Are you like water and sunshine to your clients? Connect. Become relevant. Resonate. Make an impact. Those are the steps you follow to build your most powerful relationships. In Part One of this three-part series on the Laws of Power…
By Andrew Sobel This article is drawn from the new book by Andrew Sobel and Jerry Panas, Power Relationships: 26 Irrefutable Laws for Building Extraordinary Relationships. (Anyone who purchases the book can download, for free, the 90-page Power Relationships Planning…
The first word is Why? The first word is Why Every day of the next year will be gift for each of us. That’s why my first word for 2014 is “Why?” When used in the right way and at…
How would you rate the overall client experience that you offer? Is it: 1. Below average (or perhaps very uneven)? 2. Competitive? 3. Truly differentiated versus your competition? Would you like your clients to say, “Working with you really is different”?…
For many professionals, the toughest part of building long-term client relationships is getting the client in the first place. But moving from the initial sale to an ongoing relationship has its own challenges. In fact, it requires careful planning and…
What percentage of the time you devote to marketing and sales is directed towards growing existing clients versus winning new prospects? If you’re like many professionals, you get an adrenaline rush when you are in pursuit of an attractive new…
What do clients really want? I’ve interviewed and surveyed thousands of executives over the last decade about what they look for in a relationship with an external provider or advisor. Each client is unique, of course, and looks for somewhat…
Have you ever gotten a call from a client who said, “I just want to run something by you”? Perhaps on a different day that same client asked you, “How’s my team doing?” On yet a different occasion he or she may have pushed you to talk about what you’re seeing out in the marketplace and how other companies are dealing with the same issue.
You may not explicitly think about it this way, but in fact you play quite different roles with your clients. I have identified the six most common and important ones. Each is valuable in its own right. By recognizing these roles and cultivating them intentionally with your clients, you will add more value and dramatically strengthen your relationships.
Former CIA head and four-star general David Petreus is man of extraordinary accomplishments and service to his country. And so is General John Allen. But both their reputations have been diminished by their friendship with Jill Kelley in Tampa, Florida.
Advice abounds on "asking good questions" during the sales process. I believe much of it is confusing or even misleading.
My clients and readers have enjoyed Power Questions, but have asked for more detailed guidance about the use of questions specifically in sales and business development. In response, I have just published a short ebook entitled Power Questions to Win the Sale. It's available in all ebook reader formats. My next few blogs are based on it.
Here are some examples of what I mean by misleading advice about asking questions:
