Strategies for Cross-Selling SuccessCross-selling can boost institutional profitability if banks identify the appropriate sales opportunities,

improve the customer encounter and monitor training and reward programs. BY W. MICHAEL SCOTT

Feb 10, 2014 | 2 Comments

Cross-selling, or persuading customers to purchase additional products, is one of a bank’s most powerful and

efficient revenue-boosting tools. Y et, many banks do not cross-sell effectively . In today ’s competitive

market, banks need to develop carefully planned, measured and specialized programs to engage and target

customers effectively through cross-selling.

For the purposes of this article, we’ll consider cross-selling to be the successful promotion of products

resulting in additional purchases by account holders, new or existing. According to a 2011 report from

Forrester Research, the average bank owns 2.1 financial products out of the approximately seven owned

per-household. That’s certainly fairly low, considering that most banks aim for four or more products per-

customer. The good news is this metric is not a foregone conclusion, or an absolute.

The potential is there for every bank if management can identify how to effectively leverage cross-selling for

the benefit of both bank and customers.

Getting Cross-Selling “Right”

The problem for many banks in achiev ing cross-selling success is the challenge of creating, monitoring and

measuring effective cross-selling programs and then ensuring that employ ees implement them effectively .

Some banks put so much pressure on their representatives to cross-sell that the entire effort loses its focus.

For example, assume that a customer enters a bank to make a $100 deposit into a sav ings account. The

teller, whom management has instructed to promote new money market accounts with a $100 minimum

deposit, suggests the customer open a new money market account instead of adding to the sav ings account.

If the customer opens the account, what happens? The teller succeeds in cross-selling but the bank has more

paperwork to process and likely a higher interest rate to pay . If the teller didn’t qualify the prospect first –

ensuring that the customer actually needed and would use the money market account – the bank may not

reap any real benefit from the teller’s efforts.

Cross-selling programs work best when they connect appropriate prospects with useful products.

Furthermore, the bank should also be able to measure staff success with that effort and prov ide corrective

training if they need improvement. Such a program may sound complicated, but it can be implemented

fairly easily , if a bank breaks the components into manageable segments and uses the right tools. FMSI’s

Lobby Tracking Sy stem helped us to identify the following three elements of cross-selling success:

Evaluate and identify appropriate sales opportunities. Have y ou ever been hesitant to go into a car

dealership for fear of being mobbed by hungry salesmen? Account holders feel the same way about banks

that are too aggressive with cross-selling efforts. Rather than take a scatter-shot approach that catches

customers in the crossfire, banks should target those customers who actually might buy the product.

Data collection and analy sis, with action on that information, is an excellent way to begin this effort. Perhaps

Data collection and analy sis, with action on that information, is an excellent way to begin this effort. Perhaps

y ou already know the demographics of y our branches and their customers, but if not, they are worth

exploring. For example, families, single professionals and couples preparing for retirement will be interested

in different product mixes. Create packages for these different demographic segments and teach bank

personnel to match the customer with the product offering.

Another great tool for this particular effort is account-holder-v isit data collection. If y ou have not already

implemented some form of lobby tracking software that supports data collection by customer serv ice

representatives (CSRs), we urge y ou to do so. Train CSRs to collect the information but caution them to be

cognizant of whether or not they should act upon it. It’s perfectly fine for them to collect data that will be

used in future cross-selling efforts.

For example, let’s assume Mrs. Jones sits down with a CSR to order more checks and mentions she is late to

pick up her daughter from school. Rather than try to sell Mrs. Jones on a college sav ings account right then

(an idea Mrs. Jones will likely reject), the CSR can log a note in the sy stem that Mrs. Jones has children. The

next time she comes into the branch and is in less of a hurry , another CSR can follow up with a pitch for the

college sav ings account. This shows respect for customers’ time and also shows the bank cares enough to

choose products that might fit their specific needs.

Improve the customer encounter. Statistics prove that many account holders don’t want to spend much

time in a branch. Increasingly , due to online and mobile banking, customers come to branches mainly when

they have a problem. Banks must be cognizant of this fact and spend extra effort building relationships with

their customers.

Lobby tracking sy stems are one good mechanism for doing this, especially if they incorporate self-directed

sign-in sy stems, such as tablets or kiosks, that allow the customer to enter in specific information. This

approach lets CSRs be prepared with a personalized greeting (and the right product bundle) for the incoming

customer.

Other approaches include personal interaction with account holders while they are waiting in line and when

they v isit CSRs for assistance. Personal interaction is paramount when a new customer opens an account.

Banks should train CSRs not only to ask questions but also to listen to the answers and respond

appropriately . The dialogue should be natural and not come across as an interrogation. The initial encounter

presents invaluable opportunities to collect information for current and future selling efforts.

Communication outside the bank, including email communications and outbound calling, can also be

helpful, especially if the communication promotes a value-add, no charge serv ice such as bill pay ment.

Create and monitor training and reward programs. Nothing resonates with employ ees like a reward and

cross-selling is no exception. However, banks shouldn’t reward personnel for blind selling. Rather, bank or

branch management should design a program that rewards all staff for behaviors that nurture the sales

environment but restricts sales awards to those who sell the right products to designated targets. (If a sale

happens organically , no one should turn it down, of course.) The reward program should include

appropriate achievement benchmarks for every one based on their level of involvement.

Once the program is developed, all personnel should receive appropriate training. Employ ees identified as

salespeople or closers should receive sales training. Of course, not all employ ees have the personality or

talent to sell and management should recognize this. These employ ees should learn how to foster success

through data collection and good customer serv ice.

To execute such a targeted program, management must have a way to effectively analy ze the performance of

personnel involved in the program, including analy ses of products sold, by staff member. This will enable

them to both reward the stars and identify under-performing personnel. From that point, management can

them to both reward the stars and identify under-performing personnel. From that point, management can

explore whether the problem is due to lack of training, fear of engagement, aggressive or indifferent sales

techniques, etc. and take appropriate action.

Measuring Results

Creating a cross-selling program is only part of the effort. As we mentioned earlier, banks must also monitor

and analy ze their results and tweak the programs accordingly . To do this, hav ing technology that tracks

employ ee productiv ity and customer engagement, such as lobby tracking solutions, is pivotal.

Additionally , improvement efforts should alway s involve team members. Ask top-performing employ ees to

prov ide their insights. Hold team meetings where employ ees share ideas and success stories.

A final important tweak is to continually ensure sufficient resource allocation through scheduling. Y our

closers cannot sell effectively when they are try ing to juggle too many tasks at once and customers are far

less likely to purchase additional products when they are frustrated from excessive waiting.

On its face, cross-selling is about establishing one or more value propositions and then pitching them to

suitable customers at the right time. At its core, it is about building and cultivating lasting connections with

customers. Implement y our cross-selling program at a measured pace and take positive corrective action at

each step as necessary . Encourage employ ees to engage with and care about y our customers and respond to

their needs appropriately . Finally , use technology to help y ou monitor, measure and refine y our goals. Y our

customers will reward y ou with more business, and the results may amaze y ou.

Mr. Scott is president/CEO of Alpharetta, Ga.-based Financial Management Solutions, Inc. (FMSI), which

provides financial institutions with business intelligence and performance management systems for

efficient branch staff scheduling and lobby management. He can be reached at mikes@fmsi.com.

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