Like wine
Koos Kramer
and we have a depth of knowledge that's unsurpassed. Another
key selling point is our cross-border M&A capabilities. It helps that
we have senior staff that have worked in different regions, and
have experience of dealing with senior bankers and clients in both
Europe and the US. In partnership with Rothschild we're present
in 27 countries, and we have 180 dedicated M&A bankers globally,
the largest and most successful franchise dedicated to F&A. And in
each of these countries we have in-depth knowledge of the market
players, from the large companies through to the up-and-coming
organisations."
Acting as a strategie partner to its key clients is clearly of funda-
mental importance to Rabobank, but it's equally as important
that Rabobank understands the nature of the relationship as
viewed from the cliënt side. Gerard Hoetmer explains that CSM
view Rabobank as a long-term partner and, therefore, its strategie
partner. "We view this from a number of angles. Firstly, the support
they gave us during the Best Brands purchase, which was a
textbookexample ofan M&A deal. Secondly, theïr financial stability,
which is paramount in today's economie climate. And thirdly, their
involvement in the F&A sector. We need good partners in the field,
as we produce and sell goods globally, and we need to know we
can rely on a financial provider that is a good match within our
sector. We have the idea that you can always rely on Rabobank.
It's a bank that if something pops up - ifwe require advice or
financing at short notice - we have board-level contacts and we
get very quick responses. There are not many banks with which you
can have such a relationship, and this is a very strong element in
the way in which we work together and trust one another. At the
end of the day, we're both people businesses, and we feel that the
spark between the two organisations is there." Van Gorkom agrees,
and believes that when CSM is ready to grow their business further,
Rabobank will be a natural partner. "By leveraging what we've done
through the Best Brands deal, we'll be able to develop strategie
actions within other areas."
For De Sanna, loyalty in banking can be compared to wine -
people are open to change, but for an important dinner would
always go back to a favorite bottle. Taking the metaphor further,
when it comes to a large or transformational deal, clients would
always go to their trusted advisor, therefore it is essential to build
and develop strong relationships over time. "Relationships are
both an opportunity and a responsibility. It's natural that you grow
closer to clients after a successful deal, but the responsibility on
our shoulders is to make sure that we have a coverage plan in
place that is a combination of calls, meetings and ideas. You need
to keep on top of what the client's strategy is, so that you're in
touch with them regularly. The real goal is to build intimacy with
clients' key decision makers, and to become their long term trusted
advisors .To be able to call the CEO or owner and run an idea
past them, and do it in an informal manner; no need for a pitch.
This means that you've already reached a level of confidence in
the relationship that you trust each other enough to have a chat
without formality. This type of cliënt intimacy gets you into the
flow of ideas with the cliënt, and that's the goal that we're working
towards with all of our core clients."
ISSUE 24 JULY2010 RI WORLD 1 3