Profitable loan growth is the name of the game, but it’s not just profitable—it’s having profit, safety, and growth all done together. When I wrote my very first book, Profit-Growth Banking, I talked about how I’m impressed by banks that have a great ROA and by banks that have great growth, but not nearly as impressed as I am by banks who sustainably accomplished both very systematically. That’s the game as an executive that you must master within your bank. You can’t be held to the cycles of this business because this business is full of some pretty crazy cycles right now. So, to say the words “loan demand is down right now” misses the point, in that you need to create your own loan demand.
Video: How A Flawless Sales System Brings Competitors’ Customers to You
So, when you are systematically identifying your next best customers and using the right system to go pick them off during good times and bad times, when you’re peeling them away from banks where they tell you “I love my current bank”—that’s when you know that you have the right system in place. So, as we approach 2021, there will be the need for us to make sure that we have a profitable revenue system that’s all about the safety of the loans to make sure our portfolio is in the safest state possible. That’s going to require some systematic approaches. That’s going to require some strategic thinking. That’s going to require flawless execution of a proven system that works.
I can’t think of anything that’s more important during challenging times than to make sure that you have your sales system down—and not just any old sales system—because you don’t need more loans that are risky and not priced right, you don’t need more drama in your life. What you need is a sustainable system where you don’t even know there’s a recession going on. That’s the game that you need to be playing to make sure that you emerge stronger at the end of these challenging times.
– Roxanne Emmerich
Please watch the video above and share it with your exec team and board.
