Jan 14, 2021
This is a special episode discussing how to build successful
business relationships. In this episode, Gina Cocking, is joined by
featured guest Willard Bunn, a managing director at Colonnade
Advisors. Willard has previously served as chairman, chief
executive, and director of several commercial banks. He has held
numerous board positions and has extensive experience as an
investment banker. Willard has the ability to build deep
relationships with potential clients and industry professionals,
resulting in seemingly effortless marketing.
One of the key takeaways from this episode is that trust is a
critical factor in building a successful business relationship.
In this episode, Willard addresses the following questions as
related to building business relationships:
Before you meet somebody for the first time, do you do any special
preparation beforehand? (02:02)
Willard: "Yes, there is so much information available on LinkedIn
and other sources. When I meet people for the first time, I will
search for them and extract what I can. It's helpful when you show
up at a luncheon table to know who exactly you're talking to."
How do you prepare when you don't know you're going to meet a
person? For example, when attending conferences with hundreds of
people in a room. (03:11)
Willard: "I have found the best icebreaker has always been to ask.
‘What is your business? What do you do?’ Because there is nobody on
the planet who doesn't want to talk about his or her business. Once
you get that laid out, then you know where to go with the next
question."
Once you have met a person and chatted for a few minutes, how do
you continue with that relationship? What type of follow-ups do you
do? (03:57)
Willard: "Normally, the follow-up would be an email of some sort.
In the email, try to grab onto something in the conversation
because that person has met a lot of people that evening, too."
How soon do you generally follow-up with someone that you have
met? (04:53)
Willard: "I try to follow up quickly with an email, so the image is
still in their mind. I also think it's helpful to attach something
to the email. For example, for Colonnade's marketing, attaching a
podcast episode or white paper would be helpful because it gives
them an idea of who you are and the company."
Do you have any strategies for cold calling or emailing people?
(04:53)
Willard: "If you are reaching out to someone for the first time, it
is a good idea to attach a piece of work that you have done. For
people that you're in touch with regularly, it is a good idea to
attach a current update to the piece of work. This kind of process
can stretch over the years. Building these relationships take
time."
When you do outreach and do not get a response, how long do you
wait before you reach out to somebody again? What strategy is there
without making the person feel guilty but reminding them that
you're there? (08:19)
Willard: "These are situational. I think once a quarter is probably
sufficient time to give some downtime, but not to let it lapse
either."
What are other successful maintaining relationship strategies
have you encountered? (09:21)
Willard: "When I was running a bank, I was the target for
investment bankers, and one of the bankers would send a
non-business book every Christmas. I always thought that was a good
way to keep in touch via a non-aggressive Christmas present."
How do you prioritize maintaining relationships with people?
(11:35)
Willard: "One of the things that I noticed in the investment
banking business was the bifurcation of time. When you get busy
with current active deals, how do you simultaneously keep in touch
with prospects? It's like everything else in life, you have the
work you have to do right now in front of you, but you also have a
list on the side of prospects. Communication now is much easier
than ten years ago, which makes reaching out to prospects to keep
in touch much easier."
How do you reach out to people that you have not interacted with
much? (13:26)
Willard: "During non-COVID times, Chicago offered various events
that allow people to meet. One medium that I have used in the past
was the speaker dinners at the Economic Club. It gives you an
informal, non-threatening environment to try to further a
relationship."
How do you build trust in a relationship? (15:18)
Willard: "That is an important concept. People hire you because
they trust you and feel you understand their business. It is hard
to know what triggers trust. In my particular case, on the
investment banking side, the people we represented, I knew well
over several years. When you see how people behave in restaurants
with waiters, how they behave on the golf course, and all that kind
of stuff, that adds up to form a standpoint that I know this person
and trust them, particularly, I can trust them to tell me the
truth."
Gina: "We also talked about how follow-ups after meeting a person can build trust. It's a good way to start building trust."
What is one way to distinguish yourself when following up with
business prospects? (18:39)
Willard: "You distinguish yourself by actually doing something you
said you were going to do. It is super simple, but not everybody
does that."
How often do you use handwritten notes, and when and why do you
do that? (19:45)
Willard: "In meaningful situations, I think a handwritten note is a
very nice idea. It shows a little extra effort."
Gina: "When I left Discover Financial Services, I wrote some of my colleagues handwritten notes a few days before I left. Then, I noticed several people had my note in their cubicles. I think because it was an unusual thing. People kept it and remembered it."
What are your thoughts on postcards? (21:26)
Willard: "Postcards are a very nice thing to send to people because
it lets them know you're thinking of them in out of the way
places."
We all have limited hours in a day; how do you politely decline
someone who reaches out to you, but you may not be in the best
position to have a conversation with them? (23:00)
Willard: "If someone wants your opinion about something, that is a
nice compliment, so you don't want to seem ungrateful. If time is
limited, tell the truth that it isn't anything you want to get
involved with right now."
Do you have any advice for people who are starting their careers
and starting to build professional relationships? (25:31)
Willard: "I'll give a piece of advice that I got from my
father-in-law. When I was working in New York in the 70s, he
advised me that I should get out every day and have lunch with
somebody, and I did. Some of those lunches have led to great
business ideas. My main point is to make sure you are out there
seeing people, and lunch is a good time to do it."
Featured guest bio and contact information:
Willard Bunn III
Email: wbunn@coladv.com
Willard Bunn III joined Colonnade Advisors as a Managing Director in 2012. Willard has served as chairman, chief executive, and/or director of several commercial banks in the course of his 40-year career. Willard's long career in the banking industry began at Chemical Bank in New York before returning to Springfield in 1978 to serve as Executive Vice President and eventually Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Marine Corporation, a multibank holding company with $1.2 billion of assets. Following Marine's merger with Banc One, Willard was appointed Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Banc One Illinois Corporation, which he held until 1994. Willard went on to serve in various management positions with two investment banking firms. Willard served as a Director of Baytree Bank of Lake Forest, Illinois, from its founding in 2000 and as Chairman of the Bank from April 2010 to August 2012. Willard serves on the Board of Directors of CIB Marine Bancshares, Inc., a bank holding company based in Waukesha, Wisconsin, that operates banking offices in Illinois, Indiana, and Wisconsin. He also serves on the Boards of Midland National Life Insurance Company and North American Company for Life and Health Insurance, insurance subsidiaries of the Sammons Financial Group. In addition, Willard is Chairman of the Board for the Poetry Foundation, a literary organization, and a Poetry magazine publisher. He serves as an advisory director of Chicago-based Campus2Career Transition Services and a member of The Banc Funds Company's valuation committee. Willard holds a BA from Princeton University and an MBA from the University of Virginia. In addition, he has the Series 79 securities license.
Host Information
Gina Cocking
Gina Cocking serves as the Chief Executive Officer of Colonnade
Advisors. She returned to Colonnade as a Managing Director in 2014.
Gina began her career in investment banking at Kidder Peabody, was
an analyst at Madison Dearborn Partners, and an associate at J.P.
Morgan & Co. She was a Vice President at Colonnade Advisors from
1999 to 2003. She left Colonnade to gain operating experience as
the Chief Financial Officer of Cobalt Finance, a specialty finance
company. She went on to become the Chief Financial Officer of
Healthcare Laundry Systems, a private equity-backed company for
which she oversaw the successful sale to a strategic acquirer. Gina
served as the Line of Business CFO – Consumer Banking and Lending
at Discover Financial Services. Gina serves on the Board of
Directors of CIB Marine Bancshares, Inc., a bank holding company
based in Brookfield, Wisconsin, that operates banking offices in
Illinois, Indiana, and Wisconsin. Gina received her BA in Economics
and an MBA from the University of Chicago. Additionally, Gina holds
the Series 24, 28, 79, and 99 securities licenses.
Jeff Guylay
Jeff Guylay is a Managing Director of Colonnade Advisors. Prior to
joining Colonnade in 2000, Jeff was an investment banker at J.P.
Morgan in the firm's Mergers & Acquisitions and Fixed Income
Capital Markets groups in New York. He also spent several years in
J.P. Morgan's Chicago office. Jeff has over 20 years of M&A and
investment banking experience and has served as lead execution
partner on over 25 M&A and financing transactions at Colonnade.
Jeff received an MBA from Northwestern University's Kellogg
Graduate School of Management and a Master of Engineering
Management from the University's McCormick School of Engineering.
Jeff received a BA from Dartmouth College and a BE from Dartmouth's
Thayer School of Engineering. Jeff holds the Series 7, 24, 63, and
79 securities licenses. Jeff serves as a director of the non-profit
Nurture, an organization dedicated to enhancing the nutrition and
wellness of children and families.
About the Middle Market Mergers & Acquisitions Podcast
Get the insiders' take on mergers and acquisitions. M&A
investment bankers Gina Cocking and Jeff Guylay of Colonnade
Advisors discuss the technical aspects of and tactics used in
middle market deals. This podcast offers actionable advice and
strategies for selling your company and is aimed at owners of
middle market companies in the financial services and business
services sectors. Middle market companies are generally valued
between $20 million and $500 million.