If you are operating under the Universal Associate (UA) or Universal Banker Model chances are you have a few associates who know how to do more transactions than the average teller. Great. Now, if you’ve checked universal banker off of your to-do list, you are missing out on a giant heap of ROI from your associates. Every banker knows they need some form of the UA Model, but few know how to bring out its full potential.

Achieve More with Less

Branch banking has taken on a lot of changes. While some may still use the traditional model, change is what separates the acquiring from the acquired. That's why FIs are pivoting toward the UA Model to make the switch to advisory banking, ensuring a better experience for the client and a more profitable interaction by the associate.

Except there's one problem: adopting this model is challenging. It requires attention to detail, capable

Picture this: you have been working with a design firm for months on your dream headquarters project. They have designed an office space that is ready to fulfill your current and future needs based on your predictions. And it's beautiful. Your brand is clearly defined and carried out through the design, there are plenty of conference rooms and places to expand your quickly-growing call center, it has everything any millennial could want, and it all falls within the budget.

You’ve got the project approved from your board and you are ready to hit start. As you get farther along, your construction crew quickly tells you that some of your design features can’t be done at that price. Maybe you try to bid out the project or take some of the design features out so you can stay on budget. But the timeline gets further and further away from the projections you set—even

Millennials are taking the workforce by storm, and their buying power is hard to rival. This generation has flipped just about every industry on its head, and financial institutions can’t hide from them any longer. Especially with the transfer of wealth happening right before our eyes. So, how do you engage with this mysterious group?

We're here to help define the stages of life’s financial journey, as well as the things that your FI should focus on to increase ROI while helping clients. Starting with steps for servicing millennials:
Specialize
First, start with defining your target market. Not defining a specific target market is a pitfall for all companies and industries. Too many say their product or service is for everyone...are you guilty? While your product or service may technically be something that anyone could use, you want to focus your efforts on the target market that will benefit the most from your products

Happy Valentine's Day from the Purple Army.
CFM and DBSI are an iconic duo worthy of the history books, just like like Harry and Sally. That's why we channeled all the 80's greatness from the film, 'When Harry Met Sally', to create our own rad version of the love story. Tune in now!

The retail banking industry is a whole different game than it used to be - deposits are on the decline, transaction costs are increasing, and client expectations are always changing. Financial institutions are in need of a solution: one that provides customers with the personal touches they require for a positive experience without requiring a costly 1:1 interaction with a teller or associate just to complete a simple transaction.

You may be thinking, isn't this what ATMs are for? If so, good question. ATMs were the first shot at self-service machines, and while revolutionary, they are no longer smart enough to get the job done right. Capable of handling only the most basic of transactions, like pulling cash in $20 increments, these machines regularly let costly, simple transactions through to your line of tellers and associates - simply because they aren't as self-service as they claim to be. For example, an ATM can’t

More and more Financial Institutions are pivoting toward the Universal Associate model to evolve their branch experience and better connect with clients. In hundreds of branches across the country, this new approach to servicing clients has created a repeatable path to success by decreasing costs, increasing staff flexibility, and supercharging client engagement.

Despite the fact that many financial Institutions have already implemented universal associates as part of their branch transformation projects, we’ve learned that there are still plenty of you out there that have yet to make that transition. Your tellers are stuck at the line, your associates are glued to the chair in their office or cubicle, and your customers have to choose between one or the other depending on their needs. While in theory, this method makes sense, in reality it has some flaws. One of the most serious flaws being the lack of flexibility and the effect that it has on service.

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