Sales 2.0:
Accelerating Agile Banking with Process Automation
Financial services institutions have been met with a host of obstacles in recent years. Between the credit losses endured from the pandemic, the rise of digital-only banks, fintech challengers with no-interest business models, and the historically low-interest rates muting revenues, all financial intermediaries are juggling more than ever before. To tackle these obstacles, banks and credit unions are leaning into automation, AI, and bankingas-a-service (BaaS) to support agile innovation. These agile banking initiatives also are creating an environment where teams can work more cohesively to build a tailored customer experience — one that relies on sophisticated processes that are attractively hands-off. This is sales 2.0. Sales are no longer segmented into one department. Everyone must think and act in a sales mindset to keep customers engaged, anticipate needs, and distinguish services from competitors. Digital transformation initiatives that hook in AI, analytics at scale, and business process management (BPM) are enabling institutions to sync that sales mentality with their entire organization. A major component of this undertaking relies on process • 16 •
• January-February 2022
by Sam Biardo, Founder and CEO of Technology Advisors, Inc. automation. Process automation is essentially what it sounds like. It’s the act of automating and standardizing repeatable business procedures, and banks and credit unions are employing it to cut costs and make sales and CX (customer experience) more proactive. The concept of process automation ties into larger digital transformation goals, and its applications may be a saving grace for banks on the edge.
Nearly There, But Not Quite
While the journey towards agility is wellintentioned, most banks aren’t yet finding it wholly successful. The problem lies in the approach. Digital transformation must facilitate a complete makeover of how teams work and how they think about working. Successful agile innovation demands organization, planning, scalable technology, and— perhaps most importantly—an engineering culture. The people who should lead that cultural shift aren’t who you might think.
