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1-Page Summary of The Trusted Advisor

Trust and Confidence

Times have changed. In the past, professionals were viewed as trustworthy and clients could assume that they knew what they were doing. However, things have changed. Clients are more skeptical of professional advice because they question advisors’ motives or don’t see them as experts in their fields.

To be more successful, you have to break out of your comfort zone and become a trusted advisor. This means that you develop a relationship with each client and help them in different ways as time goes on. Eventually, they will discuss personal issues with you, which is when you can move up to the next level in your career. Being a trusted advisor is an ongoing process that takes time for both parties to adjust to, but once it happens, your client will trust you completely.

At this level, you will be the first person that clients call when they have a challenge or crisis. You can demonstrate your ability to meet their needs by covering many issues within a relationship based on trust and respect.

For an example of a “trust-based relationship,” look at how sports agent David Falk and basketball star Michael Jordan maintain their relationship. In 1977, Falk helped negotiate Jordan’s $2.5 million endorsement deal with Nike. As Jordan’s career progressed, Falk negotiated more endorsements for him until he sold his agency to another company for $100 million in 1998, but he continued to get 4% of Jordan’s earnings from that point on because the two have a trust-based relationship based on knowing what each other wants and being honest about fees.

Trusted advisors are hard to find. They form strong bonds with their clients and focus on the client’s needs rather than their own. Trusted advisors believe that doing what is right has long-term benefits, so they place the relationship first even if it means losing a project in the short term. Successful trusted advisors are client focused and consider each individual client’s needs when working with them.

Trust Me

Most professionals consider themselves trustworthy, but they may not be. They may think of themselves as trustworthy, even though others do not see them that way. It’s important to earn someone’s trust because it is crucial in the business world. However, earning someone else’s trust can be difficult if you don’t know them well or are a stranger to them.

To be trusted, you must give clients evidence as to why they should trust you. This is a quid pro quo. A prospective legal client met with several lawyers who didn’t ask him what he wanted and gave him no reason to trust them.

The lawyer then asked the client if he had ever dealt with probate. When the client said no, the lawyer sent him some information about it and his contact details. This small gesture earned a degree of trust from that client and made him more willing to use that particular lawyer in future.

Trust is a fundamental part of any relationship. Trust builds over time, it’s based on both rational and emotional aspects, there has to be mutual understanding between the parties involved in the trust-building process, people have to take some risks and commit themselves for a long period of time. People don’t trust institutions; they only trust other people.

Dispensing Advice

Providing advice requires a certain level of technical competency, but it also involves understanding emotions. You need to be helpful before you can give bad news about mistakes that the client might have made. If you come right out and tell them what they did wrong, then they’ll just get defensive. Advisors should consider how clients will react in light of their company’s politics and prevailing emotions when giving them advice.