Loading
Eric Peters, market president of First Federal Bank of Florida in Sarasota, thinks he's on to something sweet in the game of how community banks can be markedly different from competitors.
Peters' pitch: He drops off a bottle of personal private-label wine to clients the bank targets. So private, in fact, Peters and his staff will find a picture online of a local CEO or president of a company the bank wants to do business with. They print the picture and put it on the front of the bottle with a note that says this wine was made especially for you. “We seem to get an appointment that way,” Peters tells Coffee Talk.
The wine is from Goodfellas Cafe & Winery in Sarasota. Peters, who launched the program a few months ago, buys the wine by the case from Goodfellas. Selections include white, merlot and sangria.
Peters has been with Lake City-based First Federal since 2009. The bank entered the Sarasota-Bradenton market that year when it absorbed assets and deposits at Bradenton-based Flagship National Bank, which regulators shuttered.
Peters says he's given wine bottles to current clients, for business appreciation, in addition to using the gifts for prospecting. And while Peters says he's always dreaming up ways to make First Federal standout, the wine idea came the old-fashioned way: He thought about it when he made a cold call to Goodfellas to win that company's business.
“In banking, you have to be unique and creative,” says Peters. “You have to get in front of people.”
Your free article limit has been reached this month.
Subscribe now for unlimited digital access to our award-winning business news.
Join thousands of executives who rely on us for insights spanning Tampa Bay to Naples.
