Welcome to The Top 5 Percenter™ Blog
Dive in for concise, powerful insights on elevating community banking. Discover strategies and success stories for superior performance, from boosting financial margins to cultivating a dynamic culture. These posts literally contain the secrets of the Top 5 Percenters™. Sign up to the newsletter so that you don’t miss a single post.
You Deserve to Get Paid What You are Really Worth
I believe you deserve to get paid what you are really worth and never worry again about matching the discounted rates from your competition. Watch this video if you are the kind of leader who: Feels strongly that you just can´t follow the herd anymore Has lenders who don´t believe in premium pricing Are about to give up, because it seems like you are swimming against the tide Watch this video...
Community Banks Deserve to Get Paid More
You deserve to get paid more. You deserve to get out of the crazy rate-matching game that can’t end well for anyone. The truth is, you can get paid a premium—an above-market rate—by good, A+ quality clients, but you won’t get there doing the same thing you’ve been doing. Watch this video to discover the three secrets to getting premium pricing and getting it soon—in the next few weeks—so that...
Does Your Strategic Plan Have THIS?
I've had the opportunity to review hundreds (maybe thousands at this point) of strategic plans from community banks. Sadly, most don't have even ONE strategy in them. They have goals, visions, and purpose. But no strategy. Strategy is the "how we're going to get it done" that you need once you leave the retreat. Without it, you've got another binder for the office shelf, but nothing more....
How to Stop “Running” Your Bank and Start Growing It
Ever feel like you’re so busy “running” your bank that you have no time to improve and grow your bank? What if it was so efficient that you actually had time to create strategies and see that they are implemented correctly? This is your chance to make it happen. It’s strategic planning time, and you need to connect your plan to the systems for getting all those results you want…to the...
How to Guarantee Your Strategic Plan Will Fail, and What to do About It (Part 1)
I hear it time and time again The overwhelming majority of bankers I talk to when I speak at banking conferences feel that their banks don’t get any real value out of their strategic planning process and the sad reality is—they’re right. Because of this, strategic planning is often treated as a yearly burden that has to be endured every year. Most bankers play along with absolutely no hope of...
The Three Can’t–Miss Pieces of a Functional Strategic Plan
Yes…it’s true. It’s time once again to create a strategic plan for next year. It’s time to create that ‘master plan’ that will make next year your BEST YEAR EVER. If you just sighed or rolled your eyes, then you’re one of the many community bankers that have suffered through strategic planning year after year only to see the plan forgotten, ignored, or poorly implemented. Many banks with...
How to win at YOUR game
Are you playing the wrong game?
Do you believe this?
For the last 18 months I've been “eavesdropping” on conversations at community banking conferences and what I've heard is shocking… Bankers are being lied to… And some are believing these “false truths”… The history books are filled with common—accepted—beliefs…truths… That aren't true… ‘The world is flat…” “The Earth is the center of the universe…” “Bigfoot is real…” “Premium rates only come on...
Is this addiction killing your bank’s profit?
It creeps up on you…usually in a moment of desperation. A prospect comes in and says “So and so bank down the street offered rate X. If you can get me a loan at a rate that is half a percent lower, then you have my business.” Now you feel trapped. You want to close this deal, but you know if you lower your rate, the deal won’t be profitable…but you know if you don’t lower your rate, the...
The Question That Stops Prospects in Their Tracks
Are you playing the wrong game?
Stop Scaring Away New Prospects with Old Tactics
You’ve heard it before – the bankers who are STILL calling on clients asking hideously inept questions such as, “What kind of things are you looking for in a bank?” or “Tell me about your business,” or “What kind of things are keeping you up at night?” UGH.
Why Average Sales People Stay Average and How to Get More Out of Them
What does your job description say for your lenders…? Let me guess; an HR wordsmithed version of “get loans” ... The problem is, you don't want loans, you want to profit. Your superstars get this, and that's why they excel. But your good, but not yet great, salespeople may not connect all the dots. And a big part of the disconnect is in your job descriptions. The truth is job descriptions are a...