Les Dinkin Featured at BAI's Retail Delivery Conference, Speaks on Leveraging Branch Traffic

November 16, 2005

ORLANDO, FL - Improving the quality and consistency of the sales and service experience is the key to making the most of each interaction with branch prospects and customers, Les Dinkin today told attendees at BAI's Retail Delivery Conference & Expo, the largest meeting of its kind in the retail financial services industry.

A Managing Director at Novantas LLC, Dinkin led a panel discussion on "Leveraging Branch Traffic for Peak Organic Growth." Participating in this session were Gene Kirby, Corporate Executive Vice President, Retail Line of Business at SunTrust Banks Inc., and Neil Hall, Executive Vice President, Consumer Banking at PNC Financial Services Group. Dinkin, Kirby, and Hall explored the issues surrounding branch-based sales in retail banking, and they made recommendations on how to improve interactions between branch representatives and customers.

"Retail branch banking companies need to break out of the measurement trap," Dinkin said. "Instead of just measuring sales results, they also need to monitor the causative front-line sales behaviors that drive them."

First-hand assessments of the sales experience can help banks pinpoint successful techniques that should be encouraged system-wide, Dinkin said, and also highlight sales process "defects" in need of correction. At a more sophisticated level, desktop tools can be used to prompt conversations and also record outcomes, permitting a continuous cycle of testing and learning to improve customer interactions.

Dinkin added that "It's important to leverage what you learn" about the quality and effectiveness of sales interactions. Findings should be used systematically, not episodically, he said, and should be incorporated into training, coaching and sales management. These principles can also be applied to major branch-based initiatives such as cross-sell, customer retention and onboarding.

Novantas is the acknowledged leader in customer science and revenue strategy for the financial industries. The Firm specializes in applying advanced analytics and technologies to help clients make better decisions in marketing, product, pricing, customer management, and distribution.

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