing. They will outperform a medium-risk by 400 percent.

So, knowing what you have is important.

Now, let’s take this further.

Right now, most banks are going down the hunter-farmer model. And, again, those are two very different profiles.

A hunter has a six or above in both results orientation—they want to be moving—and the self-awareness score—they can influence. They need both.

But for a farmer, someone who can get referrals, do additional business with that customer, keep the relationship up—they need to have a six or above in at least one of the two.

So knowing how to place your hunters and farmers into the right spot is imperative to make sure that you have the best piece.

But that’s not all.

Just the other day, I was working with a bank, and I was looking over their profiles of their employees, and I found four hunters…in their operations department!

They couldn’t get their salespeople to sell—because they didn’t have sales profiles.

So getting people in the right slots, and making sure you dig up the gems from your own back yard, is imperative to make the breakthrough.

I can’t wait to see what’s possible for you when you start applying emotional intelligence to your positions in banking. Not only will the salespeople begin to perform, but everyone in the organization, when properly assessed, put into the right slots, will perform so much better.

The post What to Do if You’ve Tried Sales Training and Still Don’t See Results appeared first on The Emmerich Group.

To protect the sanctity of your vision, values, standards, and other key information, consider an automated process on your Intranet. Here are a few ideas of what could be included:

• A video from the president talking about the vision and values of the organization. He or she could also share the internal language and cover special “languaging” of your organization, such as “Results Rule” or “Live Your Word.” When people get the language, they acclimate and find home much quicker.
• Pictures of employees with their titles, key responsibilities, contact info–something personable about them so they feel the connection.
• Customer service training videos with a printout of your customer service standards.
• Coaching for success on their initial mystery shopping calls.
• A video of your Kick-Butt Kick-Off® to show how the team came up with your standards for treating customers and each other.
• A checklist of self-study items to learn based on the position. May include product knowledge, project management software, time management procedures, or whatever is significant for the role.
• Industry language cheat sheets
• Standards procedures for new employees, such as instructions on how to set up voice mail, email etiquette, travel policy and dress code.
• Policies and procedures around key functions like IT (not giving out passwords and time frame for changing them), email (writing “Action req:” in subject lines for all tasks, copying in those who need to be in the know but having the actionable people in the “to” line, etc.)
• Online testing to make sure that employees are mastering the knowledge they are required to know with results going to their manager and to HR.

Most importantly, make sure your new employee orientation is trainee-based, not trainer-based. In other words, the person accountable to learn the information is the individual being trained. If they are confused, they need to know that they must pursue all answers so they can be held accountable for knowing the material quickly.

You’ll still want some face time with your new people to engage them, but this system will allow for a streamlined process.

The post Onboard New Employees to “Get It” from the Get Go appeared first on The Emmerich Group.