By Mark Gibson
In a recent survey of ABA bank marketers, CRM usage was ranked as the most used marketing technology tool by responding banks. However, half of those banks who have deployed CRM platforms reported that it has not been utilized to its full potential.
CRMs are valuable tools for bank sales teams and marketers, but the gap between utilization and perceived value has led many banks to fall behind. Implementation challenges and lack of user adoption have led to less than expected utilization. Banks may also invest in CRM systems without a well-defined strategy for how they will drive revenue growth, contributing to lower utilization. This article highlights a high-value use case for how sales enablement through a CRM can improve performance in retail and commercial banking.
Capital Performance Group had the opportunity to sit down with Joel Bisaillon Jr., the director of client growth strategy at Sandy Spring Bank. Joel has sales experience with multiple regional and national banks across business lines, giving him valuable insight into how CRMs and other marketing technologies are used at banks of all sizes and sophistication. His sales enablement and management initiatives have been paramount to building a results-driven culture for each of his campaigns.
Sales enablement through CRM: Insights from a senior bank executive
Sales enablement in a banking environment involves aligning sales and marketing efforts, empowering sales teams with the resources and tools they need, providing relevant training and coaching, and facilitating the sales process to enhance productivity, efficiency and effectiveness.
Joel’s team at Sandy Spring uses their CRM system, Salesforce, to manage all aspects of managing client relationships. For Joel and his colleagues in technology and marketing, the key to addressing the challenge of low adoption and utilization lies in building trust across the bank and ensuring alignment in all levels of performance reporting.
As he succinctly puts it, “Building trust builds usage.” If a bank’s system provides inaccurate and insufficient data, usage is bound to suffer. Aligning performance reporting on all levels and ensuring consistency across data sources allows all users to engage with the platform and trust that reporting is coming from an accurate place.
When asked about the low CRM adoption rates facing the banking industry, Joel said, “At the national level, banks have more financing and resources to complete all tasks. In some cases, regional banks are often using the platform for only one or two specific tasks and not using the CRM to its full capabilities.” He views this as a chance for regional banks to maximize the potential of the platforms in which they have already invested.
The platform can also leverage reporting to integrate digital marketing efforts. Dashboards have allowed Joel to track banker calls, email campaigns and even the disposition of client calls from interaction to interaction. By doing this, he can track campaigns and sales efforts for each employee. This allows him to hold salespeople more accountable and give his team more valuable data for coaching to help them achieve success.
Sales enablement is crucial if a bank wants to see long-term success through its sales and marketing campaigns. Equipping the sales team with the right tools, resources, and information to engage with customers seamlessly and successfully during the marketing and sales journey is essential.
A high-value use case in retail and commercial banking
Joel is applying what he learned at national banks to his current role with Sandy Spring Bank. He is focused on driving utilization through action, launching and managing sales and marketing campaigns to grow households and deposits.
Over the past two years, Bisaillon focus has been on deposit growth campaigns, where he leverages Salesforce for sales reporting and campaign optimization. Working with each division of the bank to build sales campaigns that support one goal and are reported in one central location has allowed for extensive and consistent reporting. Sandy Spring relies on its CRM to keep track of all aspects of the sales cycle.
By creating a dashboard for his team, he can review call totals, account balances, and track productivity by salesperson. A critical factor contributing to sales growth and enhanced customer experience is the implementation of a scoreboard. “When you create a scoreboard and put it out there for the team to see, it organically drives results,” Bisaillon said. Focusing on highlighting sales successes creates a positive environment for salespeople to thrive. The frequent reporting and highlighting of the most successful sales team has been crucial to driving the success of the bank’s initiative.
Maximizing CRM potential
Bisaillon says that effective utilization of the CRM for sales enablement purposes has led to a doubling or even tripling of results in some use cases. He offered advice to smaller banks that are seeking increased value from their CRM. “Focus on current clients first,” he says. Many bankers focus on growth and prospects early on. “What I have found is that if you can tighten processes around managing existing client relationships, you’ll obtain growth faster and at a lower cost.”
CRM platforms present powerful tools for banks to revolutionize their sales and marketing processes. Despite the widespread implementation of CRMs across the banking industry, many banks struggle to fully harness the platform’s potential, leading to missed opportunities for growth and customer engagement. Joel Bisaillon’s insights shed light on the critical role of sales enablement in maximizing CRM effectiveness. By prioritizing existing customer relationships, engaging bankers, and leveraging CRM data for relationship building, banks can drive revenue growth, enhance customer experience and position themselves for long-term success in the competitive banking landscape.
Mark Gibson is the sales and marketing practice leader at Capital Performance Group, a strategic consulting firm that assists banks in improving the return on their marketing investment. He can also be reached on LinkedIn.
