Would you Rather be a Trusted Advisor or Just Another Vendor?

On the list of business adages we all know to be true, keeping clients over the long term is the key to greater profitability. Which is more likely to happen when you’re a trusted advisor instead of just another vendor. 

Vendors are like the commodities of the service sector; often chosen because they offer the lowest price or have navigated the gauntlet of an impersonal RFP process. They’re easy to replace. 

At the risk of stating the obvious, trusted advisors are hired not just because of their expertise or their solutions, but because we trust them to advise us when there are things we can’t or don’t know. 

We seek the advice of a medical doctor when we’re experiencing a health issue we don’t understand and we seek the advice of a financial services professional when we’re creating the stock portfolio that will pay for the retirement we have in mind. 

Trusted advisors provide value that vendors simply can’t. 

The relationship and the trust they’ve built with us that means we listen when they recommend this over that. When they suggest that our goals will be better served by adding an additional service or investing in a new technology. 

Can you see how being a trusted advisor doesn’t just lead to client retention, but higher customer lifetime value? Now you’re laughing all the way to the bank because you acted with integrity.

How do you ensure that you’re a trusted advisor that’s relied upon and difficult to replace? 

You always, always make it about them. 

You listen. 

You and your team make decisions based on their best interests.

You overcommunicate.

You demonstrate over and over again that you care about them and their business.

You take action proactively.

And you admit when you’re wrong. 

You need to create a culture that supports the trusted advisor ethos. Your entire team needs to behave according to the principles outlined here and your processes need to support genuine relationship building. 

Will it cost more up front? Maybe. But over the long term? You’re the one winning.