Success Stories

1. We focused all lenders on collecting the portfolio and working with clients to keep them in their homes, paying. We created an innovative modification program that aligned the customer with their ability to pay. Losses and foreclosures were minimized and delinquencies declined.
2. The bank was highly non-core funded. We focused on creating attractive products and sold them to new and existing clients to stabilize the funding of the bank, while lowering the overall cost of funds.
3. We expanded the residential mortgage lending program to generate fee income as capital to grow was unavailable.
4. We developed Mortgage Repurchase program that allowed the bank to fund mortgages for Mortgage Bankers and hold them until the cold be sold in the secondary market.

"Visible Progress helped us to design our Customer Service Center strategy. Our Executive Team and Board appreciated the Customer Centric approach and complete view of how this new division would integrate with the rest of our organization. Based on that success we brought Visible Progress back to help us train and launch our new Customer Service Center. It has been a terrific success with customers and internal partners. The sales and service results have exceeded our expectations." Linda Pitsch | SVP of Operations | ChoiceOne Bank

“Tim is very good at building a strategic vision, and then working to define the logical steps needed to achieve that goal. He has spent many years working across multiple business lines/groups and does a good job at assessing potential hurdles/issues. Tim is also an experienced manager who spends the necessary time and effort in developing his employees.” Jim Lockhart | SVP Operations Manager – Consumer Segment | Huntington Bank

“Tim has been a great friend to the bank and to me.  He is genuinely interested in the bank's success and my personal success.  His knowledge, experience and insight bring so much energy to very meeting.  After each interaction, I leave with a renewed confidence about what I can accomplish." Barbara S. Walters | SVP Private Banking | Delaware County Bank

“Visible Progress’ ability to dig into processes, ask the right questions, and stay focused on delivering a great experience to customers has had a significant impact for Northpointe Bank. Visible Progress was able to save us approximately $500,000 for an investment of $20,000 over the course of one week.” Leonard Iakiri | Vice President of Sales & Marketing | Northpointe Bank

“I am pleased to recommend Tim Scholten. I was fortunate to work with Tim on a variety of projects and found him to be innovative and energizing. Tim leverages his deep and varied background to identify opportunities, remove roadblocks and move projects forward aggressively. On more than one occasion his ability to bring disparate viewpoints together to craft a workable and creative solution within project deadlines was essential.” Jean Parker | AVP, Instructional Design Team Leader | Huntington Bank

"The Sales Excellence program provided a repeatable process to successfully building relationships with my customers. I was able to build Level 3 relationships with my small business customers and become their trusted advisor. These relationships became very fruitful for my branches as I consistently met balance sheet growth and revenue goals. My customer referrals tripled and I was able to double the size of my portfolio. I trained my staff on the same principles behind the Sales Excellence program and they achieved similar successes with their own customers."   AJ Frint | Banking Office Manager Sr. | Huntington National Bank>

“My credit union engaged Visible Progress with the intent of providing our front line staff with a working knowledge of real estate mortgage lending, what we got was so much more. Tim came on-site and personally assessed our back office operations, interviewed our sales people, reviewed our processes, and developed an expert training program. More important than the custom tailored staff training, technology upgrades, and all inclusive user manuals; Visible Progress taught our sales people to become Trusted Advisors. The return on our investment has been incredible! In the first full calendar month since our training took place, we have increased production and income by 400%. Most importantly, our sales people are no longer intimidated when they take a mortgage application, instead they are seeking out the opportunity.” Ryan S. Giffin | Vice President, Lending | CME Federal Credit Union

"Tim Scholten from Visible Progress is the consummate banking professional who balances proven relationship management concepts with field-tested practice and coaching principles. Tim's career in the financial services industry, which spans three decades, gives him a unique perspective on what works and what doesn't in both retail and call center banking operations. Tim has now delivered sound, practice-centered sales and relationship management to all of our call center and retail associates here at Delaware County Bank (DCB). The effects of this training are profound, changing the "conversation" around selling into a Trusted Advisor "conversation" and having an immediate impact on service and sales in these two customer touch point areas. Tim is a valuable resource for us at DCB, who delivers his advice and processes in a forthright and easily understandable fashion. He has already had a noticeable impact here and we expect that to continue with higher sales and cross-selling metrics. I would recommend him to any prospective client and will continue to use his services in the future. " Dave Archibald | SVP-Retail & Marketing | Delaware County Bank & Trust Co.

"The Customer Service Excellence Program was a great experience for our associates. We have received such positive feedback from our customers that we are going to continue delivering this program throughout the ChoiceOne organization. Both internal and external sales and service results have exceeded our expectations!" Linda Pitsch
 | Senior Vice President of Operations
 | ChoiceOne Bank

“Tim has been a wonderful addition to our team at Northpointe. His ability to dig into processes, ask the right questions and stay focused on delivering a great experience to our customers has already made a significant impact. Tim has the rare ability to balance customer and associate impact with technology and operational needs, which is not easy to do. His common sense approach to bringing people together and working through challenges is one of his key strengths. Tim is also a gifted leader and seeks opportunities to mentor others. He is passionate about helping others grow and make the most of their talents. One of the things I appreciate most about Tim is that he makes sure that others understand and learn the processes used to improve the business - he doesn't just come in and solve the problems, he makes sure that the organization gets better at leading and managing the business. I would strongly recommend Tim's work to anyone looking for a partner to help drive measurable improvement in results, business strategy, employee engagement, customer service and/or operational efficiency.” Leonard Iakiri | VP of Retail and Mortgage Banking | Northpointe Bank

“Tim was responsible for high profile business and consumer online product delivery systems and accordingly a key Internal Audit client and risk management partner. 

Tim passionately championed innovative electronic mechanisms to deliver first class financial products and services to Huntington customers. Tim’s level of focus on the customer experience, sales growth, profitability and effective risk management distinguished him from many of his colleagues.” Greg Rich | CPA, CIA, VP Audit Group Manager | Huntington Bank

"Tim's coaching style inspired action and deep thought. His encouragement to think like a CEO provided the incentive to realize that perception is reality. His results-oriented approach was both effective and a refreshing diversion from the same old routine. Thanks, Tim! I think I'm a better leader because of our time spent together." Dan Wheat | VP of Mortgage Lending | ChoiceOne Bank

“Tim is a natural leader, coach, and visionary. He holds his employees to the highest standards and keeps them focused on the priority work that impacts the business. Tim is accountable to his commitments for Visible Progress, which influences others to be accountable to their own work. He understands the benefits of investing in his business and he is not afraid of making a commitment to provide quality tools for his employees. I have had the pleasure of working for Tim and he is easily one of the most insightful leaders I have worked for. Every interaction with Tim is positive with a laser-focus on the customer and business. Tim is an effective coach and he shares his vast experience with his employees that creates an environment of constant learning. What separates Tim from other leaders that I have worked for is his genuine care for his employees. Tim is an approachable and caring leader who strives to ensure his employees are happy and successful in their personal and professional lives. He uses his experiences in life and business to relate to his employees on a level that creates an unparalleled working relationship.” AJ Frint | Business Team Sales Leader | Apple