Distribution Channels, Roles of Sales Teams/Branch Bankers &

Retention of Teams

Naveed Ahmed MiraniAVP/Trade& Credit Manager Summit Bank Larkana

Distribution Channels

The Path through which goods and services move from vendor to the consumers or payments for those products travel from consumer to the vendor.

A distribution channel can be a target transaction from vendor to the consumer or may include several interconnected intermediaries along the way such as wholesalers,Distributers,Agents& Retailers.

Each intermediary  receives the item at one pricing point and moves it to the next higher pricing point until it reaches the final buyer

An overview of retail Banks distribution Channel 1980-2000 – Digitalization of payments: In this

period ATMs, cards and tele-banking replaced paper-based payments as banks sought to capture new cost saving opportunities and reach customers previously excluded from the mainstream banking system. All banks have now completed this part of the ‘journey’.

An overview of retail Banks distribution Channel

2000-2010 – Digitalization of basic banking: Over the first decade of the 21st century most customers started being able to access their banks remotely 24/7 for the bulk of low-value added activities. Benefits included greater convenience for them and further cost efficiencies for the bank. This part of the journey is not yet complete but most European players are well advanced along the road.

An overview of retail Banks distribution Channel

2010-2015 – Full digitalization with a human touch: Banks are only just beginning to provide the ultimate client experience, namely digitalization of sales and after-sales service combined with continued face-to-face interactions for the more complex products. Thanks in part to the development of mobile banking, sales of products either transacted online or influenced by online marketing are expected in the medium term to grow to the point where they represent roughly 60% of the total.

In the following chapters we will discuss what’s involved in the third part of the digital journey, as well as how a bank can make the transformation happen

Distribution channels in Financial Services.

An ideal system should be productive & and cost effective. Even the best –designed product could fail without effective and

cost-efficient distribution. Modern distribution systems are based on strategic planning , focus on target markets, consistent and flexible distribution channels.

Multi-channel Distribution system

Multi-channel distribution system emerges when when an organization sets up more than one marketing channel to reach one or more customers . To accommodate the needs of different customers, organizations increase sales and market coverage by having new channels.

Modern distribution Channels in Banks

Key emerging business& technology trends have necessitated the need to meet new client demands and optimize channel distribution costs.

The concept of branchless banking has been growing and new technologies are being introduced in the financial sector to cater to consumer needs at minimum cost.

The consumers want the solution of their needs without much effort and inconvenience.

There is growing share of Internet Banking, Mobile Banking etc. Distribution channels aim at reaching broad based population so

that ratio of financial inclusion can be enhanced.

Role of Sales Persons

Sales person is the of paramount importance in ensuring success of distribution channel for financial product or service.

A call centre representative marketing credit cards means a lot in effectiveness of call centre distribution channel designed especially to target consumer with unique needs of using credit cards for various financial transactions.

ATMS POS( Point of Sales) Mobile banking E-Banking Telebanking

Some distribution Channels

Training and Retaining Sales Team

When thinking of each sales person,cosider the following formula.

Performance= Motivation* Ability. Even a sales person of average ability can

achieve high results, if he can be motivated by money, social acceptance, status, power and respect to name a few.

Training of Sales Persons

Sales people who work smart are typically are typically more effective than those who just work hard.

The starting point for planning and carrying out effective training of sales personnel is the careful and precise identification of training needs.

Methods of training

There are five methods used with sales people.

01-Demonstration. 02-Role-Playing 03-Group Discussion. 04-Coaching. 05-Programmed/Distance learning.

Retaining sales teams.

Reward Mechanism. To attract and retain sales people, an attractive

rewards package has to be developed. Sales people would like income regualrity,extra reward for an above average performance.

The reward mechanism should take into account following guiding principles.

01-clarity 02-Motivation 03-Controlability