Normally this wouldn't be a big deal but the notable characteristic of these applications is that they were all from people who opened checking accounts for her in the last two weeks. These people went to a financial institution with the sole purpose of opening an account to get insurance!
Anybody who has been in the business a while knows how rare these occasions are. Naturally I had to ask what she does to get them to open accounts.
Here are the steps she uses to get them to take the initiative to open an account:
Step 1: Find out why they don't have an account. Almost always its because the bank is charging them too many fees and they feel its cheaper to deal exclusively in cash.
Step 2: Show them how much money they are spending on money orders. Typically money orders cost between .50 and $3.00. If the average person has 6 bills they pay monthly, that is an expense of $3.00-$18.00/month. Yearly, that is $36.00-$432! Ask them, 'If I gave you $432 right now, what could you do with it?'
Step 3: Provide them with a list of credit unions/banks that have zero to low fees. Marilyn says she called around to all the financial institutions in her area and she had the most luck with credit unions.
Step 4: Motivate and follow up with them to open the account.
That's it! Talk about simple. Thanks Marilyn.