| Articles About Building Long-Term Client Relationships (pdf) |
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| The Client Leadership Forum Program |
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| Client Leadership Forum member firms are drawn from a wide array of services-oriented businesses, including management consulting, public relations, advertising, corporate and investment banking, law, telecommunications, IT services, and others. For all of these organizations, one of the most important critical success factors is the ability to consistently develop deep, trusted, broad-based client relationships. This is, in effect, the singular focus of the CLF: Helping members develop effective, innovative strategies-at all levels of the organization-to build clients for life. The annual program for members varies, but typically comprises: |
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Experience-sharing workshops
One or two senior executives from each member firm participate in these intimate sessions, usually held several times a year. These day-long workshops are facilitated by Andrew Sobel and James Kelly, with the occasional guest executive or speaker. In a relaxed, non-competitive setting, senior executives are able to freely share their experiences, strategies, and lessons learned. Each session focuses on 3-4 critical issues that have been previously identified through interviews and surveys. These workshops are a unique opportunity to strip away the theory and buzz words and talk face to face with other top executives who are also trying to build and grow an enduring client franchise. |
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Best Practices Benchmarking Surveys
Periodically, we survey members to identify hot issues, assess their practices in different areas, and give them the means to compare themselves to other service firms. During 2005, over 200 client-facing executives from CLF member organizations are participating in a comprehensive best practices survey that looks at 7 key areas that support effective client development and management. |
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Primary Research Program
Each year, the CLF identifies one or two issues of critical importance to building trusted client relationships. Through extensive interviews with both practitioners and clients themselves, we develop innovative strategies, detailed case studies, and implementation programs to help member firms build their own internal capabilities and stay on the leading edge of best and "next" practices. |
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| Some of the topics that are the focus on the experience-sharing workshops and the research program include: |
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- Mobilizing across organizational boundaries to serve major clients
- Deepening trusted advisor skills
- Supporting and strengthening the relationship manager role
- Creating effective knowledge management-enabling expertise and experiences to be easily shared
- Developing improved strategies for pricing and managing the purchasing process
- Improving client listening and service innovation
- Using metrics to support the development of client relationships
- Assessing the impact of key trends
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| Please contact Andrew Sobel at Andrew@andrewsobel.com if you would like to discuss your company's interest in the Client Leadership Forum. |
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