Articles

Enhancing Your Relationship with Your Banker - Part 2

BUSINESS TIPS FROM THE EDITOR

February 2025

Richard T. Hendee, Editor
The Silver Fox Advisor

“Enhancing Your Relationship with Your Banker - Part 2 ”

In the January 2025 edition of the Silver Fox Advisor, I published Part 1 of my “Enhancing Your Relationship with Your Banker” article. In this February 2025 edition, I am including the second installment, which will conclude this series. 

Part 2 is a “Top 10 List” of things business owners should do to stand out with their bankers so they get their phone calls or e-mails returned, hopefully the same day. 

   10.  Maintain ALL insurance coverages that may be required by loan agreements and provide copies to your banker. 
     9.  Pay ALL taxes (sales taxes, payroll taxes, property taxes, franchise taxes, income taxes) on time and provide your banker proof of payments if required. 
     8.  Provide current and COMPLETE Personal Tax Returns – Including the K’1’s
     7.  Provide current and DETAILED Personal Financial Statements – Include the value of your business(s) and explain the basis of your valuation (book value, fair market value, multiple of earnings, or some other valuation). 
      6.  Provide current and COMPLETE Business Tax Returns, with all schedules. 
      5. Provide current and DETAILED Business Financial Statements - including Accounts Payable and Receivable aging schedules.
      4.  DO NOT overdraw your checking accounts.
      3.  PLAN AHEAD (give your banker enough time to review any requests and get approval if needed).
      2.  DON’T surprise your banker.
      1. Maintain an OPEN LINE of communication at all times (don’t go silent with your banker even if you have some not-so-good news to share). 

If you stop and think about these points, there is really nothing here that you would probably not expect if you were sitting on the your banker’s side of the desk!
  
If you need help with dealing with your bank or banker, I would recommend you seek an experienced business advisor, coach, consultant or mentor with a financial or business background for your Company: Contact a Silver Fox Advisor. Remember, having experience on your side always helps. 

We encourage you to visit our Website at www.silverfox.org or www.silverfoxadvisors.com to select a Silver Fox Advisor and also to learn more about the Silver Fox Advisors and their businesses, as well as our great programs and community outreach endeavors.     

The Customer Experience is King

Richard Hendee
Silver Fox Advisor
February 2025

Recently I saw a business marketing article with the title – “The Customer Experience is King”. Having a background and experience in finance I have heard and even said “Cash is King”, which when you are having a conversation about finances “Cash is King”. But the more I thought about “The Customer Experience is King”, I can see how the two phrases tie together. Let me explain.

If a business does not have any competition, then a customer’s experience isn’t really important; however, most businesses have competitors, and if a customer has a bad or not-so-good experience, for whatever reason, with a business, then the customer likely will stop using that business and go across the street where a similar business provides a satisfactory or great experience, even if it costs more to do so! Thus, “The Customer Experience is King”. This leads to my assertion:  If the business doesn’t have customers buying its product or services, then it doesn’t have any sales, so it doesn’t have any cash!!

You may be saying to yourself, I don’t have that problem, all my customers love us, what we sell, and how we deliver our product(s) and service(s) to them, but do they? Your customers’ experience with your business is only as good as your employees who deliver it. How do you check your customers’ experience with your business?

Here are a few suggestions:

I am sure you can even think of some additional ways to verify that your customers are receiving the customer experience that you expect.  

If you need assistance in reviewing and identifying some customer experience  factors that you can build on, I recommend you seek a business advisor, consultant or mentor: Contact a Silver Fox Advisor. Remember, having experience on your side always helps. We encourage you to visit our Website at www.silverfox.org to select a Silver Fox Advisor and also to learn more about the Silver Fox Advisors, as well as our great programs and community outreach endeavors.