Speak The Language
Once upon a time, a storm caused two ships to sink in the same area. All on board were lost at sea, save one from each ship, and those poor souls were alive only because they swam to a small island nearby.
As luck would have it, the two men hauled themselves up on the beach at the same time and within sight of each other. But the survivors’ celebration soon became pensive as they realized that each spoke a language unknown to the other.
Immediately, both men had the same unspoken thought: “I don’t know this man or the language he speaks, but if we’re going to survive, we have to find a way to communicate and work together.”
In many ways, this tale actually plays out every day.
But instead of on the high seas, our story takes place in the marketplace. And instead of mythical shipwreck survivors, our real life players are small business owners and bankers.
Like the castaways in the first story, the latter two turn pensive when they realize that: 1) they need each other in order to be successful; and 2) they don’t speak each other’s language very well, if at all.
With so much common interest and so little mutual understanding, can these two create a successful survival story? Absolutely, but only if they have the Blasingame Official Translator for Bankers & Small Business Owners. Here are a few examples of how the Blasingame Translator works.
For small businesses to understand banker, they must:
- Identify their banker as a success partner and their business’ best friend.
- Stay close to their banker when things are going well, and even closer when things aren’t going so well.
- Believe that an uninformed banker is a scared banker, and a scared banker cannot, and will not, behave like a partner.
- Pay attention to what motivates and impresses a banker, like attention to detail.
- Understand pertinent bank rules and regulations, so as not to ask for something that can’t be done.
- Reward banker loyalty with small business loyalty.
For bankers to speak small business, they must:
- Understand that it’s redundant to say, “undercapitalized small business.”
- Recognize that starting a small business is easy – operating a successful one is not.
- Explain bank rules and banking regulations more often.
- Realize that it’s the banker’s job to recommend services and products first.
- Believe that small businesses need more than loans and financial services – they need technical assistance from their partners, like explaining how a business can grow itself right out of business.
- In the credit scoring process, always find a way to give small business owners credit for character and best efforts.
- Reward small business loyalty with banker loyalty.
Write this on a rock… For small business and banks to avoid being 21st century castaways, they must speak each other's language.
Jim Blasingame
Small Business Expert and host of The Small Business Advocate Show
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