While Vertical IQ is used by a wide array of professionals — from accountants to financial advisors to business consults — the original idea for the product was inspired by the firsthand experiences of our founders, who were bankers. The latest installment in our popular webinar series, “How Experienced Financial Services Professionals Use Vertical IQ,” focused on some of the practical ways top bankers from across the country are incorporating Industry Intelligence into their processes. Our esteemed panel for this discussion included
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- Anthony Aceto, Market Manager at 1st Security Bank on the Olympic Peninsula in Washington State
- Brad Briney, Director of Treasury Management for corporate and specialty teams at Old National Bank in Indianapolis
- Mark Papoccia, Chief Member Experience Officer at Vantage West Credit Union in Arizona
- Michael Tourony, Business Banking Relationship Manager at Bank OZK (formerly known as Bank of the Ozarks)
- Will Vazquez, Business Banking Relationship Manager at Bank OZK
These banking professionals shared how they and their team members tap into the benefits of Industry Intelligence on Vertical IQ to save time and wow business owners. Here are four of the key takeaways from our conversation.
1. No matter your role within business or commercial banking, Industry Intelligence from Vertical IQ is valuable.
In his role overseeing a team of treasury management consultants, Brad Briney with Old National Bank emphasizes the importance of having knowledge of your client’s or prospect’s industry to add weight and credibility to your meetings and differentiate yourself from the competition.
“When you can speak directly to their industry using the [Vertical IQ] Call Prep Questions … and use the same lingo [Industry Terms] that they use within their industry, it shows them that you’ve done your due diligence and you’ve come prepared to really talk about substantive issues,” Brad says.
For Mark Papoccia, who is the Chief Member Experience Officer at Vantage West Credit Union, Vertical IQ’s key value lies in the efficiency and time-savings it creates. That’s one reason he’s a big fan of the Vertical IQ mobile app — particularly when you’re on the go or time is tight.
“Instead of spending hours and hours researching industries and compiling data from various resources, we find Vertical IQ really streamlines our process, providing all the necessary information on one platform at our fingertips, really saving the team a lot of time and effort,” explains Mark.
Both Anthony Aceto, a market manager at 1st Security Bank, and Michael Tourony, a business banking relationship manager at Bank OZK, agree that the top benefit of Vertical IQ is the ability to get up to speed on a business owner’s industry prior to a meeting so you can ask good questions. It allows you to build rapport and credibility with a prospect quickly.
As a business banking relationship manager at Bank OZK, Will Vazquez agrees that the Call Prep Questions are a great resource for preparing for a meeting. He is also taking advantage of Vertical IQ’s content’s shareability, but he is also taking advantage of the shareability of Vertical IQ’s content, passing along valuable Industry Intelligence to his clients and prospects. He will email content such as the Industry Forecast or Financial Benchmarks, or he will use the Industry News articles as valuable leave-behinds after a meeting. And speaking of “easy to share” content….
2. The easy-to-share content on Vertical IQ is a clutch resource to add value.
Whether printing off a particular section of content or passing along the entire customer version of the Industry Profile, all of our panelists agreed that the shareability of Vertical IQ’s content is essential to their success.
For example, Will with Bank OZK has shared the entire Industry Profile with certain clients, but for one in particular — a CPA client — he passed along some helpful valuation data from Vertical IQ. “I know I definitely set myself apart just getting that data out to him.”
Similarly, Brad with Old National likes to use the Industry Profile as a leave-behind after meetings, highlighting a few key points and noting that he will follow up with the business owner about them. He also emails the Quarterly Updates to clients and prospects and incorporates content like Financial Benchmarks and Working Capital material into his annual relationship reviews.
For a touchpoint, Mark with Vantage West enjoys the Industry News articles found on each profile. “It’s really valuable to pass along one of those articles to say, ‘Hey, I came across this article and thought it might interest you. Hope all’s going well,’ just as a real soft touch to stay in front of them and let them know that obviously, we’re still here and still thinking about them.”
Anthony from 1st Security Bank finds the shareable materials in the SalesKit to be helpful when crafting industry-focused client and prospect communications and presentations. “They really get a business owner’s attention, and the SalesKit makes creating tailored materials a snap.”
3. Industry Intelligence is essential for credit underwriting and risk, as well as annual relationship reviews.
The credit and risk management content found in Vertical IQ for each industry can be a tremendous time-saver for banks’ credit teams, helping them understand the industry’s landscape and potential risks. But in addition to underwriting, this information can help identify prospective opportunities.
“Vertical IQ is sort of our go-to platform for our underwriters,” observes Mark with Vantage West “We tap into Vertical IQ’s industry information as a means to complete our analysis on the industry. … It’s really easy, very thorough, [and] provides us information that we need to help us get an understanding of the risk of that industry.”
Anthony at 1st Security Bank concurs, noting that they find Industry Intelligence particularly helpful for renewals. “Sometimes we have businesses that have lines of credit that renewed that we don’t really know much about the industry. So, we’ll pull up [Vertical IQ] and look at the risk rating and get to know the business so we can talk to the client” with strength and credibility.
But there is also fantastic information within Vertical IQ to include in your relationship reviews, says Brad with Old National. “One of my favorite pieces is the Working Capital [section of the Industry Profile] — doing a working capital review with our clients to test where their days receivables and payables outstanding are in comparison with the industry and then developing trend lines. It gets [the business owner] thinking: ‘Is there something within my process that we’re doing today that could be affecting these numbers?’”
4. Whether you are a new banker or an industry veteran, Vertical IQ offers valuable content for you and your clients.
For those of us who have many years of banking under our belts (and the gray hair to prove it!), it can be tempting to think that you know everything you could need to know about how to prospect and service existing relationships. But as our panelists note, there is truly something insightful and time-saving for everyone within Vertical IQ, no matter your tenure.
Mark with Vantage West says he reminds veteran bankers “that the world is very dynamic and ever-changing,” and using a tool like Vertical IQ provides easy access to the latest, most up-to-date Industry Intelligence. He says that even for those long-time bankers, Vertical IQ “ends up being a very valuable resource to have in your pocket, literally even for somebody that feels like they’ve become an expert … in a specific industry.”
Brad from Old National concurs. For bankers who tell him that they already know what they need to know, “My answer to that objection would be: ‘Why wouldn’t you want to have another tool in your toolbelt to help you with more knowledge about your client’s industry?’”
Adding value across the business spectrum with Industry Intelligence
Business owners have learned their value (and rightfully so, I might add). They expect to be treated as an individual — not just a bank account number. They want a banker who understands their business and can provide financial solutions that will help their business thrive.
This expectation means that today’s bankers must have their finger on the pulse of their clients’ and prospects’ business. They need to understand the ins and outs of the business owner’s industry, and perhaps just as important, they must add value to the relationship. If they can’t, one of their competitors will.
As our panel shared, Vertical IQ makes it simple to get up to speed quickly on an industry. It’s a huge timesaver for call planning and preparation. However, maybe the biggest advantage of using Vertical IQ is the ease of sharing content with business owners. Whether in the form of a tailored prospecting email, an industry-focused leave-behind or touchpoint, a nuanced credit analysis, or a relationship review that highlights salient industry data, value-added Industry Intelligence from Vertical IQ helps bankers build trust and credibility, win more deals, and retain more business.
Ready to get started? Contact us today to learn more or to get a demo!