I find it interesting thinking about SALES in the credit union space. It all started in the early 1990s with “needs based selling” and yet today credit union leadership teams are still debating if they should move to “Sales” and some are downright scared of the word Sales and what it implies.
Why the dislike for the idea of selling to our members? Are we afraid it will take too much time? Is our fear around somehow making our members upset? Or is our worry based on what we’ve seen other financials do? Whatever our experience or negative thoughts – let’s put those to rest.
What if we thought about Sales as – Credit Union People – helping the People we call Members. I know what you might be thinking – you can’t wrap nice words around sales and make it good. But can we?
If our definition of Sales is an extension of serving our members then it’s not about the words, it’s about our actions.
If your idea of Sales is getting the member to sign on the dotted line for a product or service they have absolutely NO need for – I agree – that is bad and certainly NOT the Credit Union way. But if we view Sales as living our Mission of helping members reach financial security by having the products and services available that enhance their lives… then I think it fits nicely into our Credit Union Values.
If we equip our teams with the ability to think differently about how they are serving our members by knowing how to ask good questions, really listening to our members’ needs and situations, and educating our members on how the product or service will benefit them, then Sales becomes a heathy interaction and a positive experience for both employee and member.
Changing our view and mindset is the first step, sharing our vision with the whole team unites us with common purpose of how important and valuable Sales is to our Credit Union.
Making SALES a “5” letter word – just like “SERVE.”