Pat’s Blog

“A manager is responsible for the application and performance of knowledge.” — Peter Drucker

On the golf course, I’ve seen it happen a million times: You’re at the first tee. The pressure is on. Someone in the group chokes and ends up making a fool of himself (or herself). The reason? Otherwise solid golfers don’t put in enough time on the range and wait to practice on the course.

The same thing happens in the world of commission sales. You’re at the sales call. The pressure is on. The salesperson falls back into old, ineffective habits and doesn’t close the sale. The remedy? Practicing effective sales techniques so that they are second nature to the salesperson before you get to the sales call.

How prepared is your sales staff? Will they freeze when it really matters?

Upcoming Event: At the MBA Reverse Mortgage Conference in San Diego, I will be moderating a panel on September 10 that will discuss the best practices of sales professionals in reverse mortgage lending. Find out what industry leaders have to say about this important growth market.

“Above all, management is responsible for producing results.” — Peter Drucker

In a difficult market, managers in financial services may feel as if there is nothing they can do about lackluster sales results. Fortunately, there is one action that can make a difference: Hire better quality salespeople.

The best commission salespeople are masters at consultative selling. In our research on the top producers in financial services, we found that the best in the business share core personality characteristics that are formed early in life. There are nine characteristics that are indicative of success in consultative selling: energetic, follows-through, optimistic, resilient, assertive, social, expressive, self-reliant and positive about people.

During the interview process, hiring managers should be looking for these characteristics in sales candidates to ensure that they are building a consultative sales staff.

Upcoming Event: On September 10, I will be moderating a panel at the MBA Reverse Mortgage Conference in San Diego that will focus on the best practices of the sales professionals in reverse mortgage lending. Find out what industry leaders have to say about this important growth market.

“The purpose of business is to create and keep a customer.” — Peter Drucker

While most sectors of the financial industry have been impacted by the economic downturn, one area has emerged as an important growth market: reverse mortgages.

Reverse mortgages have been around for two decades but have become an increasingly attractive option for older consumers who wish to stay in their homes as long as possible. According to AARP, approximately 350,000 reverse mortgages have been financed since 1961 but two thirds of that total has occurred in the last four years.

An aging Baby Boomer population approaching retirement age and the current housing slump have created an unprecedented opportunity in this arena. Some industry experts estimate that at least 20 million U.S. seniors are eligible for a reverse mortgage but less than 1% have actually taken advantage of the product.

On September 10, I will be moderating a panel of industry leaders at the MBA Reverse Mortgage Conference in San Diego. The session will focus on the best practices of the sales professionals in reverse mortgage lending. Join us for what should prove to be an informative and exciting discussion.

“We now accept the fact that learning is a lifelong process of keeping abreast of change. And the most pressing task is to teach people how to learn.” — Peter Drucker

It’s a common scenario in the financial sector that some of you have experienced firsthand: Your company hosts a one-hour high-energy training session to launch a new sales initiative. Key information is presented in a fun, educational and engaging manner. Guess what happens after the seminar? That’s right. Nothing changes.

The reason is that simply sharing information doesn’t ensure that behavior will actually change. If you want something to be different, follow-up is essential for the new behavior to take hold. Managers must be able to reinforce the desired behavior over a period of time to really instill change.

Think about recent changes you’ve tried to introduce to your sales team. Did you have adequate follow-up to reinforce and support the changes? What were the results? Let us know your experience.