The Trusted Advisor

A must-read for those in the professional services or client-facing industries. Even those outside of those industries may find great value in this book. Disclaimer: I have been out of the client-facing industry for a few years so my review may be biased. Yet, it doesn't mean I didn't find value in this book. I found the book serves as a useful reminder of some of the things I've learned in the past. The Trusted Advisor is a book focused on an often-overlooked truth of business. One cannot ignore the emotional aspect of business relationships. Most professionals, myself included, stay focused on upskilling. They often neglect the emotional side of business relationships. This book reminds us that the non-technical sides of a business matter too. Sometimes the most effective advisors are the ones that are able to connect with others. One may be correct in their assessment, but if they cannot connect with their clients on an emotional level, then their advice will rarely be heeded. Most of the advice here follows the same ideas as "How to Win Friends and Influence People," by Dale Carnegie. But reputation helps hammer in the conclusions. David Maister writes in a clear and simple way. His use of lists and logical flow on the nature of trusts allows one to make effective use of this book. Trusted Advisor is written in a general enough way that lawyers, consultants, and others can find value in this book. Sometimes I did find this book a bit dry with examples too simple. But that helped with the general aspect of this book. Anyone can pick up this book and find value from it. This book is better suited for those starting off in the industry. I'd even go as far to say it's a must-read for those even interested in the industry. But it's also a useful reminder for those who are well experienced in the industry. The advice may be simple, but it cannot be ignored. 4/5.

Will you use everything in this book? Probably not. Will it remind you of some of the things you have forgotten to do to be a trusted advisor - absolutely! Best part is you'll get nuggets of information- which is all you can expect of any book. And you won't feel like the book has been written to sell you on their service. Well done and well worth the read.

The answer for most consultants would be more business from that client with a lower cost of sales. Maister, Green and Galford's book emphasizes the importance of trust in a client relationship, but the book goes beyond that to give the consultant practical advice on building a trust-based relationship with clients. If you read the five-page chapter 22, The Quck-Impact List to Gain Trust, you'll find dozens of practical techniques to help build a tighter, trusting bond with your client. The authors cover a range of situations that consultants face with thoughtful suggestions on how to manage those situations while maintaining a trusting relationship. One chapter describes the different client types you'll find as a consultant and how you can work with them. The charaterizations of difficult clients is accurate, entertaining and the advice is solid. This is a well-researched and easy to read book. If you're in consulting for the long-haul, read this book--more than once. Michael McLaughlin, coauthor with Jay Conrad Levinson of Guerrilla Marketing for Consultants.

My introduction to David Maister came from the former managing director of Burson-Marteller's Tokyo office, who recommended True Professionalism. That book became one of the "required readings" for my training company's staff. Since True Professionalism, I've read Managing the Professional Service Firm and found it heavy, over-detail-oriented and difficult to apply. Now comes The Trusted Advisor (with other authors) and I can say without a doubt this best book on trust development I've read--putting real meat in those abstract concepts like "credibility." His chapter where he introduces the equation where Trust = Credibility + Reliability + Intimacy, all divided by Self-orientation, would be worth the price of the book. No, there probably is nothing new under the sun, but Maister in this book (and in Practice What You Preach, another gem) provides the keys to create better results for clients, and shows us how to turn those keys to start the engine. If there were 10 stars to give, I'd rate this a 10.

According to the authors, "The theme of this book is that the key to professional success is not just technical mastery of one's discipline (which is, of course, essential), but also the quality to work with clients in such a way as to earn their trust and gain their confidence." The authors provide "a new understanding of the importance and potential of trust relationships with clients, and show how trust can be employed to achieve a wide range of rewards. We examine trust as a process, which has beginnings and endings, which can be derailed and encouraged, and which take place across time and experience. We analyze the key components of trust and the process which trust involves in a relationship." To give you at least some idea of what this book addresses, here are the questions answered in Part One ("Perspectives on Trust"):What would be the benefits if your clients trusted you more?What do great trusted advisors all seem to do?What are the dynamics of trusting and being trusted?How do you ensure that your advice is listened to?What are the principles of building strong relationships?What attitudes must you have to be effective?Do you really have to care for those you advise?In the final chapter, the authors include "The Quick-Impact List to Gain Trust" and then an Appendix in which they duplicate all of the checklists previously provided. I rate this book so highly for twqo reasons: First, because the content is rock-solid, anchored in a wealth of real-world experiences which the authors generously share; also because they explain HOW to gain and then sustain the trust of everyone with whom you do business. This book will be especially valuable to small-to-midsize companies whose success or failure is primarily (if not entirely) dependent upon client relationships based on trust. Buyers have lots of choices. It is not enough for them to trust what you sell. Others may well offer the same product or service. They must also trust you, the seller. And here's the key point: It is imperative that customer trust your advice as they consider a purchase from you but, ultimately, your customers must have so much confidence in you that they will also seek your advice on other matters which have nothing to do with what you sell. So-called "customer satisfactioon" is achieved on a per-transaction basis. As Jeffrey Gitomer correctly asserts, your objective should be "customer loyalty." The authors of this book explain HOW to achieve it and then HOW to sustain it.

This is a book filled with helpful checklists, valauble to anyone in the consulting field. In an eminently readable style, the authors show us not just the requirements to be a trusted advisor but also how to be a better consultant and how to improve our interpersonal skills. We read different phrases (that, I assume at least one of the authors use) that show us how to raise contentious issues in a non-threatening way (eg, "Let me play the devil's advocate and try to convince you .." and "This will feel risky to you but ..") It's the type of book we need to dip into on a regular basis to remind ourselves of those "little things" that make a big difference when dealing with clients. An easy but most valuable read.