Providing Services Versus Selling Products

By Jimmy Walker

Does your business sell products or deliver professional services?  Professions are different from merchant, production, or construction businesses.  Professionals deliver services to their clients rather than products to their customers .  Professionals serve as advisors and use their skills and professional experience to offer counsel.  Their role is to help clients move to a better position through advice.  One of the interesting features regarding the purchase of professional service as opposed to buying a product is that you can not re-sell a service.  The will your attorney helps you write can not be used by someone else.  This is why the sale of a tangible product is not a critical element in defining a professional relationship.

A professional service is different in other ways.  Professionals provide a service or services over an extended period of time, not on a transactional basis.  For example, if you desire to purchase professional tax advice from an accountant, your greatest gain comes from developing a long-term relationship, not from focusing solely on this year's tax return.  You expect the accountant to remain informed of your business situation and current laws in order to recommend strategies that will minimize taxes over the long term.  Professionals also often require that you share private matters with them.  If your physician is going to serve your interest, you must candidly share your heath history with him or her.  Professionals must be on call, as you do not always have advance notice that you will need their services.  You will require the services of your attorney immediately when you are served with a lawsuit from a disgruntled customer.  And finally, when you choose a professional to serve you, personality often matters.  Given equal expectations regarding expertise and performance, you will choose to seek service from a professional that you like as an individual.  Some look to religious leaders who preach fire and brimstone while others seek out those who preach love and forgiveness.

Once upon a time, banking was considered a profession.  Along with attorneys, accountants, physicians and pastors, bankers were looked upon as being professionals.  Their services were sought for the advice they provided and they were respected for their expertise.  Times change but not always for the better.  In the past 25 years, marketing directors in the banking industry have caused banks to decide that their role is to sell products rather than to deliver a service.  The shift began when the regulations governing banking changed and banks started consolidating to become statewide, regional, nationwide and even global entities.  The complexity of managing these super banks became a barrier to creating and maintaining a staff of professionals.

If your business sells service rather than products, your strategies need to take into account your clients' expectations.  For example, at North Atlanta National Bank, we provide professionals to our community.  That is, we pride ourselves as being Bankers in the professional sense.  Our objective is to provide experts for addressing the financial affairs of business owners.  As professionals, our bankers work with clients to build a successful relationship for the long term.

Our services are built around the needs of our clients.  We are on call when a funding opportunity or emergency comes along because we understand that opportunity may not knock twice and timing can be critical.  Our clients are assured of absolute confidentiality when sharing private or personal information.  When discussing the health of our client's business, our bank's professionals combine that knowledge and draw upon the extensive number of cases we have seen before to propose the best possible solution.  As to personality, our professionals are committed to providing courteous service to all.

These are the reasons why community banks like North Atlanta National Bank are flourishing.  By offering services rather than products, community banks are returning local banking to its roots.  I am proud that community banks like North Atlanta National Bank represent the return to banking as a profession.

Jimmy Walker is the Chairman and CEO of the North Atlanta National Bank and also serves on the Board of Directors for the Greater North Fulton Chamber of Commerce.  North Atlanta National Bank is located at 10595 Old Alabama Road Connector, Suite 21, in Alpharetta, GA.  For more information or reprints of previous articles, call 678.277.8400 or visit the bank's web site at www.nanb.com.