Historically, banking has been a transactional business. But for us, serving transactional needs is just one part of the equation. With our Truist Business Lifecycle Advisory approach, we’re dedicated to building long-term relationships grounded in trust, collaboration, and care.
At the heart of this approach is relationship banking. It’s how we leverage the full extent of our capabilities and expertise to guide you to customized solutions—today, tomorrow, and further down the road.
What is relationship banking at Truist?
At its most basic, relationship banking is when a bank offers advice, products, and services using a personalized and people-focused approach. We believe that every client needs and deserves this level of care, so we provide it across the board for business clients and personal wealth clients alike. In this way, we’ve made standard an approach that, in other banks, is free only to clients who meet specific criteria. Relationship banking is so ingrained in our DNA that we call the bankers at Truist Commercial Banking “relationship managers.”
Some other key differentiators of Truist Business Lifecycle Advisory:
Proactive, personalized advice. Your relationship manager’s role is to get to know you so well that they can bring you personalized strategic advice when—or before—you need it. They also serve as the coordinator of your team of Truist partners and resources, which may include a portfolio manager, a treasury consultant, an insurance specialist, leadership development consultants, a capital markets expert, and a personal wealth advisor—all with the singular goal of helping propel your vision forward.
Banking made easy. Our high-touch approach is augmented by our high-tech tools, allowing clients to have more efficient service (or self-service, if they choose). For example, Truist One View provides all your banking apps in one convenient location, and our digital portal makes it easier to access loan information.
Here for the long haul. Our goal is to work with clients across the decades, through shifts in market cycles and business lifecycle stages. To achieve this, we have an ongoing dialogue with each of our clients and their teams. Our longtime presence in your community and our deep understanding of the economy and your industry enable us to provide timely and relevant solutions that make the most sense for you—and that leave you poised to achieve your long-term goals.
“Your business is unique, of course. But where you are in the business lifecycle matters, too, so we provide solutions tailored to your lifecycle stage as well as your business, industry, region, and other defining characteristics.”
David Weaver,
Head of Truist Commercial Banking
What relationship banking provides that transactional banking doesn’t
Having regular check-ins with your relationship manager means having a partner to help you implement your strategy, set goals, assess progress, and identify and address issues early on, when they may be easier to manage. You may even be able to anticipate and avoid problems altogether.
Plus, these ongoing conversations may allow you to see and seize opportunities sooner, which could give you a competitive advantage in the marketplace. And when you’re able and willing to communicate freely with your relationship manager, you’re likely to gain more personalized insights from them.
Your Truist relationship manager also acts as a single point of contact who can bring you the right team at the right time. For example, if you need to reassess your risk mitigation needs, your relationship manager can connect you with experts at McGriff Insurance.
How your relationship manager will build a strong connection with you
If you’re used to thinking of banking as transactional, it can take a bit of a mindset shift to speak with your relationship manager more often and more openly. Here’s what you can expect from your Truist relationship manager.
What your Truist relationship manager will do
- Listen to you closely. We know your business is your passion, and the more you share about your needs and objectives, the better we will be able to serve you.
- Ask follow-up questions to gain clarification and to dig deeper into important areas.
- Share a bit about themselves, their purpose, and Truist’s culture.
- Ensure you always feel valued and respected, especially when sharing sensitive information or thorny challenges.
- Offer an honest assessment of your operations and goals—even if it’s not necessarily what you want to hear but is what you need to know.
- Supply several options for solutions—including ones outside our suite of products and services.
- Bring in partners from across the organization and beyond so you have the right team to help meet your needs.
- Provide advice to help you make decisions today that will keep you on track to meet your long-term goals.
This last point is the crux of Truist Business Lifecycle Advisory and one of the key factors that sets it apart from transactional approaches.
“Your business is unique, of course,” says David Weaver, head of Truist Commercial Banking. “But where you are in the business lifecycle matters, too, so we provide solutions tailored to your lifecycle stage as well as your business, industry, region, and other defining characteristics.”
Actions that can strengthen your partnership with your relationship manager
- Describe your entrepreneurial journey. How you got to where you are today can provide important context for your current and future goals.
- Spell out your long-term plans and your stretch goals (those that are higher effort and may be higher risk).
- Share a bit about yourself, including your business purpose, your leadership purpose, and your personal purpose.
- Open up about all challenges and concerns, including those you may feel sensitive about.
- Introduce your team—at all levels—to the Truist team.
- Invite them to tour your facilities.
- Review their advice and insights, and ask questions to arrive at a plan you feel positive about.
- View the relationship as a long-term, collaborative one.
- Embrace regular check-ins with your relationship manager.
- Feel free to reach out at any time for any reason.
Each stage of the business lifecycle comes with a unique set of challenges and opportunities that can benefit from a unique set of lifecycle-targeted solutions and insights. But even businesses in the same stage will have numerous differences. Taking a combined approach—uniting your knowledge of your business with your relationship manager’s expertise—can provide you with the most tailored and nuanced guidance.
How and when to speak openly with your relationship manager
Your relationship manager will ask questions to learn more about you and your business. You can improve communication, too, with these suggestions.
Old habit: Learning how to talk to your banker
New mindset: Letting your relationship manager learn how to talk to you
Working with some banks can feel like going back to school. They load you up with glossaries and guidelines on how you should learn to communicate with their bankers. We take a different approach.
“A key part of our role is to be interested in and interesting to our clients,” says Weaver. “To do that, we meet each person where they are—not just each owner or leader but each member of their team. No one should have to look up a term on the internet after talking with their Truist relationship manager or anyone else on their Truist Business Lifecycle Advisory team. Our clients are busy, and they have more important things to do with their time.” Of course, if you don’t understand a term, acronym, policy, or concept, ask any Truist teammate to explain it until you do.
Old habit: Minimizing your business challenges
New mindset: Sharing information more freely
Worried that any negative information you share with your banker may impact the care, services, and terms you receive? With Truist, that’s not the case—and having all the facts can enable us to provide more targeted, effective, and thorough advice.
Of course, share any positive changes as soon as possible, too. They may enable your Truist advisory team to renegotiate terms on a loan, free up working capital to accelerate growth, or build enterprise value in preparation for a business transition.
Old habit: Meeting only annually or when there’s a problem
New mindset: Connecting more often
Many experts recommend talking with your banker quarterly—at a minimum. But Truist Business Lifecycle Advisory works best if clients talk with us much more often. Here are a few of the times it’s especially important to connect.
- You experience an urgent issue (like fraud or a security breach).
- A particular topic or type of challenge is keeping you up at night.
- You’re weighing a big decision or new opportunity.
- You’re considering making a major change or transition.
- Market and rate fluctuations have impacted your bottom line.
- You’re considering buying or selling a significant asset.
- You’re looking to add to your team—or to pare it down.
- You’re looking to expand into a new region or line of business.
- You wonder what others are doing to solve specific challenges.
- You just want to check in because it’s been a while.
Old habit: Forgetting your business has a lifecycle
New mindset: Identifying what stage you’re in and what that means
The business lifecycle impacts every aspect of your company, and many financial and operational best practices differ depending on the stage you’re in.
Take your personal wealth, for example. Early on, you may have much of your personal wealth tied up in equipment, real estate, and other company holdings—but other strategies can liberate working capital to protect your household finances and personal credit. If your personal wealth grows alongside the company’s revenue, you may need help with an investment portfolio, and as your company becomes established, you may look toward creating a trust or another vehicle to preserve your legacy. Finally, if you decide to transition out by selling your business, you may benefit from considering how to manage the sudden influx of capital.
“Your long-term strategy is about how you want to position yourself, and that can change over time—or it can change quickly,” says Weaver. “Our approach with Truist Business Lifecycle Advisory is to have a dialogue with clients about events that have happened or that can happen, so we can help them avoid tricky situations. But if they occur, we can help with a solution that makes sense within the context of the big picture.”
A good place to begin: Make a list of questions
It can be tough to remember all the things you want to share with your relationship manager. To make it easier, create a document where you can capture questions or topics as they pop into your mind. Keep it handy and add to it as new questions arise. That way, you can be sure to ask those questions the next time you talk.
What business lifecycle advice can benefit you right now?
It’s always a good time to learn more about Truist Business Lifecycle Advisory. Contact your Truist relationship manager to work toward the future you want—together.