The days of transactional banking are over. 

Yes, there was a day when the customers would walk into our lobbies. Yes, there was a day where they came looking for us. Yes, I remember those days, too. 

Those days are long gone 

And it was a rapid turn. Yes, the amount of traffic coming into our lobbies had been declining. But boy, when we closed the doors for COVID, that changed everything from transactional to transformational.  And now we are in a transformational model instead. And those banks that hang on to their transactional model where they sit behind their desks cannot possibly compete in this world where the apps are stronger, and the competitors are stronger. 

What’s necessary now? 

Your people are out having conversations with people. And not only do they need to have conversations that are initiated by the banker, but those conversations need to be effective. They should be asking the right Socratic questions to find out what needs to be improved in the relationship:

• How to get them unstuck
• How to get them to create commitments for what they’re going to do next
• How to make a decision about moving ahead with their business and buying one of your services

These are just a few examples of some of the Socratic questions that they need to master. 

In addition, the old belief that having universal bankers was going to get the job done only means that we have people who understand several different product lines. 

Transactional to Transformational 

But listen, having product awareness is, of course, a baseline, and it’s necessary, but it does you no good when people are not walking in the door. The new model of transformational banking means that they’re saying to you, “You are the only banker that I’ll ever need.”

– Roxanne Emmerich

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