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.

How to Use USPs to Get Paid More

    I believe you can and should be paid more for what you do. In this episode, I’m going to show you a few ways to highlight your USPs—“differentiating value”—the right way in your sales process. Customers will sit up and pay attention…and you won’t lock yourself into a rate match. If you’re the kind of leader… Who has spent hundreds of thousands of dollars on “branding,” yet found...

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The 4 Levels of USPs

    I believe community banks deserve to get paid for what they are worth—and never have to match rates. In this episode, you’ll discover how to use extreme differentiation to get 150 basis points more on the loan side and improve your deposit pricing as well. If you’re the kind of leader… Who feels strongly that you can’t follow the herd that believes NIM compression is...

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The “No-Sales Approach” to Grow Sales

    I believe people want to trust their banker and count on them to guide them to good financial decisions. It’s been harder these days to get that trust thanks to a mega bank that was called out on sales practices that caused improper cross-sales. In this episode, I’m going to show you how to not only recover from the damage that was done to the industry, but also deal with the...

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How to Double Cross-Sales at Your Bank in 5 Months

    I believe that truly great organizations have mastered two things—great people and great systems. In this session, I’m going to share with you a system that has consistently and predictably doubled cross-sales in 4–5 months. If you’re the kind of leader: Who has had a few false attempts at fixing the “order taking” pain point at your bank, you’ll love what I’m going to share. You...

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Get a 250% Boost in Wallet Share

  I believe that people are happy to pay more for someone who provides a unique benefit that creates a substantial ROI value to them. I want that someone to be you. In this episode, I’ll show you how to win all the business of your prospects without them ever asking about rate or fees. REALLY. I know it sounds crazy. But in our seminars, people tell me all the time that they’re now...

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Ask the Magic Question and You Never Have to Talk Rate

  I believe banks deserve to get paid far more for what they do. One of the biggest factors in this inequity is rate matching. But the good news is, it’s preventable. In this episode, I’m going to share with you a process to get your people to stop rate matching for good. It will be ingrained to never again give a rate when someone calls in asking for one. If you’re the kind of leader: Who...

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How to tap into the “referral circle” of the wealthiest customers in your market

  I believe that an organization’s profit matches the profit of their clientele. In this episode, I’m going to show you how to find more profit-rich clients—the elite customers who are lower risk, lower hassle and who willingly pay more for better value. If you're the kind of leader who already has the top tier elite customers coming in your door, willing to pay a premium price, you'll love...

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Finally, a blueprint for convincing your lenders that you’re worth premium pricing

  I believe that people operate out of their "worldview" and that they are fairly committed to their "belief systems''—which can serve them well but also keep them stuck. In this episode, we're going to talk about how to get the ship to turn so your team BELIEVES that it IS possible to get the best customers and get extreme premium pricing. Until they have that belief, you're going to wear...

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The Dangers of False-Attempt Sales Training

  I believe people don’t like hassles. Who does? Whether it’s at work, at home, or out shopping. But it’s a dangerous attitude among your people because it causes them not to put 100% into their sales conversations. In this session, I’m going to show you how your people (like many bankers before them who couldn’t, but now do) can get 6–7 cross-sales and all the deposits in a way that never...

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Differentiation Value that Drives A+ Quality Credits in Your Door

  I believe that high-quality customers love high-quality attention. In this session, I’m going to show you how our client banks are transforming their safety and profitability by creating the kind of differentiation that attracts the highest quality credits and makes price irrelevant. If you’re thinking that the best customers get the best pricing because everyone wants them, then you have...

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Bank Sales Training Basics—with an Important Twist

  I believe that we humans can make easy tasks MUCH harder than they need to be. We all do it. The people at your bank struggling with sales effectiveness do it, too. In this session, I’m going to show you how you can take a trouble spot, like getting enough deposits, and turn it into a big win quickly. Quick hint: It’s about moving away from “training” but instead “educating” your team the...

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You Deserve More and Better

Introducing the Best Banks in America™ Super Conference. Where the Ambitious and Elite, Results-Oriented Bankers Share Power Secrets of the New Game of Banking. Join Us September 10-12, 2018 I believe that accepting limiting beliefs as fact is too common in banking today. Today, together, we’re going to blow up the biggest limiting belief in banking. It’s so bad, it’s keeping you and your team...

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