Focus on Relationships - Change the Results

Relationships matter in business. Everyone freely acknowledges this fact. Our strongest clients are the ones with whom we have the strongest relationships. Our best sources of new business come from our best relationships.

When sales are working, all is good. However, when sales aren’t working we usually look for things to change: strategies, prospecting, positioning, products, services, activities, pricing, etc. Paradoxically, we seldom look to improve our relationships.

Additionally, if success is built upon relationships why do we assume everyone is skilled at building them. The reality is everyone is not well skilled in building relationships and trust. If we were, every marketer and salesperson out there would be more successful.

Consider this true story.

It’s 8:30 AM Monday morning, and the monthly activity / sales review meeting is underway. Ted, the Managing Partner of a mid-market accounting firm, is listening to the same review he has heard, it seems like, forever. The CRM (Customer Relationship Management) software spreadsheet of all activities is projected onto the screen. Each partner and associate walks through each account, relating activity completed and next steps in the process, where they are in the sales (close) process, projected close dates for new activities, expected revenues, and anticipated close date.

Ted has always been successful by focusing on his relationships. Unfortunately, other partners and associates are still mired in an opportunity / solution / transaction approach to working with clients. For Ted, the time has come to change the dynamic of how the firm interacts with its clients.

After 15 minutes of activity reporting, Ted calls a halt. His directions to the firm are simple:

“Going forward I would like to change our focus. Specifically, I would like to add an emphasis on relationships into how we work with clients and our Monday morning reviews.

Our audit activities, consulting activities, and other work we do with clients is important. That’s our revenue, and we wouldn’t be here without it. Relationships are also important. It’s our person-to-person relationships that most influence client decisions. Elevating the importance of relationships into our thinking and actions, and emphasizing relationships in our client discussions will help us be better at producing revenue and servicing those clients.

People can get accounting services from half-a-dozen firms located in this building alone. However, people buy services from you. And that means they need to know you, like you and trust you. Relationships are at the heart of what we do.

So, going forward let’s elevate the focus on relationships. In these meetings let’s share with the group how you’re doing with your client relationships. Specifically, who are you working with?  Tell us about the person. How strong are your relationships? What can be done to improve them? How strong is the trust with each client?”

Ted made a dramatic shift that quickly produced some dramatic results: The emphasis on relationships increased the revenues with existing clients by 20% in the first six months. It also opened up 3 new opportunities through introductions facilitated through existing clients. Partners and associates talked about people, trust, and how enhanced relationships opened up conversations on topics which clients previously guarded. There were more insights into the client’s business, and more opportunities to help.

In practical terms, Ted shifted the focus and the perspective. There was training on effective communications. The people with whom they dealt became their first priority. Client situations were defined in terms of the client’s anxiety and risk. Solutions addressed anxiety and risk.

Bottom line - increased revenue, improved retention, and partners and associates enjoying their work even more. Monthly meetings stopped feeling like a reporting session and evolved into a collaboration session among the team.

Ted’s approach illustrates a simple premise - think about customers in terms of the relationship with them. Think about them as people, and deal with them as such. Bonds will form and trust will develop. In that environment, the opportunity for business grows.