Current Presentation Hot Topics

Three Characteristics of High-Performance Institutions

Understand your market; Differentiate from the Competition; and encourage a culture of Leadership

Growth in today’s marketplace can be an elusive goal; and, while growth opportunities vary from one institution to the next, this session emphasizes three universal characteristics of today’s high performance institutions. Institutions that are best positioned for sustainable growth are those that understand their market (beyond demographic data); that can meaningfully differentiate from the competition; and that encourage cultures of leadership within their institutions.  This session discusses the importance and role of each characteristic, and provides participants with examples and suggestions for how to make these characteristics more prominent in their institutions.  

The Magic of Internal Marketing

The importance of involving your entire team in your marketing initiatives

Internal marketing used to be so easy: a few memos to tellers, an occasional product training day, a poster in the employee break room.  The bar has been raised relative to marketing today’s financial institutions and focusing on internal marketing is no longer an option.  This session will explore the vital role marketing plays in driving and even changing organizational culture.  It will also explore how internal marketing can be used to align, motivate and empower employees – regardless of position or function – to support your external marketing efforts and consistently deliver positive customer experiences that help your institution grow.

Training Your CEO

Bridging the gap between marketing and the senior management team

As the role of marketing continues to become a more important factor in the success of today’s financial institutions, so does communication between marketing personnel and the CEO/executive team.  This session explores the common barriers between the two teams and discusses three approaches to address the possible disconnects.  Participants will learn how metrics, relationships and case studies can be used to “make the case” for marketing initiatives and ultimately drive marketing initiatives forward with everyone on board.

Reaching In or Branching Out

Identifying the most viable means of growth for your institution

A decade ago industry experts predicted the decline of bank branching.  Today, aggressive branching has changed the face of banking nationwide.  According to a recent survey conducted by the American Bankers Association, three out of four community bankers think branching will continue to be a chief source of growth for their institutions.  While branching has survived and is certainly one avenue for growth, many institutions fail to recognize available organic growth opportunities.  Participants will learn how efforts to differentiate, communicate a clear value proposition, and/or encourage a culture of leadership and innovation can lead to increased share of wallet and market penetration without having to build additional branches.

The Great Demographic Divide

A boomer’s guide to attracting younger employees and customers

While the industry has benefited from an aging customer base, many financial institutions have been too busy chasing after the shifting wealth of aging baby boomers to notice that their customer base is slowly dying.  Most, in fact, have done little to attract a younger demographic as both employees and customers.  This session will explore the trend of an aging employee and customer base; strategies for attracting and developing younger employees; and how this can contribute to attracting younger customers and increasing long-term profitability.  

Leadership is not About Job Title

The importance of leadership and innovation at all levels within your institution

It’s one of the biggest misconceptions in the business world, and it is especially evident in today’s financial services industry – the belief that leadership is the sole responsibility of executives and senior management.  While some believe that certain people are born leaders and others are not, this session takes a different stance and introduces participants to the five leadership qualities that can be cultivated in any employee.  The session will discuss these qualities, how successful companies are able to leverage their employees’ leadership qualities to remain relevant, innovative and viable in today’s competitive marketplace.   

Change Your Mindset

If you want different results, you have to think differently

The major issues facing community bankers are well known.  Whether it’s growing and retaining deposits, differentiating from the increasingly aggressive competition or identifying new market opportunities; community bankers assume that solutions to these and similar challenges are elusive and hard to achieve.  But perhaps the most pressing and pervasive issue is actually one that is rarely discussed and scarcely recognized – namely, the industry-wide dependence on doing business as usual. 

This session challenges conventional thinking; it challenges bankers that may be stuck in old ways to think and act differently as means to generate results that will truly impact the bottom line.  While there is not one approach that will work for every institution, this session will discuss the most pressing issues and beliefs that act as barriers to success in today’s industry.

Return to Speaking