Wells Fargo burnishes its business side

At left, John Cole, Wells Fargo executive vice president and business banking division manager, and Ronald Coccaro, Wells Fargo senior vice president and business banking area manager.

Once upon a time, the Wells Fargo wagon was “a-comin”™ down the street” bringing salmon, curtains and even a bathtub.

The wagon lives on of late only in revivals of “The Music Man” and in ad campaigns, replaced in order by the gas engine, the jet engine and the search engine. Yet with a stated presence in one in three American homes, holding one in four American mortgages, and as the No. 1 small business lender nationally, Wells Fargo Bank N.A. nonetheless clings to a down-home, service-oriented attitude and boasts more than half of the U.S. businesses it supports through loans are within two miles of a Wells Fargo retail store or ATM outlet.

“How a business”™ cash is impacted, its sales, its distribution ”“ you really have to know your client”™s business inside and out,” said Ronald Coccaro, Wells Fargo”™s Shelton-based New York and Connecticut region senior vice president and business banking area manager. “Helping with cash flow, for example, we”™re good at that.”

“Longer terms, smaller down payments and improved cash flow ”” that”™s the power of our Small Business Administration leadership status,” John Cole said. Cole is Wells Fargo”™s executive vice president and business banking area manager for the tristate region, based in Summit, N.J.

“We have a lot of tools in the tool belt,” Coccaro said. He sampled from Wells Fargo”™s 84 different lines of business services, citing in-house payroll services: “There”™s no third party ”” a huge advantage,” he said.

“Fraud protection and treasury management,” said Cole, itemizing two of those advantages.

Coccaro and Cole deal with businesses in the $2 million to $20 million annual revenue range. Their street-level views were reinforced a recent cool March morning when they arrived at the Business Journals with statistics (expected from bankers) and a font of enthusiasm (only partly expected from bankers). “I love to tell our story,” Cole said.

That story in the business arena is increasingly being told and sold by Wells Fargo”™s business sales officers (BSOs). “They are 100 percent dedicated to new businesses,” Cole said, noting BSO numbers have climbed in the tristate area from three in 2011 to 14 today, with six of those operating exclusively under Coccaro in New York and Connecticut.

“A lot of their job is the hard work of calling on clients and offering services,” Cole said. “They pound the pavement and get the brand out there, reaching clients and working in communities we otherwise might not have the time or capacity to reach. And when we work in these communities we grow.”

Cole said, “Many of our existing clients recommend us because they”™re satisfied with the Wells Fargo experience.”

Wells Fargo folded North Carolina-based Wachovia into its company in January 2009, significantly expanding its New York and Connecticut presence. It calls its centers “stores” and maintains 31 in Westchester, 21 in Fairfield County, and another seven in Dutchess, Putnam and Ulster counties.

Though rebounding, the region”™s overall economy remains in post-recession flux. “We have just completed our quarterly survey with Gallup,” Cole said, referencing the national pollsters. “The results demonstrate we”™re in a period where small business confidence is still finding its way. Cautious optimism, but not universal optimism; some businesses are still trying to navigate the economy and regulatory uncertainty. I just spoke with three small business owners last week and they are seeing huge upward pressure on health care. Health care is one area where we”™re helping small businesses get a grip.”

The WellsOne Commercial Card is another service on the rise. San Francisco-based Wells Fargo had already rolled it out on the West Coast in the ”™90s, but its addition to the Wells Fargo regional offerings is both new and cause for businesses in New York and Connecticut to take notice.

With approval, the WellsOne cardholder has the freedom to strike a substantial deal on the spot, eliminating the cash-flow glitches that might otherwise subvert the agreement. A construction yard is blocked by construction material, for example; a project failed. The owner of the construction yard has every incentive to clear his yard and lays it on the line: “Take it away for a dime on the dollar.” What that owner does not want to hear is, “Let me get back to you.”

“A commercial card like this ”” allowing a customer to pay suppliers quickly ”” allows a business person to take advantage of a supplier, to create immediate discounts and not worry about the cash flow until the card bill arrives,” said Cole. “It”™s a really powerful cash management service.”

“It is highly customizable,” said Coccaro of the WellsOne Commercial Card. “It is a loan product, so the user must qualify. What it does, for example, is to give a business owner the freedom through a sales force ”” even internationally ”” to pursue both smaller and larger deals.”

Cole said of its quarterly survey with Gallup, “We”™ve moved past the banking industry trauma of ”™08, well beyond. We”™re focused on growing businesses and taking advantage of new opportunities.”

Both Cole and Coccaro focus on businesses with between $2 million and $20 million in annual revenue. But with 84 different services offered ”” plus subsets ”” their bank seeks to zoom in on the specific needs of a business demographic. “Our practice-finance group offers unique expertise,” Coccaro said. “They specialize in physicians, optometrists, veterinarians and dentists. Our equipment-finance group specializes in any kind of equipment, from truck purchases to MRI machines. We either finance with a loan or we arrange leasing options.”