Archive | sales RSS feed for this section
Social Learning in Financial Services – Tales from the Real World

Social Learning in Financial Services – Tales from the Real World

by on November 11, 2011 in eLearning, Informal Learning, sales, social learning, subject matter experts, Training Development, Uncategorized, user adoption

I sat down with Shane Raymond, Director of Training and Development at RBC Wealth Management, the US Wealth Management division of Toronto-based Royal Bank of Canada, to discuss social learning. Shane, a veteran of the training industry, has encountered various levels of success with social learning and I asked him to share those experiences with us.

Rob: What is the audience you’re dealing with at RBC Wealth Management?

Shane: RBC Wealth Management has more than 2,000 Financial Advisors scattered through the country. The financial services industry has evolved a lot over the last decade. In the past, it was about stocks and bonds, now it is more complex than ever. There are many more investment vehicles out there and advisors need to be knowledgeable about areas such as life insurance, long-term care, charitable giving, trusts and estate planning, etc. Given the current economic environment and the …

Read full story • Comments { 0 }
The Power of Your Network

The Power of Your Network

by on February 9, 2011 in customer service, marketing, sales, social learning

Whether it is building our LinkedIn Contacts or Followers on Twitter, gathering Friends on Facebook or Yammering with our fellow work teams, the buzz of “networking” is always present. Networking comes naturally for some people, but not-so-much for others. So big deal, you say. Why is networking so important anyway?

From a personal perspective, networking builds new relationships through which you can share information, answer questions, and make new connections. People in your network become the portals to knowledge, opportunity, and information you might not find on your own. From the business perspective, however, networking isn’t only helpful, it is mandatory. Business networking not only brings new business and new talent, but it supports collaboration – whether it’s collaborating with internal team members or making connections outside of the organization. Once you’ve established a business connection, you’ve set the foundation for sharing a multitude of resources ranging from best …

Read full story • Comments { 0 }
Jeffrey Gitomer’s Reciprocation: The Old Give and Take…and Take

Jeffrey Gitomer’s Reciprocation: The Old Give and Take…and Take

by on December 10, 2010 in sales

Pay every debt as if God wrote the bill.

-Ralph Waldo Emerson

Last week I attended Jeffrey Gitomer’s sales seminar here in Minneapolis.  For those of you that don’t know Jeffrey, he’s one of the foremost sales speakers and writers in America today; author of The New York Times best sellers The Sales Bible, The Little Red Book of Selling and The Little Gold Book of YES! Attitude.  I had never heard Jeffrey speak before, but after reading a couple of his books, I had fairly high expectations going into the seminar.  Well, it’s fair to say that he blew them out of the water.  He was creative, he was edgy and he was overall very fun to watch and listen to.  Aside from all of these great things, however, what separates Jeffrey from other sales trainers both in my mind and in wallet size, is the importance he …

Read full story • Comments { 0 }
5 Ways to Increase the Value of Your Customer Base

5 Ways to Increase the Value of Your Customer Base

by on September 22, 2010 in customer service, sales

A key driver of your company’s value is the aggregate value of your customer base.  When I joined the Dashe & Thomson team a little more than a month ago, I knew my success would hinge greatly on my ability to understand our customers and their needs.  However, in my short time here it’s clear that analyzing customer profitability and maximizing a customer’s lifetime value are just as important.  These tasks are essential to any business, but when time and resources are limited at a small change management firm like Dashe & Thomson, they become vital.   Paging through old notes from a marketing class I took while at Carlson, I can recall five things companies can do to improve the value of their customer base:

  1. Reduce the rate of customer defection – Something that continues to come up in discussions I have with clients is how satisfied they are with

    2. …

Read full story • Comments { 0 }