he scrolled through his inbox. In a few seconds he found it. ‘Aah. . .here it is.’
‘Okay, listen to me Anand. This does not say what we are supposed to do with the MTs. It only says that they need exposure to the branch. Attach each one of them to one officer in the branch. Let them shadow that officer. Rotate them end of week one and week two. Your guys just have to let them hang around. Don’t waste too much time on them.’
‘Good idea sir.’
‘Your work will also not be hindered. Whatever they learn, they’ll learn on the job. Let them learn by observation.’
‘Yes sir. I will do that.’
Nikhil looked at Tanuja’s mail again. ‘And as per this mail, I am supposed to take them out for dinner after two weeks. Line up any day, the week after next. Let me know and I will pen it in my diary.’
Anand just nodded his head and turned to leave.
‘And listen. . .’ Nikhil said. Anand stopped.
‘I don’t care how you do it, but I need your team to start performing better in the insurance contest. You guys are really lagging. Is it that difficult to sell an insurance policy to customers these days?’
‘We have been trying sir, but it’s taking time.’
‘Chipkao, yaar. Customers ko insurance chipkao. I am yet to meet a customer who knows what he wants. It’s in your hands. You have to make them need what you want to sell. That’s when you become a good salesman. You don’t need me to tell you what to do during the contest. Only results matter, my friend. Do whatever you have to, but your branch has to be amongst the top ten branches on the league tables.’
After that conversation, Anand did not need any further license. Nikhil had said a lot that day without actually saying anything. Now it was up to him to interpret it the way Nikhil wanted him to. On his return to his branch a couple of floors below, Anand called for a meeting of all his branch sales and service officers. By the time they left his room, they were a bunch of transformed people.
As per Nikhil’s suggestion, all the MTs were allocated to individual officers and started shadowing them to learn how the bank operated on a day-to-day basis. What they learnt, whether it was appropriate or not, no one cared.
That day Mrs Bhatnagar, a 50-year-old widow living on her husband’s pension and a loyal GB2 customer for over two decades, was the first customer to enter the branch. Her loyalty could be gauged from the fact that, despite living off her husband’s meagre pension, she did not move her money out of GB2 even when the rates of interest GB2 offered were the lowest in the market. Being someone who valued safety over returns, all her money was in fixed deposits. GB2 was the only bank she banked with.
Jasmeet met her at the door and walked her to the cabin. A customary cup of coffee—Mrs Bhatnagar loved the coffee served in GB2—and thirty minutes of conversation later, she walked out of the branch with a wide smile on her face. It was a normal reaction; she always felt good after talking to her own RMs in the bank. They took good care of her.
After Mrs Bhatnagar left, the traffic in the branch picked up considerably. The steady customer inflow made it a busy day for the Bandra branch, keeping all the RMs and the service executives on their toes.
By evening, everyone was tired, but Anand was a happy man. It was amazing how a five minute talk with the cluster manager could change the approach of the entire branch. The mood had changed. The branch was suddenly seized with enthusiasm. He could sense it when he met the team in the huddle that evening.
‘If every day hereon, till the end of the contest which is three weeks from now, turns out to be like today, we will not only be in the top ten but we might end up being one of the top three branches in the country.’ The entire branch went up in applause.
‘Today’s spot winner, the best performer of the day is. . .’ and he paused for effect. The audience waited, holding
‘Okay, listen to me Anand. This does not say what we are supposed to do with the MTs. It only says that they need exposure to the branch. Attach each one of them to one officer in the branch. Let them shadow that officer. Rotate them end of week one and week two. Your guys just have to let them hang around. Don’t waste too much time on them.’
‘Good idea sir.’
‘Your work will also not be hindered. Whatever they learn, they’ll learn on the job. Let them learn by observation.’
‘Yes sir. I will do that.’
Nikhil looked at Tanuja’s mail again. ‘And as per this mail, I am supposed to take them out for dinner after two weeks. Line up any day, the week after next. Let me know and I will pen it in my diary.’
Anand just nodded his head and turned to leave.
‘And listen. . .’ Nikhil said. Anand stopped.
‘I don’t care how you do it, but I need your team to start performing better in the insurance contest. You guys are really lagging. Is it that difficult to sell an insurance policy to customers these days?’
‘We have been trying sir, but it’s taking time.’
‘Chipkao, yaar. Customers ko insurance chipkao. I am yet to meet a customer who knows what he wants. It’s in your hands. You have to make them need what you want to sell. That’s when you become a good salesman. You don’t need me to tell you what to do during the contest. Only results matter, my friend. Do whatever you have to, but your branch has to be amongst the top ten branches on the league tables.’
After that conversation, Anand did not need any further license. Nikhil had said a lot that day without actually saying anything. Now it was up to him to interpret it the way Nikhil wanted him to. On his return to his branch a couple of floors below, Anand called for a meeting of all his branch sales and service officers. By the time they left his room, they were a bunch of transformed people.
As per Nikhil’s suggestion, all the MTs were allocated to individual officers and started shadowing them to learn how the bank operated on a day-to-day basis. What they learnt, whether it was appropriate or not, no one cared.
That day Mrs Bhatnagar, a 50-year-old widow living on her husband’s pension and a loyal GB2 customer for over two decades, was the first customer to enter the branch. Her loyalty could be gauged from the fact that, despite living off her husband’s meagre pension, she did not move her money out of GB2 even when the rates of interest GB2 offered were the lowest in the market. Being someone who valued safety over returns, all her money was in fixed deposits. GB2 was the only bank she banked with.
Jasmeet met her at the door and walked her to the cabin. A customary cup of coffee—Mrs Bhatnagar loved the coffee served in GB2—and thirty minutes of conversation later, she walked out of the branch with a wide smile on her face. It was a normal reaction; she always felt good after talking to her own RMs in the bank. They took good care of her.
After Mrs Bhatnagar left, the traffic in the branch picked up considerably. The steady customer inflow made it a busy day for the Bandra branch, keeping all the RMs and the service executives on their toes.
By evening, everyone was tired, but Anand was a happy man. It was amazing how a five minute talk with the cluster manager could change the approach of the entire branch. The mood had changed. The branch was suddenly seized with enthusiasm. He could sense it when he met the team in the huddle that evening.
‘If every day hereon, till the end of the contest which is three weeks from now, turns out to be like today, we will not only be in the top ten but we might end up being one of the top three branches in the country.’ The entire branch went up in applause.
‘Today’s spot winner, the best performer of the day is. . .’ and he paused for effect. The audience waited, holding
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