The Foundation of Trust

A large part of our success is due to our strong and trusting relationships with clients (and each other). We have lots of discussions about building trust; how important it is; how fragile it is. I came across this graphic that attempts to demystify what bricks are needed to build the foundation for trusting relationships.

Reading from the bottom up, the graphic shows what elements must be in place for trust to develop. At the most basic level, "openness," "authenticity," "experience," and "performance" are required to start on the path of trust. Or, conversely, if any of these are missing, there won’t be trust. This is the bare minimum – tell the client what you are going to do, be present, have the experience to back up your approach, and deliver what you say you will on the schedule you say you will.

The deeper relationships develop when "transparency," "fairness," "knowledge," and "credibility" are evident. Clients know they can rely on you because they have seen you in action. You have made mistakes, but have owned and corrected them with minimal impact to the project or client. You have avoided major pitfalls. You have helped your client defend their decisions in public.

Clients become friends when "caring," "honesty," "skills," and "reputation" are drawn upon and mutually reinforced. These are the moments when you help a client win an award, or gain a promotion, or simply when you listen to stories about their kids and laugh with them. This level of trust is when they text you on the holidays, simply to wish you well.

The fourth level of trust is apparent when word gets back to you that clients are speaking well of you and your company. When they talk to others about your "intent," "integrity," "capability," and "results," you know you have entered a special position. You've earned the accolades. And the more you demonstrate the attributes of the previous levels, the stronger their praise and comfort will be.

The fifth level of trust occurs when you have struck a balance between "character" and "competence" – a balance between the professional and personal; when helping the individual also helps the client as a whole. This is the realm of being of service, in whatever capacity makes sense. Within this level, you can almost anticipate what obstacles the client may face, and can offer timely and productive solutions or a sympathetic ear, before they need it.

The graphic is pretty clear that all elements must be in force. Trust literally sits on top of all of the bricks. So where can you bolster your client interactions to build a better pathway to trust? What brick needs shoring up? Or if you are particularly successful, which bricks can you teach others to make?

Floyd's Looking

Week of December 8, 2014

Ok, so it has been a while since I posted. These are busy times. If you're on the marketing/BD side of your company, you know that this is the time of year when (many) public agencies push out Requests for Proposals for on-calls and/or rosters. You can be inundated with proposals to write, all just for the "license to hunt" for projects to work on with that client.

If you're like the millions of us in the USA who celebrate Christmas, this is also a crazy couple of weeks... or months... of letter-writing/mailing, gift preparations, food preparations, and all manner of decorating, traveling, to-ing and fro-ing.

All of this can make us forgetful, as the "busyness" of our lives crowds out everything else.

Many years ago when I worked in the non-profit arts world, a dear colleague of mine told me how our memory works, and why it sometimes fails us. His name is Floyd.

Floyd is the little librarian who lives in your head, in the memory stacks. Think of the memory stacks like the old library stacks, buried in the basement of the biggest library you can think of. If you're too young to know what library stacks look like, watch the scene early in the movie Ghostbusters for the basement of the New York public library. It looks pretty much like that. There are books everywhere, a card catalog in disarray, maps, stepping stools, ephemera, and junk (or gunk, as in the case of Ghostbusters).

Floyd was an adult when you were born because you wouldn't put a baby in charge of filing your learning and memories. And the task of filing and ordering your brain is so daunting, he ages at a much faster rate than you do. So by the time you are 35 or 40, he is an old man, hunched at the shoulders, an aching back and graying hair.

Now, say you're trying to remember the name of your 4th grade math teacher. You draw a blank. Actually, that's Floyd, asleep at the card catalog, or pulling out a blank card from the back of the drawer.

Or maybe you put something in the wash and go about your day. Then at 2 AM, you remember to go put the load in the dryer. That's Floyd, finally getting to the "household" stack in your mind, and pushing the "laundry" book into your hand.

Most of the time, Floyd is just r-e-a-l-l-y slow getting to the pertinent part of your brain, and that's why things pop into your head hours later. I think of Floyd as Tim Conway's little old man, shuffling along, and getting his feet stuck in the bunched up carpet (Tim Conway as the Old Man Doctor). Sometimes, he never makes it to the destination. But most of the time, he (hilariously) jumps the bunched carpet and inches his way closer to the thing I am trying to remember.

I cut myself (and others) more slack now about memory. We're all getting older -- Floyd is ancient. So when those blank memory moments happen, I know that "Floyd's looking" and it will come eventually. As the little old man says, "I'm a-comin'... I'm a-comin'..."

Get a Meeting

Week of October 20, 2014
This week is about getting a meeting with your clients. How do you get that next "touch point" so you stay Top of Mind? Here are my 10 quick tips.

1) At the end of your project-focused discussion, ask the client what else they have on their plate OR how else you can be of help to them. Be sincere, and this one question can uncover a wealth of opportunities.

2) Arrange a site visit to a current project, a project-of-interest to the client that you are doing, or an open tour that you know about.

3) Introduce your client to a colleague, trusted subconsultant, industry expert, or teaming partner.

4) At a project milestone, thank them for their business and support on the project; congratulate them on meeting the important milestone (on schedule or ahead of schedule or under budget).

5) Offer to collaborate with the client on an article, a presentation, an award submittal, etc. Do your homework and find an appropriate venue/audience for what you propose.

6) Ask for feedback - how are you doing on the job? how can you improve?

7) Reality check - ask the client "What is going well?" Not everything is a problem to be solved. Help them (re)gain some perspective with this game-changing question.

8) Share industry news, an economic forecast, and/or technology advancement. They probably do not have time to keep up-to-speed on the latest/greatest, so help them out by bringing something you found interesting or helpful to their attention. Be sure to discuss with them WHY you found it interesting/helpful.

9) Take your marketer to meet your client. We need to know about them, too, and what better way than to meet them and help generate conversation? We can ask them the "big picture" questions that might not come up naturally in your usual conversations, such as trends, economic outlook, or organizational news.

10) Still need ideas? Check out these two items from the Oregon Daily Journal of Commerce: What does your client want (a synopsis from a keynote speaker at the Society of Marketing Professional Services Pacific Regional Conference) and What does the client want? (an article I wrote for the Journal with information straight from the clients' mouths).

Attention Hooks

Week of October 13, 2014
Anyone who knows me knows that I am list-maker. I have lists everywhere, on a variety of topics. They are not all "to do" lists. Not all of them. I learned a long time ago that I could not hold on to everything that was being thrown at me. Folks have heard me say, "I write things down so I don't HAVE to remember them." And here's why:

We only have so many attention hooks. 

I first learned the concept of attention hooks from Jack Canfield. Yeah, the originator of the Chicken Soup for the Soul phenomenon. I picked up one of Jack's seminars on tape early in my career (I don't even remember the title), and he talked about attention hooks and the limitation they put on our lives.

What is an attention hook? It's the place in your brain where you "hang" all of the things that require your attention. Need to sign your daughter's permission slip? That goes on an attention hook. Have to pay a bill? Attention hook. Need to sew a button? Attention hook. And so on.

Honestly, when Jack mentioned attention hooks, this was the image that popped into my head: a neat, perfectly straight row of hooks, in order of priority. Oh, and look, there are a limited number of them.

I was about half right. We do, in fact, have a limited capacity for hanging on to all of that "stuff" that is clamoring for our attention. This is where lists come in. But more on that in a moment...

I was also right that the hooks are prioritized. I was very wrong about the "neat" part, and that the hooks stay prioritized the same way.

This is more like what our modern brain's attention hooks look like: a clump of hooks, perhaps prioritized by color (or number, or letter, or...). Oh, and these should all be FULL.

The truth is, we are bombarded with things that need our attention, from the super important to the frivolous. And what is important to us changes every moment.

Did you catch that? What is important to your brain CHANGES. EVERY. MOMENT. I think of the movie "Up" and the dog with the collar that allows us to hear his thoughts. "Squirrel!" Yeah, ADD is not only a difficult disorder, it is becoming a way of life for all of us. Why?

Not enough attention hooks.

It is not like you can keep adding attention hooks to a never-ending wall. Our brain is not a rolodex with an unlimited supply of blank cards. Do not mistake me. There ARE blank hooks (or blank cards). But they may be out of reach, hidden behind a large item that is hogging multiple hooks. Or you are just too tired to put one more thing on the wall.

And this was the point Jack was making, I believe. Whether your hooks are organized, prioritized, large or small, you only have a few. And if something is taking a hook, it takes it until you deal with it. That is, until you do the thing or remove it from the hook.

That broken toaster in the basement is calling you.

That email you meant to answer is going to keep popping up on your radar.

Your growling stomach is attacking hook #1.

And it will continue this way until/unless you do something about it. What are your choices?

Obviously, Jack recommended that you deal with the items on the hooks by Doing, Dumping/Donating/Filing, or Delegating. Fix the toaster or fling it (in the garbage/donate). Eat something. Respond to that email. Do what it takes to clear the hook.

And I do those things. When something pops in my head, if I can do it in 5 minutes or less, I take care of it. But what if I'm thinking about that toaster when I am at the gas station? And by the time I get home, a different attention hook will have moved up the line. In my ever-shuffling priorities, some attention hooks only see the light once in a blue moon. And yet, I am still using that hook, expending (unconscious) mental energy on it, even when I am not consciously aware of it. I have limited hooks, and most of the time, I am not aware of which hooks have been full the longest.

Make a list. I have a home improvement list, for example, that has all of the things I need to do for the house. Big stuff (clean off the roof/gutters) and little stuff (fix that piece of base moulding that keeps popping off in the kitchen). And the hook just says "home improvement."

I have another list that is sewing/repairs. I need to sew on a button on a coat. I have a bunch of new fabric that needs to be washed. And the hook says "sewing."

Getting the pattern? So when I am at the gas station, thinking about the toaster, I open my iPhone, open my lists, and check to see if "toaster" is on the appropriate list. Toaster is there -- on the "home improvement" list. Collecting dust. And that's when I decide: toaster goes to the garbage list. I am never going to fix it.

When I get home, it goes in the garbage. And the hook it occupied (because it had wandered off the "home improvement" list and invaded a solo hook), is now free. And wow! I crossed off something on the list at the same time!

Look, I'm not saying this would work for everyone. But I am exponentially expanding the real estate of my hooks by attaching a list to each one. And I only have to remember the category, not the entire list. Actually, I don't even remember those any more. I just have a daily habit of looking at my lists.

I don't look at all of them every day. I think there are three that I get in to regularly: Daily To Do, Work, Groceries/Cooking. Some of these overlap, of course.

But you get the idea. Sure, I have limited hooks. I also have long pieces of paper hung from each one. And a cat fraying the end nearest the floor. I better get to that...

What are your tips for freeing your attention hooks?

What Will It Take to Win This Job? Part 2

Week of October 6, 2014
Last week, I shared my tip for making a compelling argument to hire your company for that super cool job: writing an executive summary in advance of the RFP.

So you have written it. It is well before the RFP has come out. You avoided complex vocabulary. You were clear and succinct. But your reviewer says it is lacking in specifics. What does that mean? And how do you fix it?

Remember how your executive summary was organized?

1. Client Needs - spell out what the client needs and the client's key issues or problems, based on what the client has told you
2. Results/Benefits - what the client wants to achieve by addressing their issues or solving their problems. These could also be the benefits the client will realize through the completion of the project, such as safer streets, fewer community complaints, good publicity, etc. This must be based on what the client has told you, too.
3. Solution(s) - what will you DO that will (lead to) the solution for the client's problems and deliver the results the client wants? This has to be action-oriented, explaining the process, not the products. The products will be the same for every competitor. Only the process, the experience the client will have working with you, will be different. Pick out the high points, as if you are opening the "black box" of your creative process.
4. Proof - briefly explain where you/your company has provided a similar solution/process, and how it was received. This can be as brief as a single sentence: "We implemented a similar collaborative process for the City of Wonder, and they were able to complete their project three months ahead of schedule with full Council approval and an overflowing community ribbon-cutting ceremony."

The number one problem with poor executive summaries is that they are not client-focused. What your reviewer is telling you is that your executive summary talks too much about you/your company, and not enough about the client, or looking at things from the client's perspective. So how do you get that? You're already written everything you know.

Right. What YOU know. Based on what? Who told it to you? Or did you make some well educated guesses?

Here's the solution in three parts:

Ask more questions.

Talk to different people.

Test what you think you know.

ASK MORE QUESTIONS

I could write several blog entries on this alone. (And I probably will...) In general, we ask far too few questions. The rule of thumb when you are talking with a client is that you listen 80 percent of the time and talk 20 percent. Ask a question and listen to the answer. Don't formulate your next question while you are listening. Do not bombard them with a million questions, or try to get through your "list" before the meeting is over. Don't try to solve their problem while they are talking. Just let them talk. Let the conversation go wherever it does. And let there be silence! If you just look at them expectantly in the silent parts, your client will likely keep talking. If they do not say anything else, say "Could you tell me more about..." and pick one or two words from what they said. That will get them going again. Take someone with you - to take notes, ask questions from a different perspective, and watch the client's body language. Each of you will remember different elements and have completely different "reads" of the conversation. 

Not sure what to ask? Start with, "I know we've talked about this project before, and I have many of the specifics. But can you tell me what is driving this project? Why is it coming up now?" 

And after that, try, "What are YOU thinking about the project? Is there anything that you think might cause you concern or grief? Or anything that could make things go really smoothly?" See where those take you.

End the meeting with, "And who else do you think I/we should talk to about this project? Who else has a stake in it? Or an opinion about it?" 

Get names. And be gracious, thanking the client sincerely for sharing their thoughts and time.

TALK TO DIFFERENT PEOPLE
Your client gave you other names, either of people within their organization or with stakeholders, who have an interest in the project. Meet with them. Ask them why they are interested in the project. Ask them what it means to them. Ask them the same questions you asked your client - you will likely be surprised how much stakeholders have to say about the technical side of projects. Listen for things beyond the technical, too. What is at stake for the stakeholder(s)?

Ask them who else you should be talking with. Get names. Follow-up.

TEST WHAT YOU THINK YOU KNOW

When you start hearing the same items from different sources, you have likely hit upon a real issue/key element of the project. For example, different stakeholders and the client might say that public opinion is going to be a factor. Perhaps there are certain special interest groups that may come in to play over one or two elements of the project. Test that. 

Write the few items you believe are key onto separate note cards. Take a few blank ones.

Go back to the client/project manager and say, "We've heard from you and others that these elements are key to the project succeeding. Either they must be overcome, or they must be enhanced/brought about. Would you look at these and tell us if we have captured the information accurately?"

"Have we missed anything or mis-stated anything?" Pull out the blank note cards and add what the client adds. Let the client adjust wording on the note cards (you have a copy of your original back at the office anyway, right?)

"Could you prioritize these elements for us, from your perspective?" Let the client move the note cards around.

If they added cards, ask about those items. For whom are those items important? What has to happen to make this work?

And feel free to take the cards (revised by the client; cleaned up a little by you) to the other stakeholders, and see where they agree/disagree - either on content or priority.

Now, you can rewrite your executive summary.

Ok, obviously, this is a very quick overview of the process of digging deeper with your client and stakeholders. As I said, I could write several blog entries about this topic. But in brief, with the additional information you gather, you should be able to rewrite your executive summary to one that is focused on the client, clearly explains the results and benefits of the project (if everything goes as planned), and concisely explains exactly what your company can/will do to bring everything together. 

For detailed help with your client and stakeholder discussions, ask your marketers/BD professionals. They have access to many resources and seminars. Or hire an outside consultant, like Go! Strategies, LLC or any of my professional colleagues. We can help you tailor your approach, analyze what you learn, and develop your strategy to win. The super cool jobs are out there. Winning them takes time, persistence, and a stellar, client-focused executive summary. 

What Will It Take To Win This Job? Part 1

Week of September 29, 2014

How many times have you heard (or thought) "What do I have to do to work on this project? This would be so cool!" And where does that conversation go? Into the weeds, as I like to say. That is, into the details about the project, the technical "coolness" of it, and the possible solutions.

My job at that point is to say, "We wouldn't be talking about this opportunity if you couldn't DO the work. What we have to do now is WIN the work." I'm such a buzz kill. But it's true. Why torture yourself with the fun talk about the project when you don't even have it, yet?

I think it is because folks believe that it is hard and not fun to do what is necessary to win the work. Let me tell you what "hard and not fun" is:

Hard and Not Fun

• Writing a persuasive cover letter without knowing what is motivating the client
• Tailoring resumes without knowing what skills the client is looking for or what is needed for the project
• Putting forth a passionate, believable, likable PM that has never met the client face-to-face
• Creating a team of subconsultants without knowing if any of them have history with the client (you know what I mean)
• Knowing that our competition did all the previous phases of work, but not knowing if the client liked it or not
• Writing an approach for a project that you understand technically, but not politically

Easy and Fun

• Knowing more than any of your competitors about the project
• Knowing what the client is really after because they told you
• Being told by the client which subconsultants they think are needed for the project
• Getting confirmation from several stakeholders that a specific issue is a real issue for the success of the project
• Learning that your competition did not even bother to submit a proposal because they heard how prepared you were
• Or even better - the client asks if they can sole-source the first phase of the project because they are so impressed with what you know and how involved you have been to this point!

What will it take to get to "easy and fun" and win the job? Do this ONE THING: Write an executive summary to your proposal before the RFP is ever released.

Organize your summary like this:

1. Client Needs - spell out what the client needs and the client's key issues or problems, based on what the client has told you
2. Results/Benefits - what the client wants to achieve by addressing their issues or solving their problems. These could also be the benefits the client will realize through the completion of the project, such as safer streets, fewer community complaints, good publicity, etc. This must be based on what the client has told you, too.
3. Solution(s) - what will you DO that will (lead to) the solution for the client's problems and deliver the results the client wants? This has to be action-oriented, explaining the process, not the products. The products will be the same for every competitor. Only the process, the experience the client will have working with you, will be different. Pick out the high points, as if you are opening the "black box" of your creative process.
4. Proof - briefly explain where you/your company has provided a similar solution/process, and how it was received. This can be as brief as a single sentence: "We implemented a similar collaborative process for the City of Wonder, and they were able to complete their project three months ahead of schedule with full Council approval and an overflowing community ribbon-cutting ceremony."

Have someone else read your summary. Ask them to look for:

• Client Focus - does the writing focus on the client, the client's needs, how the client will benefit, how the solution(s) will help, etc.? This is good. If it strays to language about you/your company before the last paragraph, it will need to be corrected.
• Filler - words like unique, state-of-the-art, cutting-edge, innovative, and others that are vague and/or superlative. These will need to be eliminated.
• Jargon - The executive summary needs to be clean and simple so that anyone with a fourth grade reading ability can grasp what you are saying. Look for acronyms, technical jargon, etc.
• Pretense - words and sentences that are more complicated than they need to be to convey the message need to be cleaned up. Remember, fourth grade reading ability. Do not hide your message in complex sentence structures or difficult vocabulary.

If the writing is clear, clean, and client-focused, you're in great shape! You know enough to make the proposal process much easier and more fun. If not... Come back next week for my tips on what you need to do next.

Gaining Client Loyalty

Week of September 22, 2014
Ok, so how DO we get to top of mind and build client loyalty?

Interestingly, Tom Fishburne spoke on this very thing at his Google keynote, "Marketing Worth Sharing." At the link to his keynote, he includes both his slides AND his notes. You can easily follow what he is saying, and in essence, his message is this (and I agree):

When you're with your clients, how can you make their experience a little more awesome? THAT is marketing, branding, business development, client services, and company culture all rolled into one. Are you seeing it?

More importantly, are you hearing it? What are the things your clients are talking about? What are they wrestling with? When they share this with you, are you giving them your full attention? Or are you thinking about what you are going to say next? Or what service you want to tell them about?


For the next few days, I want you to try something for me... BE PRESENT.

When the client speaks, stop what you are doing and thinking, and really listen to what they are saying. Ask for clarification. Ask for details. Ask them how it makes them fell. Ask them what they want to accomplish. Ask them what "it" would look like if "it" was working/running/behaving the way "it" was supposed to.

Do not try to solve their problem. Don't offer your advice. And don't tell them about what your firm can do about that or the project you did that was just like what they are going through. Just help them be more awesome. Listen. Reflect back what they say. BE PRESENT.