8 Ways to look Bigger to your banker
(and why you might want to)...
Linda Keith CPA (Banking Consultant and Trainer)

Last weekend my sister Kimberly and I were kayaking in Dana Passage. We don't always try to stick close, but in an open passage we do. Why? Because a power boat may not notice just one kayak...but is more likely to notice (and avoid running into) two kayaks.

That particular day we were looking for the pod of Orca Whales that had been spotted in Eld Inlet. We were trying to look bigger to them, too.

Sometimes there is a good reason to look bigger....

If you want to look bigger to your banker:

Create alliances with others

1. Find other businesses who serve your same market to collaborate with in providing a broader service to your clients and customers

2. Partner with other vendors vertically to provide a broader service

Develop and connect to resources

3. Recruit a volunteer board of directors with expertise in business or in your field

4. Join and become active in your local, state or national professional or trade association

Demonstrate a following

5. Write in publications and speak at conferences in your field

6. Develop relationships with the media and get quoted in your local or national publications

Upgrade your look

7. Your website needs to be professionally done, SEO friendly and impressive

8. Any photography (website, bios in publications, etc) must be updated and professional

Here is an example: My company provides consulting to banks and credit unions on loan guidelines when lending to businesses and to business owners. We also provide lender training on 'Tax Return Analysis in a Tough Lending Environment'.

We are partnering with banking associations and credit union leagues (and their local chapters) to provide training closer to their members' locations to reduce travel. We offer a fee-split approach that reduces the risk of having to cancel for the association or chapter. By partnering with the groups that would normally be my customers, we are creating a good opportunity for both of us. This is a bigger footprint for my firm.

A banker knows that lending to a solo paddler is riskier than to a business owner who is paddling with others.

Who are you paddling with? Does your banker know it?

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Linda Keith is a sea kayaker in the coldest summer-time waters in America, is skilled at capsize recovery and can list the 20 essentials of kayaking from memory. In business, Linda Keith CPA, Inc. provides consulting and training for financial institutions. As a Certified Speaking Professional, she is also a presenter at business and banking conferences. Linda draws on her background as a CPA in public accounting, as the CFO of a residential construction company, her 20 years experience in consulting with banks on loan quality and her training of business lenders to recognize and say ‘Yes’ to good loans. “Let’s get back in the boat!” click here