Nearly everyone is strapped for time, with practically every minute allotted for something. However, turning to computers and devices to schedule out time often makes life smoother and easier to manage.
As technological services are used across more institutions, more distance is placed between people.
For example, to previously get approved for a mortgage, proving to your local banker, a resident fixture in daily life, that you were worth the risk was the only way to go. Nowadays, an automated credit score makes that decision.
Bankers can still create a personalized experience for their customers. The modern banker, previously evaluating a customer on their shared neighborhood experiences, is a now banker who must do their homework about their clients’ industries.
The modern banker has stopped asking generic questions like “Tell me about your business?” when starting the process of underwriting a loan. Instead, coming up with industry-informed banking questions will lead to being better informed about business owners’ operations, resulting in better questions, and ultimately creating better engagement.
Be better informed
Time is short, and being better informed saves time. Instead of wasting time having clients explain their industry, it’s important to learn about the industry beforehand. Time with customers is often better spent focusing on how to fulfill their specific needs.
For example, the Professional Service sector has experienced considerable technology disruption. A banker entering a conversation with a business owner in that industry without doing any research will likely waste precious time learning about machine learning and artificial intelligence in a rushed manner from a busy client.
Coming to the conversation knowledgeable prevents asking shallow questions.
Even if a client’s industry isn’t using the latest technology, a banker would still benefit from doing research before a call. For example, business owners in the Laundromats industry have specific needs tied to the local area they operate in. Despite most laundromats being relatively the same, each one experiences different problems.
Therefore, even a banker who has some knowledge about the industry would benefit from researching how their client’s local market is doing, and further, what solutions could be effective for their local issues.
Ask better banker questions
The best financial questions to ask clients are the ones that help uncover financial needs. Let’s continue with the Professional Service sector as an example.
Business owners in this sector need access to the latest technology. Instead of asking vague questions such as “Why is access to the latest technology a priority?” an informed banker could ask: “What challenges do you think will arise as you keep up with the rising capital intensity in your industry?”
Instead of using clients’ time by having them answer the former, time can instead be spent tackling specific challenges.
Get better engagement
It’s important to show interest by being informed. With interest, a banker ceases to be an impersonal voice on the other side of the call.
Doing homework ahead of time and asking industry-informed banking questions is a return to a time when people had personalized experiences with their banker.
Being informed demonstrates why business owners should work with you and not another bank. By asking better questions, their time is respected, leading to happier clients.
To start doing your homework, start with the complete guide to industry research, understanding industry life cycles and with why industry information matters.
To meet your clients halfway, start learning about the importance of measuring industry risk with industry research before asking them questions.
