Engaged
Clients

I n 2000, we knew attracting top bankers would bring their clients to our firm.

Today, the same is still true.

We also knew that if we wanted to create loyal clients, we’d have to give them the services they were used to at bigger banks but deliver it in ways the competition simply couldn’t. We would need to be able to meet their every need as if we were a big bank—from personal banking, home loans and investments all the way to large commercial transactions and corporate services. But we wanted to return to a local community bank experience, with personal service and an approach based on advice, not sales.

Today, the same is still true.

This led to the other half of our company’s vision, a simple but lofty statement.

To be the best financial services firm in the Southeast.

To build something better that can disrupt and take advantage of the declining client experience at large banks, our firm has to remove the irritants clients face at other banks. That means personal relationships. A return to responsiveness. A true understanding of our clients and their needs. Helping local businesses and economies.

We believe that if we can make business feel personal again, we can be the bank we all want, the bank our friends and colleagues told us they missed back when we started.

It’s what propelled us to quick success then and what allows us to build on that success today. From operating in just one major market in 2000 to 12 in 2019, our approach to client service hasn’t changed.

Hire the Right People.

This is where it all starts. Unless you get the right team, nothing else matters.

Think big. Act small.

Being a small bank is great. You can focus on clients, spend the time needed to get things right and do everything at a personal level. But you’re limited in what you can offer and how much you can lend. We think we are at a perfect spot to meet our clients’ needs while keeping that same personal level of service, even as we continue to grow our scale and geographic footprint.

Give advice, not a sales pitch.

Working in a client’s best interest should be a given, but sales cultures often don’t incentivize it. When we truly understand a client’s situation, we can see what they need (and what they don’t) and design solutions to meet them. Clients can tell when they’re treated like part of a campaign or scorecard. By breaking that expectation with advice backed by services that work, our associates can earn the status of trusted advisor and win lifelong loyalty.

Make it easy.

Working with your banker should never feel like work. Organizations too often streamline back office operations by adding extra steps and inconvenience to the client experience. Instead, our focus on being easy to do business with removes barriers to great service and the irritants you often find at big banks.

Keep it local.

People should be served by experienced professionals who live and work near them. They can see a situation firsthand, connect with a client on a personal level and make decisions that will help everyone involved. When you empower local leaders and bankers, you eliminate bureaucracy and make everything move more quickly.

These are not initiatives you can decide to implement years later at an existing company. You have to be built for it from the beginning. That’s what we knew when we founded Pinnacle, and it’s what still drives our organic growth today.

Pinnacle earned 29 Greenwich Excellence Awards, tied for most in the nation, for small business and middle market banking. Winning categories included Likelihood to Recommend and Overall Satisfaction. Greenwich Associates is a leading provider of market research in financial services. Learn more about what this means for our firm.

Our client surveys tell us clients believe our people are better than the rest.