Credit Union Sales Performance Benchmarks

You and your C-suite executives work hard to ensure your credit union continues to grow. But how are you measuring your results? Are you competing with yourself by comparing today’s performance to last year, or are you tracking your results with no point of reference?

Your credit union does not operate in a vacuum, and neither should your key sales metrics. Benchmarking your sales performance — measuring your data and comparing it with industry peers — gives you true insight into your organization’s performance

Boosting sales is easier when you know what to measure. Below are the types of sales data your credit union should track.

What Credit Union Sales Benchmarks Should You Track? 

While there are many types of sales data your credit union could track, these benchmarks can help you gain the most actionable insights:

Member Engagement and Value

Other financial services providers are competing for the loyal members you want to serve. Track these metrics to compare your performance with other financial institutions and understand your share of the market:

• Member interest: How many potential new members reach out to learn about your services? How many new members sign up each month, and how many members leave each month? 
• Member value: How much does it cost to attract each new member? How many products does each member have with you, and what are the average loan and deposit balances per member?
• Member relationships: How often do members interact with your credit union, and do they provide referrals to their friends and family? Are referred individuals turning to your credit union for specific services and going elsewhere for other financial needs, or is your credit union becoming their primary financial institution?

Loan Growth

List the different types of loans your credit union offers, including auto loans and home loans, and track the growth or decline of each loan category. Compare the following data with that of peer financial institutions on a monthly, quarterly and annual basis:

• Loan-to-share ratios, comparing total loans to total shares
• Net charge-offs, or the amount of uncollectible debts, minus recovered debts 
• Number of defaults, divided by the number of outstanding loans
• Number of loans, originating at other institutions, that your credit union is refinancing
• The number of loan applications started and the number of loans funded

Product Penetration

Track product penetration — the uptake of specific products among your members — as it relates to your overall market share. Compare your number of product-holding members to the total number of potential members in your field of membership for specific products, such as checking accounts. You may need to increase retention or marketing efforts if other credit unions in your market have a higher market share.

For example, if other credit unions in your area are seeing growth in investments and your investments are declining, this could indicate an issue with your offering rather than with the market as a whole. It could also indicate that you are attracting members with different investment attitudes or demographics. 

To consider product-specific penetration, quantify the number and performance of members with multiple products, such as savings, checking accounts and lines of credit. If members use you for just one product but turn elsewhere for loans or other services, it is time to reexamine your offerings and strengthen member support

Branch-Level Performance 

Consider sales performance for your credit union as a whole. You can examine successful referrals between retail branches and specialized groups, such as mortgage or loan teams. Assess each branch’s performance for product penetration, member attraction and retention and loan growth. This data can help you determine whether specific branches need more support or whether adding branches is a better strategy for growing sales. 

Measure productivity and efficiency by reviewing revenue per full-time employee (FTE), as well as the number of new loans and members generated per employee. If your performance data does not measure up to that of peer institutions, consider whether sales training or setting different goals can help you see effective changes.

Top 4 Tips to Compare Your Credit Union Sales Performance 

When you are benchmarking your sales metrics for your credit union, here are some ways to make the most of what you learn:

1. Choose the right peer comparison: Instead of measuring against everyone, evaluate your sales performance against credit unions of a similar asset size and geographic location. Compare your credit union to three to five peer institutions.
2. Make it actionable: Examine monthly, quarterly or annual data and identify at least one actionable takeaway. If you fall short of the membership metrics of similar-sized credit unions, review their strategies and implement at least one change
3. Use technology: A sales benchmark platform makes it easy to gather, analyze, visualize and segment your metrics. Create reports to share with your executive team and integrate your findings with other data, including factors that directly impact revenue. For example, you can share new member data with your sales team so they understand which offerings attract the most interest right now. 
4. Look beyond benchmarks: While benchmarks are useful, keep the big picture in mind. Your goals should reflect factors such as your credit union's size, establishment history and current offerings. 

How ServiStar Consulting Can Help

ServiStar Consulting is a Credit Union Service Organization (CUSO) owned by three credit unions and dedicated to helping other credit unions drive sales, enhance their culture, improve membership experiences and develop leadership. If you have noticed that your sales performance data does not measure up with that of similar credit unions, or if you are looking to grow your credit union, let us help. 

We can develop customized solutions to serve your executives, employees and managers. Our team offers on-demand courses, onsite training and workshops and live webinars and events. We customize solutions that fit into your learning culture and provide ongoing training to help your staff develop sales skills. 

Our certified virtual presenters and experienced instructors offer credit-union-specific training with clear examples and practical tips. We use academic-level research and years of practical experience to help our clients achieve measurable results. When you partner with us, you gain access to industry news and resources. Explore our educational videos, articles, podcasts and eBooks to learn more.

Contact ServiStar Consulting for Actionable Blueprints

Measuring and benchmarking is the first step. Your next effort should transform your insights into changes that drive powerful growth. At ServiStar Consulting, we help credit unions achieve significant improvements in key performance indicators. We're committed to helping you build happier, stronger and more engaged credit union teams. 

We partner with the Filene Research Institute to uncover the behaviors and traits of high-performing leaders and employees within the credit union industry. We use this groundbreaking research to shape everything we do. Our solutions are tailored to the opportunities and challenges your credit union faces. 

As a CUSO, we offer custom workshops to help you build a thriving, member-centric culture. We offer leadership development, service training and sales training to support your credit union staff at any stage in their professional journey. Our experts can walk you through our offerings, answer your questions and help you feel confident making informed decisions. 

Schedule a call to learn more and get started.