A senior banker who had seen me speak numerous times approached me after a recent event to say, "Ah, man … I was hoping you'd tell that Boy Scouts selling coupon books story." He then gave me details he liked about it.
That made me laugh, and I told him that if he remembers it that well, he probably knows it enough to tell it himself. He remarked, "Well, it always strikes me a little differently and I always laugh." I assured him that I would include it again next time.
The story he referenced was about understanding that facing rejection in a business development role doesn't mean you are bad at your job — it means you are actively doing your job. In fact, our best people often face more initial rejections than anyone else.
While I may tweak it a bit when I tell it to help keep my own sanity, it's predominantly the same story. That interaction, however, reminded me how a story, piece of advice or information can strike you differently as time passes.
For instance, when addressing new team members who lack extensive experience, some messages might seem disconnected from their reality, feeling too theoretical.
However, as they gain more life and work experiences that shape their perspectives, similar messages begin to resonate on a deeper and more personal level. Over time, individuals' situations fundamentally change, and relatively similar suggestions and observations can make entirely new impressions.
The most effective coaches understand that developing teams is a continual process. You don't simply give instruction once and expect people to absorb it completely and uniformly, or to always be able to connect the dots to past coaching sessions.
Revisiting information or suggestions made in the past is usually not as redundant as you might think. How many times have you rewatched an older movie and noticed something new?
How often has someone pointed out a fact or made an observation that seems obvious as soon as you hear it, yet you had somehow missed it before?
That said, it's not unusual for some to resist revisiting topics and practices that have been previously covered. Covering things you've already covered might seem counterproductive to some.
Yet, often the opposite is true. Many can understand concepts without having the personal experiences to relate them to. But once they do, new and stronger connections between behavior and results tend to emerge. "Familiar" information resonates and communicates on a different level.
The financial services industry has largely recovered from the negative shocks of the 2008 financial crisis. Still, the results from the most recent release of the Edelman Trust Barometer found that banks need to address a significant level of skepticism among consumers.
This phenomenon goes beyond employee development and is germane to our marketing and sales efforts, as well.
One of my oldest (and most repeated) mantras for bankers in business development roles is "Market hard, Sell soft."
Simply, we should never assume that even our existing customers know more than a fraction of what we offer or how we might be able to help them.
Beyond that, it's not their job to find out. Bankers who expect customers to take the initiative to come to them as their needs change tend to miss opportunities that may be one short chat away.
While there may be valid reasons someone has not chosen you yet, you should ensure that their decision isn't due to a lack of knowledge about who you are, where you are, what you offer and your interest in helping them with their financial needs.
Impactful marketing and sales practices rely as much on consistency as they do on creativity. Moreover, the same messages resonate differently as a customer's financial situation and needs evolve. This applies to everything from digital marketing and in-branch signage to personal conversations.
The back end of that mantra, "Sell soft," means that we don't attempt to turn every customer interaction into a "closing" situation. Sure, we want to let customers know proactively and consistently that we're always interested in helping them. But we always respect a customer's decision process.
The infamous "always be closing" scene in "Glengarry Glen Ross" was an entertaining, Oscar-worthy monologue. It's also a horrific strategy for building lasting relationships with customers.
The more frequent, comfortable and familiar conversations we have with customers, the greater the opportunities to strengthen and expand relationships. And anything that creates uneasiness with a customer is counterproductive for everyone.
There is no denying that customer acquisition strategies and channels evolve. However, inconsistency of effort tends to present a bigger challenge than staleness of a message.
A tried-and-true message may find new resonance with a customer — or even an employee — today. It's OK to revisit your best stories and advice from time to time. The same messages can carry new meanings and elicit new reactions from familiar audiences.
