3 Common Mistakes in Treasury Management Sales

Selling Treasury Management (TM) services takes a different approach than selling loans or deposits. It’s about solving problems and improving your business customer’s financial operations. Yet even experienced TM professionals sometimes fall into habits that reduce effectiveness.

Here are three of the most common mistakes in Treasury Management sales and how to fix them.

1. Leading With Services Instead of Discovery

One of the biggest pitfalls is starting a sales conversation with a list of available services. Customers tune out when they hear a service catalog. What they want to know is whether you understand their business.

The fix:
Begin with discovery. Ask open-ended questions that uncover real pain points:

• How do you currently manage payables and receivables?
• What takes the most time each week in your cash flow process?
• How do you monitor fraud or unauthorized activity?

Once you understand their processes, you can connect TM solutions directly to their business outcomes - saving time, improving visibility, or reducing fraud exposure. That connection is what earns trust and drives sales.

2. Overlooking the Onboarding Experience

Many banks lose customers not because the sale went poorly, but because onboarding did. The onboarding process is often rushed, poorly communicated, or handed off without coordination.

The fix:
Treat onboarding as part of the sales process.

• Set clear expectations up front about timelines and responsibilities.
• Stay involved during onboarding, even if another department manages setup.
• Schedule a follow-up call after the first 30 days to ensure everything works as promised.

A smooth implementation experience reinforces your credibility and sets the stage for future cross-sells.

3. Ignoring Internal Collaboration

TM sales are rarely won in isolation. Success depends on close coordination with lenders, operations, and support. Yet many TM teams operate independently, missing chances to deepen relationships.

The fix:

• Partner with lenders early in the relationship cycle.
• Share customer insights with operations so they can anticipate needs.
• Provide regular updates to management to keep TM visible.

When departments work together, customers experience consistency and builds confidence in your institution.

Action Steps

• Review your current sales conversations. Are they service-first or discovery-first?
• Audit your onboarding process for communication gaps.
• Schedule joint meetings with lenders to identify shared opportunities.

Avoiding these three common mistakes transforms your TM team from service peddlers into problem solvers. That’s where long-term growth happens.

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