Quinton Chambers, CIM®, PFP®’s Post

“You’re just a bank teller,” people used to tell me. “Just cash the checks and hurry up.” When I started my career 35 years ago, I was a bank teller. And I was proud of being a bank teller. But people loved to add another world to my title: “𝗝𝘂𝘀𝘁 a bank teller.” They reminded me of a few things (often): - The lenders call the shots around here. - You’re not here to make a difference. - Just process the deposits. By the time I retired decades later, I had: - Become an executive for multiple banks. - Led strategy for over $10 billion in deposits. - Helped other tellers reach their true potential. No one is ever going to value what you bring to the table quite like you will. But the one thing you can always change is the people you surround yourself with. So find a supportive environment and watch the growth occur. If you’re not being supported, find a place that will support you. If you’re in a position to support, make sure you do so. I’m grateful that I was overlooked as it motivated me to prove people wrong. No one is ever “just a teller”. No one is ever “just” anything. Everyone can do amazing things. You just need to surround yourself with the right people. 𝗣.𝗦. 𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘄𝗮𝘀 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗳𝗶𝗿𝘀𝘁 𝗷𝗼𝗯? -- Repost this to help others ❤️

The best and worst things about being a commercial banker. Let's start with the worst: 1. The bureaucracy within the bank is a bottomless pit sucking away at all your energy. I report to one manager, but there is a full web of management that you need to impress. They are paid 3x+ more than me and are expected to work 24/7. Not me. 2. Small deals don't get any love and attention. Escalations to push forward a smaller deal is hard when it's competing against a larger deal on the go. On the other hand, large deals have too much attention. Every layer of management has their input. At the end of the day, the deal isn't yours anymore. 3. The amount of delegated authority has left me powerless to serve my clients. I'm often relying on internal bank partners to help solve simple problems. This is a problem in itself when their SLAs are at least 5 business days. Companies can't wait a week for simple changes to be made. We have to remember that there is a customer at the end of each request. That customer is looking for value to be reciprocated. This is the same reason why businesses serve their customers too. The main priority should always be to serve customers first, regardless of their size. Despite the negatives, there are positives being a commercial banker. 1. Building relationships with entrepreneurs and their management team. Companies are run by people and people are naturally drawn to pure and honest relationships. It's an amazing feeling when I provide a solution for a company that they've never seen before. 2. Being a diversified commercial banker covers most industries. I have direct access to all industries for up to date market insights. This keeps my curiosity going to build a deeper understanding and appreciation of the business world. 3. It's a career that will always be in demand. Skilled bankers are hard to find and multimillion dollar relationships are still best managed through a human touch. Despite the adoption of technology, relationships will remain as a key part in the decision making process of businesses. Being a commercial banker has its good days and bad days. I put my focus and energy on the positives where the outcome is within my control. For everything else, life moves on without skipping a beat.

I have been having some issues with a transaction at the bank for the past week I went in once but I could not get it done. I called the other bank involved they told that it was not on their end I returned to the bank 2 days later after I realized there was something on my end I did not complete but the transaction did not go through again. I became a bit frustrated after a long day touring a property So this morning I went back to the bank for a 3rd time and the banker could not make it happen. I left and drove to my other bank instead of calling to find out what was the issue They were able to resolve the issue and I returned to the previous bank and they were finally able to do the transaction Today not only I was determined but I didn’t have too many things on my plate to take care of. Therefore, I had a little bit more time and I was not in a rush Time is in the essence which is true but lack of time can make us feel overwhelmed and easily frustrated Usually it is not the issue itself which causes us to be overwhelmed but it’s our disposition and attitude Sometimes the task may not require a lot of time but we may still need to set time aside for it. That way, if things did not go the way we planned it does not negatively affect us The moral of the story set time aside for each task big or small #timemanagement #improvement #process #realestate #multifamily #medicaloffice #BIGmachinesdontmove

Integrity and conscience should work hand in hand. As an advisor you have choices of who you want to work with and what you and the brand you represent stand for. There are too many advisors out there that I'm sure feel stuck after realizing that the company that they joined isn't what they had envisioned when they signed on to work with them. True integrity is shown by doing the right thing even when it isn't easy. I made this choice early in my career and now my clients and I are so much happier for it. To any advisors out there that are feeling stuck or worried about making a change, please reach out and lets have a chat. The only regret you will feel is that you didn't have the courage to do this sooner. Here for you. #MCOWealthInspiringIntegritythroughAction

The client's best interest should always be the top priority. Banks have simply forgotten that! There is an alternative for Canadians; a strong group on individuals who thrive to do the best for their clients and care for them. It doesn't have to be me, but find an advisor that you have a connection with and that you trust. The more we deal with advisors as opposed to banks, the more we keep the affordability and availability of sound financial advice in this country.

Todays bad #banking saga involves: NatWest Business, the bank that CANT. SME champions? Yeah... right. 🙄 Once again, trying to get a simple business bank account to start a new business, has proven a ridiculous task. Over two months ago, I applied online. Easy enough. I received confirmation of my application by email... and I waited. Then I waited some more. More waiting happened. SILENCE. FOR TWO MONTHS. Last week I started ringing them asking where my application had gotten to. I had to ring them on the Monday, the Wednesday, and the Friday, to get my assigned account blocker to call me back. He eventually did so this morning. After laboriously explaining what our business did, and having to repeat myself multiple times, he then apologised for the delay in response stating "NatWest Business are having some issues". Great. Just what I want to hear from my prospective bank. He then went on to ask for information that no business at this stage would have. After explaining multiple times why no business would have that information at this stage, I began to lose patience at being told to produce information that wasn't defined, wasn't clear, and wasn't part of the application process. Most excruciating of all, was this unprofessional berk constantly trying to talk over me. That's a great way to wind up your customers. Complaint incoming for NatWest Business. You are a joke of an organisation. We'll take our business elsewhere. #CustomerService #BusinessBanking

Day 1: We began this week with a tour of the immaculate and well structured office in Soho. We then moved on to some extremely useful onboarding and ice breakers which was a great view into what life is like when starting a new role at any company. This day gave a fantastic retrospective at the outstanding effort and curation by Ioana Manuela Navarra to put this week together. This day ended with a motivational speech and great career advice from the legal director at OakNorth Farhan Nathwani. Day 2: Every morning began with a Kahoot quiz delivered by Payal Banarjee, a fantastic talk by Stuart Blair followed giving us a great look into the start of the loan as he introduced us to the role of DFD within the bank. After this we had a session with the TET led by Sumant Srivastava learning about the lifecycle of a loan which was so informative. Also on this day was a brilliant session delivered by Hugo Oliveira Sousa and Valentina Kristensen on the importance of marketing and how the approach by OakNorth differs from conventional banks. An important point I picked up from the marketing session is around social media footprint and the fascinating case regarding Justine Sacco. The next activity was an exclusive session with Eoin Morgan about interviews and hiring, I now know how to answer the most dreaded interview questions. Day 3: A session which was masterfully delivered on Wednesday by Ray Moore and Vineeta Saboo about credit risk within the bank, it was thoroughly engaging and insightful, I learned a lot about the banks operation in this session. What wrapped up what I found to be the most interesting day (by a narrow margin) was a session with David Brown and Susannah Rose on Workout and restructuring in the bank to find out what occurs when things go wrong with a loan. Day 4: Thursday was all about Product; first was a session with Kristjan Kaar and how the products from OakNorth work and again differ from the approaches of conventional banks and other modern banks. We then had an interactive workshop with the Daria Saulenko and Rory Allbutt which entailed designing a banking app with a specific demographic in mind, my team chose students, it was a great way to see how engineers come up with new ideas within the bank, it was extremely engaging. Day 5: Finally, great introduction to the Bank’s operations in India with the heads of India, Ashish Nayyar and Praveen Agrawal this this was such a rare opportunity. We then heard about the life a COO from Sharon Miles which was a great introspective. We were tasked with learning OakNorth’s elevator pitch which I delivered to Hugo Oliveira Sousa and got a respectable 4/5 (still with room for improvement). After lunch we had a fantastic chance to visit a site with the Workout and Restructuring team, we visited an almost completed hotel, it was great to be able to see a loan in action. Finally we ended the week with a therapeutic and relaxing Yoga session with OakNorth’s in house Yoga instructor.

👋 Meet Louise! As one of our National Account Managers, every day for Louise is different. You might find her at an industry event, or building relationships with heads of our distribution partners. Louise ensures they’re up to date on all things criteria and strategy, whilst also discussing how we can work better together. “Due to my broker background within the specialist and private banking market, I’m heavily involved in working with many of our departments at the bank. We hold monthly meetings to feedback what we’re hearing on the ground to discuss solutions to these findings together.” Louise’s top tips for new applications in an ever-changing market: ☑ Don’t underestimate how important it is to provide as much detail as possible when submitting a case – it doesn’t go unnoticed and will save you time if the full story is provided upfront! ☑ In a market that is consistently changing, never become complacent and strive to learn daily. “I’ve certainly proven to myself I can spin a few more plates than I originally thought! I love learning and the job enables me to do this daily.” Like Louise, we’re right here for you. #BOI4I #MortgageIntermediaries #MeetTheTeam

If you are an Advisor working for a bank, doing great work for your clients, how does this article make you feel? If you are tired of having your employer seemingly working against you, maybe it's time to consider an employment change. At Raymond James Ltd. we only focus on investments. There are no sales targets here. There are no credit cards to sell. There are no mortgages or Lines of Credit to refer. Here you get to just focus on what you do best.......look after your clients investments needs. If you'd like to know more,.....maybe it's time we talked. #Choice #Finance #LoveWhatYouDo