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Clients for Life: Evolving from an Expert-for-Hire to an Extraordinary Adviser - Paperback | Diverse Reads

Clients for Life: Evolving from an Expert-for-Hire to an Extraordinary Adviser

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An Innovative Blueprint for Enduring Client Relationships
More than 15 million people in this country earn their livings by serving clients, and their numbers are growing every day. Unfortunately, far too few develop the skills and strategies needed to rise to the top in a world where clients have almost unlimited access to information and expertise. Supported by more than one hundred case studies and wisdom gleaned from interviews with dozens of leading CEOs and prominent business advisors, Clients for Life identifies what clients really want and lays out the core qualities that distinguish the client advisor — an irreplaceable resource — from the expert for hire — a tradable commodity.
  • Experts are specialists; advisors become deep generalists who have broad perspective.
  • Experts are for hire; advisors have selfless independence, balancing client devotion with objectivity and detachment.
  • Experts have professional credibility; advisors develop deep personal trust.
  • Experts analyze; advisors synthesize and bring big-picture thinking to the table.
  • Experts supply expertise and information; advisors are educators who provide insight and wisdom.

Portraits of history's most famously successful advisors, including Machiavelli, Sir Thomas More, and J. P. Morgan, underscore these timeless qualities that modern professionals need to develop to excel in today's competitive environment.

ISBN-13: 9780684870304

Media Type: Paperback

Publisher: Free Press

Publication Date: 03-12-2002

Pages: 272

Product Dimensions: 5.50(w) x 8.44(h) x 0.70(d)

Jagdish Sheth is the Charles H. Kellstadt Professor of Marketing at the Goizueta Business School, Emory University, and the founder of the Center of Relationship Marketing. He has served as an advisor and consultant to AT&T, Lucent, Motorola, and Young & Rubicam, and contributes regularly to The Wall Street Journal and other publications. He lives in Atlanta, Georgia.

Read an Excerpt

Chapter 1

What Clients Want

From Knowledge Worker to Wisdom Worker

The great professional helps you eliminate issues that are not a problem, and then he focuses you in on the really critical dimensions of the situation. You are permitted to be a bit confused and general. And at the right moment, the good ones ask the right questions. It's an iterative process; you don't want someone peddling a solution, who comes with an agenda — which many do. The good adviser excels at the integration process, but he doesn't necessarily arrive at the solution for you. He knows my industry, but is broader than that. Finally, he can bring you comfort as well. Empathy, not sympathy.

Ray Smith, former chairman and CEO, Bell Atlantic<

Table of Contents

Introduction 13
1 What Clients Want: From Knowledge Worker to Wisdom Worker 21
2 Selfless Independence: Balancing Detachment and Dedication 43
3 Hidden Cues: Becoming Empathetic 63
4 Deep Generalists: Building Knowledge Depth and Breadth 86
5 The Big Picture: Cultivating Powers of Synthesis 113
6 An Eye for Winners: Developing Great Judgment 144
7 The Powers of Conviction: Drawing Strength from Your Values 172
8 What Money Cannot Buy: Creating Trust through Integrity 192
9 Pitfalls and Dilemmas: Avoiding the Land Mines in Client Relationships 217
10 The Soul of the Great Professional 240
The Historical Advisers in Clients for Life 256
Notes 261
Acknowledgments 266