Position yourself as a trusted advisor

• Develop your personal brand to build credibility
• Listen to customers and understand their challenges to deliver great advice
• Put customers’ needs first to develop trust and loyalty.

Trusted relationships are at the heart of every successful professional services practice. David Hirsch – Head of Marketing & Insights at QBE Australia Pacific met with marketing leader Christian Finucane, founder of The Core Agency, at a Q nect livestream to discuss how they foster strong, long-term relationships with their customers and stakeholders. Here are some of the insights from the session.

How do you become a trusted advisor?

Writing opinion articles for trade magazines is a great way to get across all the latest developments in your area. After an article is published, send it to prospective and existing customers to showcase your expertise. Becoming a published contributor is a really simple and effective way to gain trust and establish your experience and credibility.

Taking part in industry events is another way to show commitment to your field and highlight your professional standing. If you have the time, it’s a good idea to accept any relevant invitations to judge industry awards. Being asked to be a judge isn’t just a flattering compliment, it signals to others your opinion is valued.

Positioning yourself as a credible thought leader in these ways helps build your personal brand. It opens up opportunities to engage with customers and prospects and demonstrates your expertise.

How can you build stronger relationships with your customers?

Understanding your customers – how their organisations operate and the challenges they face – is the key to building stronger bonds with them. And the best way to develop that understanding is to listen first, rather than weighing in too quickly with suggestions and solutions.

Not bringing assumptions and ego to a relationship is critical. It’s easy to tell customers all about your ideas, but 90% of the time there’s a better approach. Instead of doing all the talking, ask questions and really develop a deep understanding of your customers’ problems. Then, do some more research into how you can help them, rather than presume you have the answers upfront.

Drawing on your colleagues’ expertise can be another way to strengthen customer ties. Always find the best person for the job. So, if a member of your team has a different skillset – perhaps they have a specialisation – draw on their capabilities to solve your customers’ challenges. What’s important is to be aware of your strengths and weaknesses and tailor the service you offer to them.

How should you build trust with new customers?

Getting together in person has always been a great way to build rapport with customers. Make the effort to catch up face-to-face.

Going out for a coffee or lunch, or seeing a football game together, might sound old school, but this can lay the foundations for a strong long-term relationship. The goal is to find common ground and create an atmosphere in which everyone is comfortable and able to be authentic and chat freely with each other.

There has been a lot of change in the market recently. How do you lead your customers through the ups and downs that affect their business?

Australian businesses are facing uncertain economic times and that can mean having to do things differently. That’s when experienced advisors come to the fore, especially when they are independent, objective and offer ‘outside in’ thinking.

Remaining focused on customers’ needs immeasurably strengthens relationships during periods of volatility. Showing them you understand the bigger picture, which means genuinely looking after them, not just focusing on short-term revenue, builds true rapport.

Finally, what’s your number one tip to become a trusted advisor?

Big ears, small mouth. Let the customer talk while you do the listening. When you know the whole story, that is, what’s going on below the surface, it’s easier to see where you can add real value.

Business owners look to the people and organisations in their circles of influence for insights and support. Watch our Q nect livestream for more tips on becoming an important advisor for your customer base.

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