The United States Mexico Canada Agreement (USMCA) was signed by the namesake countries’ leaders in November 2018. (You can read the text of the USMCA here.) After a lengthy ratification process, it was passed with bipartisan support by the U.S. House of Representatives in December 2019 and by the Senate on January 16, 2020. As of this...

Thanks to the increased use of technology like ATMs, online banking, and direct deposit, bank branch traffic has steadily declined in recent years. Without that face-to-face, in-branch contact, bankers have lost access to those interpersonal relationships that used to encourage consumers to remain loyal to their bank.

It’s no secret that B2B banking is becoming increasingly commoditized. These days, small- and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) are using far more banks than even just a few years ago. According to Gartner’s 2016 study, “A New Basis for Competitive Advantage,” 53 percent of companies use four or more financial providers. 

The new year is a good time to start new, better habits, from improving our diets to exercising more. But it is also a great time to turn over a new leaf at work, setting more ambitious sales or client management goals. And Vertical IQ can help. 

Small business banking is being disrupted. Those cliché, predictable conversations that used to get a business banker in the door are slowly vanishing as bank clients begin to expect more out of their banker. For traditional banks and their relationship managers (RMs), this means they must find new ways to remain relevant to small- to...

Of course every business services firm that calls on small- to mid-sized businesses (SMBs) says they are a trusted advisor to their clients, but reality doesn’t always support that claim. I read a great article this week about how most firms that call on SMBs instead tend to provide “Random Acts of Consulting.” 

A value-added advisor is someone whose ideas and advice you respect enough to invest time and money into having them around. The business relationship is about more than just the product purchase itself. 

“Are we keeping up with the Joneses?” Owners of small and mid-sized businesses (SMBs) are always interested in how their competition is doing…and how they compare to them financially. Yes, it may be about ego to some degree, but it also tells a business owner how their company is faring financially. Are they middling, above average,...