John J.Gehegan was one the featured speakers at Bank of the West’s annual conference held at the Cosmopolitan Hotel in Las Vegas. Over 700 Branch Managers and Business Banking Officers from the Retail Banking Group were in attendance.
Mr. Gehegan discussed the importance of using the telephone as an effective, efficient and economical business development tool.
His main focus was on the six common errors bankers make when attempting to obtain an appointment with a prospective business client.
Preparation is the key to making effective outbound calls. This is not a call anybody process. Oftentimes the banker relies solely on the information provided by the bank. These internal lead lists are not always up to date and are subject to inaccuracies. The banker must take the initiative to develop their own lists making sure they have sufficient information about the business and decision maker prior to make the call. Researching a company via their website is an integral part of the pre call plan.
Blocking out time to make business development calls each day is critical to a successful calling session. The first phone call is always the most difficult. If calls are made intermittently throughout the day each call becomes a first call thus diminishing your effectiveness. “Unless uninterrupted time is set aside to make new calls more than likely they will not get done. Sporadic activity will inevitably produce less than desirable results.”
Many bankers struggle with getting past the gatekeeper. Mr. Gehegan stated that you must treat the gatekeeper as an “ally not an adversary”. They are there to offer assistance not resistance. Too often the banker provides too much information to the gatekeeper thus allowing them to make a decision on the importance of the call and whether or not to allow access to the decision maker. An effective opening would be to state your name and say you are calling for (decision maker’s name) nothing more. This creates the impression that your call is expected and you assume the gatekeeper will put you through.
Prospecting for new business is the most critical tenet in the sales process. After all, without an audience it does not matter how good your sales skills are or how much product knowledge you possess. The fewer prospects you have the more pressure you put on yourself and your prospect. The more prospects you have the less pressure you put on yourself and your prospect.
Mr. Gehegan is president of Gehegan & Associates, a San Diego based consulting firm specializing in helping bankers become more effective in their outbound calling activities to prospective and existing customers. For the past 27 years Gehegan & Associates has worked with major money center, regional and community banks both domestically and internationally.
Additional information about Gehegan & Associates can be found at gehegan.com or by calling 619-280-4169
