Global Equity Sales
The Challenge
As part of a global restructuring plan, the Equity Division of a large Investment Bank in London wanted to reinforce their sales team and increase their sales in convertible bonds. To do this, they needed to increase their sales team, improve existing client relationships and generate strong long term relationships with key clients. They needed the new team to bond quickly and provide clear and consistent advice to their clients. Above all, they wanted to be more client focused.
Programme Development
In collaboration with the Head of Sales, we developed a programme that set the new sales team apart from their competitors. We really focused on what their clients wanted, which was clear, concise and personal messages throughout the sales process from the delivery and receipt of research, to follow up calls, voicemail, email and face-to-face meetings. A large part of the programme involved role-play, with task-specific training for each member of the sales and research team. We needed to make sure that the team worked together in producing what the client wanted, when they wanted it, and in the form they wanted it.
The Training
On the research side, we made sure that clear recommendations were introduced up front and that these were backed up with concise arguments. We made sure that the analysts had the skills to deliver their ideas with clarity, brevity and personality. We trained the sales team to listen to their clients more. We helped them develop their clients' needs better by asking more of the right questions. We reinforced their "can do" attitude. We moved them away from "closing" deals and started getting them to "open" relationships. We carried out the training in house in small groups, and followed it up with one on one coaching sessions to consolidate skills and measure the success of the training. No member of the team was away from their desk for more than 3 hours at a time to allow cover during a busy period in the markets. As part of the role-play, we even involved some of the bank's existing clients, who were extremely impressed with the quality of the people and the extent that the bank was trying to meet their needs.
The Result
The Convertible Bonds Group saw a considerable increase in sales in the six months following the programme. The team continues to hold on to all of its major clients, which has enabled them to improve their cross selling across the division.