The versatility of the Vertical IQ platform – as well as its sales enablement and call preparation features that help build credibility and make engagement with customers easier – is one of the primary reasons the bank has implemented usage across multiple departments. They have especially seen the platform’s value in terms of call preparation, financial insights, and its Salesforce integration.

Call Preparation

If there is one chief reason bank leadership sees value in using Industry Intelligence, it is in the collection of call preparation resources on each of Vertical IQ’s Industry Profiles – and in the specialization and variety of niches within those industries.

“We’ve found the call preparation resources to be very effective,” one sales manager elaborated. “We actually used them for a training class in Scottsdale with a real dental practice in Tulsa. We had commercial bankers prepare for deposit calls and talk to people who don’t borrow. They quickly read the Call Prep Sheet on the platform and looked at the Industry Profile to give them confidence and credibility prior to the calls.”

“The platform means a lot more when you see something like ‘dental laboratories’ or ‘dental spas’ in addition to just ‘dentistry.’ It’s specialized. We make sales calls using the ‘homework’ from reading the information on the platform, which is easy to consume and saves time. Because of this ‘homework,’ our bankers don’t have to say, ‘What do you do?’ Instead, it’s a more focused conversation.”

Financial Insights

Given the push for deposits, the business and commercial banking teams have reaped the benefits of the timely, specific, and focused Financial Benchmark data and insights found on the Vertical IQ platform to help assess risk and identify cash-intensive industries for deposit opportunities.

“What we’ve really been using is the financial insight section – which includes the Financial Benchmarks and Working Capital chapters – to see how industries receive money and how they pay, and I think bankers are really seeing value in that part of the platform,” one business banking manager said. “As the economy changes, the value of targeting deposit-rich industries is increasing – and in turn, Vertical IQ adoption is increasing in our organization. Most bankers weren’t worried about deposits before, but now that it’s become such a big focus in our industry, we’re working on training our bankers using these chapters so they can identify deposit opportunities.”

Salesforce Integration

Vertical IQ’s integration with Salesforce has not only boosted sales enablement for this bank – it also has made it easier for bankers to effectively engage with customers in specific industries because of the ease of access to the platform directly from Salesforce.

“It wasn’t long before we started using Vertical IQ that we adopted Salesforce on the commercial side,” a sales executive explained. “We wanted Vertical IQ to live in Salesforce. If we’re logging a call to a veterinarian, for example, Vertical IQ is right there. You click one button, and you’re in. Putting it right in front of somebody’s face in Salesforce makes it easy for them to access it in a snap. It reinforces the message that Vertical IQ is quick and easy to use, and it helps with accountability for our bankers logging calls in Salesforce.”

This mid-sized bank’s dedication to implementing and executing sales processes from the top down has made a positive impact on the rest of the team, and the encouraged usage of a solution like Vertical IQ across the organization – starting with the people in charge – has helped contribute to a culture of trust and unity.

“Our sales executive has been here a long time. He goes out to different markets on sales calls, and his requirement for all of them is that they need to have Vertical IQ so that he can be prepped,” said one sales director. “That drives a message. It speaks volumes when someone who has been in the industry for a long time is changing and adopting a message. Are the questions leadership asks the bankers the questions that bankers are asking their customers? It’s important that Vertical IQ and the customer-centric culture it helps foster are adopted from the top and cascade down to the salesforce with consistent messaging.”

But it’s not just about the Industry Intelligence itself, explained the sales director – it’s about the reason behind using it.

“The challenge was that we weren’t using what we had before for the right reasons,” he said. “It came down to shifting the culture and showing the value in how Vertical IQ can help us change the conversation to better engage with our customers and talk about what’s happening in their world. If we’re preaching to them that they need to adopt Vertical IQ – and offer that reason – the desire to use the platform and be more successful as a result are there. They realize it saves time, makes things easier, and that the prep is already done. If they’re sensing a shift in an industry they’re selling to, they have it right at their fingertips. So it’s really all about using it to their advantage and to its full potential.”

“It’s a simple yet powerful concept – having the knowledge, confidence, and credibility to talk about what customers want to talk about rather than what bankers want to talk about.”

With the liquidity crunch and the race for deposits looming large for a lot of banks, it can be easy to get caught up in the sales side of customer interactions. Falling into the trap of “banker-speak” instead of “customer-speak” is more prone to happen when bankers are increasingly desperate to close deals.

So, in the face of economic turbulence, this financial institution stayed its cultural course and doubled down on relationship-building. A bank sales leader said that if one thing is true more than anything, recent events are driving home the fact that bankers need to be relationship managers and not lenders. So what does that mean for this particular bank?

“It means our best practices have to change to adapt to that,” she said. “It’s obviously important now, but it’s going to be even more important in the future to build a relationship rather than just a transaction. Transactions are easy to leave. Relationships are difficult to maintain but important to sustain. They need to be viewed as a differentiator.”

And differentiation, she posits, can spell the difference between striking out and getting that clutch hit.

“If you don’t have the volume of loans you need or the highest ratings on deposits, you need to find a way to differentiate yourself,” she said. “You can’t do that unless you seek to understand. It’s hard to pull that off otherwise.”

“I’ve used Vertical IQ for a long time. I show it to the bankers, and I’m such a believer that relationships, as well as being a trusted advisor and an expert, are what it’s all about. Vertical IQ has helped us change our engagement strategy to reflect that culture shift, and it’s working.”

This banking team has recognized the value of Industry Intelligence with regard to its sales enablement. Their bankers have leveraged the platform to become part of a unified cultural shift to speak the business owner’s language, identify and win new deposit opportunities, and deepen relationships with customers and prospects. The solution has aligned perfectly with the bank’s goals to protect their customers’ futures and build trust in uncertain times – and this bank continues to stand tall and hit home runs as a result.

Local Market Monitor (LMM) provides timely assessments and forecasts of more than 300 Metropolitan Statistical Areas (MSAs), 2,000 counties, and 20,000 ZIP codes across the U.S. Cammarota’s past experience with Local Market Monitor convinced him that it was the solution Liberty needed to make data-driven residential lending decisions and policies, particularly in the uncharted waters of the post pandemic market. “I have been a big fan of Local Market Monitor since my time working at a previous bank, so, I suggested we get this tool on board at Liberty,” he says. And it has proven to be a wise move.

Cammarota and the residential lending team at Liberty Bank depend on Local Market Monitor’s proprietary Equilibrium Home Price model. This award-winning tool monitors the extent to which actual home prices are higher than the Equilibrium Home Price, which provides a measure of how much price adjustment will eventually take place and also measures the risk that actual home prices will fall. This was essential insight during the past few years’ market fluctuations.

“Approximately two years ago, we began monitoring Local Market Monitor values as part of our ongoing credit risk management and to make policy and guideline adjustments as needed,” Cammarota recollects. “In a fluctuating lending environment, such as the one our nation has experienced over the past few years, having the latest, most accurate residential real estate valuation data and risk projections were essential to Liberty making the best-informed business decisions to ensure our bank’s continued prosperity.”

Cammarota continues: “The information provided by Local Market Monitor has helped us gain a really solid understanding of the real estate market. From an ROI perspective, it enables us to better monitor our portfolio’s risk and make data-informed policy and guideline decisions to manage credit risk of new originations. It is the primary tool we use when we’re looking at loan-to-value from a policy perspective.”

The pandemic real estate bubble created by low home inventory coupled with supply chain issues that drove up building material prices has begun to subside, but Liberty Bank continues to find value in their use of Local Market Monitor’s data and forecasts.

“Even today, post-pandemic, every person I share an LMM report with is excited about the information that it captures,” says Cammarota. “I have a quarterly credit risk review meeting on retail lending, and I always pull Local Market Monitor’s home value information from at least one MSA to share with our credit risk and retail lending teams during that meeting. It’s information our teammates find very useful and informative.”

“From a risk management perspective, Local Market Monitor is invaluable,” Cammarota continues. “It gives us the ability to get down into a very specific geographic area with their ZIP by ZIP Analysis and Investor Metro Analysis.”

Liberty continues to find even more advantages to tapping into Local Market Monitor’s data and tools. “LMM’s portfolio tool [which allows you to upload your bank’s portfolio numbers and run forecasts] is outstanding,” Cammarota explains. “As markets fluctuate, it is definitely a tool we will continue to rely on.”

As Liberty Bank approaches its bicentennial, they know that data-driven retail lending decisions will help ensure financial success in their next 100 years. And having the right partners by their side is crucial.

“The Local Market Monitor team is great, very responsive,” observes Cammarota. “If I ever have an issue, they’re extraordinarily responsive and helpful, and I’m very grateful. You just don’t find that. I, and many others, don’t look for vendors; we look for strategic partners, and I definitely put Local Market Monitor in that category.”

But as Cammarota notes, the biggest benefit of his access to Local Market Monitor is the platform’s data and forecasts for specific local geographies, which are especially critical to a bank like Liberty.

He expounds: “A regional or national bank can look at general indices, or some big banks even use their own indices to adjust their portfolio values up and down. But for a smaller bank like Liberty, Local Market Monitor has improved our ability to manage credit risk effectively. From a retail lending perspective, it gives us a really strong understanding of what’s happening for new originations but also on the portfolio. It’s an incredibly helpful, time-saving tool.”

In the spring of 2023, Cornerstone Bank began exploring industry information platforms. They considered the various products on the market, but ultimately selected Vertical IQ for their Industry Intelligence needs.

“Not only was their pricing more competitive, we found the Vertical IQ platform to be much simpler to use than the other options we looked at,” recalls Prizio. “I also really liked the ability to print Vertical IQ reports and be able to hand those to our customers with our bank logo on it so it looks like it’s a document prepared by us. That was a big selling point for me,” she continues.

Once Cornerstone selected Vertical IQ for their Industry Intelligence needs, the rollout process was seamless. Prizio notes: “It was probably one of the easiest implementations and launches I’ve ever gone through, so that was huge. The Vertical IQ platform is very user-friendly; you just click and go.”

The credit team at Cornerstone Bank is already reaping the rewards of having trustworthy Industry Intelligence at their fingertips. “Vertical IQ saves us a ton of time by providing very succinct, reliable industry information to include in our credit presentations,” Prizio says.

She continues: “The time savings per analyst on each deal that they’re researching has been at least cut in half, if not more, because we’re not spending hours on each relationship searching for information that we feel in our gut to be true. We can go right to Vertical IQ, pull the industry info, and roll with it. From the analyst perspective, that has helped tremendously to make their role more efficient and streamlined.”

But the benefits don’t stop there, Prizio notes. “Vertical IQ also has given our analysts and lenders a tool to quickly educate them on what they should be asking — questions related to a company’s balance sheet and income statement based on the industry that they’re in. So, it’s really narrowing down the information that people need to know.”

Peter Kovago, a highly experienced senior credit analyst at Cornerstone Bank, has seen first-hand the ways that Industry Intelligence from Vertical IQ can save time while boosting credibility and confidence.

“I use Vertical IQ almost every day,” Kovago explains. “It helps me verify what I think I know and gives me a consistent, dependable resource to reference. As a credit analyst, a big part of our job is identifying what the risks are of a certain deal and of a particular business in a specific industry. I have a lot of historical knowledge, but I still go into Vertical IQ to be sure my ideas are in line with the risks they note for a particular industry. It’s made my job a lot easier, and it’s kicking my write-ups and annual client reviews up a notch for sure.”

In addition, Kovago notes that Industry Intelligence from Vertical IQ can be a key differentiator in customer conversations. “Before you go into a meeting with a new prospect or even an existing customer, you go into Vertical IQ and you read through some of the insights. That business owner truly appreciates that you took the time to understand their business.”

He continues: “My experience is that business owners love what they do; they love their business; they love to talk about it. To be able to have an industry-focused conversation with them can help quite a bit on the prospecting front as well as with existing relationships. It shows that you care, and it builds trust, which is our mission.”

Cornerstone Bank has realized an unexpected perk of using Vertical IQ as well: helping newer members of the credit team get up to speed quickly on key industries. “For our newer analysts and lenders, Vertical IQ gives them more to think about and more to analyze instead of just restating the numbers and financials the client is telling us,” Prizio observes.

Kovago agrees: “For a new lender or analyst, Vertical IQ is a great resource that gets you up to speed quickly on an industry. For us more seasoned bankers, it can reinforce what you think is correct. It has all the information that you need so you know the right questions to ask the lender or the customer, and it even has the right answers in there. It can make anybody an industry expert.”

The credit team at Cornerstone Bank looks forward to discovering new ways that Industry Intelligence can make their jobs simpler while improving the service they provide to their clients. One example is identifying more potential cross-sell opportunities.

“Vertical IQ shows what bank products a certain industry typically uses, what their capital needs might be, what machinery and equipment they use and even how much it costs,” Kovago observes. “If our lenders start tapping into that information, I’m confident that some borrowing opportunities they’re not always seeing today will become clearer, opening the door for deepening relationships and profitable cross-sells.”

With ready-access to reliable Industry Intelligence, streamlining the credit team’s research processes to improve efficiency, Cornerstone Bank is building an even stronger foundation of trust with their clients and prospects.

Since 2011, William and his bank have been using Local Market Monitor to analyze home prices to ensure they are managing risk and providing sound lending decisions. He incorporates Local Market Monitor’s data into his monthly presentation to the bank’s chief credit officer.

He explains: “My presentation and its proposed lending guidance applies to any residential or consumer lending product we offer — predominantly residential mortgages and home equity. It also includes an economic home price section, which is intended to support what’s going on in both residential lending and home equity lending.”

To simplify this monthly effort, William utilizes Local Market Monitor’s award-winning Equilibrium Home Prices, as well as their home price three-year forecasts and Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA)- and state-level statistics. “The data provides powerful insight required to tell the story,” he notes.

Showcasing the local economic conditions that drive success at the state, MSA, and even the county level — key drivers such as housing prices, construction, employment, and wages — Local Market Monitor offers valuable data for credit risk analysis and underwriting, as well as banks’ sales and marketing teams. You’ll also find timely assessments and forecasts for more than 300 MSAs, 2,000 counties, and 20,000 ZIP codes across the U.S.

Bankers also will be better equipped to analyze real estate values using Local Market Monitor’s award-winning Equilibrium Home Prices. It’s a time-saving, risk-mitigating resource to add to your bank’s toolbox.

From Youngblood’s first experiences using Vertical IQ back in 2017, he recognized the power of Industry Intelligence to save time on call preparation. “I knew that Vertical IQ would help us to come up to speed on the customer’s or prospect’s industry so we could have an intellectual conversation about what they do — customers like to talk about what they do,” he observed.

But since the pandemic era, Youngblood and his team of calling officers have increasingly come to appreciate the ability to save time and bring value to each interaction with a business owner by incorporating Industry Intelligence from Vertical IQ. As a result, Vertical IQ is now an integral part of First Bank’s call preparation, sales, and credit analysis processes.

Preparing for a meeting with a customer or prospect once required a major time commitment, but no more, thanks to Vertical IQ.

“To do good prep for a call to a new customer, it used to take us an hour and a half,” explained Youngblood. “Vertical IQ cuts that call prep time at least in half, so it saves our calling officers easily 45 minutes of research time. You could do call prep in much less time, of course, but when talking about a new prospect in an unfamiliar industry, we would be so scattered without the concise information available on Vertical IQ.”

“What I really love about Vertical IQ is the industry-focused deliverables that calling officers can use to present as a value-add to the customer,” Youngblood said. “In particular, I love to share the Vertical IQ Quarterly Update for the customer’s industry or a recent industry news article. Sure, there are other ways to share the content with them, but it makes for a nice excuse to drop in, say hello, and hand them something that may be helpful to them and their business.”

He continued: “It reinforces the fact that we were curious enough about them and their industry to do that research. We can give them something during the call that lets them know we prepared for the meeting, we want to do business with them, and we want to learn more about them.”

The credit analyst team at First Bank also benefits from integrating Industry Intelligence from Vertical IQ into their tasks.

Youngblood explained: “Vertical IQ has so much more content than other industry research products, and it’s really helpful and beneficial to our analysts. We can see industry numbers, we can see ratios and benchmarks of how the average business in a certain industry performs and compare that to our customer. But there’s also all the content about how these industries operate — that’s good information for our lenders too, but our analysts are able to weave those industry insights into the story they tell in their write-up.”

There has been an unforeseen benefit that Youngblood and the First Bank team have realized as a result of their Vertical IQ use, as well.

“I had a new lender who knew a lot of the fundamentals of lending thanks to his time spent previously working in a branch. A lot of the basics are the same, but commercial lending requires being a lot more thorough than consumer lending,” observed Youngblood.

“I had not anticipated how Vertical IQ could help get new lenders up to speed on industries,” he continued. “When I came up, we didn’t have a tool like this; it was all about leaning on someone who had more experience than you, and then later it was Google. Vertical IQ is a streamlined compilation of a lot of content, particularly for a new lender. They can see what this industry is supposed to benchmark, how it makes money, and how it typically borrows money from banks. It’s a useful summary that is there whenever a new lender needs it.”

Carol Dodson, SVP and business development officer for commercial loans, who has been with First Bank since 2019, has experienced first-hand the power of using Vertical IQ. She was calling on a large non-profit that was looking to grow its footprint and open another location.

“I went to Vertical IQ, reviewed the information on this industry — particularly the Call Prep Questions and Financial Benchmarks — which gave us a more in-depth look when evaluating this opportunity,” Dodson recalled.

“Vertical IQ has a great deal of value, and it’s a fantastic resource with a lot of useful information,” she continued. “I find it extremely helpful as a lender working in support of my clients but also in my loan write-ups to share within the bank’s management and loan committee. It’s a timesaver because the information is all in one place on Vertical IQ as opposed to having to Google it and go through countless different sources.”

The credit team at First Bank has discovered just how powerful Industry Intelligence can be. Their lenders’ renewed commitment to incorporating Vertical IQ into their processes is helping them win new deals, deepen existing relationships, and even shorten the learning curve for newer bankers. It’s an innovative solution that helps them achieve their mission of offering an individualized experience to each customer.

Once they’re in the door, bankers use Vertical IQ to keep in touch and strengthen new relationships. “I use quarterly industry updates, trends, and news articles to stay in front of all my clients and demonstrate to prospects that I’m always going to bring something valuable and specific about their industry to the table,” said one business banker. “It’s a great way to share critical insight and keep my email address right in front of prospects if they have a need. Vertical IQ helps me stay tenacious without being offensive. I’ve never heard anyone say they didn’t want more information on their industry.”

Another business development officer (BDO) expressed how Vertical IQ gives him the confidence to reach out to cold prospects and how that confidence has paid off.

“I recently used Vertical IQ with an apparel manufacturing client and an electrical contracting business,” the retail BDO recollected. “We won a large deposit relationship with the apparel manufacturer along with a line of credit — and we’re now working to refinance a real estate loan of close to $1.5 million. For the electrician, we used Vertical IQ to stay in touch and share valuable insight after our initial meetings. We started with a five-figure SBA line of credit and are now helping the company purchase a new building.”

The bank relies on Vertical IQ to strengthen and expand relationships with current clients as well. “I love using Vertical IQ’s regional and local economic profiles,” said one commercial relationship manager. “Right now, they’re helping me highlight local trends for clients in manufacturing, real estate, and a heating and cooling [HVAC] business. Vertical IQ uncovers trends and insider insights from any market anywhere in the country. Just because our clients are doing business in one area doesn’t mean they’re not selling products elsewhere or looking to expand,” she said.

During annual reviews, reps use the trends and financial benchmarks on Vertical IQ so clients can see how their financials are stacking up against the competition and their peers. “There is so much more to banking than deposits and loans, and we can dive into multiple business aspects using Vertical IQ,” noted the relationship manager.

With today’s rapid technological advancements and “rip-and-replace” attitudes, few businesses rely on one tool for years, yet this regional bank customer has used Vertical IQ for more than a decade.

“Vertical IQ is an amazing product, and they don’t treat us as a number or generic customer,” the bank CLO explained. “They are a true partner that is extremely responsive. I feel like they are a part of our bank.”

Lakeland provides an expansive set of business services, including commercial loans and lines of credit, commercial real estate loans, asset-based lending, equipment financing, small business loans and lines, cash management services and more. “Having detailed insight across multiple industries, that drills down into geographic regions, helps our bankers stand out and align our services with our customers’ requirements,” added Bostwick.

Bostwick saw Vertical IQ in action while shadowing a younger banker during a sales call. “On the way to the meeting, she used Vertical IQ to review key business drivers, current industry news, along with key phrases and questions she could use to connect with the client. By the time we sat down with the customer, I could see how much more comfortable she was talking about the issues impacting their business and how we could help. I didn’t have to say a word — and this was a banker who had never presented to a car dealership in her life!”

Edward Stahl, Vice President and Branch Manager for Lakeland also experienced the impact of Vertical IQ first- hand. “With Vertical IQ, I have more informed, intelligent conversations with clients, who are often surprised by my industry knowledge and love getting follow-up emails or leave-behinds packed with highly-specific industry and even regional intelligence they can use to address key challenges and grow their business,” he said. “I recently called on an art dealer, chiropractor, cosmetic dentist, and auto repair shop – prepared with know-how on their business and borrowing patterns and ready to ask smart questions to a very diverse set of customers and prospects.”

“Today’s climate requires more targeting and planning by bankers — with increasingly shorter timelines and now less face-to-face meetings,” said Garrera. “With Vertical IQ, our bankers always have the information they need to relate to clients with confidence. It’s a great tool for them.” Vertical IQ is also a central component of the bank’s future- forward digital transformation. “When our bankers are preparing for a call or meeting, they turn to the Vertical IQ platform,” said Garrera. “It’s an incredible time saver, as our bankers and representatives don’t have to go searching for the info they need to connect with clients and win new business.”

Edward Stahl added, “Why would you use anything else when Vertical IQ has everything you need to give you an edge against competitors and with clients?”
Vertical IQ has been instrumental in ensuring adoption and success for daily users. Their Vertical IQ Customer Success Manager works directly with the bank’s team to create and adjust a roadmap to optimize the results from the platform. “The whole Vertical IQ team is fantastic and responsive,” said Bostwick. “They’ve provided group and one-on-one trainings, and even recognize and celebrate top performers to drive engagement.”

Bostwick summed up this powerful relationship by saying, “Vertical IQ listens and understands our bank. They provide best practices and critical insights to fit our specific needs. It’s more than a vendor relationship. It’s a true partnership to develop business and make us more successful.”