Q. What do you do when your client or customer asks you a question? A. Why, answer the question, of course! (Doh!) But – what if the question itself is flawed, or incomplete, or dangerous to answer? For example: What if a potential client wants to know the price before you have explained the […]
Twelve years have passed since I first wrote the following thoughts on New Years resolutions. Frankly, it was good. And frankly I haven’t been able to write a better one. Next year, maybe (though, probably not). So, apologies to those who have read it year after year – though I suspect some of you won’t […]
One of the most frequent trust questions I get is typically phrased as a dilemma: how can we establish trust-based long-term relationships in a culture that values short-term performance? But rarely have I had the question posed so clearly and sharply as in a recent discussion with an investment banker. Paraphrasing, he said: “Listen, I […]
I was in a Costco store the other day, and noticed the man whose photo you see attached here. I was struck by his t-shirt: in bold, large font, it reads, “Because I Said I Would.” That got me thinking. As founder of Trusted Advisor Associates, one of the most common questions I get over the […]
Most of you reading this are advisors, in some form or another. That’s obvious if you’re a consultant, accountant, or lawyer. Also if you’re a financial planner, account manager, executive searcher, and certainly if you’re in sales. It’s less obviously, but equally, true if you’re in one of a thousand customer-facing roles with titles like […]