15 Sales Techniques

1. 15 Strategies/Skills to Be a More
Effective Salesperson/Lender
(plus 6 Core Concepts)
By Yuri Piltser
February 7th, 2006

2. Six Core Concepts/Basic Tenets
● We are knowledge workers in a
knowledge economy
● We sell know-how (of our own and our
clients’ business); accessibility to
decision-making; TLC, the intangibles
● Selling = asking the right questions in the
right order of the right person at the right
time

3. Six Core Concepts/Basic Tenets
● We are a Commodity (reasons: Age of
Information, sophisticated clients)
● Positive Energy is Contagious
● Appropriate Cliches: Time is Money,
Early Bird Catches the Worm, Timing is
Everything, Genius = 99% Perspiration +
1% Inspiration, etc…

4. Strategy #1 Watched Phone (almost)
Never Rings
● Call your prospects/contacts; always keep in touch
(timing is everything!)
● Call your clients’ CPA’s/attorneys; be in the “loop”
● Call your clients/prospects without a specific reason
● “Dirty little” secret of most people: 90% of the time
they love getting your calls! (key reasons: ego,
pride, feeling that they matter); for the other 10%, a
key question: “Is this a good time?”

5. #2 Always Ask for
Business!
● Always think “New Business”; Be confident of our
Delivery and Execution; accentuate the positive!
● “I’d like to prepare a Term Sheet for a Line of Credit
for your company”
● “Can we take a look at that real estate transaction?”
● “If you need factoring – we have that product”
● “If you plan to lease office equipment – we can help
with financing”
● Of another Bank: “Are you looking for another
participant for this line of credit?” and so on…

6. #3 Always Ask a Killer
Question (or two, three…)
● “Know anybody who may be looking for a bank?”
● “Are you happy with your bank?”
● Of a CPA: “Is your client happy with his bank?”
● “ Which companies in your industry, in your
opinion, may be good prospects for us?”
● “In your banking situation, if there’s one thing you
could change – what would it be?”
● Bottom Line: Find out their “Hot Buttons”/”Pain
Points”; once you know them, you may then be
able to address them

7. # 4 Go Ahead, Brag a Little (not too much)!
● Discuss our credit-friendly and customer-friendly
culture
● Our Big Fish/Small Pond environment
● Access to senior/executive management
● Quick, common sense underwriting process
● Our having been IDB Bank for over 40 years;
Absence of constant upheavals/employee
turnover
● Our being small which allows for a quicker
decision-making
● Show Energy/Passion! (It’s contagious)

8. #5 Underpromise. Overperform.
● Keep your word; try to promise only what you know you can
deliver; Credibility/Integrity are at stake
● Follow up and Follow through; Be persistent & assertive
without being pushy & obnoxious
● Manage your prospect/client’s expectations
● Adhere to a “Sunset Rule” for phone messages
● Don’t keep them guessing – keep them involved and in the
know
● Make them feel as if they’re your only Client/Prospect!

9. #6 Show Them Some “Love”
● Prospects want to be wanted and TLC’d
● Bond with your prospects and listen to them; align your
interests with their interest; be their friend
● When you lose a deal, be gracious in defeat (and keep on
following up)
● Do something unusual (e.g. photos from a trip, clipping from a
newspaper, etc.)
● Bring them to 511 Fifth Ave. to introduce them to our executive
management
● Main Idea: “Small is Beautiful”

10. #7 Be a “Student of the
Game”
● Know the macroeconomics of our industry;
be ready to answer questions about the Fed,
currency fluctuations, interest rates, etc.
● Know the competition – who they are, what
they offer, how they approach the
marketplace, who the major players are
● Know our products; become a “Maven”
● “Know their business, know your stuff.”

11. #8 Be Well Organized/Use Technology
● A lot of energy/enthusiasm/time is wasted due
to not being able to find a name, phone #, etc.
● Keep your desk clean (at least try!); file often
● Learn to use effectively the software we have (i.
e. Outlook, Power Point, Excel spreadsheets):
send e-mails straight from “Contacts”, create
“smart” databases, import personal information,
use the Web effectively (e.g. Youvegotcontacts.
Com), etc.

12. #9 Get Personal!
● Know your key contacts’ birthdays, hobbies,
likes/dislikes, kids’
names/ages/activities/milestones
● Send cards, e-mails, news clippings,
greetings, condolences
● Fact: prospects/clients love to get
cards/gifts/premiums, etc.
● Basic message: “I’m thinking of you (and not
only once a year at renewal time!)”
● “You’ve Got Contacts” on the Web is a good
marketing product

13. #10 Develop/Nurture Contacts All the
Time
● Build a database of all your contacts
● Divide them into categories (CPA’s, Lawyers, VIP’s,
Bankers, etc.)
● Keep adding names; always ask for business cards
● Attend shows/expos/dinners/events – be visible and
make the Bank visible
● Your contacts will help you get new contacts (“two
degrees of separation” theory)
● Broadcast messages/flyers to many contacts at
once (ex.: one CPA firm merges with another –
send congrats to all your contacts at those firms)

14. #11 Learn to Delegate and
Prioritize
● Know who to turn to for anything internally (i.e.
sending letters, opening an account, making a loan,
trade services, investments, etc.)
● Set up schedules, tasks and deadlines (use Outlook)
● “Plan your work, work your plan” every morning
● Know the priorities: what’s important and what’s not

15. #12 Do More Breakfast Meetings
● They jump-start the day
● Less vulnerable to cancellations
● Saves you and your customer/prospect time
● Less expensive than lunches
● (Lunches work, too!)

16. # 13 Learn, Develop and Hone Your
Negotiating Skills
● Turn customer objections into customer objectives [e.g. lack of
branches may be turned into a positive development (“stay with
existing branch!”);]
● Anticipate objections and be prepared for them (e.g. “yes, we’re a
foreign bank – just like HSBC”); always think of our “Value Proposition”
● Work on asking the right questions in the right sequence at the right
time
● Use sharp/clever similes, metaphors, analogies (loan covenants are
merely “road signs” to help us navigate the road or “we’re like airplanes
– safety first”; “cheapest shirt/doctor” analogy for pricing objections; no
PG’s are like a “mirage in the desert”, etc.)
● Try to resolve most conflicts/objections without involving senior
management
● Read some good books on negotiating

17. #14 Become a Matchmaker
● “Find me a find, catch me a catch”
● Add value through your contacts and
knowledge
● Think of ways to refer business to others (i.
e. cross-sell opportunities, referrals to CPA’s)
– become “relevant”
● Think of potential synergies between different
entities in the same industry
● Know the financial and other players
(mezzanine financing, equity investors,

18. #15 Strive to Become a Trusted Advisor
● Graduate from 1) “order taker” to 2)
“relationship manager” to 3) “management
consultant/potential matchmaker” and,
finally, to 4) a “trusted advisor”
● Earn their trust and become their Advocate
● Provide solutions and Add Value
● Work on creating a following
● Be there for/with them when big events
occur (sale, purchase, death, new
generation, etc.)

19. …and Finally:
Enjoy the Trip!