Strategic Connections

4

Develop Trusting Relationships

Strategic Connections: Reach Out in the Community

At a large bank, executives from a three-state region got together. They weren’t satisfied with the results from their relationship managers. Those people had been told, “Reach out to entrepreneurs.” But the RMs were struggling to sign up small businesses as clients. One executive said, “I’ve seen how they approach potential customers. They say, ‘Hi, I’m Bob. Here’s my card, in case you need any banking services.’” Another chimed in, “They join organizations, but don’t know how to get visible and position the bank and our services in such a way that we get the business.” A third agreed, “They don’t know what to do and say to make sure that contacts become clients.” ...