How A Simple Question Earned Thousands Of Dollars

A simple, effective lesson about the lifetime value of a customer.

I've been working in the office on my own today. Lunchtime came around and so I jumped in the car and headed off to get some food.

I collected the mail from the Post Office along the way. There were a couple of cheques (checks) there so I went to the bank on my way back.

It was very quiet and there were only two tellers on duty.

As I was the only customer in the bank, I was served straight away. Shortly, a woman with two kids of around two and four arrived and approached the teller next to me with her transaction.

Spotting the two youngsters, the teller asked this simple pro-active question:

"Do you have bank accounts for your children yet?"

"No I don't" replied the customer.

"Let me organise that for you, then" was the reply.

"OK"

What an easy sale! Two new accounts.

Just imagine how many previous times that woman has been into a bank with those kids in tow.

How many times could another teller have asked her that question? Dozens? Hundreds?

Obviously nobody had, until today, that is.

Stop and think about the consequences of this for a couple of minutes...

The bank opened two new accounts. Imagine if those kids stay with the bank for 50 years. Consider the likely transactions...

· 50 years of savings and withdrawals · Credit cards - two · Loans for cars - one very three or four years from the age of 18 · Home loans - maybe three or four · Business loan · Overdraft facilities, and more Times TWO.

What could be the lifetime value of those two kids to that bank. Tens, probably hundreds of thousands of dollars.

From one simple question that nobody before had thought to ask.

If I were in charge of the bank, tellers would be on huge commissions for making sales like this. Sadly, I bet she scores a few points towards the team goal or a cheap vacation.

When you know the lifetime value of a customer, you spend more time working out how to attract and keep them. You pay handsomely for those who have the skills necessary to bring them to you.

How A Simple Question Earned Thousands Of Dollars - To learn more about this author, visit James Yuille's Website.

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