Question? Answer!!

Greetings and Happy Monday!!

Today is about asking questions and seeking the answers!

Most of you are in the Q&A portion of your year...

• What worked? 
• What didn't? 
• What budget do I have remaining?
• What is changing about our market?
• What new initiatives are coming down the path?

All great questions...and many answered by information that is within your grasp and some outside of your grasp.

The key?

Knowing what you DON'T know and what portion of that you NEED to find an answer.  You can spend all of your time finding answers to each and every question...but analysis paralysis will undoubtedly set in!

You need to know the GO-TO information factors that will drive you plan, your budget and your success!

What are they??  Great question!  The answer...it varies for each of you!!

Call us to find out... for your bank/CU!

We can provide the answer...and more importantly save you the time and effort!
Come on...give us a call! We can help...

Monday, Monday...

Its Monday... normally, that word brings dreaded feelings to a lot of people. Work starts, the schedule resumes, early mornings arrive...

However, would our Friday's be as sweet without Mondays?  Would the weekends be as restful and relaxing with no Monday?  I think it helps to sometimes touch the four corners of our world (with Monday being one!) to really know how big and exciting our world really is!

Think about your customers/members, too, in this way.  Have they been with you a while and maybe have not had the excellent new account experience for a while, been wowed by the speed of your loan approval process, seen the care and attention of problem resolution? Sometimes, we have to remind our customers of "why" they selected us...and NEVER let it go stale!

Reach out, call out, invite them in...whatever it takes, but reintroduce the bank to them and remind each customer of "why" they chose you above every other option in the marketplace!

Its about ensuring that the normal days don't feel less than important...that the customer feels that important, connected feeling.

How?

A million ways....but the best starting point is with the customer in front of you or in front of your staff.  Of course, we can help develop a communication program and outreach that helps guide a concerted, connected, consistent program...but simply start somewhere...TODAY!

Cheers!

Bruce

Jumpstart 2011

OK...

So here we are in the 2nd week of August, half way through the 3rd quarter and you are looking at your budget. You have been focused, thrifty and bent on ensuring an ROI...but it is still...

G-O-N-E !!

Where did it go?  What do you do now? You still have the 4th quarter to go and you need to make sure you hit the ground running in 2011, as it will be the year for growth and coming out of this recession thing at full speed.

That's where you need a jump start.

MarketMatch is here for you...

We know that planning takes time and you need planning to ensure your ROI is the best possible, that your targeting is fool-proof and that your team is ready.

Give me a ring and find out about our 2011 jump start opportunity....it might be JUST what you were looking for and a way to "kill two birds with one stone!"

Cheers...

Bruce Clapp

Life Cycle Financial Sales Training... Part II

The birth of a child is an exciting time, no doubt. Life changes so quickly. Values get reevaluated. New perspectives evolve. New priorities emerge. Yes, that one day when a child is born, much changes.

In our financial lives, the birth of the first child means you are now a "Charlie", as I call it. No longer a single individual or married couple, you are now a family.... and families have different financial needs than their non-parental counterparts. As we train bankers to develop deeper customer relationships, we include financial counseling tips that bankers can use to really make a difference in their customers' lives. For the "Charlies" and "Deltas", families with preschool aged children or school age children respectively, there are some important conversations we should be having.

Probably the most important is to review the topics they should already have mastered, learning the savings habit and taking care of their credit score. After revisiting that, we can move on to a few new topics, savings for the child or children's college education (or just savings for the child) and starting long-term savings for long-term goals or retirement. By now, this young family has some goals, whether short term goals or long term goals and they need to be planning to create that future....
We can help our customers by talking about the need for mortgage loans to buy that first home (or a bigger home as the family expands).
We can help our customers by asking if they have started participating in their employer's 401(k) plan. If not, that is the number 1 recommended savings vehicle, especially when the employer gives a matching contribution! You can't beat matching with any other investment out there. And if they are participating in their 401(k) plan, we can remind them that they can also deposit up to $6000 per year into their own IRA plan and build an additional retirement nest egg. When our employees are well-versed in the IRA rules and regs, they can talk to many customers and help them plan an annual contribution program ( of course, customers should consult with their tax advisor regarding deductibiity).

If we are helping our customers move through each life cycle stage with just a few of the basic financial planning tenets in place, we will know that we have not only made a difference in their lives, but that we have developed a loyal customer as well.

Next time, we'll look at how we can be helping our "empty nesters" and retired "foxtrots" also.

Are you including life cycle financial selling in your basic bank training? If not, we can help. If so, please let me know what you do. If you are passionate about financial education like I am, please email me at slovejoy@marketmatch.com.

Until next time,

Sharon