Steven Ferguson
Title: Assistant Vice President, Business Development Officer, First County Bank
Age: 38
Experience: 21 years
Steven Ferguson’s passion for small business comes through loud and clear in conversation. He entered the banking industry as a part-time teller when he was still a teenager, with no idea what he wanted to do with his life, but as he moved up through the ranks, he realized that he loved to help small business owners. He’s always appreciated the mutual bank concept, so he jumped on an opportunity last fall to join First County Bank. Aside from small business banking, Ferguson also loves food, travel, history and his family.
Q: What kinds of small businesses are thriving in your area? What kind of needs do they have?
A: Everybody has their own spin on what small business is like and how it looks, but I think the service industry will always be around. I think people will always need services, whether it’s a local car dealership or a pharmacy or a medical practice a law practice. People need service. In my area, it’s a city, it’s quite affluent in many aspects, but at the end of the day, people look for service, so relationship building is key. If you look at revenues under $5 million, it might not seem small, but it is compared to the overall base, so we’re finding solutions that can help them, not just save time and money.
A small business might have a cash flow need and be looking for help on how they receive payments and how they make payments. A lot of them don’t understand the process. A lot of businesses, for instance, receive cash and credit cards and checks, but they pay out not just cash and checks, but [also] electronic debits, so that gives them a nice stream of how they receive money and pay money without having them to change much of what they’re accustomed to doing.
My niche is finding their cash flow gap and supporting that with solutions, not just a loan or a line of credit, but other solutions that give them time to focus on their business. It’s kind of a holistic approach when it comes to talking to small businesses.
And especially the Baby Boomers – a lot of them still own businesses in the area and with those types of clients, they have multiple needs. They have a trust need, estate planning needs, they have lending needs, they might be downsizing, which means they need to sell their home and buy a smaller one, or they could be college planning for a grandchild. It keeps us busy as bankers.
They wear a lot of hats and they have a lot of vendors and a lot of moving parts. I think small businesses like to spend more time on their business so, being their banker, I like to focus on those needs.
Q: What’s the relationship between your community involvement and your role at First County Bank?
A: As a business development officer, the main idea is to develop awareness of businesses in the area where you work. We’re headquartered in Stamford, we have a strong relationship in Stamford, we’ve been around for over 160 years in Stamford, and we’ve opened three branches in Norwalk, where I live now. I serve on four boards in Norwalk, and I have a good rapport with those decision-makers, not just on a personal level but on the business side.
With those types of involvements I have, I feel that it’s important to work for and with a community-based bank. They go hand in hand a lot. As a business development officer, you’re busy, and you’re always out.
Those not-for-profit activities are essential, whether you’re in a small town or a big city. They’re the glue that keeps everyone together and being a business development officer, you’re seeing that on a day to day basis. As a community-based bank, we don’t have shareholders, so we have more time and energy to focus on those around us.
Q: How do you work with your colleagues in the bank in this role?
A: Not only do I got out and bring in new business, I also help the managers in the branches by being the liaison for them when it comes to them reaching out to businesses in their area.
As business development officers, we partner up with the managers. They have a lot on their plate: they’re managing their staff, they’re budgeting their human resources, and they’re managing the daily operations of the branch. We are charged with connecting with them, giving them support, so when they reach out to a non-client who is a prospect, we team up with them and assist them to grow their book of business and make their branches profitable.
And many of the managers actually come from the area. They’re knowledgeable about the area already, so it makes them more powerful when you’re able to partner up with them on networking events and meetings. We really do it all together, and I really think First County has done and still does a great job connecting everyone together.
Top Five Trips On Ferguson’s ‘To Do’ List:
- Sail Amsterdam in the Netherlands
- The Northern coastline territory in Australia and the city of Darwin
- Pai, Thailand
- The Manta Resort (an underwater hotel) in Pemba Island, Tanzania
- Drive from New York all the way to California
