All for One: 10 Strategies for Building Trusted Client Partnerships

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Conclusion

Implementing the 10 Strategies

There are many factors in our professional lives that are outside of our control. You cannot do much about the economy, how your competitors choose to act, or your clients' internal politics. But you can control most aspects of the relationship-building process. You can decide which clients and individual relationships to invest your time in, when and how to leverage your firm's capabilities, and what types of strategies to employ. Trusted client partnerships are made, not born, and it's up to you to make them.

I'd like to emphasize three ideas to conclude this book. The first is that confidence is critical to building Level 6 relationships. No one has a monopoly on trusted client partnerships. I have seen them developed by very small firms and also very large ones; by market leaders and by unknown upstarts. The first sale is to yourself, and if you believe that you belong in the c-suite and that your firm should be your client's most important advisor, then you've already won half the battle. If you don't believe these things, why should your clients?

The second idea is that focus is essential. It's almost impossible to develop Level 6 relationships without a significant concentration of resources. Your organization must be willing to invest in its highest-potential client relationships, possibly in exchange for returns that may take a year or more to materialize. Thoughtful, focused investments in the right client relationships almost ...