Over the past few years, the term “trusted
advisor” has been gradually working its way to
buzz phrase status. Such lightweight bandying
around of this term is a great pity, because,
unlike other corporate mumph, “trusted
advisor” is a genuinely meaningful concept.
The business development or bid team that
treats this concept as a verb rather than a
currently fashionable noun, will find that – over
time – the practice pays significant dividends
both when pursuing new business and when
endeavouring to satisfy existing customers and
clients.
Interested in the origins of ‘trusted advisor’,
and the tenets of the practice?
The term was coined by former Harvard
Business School professor, American writer and
expert on business management practices, David
Maister, in his runaway best-selling business
book of the same name – published in the year
- Before he retired recently, Maister was
known as “the consultant’s consultant”. He
commanded some of the highest fees paid to
any business consultant anywhere, for his work
with professional services firms.
His advice holds so much relevance and
potential power for bid teams, that I sought his
written permission to excerpt certain of its key
points and include them in my book, ‘Think and
Win Bids: Winning High-Value, High-Stakes
Bids through Superior Listening & Thinking
Skills’.
Distilling his advice, in all its detail and richness,
was a challenge – but here are what I considered
the six most important tenets comprising his
“trusted advisor” philosophy (and how they
underpin successful bidding practices):
1) Ask the client to talk about what’s behind
the issue.
Too many business development
operatives think they understand the
client deeply just because they’ve
spoken about the central issue driving a
procurement exercise. Rarely do they
dig deeply enough . . . down, down,
down into the political, historical and/or
emotive picture beneath the surface of
that issue.
2) Focus on defining the problem; not on
guessing the solution.
A logical follow-on to the above, too
many bidders are quick to rush in with
their wonderful “solutions”, without
genuinely and deeply understanding the
problem.
3) Let the client or customer fill in the empty
spaces.
He who speaks least listens loudest.
4) Use reflective listening to ensure you’ve
heard and understood.
Don’t risk missing or misinterpreting the
client’s key desire or pain point. Check
your understanding.
5) Tell the client’s story before writing your
own.
This is in line with my frequent admonition
that the only interest the client has in
you, is what’s immediately relevant and
of value to them and their need. Thus,
everything you tell them about you, needs
to be in the context of them.
6) Listen to EVERYTHING.
You’ve got two ears and one mouth. Be
guided by that fact.
It will frustrate the client tremendously if
they’ve taken the time to explain their issues
to you and, in your bid documentation, you
demonstrate gaps in your understanding – gaps
that, in their mind, have no right to exist, given
the time they spent with you.
Worse, the piece of the picture you missed
because you were distracted, were planning
your next statement, or were thinking about
how your intended proposition can be made
to fit their need, may well have been the key
insight into what they want or need most from
this procurement
