Articles
Explore over 350 articles that will help you grow your client relationships and improve your personal effectiveness.
The Beatles Principles: Lessons in Innovation and Client Loyalty from the Most Successful Band in History
The Beatles sold over one billion records and forever changed the face of pop music. As a team, they were able to create a whole that was greater than the sum of the parts. Together, they composed better music than they ever could have or did as solo artists. What did they do to accomplish this, […]
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Specialists Do Better Than Generalists. But Deep Generalists Do Even Better.
The new wisdom is: Become a visible expert in a niche. If you do you’ll command high fees and be sought after. You’ll get noticed. You’ll out-compete generalists. All true. But even more true is this: Add some breadth to your depth, and then you’ll really shine. I call it the deep generalist. (Actually, someone […]
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The Importance of Breakthrough Moments in Relationships
Regardless of what stage you’ve reached in a client relationship, you need to look for and seize what I call breakthrough moments. In examining the careers of great professionals, I have found there are always notable moments when they perform in extraordinary ways. The result is a major increase in their stature and in the […]
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Why Having A Great Brand Can Lead You to Fail in Sales
By Andrew Sobel So you have a strong brand. Congratulations. You walk into a prospective client’s office feeling confident and self-assured. You bask in the trust and respect that a good brand confers. But wait—this particular meeting may not be the bowl of cherries you expected. In fact, the executive you’re talking to may have […]
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Why Having A Great Brand Can Lead You to Fail in Sales
So you have a strong brand. Congratulations. You walk into a prospective client’s office feeling confident and self-assured. You bask in the trust and respect that a good brand confers. But wait—this particular meeting may not be the bowl of cherries you expected. In fact, the executive you’re talking to may have a pre-conceived notion […]
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Five Things You Should never say to a military serviceman or servicewoman
Monday was Memorial Day, which is a day of remembrance for those who have died while serving in the armed forces. It has also become a day to express gratitude to everyone who is serving or has served in the military. I’m personally grateful to my father, my mother, and my father-in-law (all deceased) who […]
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Are you part of your clients’ growth and profits? Or an expense to be managed?
Meet Ellen and Peter. They are both partners with large, well-known public accounting firms. They both went to good schools. They each have years of experience in auditing the financial statements of Fortune-500 companies. Consummate professionals. But that’s where the similarity ends. Ellen is a trusted advisor to the Chief Financial Officer (CFO) of her […]
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Eight Client Listening Strategies You Can Implement Today
Many executives tell me, “Of course we listen to our clients—we see them every week!” But those day-to-day interactions, while important, do not yield the kinds of in-depth information and feedback you need about your clients’ evolving needs and their perceptions of your relationship. Here are eight ways you can start listening more systematically and […]
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