Christopher V. Flett

This week, I’m doing a bunch of work with banks in the US. Many of these institutions have realized (after facing the abyss) that they need to go back to the old school model of banking. Lending money to people that can afford it, supporting their small business clientele and professional, and doing more for their community then offering banking services. Banks like Umpqua, I’ve been a fan of since 2006 when I first did some work with their senior lenders. This bank models its branches like the hotel atriums of 5 star hotels. Rather than reception, there’s a concierge type desk. Free resources, cookies, coffee, and beverages as well as magazines for people to come in and browse. The best part, everyone is welcome, whether you are a client or not. Guess what? Many non-clients become clients simply by ‘experiencing’ the difference of Umpqua compared to other lenders in the market.The US is a competitive banking market. Our coaches work with financial services in Australia, Canada, the US, and the UK. Of all, the US is the most competitive. I expect US banks to do something different because they have to.

The Canadian banking industry has a reputation (among trainers) as being slow with uptake of programs that are outside of financial services. Experiencing this first hand, I was pleased when HSBC approached me to do some business seminars for their market. They wanted to take a leadership role in their community by having me come out to Greater Toronto and offer four sessions focused on Business Development (Ethical Negotiations, Building Champions, Selling to Men, and The 10 Deadly Sins of Business Development). These are very popular seminars and were great choices for HSBC.

I asked them, “Are you making these available to your high-value clientele?” Their response was, “No, we want to make these available to everyone. You shouldn’t have to be a client in order to get good business information. We want any business owner or professional who would like to add tools to their kit to be able to do so, regardless of their financial institution affiliation.” I have to admit that this is a FIRST in the Canadian market and something that caught mw off guard. HSBC is changing the status quo for their market and I’m happy to be involved.

They were willing to foot the bill for me to come out and do the training personally and are renting space at the Congress Centre to host the events. Each seminar is going to be 60 minutes long and will provide participants with real world tools to build a business model in today’s environment. When we offer these seminars publicly, we charge $99.oo per person. HSBC is picking up the cost for everyone that comes.

A handful of their team began inviting the market (both their clients and those that weren’t clients) to the events. I’m impressed to say the least that HSBC is stepping out of the traditional routine of financial services and championing business owners and professionals in their markets. Not only is it a huge step of goodwill, but it sets the tempo that banks today are going to go back to the fundamentals that helped them grown. Supporting the clients that support them and supporting the markets in which they operate. I should add that not only is HSBC the first bank to do something like this in Canada, but they were the ones who approached us.

If you are in the area and you’d like to join us (sessions happening March 30/31), drop us a note at: admin@ghostceo.com and we’ll wiggle you in for one (or all of the sessions.) It will be time well spent and your bottom line will thank you. Regardless of where you are, I challenge you to go into your local banker and ask them a simple question: “What are you doing to support your business/professional clients?” It’s time that institutions follow the lead of Umpqua and HSBC in being more than just a lender in today’s business world.

Cheers,

C/