Meet the People at Sterling: Sean Rogers, Vice President

Sean Rogers doesn’t really have to leave his office to visit clients in person to close loans. But in his mind, he needs to.

“If you personalize the relationship by meeting the client face-to-face, it creates a bond,” Rogers says.

Sterling Associates’ mission to exceed their customer’s expectations by providing professional, personalized service on a daily basis is more than a slogan. Rogers lives by it. So, he travels up to 4,000 miles each month, through Maine, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Rhode Island and Connecticut, meeting with clients and showing them, by being there in person, that the idea of the personal touch is not just a concept at Sterling Associates.

“I don’t think most companies go to your office anymore, and that probably differentiates us,” he says. “Maybe a few years later, when a client wants to buy a bigger boat, they might think of the guy who came to them and made the process so easy and simple.”

Rogers has been a vice president at Sterling since 2005 and has been working in the financial services industry for 27 years. A graduate of Babson College, he is married with two girls and one boy, all in their teens. That keeps him pretty busy attending multiple sports events to watch them play hockey, lacrosse and field hockey.

“My weekends are pretty full,” he says. “I love golf, but I don’t get to play much anymore.”

Rogers says he entered financial services because “It’s one of those industries where the harder you work, the better you will do.

“We treat our clients like we would want to be treated,” he says. “The deal is as important to us as it is to them.”

The average size transaction for Sterling is approximately $200,000, but the company helps broker loans for as little as $25,000. But Rogers treats each client the same. His goal with every loan is to be responsive to the client’s needs and to make each client comfortable. “Whether it’s a $2 million boat or a 15-foot Whaler, the loan is equally important to both of them,” he says.

Because Sterling works with 16 banks and credit unions, both local and national, it is able to match client’s needs with lenders who will offer the lowest rate.

“We have more client lenders for end loans than anyone,” Rogers says. “We have the national banks, but we also have the local community banks and credit unions, which offer loans the bigger banks don’t. Some people want an adjustable rate mortgage or a smaller down payment, some want to work with a big bank, others want a small community bank where they know their loan won’t get sold repeatedly. We can offer the spectrum, where we can put them in a place for a boat loan where they are most comfortable.”