Success in Selling – The Current Challenge in Banking

Some of the key issues facing banks in the UK are examined in order to become better at selling in the personal banking market. These issues concern attitudes towards organisational changes for sales including those of personnel and physical organisation. Implicit in these issues are matters of changes in management style, training, motivation and recognition of branch sales personnel and the direct salesforce. Interviews were held with senior sales and/or marketing executives in the leading banks and a building society. While each of the organisations interviewed has made considerable advances in achieving the required cultural change, Midland Bank is well under way towards accomplishing a sales culture. The results indicate that the radical change called for in developing a true sales culture requires major alterations to management structure and style and is most likely to be successfully achieved by “top‐down” target setting based on corporate business objectives. The need for different approaches in developing an appropriate sales‐and market‐orientation in counter staff and direct sales staff is discussed.