Nice & Simple Banking for Complex Situations

Pictured above: Dr. Troy and Dr. Shari, Persona Dental Co-Owners and their Deerwood Business Banker, Jacki Templin.

Dr. Troy and Dr. Shari at Persona Dental (Sartell, MN) want their patients to feel like Persona is their dental home. They educate patients on their options and help them make the dental decision that is best for the patient.

Dr. Troy and Dr. Shari say their experience with Deerwood Bank is similar in process. “Deerwood understands our goals, educates us on the options, and helps us make the best decision for our practice,” Dr. Troy says.

Deerwood Bank’s Business Banking Solutions

Dr. Troy was a solo-practitioner serving clients in Sartell since 2008. By 2018, his practice grew to the point where he needed to bring on a partner in order to meet patient demands. Dr. Shari had been working with him for a few years and had an opportunity to buy into the practice. “We had a really unique situation,” Dr. Shari said. “I was buying into the dental practice, but also buying into the real estate property where the dental practice is located.”

Dr. Shari, who was not banking with Deerwood at the time, approached a few other banks, hoping to gain insight and options for their transaction. “I kept getting shot down by the bigger, corporate banks because they didn’t understand our situation. They had never dealt with dental practices; we didn’t fit in their ‘box’ of comfortable transactions,” Dr. Shari said. “It was incredibly frustrating. I could never talk to anyone local who made the decisions to even explain our situation.”

Jacki Templin and Denise Rosin, Persona Dental’s Deerwood Bank bankers, were no strangers to dental transactions, mergers, and practice buy-ins. “They had done this before. They really understood what we wanted to do and helped us get it done. They were so easy to work with. They presented us with a couple of different ways to structure the process and educated us on the pros and cons,” Dr. Troy said.

Dr. Shari added that local decision-making makes a huge difference. “We can call our bank and our bankers any time and talk to the right person. We don’t have to talk to different people every time we call,” she says. Now, Dr. Troy and Dr. Shari own the practice, and the real estate, together.

“Deerwood Bank has all the services and products I need—personally and professionally.”

In addition to Deerwood Bank providing nice and simple banking for Persona Dental, Dr. Troy uses Deerwood for all of his personal banking needs as well, from his personal checking to his mortgage. When Dr. Troy built his existing practice building, he borrowed against the equity in his home to pay for the down payment. “It was a complex transaction,” he said. “And Deerwood made it a piece of cake for me. I called them to let them know what was going on. They took it and coordinated everything they needed internally, then called me back with the solution. It’s so personal and so easy.” “I don’t bank anywhere else. Deerwood has all the capabilities I need,” he said.

How Deerwood Bank is different, in Dr. Troy’s words:

1. Expertise in healthcare.

“When Dr. Shari was buying into the practice, Denise and Jacki’s experience was invaluable to us. They’ve worked with so many healthcare practices on similar situations, so they were able to advise us.”

2. They find ways to make things work.

“When I went to other banks, they always seemed to be looking for the problems in our situation. Deerwood thinks outside of the box and does the research to find ways to make things work.”

3. Small-town feel.

“Almost everyone knows me by first name at Deerwood Bank. It’s a lot of trust to put into someone and something—and Deerwood has all of my trust personally and professionally.”