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.
Your Team-Selling Checklist [VIDEO]
Team selling is the new “it.” But most banks get it all wrong, sadly. They think team selling is “I send Joe out with Susie, and Pat goes out with Jane … and everything is good.” That is not team selling. Harvard Business Review had an instructive research-based article making the case that team selling is clobbering the traditional Maverick model. But, hey, to get better results, you’ve got to...
How to “Turn Off the Noise” and Finally Get Marketing That Works [VIDEO]
I believe accountable people make the world go around. In this session, I’ll show you how to get everyone in your bank thinking about how to go get the next best customers at premium pricing. If you’re the kind of leader who has the traditional marketing department and they do “their thing” and nobody quite understands the why or the how except those in the department, that’s very typical....
Why Bank Marketing Isn’t What It Used To Be
Marketing isn’t what it used to be. For many banks, it’s changing how you should be investing your marketing dollars and the strategies that you should be using. Video: Bank Marketing Isn’t What It Used To Be In my book, The Breakthrough Banking Blueprint, I quote some of Tom Farrell’s research about marketing that has a lot to do with bank marketing: “Businesses think that 13% of their...
The Single Most Important KPI for ROI in Marketing [VIDEO]
I was speaking recently for a bank marketing association and what occurred to me was that I made a big discovery. I asked them how they move net interest margin. And I got that “huh?” look. Video: Single Most Important KPI for ROI in Marketing Then I dug a little bit deeper to ask them, "Well, tell me what net interest margin is and how you, as a marketing department, tie into a net interest...
How to Create a Rockin’ Culture, During Difficult Times [VIDEO]
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. Video: How to Create a Rockin Culture During Difficult Times World events are impacting the level...
Who Made Up THAT Rule? [VIDEO]
Everyone has patterns of disbelief. Some people believe that in politics, there is one side or the other, and they're unwilling to look at the alternative. Still others believe that the moon is made of cheese. You may have a belief system that's true. You may have a belief system that's not true. And the question that we have to look at as an executive is, "what has to be true for us to...
More Than a Feeling—How Bank Culture Drives Profit [VIDEO]
Does bank culture really matter? Gallup tells us that if you have an average amount of disengagement, it will rob $3,400 from your bottom line for every $10,000 of payroll. So YES, culture is a big deal. And if your bank’s culture is broken, it can be fixed. In fact, that's some of the easiest and fastest money to bring right to the bottom line—but only if you know what you're doing. That begs...
The Glue to Keep Your Best Employees… [VIDEO]
According to BambooHR®, one-third of your people plan on dumping you in the next six months. Yikes. This begs the question, what kind of glue do you need to make sure your very best employees stick with you during a time of accelerated “employee poaching?” To be clear… Employee retention isn't just about the pay. Yes, extrinsic (financial) rewards matter—up to a certain level, according to...
How to Double Cross-Sales at Your Bank in 5 Months [VIDEO]
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. Now, 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...
How to Move Beyond “Trusted Advisor” Lip Service to Get ALL of their Deposit Business [VIDEO]
I believe people want to work with “the best.” When people truly trust you and you bring value that exceeds your additional pricing, people are willing to bring all their business to you and your bank. At that point, price has little relevance. They know that what you provide is worth the cost. That’s a prime position for you to be in—now here’s how you’re going to get there. If you're...
What Is Your Conversion Rate From Inquiry to Customer? [VIDEO]
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. Video: What Is Your Conversion Rate From Inquiry to Customer? Let's imagine for a second that you spend a million...
Where the Low-Risk, High-Profit Clients Are Hiding [VIDEO]
I believe that sometimes one tweak can make a huge impact. In this video, we’ll tackle proven techniques you can use immediately to find your next top 100 most profitable, low-risk clients. Those are exactly the customers you want on your roster—and it’s worth the work to bring them in. In fact, using this system I’m about to reveal has brought my clients a closing rate near 100%. I think that’s...