~9 min read
What you'll learn
  • Why solo treasury sales calls underperform
  • The org structure that makes joint calls work
  • How to run a joint call
  • How to track referral flow between bankers

The joint TMO and Relationship Manager call

Solo treasury calls leave money on the table.

A Treasury Management Officer can sell Positive Pay alone. It just works much better when the Relationship Manager is in the room. The RB has the existing relationship, the trust, and the door. The TMO has the product knowledge and the closing skill. Together, close rates climb significantly.

One community FI tracked this directly. When their TMOs joined RB calls on commercial prospects, close rates were notably higher than solo calls. One regional leader specifically called out a TMO being in the room as the reason a prospect signed up for nearly every treasury service offered.

The org structure that makes it work.

At the FIs that do this well, the structure looks like this: TMOs report to a Chief Retail Officer, with a dotted-line working relationship to Regional Presidents and the Relationship Managers under them. The TMO is not buried in operations. They're a sales resource the RBs can pull into any commercial conversation.

The TMO also sits in on RB pipeline reviews. When an RB reports on who they're calling, the TMO can say "I can help you with that one." That's how treasury opportunities get surfaced before the RB closes the loan and the deposit conversation goes cold.

"When you bring the Treasury Management Officer into that conversation, it just goes much, much better."

Chief Retail Officer, $1B+ community FI, 5 branches

How to run a joint call.

The RB opens. They own the relationship, so they set the room. The RB frames why treasury services matter to this specific business, then hands to the TMO.

The TMO runs discovery (covered in Lesson 3.2), not a pitch. They ask about the business's payment processes and vulnerabilities. Positive Pay comes up as the answer to a problem the business just described, not as a product being sold.

The RB closes or sets the next step. They own the follow-through because they own the relationship.

Track the referral flow.

Measure how many PP and treasury referrals come from Relationship Managers versus other sources. One community FI tracked just over 50 referrals in a single month, with more than half coming from relationship managers. That number tells you whether your joint-call motion is actually working or whether it's a slide in a deck nobody runs.

Do this

Get your TMO a standing seat in your Relationship Managers' pipeline reviews this quarter. That single change surfaces more treasury opportunities than any campaign.

What's next.

Lesson 3.2 gives you the discovery questions that open the Positive Pay conversation.

Self-check

3 quick questions

Why do joint TMO and Relationship Manager calls outperform solo treasury calls?
A They're cheaper
B The RB brings the relationship and the door; the TMO brings the product knowledge and the close
C They're required by regulation
D They take less time
Correct. The RB has the trust and the access. The TMO has the knowledge and the close. Together they outperform either alone.
Not quite. The combination works because the RB brings the relationship and access while the TMO brings the product knowledge and the close.
Where should TMOs sit in the org structure for joint calls to work?
A Buried in operations
B As a sales resource with a working relationship to Regional Presidents and Relationship Managers
C Reporting directly to the CEO only
D In a separate building
Correct. The TMO needs to be a pull-able sales resource for RBs — not buried in operations where they're invisible to the commercial team.
Not quite. TMOs need to be positioned as a sales resource with a working relationship to Regional Presidents and RBs, not buried in operations.
What's the single change that surfaces the most treasury opportunities?
A A new marketing campaign
B Hiring more TMOs
C Getting the TMO a standing seat in RB pipeline reviews
D Lowering PP pricing
Correct. A standing seat in pipeline reviews lets the TMO hear about opportunities before the RB closes the loan and the deposit conversation goes cold.
Not quite. Getting the TMO a standing seat in RB pipeline reviews surfaces more opportunities than any campaign or hire.