by Andrew Sobel (Author)
World-renowned client relationship authority shows you how to dramatically grow your business by mastering fourteen critical client development challenges
Andrew Sobel, author of the international bestsellers Clients for Life and Power Questions, offers a proven,100-day plan for conquering 14 tough client development challenges and growing your client base in any market conditions. He's encapsulated 25 years of unique research, including personal interviews with over 8000 top executives and successful rainmakers, into a practical roadmap for winning more new clients and growing your existing relationships.
You'll learn specific strategies to move confidently and predictably from a first meeting to a signed contract, and discover the agenda-setting techniques that create a steady stream of sole-source business. You'll master the art of reframing client requests, leading to broader, higher-impact engagements. You'll dramatically sharpen your ability to ask the powerful questions that can transform your client relationships. And, you'll learn to develop advisory relationships with influential C-suite executives. Andrew illustrates each weekly challenge with real-life examples drawn from thousands of executive meetings. He shares success strategies from having grown and led three highly successful professional service businesses.
Andrew has taught these strategies to over 50,000 professionals around the world, and they're now available to you in this highly readable, portable masterclass. Whether you are early in your career and need a comprehensive guide to grow your client base from the ground up or are a seasoned practitioner who wants to accelerate your business growth, It Starts With Clients will take you to the next level.
Front Jacket
Bestselling author Andrew Sobel has taught his clients-for-life strategies to more than 50,000 professionals around the world. Now, he's encapsulated nearly four decades of experience and the findings from over 20 years of unique research into the only guide you'll ever need to build lifelong relationships and revenue.
Increased competition, demanding clients, and the use of procurement make it difficult to gain access, differentiate yourself, and earn the fees you deserve. But with the right strategies, you can thrive.
Based on 8,000 interviews with both C-suite executives and top rainmakers, Sobel provides step-by-step guidance to excel at every stage of client development and management. In It Starts with Clients, you will:
-Discover how to become an influential agenda setter and create a steady stream of sole-source business
-Master the art of reframing client issues, leading to higher-impact engagements
-Dramatically sharpen your ability to ask the powerful questions that will transform your relationships
-Discover how to access and build relationships with influential C-suite executives It's never been harder to win and keep clients. Yet, much of the advice on how to develop trusted client relationships�which are more important than ever�is outdated and clichéd. It Starts with Clients, written by the world's leading authority and most widely published author on building clients for life, provides fresh, proven strategies to help you master 14 critical challenges and grow your client base under any market conditions.
Back Jacket
PRAISE FOR IT STARTS WITH CLIENTS
"Many of us have benefitted from the lessons in Andrew's bestsellers. It Starts with Clients sets out an entirely practical and wholly digestible 100-day plan which, while especially useful for younger professionals, has relevance for all of us as advisors. I highly recommend this book, with its anecdotes and their powerful messages�and the novel illustrations."
�Sir Win Bischoff, Chairman, JP Morgan Securities, plc
�Nichole Jordan, National Managing Partner, Growth and Performance, Grant Thornton "This book is tremendous! Based on decades of experience, renowned client relationship expert Andrew Sobel shows us why he is such a respected thought leader in this field. His powerful wisdom, strategies and practical 'how-to's' on building client relationships are priceless. This kind of advice is rare. I highly recommend it!"
�Stephen M. R. Covey, The New York Times and # 1 Wall Street Journal bestselling author of The Speed of Trust and Smart Trust "A very powerful, concise, must-read guide for any professional who is seeking to build lifelong, profitable client relationships. Andrew has thoroughly mastered the knack of sharing great lessons in a wonderfully easy and enjoyable read!"
�Diana Brightmore-Armour, CEO, UK and EMEA, ANZ Bank "Andrew Sobel's ideas are a master class on how to build client relationships with senior decision-makers. It Starts with Clients should be required reading for anyone whose career success depends on them."
�Stuart Jackson, Global Managing Partner, L.E.K. Consulting "Andrew takes the big principles for building strong client relationships and boils them down into clear, practical steps that achieve big results. I also love the 100-day approach, which adds urgency to these important challenges. A great read."
�Michael Hertz, Chief Marketing Officer, White & Case "
"It starts with Clients is an impressive greatest hits compendium, distilling Andrew�s many years of experience and powerful insights into one highly-readable volume. Whether you are new to his material or refreshing your knowledge, by following these eminently practical recommendations you will build better relationships whatever the stage of your career."
�Myles Corson, Markets Leader, Financial Accounting Advisory Services, Ernst & Young
"I love this book. What sets it apart from imitators is the way Andrew Sobel combines decades of experience with fresh new perspectives to give us actionable insights. It Starts With Clients delivers the definitive success formula for winning and keeping clients."
�Dave Bencivengo, President, Weichert Workforce Mobility "A treasure trove of practical advice based on deep experience and research. Andrew Sobel provides a powerful roadmap for relationship building that I have seen both new and experienced people learn from and translate into real results. Sobel�s insights are as relevant to the social sector as they are to business. I highly recommend it."
�Jeff Bradach, Managing Partner and Co-Founder, The Bridgespan Group "Our business begins and ends with clients, and Andrew Sobel�s It Starts with Clients builds on his earlier works �All for One and Power Questions � by providing the reader with a roadmap for building and sustaining long-term client relationships. Andrew�s practical, hands on experience with clients across the globe gives him a unique perspective that allows him to stand out as a coach extraordinaire. It Starts with Clients is a solid framework for success, I recommend it for everyone who is looking to develop clients for life!
�Michael Guralnik, Managing Director, Citibank, and Global Head of Marketing, Intellectual Capital Management and Digital Client Advisory, Treasury and Trade Solutions "Andrew Sobel is truly a global expert on building client relationships. He focuses on bringing value to every relationship. In this latest work, Andrew breaks down the complex issues of building client relationships into a step-by-step action plan that is both easy to understand and follow. Well done!"
�Karen Greenbaum, President and CEO, Association of Executive Search and Leadership Consultants (AESC) "When looking for sound, practical advice that actually works in building client relationships, I�ve never found better than Andrew Sobel�s wisdom. His mentorship and expertise is laid out in meaningful and actionable approaches in this latest stroke of genius."
�Colin Dominish, Global Market Development Leader, GHD Digital. "This is a comprehensive, practical guide for every professional who wants to succeed at consultative sales and grow their client base. It Starts With Clients provides a systematic and programmatic approach, rich with detailed, how-to strategies for winning new clients and earning their long-term loyalty."
�Nagarajan Srivatsan, Chief Digital Officer for R&D Solutions, IQVIA "In It Starts with Clients, Andrew Sobel has given us a powerful how-to guide for the next generation of client advisory professionals�but it�s so much more than that. Sculpted from a mountain of experience, it is as inspiring as it is instructive; and as easy to read as it is to put into action."
�Adam Reeder, Partner and Global Building Products Co-Head, Rothschild & Co.
Author Biography
ANDREW SOBEL is the author of nine acclaimed books including the international bestsellers Clients for Life and Power Questions. His work frequently appears in major publications such as The New York Times and the Harvard Business Review. His firm, Andrew Sobel Advisors, has attracted over 150 of the world's leading companies as clients, including Citigroup, Cognizant, Booz Allen Hamilton, Ernst & Young, Bain, and Grant Thornton. A former senior vice president and country chief executive for Gemini Consulting, he earned his MBA at Dartmouth's Tuck School.