The Problem With Technology At The Point Of Sale In Financial Services

Background

There’s a conundrum that currently exists between the customer and the seller in financial services. The customer buys and the seller sells. The customer is focused on their wants as much as needs, and whilst the seller often says they are focused on the customer’s needs, all too often the focus is on products and profit. Indeed a wider examination of the decline in customer service might also do well to address the issue of remuneration systems which reward sales but not customer service. This latter practice merely confirms the customer’s suspicion that the seller has more to gain from any advice or transaction than the buyer. Included in the mix is regulation. Regulation was meant to assist and protect the consumer. Instead, we have witnessed a massive exodus from providing advice whilst compliance costs rocket skywards. The continuation of bad press on sales practices; fines of major firms; and the inability of the industry to speak with one voice leads many to believe that protection for the consumer is a by-product not an aim. In addition the customer is now faced with an overloading of the sales or customer relationship process with paper, which include endless questions to complete even the simplest transaction and massive fact finds covering every conceivable piece of information imaginable. Rather than act as a comfort to customers these processes have merely heightened their suspicions. Yet insofar as technology is concerned, whilst the customer trusts the technology, they do not trust the person operating the technology.

Point of Sale systems

In this scenario it is hardly surprising that Point of Sale systems continually fail to pay back the investment. In most cases it’s not that the system doesn’t work, it’s just that working the system requires different skill-sets and a realisation that the customer is wary of being asked questions. These are behavioural issues and yet whilst Point of Sale systems by design are based upon a customer’s past buying behaviours and potential future buying propensity they tend to lack an appreciation of:

a) The reluctance of the seller to use technology at the point of sale

b) The physical environment in which customer interactions take place

c) The amount of time it takes to learn to operate new technology with confidence in front of a customer

Reluctance of sellers to use technology at the point of sale

Many experienced and qualified advisers now rely heavily on technology. This explosion of the use of technology has led all software and hardware suppliers and IT departments to believe that the future is bright, the future is technology. In the rush to design and implement systems however, some basics have been overlooked:

a) Sellers are as opposed to sales processes as are customers

b) Introducing technology at the point of sale involves a significant change of behaviour on the part of the seller

c) Sellers experience great difficultly in changing their behaviour

d) Most sellers in the type of financial services organisations that can afford to buy Point of Sale systems are junior front-line staff with the consequence that

- their feedback on the reality of using these systems in front of customers is often ignored

- where they provide feedback it is often guarded

- pilot launches are always used with ‘champions’ who provide a minute insight into the difficulties which will be faced when launching the system to a wider audience. In addition many of the results of pilots are widely exaggerated in order to bolster the confidence of those who have already embarked upon considerable expenditure and of those who will continue to be used as champions

e) The ability of sellers to convince managers that the system is being used when it is not (this in itself is one of the main reasons for Point of Sale systems not realising any return on investment)

f) The ability of sellers to convince managers that customers do not like the new system whereas the opposite is almost always the case. What customers do not like is the behaviour they experience from the seller. Clearly if the seller is reluctant to use the system they will adopt a less than enthusiastic set of behaviours in front of the customer

g) The ability of sellers to convince managers that changes should be made to the system in order to make the customer feel more comfortable

The physical environment

Most Point of Sale systems are information hungry and therefore the programme requires the seller to either input or to read a significant amount of data. This results in the seller and customer seating positions being such that almost always exclude the customer from seeing what is going on. The customer becomes wary. The seller senses the discomfort of the seller and reacts accordingly. The customer senses the discomfort of the seller – and so the cycle continues.

Time to learn

In all cases, the time estimated and used to teach sellers the new system is inadequate. By the time sellers return to the workplace most will have forgotten 90% of the details of the system. This then requires them to teach themselves how the system works during lulls in normal customer interactions. This fragmentation of learning takes place without reinforcement or feedback and certainly without the practice of using the system in front of a customer. Within a very short time-scale sellers have taught themselves to use the system without the customer being present. When the opportunity then presents itself to use the system live with a customer the leap from theory to practice is too daunting and therefore delayed until the seller feels more confident. This simply never happens.

The solution

In an environment where the cost of Point of Sale is significant the solution is simple but unpalatable – it requires more time and resource.

DESIGN OF THE CUSTOMER INTERFACE

The system has to be designed with the customer in mind not the seller. The customer has to see what is happening and in this way can be encouraged to take part in the exploration of their needs and wants

DESIGN OF THE TRAINING

The first step for sellers is the need to convince them that the system will work in front of a customer. They have to be shown how it will work. The second step is to convince the user how much effort is required to learn how to use the system in front of a customer. The third step is to provide sufficient time and to ensure that the design of the training balances technical knowledge with physical selling skills

FIELD IMPLEMENTATION

The most critical aspect of field implementing is often overlooked – the involvement of the line manager. The manager must act as a coach which means they have to be trained to use the system – but do not need to become experts. They need to experience the learning. In this way they will be able to gauge when sellers are resisting because of learning difficulties or emotional difficulties. They need to taught how to recognise the difference and how to behave accordingly. Coaches need to be taught how to transfer training to the field and the crucial element – how to improve performance. The whole point of Point of Sale is to improve performance.

Frank Salisbury is a motivational an inspiring business coach and trainer. He has designed and delivered a range of personal development programmes for individuals and organisations aimed at helping people achieve their potential. He has spoken at numerous conferences and seminars where his style has received acclaim from those who hear him speak with a passion for life and achievement.

In 2006 Frank was elected a Lifetime Honorary Fellow of the Sales Institute of Ireland. He is also a Fellow of the Institute of Commercial Management; a member of the Institute of Leadership & Development; a member of the Association for Coaching, and a Council Member of the Gerson Lehrman Group Business Services Council.

http://www.btsolutions.ie

How To Make Your Cash Register Ring All Day

A woman walks into a sweet-smelling shop, the product display is exquisite, the perfumes and oils and soaps bright and enticing.

She is approached by a young man. His face is bright, enthusiastic, well-scrubbed. His hair is clean and fragrant, his nails trimmed, his suit pressed, and his shoes polished. Then he opens his mouth and uses words with the sophistication of a back-alley brawler.

The magic is lost. After a few flustered words, a few patent excuses, the woman leaves.

The cash register remains untouched, and the proceeds for the day the same. Hour after hour this tragedy continues.

What tragedy befell this merchant?

Meanwhile, she, still in need of cosmetics and toiletries visits another store in the mall. There the pace is hectic, the display mauled over, and the salesman, despite careful grooming in the morning, now appears disheveled by too much work.

She approaches with hesitation, and her impatience and resistance, too, are stronger.

Seeing her approach, the salesman speaks.

She smiles for the first time that day, the pinched look on her face disappears, the pursed lines around the mouth soften.

Eloquent words flow from his lips, words of courtesy, interest, and charm.

He shows her one product after another, describing the benefits and the magnetism of each in turn.

Soon she is moving swiftly, from one choice piece of soap to another bottle of exquisite scents. She piles up her arms then asks him to assist her to carry more. Together they carry the boxes to the counter. The cash register rings yet again, the drawer is almost overflowing with ill-pressed bills, and the salesman barely has enough time to close it and catch his breath when she has been replaced by yet another eager customer.

Why the good fortune of this merchant?

Business. It is simple. It is the words you use.

Business. It is complex. It is the words you use.

Words create reactions, people buy or refrain from buying because of them.

A product is manufactured. A service is created. A structure is built around them. A strategy is designed to deliver them to the public with the most appeal. Yet without words, no perception is created.

The beautiful product image is not interpreted. The stirring value of it’s content is not appreciated. The elaborate service model is not permitted full execution.

Without words, it is only so much dust. Another product that sits on the shelf, another enterprise that is unvisited, another service that is not sought.

But add words, the right words, and it is as if the dust is now fairy dust. Everything now has a certain magic, a mysterious appeal, an allure that cannot be denied. Even yesterday’s outdated product is perceived with a nostalgic touch and considered a vintage find. The eager hand of the customer reaches for it. Money is exchanged. The cash register rings. The merchant is happy, his face uplifted in a smile, a vision of prosperity glazing his eyes.

What do words do?

They lift up perception.

A product is just another product. Until words are added to it. Then it takes on luster and power and comes into a life of its own.

Heed your words, your spoken words, your written words.

It’s not enough to throw a pitch, to make a broad appeal for interest, to say any foolish thing that comes to mind in a clumsy grope for rapport.

Something else is necessary, the right words; and behind the words, a service philosophy, a genuine desire to be of help.

Business is about words. The right words. The expressive words. The words that lure, dazzle, entangle.

Each person is in a world of their own, a trance of mixed variety, and your product is just another product, until you add the right words to it; then it flies off the shelf, and behind your customer is another, waiting eagerly in line to satisfy the perception that the words she overheard you speak aroused in her.

Business is simple if you use the right words. It’s complex if you use the wrong ones.

Train your sales people with the right words and magic happens.

The rest of the story, the quality, the display, the structure around which the business is molded pale in comparison to the words used to describe the merchandise.

Business is about words.

Whatever the business, regardless of the magnificence of its shape, size, and reach; regardless of its originality, brilliance, and design; deny it the power of words, and like a magnificent ocean liner striking a reef, it will sink like a rock.

Saleem Rana would love to share his inspiring ideas with you. Hunting everywhere for a life worth living? Discover the life of your dreams. His book Never Ever Give Up tells you how. It is offered at no cost as a way to help YOU succeed. http://www.theempoweredsoul.com/enter.html

Saleem Rana. Please feel free to pass this article on to your friends, or use it in your ezine or newsletter. It's a shareware article.

Point Of Sale Advertising Is 36% Less Effective Than It Could Be

How I loathe those awful, cheesy pages promoting the "secrets" of point of sale advertising. They usually offer nothing more than common knowledge with a bonus picture of a slick, 1980?s suited guy grinning at you.

However, this page will try to inform you about exactly that: a ?secret? market of 210,000 shoppers every 2 weeks (that?s 34,000 more shoppers more than Tesco?s) that most point of sale advertisers completely overlook.

I am talking about Motorway Service stations. 1 of these stations attracts 22 times the footfall of high street branded convenience stores. The stations have all your familiar shops: Boots, WH Smith, M&S Food, Burger King, The Body shop, in short: practically every shop you can find in your local shopping centre.

The average spend at CTN?s for every visit at a Motorway service station is ?5 compared to ?3.06 a head at conveniences stores. The logic is simple: if the average person spends ?1.94 more at a service station, and they attract 22 times the footfall, your ad at a service station is 22 x ? 1.94 (=?42.68) more worth than in any non-motorway convenience store, which translates in a 36% higher effectiveness rate in generating ROI for your advert.

Advertising in 131 Motorway service stations gives you the added bonus of launching a nationwide advertising campaign with excellent geographical distribution covering major arterial routes between all major areas.

Research conducted by Mintel clearly showed that motorway stations attract 27.3 million visits every two weeks, a number that will only grow in the future. Already there are 500,000 more cars on the road since 1999, and motorway stations carry 1/3rd of the national car traffic (despite representing less than 5% of the UK?s road system.) 75% of drivers on long motorway journeys stop for a break at one of the stations and 15,000 people a day purchase an average of ?5 in snacks for themselves and their families. Amongst the most popular snacks are crisps, a drink, chocolate, sweets, and sandwiches, pies or pasties. It is true in general that there is an overall decrease of chocolate and sweet snack purchases due to raised standards of health awareness. But not so for motorway stations: there the chocolate and sweet snack products perform as strong as ever in the battle to keep blood sugar up and find a kick to fight the monotony of driving long distances.

Do me a favour, next time you organize a point of sale advertising campaign, consider trialling and testing your campaign in motorway stations. I?ll bet you you?ll see your revenue rocket. You can send me a thank you email afterwards at llammens@admedia.co.uk

Find out more about Lorenz's point of sale initiatives in the UK.

Why Are Your Cash Registers Empty? 8 Reasons Why Your Site is not Getting Sales

Ok, you've got your webpage up and running and you have submitted your site to the
search engines, now it is time to make that money! Right? Well then, how come your
virtual cash register has that hollow ring to it everytime you open it? Your site is not
making sales and there are at least 8 reasons why and 8 simple fixes you can
implement in order to immediately remedy anything you are doing incorrectly.

1.You have relied on a passive promotion strategy to get the word out about your
site. Many of you assume that simply putting up a website will cause tons of
visitors to flock to your site with cash in hand practically begging to buy your
products or services.

Sorry, a passive marketing strategy may bring you in a trickle of sales or
absolutely none at all. Alternatively, by utilizing an active marketing strategy,
you do not wait for visitors to come to you, you do everything in your power to
bring targeted visitors to your site. Active marketers utilize methods such as
ezine advertising and article submissions to targeted ezines in order to draw
traffic to their site. They will also use free publicity tools such as press releases
in order to get the word out about their site to an audience that cares.

2.You do not offer a simple and secure method of online ordering or accept
different forms of payment.

This could be easily solved by getting set up with a merchant account provider
that enables you to accept checks and all the major credit cards and provides
you with a secure website to process transactions automatically. The best
company for this in my opinion is ECommerce Exchange. You can learn more
about them here:
http://www.qcaffiliate.com/qc/goldbar

3.You do not have a method of capturing your prospects names and email
addresses when they visit your site.

Get this set up immediately and start building a mailing list of interested
prospects.

The best way to do this is to offer a mailing list that people could subscribe to.
You could offer either a newsletter about a topic that interests your audience or
even a small tips sheet that sends people interesting and useful information
related to the topic of your website. When you've built up your list to over a few
hundred people, then you can begin to send commercial information regarding
the products and services you offer. As long as you are also offering quality
information for free, your audience will be more responsive to your commercial
solicitations.

4.You do not offer enough methods for people to contact you.

You should offer people as many different ways of contacting (and ordering)
from you as possible. Here are some cost effective contact methods you can
implement: the most natural one on the web is of course email. However, you
should also include your phone number for those who prefer to speak with a
human being. If you have one, provide a fax number. There is an inexpensive fax
solution available from a company called JFax. They will allow you to receive
both fax and voice messages in your inbox for an extremely low monthly fee. To
learn more visit: http://www.j2.com Lastly, you should always list your snail
mail address on your website.

5.You only advertise online.

Big mistake. There are millions of people offline who might be interested in your
site and your information. They are often more likely to order immediately as
opposed to someone who surfs the web regularly and who knows they can
always "come back sometime in the future".

One of the best ways to reach an audience and bring them to your site is to put
your URL and your email address on every piece of correspondence you send
out. I know of one person who adds his URL to every bill he sends out hoping
that it will cause someone to visit. The best part is that this type of promotion is
free so you have nothing to lose. One of the most effective offline advertising
techniques involves getting your ad onto a card deck that reaches a targeted
audience. This is a great way to spread the word about your site to many
interested prospects who otherwise may not have had the chance to find out
about you.

6.You do not rely on the power of joint ventures to get the word out about your
products and services.

Joint venture endorsements have the power to bring in more visitors and sales
to your site than any other method I know of. Joint Venture Marketing involves 2
parties: a list owner and someone who wishes to have his product or service
introduced and endorsed to the members of the mailing list. This has the ability
to pull in a large amount of sales due to the trust built up between the members
of the list and the list owner. When he endorses your products or services in
his own words to his list, he conveys your legitimacy and in turn they transfer
their trust to you. If you have ever heard radio shows like Rush Limbaugh or
Howard Stern, you will notice that the ads that receive the most response are
the ones that these disk jockeys read themselves and almost make a part of
their "shtick". They are in effect endorsing a product and in turn generating
interest and sales for it.

7.You do not follow up when people ask you for more information.

Huge mistake. That person has indicated that they are interested in what you
have to sell. Statistics show that people have to be exposed to your marketing
message at least 7 times before they will respond. Sending one email
explaining your product is not enough. You must follow up with a prospect and
make a concerted effort to close the sale. Explain the benefits of your product
or service, refer them to testimonials of satisfied customers, ask if you can call
them to explain your product in greater detail. If people see this as badgering
and they ask you to stop bothering them by all means do so. A great idea is to
automate all of your follow-up by using autoresponders. There are some great
tools on the market to help you with this, we highly recommend using
GetResponse. Discover some of the great benefits of using this sequential
autoresponder by clicking here: http://www.getresponse.com?13323

8.You try to sell too many products and services from your website.

This may work for a site selling books or toys or vitamins where people may be
looking for a large variety of products. However, on a site that is geared towards
business, too many product offerings can give the impression that your
business lacks focus. If someone gets to your site and is immediately
bombarded with marketing material, they may become overwhelmed or even
annoyed at the commercial nature of your site. Offering many products and
services takes away from your credibility by giving the impression that you will
sell anything just to make a buck. Instead, develop your site around one or two
complementary products and services and offer lots of free, related information.
That is sure to build up your credibility with your potential customers. Try to
develop a traffic magnet (such as a discussion board or related articles) so you
can bring back your targeted audience time and again.
search engines, now it is time to make that money! Right? Well then, how come your
virtual cash register has that hollow ring to it everytime you open it? Your site is not
making sales and there are at least 8 reasons why and 8 simple fixes you can
implement in order to immediately remedy anything you are doing incorrectly.

1.You have relied on a passive promotion strategy to get the word out about your
site. Many of you assume that simply putting up a website will cause tons of
visitors to flock to your site with cash in hand practically begging to buy your
products or services.

Sorry, a passive marketing strategy may bring you in a trickle of sales or
absolutely none at all. Alternatively, by utilizing an active marketing strategy,
you do not wait for visitors to come to you, you do everything in your power to
bring targeted visitors to your site. Active marketers utilize methods such as
ezine advertising and article submissions to targeted ezines in order to draw
traffic to their site. They will also use free publicity tools such as press releases
in order to get the word out about their site to an audience that cares.

2.You do not offer a simple and secure method of online ordering or accept
different forms of payment.

This could be easily solved by getting set up with a merchant account provider
that enables you to accept checks and all the major credit cards and provides
you with a secure website to process transactions automatically. The best
company for this in my opinion is ECommerce Exchange. You can learn more
about them here:
http://www.qcaffiliate.com/qc/goldbar

3.You do not have a method of capturing your prospects names and email
addresses when they visit your site.

Get this set up immediately and start building a mailing list of interested
prospects.

The best way to do this is to offer a mailing list that people could subscribe to.
You could offer either a newsletter about a topic that interests your audience or
even a small tips sheet that sends people interesting and useful information
related to the topic of your website. When you've built up your list to over a few
hundred people, then you can begin to send commercial information regarding
the products and services you offer. As long as you are also offering quality
information for free, your audience will be more responsive to your commercial
solicitations.

4.You do not offer enough methods for people to contact you.

You should offer people as many different ways of contacting (and ordering)
from you as possible. Here are some cost effective contact methods you can
implement: the most natural one on the web is of course email. However, you
should also include your phone number for those who prefer to speak with a
human being. If you have one, provide a fax number. There is an inexpensive fax
solution available from a company called JFax. They will allow you to receive
both fax and voice messages in your inbox for an extremely low monthly fee. To
learn more visit: http://www.j2.com Lastly, you should always list your snail
mail address on your website.

5.You only advertise online.

Big mistake. There are millions of people offline who might be interested in your
site and your information. They are often more likely to order immediately as
opposed to someone who surfs the web regularly and who knows they can
always "come back sometime in the future".

One of the best ways to reach an audience and bring them to your site is to put
your URL and your email address on every piece of correspondence you send
out. I know of one person who adds his URL to every bill he sends out hoping
that it will cause someone to visit. The best part is that this type of promotion is
free so you have nothing to lose. One of the most effective offline advertising
techniques involves getting your ad onto a card deck that reaches a targeted
audience. This is a great way to spread the word about your site to many
interested prospects who otherwise may not have had the chance to find out
about you.

6.You do not rely on the power of joint ventures to get the word out about your
products and services.

Joint venture endorsements have the power to bring in more visitors and sales
to your site than any other method I know of. Joint Venture Marketing involves 2
parties: a list owner and someone who wishes to have his product or service
introduced and endorsed to the members of the mailing list. This has the ability
to pull in a large amount of sales due to the trust built up between the members
of the list and the list owner. When he endorses your products or services in
his own words to his list, he conveys your legitimacy and in turn they transfer
their trust to you. If you have ever heard radio shows like Rush Limbaugh or
Howard Stern, you will notice that the ads that receive the most response are
the ones that these disk jockeys read themselves and almost make a part of
their "shtick". They are in effect endorsing a product and in turn generating
interest and sales for it.

7.You do not follow up when people ask you for more information.

Huge mistake. That person has indicated that they are interested in what you
have to sell. Statistics show that people have to be exposed to your marketing
message at least 7 times before they will respond. Sending one email
explaining your product is not enough. You must follow up with a prospect and
make a concerted effort to close the sale. Explain the benefits of your product
or service, refer them to testimonials of satisfied customers, ask if you can call
them to explain your product in greater detail. If people see this as badgering
and they ask you to stop bothering them by all means do so. A great idea is to
automate all of your follow-up by using autoresponders. There are some great
tools on the market to help you with this, we highly recommend using
GetResponse. Discover some of the great benefits of using this sequential
autoresponder by clicking here: http://www.getresponse.com?13323

8.You try to sell too many products and services from your website.

This may work for a site selling books or toys or vitamins where people may be
looking for a large variety of products. However, on a site that is geared towards
business, too many product offerings can give the impression that your
business lacks focus. If someone gets to your site and is immediately
bombarded with marketing material, they may become overwhelmed or even
annoyed at the commercial nature of your site. Offering many products and
services takes away from your credibility by giving the impression that you will
sell anything just to make a buck. Instead, develop your site around one or two
complementary products and services and offer lots of free, related information.
That is sure to build up your credibility with your potential customers. Try to
develop a traffic magnet (such as a discussion board or related articles) so you
can bring back your targeted audience time and again.

Marc Goldman, Goldbar Enterprises
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