Differentiating Yourself

By Andrew Sobel

A client of mine, a senior partner in a large professional firm, recently voiced the following frustration to me:

“We are unique in the way that we work with clients and we offer a clearly superior service. Clients don’t seem to recognize this though. We should have even more than our share of business.”

“Well,” I responded (probably somewhat unsympathetically), “Unfortunately, your clients just don¹t perceive that differentiation. They don’t see you as being particularly different compared to your competitors.” I challenged him to really explore how his firm was different and whether this actually translated into a perceptibly different and more valuable experience for the client.

Most professionals have experienced this dilemma. We believe our firms are unique, different, and better, but clients don't always share that warm feeling. It gets worse when you’re pitching for new business. If you’re one of five major investment banks competing for a major deal, it can feel like a brutal, uphill struggle. How do you demonstrate that you really are different?

Differentiation in service businesses, more often than not, occurs through the cumulative impact of many small actions. Comparatively, a product can have demonstrably superior technology and design features. Think Audi's Quattro four wheel drive system, or Apple's integrated multimedia software. Such a clear advantage is harder to achieve and demonstrate for a law firm or consulting firm that sells services rather than physical products.

So, how can you differentiate yourself and your firm? Clearly, the challenge is a bit different depending on whether you are trying to win a client over for the first time or have already established a working relationship.

When you are first getting to know the client:

1. Communicate a track record of having solved the client’s problem before.

2. Ask thoughtful questions which implicitly demonstrate your knowledge of the issues.

3. Prepare thoroughly. This sounds pretty basic. You’d be surprised how many clients have mentioned how many outside professionals come unprepared.

4. Be quick and responsive by sending a set of thoughtful discussion notes back to the client on the same day as the meeting.

5. Add value in the conversation by:

· Asking questions that really make the client think about the issues.

· Challenging assumptions or problem definitions.

· Sharing best practices and ideas that relate to the client's issue.

· Introducing interesting market and competitive information.

· Suggesting novel or counter-intuitive courses of action and implementation approaches

· Asking unique questions. "Is your organization truly convinced that you need to bring in an outside resource for this?" or "Have you assessed the risks of your approach? In our experience, several factors can typically derail progress..."

6. Clarify the client’s position about the issue at hand.

7. Discuss companies the client respects.

8. Establish rapport (identifying things you have in common, empathizing, discovering shared avocations or interests, using humor, etc.)

9. Project high levels of energy, enthusiasm, and passion. (Do you enjoy people who are low energy, bored by what they do, and lack emotion? I didn't think so).

10. Offer something tangible that other competitors just don't have.

11. Values and culture can be articulated to clients, and most importantly, demonstrated through your behavior and interactions.

Once you have established a relationship:

12. Promote the quality and impact of your work.

13. Indicate the depth of the relationships you build.

14. Contribute to both the institution and the client executives you are working with by adding multiple layers of value (core, personal, surprise).

15. Consider what kind of an experience you create for the client. How much transparency is there? What is the frequency and quality of interactions? Have you used technology to better connect with the client and create ongoing knowledge transfer? Have you reduced the client's cost of doing business?

16. Follow-up and listen to post project completion. (Meet with the client three months after a project is over to discuss the results, etc.).

This is by no means an exhaustive list. Remember, show that you are different through the experience you communicate, the quality of your thinking, and the depth of your personal interactions, not by projecting a PowerPoint slide that says you are the best. If you can give your clients a few good ideas or advance their understanding of their issues in your initial conversations, they will have positive proof that you are different than the competition.

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Andrew Sobel is the leading authority on client relationships and the skills and strategies required to earn enduring client and customer loyalty. He is coauthor of Clients for Life: How Great Professionals Development Breakthrough Relationships (Simon & Schuster). He can be reached at (505) 982-0211 or by e-mail at andrew@andrewsobel.com www.andrewsobel.com

Published in Networking Today, May 2007.