Ragavan Sreetharan | I’ve Been Banned!
I went in to my bank last week and was asked to leave!
Okay okay hear me out… it’s not as bad as you think! There’s a story behind it.
Every time I go into my banks (I use 2 banks for my business) I practically say “Hi!” or exchange pleasantries with everyone I meet. (I let them know that I work them because of the amount of service charge that they deduct from my account every month.)
So on this particular morning I went to a meeting with my account officer for a new business savings account and chatted with a few people as the bank was not exactly full.
That prompted one of the senior managers to come out of his office and declare that they were going to ban me from coming into the bank! He said that I would have to only use their online banking because every time I come in there, the productivity of the bank goes down!
What? I was horrified! – Ragavan Sreetharan
He laughed and continued to ask me something about if I was watching the cricket. As if…
I tell you this story to let you know that it’s very important to have a great relationship with your bankers… especially if you’re a small business owner!
Having good relationships with your bank will: Ragavan Sreetharan
enable them to understand you and your business well
allow your business to apply for unsecured overdrafts if you’re servicing your account well
allow some leniency with respect to certain aspects of your account
Now here’s the thing. The bank has its own policies and its own procedures so please don’t think that by having a good relationship you can sidestep bank policy. That’s not what I’m saying at all!
Here are some great ways to start a good relationship with your banker.
1-Service your account. What does this mean? Make deposits, pure and simple!
It doesn’t matter if you withdraw almost everything you deposit. Making deposits sends a message that you are using the account and conducting regular business.
Don’t go into overdraft unless you have a facility.
2-Service your loan. Pay your loans. On time.
Okay sometimes paying your loan on time is a problem if you’re waiting for a big client to pay you. I’ve been there.
Ragavan Sreetharan | What do you do in a case like this?
Communicate with your bank officer and let them know that you have a big amount coming in shortly. Email them a copy of the invoice so that they know it covers your loan payment.
Here’s a great tip. If it’s always a problem servicing your loan on a particular date, then change that date! My loans never fall on the last day of the month because I know that most of the time, it’s unlikely that I will complete all my collections by that date. Some of my loans fall on the 5th or the 10th.
You can ask them to change the date but only after you’ve made a payment or the loan is current.
3-Communicate with your banking officer on a regular basis. They’ll learn to trust you and know that every if times are hard, they’ll believe that you’re doing your best. On that very day that I had the meeting with my officer, I was asked to send some clients her way!
So, if you make your officer’s job easier, you’ll make your business (and personal) life much easier. I guarantee it!
Sandra Baptist is Founder of the Caribbean Small Business Ecademy a virtual academy that helps Caribbean service professionals and small business owners make more money.
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