by James Schneider | Feb 21, 2019
In the financial industry, different job roles require different core competencies.
For each job role, some core competencies are more important that others, and your evaluation of candidates should give extra attention to assessing those few critical attributes. Some attributes are nice to have, but the core competencies should be considered “must have.” Don’t overvalue one competency at the expense of others. Star performers typically have strengths across a range of competencies for their optimum selling role.
Competencies are the skills, abilities and motivations that actually cause effective and/or superior performance in a job role. A characteristic is not a competency unless there is evidence that indicates that possession of the characteristic precedes and leads to effective and/or superior performance in a job as measured on a specific criterion or standard.
Distinguishing competencies are those skills or abilities that differentiate superior performance from average or poor performance such as a salesperson setting goals higher than the goals required by the organization.
Here are some of the core competencies and sample job roles for each type of selling. Take a look and see if you’re valuing the competencies for each role that are going to make the biggest difference for your bottom-line revenue.
Service Selling
Core competencies:
Achievement Drive, Initiative, Energy, Organization Skills, Sociability, Empathy
Sample job roles:
• Teller
• Receptionist/Greeter
• Contact Center Rep (In-bound service)
• Loan Processor
Consultative Selling
Core competencies: Achievement Drive, Optimism, Adaptability, Social Leadership, Creative Quick Thinking, Organization Skills
Sample job roles:
• Personal Banker/Universal Banker
• Customer Service Rep.
• Member Service Advisor/Personal Banker
• Contact Center Rep (In-bound sales)
• Consumer Loan Officer
• Internal Mortgage Originator
• Insurance Consultant
• Investment Officer
Competitive Selling
Core competencies: Achievement Drive, Drive to Persuade, Optimism, Resilience Energy, Organizational Skills
Sample job roles:
• Business Development Officer
• Small Business Banking Officer
• Trust Officer–Employee Benefits
• External Mortgage Originator
• Wholesale Mortgage Lender
• Contact Center Rep (Outbound Sales)
Complex Selling
Core competencies: Achievement Drive, Empathy, Self-Control, Planning & Analytical Thinking, Social Leadership, Organization
Sample job roles:
• Commercial Loan Officer
• Trust BDO/Administrator
• Wealth Management Advisor
• Private Banker
• Cash Management Officer
Sales Supervision
Core competencies: Achievement Drive, Empathy, Developing Others, Optimism, Collaboration, Planning & Analytical Thinking
Sample job roles:
• Business Unit Manager
• Regional Manager
• Branch Manager
• Sales Manager
• Assistant Branch Manager
• Operations Supervisor
• Contact Center Supervisor
by James Schneider | Jan 23, 2019
Most sales leaders treat all people and all selling situations as if they were the same. They’re not. A 7’7″ basketball player like former NBA player Manute Bol may not be very skilled at shooting and dribbling, but he may be the player on the team best fit to rebound and to block shots. Similarly, an employee may not have the patience, empathy and planning skills to succeed at long cycle selling, but he may be our company’s best salesperson at prospecting and closing short cycle transactional sales.
National research of high performing salespeople in the financial services industry by Schneider Sales Management, Inc. has proven that almost all sales positions and all distinguishing sets of sales competencies can be described by five selling roles based on the behavioral requirements for success in the job. These roles are appropriate for all financial institutions based on the behavior competencies required to perform each role.
All top producing salespeople have some crucial competencies in common, such as strong achievement drive, but each selling role requires some competencies that are different than those required for other selling roles.
If you are a hiring manager or a sales manager, it is your responsibility within your bank or credit union to define clearly what each employee’s role in selling is, and to fit the right people to the right role to build a successful team.
Choosing the right sales practices, the right performance metrics and the right coaching priorities is easy once you’ve defined each employee’s role in selling.
Here is more information on each of the five main financial industry selling roles in banks and credit unions.
Service: Job requires servicing customer transactions and maintaining friendly customer relations, and may require conducting some referral or suggestive selling.
Consultative Selling: Job requires completing sales and service transactions, advising customers on product selection or use, closing first sales quickly, making add-on or follow-up sales, and managing selected customer relationships in primarily in-store, customer-initiated conversations. In blended sales and service positions the job may also require proactive outreach to approach and engage in-store customers to create sales opportunities.
Competitive Selling: Job requires continuous prospecting, competing for sales persistently despite high rejection rates, conducting minimal after-sale servicing, and closing competitive sales in one or two interviews using emotional pressure.
Complex Selling: Job requires closing large, complex or technical sales over a long selling cycle, analyzing prospect problems and product applications to propose customized solutions, networking socially for new business, and retaining and developing customer relationships over time.
Sales Supervision: Job primarily requires direct supervision and coaching of sales personnel and/or their supervisors, and typically requires some personal selling. In senior level positions the job also requires sales planning.
