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As a follow up to the Process post, I wanted to bring in the client point of view.

Clients love process too.

Clients are sometimes very clear and explicit… sometimes quite unclear… but they really value it. The “it” is process.

When clients talk to us about great relationships with selling professionals and producing leaders, the two key differentiators look at are “consistency” and “easy to work with”. Incredibly they rate these two points as WAY MORE IMPORTANT than “smart”, “best in her field”.

Think about that. Really think about it. Your clients would prefer to know what to expect from you on a regular basis than to know that you’re number one in your field. They would rather know they are going to speak to you regularly about the things that matter to them, than to be sitting in their office twiddling their thumbs and waiting to hear from the foremost expert.

Those experts, the best-in-field kind, often don’t have the bedside manner for great relationships. A process that regularly addresses client needs and even more importantly gives them the structure to know when to expect it, will in turn have them depend on that structure in their own business.

Another myth… what is “trust” and how important is it in professionalism? Very important. But not defined the way most professionals define it. The inside definition of “trust” is confidential. Can I be trusted with delicate or private information?

Think about this just for a second… for most clients this is table stakes. The bare minimum. The ticket to entry. That is the bare minimum. If you are congratulating yourself on that one, be careful of shoulder strain.

Trust is in the details: Are you punctual? Are you reliable? Do you follow through? Do your actions line up with your words? Can you deliver what you say?

Process is a powerful way for you to deliver on these - usually unstated and very influential - expectations.

How does your process address client needs and your consistency/predictability?

We are really excited about our upcoming presentations for the Financial Planning Associations Business Solutions Conference. If you are planning on attending the conference and have found our website and blog as part of your pre-conference research, welcome!

Posts related to material being presented at the conference will be tagged FPA, so you can get a taste of what each of our sessions have to offer (look for the link to the right of the blog). We will be presenting a number of sessions on the first day. Our goal is to have you leave with a tool-kit you can implement easily and immediately to increase and amplify your business.  If you implement we know you will IMMEDIATELY get feedback and engagement from your clients and future clients.

Walmsley & Co. sessions include:

“Strengthening the Bridge to Financial Plan” with me, which will show you how to very simply increase your long-term client engagement through a great tool called the Summary Letter. Your clients will want to meet with you again and again!

“Great First Impressions” with our colleague Elizabeth Jetton (who many of you know!) will show you ways to use an Agenda-building tool to both create a great first impression and maintain a long-term engaged client relationship.

“Engaging Clients with Your Storyline”  with my partner Sherri Day. Sherri will show you how to shift from “sales-y”, pushy elevator pitches to meaningful stories that build confidence and a collaborative path with your clients.

To find out more:

http://www.fpanet.org/EventsConferences/Conferences/BusinessSolutions/ProgramSchedule/Sessions/FullSchedule/

If you have any questions or comments before the conference, please contact with me with them. I’d love to hear from you.

Just for fun, I tried the phrase “sales process” in Wikipedia. I’m a big fan of Wikipedia (as you may have noticed) but while this entry was tightly and distinctly written, it felt so constricting. It’s no wonder that sales professionals and producing leaders have a love/hate relationship with the words - and implementation of - “sales process”.

If I’ve learned anything about professionals, it’s that people don’t like to feel constricted, trapped or mapped. They don’t like to feel that they must trod the exact steps of the guy or gal beside them to do the same numbers and to create the same relationships. In all of the “process” there has to be room for the “real” person to emerge or else that “real” person will eventually either come to deeply resent the process and leave sales, or clients won’t buy in because it doesn’t feel “real”.

Process isn’t the enemy. Only bad process.

Tiger is a great example of unique top performers with consistent process (see my previous posts).  All great athletes respect process- it’s their playbook!   Without it they would not have a baseline on which to innovate or a shared platform of words and behaviors with their team mates.

Have you ever watched the show “Whose Line Is It Anyway?” (http://www2.warnerbros.com/web/whoseline/index.jsp). Those guys are brilliant. The audience experiences their work as spontaneous, unique-to-the-moment and full of personality engaging with the audience. Which it is.  Looks like there is no structure.

But don’t be fooled.

Great improvising also has a process, a set of rules that doesn’t restrict but allows players to roll action forward in fluid, split second reaction and timing. In his book Blink, author Malcolm Gladwell studies some of the process, discipline and practice of great improve troops and reveals that consistently great improvisational comedy stands on a firm foundation. There are rules that great improv artists practice interactively. Playing by these rules is what makes them great over and above pure talent.

Process is how to power yourself from good to great, from medium performer to top performer. Top performers have a process. But just like improv comics or Tiger Woods, you just don’t get that sense when you observe them or interact with them, because the process melds seamlessly with their “real” self.

Evaluate your process. Does it let you breath? Does it allow for your unique personality style? Does it enhance and support your strengths? Does it let you be more confident and certain in your strides without forcing you to take the already-trodden path?

Make it real. Make it yours. That’s one of the secrets to making it work.

Next post…the clients’ POV. How they experience process from their providers.