Bank Marketing News Profiles Beacon and Company

DARTMOUTH, MA, March 25, 2008 – Phil Carney, Beacon and Company’s National Sales Director, shared his sales management training expertise at a recent OnSite Conference Webinar recently. OnSite is a leading live online learning center for financial executives.

Mark Rodrigues, a financial journalist for Bank Marketing News, covered the Webinar and called Carney for a follow-up interview which was published on the Bank Marketing News blog. (Read the full interview here: http://bankmarketingblog.com/2008/03/25/how-to-run-a-great-sales-meeting.aspx)

“To run an effective sales meeting, you don’t have to be a sales superstar,” Carney told Rodrigues. “You just need to follow a four-step process for success: preparation, conducting the meeting, gaining commitment, and coaching.”

With the pressures facing today’s retail bankers, Carney observed that branch managers, in increasing numbers, must assume a formal role of sales coach in addition to their routine duties.

“The pressure for sales success appropriately falls to the branch for good reasons.” Carney explained, “According to a 2005 report from the consulting firm Novantas, top banking organizations distinguish themselves through a consistent sales process that relies more upon ground-level execution than strategy.”

Carney added, “Managers must be experts in operations and compliance, and also provide an on-going example of excellent customer service.” He feels that when it comes to sales coaching, more often than not, managers are not provided adequate training. “Some managers, just like many other employees, still have a ‘fear factor’ around the word ‘sales.’”

Even in banks with established sales cultures, the reality is that many if not most managers find it difficult to carve out several hours out of the week to prepare a sales meeting for their team.

“Most staff meetings need to cover a lot of issues, which leaves little time to focus on sales,” Carney commented. “What we can do is help them spend less time in meetings and more time with customers.”

Beacon’s flagship product, Beacon Sales Coach©, organizes more than 50 targeted sales management meetings online to help banks and credit unions train at their own pace on the topics that are most important to them. Their field-proven and time-tested methods have improved both profitability and market share for financial institutions of all sizes.

Beacon and Company is headquartered in Dartmouth, Massachusetts. Additional information about Sales Coach and Beacon’s customized consulting services is available at www.beaconandcompany.com.

For more information contact Phil Carney: 508-996-8000