Client charters – what should you include?

Client Charters, Client Agreements, Client SLA’s are often put in place between firms and important clients. These are the standards, above and beyond any regulatory obligations, that the firm agrees to meet when servicing the client. Firms are also using them as a statement of how all clients can expect to be serviced.

It is becoming more common for clients to dictate what these should be, and have their panel firms agree to abide by these standards, or face the consequences. However, having standards which you commit to servicing your clients by shouldn’t be exclusively dictated by your clients.

A client specific charter should state the nature of the relationship, what value you will provide their business, and what it is you are there to help them achieve, e.g. “grow your business to the largest in your sector”. It should also include information which is relevant to your relationship, for example:

• Key contact points – e.g. client partners who will treat the client as a priority
• Agreed processes – e.g. getting approval for fee estimates or new instructions
• Value added services – details of those you have agreed and how the client can use them
• Escalation policy – e.g. processes for complaints or disagreements
• Billing or invoicing arrangements
• Any other agreed or non-standard arrangements with the client e.g. regular relationship meetings or secondments

SLA’s are often a distracting factor in client charters. They should be agreed at the outset of every piece of work because different work has different requirements. Client charters are a great way to capture agreed goals and the ways in which you wish to run a relationship. Where they often stumble is when they try and be too specific or encompass every possible issue. They should be living documents which are reviewed regularly against the agreed outcomes, which means they will change from time to time. The other common pitfall is where the board, or the relationship partners negotiate the charter, but fail to inform the team who will be doing the work.

So, if you are going to develop a client specific charter:

• State the nature of the relationship and the client goals upfront
• Keep it relevant to the client
• Focus on the ‘non standard’ areas
• Focus on the client (internal firm processes are not important, outcomes are)
• Keep it as simple as possible
• Train your team!

We think firms should have client charters for their important clients, but SLA’s should be agreed for each individual matter.

What’s your view? Do you have client charters that are working, and what do they include?

Why great content alone is NOT king

There have been some great blogs lately about the importance of creating and sharing good content. Late last year Great Jakes even predicted that 2011 will be the year that content marketing becomes king. And I think they’re right – particularly their prediction that websites will become publishing platforms.

However, I believe compelling content alone is NOT king.  Here’s why:

If you want to position yourself as a thought leader and to generate work as a result of sharing your compelling content, then two other components are vital:

1. Timing
2. Distribution

Ideally you want to be the person who brings an issue to your target audience’s attention, or who provides them with great, thought-provoking information about a topical (or upcoming) subject.

However,  I regularly interview clients of professional services firms who say:

“I received X’s newsletter/alert on the new [employment law changes]. It was really interesting but we had already engaged someone to help us with that. Had X called us to give us a heads up before the changes occured, and then followed up with some brief information about the changes and what they might mean for us when the [new legislation] came out, they would have got our work.”

I’d say a lot of professional services firms miss out on work because the content they share, while valuable, is often poorly timed or sent out via only one channel when a multitude of channels would be better. If you’ve done the work, make sure you share it with those who will benefit from it.

My recommendations?

• Make sure you are the one to bring an important subject/trend/development to your clients’ attention and then keep them informed as and when necessary.
• Use a variety of channels to share your content with your target audience and to engage with them – both offline and online (face to face is always the best form of contact with key clients and targets followed by phone, and then email and online).
• Leverage issues – pick an issue and make sure you’re all over it, or know enough to ignite discussion, inform clients or ask pertinent questions.
• Ensure your online content is readily accessible on your website or blog and that you notify your clients of updates.
• Direct people to your online content using social media, email etc. but think about when the best time to do this might be. If you are posting on Facebook then most people tend to be online during the evenings and weekends. If you’re using LinkedIn then during working hours is the best time to post.

When you’re thinking about what content you’re going to share, also think about when and how you’re going to share it – it might make all the difference between winning work and missing out.

What do you think?

Are you leveraging LinkedIn?

A number of professionals I’ve spoken to recently have mentioned that they’re on LinkedIn, they’ve got quite a few connections, but they’re not sure what to do next.

If you want to leverage LinkedIn but aren’t sure how, then here are six tips to help get you started (I’d love to hear any tips you have to share too):

1. As with anything, the first thing you need to do is plan –

• write down the key things you would like to achieve as a result of being on LinkedIn – For example, do you want to position yourself as a specialist in a particular area?   do you want to build your profile among CEOs in the telecommunications sector? do you want to keep on top of issues in your area of expertise? do you want to generate more work?
• write down who you want to engage with, how you’re going to engage with them, and how often you’re going to engage with them.
• write down how you will measure your efforts – for example, number of click throughs to links you share or number and quality of responses to discussions you start. My friend Natalie Sisson, the Suitcase Entrepreneur, has developed a fantastic spreadsheet to measure the ROI of her social media activities. It’s really helped me and hopefully it will you too.

2. Ensure your profile is compelling and complete (see our earlier blog post for some tips on this).

3. Join groups that your target audience(s) belong to. Contribute to relevant discussions where you have a view and can demonstrate your expertise, and answer questions. Be yourself – and be curious. When you feel comfortable start initiating discussions with your target audience(s) – some people are great at this – learn from them. Look at past discussions within the groups you belong to and see which sorts of questions generated the best discussions.

4. Share relevant, timely content with your target audience(s). If you can share content that others will want to comment on then that’s even better because LinkedIn is all about engaging with others. Types of content you might want to share include white papers, articles you’ve written, tips and how to’s, podcasts, seminars you’ve presented …the list is endless. Also forward content generated by others (both within your firm and externally) that you have found interesting to people in your network who might also benefit from it.

5. Use your status box (‘share an update’) to engage with those in your direct network. Ask questions, share links to useful information etc. The new ‘search updates’ function that LinkedIn launched last week provides a real opportunity for people outside your network, interested in a particular subject to view your network updates. However, in order for them to find your updates, you need to ensure each one contains the keywords your target audience(s) is likely to search for. For example, if you have something to share about developing a social media policy ensure your update contains these words.

6. Use LinkedIn to help you plan – at a firm, practice group, sector, client and individual level – it’s great for identifying who you know within an organisation (and who you don’t know but need to), as well as keeping on top of what’s happening within a company.

Whatever you do on LinkedIn, try to integrate it with your other social media activities (for example on Twitter, Facebook, YouTube etc), your website and your traditional marketing activities.

So, is leveraging LinkedIn important to you? How do you measure your results? What other advice would you give to professionals wanting to engage and grow their networks on LinkedIn?

How well are you performing for your clients?

We asked 200 clients of professional services firms in New Zealand how they evaluate an adviser’s performance. The answer overwhelmingly came down to ‘was I well advised?’

Clients specifically evaluate:

• The outcome/result they achieved
• How effectively their adviser(s) worked with them and their extended team
• The cost of the work versus the benefits derived from that work
• The timeliness of the advice
• The adviser’s understanding of their business, goals and values.

A number of people interviewed (typically in larger organisations) said they evaluate performance by going through a contestable process (typically an RFP) every few years.

In order to build client loyalty, it’s imperative that you understand how your clients will evaluate your performance on each j0b you do for them.

We recommend:

• Finding out what your clients’ goals are for the project / matter,  and what they need from you, by when, at the outset.
• Asking them how they will evaluate your performance up front.
• Ensuring you manage their expectations throughout the process – if you can’t deliver something when you said you would, tell them at the earliest opportunity. If the scope of the work changes or costs look likely to escalate, tell them early so that you can work together to agree a way forwards.
• Conducting an end of project review on all major projects as well as on a number of smaller ones.

Understanding what’s important to your clients on each matter/project is vital if you are to retain and grow your relationship with them.

By understanding and managing their expectations throughout the process, and by regularly benchmarking your performance, you will be able to tailor your approach and service to each client – building trust and loyalty.

Are you the right horse for the course?

What do clients look for when hiring professional services advisers?

We’ve interviewed over 200 clients of professional services firms over the past 18 months and 83% of them say they look for the right person(s) for the job.

While the backing of a large firm is important when deals/projects are large or complex, this horses for courses approach to appointing advisers provides huge opportunities for smaller firms and individuals who can demonstrate they’re the right person for the job.

What do clients mean by ‘the right person for the job’?

• Someone with the necessary technical competence/expertise: as evidenced by their past experience on similar projects, their reputation, their ability to influence decision makers, their knowledge and their level of professionalism.
• Someone who is the right fit: at both a personal and team level, including the adviser’s ability to work well with the extended team.
• Someone who understands, or shows they are willing to learn about, the client’s business: an adviser who will anticipate needs and protect the client’s interests.

So, how can you demonstrate you’re the right person for the job?

• Position yourself as an expert in your field by sharing useful, relevant and timely content with your target audience(s) via a variety of channels both online and offline.
• Provide evidence of your technical competence/expertise through the content you share as well as via case studies and client testimonials.
• Seek to demonstrate how you work and your fit at both a personal and team level via client testimonials, testimonials from other practitioners who have worked with you on a deal/project, case studies, and your bio. When meeting with prospective clients in person, view this as an opportunity to demonstrate how you work.
• Ask your clients and prospects questions to find out about their businesses, do your research and then share relevant content with them. Call them to let them know about things which may impact their business. Share case studies and testimonials of work you’ve done in their industry. If you don’t understand a prospective client’s business, ask pertinent questions, and then tell them how you will get up to speed.

Building your personal profile and evidencing your work, your working style, your understanding of (or willingness to understand) your clients’ businesses and the outcomes you’ve helped your clients achieve are key to demonstrating you are the right horse for the course.

Is your LinkedIn profile compelling and will you get found before your competitors?

If you want to benefit from being on LinkedIn, then you need to get the basics right. Your personal profile should be 100% complete and compelling. It should also contain the necessary keywords to ensure that, when your target audience is searching for a professional, they find you before your competitors.

Here are our top 11 tips to help you get the basics right:

1. Instead of simply stating your job title in your professional headline, say who you help and how you help them. For example, I am a business development and marketing consultant for the professional services sector, but that doesn’t tell my target audience anything about how I help them so instead I’ve changed it to ‘helping professional service firms retain clients, grow clients and attract the right kinds of new clients’.
2. Find out what keywords your target audience use to search for professionals in your field and then include these words in the specialties section of your profile. This will improve your search ranking on LinkedIn and increase your chance of getting found before your competitors.
3. Include an appropriate photo.
4. Think about why you’re on LinkedIn and write your summary with that in mind – if you are on there for marketing/business development reasons we recommend stating who you help, what you help them with and some results you’ve achieved. You may want to include some information on your working style/approach as well as a small amount of personal information. The aim of this section is to give people a reason to connect with you and to begin to position yourself.
5. Think about which additional features might help you build your profile. For example, if you’re a designer you might want to add the ‘creative portfolio display’ application, if you’re a lawyer you might want to add the ‘legal updates’ application. If you have a business blog, or Twitter regularly then add these applications. You will find the ‘Add sections’ link above the summary section when you view your profile.
6. Over time, ask for recommendations from clients, colleagues, business partners etc. You’ll find themes emerge quite quickly and it gives people a real flavour of what you’re like to work with – which is invaluable. Subject to the person’s approval you may also be able to use these recommendations in your marketing materials.
7. Include a link to your website – if you have more than one website, link to your primary one as people will be more likely to click through. Options just confuse.
8. If you Twitter regularly (for business purposes) then include a link to your Twitter account.
9. Include some information in the interests section – people want to connect with likeminded people. Having a common interest is a good conversation opener.
10. Ensure you include your basic contact information in both the personal information section and the contact settings section – this will ensure people who find you through both LinkedIn and google (or another search engine) can contact you.
11. Personalise your vanity URL to your firstnamesurname (without the random numbers that LinkedIn automatically assigns you). The main reason to do this is that you are likely to appear higher up search engine rankings when someone googles your name. In order to do this go into the ‘edit profile’ section and click on the ‘change public profile settings’ on the right hand side. You also have the option to decide what information you want to appear on your public profile.

How useful have you found these tips?

If you have any other tips or ideas about how to build a compelling LinkedIn profile, we’d love to hear them.