Debunking the Five Myths of Loan Growth

“If you want to reach people no one else is reaching, we’ve got to do things no one else is doing.” 

Andy Stanley said that, and it starts my chapter on debunking the five biggest myths of loan growth in my Breakthrough Banking Blueprint book. 

Those five biggest myths, sadly, are crushing net interest margin and loan growth for too many banks. 

Myth Number One: You can match the rate to get the deal. 

Yeah, that’s true, but you’re not going to have any profit in the deal. 

Myth Number Two: If customers like their current bank, you’ll need to wait for the incumbent to make an error before you have a chance for the business.

That sounds pathetic. “Hey, here’s my card. If they screw up, call me. I’ll be the next in line.” Who wants that kind of relationship with someone? 

Myth Number Three: It’s a numbers game. 

Really? How is that working for you? It’s not a numbers game. It’s a “How do you do it and are you executing right?” game. 

Myth Number Four: Sales training will help solve this problem. 

In fact, we’ve helped several banks that had to fire sales training companies that were still working with them and being paid even when they couldn’t move the needle because they didn’t offer the right systems, psychology, or cultural transformation. It doesn’t work when you just do sales training. 

Myth Number Five: Incentive pay is the answer to motivating performers. “We’ll just pay them more. People follow the money.” 

Well, if that were true, it would work. But it’s not. And it doesn’t. For most banks, this remains a struggle that doesn’t need to be the struggle. And it makes me sad when I see people who have not moved past this and still continue to operate off the wrong strategies. 

How debunking the myths can turn around your bank’s loan growth 

In April, at the Best Banks in America™ 7th Annual Super Conference, we’re going to spend an entire day learning things to turn around your bank that go far beyond what I’ve covered in this book. (In fact, even if you’ve already read the book, it’s just the tip of the iceberg on what you’re going to learn.) And we will also be interviewing some of the banks that were bottom quartile performers that are now top five percentile performers in terms of their loan growth, while they improve the quality and the pricing on their loans. 

You’ll find out it’s about having the right system. Because it’s not your fault if it hasn’t been working. It couldn’t work without the right system.

I hope you’ll join me at the conference this April in Naples, Florida, on the 21st and 22nd. It’s sure not a terrible place to be this time of the year. And imagine the information and tactics you’ll learn that you can take back to your bank and put into action immediately. 

Make sure you get your tickets soon because it’s selling out fast. I’m looking forward to seeing you there so we can debunk the five myths of loan growth together. 

– Roxanne Emmerich

Please watch the video above and share it with your exec team and board.

Come to the Best Banks in America™ 7th AnnualSuper Conference on 

April 21-22, 2022. It’s the ONLY conference for top-performing banks—and those that aspire to join them! Register now! 

Discover the most guarded secrets of hugely successful community banks. Get your copy of Breakthrough Banking Blueprint, including “Debunking the Five Myths of Loan Growth” here.