BOLT Summer Summit Builds Opportunities
Doris Green
From
Brodhead to Niagara,
Viroqua to Sheboygan
and many points in between, more
than 100 Wisconsin community bank-
ers learned together at the BOLT
(Building Our Leaders of Tomorrow)
Summer Summit held in Wisconsin
Dells. Expert presenters explained
concepts, facilitated discussions, and
sparked new ideas.
Jenna Weber, SVA, explained how
a leader’s personal brand
and the community
bank brand can support
each other. But what’s a
personal brand? Quoting
Amazon.com founder Jeff
Bezos, Weber defined it
as “what people say about
you when you’re not in the
room.”
Are you insightful,
creative, and reliable?
Your personal brand can
enhance your commu-
nity bank’s brand. “The
more you build a personal
brand and incorporate it
into a business brand, the
more successful both will
be.” This “brand
convergence”
can strengthen
customer relation-
ships and build
employee loyalty
while providing
opportunities for
employee growth.
To build your
personal brand,
Weber urged
attendees to cre-
ate an individual
marketing plan.
For instance, you
might write a blog
or have a website.
To ensure these
efforts are working, allot a specific
amount of time to each activity.
When it comes to the bank’s brand,
examine what differentiates it from
other financial institutions. “Don’t just
copy a competitor,” Weber said. “Look
inward for your brand.” What does
your community bank do differently?
What are the value-added elements?
“It’s the little things that people
remember.”
Use the bank’s website to get the
word out about the causes the bank
supports and other news. Use pho-
tos of bank staff and rely less on clip
art. Customers relate to real people.
“Create information and help people
before they need you.” Repurpose
information into articles, blogs, video,
and other forms to efficiently reach
different audiences. Each type of com-
munication offers a new “touch point”
for your website audience.
Tom Danielson, CliftonLarsonAl-
len, LLP principal, certainly did his
homework prior to the Summit. He
provided each attendee
with a financial “Oppor-
tunity Snapshot” of their
institution. As one-by-
one, attendees raised their
hands, Danielson put their
bank’s financial profile
up on a large screen and
explained the significance
of its benchmark figures—
for example, “interest
expense as a percentage
of average assets” and
“Texas ratios.” He usually
also offered a suggestion
or two to take back to the
bank.
By viewing these
examples, attendees
learned that an effi-
ciency ratio to aim
for is 1.0 percent of
ROA. Another goal
might be 3.5 percent
net interest income
as a percentage of
average assets. Dan-
ielson advised that
loans to total assets
would normally be
in the 70- to 80-per-
cent range.
Danielson
deemed all of the
banks profiled to be
“healthy banks.” The
financial snapshots
he provided “tell a
8
Wisconsin Community Banker
July/August 2014
