But before all that grinding activity and high-flown success, there was only a newcomer, and the daunting task of having to create an entire technology infrastructure for it. Because, in spite of the fact that Birch Hill was a spinoff, the company was established as an independent, so everything, and I mean everything, had to be invented and installed and integrated from the ground up for it—ideally, at the hands of a single-source supplier.

I’m happy to say that, from the massive Great Plains implementation to the Microsoft CRM and BlackBerry sweep, we pulled that bit of magic off and helped to launch this new entity as a going concern. It’s a trick we’ve performed too many times to count now, but it bears remembering.

After all, an ever-changing legislative landscape, intense global competition, a proliferation of product and service offerings, and the incredibly and increasingly complex risk-and-regulatory scene mean companies involved in financial services play on a field characterized by some of the most challenging data needs of any sector.

What’s more, success breeds complication, with explosive revenues translating into explosive data content. Financial services firms need to accomplish everything from sales forecasting to sales cycle visibility and accuracy, to customer service, and they need to do it all competently, profitably and—given the very public nature of some aspects of their business—visibly.

To succeed in this environment, clearly, you need a powerful combination of ultra-secure technology and comprehensive business applications designed specifically for financial services operations. More than ever, the ability of companies in this sector to manage growth, control costs and respond effectively to change is a function of the flexibility and scalability of the enterprise systems and financial services software that define them, and the business solutions firm that supports them.

We at 360 are well placed to deliver to our customers the most appropriate of this kind of stuff, whether our clients’ business is in credit unions, banking, investment, insurance or any other financial services engagement. Drawing on a deep well of expertise and experience in implementing customized Microsoft business solutions that boost revenue and increase customer satisfaction, we help financial services clients—like Birch Hill—to automate and optimize themselves with business performance solutions that bear remembering.

The majority of senior management believes that their product or service is fundamentally easy for their clients or customers to buy. Unfortunately, in many cases, this is not the reality. But wait, you’ll protest, this is NOT our case. But the question is, how do you really know? When was the last time you experienced your organization as your customer does? When was the last time you actually tried to buy from yourself?

If the answer is “not recently” or “actually, never”, you may be well served to test the buying waters as a potential client would. Their perspective is often radically different. In my experience, a customer’s perception of how easy a company is to buy from has little to do with how good their products or services are, but on how well prospective customers feel their needs are discovered and known by your frontline sales staff, and how well they are responded to. In other words, ‘How much do you know about me, the customer’? This is real customer experience, the real sales proficiency, and the frontline reality is often very different from senior management’s perception.

In a recent mystery shop for a financial services client, for instance, management was shocked to discover that while frontline sales staff were very effective and inviting in their greeting of potential customers, very little was done to ascertain needs, and that subsequent product presentations were almost entirely feature-driven, with mention of benefits consequently on target only by accident. The result? A fall-back sales argument centered on price, that when successful (which wasn’t often, because there was little attempt at closing the sale) served only to lower margins. This is hardly a path to growth, or profitability.

So what do you look for in assessing your potential customers’ buying experience? In a retail setting, for example, the following are important elements:

Physical Premises:

• Are the premises orderly, clutter-free, inviting?
• Does one feel confident in the organization’s competence and professionalism, based solely on first visual impressions?

Greeting & Engagement:

• Is one acknowledged and greeted immediately after entering premises?
• Is one engaged in conversation in a manner that feels natural and comfortable, yet professional and business-like?

Probing/Needs Discovery:

• Are attempts made to discover potential needs and/or reason for visit?
• Is this probing appropriate and engaging without being “pushy”?
• Does this “discovery” continue to the point where one feels understood, without taking too long or feeling like one is being interrogated?

Presentation:

• Is a product/service presented, which corresponded to the needs uncovered?
• Is the presentation clear, precise, compelling, relevant, and professional?

Objection Handling:

• Are one’s objections dealt with in an appropriate manner?
• Are they overcome?

Close:

• Is a close attempted?
• Achieved?

Thank you:

• Is one thanked for the visit/business?

Follow-up:

• Is a follow-up promised, that was relevant to the needs uncovered and/or business generated?
• Is that follow-up actually conducted?

Overall:

• Does one feel like this is generally a positive experience that delivers concrete value?

In my experience very few organizations will consistently achieve high marks on all these elements. As a result many sales opportunities walk into their business every day, and then walk right on through to the competition without being captured. It’s the stuff heartburn is made of.

So do yourself a favor. Try and buy from yourself. See how well you do. See where you fall short. After all, the only sales experience that counts in the end is the customer’s.

How to Mystery Shop your business:

The purpose of these mystery shops is to gain a preliminary understanding of the overall sales approach and capability of your frontline staff, to render concrete and informed findings that you can use to improve your customers experience within your organization. In each case, the mystery shopper must enter your business as a potential customer, interested in purchasing your product or service. None of your staff or administrative personnel should be aware that these mystery shops are taking place; this ensures that the sales approach experienced can not be influenced by advance knowledge. Once the mystery shop has been completed I recommend documenting your findings and sharing them with all staff in your organization. This is a necessary first step to create the customer experience you want, and provide a road map to increased sales and customer loyalty.

How to go about it

You can do it yourself, hire an outside consultant or enroll a colleague, friend or family member to mystery shop on your behalf. The key is, the person or persons doing the mystery shopping, must have a set of criteria establish in order to score the buying process of your organization. The data gathered is always enlightening, sometimes surprising, and often shocking to business owners. Let’s face it, we all live in our own ‘fantasy’ of how well we take care of a prospective customer or client.

I’ve included a sample of a weighted scorecard that you can customize to suit your business.

Download: Download our Sample Scorecard for Mystery Shoppers

About the Author:
Wendy James is accomplished in all aspects of sales enablement, coaching, management, and account strategy formulation and execution, Wendy has assisted over 100 businesses in growing their overall revenue through focused lead generation and customer penetration tactics.