By Olivier Jacob and Andrew Sobel
The great essayist Ralph Waldo Emerson once wrote: "The ancestor of every action is a thought." Clearly, if our thoughts aren't clear and organized,our actions won't be either. Taking Emerson's idea a step further, mastery isn't just a function of learning certain tools and techniques, it's also learning how to think correctly about your craft.
I've studied and analyzed thousands of high-performing customer-facing professionals who consistently outperform their peers-account managers, relationship managers, salespeople and others-and observed the specific skills and strategies they use to become trusted advisors to their customers. But there's more to their success than the specific types of questions they ask or their listening skills. They're also more successful because they think differently from their less successful peers.
This is a big part of the difference between a good musician and a great one. I play classical guitar, and even if I could perfectly imitate some of Andres Segovia's playing techniques, I'll never play like him because I'm not able to think and approach a piece of music the way he does. A master performer also has different habits of thought and a better knowledge of music than I do. It's not just a question of their technique, but also their way of thinking.
Here are eight ways of thinking that I have consistently observed in great trusted advisors:
1. They define their role differently from their peers
Those who do great things see their mission as helping their customers achieve their most important goals, period. Other "experts for hire", on the other hand, see themselves as tasked with solving a specific problem or set of problems that customers may encounter.
By defining your role asimproving your customer'sbusiness , in every possible way, you understand and perceive things differently. You define the market available for your services as broad, not narrow or circumscribed. Rather than shying away from a discussion where you feel you're not the "expert", you jump in with a few well-thought-out questions. You may then call on a colleague with the necessary expertise or, ultimately, you may tell the customer that it's not within your competence. But either way, you've positioned yourself very differently from your competitors.
2. They focus on abundance - on possibilities - not on scarcity.
This is a key difference, which I observed and wrote about 15 years ago in Clients for Life. Here's what I mean: I once had the idea of developing a seminar on how the Beatles worked as a team and innovated in their music. I also started writing an article on the subject. Several well-informed people told me it was a stupid idea and tried to discourage me. They said the music business was dirty, that musicians did a lot of drugs, and besides, what could businessmen learn from a band that broke up 40 years ago? However, I pursued it and it has become (even today) one of my most popular workshops. Also, the article I wrote for Strategy+business became my most widely reprinted and downloaded article, with coverage in the New York Times and other major media around the world.
Who do you want as your advisor: someone who is a chronic opponent or someone who will encourage you (without, of course, knocking you off a precipice...)?
Professionals with an abundance mentality seek opportunity, growth and expansion. They are positive and optimistic in their behavior. They encourage others. They believe there are enough rewards for everyone - they know that a "rising tide" lifts all boats.
When you have a scarcity mentality, you're primarily concerned with what could go wrong and what won't - you're risk averse. You focus on the drawbacks of new propositions rather than the potential rewards. You believe that life is a zero-sum game, with a limited number of opportunities to go around. You hesitate to make investments that don't pay off immediately.
3. They combine a long-term perspective with a strong sense of short-term urgency.
It's a fascinating and powerful combination of opposing behaviors. The truly successful customer advisors I've studied all take a long-term view. Their time horizon for building relationships is long, (because they think in terms of a 20 or 30 year career, if the customer isn't ready to do business today, they don't worry) so rather than getting worked up, they keep in touch and slowly build a relationship over time based on continuous added value.
At the same time, they have a strong sense of urgency and a will to win when an opportunity presents itself. They're all about a potential deal, 24/7, and won't stop until they've done their best and exhausted every possible strategy to win. They're relentless.
By focusing simultaneously on the short and long term, the great rainmakers are not only fulfilling their objectives today, but also laying the foundations for a solid future ahead.
4. They align themselves with the customer's highest objectives, rather than accepting small-scale assignments.
Years ago, when I was national CEO at Gemini Consulting, I remember leaving a sales call with our global head of business development, Jim Duffy. Jim asked me what I thought of the opportunity. "I think there's a nice strategy project to be done for about $300,000," I told Jim. " Funny," he replied, I hadn't heard that at all. I heard they had to transform their entire business model, and that's a multi-year effort committing several million dollars." And in the end, it turned out he was right! Because my focus at the time was strategy and organization consulting. I only "heard" this objective from the client. I focused on the need precisely described by the customer, and not on his broader business objectives . My colleague, on the other hand, focused on the higher-level agenda. As a result, he was selling very large, high-impact programs. By changing the way I defined (or reframed) my customers' problems, I more than doubled my own sales over the next two years.
5. They truly, deeply believe that the customer needs them.
Great rainmakers believe they have an incredibly valuable solution to offer customers, and that customers really need it. They don't approach prospects with a defensive, skeptical or anxious mindset, thinking that, even before they step through the door, the customer probably won't want or need what they can provide. They think it's a crime when customers don't buy from them. They are genuinely shocked and saddened when someone buys a competitor's inferior offer.
Here's the point: this attitude motivates them to be persistent and not give up, it fosters confidence and generates contagious enthusiasm. Remember, if you don't have an unshakeable, even exuberant, belief in what you can do for customers, why should they believe you can help them?
6. They see the whole board, not just a few pieces.
Former U.S. Secretary of State Henry Kissinger is an excellent example of someone capable of visualizing and managing multiple stakeholders . (Let's temporarily set aside his politics, or whether or not you approve of Kissinger!). He conceptualized a triangular balance of power between China, the Soviet Union and the United States, which was obvious in retrospect but almost unthinkable at the time. Other leaders focused on America's individual relations with each country, while Kissinger thought of the whole chessboard. In 1968, Russia was the main threat to the United States, while China was a pariah, a political pariah. Kissinger felt that a rapprochement with China would put pressure on the Soviet Union to move closer to the United States, and subsequently force the three nations to establish a more stable relationship with more closely aligned national interests. Russia and China, he believed, would seek a common bond with the United States. This strategy was neither intuitive nor obvious at the time; in fact, there was great resistance in the State Department and other quarters to any meeting with the Chinese.
Similarly, the most successful rainmakers think about building relationships with multiple stakeholders across the organization, not just connecting with one key executive. In chess terms, they'll be as concerned with pawns, knights and bishops as with rooks, queens and kings.
7. They integrate an understanding of the rational, the emotional and the political
Most professionals believe that customers will make a decision based on a rigorous examination of the facts and an assessment of who has the best product or service. Great rainmakers know that nothing could be further from the truth. Customers make decisions based on a mix of analysis, their own needs, their emotional perceptions, and the political dynamics of their organization. "Facts tell, emotions sell." Your solution may look better on paper, for example, but a customer may not feel as comfortable working with you and your team - or, they perceive certain risk factors in using you that tip the scales in favor of your competitors.
8. They always think of their customers
The most successful advisors I've studied are almost obsessively customer-focused. They think about their customers all the time, and always ask themselves what more they can do to help them. When they read, learn something new or meet someone, they always filter it through the prism of their customers' needs and interests . This leads to a constant flow of ideas, presentations and small communications that keep them in regular contact.
It's essential to acquire new skills, tools and techniques. But don't stop there. By adopting these habits of mind, you can radically transform your success with your customers.
About the authors
Andrew Sobel is the leading authority on the strategies and skills needed to develop clients for life. He is the world's most published author on the subject, having written eight best-selling books on customer relationships, including the international bestsellers Customers for Life and Power Matters. More than 100 leading companies, such as PwC, Citibank, UBS, Booz Allen Hamilton, Cognizant, Deloitte and many others have used his book Clients for Life to develop trusted advisor skills and increase revenue for their clients.
Olivier Jacob has decades of expertise as a coach, trainer, and conference facilitator on the topics of management and sales. Author of the book "Make your business grow" and passionate about personal effectiveness, strategy, sales, commitment and new technologies, he created Inéa Conseil in 2008 to help companies sell more and better, and managers better mobilize their employees.
