Bankers have to “earn the right to win other business,” says Mark Beausoleil, director of retail banking at Valley National Bank, and those first impressions are key. The initial conversations help bankers fully familiarize themselves with clients’ financial footings and needs, all while crystallizing their mission to make clients’ “financial life easier,” he says. But at Frost Bank in Texas, the goal for initial conversations is “not to sell more products or services,” says Mary Soesbee, vice president of statewide consumer banking. Rather, bankers must learn about customers’ financial goals, educate them on account tools and fraud prevention and ultimately try building a “relationship that lasts for generations,” she says. Pushing a product that’s not a good fit leads to a “very confused and probably disillusioned client,” says Beausoleil, the Valley National banker. Frost Bank employees reach out proactively to new customers, to educate them on account features or fraud prevention, but also to learn more about their interests and goals. “When Frost bankers are making calls, the goal is to educate, discover, and build the relationship,” Soesbee, the Frost vice president, says. “We don’t use the term ‘cross-sell,’ and we don’t incentivize our bankers to do it.” And at Fifth Third, the first 90 days are centered around “helping you get started, funding your account, getting access to Zelle,” Shawn Niehaus, head of consumer banking at Ohio-based Fifth Third Bank says. First impressions are so critical that Fifth Third has focused on making the first moments smoother, including with a partnership with Atomic to help new customers switch their direct deposits within minutes. Those initial engagements don’t just help banks understand whether they’ll be a good fit for a certain products. They also help banks adapt their future outreach — how often to ping customers or whether they prefer phone calls, texts or app notifications. Some sophisticated clients just want a bit of help getting going. Others want more help, are wondering about specific products or indicate they’re more receptive to outreach, says Beausoleil. Once a customer is underway, Frost employees contact them at least three times within their first year. And the bank wants to make sure it’s reachable too, with 24/7 customer service by phone and live chat. Niehaus, the Fifth Third banker, says he’s been surprised at how effective phone calls have been — countering the notion that many no longer pick up the phone. It’s part of the “white glove treatment” Fifth Third aims to offer consumers, he says. Valley uses exit surveys to ask customers “what went wrong, so we can learn,” Beausoleil says. But it also measures client satisfaction with banker interactions along the way, prompting an immediate response from Valley to see if specific issues can be fixedThe company also works with mystery shoppers to see whether bankers are on track with their messaging that Valley wants to be customers’ long-term financial partners. At Fifth Third, the bank tracks complaints “very, very closely” to spot any potential trends and nip any issues in the bud, says Niehaus, the bank’s consumer banking head.