Bank Mergers: The deal closed. Proudly promote your new prowess.

In addition to the organic customer calling that has taken place since the announcement, you will have a customer calling blitz as well.

That is a concentrated effort to go to the customer’s place of business for a face- to-face meeting.

The goal of the calling blitz is to make certain you can alleviate any fears they might have regarding their own business being disrupted.

It may seem like you just did this.

You did within the past 90 days, but following the closing of the merger it will need to be done again.

Never be concerned with over communicating.

Your competition has been calling on your customers non-stop since the announcement.

They are likely going to ramp it up further, post-closing.

It is important also to understand that switching to a competitor comes at a cost.

It is very disruptive to your customer’s business.

What customers really want is to not have their bank become a distraction to what they do on a day-to-day basis.

They want to know that the calling officer they have invested time and effort into understanding their business will be the same.

They want to know they are not going to be going through abrupt product or pricing changes without an ability to smoothly incorporate the changes into their business.

And they want to know the “new guys,” know who they are, respect them, and have a desire to do business with them.

If you aren’t making the overtures on a frequent basis, the customer will fill in the blanks in their mind about how they will be treated in the future.

They will be more open to taking calls from the competition and may not move right away, but each of those calls from the competition could potentially weaken the relationship.

The customers are less interested in logo items and statements about who you are.

Those statements may be true but are boring and have no meaning because they are said by everybody all the time.

“We want to be your trusted advisor.”

It’s pointless noise if those words are not accompanied by actions.

There is a natural tendency to turn inward and focus on the changes going on in your own world post-closing, but that urge needs to be tempered with the need to call on customers.

If the new senior credit officer can accompany you on calls, it is even better.

Meeting a key decision maker with the new bank is important to your customers. It shows your customers they are valued by the bank.

The top 10 or even the top 20 customers may warrant meeting the new CEO with you.

Prep the new CEO in advance of the meeting even if they don’t ask for it.

Instruct relationship managers to put together a briefing document that identifies the key players in the business, how long the business has been around, a brief financial snapshot, what is important to them, why they bank with you, what they may be interested in hearing about from the new CEO, the extent of the relationship with the bank and deliver it to the CEO at least 24 hours in advance of the meeting.

The relationship manager needs to understand if they do this, they will become the go-to person for the CEO.

Help them out.

Their value will rise, and the customer will feel appreciated.

It’s the right thing to do.

Instruct the relationship managers to do the same for the senior credit officer too.

Even though the senior credit officer is very aware who the customer is from the due diligence process, make it easy for them.

The relationship manager will be seen at a higher level in their eyes as well because you prepare, and your value will continue to rise.

Action Plan:

• Think through who those top customers are for your bank.
• Make a list and prioritize the list.
• How would you present each customer to the buyer of your bank?
• What would the buyer want to know about each customer?
• What would each customer want to know about the buyer?

Your path will:

• Inform your strategic plan.
• Guide your annual business plan and budget.
• Clarify priorities.
• Define your message so it can be communicated with confidence.

This is how savvy bankers navigate.

They build smart and valuable banks and choose the best time to sell – serving the needs of the shareholders and the board.

I hope you found this short lesson helpful.

What are your thoughts?

I’ll see you next week.