During a meeting with our TEAM last week I took the liberty to discuss a favorite subject of mine called the Trusted Advisor. While many people have heard this term, many people do not know how to apply it to their business. While the subject relating to the landscape industry has specific content I use, I wanted to start this newsletter off with a simple overview of the term.
That said; you don’t decide whether you are a trusted advisor. That is something only your clients can decide. All you can do is behave in a way that influences how your clients view the relationship.
A trusted advisor brings their client new ideas while a salesperson calls on their client when they need to sell something. A trusted advisor calls on their client to bring them new ideas, whether or not they have something to sell.
A trusted advisor has subject matter expertise. They know their business; they know their client’s business, and they have an enough general knowledge about how things work to offer advice worth taking.
A trusted advisor values the relationship more than the transaction. A trusted advisor never puts a deal before the relationship. They prefer not to make a sale if the relationship will be damaged by making it.
A trusted advisor is accountable for outcomes outside of what they sell. A trusted advisor owns outcomes that have nothing to do with their product or service. It might be general business advice. It might be advice on strategy, marketing, or how to sell. They help their clients wherever and however they can. They don’t limit the value they create to what they sell.
A trusted advisor has a personal relationship with their client. This doesn’t mean they have a friendship, even though that is possible, and maybe even likely. Their relationships are built on value.
Your client will never call you their trusted advisor. Normal people don’t talk that way. You will know you are their trusted advisor when the client calls before making decisions. You will know you are playing this role when your client calls you for help in areas where you have no offering – where you have nothing to sell. These are the things that makes you a trusted advisor.
In our next article on the ‘Trusted Advisor’ I will share how this applies to you as a landscaper.
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