John Haverland Bringing Accord’s Mission to Life
Since 2016, John has worked as Accord’s Director of Marketing—dedicating his time to spreading the word about Accord and improving the customers’ experience. He’s there to listen to clients and find a way to make their process as simple as possible. Today, John took some time to speak about his experience as the Director of Marketing for Accord. See what he has to say:
What exactly is your involvement as Director of Marketing for Accord?
“While a lot of what I do is to help middle-market referral sources (and potential clients) understand Accord’s breadth of services with various outbound messaging and marketing, I’m also heavily involved in many other corporate initiatives with the underlying objective serving our mission statement to simplify access to capital. For example, I’ve played a supporting role in developing our online application portal (launching soon), which makes onboarding clients more streamlined, and I have an integral role in creating and distributing our client and referral source surveys, which enable Accord to understand how we can better serve both clients and referral sources. I believe initiatives like these make life easier for our clients and referral sources by listening to their needs and implementing technology or processes to better serve them”.
What about your role do you find most fulfilling?
“That’s somewhat funny and has certainly changed over time. Earlier in my career, I would have definitely said that creating a beautiful marketing piece or completing a successful campaign were the most fulfilling. And don’t get me wrong, those are certainly still rewarding, but the thing that really moves me now is helping others. So, when I can be a part of initiatives (like those previously mentioned)—which truly help people—that is what really motivates me. I don’t have a specific example, but when I can develop campaigns that connect the right people at the right time, and Accord can provide financing that saves companies—and therefore jobs—it feels great to know that I played a small role in that good”.
What advice would you give to young marketing professionals in the finance industry?
“I think for young marketers in finance—or any industry for that matter—don’t be afraid to try something new. This is especially true for industries or companies that operate under the ‘we’ve always done it this way’ mantra. That is actually one of my pet peeves, because what if you’ve been doing it wrong—or at the very least—inefficiently or ineffectively all this time? Utilize a new technology. Try a new platform or medium of distribution. Go after a new market. Sometimes you don’t know if something will be successful until you’ve tried it. You may crank it out of the park, but you also might fail. So, the most important thing is if you do fail…OWN IT. It’s scary to try new things, especially if you think your job is on the line, but when (not if) you do fail, learn from your mistake, then you’re that much better positioned to succeed next time”.