Articles
Explore over 350 articles that will help you grow your client relationships and improve your personal effectiveness.
The Next Level: Trusted Client Partner
Some firms call them “office of the chairman” accounts, while others simply refer to them as key clients. These are the flagship client relationships that propel your growth in good times and provide essential ballast in a downturn. They are broad and deep, transcending any one individual professional or service offering. Usually, they endure for […]
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I’m having lots of conversations–why isn’t my client buying?
A client can only become a buyer of your services if 5 fundamental conditions are met:
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How do you recover when clients feel they’ve been let down?
How do you recover when clients feel they've been let down or are otherwise disappointed about something?
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No Client Plan Survives Contact with the Clients (Part II)
Last month, I talked about the importance of a client plan, and the fact that many professionals dislike the process of client planning. Small wonder, since very often it becomes a bureaucratic process overburdened by complex forms. In that newsletter I set out the first 8 of 16 principles for developing a thoughtful, robust client […]
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No Client Plan Survives Contact with the Client (Part I)
Each year, a large forest is consumed to make paper for all of the client plans that are written around the world. Trees and business professionals alike generally loathe the task. I can understand why the trees are upset, but why do many client-facing executives dislike this exercise? Here are some typical comments I hear […]
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Gaining CEO Access
Do any of these laments sound familiar? “We want to move up in the organization, but we’re stuck working with a mid-level director” “This is a major, target client for us. We’ve been trying to meet the CEO, however, without success. We just cannot get the access.” “We’d like to get broader visibility for our […]
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Introverts, Extroverts, and Billy Joel
A few years ago, I found myself—unusually—at a popular bar in Boston’s North End at nearly one in the morning. After a daylong meeting, I had gone out to dinner with a group of client executives, and afterwards they had insisted on visiting the North End, which is a charming, traditionally Italian neighborhood located near […]
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