WHAT YOU NEED TO CONSIDER WHEN CHOOSING YOUR BANK (NOT WHAT YOU PROBABLY THINK)
Jan 20, 2024
I need to put it out there: not all bankers are the same. Not all banks are the same.
Yes, there are some bankers who might have ruined it for the entire bank’s name and any bankers working for that company.
I used to work for a bank; in fact, I worked for the same bank for 20 years, before I decided to go out on my own as a financial broker.
I used to take offense to the fact that some people would lump me in with the “bad banker” they encountered at the same bank years prior. Just like any people business, you are not always going to have relatable personalities, and thus, personalities will clash.
We have to remember this; we are all human.
But, yes there are individuals, NOT banks, that perhaps should not be in the banking industry.
So in this episode, I am going to explore the real factors that you need to consider when choosing your “financial agent”. I use the word “financial agent” and not “financial advisor” or “banker”, or “financial planner” or “financial representative”. Banks will use different terms for the same job role. Don’t let this fool you. A “financial advisor” at a bank may not even have the training to actually “advise” you in the right direction for you.
Have you ever felt “sold” when opening an account at a bank? There have been a lot of “bad press” about how banks will sell their clients products they do not necessarily need. Unfortunately, I cannot speak for the “banker” involved, or the bank they represent. HOWEVER, being in management for a major bank for most of my 20-year career in the financial industry, I can say with almost 100% confidence, sales is a real thing at the banks.
The banks need to make money. Banks are a FOR-PROFIT industry. Therefore just like any sales industry, ie cars, real estate, etc, there are good sales people, and there are bad sales people.
But what keeps you going back to the same sales people? The sales people that we know and trust do not NEED to sell us anything. They simply determine what we need, and try to match up products to those needs. How do they determine what we need? They ask us good, and applicable questions that allow us to uncover needs that even we did not know we had.
Excellent salespeople demonstrate a genuine desire to help and assist. You cannot train anyone to do this. It is intrinsic in them to want to help, even if it does not mean really gaining anything from it. They give you the time, and same effort that they would for anyone.
So, the question still is what you should consider when you are choosing your bank.
DO NOT CHOOSE YOUR BANK.
CHOOSE YOUR BANKER, or BETTER, CHOOSE YOUR FINANCIAL AGENT.
Find the one person who you feel comfortable with. Find the person who will always look out for not just you, but also for your family. Even more, look for the person who asks about your future, your dreams, and goals.
Ask your financial agent, what their intentions are for their career outlook, and try to follow them as far as you possibly can. Hopefully, they can still retain you as their client even in their highest career aspirations.
And just so you know, my husband, Darrin and I stand by our mission, “Helping families reach their financial goals, ONE FAMILY AT A TIME, leaving no family behind.”
Feel free to reach out to me. Just saying…