Sweet Home Alabama – Creating a Sales Culture

On its home turf in Alabama, Colonial operates four regional banks covering 41 counties.

Alabama may lack both the excitement and the risks of a boom-or-bust economy, but its even keel has become a magnet for car manufacturers. Mercedes, Honda and Toyota, which have built production facilities in the state, will soon be joined by a Hyundai plant south of Montgomery. Tourism has gotten a boost from the Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail, which crosses Alabama and attracts golfers from around the world.

To address Alabama's customer needs, Colonial employees have focused on selling the bank’s non-traditional products, such as the Premier Account, a combined checking, money market and brokerage account, as well as annuities, insurance and brokerage services. Furthermore, our Alabama banks have grown income from other lines of business – such as electronic banking, financial planning, mortgage banking, merchant services and cash management – by 62%, 33% and 9%, respectively, over the past three years.

“Customers are getting those products from other places, such as brokerage houses and life insurance companies, and we want to get our arms around more of that business,” says South Central Region CEO Eric Hamilton. “We want our customers to know that we have all the products and services they currently are getting at three or four different places – that they can get everything they need at Colonial Bank.”

Colonial’s major competitors in the state include not only Alabama-based holding companies but the many community banks in rural communities. Colonial has a full range of products that most of the smaller banks can’t match, while combining the hometown feeling of a community bank with the resources of a financial powerhouse.

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