I believe that we all take great pride in legendary performance.
In this episode, I’ll show you how you can have your best year ever and show you the system that doubled the profit in less than three years for over 70% of the stock banks that used it.
If you’re the kind of leader:
What is your opportunity cost per inbound call?
In other words, how much profit is lost per mishandled call that doesn’t turn into a lead, then a customer, then a full relationship?
I’m going to show you some math that’s going to make you a little bit crazy as an executive of a bank. (more…)
When times get a little challenging, people can wig out and the team dynamics get a little interesting. But it doesn’t have to be that way.
Culture can be managed and culture can remain great, but you’re going to have to pay more attention to your culture than ever before during challenging times.
I’ve been in banking for more than 30 years. Recently, I tried to estimate how often I’ve heard a community bank CEO say, “No matter what we do, we can’t get our NlM out of the 3s. It’s impossible.” It turns out that I can’t estimate it. The number’s so high I’ve lost count.
Whenever I hear a CEO, CLO, or CFO declare, in front of the team, that banking is a commodity, I am never surprised to look them up a few years later to see that the bank has lost its independence.
The past decades and even centuries have witnessed much banking innovation. Consider pneumatic capsule transportation (1799), the credit card (1950), and the ATM (1967).
Those innovations were external—easily visible to everyone. But there is also a history of innovation that’s internal to the industry, with bellwether changes to banking sales management and its increasing focus on the customer.
Over time, we went from standard bankers to “personal bankers.” For the affluent, there were
“private bankers.”
Personal bankers could open deposit accounts, but then universal bankers started to make personal loans and mortgages.
Loan growth. Ears of bank CEOs across the country perk up when those two words are spoken, especially now in 2022. But there’s a caveat to that as well.
Grow loans too quickly and regulators will be all over you, assuming all manner of misdeeds. Too slowly and your earnings and NIM suffer.
Many bank CEOs tell me they’re doing well…but they see danger on the horizon with small businesses being squeezed from every angle at the same time.
The smart ones from the highest-performing banks are the most nervous. That’s always a sign of what is next to come.
The last two times we connected, we’ve been talking about the need to improve the cross-sales within your bank to create a better sales experience for your people. And to make sure that you capture the entire customer relationship by creating a transformation of the process that attracts the customers to you.
Good Intentions Aren’t Getting the Job Done
Let’s say it: Good intentions aren’t getting the job done. If it was true that they were, we would have solved this cross-sales thing a very long time ago. It’s imperative for the customer relationship in your bank to make sure that you’re accomplishing the outcomes of the entire relationship being captured––especially as it applies to your top 100 most profitable customers,
The last time we met, I told you we’d be coming back this time to discuss: how do you boost those cross-sales and how to do it by having a cultural transformation within your organization.
Because that change in your culture and improvement in your bank’s culture is key to transforming results by making sure that your customer feels heard and moved along.
Outdated Sales Systems & A Better, Proven Process
Most people have the wrong system of sales. We’ve been applying the same system for many, many years with our banks.
If you want to improve the performance of your bank, you’re probably going to need to improve your cross-sales. When your people are meeting with your customers and they’re accomplishing six, seven, eight, maybe nine, or sometimes ten cross-sales on average versus the 2.2 which is typical in the industry, you don’t need nearly as many people and you can pay everyone that you have a whole lot more. Plus it leaves a lot more profit for you.
The Challenge of Cross-Sales
Getting cross-sales right is something that’s been very hard for banks for 30 years.
How do you, as an executive, build a performance culture that attracts top talent, retains top talent, and allows your bank to thrive?
You just have to know the magic performance culture formula that works for other banks and apply it within your bank for the same results. But finding that magic formula is the key.
I’ve had the great honor of working with some of the most revered banks with the best cultures in this country.
