The Strategic Planning Lie That’s Keeping Banks Mediocre [VIDEO]
Roxanne Emmerich exposes the toxic lie behind most strategic plans—and the second-order thinking top banks use to pull away from the pack.
Do you hold the entire relationship for every one of your bank account holders?
I hope you do. But maybe you don’t. And maybe your people don’t know how to get effective cross-selling done.
If you’re not averaging five, six, or even seven cross-sales on every new relationship that is opened up in your bank, somethings just not right yet.
And it doesn’t mean you have bad people. It just means they don’t know what to do for effective cross-selling. But they’re going to need to figure it out.
Think of it this way. I’ve watched bank after bank after bank move their cross-sales and new account figure from 2.2 up to five in less than a year.
At the end of the year, they’re always surprised. “Oh, look at that. Our efficiency dropped by 10 points. We weren’t even cutting expenses.” Oh, no, you don’t have to. It’s dealt with on the revenue side. And look at the equation here. How beautiful is this, that we didn’t have to hire more people, and we didn’t need new buildings.
All we had to do is that every time a customer, or a new potential customer, walks in that person knows how to turn them into a customer and create an entire relationship using tried and true cross-selling strategies that work.
That takes some skills, that takes some distinctions, it takes some understanding, and it takes some repetition. Most banks have given this lip service for decades. They’ve talked every year about how they’ve got to get past the order taking.
Saying so doesn’t seem to get it done. What is your defined action plan? The one where you know with great certainty that you will, within a year, be up to five, six, or even seven cross-sells? If you say it can’t be done, look at the case studies on our website, and you’ll see hundreds of banks that have pulled it off. So if they can do it, you can do it—but you have to do things correctly.
Is this the year that you own the entire relationship for your bank account holders? I hope it is.
– Roxanne Emmerich
Please watch the video above and share it with your exec team and board.
Roxanne Emmerich exposes the toxic lie behind most strategic plans—and the second-order thinking top banks use to pull away from the pack.
Your boardroom may be your biggest blind spot. Discover how elite banks fix strategy at the Breakthrough Banking Blueprint™ Bootcamp.
Great employees don’t automatically produce great bank results. Discover why Top 5% performance requires employees who understand profitability, create deeper relationships, command premium pricing, and become trusted advisors customers never want to leave.
Elite banks aren’t born elite. They build systems, practice the right behaviors, and continually sharpen how they create value. Discover what helps top 5% banks reach exceptional performance—and stay there.
What separates America’s top-performing community banks from everyone else? Discover the systems, culture, and performance disciplines that help extraordinary banks protect profitability and independence.
Most banks lose the pricing conversation long before rates are discussed. Discover how elite community banks command premium pricing while protecting profitability and independence.
Most banks never intend to compete on price, yet rate matching quietly erodes profitability every day. Discover the strategy that allows top-performing community banks to command premium pricing and protect net interest margin.
The best community banks don’t win pricing wars—they avoid them. Discover how stronger positioning leads to higher net interest margin and greater profitability.
The highest-performing community banks don’t waste months searching for their ideal customers. Discover the proven process they use to identify profitable relationships quickly and execute with confidence.
Most banks believe their market determines pricing. Discover why that belief destroys profitability—and how elite community banks command premium pricing instead.