1.1 Client - Consultant Relationship

Customer Client Relationship
1. Relationship between consultant and customer is essential and must be managed.
  1. Based on:
    1. Confidence
    2. Sincerity
    3. Trustworthy
  2. Relationship Building is the key skill in relationship building
    1. Keeping the customer happy through analysis, definition and implementation is extremely important
2. Critical relationship building skills are having the ability to:
  1. Communicate Ideas precisely
  2. Negotiate objectives & outcomes
  3. Convince through verbal, written & visual mediums
  4. Question Effectively
  5. Use info to make a case for course of action
  6. Develop selling strategies
  7. Work effectively in teams
  8. Build rapport & trust with client
  9. Demonstrate effective leadership
3. Markham Identifies 3 factors that contribute to the quality of the client relationship
  1. Features of consultancy practice
    1. Customer vs practice conflicts/demands
  2. Characteristics of client
    1. The client has an obligation to be supportive of the project and cooperate with consultant. The relationship is two-way
  3. Effect of project on client relationship
    1. Will have an effect on future contracts
      1. 2 way
        Technical performance
        Client consultant relationship
4. What should a good client bring to the table
  1. Clear picture of desired results
  2. Questioning approach to all proposals, demanding to see how course of action will deliver results
  3. Appreciate that it takes time to build a relationship
    1. Keep in touch, review feedback,
  4. Recognition of importance of feedback
  5. Sensitivity to the importance of acknowledging a positive contribution - ability to say thank you
  6. How can a client jeopardise a project?
    1. Not communicating - ill informed consultant
    2. Kicking off overlapping initiatives - confusion
    3. Not taking responsibility for project
    4. Not assigning adequate resources to project
    5. Expecting consultant to comply with all requests - including those outside scope of project
    6. However unorganised a client is, the consultant can help by:
      1. Positioning himself correctly at the start
        As an equal to client - must be able to say no to unreasonable requests
      2. Build confidence at early stages of consulting
      3. Condition & Manage client expectations
      4. Dont engage in personal criticisms of people
      5. End project positively
      6. Under promise, over deliver - add value
How to contribute to a good relationship
1. Establish clear terms early. Plan project using correct practices, clarify project scope, methodology, deliverables, time-scales, milestones and fees.
2. Effective communication
3. It is very important to agree project details up-front
4. A few more ideas
  1. Instill confidence early
    1. Quick wins
    2. Speak with authority
    3. Promote track record on similar projects
  2. Publicise good news
    1. Publicise any wins through progress reports
  3. Address bad news in timely manner
    1. Dont let issues develop into a crisis before telling customer
  4. Manage expectations
    1. Give more value than customer expects

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1.1 Client - Consultant Relationship

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	Created by dejagerd almost 11 years ago