Quotes from David H. Maister

Review agendas with your client, before meetings, before phone calls, before discussions. Clients should know that they can expect you to always solicit their views on how time will be spent. 6.

Professional firms do not sell time (although they often bill that way). Rather, their stock-in-trade is skill.

Are there any topics I should avoid because they are too delicate to discuss in a large forum? • Are there any topics on which the views of your colleagues are significantly divided? •

There are dangers in this model of succumbing to "committee-itis." If too many people are jointly responsible for the execution of firm business, the chances that implementation will be deferred increase exponentially.

Where are we likely to encounter the most resistance? •

A good rule to remember is that, in relationships, there are no win-lose or lose-win combinations: There are only win-wins and lose-loses.

It is important to note that while goods are consumed, services are experienced.

Fig. 8.1. The Trust Equation Fig. 8.2. Trust Realms The

We don't want people to be interested in us as a means to an end, as a destination for their own purposes. We want people to be interested in us as fellow-voyagers, people who care about us enough to go on a journey with us.

Fig. 8.2. Trust Realms The

As the chapter on relationship building suggested (Chapter 5), we must find ways not only to be credible, but also to give the client the sense that we are credible. We must illustrate, not assert. Why

The minute you start thinking you know how things work, you're dead.

10. Return calls unbelievably fast Stephanie Wethered, the pastor referred to earlier, does this. She tries to return calls within ten minutes. She says it's the most trust-creating thing she does; no one expects it, and it demonstrates how much she values the other person. 11.

Four Essential Elements That Engender Trust (Chapter 8) 1. Credibility 2. Reliability 3. Intimacy 4.

while most providers sell on the basis of technical competence, most buyers buy on the basis of emotion.

As you look at a client, force yourself to ask three questions: • What is the client's prevailing personal motivation? • What is their personality? • How does the state of their organization affect their worldview?

The best service professionals excel at two things in conveying credibility: anticipating needs, and speaking about needs that are commonly not articulated. For

Don't tell lies, or even exaggerate. At all. Ever. 3.

Speak with expression, not monotonically. Use body language, eye contact, and vocal range. Show the client you have energy around the subject at hand. 5.

The trick of earning trust is to avoid all tricks.

When resources become relatively scarce and relatively costly, it suddenly does make sense to invest in coaching and training in order to extract the maximum value from "medium-grade ore.

Make sure you've done absolutely all your homework on the client company, the client marketplace, and the client individual, and that it's absolutely up to the minute. Even if you know them and their business cold, there is likelihood that there will be some news clip about your client that will have been published that very day.

Less formally, we consider the time it takes someone to return a phone call, whether meetings are canceled or kept, and whether to-do lists are completed. Reliability

unity, pride, respect, loyalty, excellence, and integrity.