Pub. 6 2016-2017 Issue 2

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 September • October 2016 11 Call us today at 303.860.0242 or refer a small business anytime at coloradoenterprisefund.org Financing startups and existing businesses up to $500K plus SBA loans up to $250K Dragonfly Apparel Celebrating YEARS OF IMPACT • Attorneys • Commercial real estate brokers • Financial advisors • Title companies • Other bankers The BDO’s Current Challenge Today’s bankingmarket has become commoditized, leaving you with a sizeable challenge: How do you differentiate your- self, your bank, and your offerings? How do you break through all of the clutter and noise associated with traditional and digital marketing channels? Channel communications such as these are anonymous, which means they struggle to establish the trust that BDO’s and business bankers know is vital in our relationship business. So howdo youmost effectively stand out from the crowd and quickly establish this trust and credibility? The trick is to create a system that allows you to piggy back on well established relationships. COI’s already have already built strong connections with your target audience. By lever- aging these relationships you immediately stand out from the crowd. Warm introductions come with a built-in level of trust that no amount of advertising, direct mail, SEO, or anything else could ever provide. In other words, a COI marketing strategy comes with built in differentiation that immediately sets you apart from any and all competitors. Properly targeted and managed COI relationships will ultimately become a two-way street with bankers providing warm handoffs in turn. This mutually beneficial, win-win approach in effect turns you and your COI’s into an outsourced “salesforce” for each other. There is nothing better or more productive than sending opportunities back and forth and getting deals done. Your COI Game Plan COI marketing has the potential to pay instant and long- term dividends. But how do BDO’s and business bankers deploy the right COI strategy? What is the most effective way to roll out a new campaign? The first step is perfecting your mindset. The starting point is making a commitment to develop and execute your new strategy. Without this commitment, other tasks will inevitably usurp your attention and energy. After that commitment is in place, here are “Three COI Mindset Commandments” that will help you perfect your COI mindset. 1. You must be passionate about your work and the bank that you work for. Youmust know and believe that you are special, that the bank you work for is amazing, and that this is the reason you’ve chosen to work there. You and your bank are one. To reflect this, use “we”, “us” and “our” vs “I”, “them” and “they” throughout all of your conversations. This language is a subtle change that will significantly (and subconsciously) differenti- ate you and your bank in the marketplace. 2. You must enjoy the relationship development process. You need to truly enjoy meeting people and creating win-win value propositions. This includes proactive outreach and extending yourself, possibly outside your old comfort zone. Your focus here should be on scheduling in-person appointments with COI’s to share more about who you are, what makes you and your bank special, and how you can help your COI’s provide value to their relationships and the clients they serve. Most importantly, you need to enjoy learning more about your COI’s, what their pain points are, and how they think that you can help them. Asking a lot of questions, actively listening, and doing less talking is a common-sense strategy that works. 3. You must believe in and show how you and your solu- tions provide value. Clearly define your target custom- ers so that your COI knows the type of opportunities you can help with. This allows them to set accurate expectations with potential referrals and, quite frankly, to avoid wasting their time or your time. Finally, pres- ent your value proposition so that you are doing your COI a favor by assisting their referrals, rather coming across as asking them to do you a favor to help you be successful. Positioning yourself as a “giver” vs “taker” is a major selling point. With this mindset in place, you will be positioned to start the concrete actions and tasks that will launch and expand your COI network. In the next edition of Colorado Banker we will outline step by step tactics for opening doors, pitching COIs, and maintaining the long term top of mind awareness that is needed to generate repeat referrals. 