Andrew Sobel
Building Enduring Client Relationships
Client Relationship Management
From Expert for Hire to Trusted Client Partner
Clients Want More Value
I recently conducted a major Client Relationship Management Best Practices Survey that drew responses from over 400 partners or managing directors at 15 leading services firms. These included companies such as Citigroup, Booz Allen Hamilton, Ernst & Young, Lloyds Banking Group, Experian, and Towers Perrin.
The number one trend cited by these senior professionals, in terms of what is affecting their ability to build client relationships and be effective at client relationship management, is Client demands for greater value—for more price/performance (see my article on this, Adding More Value).
On the client side, I have heard this exact same message during hundreds of interviews I have conducted with CEOs and other senior corporate executives. In an attempt to get more value, companies are trying many things, such as:
The number one trend cited by these senior professionals, in terms of what is affecting their ability to build client relationships and be effective at client relationship management, is Client demands for greater value—for more price/performance (see my article on this, Adding More Value).
On the client side, I have heard this exact same message during hundreds of interviews I have conducted with CEOs and other senior corporate executives. In an attempt to get more value, companies are trying many things, such as:
- Using procurement to purchase services
- Consolidating their use of outside advisors and working with fewer firms
- Becoming more demanding in terms of time frames and deliverables
To deal with these trends, you must approach client development and client relationship management with the right set of strategies.
The Client Relationship Matrix: Four Positions
The Client Development Matrix illustrates the path to building value-added, trusted client partnerships:
©2006 by Andrew Sobel. All Rights Reserved.
The Northeast Quadrant: The Place to Be
The relationships that most professional firms aspire to build lie in what I call the Northeast Quadrant. In this space, two things have happened: first, the individual professional managing the relationship has evolved his or her role from an expert-for-hire to a trusted business advisor; and second, the firm has developed its overall relationship from a narrow one based on few services and one individual contact to a broad one founded on multiple relationships and services. These Northeast Quadrant relationships—we can also call them trusted client partnerships—are the bedrock of most organizations.
The Client Development Matrix distinguishes four different positions in all, each with its own characteristics:
1. Expert for Hire
This is where most relationships begin. At this point, the trust and mutual understanding that might deepen and broaden the relationship simply have not developed yet. This is not a “bad” position to be in, but probably not one where you want to remain for long. Experts are, after all, tradable commodities—there are always other good experts in your field out there. Providing answers and delivering your expertise—not client relationship management—is the focus at this early stage. If you’re interested in a full treatment of how to move from an expert for hire to a client advisor, have a look at my first book, Clients For Life: Evolving From an Expert For Hire to a Trusted Client Advisor.
2. Trusted Advisor
In this quadrant, you’ve demonstrated a series of qualities—trustworthiness, independence, judgment, big-picture thinking, empathy, and others—that earn you a position as a trusted advisor within your client’s inner circle. This is a great role to play, but without moving up the other axis and broadening the relationship at a firm level, your ability to grow this client will be limited. The most critical shift that allows you to move to the right in this matrix is a change in your mindset. For example:
The Client Development Matrix distinguishes four different positions in all, each with its own characteristics:
1. Expert for Hire
This is where most relationships begin. At this point, the trust and mutual understanding that might deepen and broaden the relationship simply have not developed yet. This is not a “bad” position to be in, but probably not one where you want to remain for long. Experts are, after all, tradable commodities—there are always other good experts in your field out there. Providing answers and delivering your expertise—not client relationship management—is the focus at this early stage. If you’re interested in a full treatment of how to move from an expert for hire to a client advisor, have a look at my first book, Clients For Life: Evolving From an Expert For Hire to a Trusted Client Advisor.
2. Trusted Advisor
In this quadrant, you’ve demonstrated a series of qualities—trustworthiness, independence, judgment, big-picture thinking, empathy, and others—that earn you a position as a trusted advisor within your client’s inner circle. This is a great role to play, but without moving up the other axis and broadening the relationship at a firm level, your ability to grow this client will be limited. The most critical shift that allows you to move to the right in this matrix is a change in your mindset. For example:
- Experts tell; Advisors have Empathy—they ask great questions and listen
- Experts are narrow specialists; Advisors are Deep Generalists who have knowledge depth and breadth
- Experts are for hire; Advisors have Selfless Independence—they balance client devotion with objectivity
- Experts analyze; Advisors bring Synthesis or Big Picture Thinking to the table
- Experts build professional trust; Advisors also develop deep Personal Trust with their clients
If you’d like to assess your own trusted advisor skills, check out the Making Rain Individual Skills Assessment.
Also, remember that trusted advisor relationships are built on a series of thoughtful, provocative conversations—not a bunch of PowerPoint decks. For a good anecdote about this from one of my clients, check out this blog entry, “Great Conversations Build Great Relationships”
3. Vendor
You’ve successfully broadened the relationship and developed a significant revenue stream with this client. You may in fact be managing a very large, multifaceted program. Don’t kid yourself, however—you’re still in “RFP territory,” just as you were when you were a solitary expert for hire. Vendors are generally good at client relationship management, but they tend to focus on the mechanical aspects of the process. They create detailed client plans (which are often then put on the shelf) that contain elaborate cross-selling matrices and financial information. These client account plans, in my experience, generally do not focus sufficiently on relationship building.
If you’d like to learn more how to build relationships with Procurement managers, read my article entitled Working More Effectively with Procurement.
4. Trusted Partner
This is the ultimate goal: to be a trusted advisor to your client and to harness the full power of your organization to deliver outstanding results. In this top-right quadrant you have built a true client partnership. You are leading your client’s agenda, have built many-to-many relationships, and are meeting an array of client needs. It’s not an easy task to play this role with a client, but if you succeed, you and your firm will probably have a client for life—and a highly profitable one at that. You’ll also experience great personal satisfaction in the role of a trusted counselor who is having a significant impact on his or her client’s success. In this quadrant, client relationship management becomes an ongoing process. Client plans focus on how to build deep relationships with key decision makers and influencers, and client account planning is a continuous dialog among your team members and between your team and the client.
How Do You Become a Trusted Client Partner?
Over the last fifteen years, I have conducted extensive research into the ingredients of successful, enduring client relationships. I have also worked closely with many leading professional service firms, financial institutions, technology companies, and other service providers on this topic. Based on a recent study of I completed of 50 major trusted client partnerships built by a variety of companies, it’s clear that there are 10 major building blocks—essential strategies or practices—that are necessary to evolve from an expert-for-hire to a trusted advisor to, finally, a trusted client partner. These building blocks, properly executed, enable you to move firmly into the Northeast Quadrant of the client development matrix. These are set out in my latest book, All for One: 10 Strategies for Building Trusted Client Partnerships.
The chart below summarizes these 10 strategies by illustrating a series of shifts in approach and practice:
The chart below summarizes these 10 strategies by illustrating a series of shifts in approach and practice:
| From: | To: |
| Understanding your client | Agenda setting |
| Networking | Relationship Capital |
| Selling | Executive Engagement |
| Individual relationships | Institutional relationships |
| Core value | Multilayered value |
| Chasing any lead | Disciplined client selection |
| Ad-hoc training | A Client leadership pipeline |
| Individual effort | Collaborative effort |
| Anecdotal client feedback | Client listening program |
| Consistent delivery | Unique client experience |
Client Relationship Management: Are Your Relationship Managers Up to the Task?
The task of client relationship management, in effect, is to help implement each of these “all for one” strategies at the client level.
In thinking about the effectiveness of your client relationship managers, here are some questions you should be asking:
In thinking about the effectiveness of your client relationship managers, here are some questions you should be asking:
- Are they setting high aspirations for the client relationships they are responsible for?
- Have they built relationships with key executive decision makers—with economic buyers and who can authorize your firm’s work? Or are their best relationships with middle managers?
- Does the client perceive them as thought leaders?
- Are they “agenda reacting” or Agenda Setting? Do they have a seat at the table with senior clients? Are they helping to shape, influence, and improve their client’s agenda of critical priorities and goals?
- Do they try to sell to clients or do they create buyers by identifying client problems and opportunities and building trust in your organization’s ability to address them?
- Do they consciously strive to build many-to-many relationships between your firm and the client’s organization? Are they gatekeepers or door openers?
- What is the balance of their effort and time as between managing the delivery of current projects versus developing and deepening the client relationship at senior levels and bringing strategic points of view and perspectives to the client?
- Do they use a reflective, strategic account development process that focuses on ongoing dialogue about the client’s needs and priorities and the key relationships that have to be developed by the team?
- Is value defined as delivering the project or program as promised? Or doing that and more—e.g., helping the client improve their business in multiple ways and grow personally from the experience of working with you.
- Do your client relationship managers have strong internal networks of relationships, so that they can identify and mobilize the right people from your firm into their client relationships?
- Do they build strong teams? Do young professionals gravitate towards working for them and getting involved in their projects?
- Are your relationship managers collaborative? Do they spread the credit for successes around liberally to other team members? Do they set the example in the way they work with others and do they consistently communicate collaborative values and behaviors?
- Do they engage in ongoing personal development to expand their skill base and enlarge their comfort zone? Are they developing into the kind of individuals that c-level executives want to spend time with?
The client account planning process is a great platform or vehicle to incorporate many of these strategies and tactics. My own philosophy is that
“No client plan survives contact with the client”
In other words, account planning should be a dynamic, fluid process rather than centered on a static written plan that is put together in January and then left on the shelf. You might want to read my two-part article on account planning:
No Client Plan (Part 1)
No Client Plan (Part II)
No Client Plan (Part 1)
No Client Plan (Part II)
Client Relationship Management: Key Points
- Client demands for more value-added mean you must systematically cultivate and manage your relationships and identify ways to add multiple layers of value.
- Everyone starts off in the “Expert for Hire” quadrant, but while clients hire experts, they keep advisors. Unless you want to be a fungible commodity, you must exemplify trusted advisor attributes and evolve your relationship.
- When you reach “Trusted Partner” status, you have built many-to-many relationships on the back of one or more trusted advisor connections. A multiplicity of strategies are required to do this. All for One: 10 Strategies for Building Trusted Client Partnerships sets these out in detail.
- Client relationship management is not a mechanical process for “managing” clients. Rather, it is a system of strategies and methods, led by a senior relationship manager, for engaging with client executives, building trust, adding value, and bringing to bear the best people, ideas, and resources your firm can offer in order to help the client achieve its goals.
Download a PDF of this framework
All Publications for Relationship Management
RSSAndrew is Executive Director and co-founder of the Client Leadership Forum, a group of leading services firms which share best practices for effective client relationship management and support research into “next practice” for building clients for life. Learn more about the Forum.
Andrew's new book is:
All for One: 10 Strategies for Building Trusted Client Partnerships
Buy now.
What are the essential tasks of a client relationship manager? Here are six to think about:
- Aspiration Setting: Establishing ambitious, stretch goals for the relationship that are always aligned with client needs.
- Relationship strategy: Deciding what opportunities you should pursue and which individual executive relationships you should invest in.
- Client leadership: Becoming a trusted advisor to the client and a recognized thought leader within the client organization.
- Team leadership and growth: Mobilizing, orchestrating, motivating, and developing the right group of professionals–from across the firm–to serve the client.
- Ambassadorship: Representing the entire firm's capabilities, not just your area of expertise.
- Quality Assurance and Commercial management: Ensuring high quality work at all times; managing pricing, contracting, and negotiating; ensuring firm profit standards are being met; making thoughtful decisions about investments in the client; and so on.