Corporate clients are demanding more value from their external advisors, and consolidating their business around a smaller number of firms. These trends are forcing a variety of service providers—from consulting firms to large banks—to confront a series of difficult challenges:
- How do we create an ‘all-for-one, one-for-all’ culture in which the whole is greater than the sum-of-the-parts and we succeed in leveraging our global network to deliver value to clients?"
- How do we mobilize the right people, resources, and ideas—across a multitude of organizational and geographic boundaries—into each and every client relationship?"
- How do we evolve from a trusted advisor to a trusted partner and build multi-year, institutional relationships?
All for One answers these questions with an innovative and comprehensive model for developing enduring, institutional client relationships—what Andrew Sobel refers to as Level 6 Trusted Client Partnerships. It offers readers ten specific strategies that are thoroughly supported by case studies, best practices from leading firms, and implementation tools. The individual professional is principally responsible for five of these strategies, while the firm—the institution—must support and drive the other five. When you successfully execute against all ten of these building blocks, you develop long-term, professional-client partnerships that provide great value to the client and high levels of personal satisfaction and profitability for the service provider.
Corporate clients are putting relentless pressure on their professional advisors. They want more value and better service. They are consolidating the number of firms that they are willing to work with. They are scrutinizing, more than ever, the fees they pay.
To respond, service firms must turn individual relationships into broad-based, institutional ones and build a collaborative culture that mobilizes the right people, ideas, and resources—from across the organization—into each client relationship. The goal is to build a trusted partnership that adds value, reduces risk, and creates stability for both your clients and your firm.
Based on a five-year study of leading firms in professional services and other advice-based businesses, relationship authority Andrew Sobel has created a comprehensive guide to developing what he calls "Level 6" clients—those flagship relationships that are broad, deep, and endure for many years. In Sobel's first book, Clients for Life, he laid out a clear path to take you from expert-for-hire to trusted client advisor. All for One takes you and your firm to the next level—trusted partner—with practical advice illustrated by more than 100 examples of best practices from the world's top services firms.
All for One presents ten essential strategies for building an all-for-one culture and systematically growing your client relationships. Incorporating a wealth of detailed, tactical advice, these powerful strategies include:
Institutionalizing relationships—employing five growth pathways to expand existing clients
Building a client leadership pipeline—developing and supporting relationship managers who can lead trusted client partnerships for your firm
Promoting collaboration—creating an all-for-one, client-centered culture where people and ideas easily cross organizational boundaries
Adding multiple layers of value—tapping into six sources of value leverage for clients
Employing rich examples from Booz Allen Hamilton, Lloyds Banking Group, Ernst & Young, and dozens of other leading firms, All for One is a definitive guide for professionals who aspire to trusted partner status with their clients.
