We have several banking clients, and I’m always surprised by the impersonal, robotic service tellers routinely provide before we start working with them.

All too often, tellers simply hand prospective customers a brochure and wish them well. They clearly suffer a misperception that prospective customers are simply looking for information.

So they hand them the brochure about account options, mention a few rates, and feel like they’ve done a great job.

But people aren’t looking for information;

they’re looking for relationships.

When tellers simply hand out brochures, they are missing prime opportunities to really connect with people and develop the trust and loyalty that lands customers.

People don’t want a brochure listing their options. They want someone to...

• Take an interest in them
• Learn about them, and maybe share something about themselves
• Make an informed, personalized recommendation to help guide them through their options

Because if that’s how the teller treats them, they’ll automatically assume that that is how the entire bank will treat them.

Here are two examples that just came up during our monthly in-branch assessments. Tell me which teller sends a better message about their bank, and which teller is more likely to land a new customer.

Example 1 (bad)

• “Cindy showed me a pamphlet and pointed out five different types of accounts. She did not go over the benefits of each account. She said three accounts had no service fee and required no minimum balance, and that to have a checking account you must have a savings account with a minimum of a $50 balance. She gave me the pamphlet and said to take it and look over it.”

Did you get that? “Here, go read this and come back when you’ve made a decision.” That’s the underlying sales strategy this teller is employing.

And for as awful as it sounds, this is typical for the industry. And many tellers think they’ve done a great job after an interaction like this.

It’s not until you show them what they could have done that they realize the power they have to help their bank land new, loyal customers.

Here’s an example of an interaction with a different teller at the same bank.

Example 2 (good!!!)

• “Ray gave me a lot of information before he ever got a pamphlet. He asked me questions, and we talked for a while. When he finally got the written information, he only used it to reiterate points he had already made. Because he touched on so many aspects of the bank verbally, I believed his knowledge was very good. The associate's attention was focused on assisting me and encouraging me to open an account, and he definitely took his time to talk with me.”

Now THAT’S the kind of customer service that lands a new account and that builds trust and loyalty.

How will we train Cindy to be more like Ray? Easy. By showing her direct comparisons of her customer interactions to Ray’s customer interactions, and working with her to identify the differences and find improvements in her presentation skills.

It’s not that Cindy doesn’t care. It’s simply that she’s been trained in banking, not customer service.

And once we show her the kind of service she can be providing, she will. And her bank will be much stronger for it.