Loading...

Five steps to become a trusted advisor

Published: March 10, 2015 by Guest Contributor

The follow blog is by Kyle Enger, Executive Vice President of Finagraph

With the surge of alternative lenders, competition among banks is stronger than ever. But what exactly does that mean for the everyday banker?

It means business owners want more. If you’re only meeting your clients once a year on a renewal, it’s not good enough. In order to take your customer service to the next level, you need to become a trusted advisor. Someone who understands where your clients are going and how to help them get there. If you’re not investing in your clients’ business by taking the following actions, they may have one foot out the door.

1.       Understand your clients’ business

One of the biggest complaints from business owners is that bankers simply don’t understand their business. A good commercial banker should be well-versed in their borrower’s company, competitors and the industry. They should be willing to get to know their business, commit to them, stop by to check-in and provide a proactive plan to avoid future risks.

 2.       Utilize technology for your benefit

The majority of recent bank innovations have been used to make the customer experience more convenient, but not necessarily the more helpful. We’ve seen everything from mobile remote deposit capture to online banking to mobile payments – all of which are keeping customers from interacting with the bank.

Contrary to what many think, technology can be used to create strong relationships by giving bankers information about their customers to help serve them better. Using new software programs, bankers can see information like the current ratio, quick ratio, debt-to-equity, gross margin, net margin and ROI within seconds.

3.       Heighten financial acumen

Banks have access to a vast amount of customer financial data, but sometimes fail to use this information to its full potential. With insight into consumer purchasing behavior and business’ financial history, banks should be able to cater products and services to clients in a personalized manner. However, many lenders walk into prospect meetings without knowing much about the business. Their mode of operation is solely focused on trying to secure new clients by building rapport – they are what we call surface bankers.

A good banker will educate clients on what they need to know such as equity, inventory, cash flow, retirement planning and sweep accounting. They should also know about new technology and consult borrowers on intermediate financing, terming out loans that are not revolving, or locking in with low interest rates. Following, they will bring in the right specialist to match the product according to their clients’ needs.

 4.       Go beyond the price

Many business owners make the mistake of comparing banks based on cost, but the value of a healthy banking relationship and a financial guide is priceless. So many bankers these days are application gatherers working on a transactional basis, but that’s not what business owners need. They need to stop looking at the short-term convenience of brands, price and location, and start considering the long-term effects a trusted financial advisor can make on their business.

5.       A partner in your business, not a banker

“Sixty percent of businesses are misfinanced using short-term money for long-term use,” according to the CEB Business Banking Board. In other words, there are many qualified candidates in need of a trusting banker to help them succeed. Unbeknownst to many business owners, bankers actually want to make loans and help their clients’ business grow. Making this known is the baseline in building a strong foundation for the future of your career. Just remember to ask yourself – am I being business-centric or bank-centric?

To view the original blog posting, click here.

To read more about the collaboration between Experian and Finagraph, click here.

Related Posts

Experian experts provided insight on how data furnishers can help support small businesses amidst the pandemic while complying with recent regulations.

Published: April 15, 2020 by Laura Burrows

It’s important for lenders to get a comprehensive view to find the most qualified candidates. Using alternative credit data can expand your choices.

Published: July 9, 2019 by Kelly Nguyen

The 2019 report reveals new consumer and lending insights, an overview of the regulatory landscape, and what's next for machine learning and alt data.

Published: May 22, 2019 by Stefani Wendel

Subscription title for insights blog

Description for the insights blog here

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Categories title

Lorem Ipsum is simply dummy text of the printing and typesetting industry. Lorem Ipsum has been the industry's standard dummy text ever since the 1500s, when an unknown printer took a galley of type and scrambled it to make a type specimen book.

Subscription title 2

Description here
Subscribe Now

Text legacy

Contrary to popular belief, Lorem Ipsum is not simply random text. It has roots in a piece of classical Latin literature from 45 BC, making it over 2000 years old. Richard McClintock, a Latin professor at Hampden-Sydney College in Virginia, looked up one of the more obscure Latin words, consectetur, from a Lorem Ipsum passage, and going through the cites of the word in classical literature, discovered the undoubtable source.

recent post

Learn More Image