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 Stop Rate Shopping with One Simple Question
I believe banks deserve to get paid far more for what they do. In this episode, I’m going to share with you a process to get your people to stop rate matching for good. They'll never again give a rate when someone calls in to ask for a rate. If you’re the kind of leader: Who has been on the bandwagon for years about not having to match rates but you still have team members who think you don’t...
Getting Your Team EXCITED About Why Cross-Sales Matter
I believe people get energy and feel good about themselves when they help other people. In this episode, I’m going to show you how to get your people excited about having your clients acquire all the products and services that would help them. I believe cross-sales is a measure of trust—if they trust you, they bring everything to you immediately and continue to add more as they need it....
Make More Profitable Decisions in Less Time
I believe good business is just a series of good choices strategically and effectively implemented. In this episode, I’ll show you how to help your executive team make better decisions faster. If you’re frustrated because when someone comes to you with a recommendation it is half-baked, and the person with the idea has essentially “delegated up” the work to get better information so a...
Communication Strategies for a More Effective Team
I believe that being a great executive requires us to each grow as individuals. In this session, I’m going to share with you how to get your executives to grow in how they communicate with each other. If you feel like your executives get along well, but they don’t always go into the eye of the needle to address tough subjects as effectively as you’d like, you’ll love learning that there is more...
Test Your Executive Team to See Where They Come Up Short
I believe that you can’t coach height—that certain things don’t change much. In this session, I’ll show you how you can dramatically improve the results driven by your executive team and its effectiveness. If you seem to be coaching the same people on the same things to no avail—the proverbial, “every day at the landscaping firm, the green side goes up, and the brown side goes down”—and...
The Power of Extreme Accountability
I believe that most people have at least a little bit of fear that they won’t be successful. In this episode, I’m going to show you a powerful way to get your executives to understand that they own all the results for the entire organization—not just their silos—and what to do with that knowledge. If you feel like you’re still the one who is “nagging” your team to hit deadlines and...
Does Your Executive Hiring Process Need Work?
I believe the culture of your organization is your golden egg. In this episode, I’m going to share with you how to protect your bank from the carnage that often results from bringing in executives who don’t get your culture. If you feel like your executive team is ready to run a bank twice its current size, and the next-in-line are also ready to do the same, don’t go anywhere, because I...
The Three Most Regularly Violated Marketing Principles that Cost Banks Millions
I believe there are many ways to do anything—but there’s only one best way. In this episode, I’ll show you how banks utterly destroy their potential by violating little-known and often-broken marketing principles. If you’re thinking, “I don’t even know any marketing principles to violate—I leave that to other people”—you need this episode, because you must understand that ultimately you...
Get More Accounts From Top 100 Customers in Three Simple Steps
I believe accountable people make the world go ‘round. In this session, I’ll show you how to get everyone in your bank thinking about how to bring in the next best customers at premium pricing—in other words, getting everybody thinking like a marketer. If you have the traditional marketing department where they do “their thing” and nobody quite understands the why or the how except...
Targeting Your Top 100 Customers – and Closing Deals
I believe there are many ways to do anything—but there’s only one best way. In this episode, I’ll show you how banks utterly destroy their potential by violating little-known and often-broken marketing principles. If you’re thinking, “I don’t even know any marketing principles to violate—I leave that to other people”—you need this episode, because you must understand that...
The Curse of “Good” Customer Service
I believe people love to have positive attention lavished on them. In this episode, I’m going to show you how to take your already really good customer experience over the moon. If you’re frustrated by a lack of consistently over-the-top customer service, most of your encounters are fairly good but not all of them, and you’re not hearing “wows” pouring in daily, you’re going to...
Boost Your Marketing ROI by 5x to 20x
I believe that people want to work with people who “get them” and are all about their success. In this series, I’m going to show you how you can transform the ROI from your marketing dollars so that every dollar you put in gives you far more than 5 to 20 back to your bottom line. If you feel like your marketing department is already targeting the very best low-risk, high-profit...