A year ago, officers at Huntington National Bank said it took four calls to its small-business customers in order to sell a single bank product.
For Jerry Katz, manager of the Columbus, Ohio-based bank's small- business banking unit, that was a few visits too many.
"What I see in the small-business market is, yes, there is some money to be made - but you can also lose your shirt," he said. "I have to make sure we're making sales in relatively quick order."
These days he is. Now his sales calls are three times as effective, Mr. Katz said; on average, the same four calls sell three products.
The difference is that Huntington's small-business calling officers are now using laptop computers in their sales presentations. The laptos have a preloaded program with information on the bank's locations, products, and services.
Going beyond brochures and verbal sales pitches, the computer matches banking products to customer needs and displays the result, along with product costs.
Using computers is nothing new for banks. But for years, systems were only a part of the back office. Now computers are showing up on the frontline of sales efforts.
"Whereas maybe before we wouldn't doubt a sale until we'd gotten to the seventh or eighth call, now if we get to three or four calls, we're going to realize this is not working," said Mr. Katz.
Huntington's laptop system is just one of the ways banks are putting technology to work for their small-business sales forces. Jersey City-based Natwest Bank has adopted another, that of using electronic products to put the bank directly into the office of the customer.
Last month, the bank introduced its Business Express PC-based service for small business in all of its New Jersey and New York branches. The service, a simplified version of its more sophisticated Natwest Network cash management system, was designed to give the customer direct control over when and how transactions are carried out, while lowering the cost of delivery for the bank.
"This product is an attempt to provide that functionality to smaller companies in a way that's simple enough for them to use, and at a cost that is not prohibitive," said Mike Berlin, a Natwest senior vice president and head of marketing for its commercial banking division.
The system is also a way to develop closer ties to the bank. Les Dinkin, a bank consultant with Westport, Conn.-based NBW Consulting Group, said owners of small companies do not have the resources or time to learn multiple computer systems. As a result, they are more likely to want to stay with the bank that provided the first system to them.
"It strengthens the linkages between the business and the institution because as they get tied in via the computer, it's natural behavior that they will stay with that institution once they know how their system works," he said. "This is also a way for the bank to prevent competitors from chipping away at its relationships."
The Natwest system carries another novel idea, Mr. Dinkin added. After a setup charge of $100, the system gives users price incentives to use the PC instead of the branch. For instance, money transfers on the system cost 50 cents, compared with $5 at the branch. Likewise, stop payments through Business Express cost the business owner $6, compared with a $15 tab for handling through the branch.
So far, Mr. Berlin said the bank has sold about 100 of the systems, with most of those going to companies in its Northern New Jersey territory where it was first tested last fall. The system is successful with existing clientele and with new customers.
These kinds of selling advantages are also evident in Huntington's new laptop program.
First, the system is able to overcome the skepticism many small-business people have about sales people, Mr. Katz said.
"The computer leads the client to believe that management put that package together. And they're not going to expand the story like a sales person would," he said.
It also gives the sales pitch a visual presentation to go along with the traditional verbal pitch. And sales research shows that involving more of the customer's senses makes the sale more likely, he added.
Time spent on calls is more efficient with the system. Information about the bank's products and services is available at the push of a button, making follow-up calls to clarify details unnecessary. And, by providing a preprogrammed script, the computer prevents the call from getting sidetracked into unproductive matters.
Despite all its advantages, the system still will not get through to those customers who are not willing to buy, Mr. Katz admitted. But it has reduced the average number of visits required for a sale to between 1.6 and 1.7 for those customers who do indeed buy. And that's what it's all about, he said.
"People buy when they're ready. This makes them more ready," he said.
