Improving Video Banking: How to Make them as Valuable as In-Person Appointments

Ever hop on a video call with garbled audio? Or where you couldn’t see the other caller? Or where you both said goodbye, then awkwardly fumbled for the ‘exit’ button for what felt like an eternity? 

Video calls don’t have to be like that—not if you have the right tools and training, that is. And because half of your customers and members want to continue to meet remotely post-pandemic, it’s time for your frontline staff and advisors to become video call quality masters.

Below, we share tips for making your video banking calls just as good as face-to-face chats.

Before the Video Banking Call: Prepare to Listen

If you want to build trust over video, you can begin by showing that you value that person’s time. They’re plenty busy, and would rather not wait in line or on hold. If you give them the option to schedule a video appointment they can take from anywhere, that’s a great first impression.

Plus, some people who prefer in-person meetings but can’t find the time, will see they can have the best of both worlds, and meet sooner, which will speed up sales.

You can encourage video appointments by placing a link in your email signature, and maybe even via a shortened link on your business card. (Try a free link shortening service like Bitly.)

Once the call is scheduled, do your research ahead of time so you can use this person’s time wisely. Spend at least 15 minutes going through this checklist:

Look at their past history (if any). 

With bank appointment scheduling platforms, this kind of information retrieval is simple, and gets any advsior up to date on the customer’s previous interactions.

Prepare any documents you’ll share over the call.

After understanding previous interactions, and the purpose of the upcoming video meeting, ensure that you have everything you need to expedite the call, including having important documents ready to sign or distribute at hand. 

Prepare for questions.

Generate a list of questions to ask (also share these ahead of time), and pre-answer questions you think they might ask.

Combat no-shows.

Send a reminder email and instructions a day or two before the call. 

Fast-Facts: Video Appointment Tool Must-Haves

• Join from a browser—no need to download an app.
• Create custom, secure links for different meeting types.
• Collect customer’s information when they book, so you know their need.
• Send automatic appointment reminders to reduce no shows.
• Co-browse and share screens.
  Automatically verify identity.

During the Call: Listen Deeply

Research shows the more a salesperson listens, the more trustworthy they appear. 

On your call, try to spend less than 40 percent of the time talking, so your customers and members feel heard. The more you listen—and the more deeply you listen—the more they’ll want to share, and the more you’ll uncover, which can help you recommend the right financial products. 

You can also reduce distractions by setting up your calling space for clear video. Record facing natural light, like a window. If that’s not possible, use a ring light.

You’ll always want to use a quality headset over your computer’s built-in microphone. Bad audio is worse than bad video. If the video freezes, it just becomes a phone call. But if the audio is scratchy or drops out, it may be too distracting to continue.

Depending on which video banking solution you use, the app will also help you stay organized. It should allow you to take notes, drop links in the chat, save “sticky notes” for next steps, and let you co-browse to help them navigate a screen.

Here are 12 additional video call tips to present yourself well: 

1. Turn off your notifications beforehand (PC, Mac).
2. Sit up, don’t slouch.
3. Eliminate filler words “like” and “um”.
4. Set an agenda for what you both hope to achieve.
5. Gather cues and questions from their environment, and take notes.
6. Maintain eye contact and don’t browse other screens.
7. Avoid using slides or too many visuals, and simply talk.
8. If sharing your screen, try not to move things while the customer or member is talking.
9. Ask follow-up questions when something sounds important.
10. If you talk over someone else, stop, apologize, and insist they finish.
11. Before ending the call, reiterate next steps and get their agreement.
12. Be friendly and don’t be afraid to have fun.

Fast-Facts: Video Banking Call Quality Tips

• Elevate your computer
• Turn off notifications.
• Log in early.
• Record facing natural light, or use a ring light.
• Use a quality headset.

After the Call: Show You Listened

Follow up right away with a short summary and next steps. It proves you listened and serves as documentation so they too can remember what was said and who agreed to do what. 

Then, before doing anything else, record your notes and start looking into next steps! If you wait days or weeks to do this, you’ll forget important details you can use to surprise and delight people—like their anniversary, or the exact phrase they used to describe their dream house. It also ensures you won’t scramble to do this a mere 15 minutes before the next meeting, and come across as rushed or sloppy.

You can do even more, too. When you’re taking lots of video calls, you can also look at your video call data to ask:

• What’s my close rate on video calls compared to phone calls? 
• How much did I talk versus how much did they talk? (Look at the transcript word count.)
• How effectively did I upsell on calls? 
• What feedback can I provide to marketing to get more of the right calls? 

And you can decide that you’re going to be “the video meeting person” at your branch or in your office. Teaching is a great way to learn, and you can educate others on how to use video calls, and even help your manager write an FAQ or a playbook. 

Want to see what else you can do to improve your video banking strategy? Get more advice in our free, comprehensive guide.