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Member-Focused Staff Can Sell With Tech Tools

You can have a member-focused staff while increasing sales and growing fee-income opportunities through technology.

Over the years, there have been public forums claiming that in order for a credit union to be able to compete in the financial world, they should instill a sales culture and institute sales quotas for staff. But will a change in culture help retain your key personnel and your key members?

When your business model and competitive advantage are based on putting your members’ needs first, adding sales quotas can work against that.

This is not to say that loan officers and staff never need to promote insurance and ancillary products, but they can feel more comfortable recommending add-on products because it fits versus meeting a monthly quota.

And then when you add lending technology to the mix, you can have your cake and eat it too.

Technology has the ability to promote additional products, based on certain criteria, with no pressure. This can allow you to build a marketing machine that will create more-connected experiences for your members through multiple channels and keep the same member-focused culture your members appreciate.

There were no high-pressure sales, no secret codes, merely some qualifying questions and a simple touch option that allowed borrowers to select insurance at the time of application.

Online and mobile lending give you more delivery options to secure loans, improve lending efficiency and capabilities, and with the right system, drive sales of insurance and ancillary products.

For example, last year, during a market study of InterLend Mobile, more than 68% of the mobile applicants chose an insurance product in conjunction with their loan during the application process. There were no high-pressure sales, no secret codes, merely some qualifying questions and a simple touch option that allowed borrowers to select insurance at the time of application.

If your virtual lending system is not offering insurance at the time of sale, you may be missing out on an opportunity to better protect borrowers’ loans and add to your bottom line. InterLend Mobile proved itself as an additional method to engage applicants and as a way to increase non-interest income.

In today’s competitive business climate, it’s more important than ever to maintain good relationships and build meaningful experiences for your members. Whether it’s in person, online, or via mobile device, cross-channel thinking and bundled processes help improve your members’ experience.

Transamerica Financial Solutions Group can help provide you with more ways to reach members and enhance the personal customer-centric experience previous generations of customers have praised, while fusing that with the innovations tech-savvy borrowers crave. Our dedicated and experienced professional team delivers optimal solutions to businesses by valuing the organization’s vision as well as their members’ needs, preferences, and buying behavior. We will be happy to help you design a plan that will help you succeed.

Brooke Strohman is the Vice President of Client Management Technology Services for Transamerica Financial Solutions Group. Brooke is responsible for setting strategic direction and leadership for the both the insurance and technology divisions of the company. His main focus is leading online lending and workflow solutions that are designed exclusively for credit unions and banks to automate product sales and delivery for account holders and prospective customers. With over 25 years of experience in lending, loan servicing, and technology, Brooke is able to understand the inner workings of lending institutions and help create creative solutions for our partners. He can be reached at (800) 365-4925 or brooke.strohman@transamerica.com.

Transamerica, through its subsidiary and affiliated companies, is one of the leading providers of life insurance, retirement, long-term savings and investment solutions. Transamerica’s main offices are in Cedar Rapids, IA, and Baltimore, MD, with affiliated companies’ offices located throughout the United States. For more information, please visit www.Transamerica.com.

Transamerica Financial Solutions Group serves the needs of credit unions, community banks, and larger financial institutions. We offer specific programs for credit insurance and debt cancellation products including marketing strategy, training, marketing support, technology software, and related services.

InterLend Mobile was produced and is part of Creditor Resources Inc., a Michigan company and an affiliate of Transamerica Corporation.

This article is sponsored by a recognized solutions provider in the credit union industry. Callahan & Associates does not endorse vendors or the solutions they offer, and the views and opinions offered here might not reflect those of Callahan. If you are interested in contributing an article on CreditUnions.com, please contact the Callahan team at ads@creditunions.com or 1-800-446-7453.
March 2, 2015

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