Pub. 6 2016-2017 Issue 2

10 O V E R A C E N T U R Y : B U I L D I N G B E T T E R B A N K S - H E L P I N G C O L O R A D A N S R E A L I Z E D R E A M S FEATURE ARTICLE TOM O’ROURKE CENTER OF INFLUENCE Grow Your Business Through Centers of Influence Simply put, a Center of Influence (COI) is anyone who may send you referrals. Your most valuable COI’s will share a commonal- ity of doing business with or having personal relationships with the people who would most benefit from doing business with you. Instead of knocking on doors, or worse yet, waiting for the phone to ring, themost success- ful bankers source new and repeat business by consistently identifying and approaching COI’s. At the heart of this strategy is a per- manent commitment to an ongoing, precisely targeted relationship building process. COI’s can come in a variety shapes and sizes, but a few of the most logical COI’s for a banker to pursue include: • Personal networks of friends and family • Industry trade groups and associations • Commercial loan brokers • Non-bank direct lenders • Accountants D eveloping a strong Center of Inf lu- ence network is one of the smartest and most highly leveraged strate- gies that BDO’s and Business Bank- ers can use to grow their book of business. COI’s already have already built strong connections with your target audience. By leveraging these relationships you immediately stand out from the crowd.