Three branch managers received top honors at North Shore Bank’s annual awards presentation in October. Shorelines talked to these leaders and their own managers about why they succeeded in 2017.

Robin Callis, Burlington
Robin maxed out in three categories: credit cards, investments, and lending. She also kept her branch’s performance high while dealing with more turnover than usual.

“In spite of the staff turnover over the past 18 months, we were able to keep our focus on the customer,” Robin says. “Actually, it might have been the turnover that kept us focused – each of us knew that we had to do ‘just a little extra’ to keep our pipeline full. Everyone pulled together to accomplish what we needed to do.”

She adds: “I now have a very motivated staff, and we all work well together. My tellers give great referrals, and my banker does a phenomenal job with QQCs and follow-up. We keep each other on track by having internal contests and competitions.”

Robin’s supervisor, district manager Brian Bozek, says: “Robin is a proven sales leader — her Burlington team maxed out in three of four sales categories this year. She is also a dedicated coach and follows the SOAR routines on a daily, weekly, and monthly basis. She is also very focused on community outreach. Robin is on the advisory board for the Racine/Kenosha Asset Builders Money Conference and also a member of the Burlington Chamber of Commerce board of directors.”

Joline Lazarski, Southwest
Joline has been named a top branch manager five times now — three times at Oak Creek and twice at Southwest. She maxed out credit cards and investments, and she and her staff had strong conversations with customers in 2017, as well as getting good customer service scores.

“One of the biggest things is always working closely with our customers to make sure the products and services that we provide them are what is in their best interest,” Joline says. “My staff and I know we will never sell our customers anything — instead, we problem-solve and find solutions that help them, and our goal is consistency: helping someone every day. I have specifically worked with my staff on identifying customers’ needs through conversations, and figuring out how to get them to one of the bankers or me to meet those needs. We build trust with our customers by keeping conversations simple and focusing on their current lives to help them.”

She adds: “The truth is, I just do what’s best for my customers, and the numbers come. I don’t try to win — I just take one day at a time, and try to be consistent and help my employees grow.”

Joline’s supervisor, district manager Lauri Lunde, says: “Joline is dedicated to helping her customers achieve their financial goals, and she has brought that dedication to her entire team. By doing what is right for the customer each and every day, they were able to exceed their production goals. This hard work and dedication resulted in a great year for the branch and for her.”

Katie Presser, Pulaski
Katie is a repeat winner, after being named a top manager while at Muskego last year. She maxed out in credit cards and investments, and led her team to have better conversations with customers.

“We started the fiscal year as almost a brand-new team, with more than half of our staff joining us without prior banking experience,” Katie says. “Throughout the year, we focused a lot on the basics, such as using benefit statements, landing solutions in the lives of our customers, and asking one more question to have quality conversations. We also spent time getting to know each other and learning how to support and encourage each other to achieve our individual and branch goals. We understood that working together as a team meant we were helping our customers achieve their goals. Lastly, we celebrated our successes and made time to have fun along the way!”

Her supervisor, district manager Kerri Collins, says: “Katie is a very creative manager. She has the ability to create a fun work environment and leads by example to ensure we are delivering a great customer experience. Katie does an excellent job coaching her team to ask benefit questions and use benefit statements to uncover the needs of our customers.”

Congratulations to all three of our top branch managers! Awesome work all around. Keep it up for 2018!