A Shift to a Proactive Sales Approach at a Major Retail Bank

Key Results

• Increase in sales calls by over 500%.

• Financial benefits five times higher than planned.

• A shift in the behaviour of sales people from passive to active selling.

Background

This major retail bank is a leading financial institution in the Philippines, ranking among the top ten with a network of 183 branches nationwide. It provides a comprehensive range of banking services to both corporate and private clients and is part of a larger group with significant interests in insurance. Prior to engaging Renoir, the bank had been operating for a considerable period.

The Challenge

The bank recognised a significant underperformance in sales across its branches in Manila and its other operations. An analysis conducted by Renoir highlighted that there was minimal emphasis on cross-selling and general sales activities within the branches. The sales teams had the least amount of direct interaction with customers compared to other frontline staff.

Critically, there was a lack of a formal system to stimulate selling opportunities. Sales personnel were heavily involved in administrative and operational duties, leading to a culture where they predominantly remained within the branches rather than actively seeking new clients.

Key areas for improvement identified included the structure of the sales team’s responsibilities, the absence of a robust sales activity control system with individualised KPIs, and inefficient processes that prioritised procedures over customer engagement. The analysis suggested that a shift towards a more sales-focused culture could potentially yield a 5% increase in sales volume.

What We Did

Renoir implemented a phased project, initially starting with a pilot across 20 branches in Manila. Following the success of this initial phase, the project was extended to all 67 branches in Manila and subsequently to branches in Metro Cebu. The core objective was to cultivate a sales-oriented culture and boost deposits from both new and existing customers by 5%. To facilitate this transformation, a bespoke Sales Management system was developed and implemented in collaboration with the bank’s Sales Management team.

The project followed three main streams of activity:

• Development of a Management System: A fundamental management system was created to establish activity standards and track the performance of individual salespeople on a weekly basis. Sales calls were recorded against targets and monitored for their outcomes. A weekly Sales plan was introduced to ensure that sales visits were pre-arranged and targeted towards the bank’s desired customer segments.

• Process Optimisation: Existing processes were thoroughly reviewed to identify and eliminate non-value-adding steps. Job functions were realigned to relieve sales staff of numerous operational tasks. All proposed changes were discussed and agreed upon with the client’s Management Action Teams and Steering Committee, which Renoir established at the project’s outset. This collaborative approach ensured that alterations to processes and job responsibilities did not negatively impact other critical banking functions.

• Sales Support Initiatives: A range of support efforts were launched, including enhanced IT support, revisions to the hiring process for sales roles, and the development and distribution of marketing materials to the branches. The provision of marketing materials was particularly important for supporting branch-level and cross-selling activities.

A dedicated Transformation Team, comprising client team members and Renoir consultants, was central to driving the project’s success. This team visited all participating branches to explain the intricacies of the Sales management system and to monitor its implementation progress. This intensive follow-up was crucial in ensuring a tangible shift in behaviour among the sales staff.

The Results

The project had substantial positive impacts for the major retail bank. Notably, there was an over 500% increase in the number of sales calls made by the sales teams. This dramatic rise in activity directly contributed to financial benefits that were five times greater than initially projected. Perhaps most significantly, the project facilitated a fundamental change in the behaviour of the salespeople, who transitioned from a more passive, administrative focus to a proactive approach to selling.

“We have tried for 30 years to achieve on-time starts and were not able to get any improvement until now.” – Associate Dean

Key marketing job functions were also realigned to dedicate more time to sales-related activities. Furthermore, the successful implementation of a new sales management system provided the bank with a framework for ongoing performance management and the continued cultivation of a sales-oriented culture. By the project’s conclusion, the Transformation Team noted a significant change where salespeople were frequently out of the branches on sales calls at the major retail bank, a stark contrast to the findings of the initial analysis.