8 Attributes.pdf

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Video: Agenda Setting

© Andrew Sobel & RAIN Group www.RelationshipStrategy.com

The 8 Attr ibutes ofSuccessful Cl ient Advisors

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Experts vs. Advisors

Before we look at the eight attributes of

successful client advisors, let’s examine animportant paradox. To succeed with clients,

you must have a deep expertise in a defined

subject matter. The mindset you develop as an

expert, however, can be your greatest enemy.

Harry Truman once said, “An expert is a fellow

who’s afraid to learn anything new becausethen he wouldn’t be an expert anymore.” This

points to the notion that experts tend to stay

within their narrow expertise at all times and

are fearful of straying outside its boundaries.

Many professionals are stuck in an expert

mindset, which has profound implications for

their client interactions.

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Experts see limitations; advisors see

possibilities.

Experts build professional credibility;

advisors develop deep, personal trust

Experts tell because, after all, they have

important knowledge to communicate;

advisors ask great questions and listen.

Experts are for hire to the highest bidder;

advisors have selfless independence.

Experts are specialists; advisors are deep

generalists.

Experts are reactive; advisors are proactive

agenda-setters.

This ebook lays out the eight differentiating attributes that separate

experts for hire from trusted client advisors.







Advisors Earn a Spot Inside Client’s Inner Circle

“A trusted advisor is someone who is my

confidante through thick and thin, not

just when the fees are there. It’s

someone who says ‘I will be at the

corner of Main St. and First at 2:30 pmtomorrow.’ And I know—no matter what

happens, no matter what the

circumstances are, no matter if there’s a

blizzard and it snows three feet—they

will be there to meet me as promised.”

Clients hire experts, but they keep advisors.

CEO, Fortune-500 company

“He does a great job and consistently delivers

exceptional value for the money.”

“She has good business sense and judgment.I use her as a sounding board

for tough decisions.”

“I trust him completely to always do

what’s right for me.”

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The Eight Attributes

Here are the eight attributes that set successful client advisors apart, allowing them to

consistently build meaningful, long-term relationships.

TRUST

CONVICTION

DEEP GENERALIST

AGENDA SETTING

JUDGMENT SYNTHESIS

EMPATHY SELFLESS INDEPENDENCE

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There are many other attributes that contribute to a person’s success, such as:

Their absence from this ebook is not meant to diminish their importance.

Quite simply, the 8 attributes highlighted in this report are the unique qualities that set

successful client advisors apart from experts-for-hire.

The attributes are research-based, representing the qualities most often referred to by top

executives in interviews with over 150 CEOs and hundreds of senior executives around

the world. They have been validated by tens of thousands of service professionals across a

variety of industries during workshops on long-term relationship building.

Why These Eight?

COMMUNICATION SKILLS, DEPENDABILITY, LOYALTY, OPTIMISM, FLEXIBILITY,

MULTI-TASKING, DRIVE, HUMOR, ORGANIZATION, PERSONALITY, ETC.

SELFLESS INDEPENDENCE, EMPATHY, DEEP GENERALIST, SYNTHESIS, AGENDA

SETTING, JUDGMENT, CONVICTION, TRUST

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Foundational Attributes

The first two—selfless independence and empathy —can be considered “foundational”

attributes for great client advisors. If you can’t listen and are unable to balance yourdedication to clients with great independence, then you’re simply not going to be able to

give the client-specific, honest advice that is the hallmark of a client advisor.

EMPATHY SELFLESS INDEPENDENCE

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I. Selfless Independence

You are devoted to your clients but independent

from them—intellectually, emotionally, and yes,

even financially (at least in terms of your

attitude).

You offer independent views, even if they are

opposed to beliefs your clients hold dearly.

You are able to tell a client “no” and turn away

business when it’s the right thing to do.

Your independence gives you a certain poise,

grace, and strength in managing your business

relationships.

Sir Thomas More, Henry VIII’s chief

advisor, is a wonderful example ofheroic selfless independence.Based on his deeply-held principlesand religious convictions, Morerefused to endorse Henry’s divorce

from Catherine of Aragon, and as a

result lost his head. A more contemporary examplewould be former US attorneygeneral Elliot Richardson, whostood up to President RichardNixon during the Watergate crisis in

1973. Richardson was ordered tofire the special Watergateprosecutor, Archibald Cox, andwhen he kept his integrity andrefused, he was himself fired byNixon.

Experts for hire ultimately seek to please their clients

through compromise and deference. Advisorsexercise selfless independence, which helps ensure

your relationships are healthy and balanced.

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I. Selfless Independence

Sir Brian Pitman,Former CEO of Lloyds Banking Group

You don’t have to lose your head to demonstrate this kind of independence, but you may

experience a short-term sacrifice such as some lost business. However, experience showsthat you ultimately gain it back, and more, through the reputation you develop as

someone with sterling integrity and the willingness to say “no” when it’s the right thing

to do.

“If the investment bankers I work with would say

‘no’ more often, I would say ‘yes’ more often.”

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II. Empathy

You ask thought-provoking questions that help

clients reframe their issues.

You tune into his feelings, his thoughts, and the

context of his daily life.

You create mutual disclosure—listening is not aone-way activity where you ask questions and the

client answers.

You create emotional rapport when both you and

your client put information, perspectives, and

even feelings on the table for both of you to see.

Enablers of Empathy

There are three basic enablersof empathy:

1. Self-awareness and self-control, which allow you toperceive others as theyreally are—independent ofyour own biases andneuroses

2. Humility, including a beliefthat you can learn fromyour clients

3. Keen listening skills

Experts provide answers and tell; advisors ask great questions and listen.

Pablo Picasso

“Computers are useless. They can only

give you answers.”

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Thinking Attributes

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DEEP GENERALIST

AGENDA SETTING

JUDGMENT SYNTHESIS

We call the next four “thinking” attributes, because they have to do with your intellectual

ability and breadth:







III. Deep Generalists

You consistently seek to broaden your experiences and

make the knowledge connections necessary for big-picture

thinking and contextualizing your advice.

You continually refine and improve your knowledge of your

core specialty.

You become deeply knowledgeable about your clients and

the “ecosystem” that surrounds them.

You eagerly engage in broad-based “personal learning” that

could include studying a foreign language, collecting

antique clocks, repairing cars, or playing a musical

instrument. – If you doubt this and wonder what your hobbies have to

do with client relationships, just remember that

personal chemistry, shared values and experiences, and

just being an interesting person are all key ingredients

of healthy relationships, business or otherwise.

Clients hire experts

but keep advisors who

are Deep Generalists

Clients look for and hire aservice provider based onproven, in-depth expertise. Inthe longer term, however,they gravitate towardsindividuals who also havebreadth—who are deepgeneralists.

Many professionals spendtheir whole careers drillingdeeper into their coreexpertise with completedisregard for other importantcategories of knowledge.

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Experts have depth; advisors are deep generalists who have depth and breadth.







III. Deep Generalists

There is an old recruiting concept called the

“Chicago Snowstorm Test.” You ask yourself: “If I

were stuck in the Chicago airport with this

candidate for eight hours during a blizzard, how

would I feel afterwards? Ready to send him or her

packing? Or energized by having learnedsomething and having had a series of enjoyable,

provocative conversations over the course of the

day ?”

When you’re a Deep Generalist you are able to

see knowledge connections that others miss. You

are more easily able to show your clients how your

particular products or services fit into the context

of their strategy and goals.

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IV. Synthesis, or Big-Picture Thinking

You provide your clients a global view.

You provide additional perspective and help clients re-

conceptualize the problem.

You bring big-picture thinking to the discussion.

You handle the details, the tactics, but you’re also ableto see the overall strategy.

How do you develop these new perspectives? The first step

is to become a deep generalist. Without a breadth of

knowledge, you can’t make the connections necessary for

good synthesis.

Next, you need to develop the techniques and practices

that foster the development of big-picture ideas. These

include tapping into multiple perspectives, using

analogies and simplifying frames, identifying patterns,

suspending your judgment, and taking time to reflect.

Synthesis vs. Analysis

Our educational system,particularly MBA programs,emphasizes good analysis—

breaking down a probleminto pieces and analyzingeach bit separately.Synthesis, in contrast, is big-picture thinking—findingpatterns, identifying keyissues, framing ideas in away that clarifies them, andcreating new ideas out of olddata. Synthesis provides thenew perspectives that clientsare always looking for.

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Experts analyze; advisors synthesize.







V. Agenda Setting

You begin, naturally, by “agenda sensing”—

understanding your client’s goals and plans.

Eventually, you help influence and improve your

client’s overall set of priorities, not just respond to

them.

You connect to your client’s agenda of critical

priorities.

– Whatever work you are doing for a client, no

matter how technical or specialized, you must

always relate it to your client’s broader agenda.

Agenda setting, in short, is fundamental to forming

mutually productive relationships. If you don’t

understand the other person’s goals and priorities, you

won’t know how you can help them and add value to

their challenges.

Experts respond to their client’s requests—they are “agenda reactors”;advisors seek to understand, inform, and shape their client’s agenda of key

priorities—they are proactive agenda setters.

Barriers to Agenda-Setting

1. To agenda set, you need to stepoutside your field of expertise (e.g.,

talking about the economy or abouta CFO’s team of direct reports).

2. Most client meetings are focused onoperational execution—they areupdates about the delivery ofcurrent work, and in those types of

meetings you often do not get todiscuss the broader strategiccontext for the engagement.

3. You get complacent and stopbringing new ideas andperspectives on a regular basis.

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VI. Judgment

You have the ability to learn from

experience, which research tells us we

generally do not do.

– We dismiss failures as being

someone else’s fault, and we

attribute all successes to our inherent

brilliance.

You are able to step back and take a

hard look at your track record.

You recognize that outcomes aredependent not just on the quality of the

judgment, but also on the

circumstances.

You look out for the many well-documented

judgment traps that can ensnare your clients.

– i.e. the arrogant “groupthink” that bogged

Microsoft down during the company’s

antitrust trial in the late 1990s, or the “prior

commitment” syndrome that allowed

President Kennedy to launch the ill-conceived

and ultimately disastrous Bay of Pigs invasion

of Cuba in 1962

You avoid groupthink by bringing your own and

your client’s unique value systems into play when making decisions.

– In practical terms, this means that a “correct”

decision for one client might be, because of

organizational and cultural values, a

completely wrong decision for another

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Experts make judgments based on the facts; advisors first help their clientsavoid bad judgments, and then they base judgments on facts, experience, and

on their and their clients’ personal values.







Character Attributes

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TRUST

CONVICTION

These last two attributes we refer to as “character” attributes. They are based, to a large

extent, on qualities of character, such as integrity, as opposed to intellectual abilities.







VII. Conviction

You act with genuine, heartfelt conviction.

There are some professionals,

unfortunately, whose conviction is

superficial and pretentious.

Your day-to-day persuasiveness is rooted in

your core beliefs and values and your sense of

mission as a professional.

The more you are in touch with your core

beliefs and values, the more you’ll be ableto resonate with deep, genuine conviction.

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Experts have conviction based on the accuracy of their information; advisors

have deep-seated conviction based on personal values and a sense of mission.







The room was silent as the world’s most powerful chiefexecutive began to speak. Surrounding PresidentFranklin Roosevelt at the conference table were keycabinet members and the top officers in the U.S.military. It was November 14, 1938, and in anatmosphere of isolationism Roosevelt was strugglingto mobilize the United States for the inevitable war

with Germany. His latest plan, an impracticalcompromise, was to get Congress to appropriatefunds to purchase 10,000 airplanes—but to appeasethe isolationists, he recommended that no budget beset aside for crews or ground forces.

As Roosevelt outlined his proposal, heads nodded insympathetic agreement. One by one, he asked hisadvisors what they thought. “Good plan, Mr.President,” they each intoned as Roosevelt wentaround the table.

General George Marshall, newly appointed deputychief of staff of the Army—and one of the most juniorofficials in the meeting—came last. Experienced inEuropean trench warfare and knowledgeable aboutthe German military, Marshall came to his new job with

a deep sense of conviction and integrity. He knewwhat it would take to wage war on a global scale.

“Don’t you think so, George?” the President askedMarshall. “ Good idea, isn’t it?”

The faces in the room blanched at Marshall’s reply:“Mr. President. I’m sorry,” he bluntly told Roosevelt,“but I don’t agree with that at all.”

Roosevelt gave him a startled look and abruptly endedthe meeting. Secretary of the Treasury HenryMorganthau whispered to him, “Well, it’s been niceknowing you.” Everyone knew that Marshall wouldsoon be sent to some far-off military installation.

Quite the opposite happened, however: from that day

onwards, Roosevelt adopted Marshall—one of the fewof the president’s men who had the courage of hisconvictions—as his closest military advisor. Just ayear later, Roosevelt pinned another three stars on hisshoulders, appointing him secretary of the Army.

(From Clients for Life by Andrew Sobel and JagdishSheth)

VII. Conviction

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General George Marshall: A Man of Conviction







VIII. Trust

When you’re credible, clients believe that your

data is accurate and your information useful.

Trust, which is the glue that holds together

every long-term client relationship, goes far

deeper.

You act in your client's best interests and

personally uphold the highest standards of

integrity and competency, both inside and

outside the office.

Your recommendations carry more weight,

and when you propose an additional sale, your client sees sincerity, not salesmanship.

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Experts have professional credibility; advisors build personal trust.

“One of my most trusted advisors was

a partner at a major law firm. One dayhe called to inform me that his team

had made a major mistake in a criticalfiling for us. It turned out, however,

that we would not have discovered itfor years, if ever. I trusted him more

after that call. I knew that goingforward he would always own up toany shortcomings and tell me about

them immediately.”

Senior Vice President, $5 billion company







VIII. Trust

Trust is based, fundamentally, on five factors:

Your integrity. Do clients perceive that you adhere to high ethical and moralstandards? Are you consistent, reliable, and discrete with clients?

Your competence. Do clients believe that you are competent to solve the problem at

hand? You may very well have the capability, but if a client’s perception of your

competence is too narrow, he won’t consider you for the job.

Whether you are self-oriented or client-oriented. When you enter the room, a

client can quickly tell if you are focused on his agenda or on your agenda.

Face-time. While we occasionally trust someone we don’t know (e.g., the President

or Prime Minister of our country), face-time is invariably required to get a sense for

someone’s integrity and competence.

Risk. A client’s trust will go up or down depending on her perception of the risk of

trusting us. Many things can reduce perceived risk, e.g., dividing a very complex

transaction into identifiable segments of work with checkpoints along the way;

offering guarantees; providing in-depth references and testimonials; etc.

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Conclusion

As mentioned earlier, there are other characteristics and skills that are necessary to succeed

in building business relationships.

The eight discussed here, however, are specifically needed to excel with clients and to form

mutually beneficial relationships with people in your network. They are the ones that, in

your client’s eyes, will truly set you apart from your competitors.21

When you approach your client relationships with the mindset of a broad-based advisor

and infuse them with these eight attributes, you will create the foundations for lifelong

loyalty. You will also have more impact, at both a personal and institutional level.







About the Authors

Andrew Sobel RAIN Group

Andrew Sobel helps companiesand individuals build clients for

life. He is the most widely

published author in the world on

the topic of business

relationships, and his bestselling

books include Power Questions,

All for One, Making Rain, and Clients for Life. Hisclients include many of the world's leading

companies such as Citigroup, Ernst & Young, Booz

Allen Hamilton, Hess, Cognizant, Deloitte,

Experian, Lloyds Banking Group, Bain & Company,

and many others. Andrew's articles and work have

appeared in publications such as The New York

Times, USA Today, strategy+business, and the

Harvard Business Review. He spent 15 years atGemini Consulting where he was a Senior Vice

President and Country Chief Executive Officer, and

for the last 15 years he has led his own consulting

firm, Andrew Sobel Advisors. He can be reached at

www.andrewsobel.com.

and training firm dedicated to helping companies

succeed with the complex sale. Founded in 2002, the

firm has grown over the last decade into a recognized

leader in sales improvement with an international

client base. The company has helped tens of

thousands of salespeople and professionals in dozensof countries increase their sales significantly with

their RAIN Selling methodology. RAIN Group helps

organizations:

Enhance sales skills and improve sales results

Increase cross and up-selling success

Recruit, hire, and retain the best sales talent

Greatly reduce the learning curve for new hires

Increase success of new product launches

RAIN Group is a leader in sales research and

publishing, including The Wall Street Journal

bestseller Rainmaking Conversations, How Clients Buy,

Lead Generation Benchmark Report, and many others.

Learn more at www.raingroup.com.

RAIN Group is a salesperformance consulting

22


http://www.amazon.com/Power-Questions-Relationships-Business-Influence/dp/1118119630/ref=sr_1_sc_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1327097287&sr=8-1-spell

http://www.amazon.com/All-One-Strategies-Building-Partnerships/dp/0470380284/ref=sr_1_cc_1?s=aps&ie=UTF8&qid=1327097562&sr=1-1-catcorr

http://www.amazon.com/Making-Rain-Secrets-Building-Lifelong/dp/0471264598/ref=sr_1_cc_1?s=aps&ie=UTF8&qid=1327097613&sr=1-1-catcorr

http://www.amazon.com/Clients-Life-Expert-Hire-Extraordinary/dp/0684870304

http://andrewsobel.com/

http://www.amazon.com/Rainmaking-Conversations-Influence-Persuade-Situation/dp/0470922230/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1349728920&sr=1-1&keywords=rainmaking+conversations

http://www.rainsalestraining.com/

http://www.rainsalestraining.com/

http://www.amazon.com/Rainmaking-Conversations-Influence-Persuade-Situation/dp/0470922230/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1349728920&sr=1-1&keywords=rainmaking+conversations

http://andrewsobel.com/

http://www.amazon.com/Clients-Life-Expert-Hire-Extraordinary/dp/0684870304

http://www.amazon.com/Making-Rain-Secrets-Building-Lifelong/dp/0471264598/ref=sr_1_cc_1?s=aps&ie=UTF8&qid=1327097613&sr=1-1-catcorr

http://www.amazon.com/All-One-Strategies-Building-Partnerships/dp/0470380284/ref=sr_1_cc_1?s=aps&ie=UTF8&qid=1327097562&sr=1-1-catcorr

http://www.amazon.com/Power-Questions-Relationships-Business-Influence/dp/1118119630/ref=sr_1_sc_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1327097287&sr=8-1-spell




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