In an extremely crowded and competitive banking market, how you separate from the pack is critical.  A clear distinction needs to be made in order to solidify your position and improve your share of the market.  Given the fundamental nature of our business and the similarity of products and services offered by various banks in a particular market, the only real way to rise above the crowd is by clearly differentiating your people.  We have felt, as a relatively new bank that we must have the best bankers in every market we serve.  This manifests itself through a reputation of having knowledgeable, professional and articulate business people serving the needs of our clients.

We can train to create a knowledge base that makes our bankers strong business advisors, but we felt that to truly have an impact, we needed to provide our staff with the tools to confidently communicate everyday with our clients, our prospects and each other.  I became aware of Onlee’s program as a result of a strong recommendation from one of our Board members.  Spending time with her, I knew that her approach to speaking in public was exactly what we needed. 

We had our entire staff complete the Level I program.  I watched as members of our staff who were extremely uncomfortable speaking in front of a group (even though that group was their peers), matured over the 5 weeks we worked together.  The culmination of this class was a presentation by each covering why someone should bank with The Bank of Northern Michigan.  The confidence that they all displayed served as testimony to the effectiveness of Onlee’s program.  I see the key elements displayed every day by various staff members in all sorts of situations.

As a management team, we made the decision to follow Level I for all our staff members with Level II, targeting our Commercial Relationship Managers, Client Service staff and key Mortgage folks as well. I firmly believe that the confidence our staff continues to build in their day-to-day communication style will set us on the course I envision.  That confidence will help build a level of credibility for our Bank that will in fact, set us apart in this crowded banking market.  Thanks Onlee!