The Power of Cross-Sales: How to Grow Relationships Without Being “Salesy”
Cross-sales aren’t about selling products. They’re about becoming a trusted advisor customers rely on for guidance, value, and long-term financial success.
Welcome to the Top 5 Percenter™ Blog
Triage for Bankers: Find the Pain and Fix It
Anybody who walks into your bank has got a real problem. People without problems don’t wake up in the morning and say, “Today is a good day to spend talking to a banker,” any more than they would decide to talk to a doctor for kicks. People without problems have better things to do with their time.
The very fact that potential clients are either taking your call or calling you says they have something on their mind. That’s the pain, and your job is to find out what that pain is. What pain would cause them to make a change? Knowing that will give you everything you need to complete the rest of the sales process.
If you don’t uncover your prospect’s pain, all you have is a prospect who is intellectually curious but not economically serious. Until you start poking and prodding, all you’ll get is a casual conversation—and YOU have better things than that to do with YOUR time.
Make it your main goal to discover all the things your prospect would like to be different—or better—in their current financial business relationship. Uncover ways in which their current vendor serves them incorrectly. By asking pain-probing questions, you allow them to reveal the improvements they want. This also takes the pressure off you to talk in any depth about your pricing or about why they should consider your company.
Realize that when you approach prospects about a possible relationship, the prospect sees you as an agent of change. They know you want to talk them into changing their behavior. And what do we know about human beings and behavior change? They hate it! But once the pain has been identified, you become the source not just of change but of relief.
More From The Blog
Why Top-Performing Banks Never Delegate Culture
Many banks assign culture to committees and wonder why nothing changes. Discover why executive ownership is the key to sustainable culture transformation and top-tier performance.
Nice Doesn’t Pay the Bills: Why Culture Determines Profitability
Most banks focus on strategy. Elite banks focus on culture systems that produce profitable behavior. Discover why culture may be your biggest growth lever.
Halfway Is No Excuse: The Midyear Execution Test Every Bank Must Pass
Midyear is not the time for excuses. It is the diagnostic checkpoint where elite community banks assess what’s working, fix what’s not, and accelerate execution before year-end.
Stop Letting Pedestrian Thinking Run Your Bank’s Future [VIDEO]
Most banks are not suffering from a technology problem. They are suffering from a thinking problem. Roxanne Emmerich explains why second-order thinking is now essential for community bank executives preparing their teams for AI, change, and the next wave of performance pressure.
Turn Your Banky Award Into a Year-Round Growth Weapon
A Banky Award is more than recognition. Used correctly, it becomes third-party proof that helps your bank stand out, build trust, and become the obvious choice in your market.
Your Bank’s USP Is Either Indisputable—or Invisible
Most banks don’t need another branding exercise. They need a USP that prospects believe. Roxanne Emmerich explains how credibility, systems, awards, and proof points turn differentiation into a revenue-driving advantage.
Why Your Bank Needs Proof—Not Promises—to Win Premium Clients
Most banks claim to be different. The best banks prove it. Discover how credibility-based positioning drives growth, trust, and profitability.
Your Bank Doesn’t Have a Performance Problem—It Has an Accountability Gap
Most banks don’t have a performance problem—they have an accountability gap. Discover the system top banks use to drive execution.
Your Marketing Isn’t Broken. Your Positioning Is.
Most bank marketing does not fail because the message is weak. It fails because the bank has no compelling position in the market. In this video, Roxanne reveals how community banks can sharpen their USP, strengthen credibility, and win more business without racing to the bottom on rate.