Why do banks make it so hard to do business with them?!?!
My wife is planning on opening a dog daycare in our town.
We have the business plan and we’ve done the research. There are 11,910 households that own at least one dog within a 15-minute radius of our location. This represents 44.6% of households in the area. Each dog owner is a potential customer. We can’t lose!!! The closest competition is 15 miles away. We’ve even found the perfect location. Now, all we need is right bank or credit union to partner with for the loan that will get us started.
Being a marketer focused solely on community banks and credit unions, I first talked to one of each and neither was comfortable lending to stat-ups. They both recommended I try a larger bank.
GREAT IDEA GUY! HERE’S WHAT HAPPENED…
I walk into Larger Bank A (I won’t name Huntington for their own anonymity). The branch is in my backyard and I just want to get the name of their closest commercial lender. The teller can’t help, so I ask for the branch manager.
Now, I’m in the branch 5 minutes after closing and the only customer in the building. The teller types a text to the branch manager … who I can see in an office, 30 feet away, with an open door.
The branch manager, yells past me back to the teller (doesn’t return the typed message), “What does he want?”
Y’all, you know that I do this for a living and I have a limited tolerance for this kind of ignorance.
Want proof? Check out the article from my latest round of bank and credit union shops here.
So, I yell back to the branch manager, “I’m right here, I can see you, no need to talk past me.”
That poor commercial lender was screwed before I ever got their name … I moved on.
Next, I went online to the “Business” tab of Larger Bank B and found the list of SBA specialists. I called the one assigned to my region and heard an automated voice that asked me for my PIN. “My what, now?” I tried to “0” out and got hung up on. Surely, this is MY error, so I slowly dialed the number again – double checking before pressing “send.” Same thing.
So, now I’m 4 for 4. Two institutions who are too small to fund a start-up and two that are simply too big to care.
People, I share this with you because I love you … and I care. There are 6,799 commercial banks in America and an additional 6,143 credit unions. People have choices. And there is SOMEONE in every burg in this great land that will be willing to help. Just like we finally found someone to work with us on the dog daycare.
If you are fortunate enough to have a warm body choose YOU to partner with, don’t blow it!
Love this Bank & Credit Union marketing blog?
Get the book! Click here to download “Aha Moments,” our
free ebook, chock-full of 80 short articles like this.
In addition to being a strategic consultant for community banks and credit unions, MarketMatch also has nationally and internationally requested speakers. Contact us to bring our marketing ideas to your institution or next conference.
See our story here. (click)
Or email me directly (click)
937-371-2461
Follow us on Twitter @MarketMatch
