retail-6-6-19.pngBankers looking to grow revenue from their treasury departments will need the support of branch staff to drive the effort.

Banks large and small sometimes struggle to maximize the lucrative opportunity of their treasury departments. To increase revenue, it is vital that employees in the branch discuss treasury products with new and existing customers. Here are six steps to get started.

Step 1: Create a Top-Down Directive
Everyone from the bank president to newly hired employees should understand the importance that treasury revenue plays in overall operations. Banks should not rely on branch staff to execute this initiative. Leadership must prioritize discussing and promoting treasury products if they hope to see a pickup in demand and improvement in revenue. All employees should be on board, and there should be a top-down directive from upper management on the importance of cross-selling treasury products.

Step 2: Set Goals and Metrics for Employees
After bank leadership has discussed the importance of treasury products and how they can serve customers’ needs, they should set measurable and attainable goals for branches and staff.

Banks should monitor and track the actual performance against the set goals over time and follow up on them. Recognize bank employees that meet or exceed expectations, which will boost motivation.

Step 3: Run an ACH Report
Tap into existing customers by mining Automated Clearing House data. Merchant services providers can provide a list of ACH descriptors that allows banks to identify customers who are using processing services outside the bank. From there, executives will need to determine what other products their existing customers are using. These leads are invaluable, and this is an easy way to identify cross-selling opportunities for existing customers who already have a trusted relationship with the bank. Banks should assign an employee to follow up with all the customers on these reports.

Step 4: Incentivize Referral Activity
Executives should incentivize their employees to promote treasury products through referral bonuses, commissions, referral campaigns and recognition. Use these campaigns regularly, but change them so they remain enticing for employees. One place to start could be with a quarterly referral campaign partnered with the current merchant services provider, which can be mutually beneficial and bolster excitement about treasury department offerings.

Step 5: Require Treasury Products with New Business Loans
Banks can also require customers to add certain treasury products as a loan covenant on new business loans. However, they should take pains to consider the needs of the prospective customer before requiring a product.

Adding this requirement means it will be vital to have treasury management specialists involved in initial meetings with prospective customers. After a proper needs assessment, they can craft a customized proposal that includes treasury products that will be of most use to the customer.

Step 6: Educate Staff
Bank employees will always be hesitant to bring up products that they do not fully understand, and may be concerned about asking questions. Education is central to combatting this, and the success of any effort to promote a bank’s treasury department.

Banks should implement cross-training seminars to educate all employees about product offerings. It should also be ongoing to keep employees engaged, and can include webinars, lunch-and-learns and new employee boot camps, among other approaches.

WRITTEN BY

Brady Hanna