To cross-sell Small-Business Owners, learn to speak their language.

• Author: Blasingame, Jim

Once upon a time, a storm at sea sank two ships in the same area. All on board were lost, save one from each ship, and these poor souls were alive only because they swam to a small, nearby island.

As luck would have it, the two men hauled themselves up on the beach at the same time and within sight of each other. But the survivors' celebration soon became pensive as they realized that each spoke a language unknown to the other.

Immediately both men had the same unspoken thought, "I don't know this man or the language he speaks, but if we're going to survive, we have to find a way to communicate and work together."

In many ways, this tale actually plays out every day. But instead of on the high seas, our story takes place in the marketplace. And instead of mythical shipwreck survivors, our real-life players are bankers and small-business owners.

Like the castaways in the first story, the excitement of the latter two about their future prospects turns pensive when they both realize that:

1. They need each other in order to be successful.

2. They don't speak each other's language very well, if at all.

   With so much common interest and so little mutual understanding, can these two create a successful survival story? Absolutely, but only if they have the "Blasingame Official Translator for Bankers and Small-Business Owners." Here are a few examples of how the Blasingame translator works.

   For bankers to speak small business, they must:

1. Understand that it's redundant to say, "undercapitalized small business."

2. Recognize that starting a small business is easy--operating a successful one is not.

3. Explain bank rules and banking regulations more often.

4. Realize that it's the banker's job to recommend services and products first.

5. Believe that small businesses need more than loans and financial services--they need technical assistance from their palmers, like explaining how a business can grow itself right out of business.

6. In the credit scoring process, always find a way to give small-business owners credit for character and best efforts.

7. Reward small-business loyalty with banker loyalty.

   For small businesses to understand their banker, they must:

1. Identify their banker as a success partner and their business's best friend.

2. Stay close to their banker when things are going well, and even...