Finding the right banking partner
If you are a business owner in our Central Mass. region, you could use a "partner." No, I’m not talking about someone found in the other corner office. I’m talking about making your bank representative your business banking "partner."
Have you ever thought about how the right banking "partner" could become a great ally in the growth of your company? The successful business owner considers their banker as vital to their firm as their attorney or CPA. Be sure to actively seek your banker’s counsel when embarking on new projects and directions for your business.What are the issues that concern business owners in our region? They are the same topics that are on the minds of most of the business world: efficient operations, increased profits, long-term security, tangible growth, and the "know-how" to make it all possible. Your banker has invaluable expertise to share, developed through years of assessing and advising on similar matters. Whatever the daunting challenges or exciting opportunities you encounter, your banker should be at your side, poised to evaluate and assist. Your business banker should be dedicated to seeing your business succeed, and remain involved and committed for the long term.
I’m sure you would agree that trust is at the core of any successful business banking relationship. Trust is built by communication that is very much a "two-way street." Both the business owner and banker should keep each other informed of new developments. I couldn’t stress this enough. Whether you discuss changes in your business operations or new financial products and services that can help grow your company, strive to maintain regular contact with your business banking partner during good times, but especially when you must confront tough challenges.
A good case study for this type of partnership is the business-banking program at Fidelity Bank, which is guided by an approach that we call "LifeDesign." It is a holistic method of building a comprehensive understanding of each client’s unique needs, opportunities, and challenges. How do we begin the process? By asking the right questions. That way, our relationship managers — think of them like a primary care physician – establish a solid foundation with the client, one that is intended to last the lifetime of a business.
Through this system, our professionals can recommend the precise products, services, and LifeDesign specialists best suited to accomplish the tasks at hand. These services cover a broad range of business needs. To mention just a few: cash management, lines of credit, equipment loans, commercial real estate loads, succession and estate planning, and employee benefits.
Planning for the future is important to all of us. Take the important steps that will ensure that your company is well positioned to succeed. Having a business banking relationship that acknowledges and attends to your life goals, as well as your hopes for your business (often they are intertwined!), is essential. A banker who knows your neighborhood and community intimately understands the importance of your family life. Such a banker also keeps the bank decision-making process localized, and has a vested interest in the success of your business and becomes an active business "partner."
That’s a significant asset to have, today and for many years to come.
Michael D. Hewitt is executive vice president and chief financial designer at
Fidelity Bank, Fitchburg
(www.fidelitybankonline.com)
WBJ Web Partners
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