Ally Relationships (recommended book)
Another Recommended Book: Ally Relationships: The Key to Sustained Success for Your Service Business, by Anthony O. Putman (Burns Park Publishers, 2007)
Those of you who’ve read my award-winning sixth book Principled Profit know that I’m a big fan of marketing through relationships–and of marketing approaches that move your offering out of the realm of commodity, and into the realm of value.
Anthony Putman is very much in alignment with this approach, pointing out that any service business’s biggest asset is the willingness of the customer to buy from you–and that building strong relationships is a very good way to protect that asset. “You cannot differentiate a service…but you <i>can</i> differentiate a relationship,” he says.
I’m not convinced that services can’t be differentiated. At least some of them can be; that’s the whole concept of the unique selling proposition. However, it’s always going to be much easier to highlight the strengths of your offer when you do in fact differentiate the relationship.
In Putman’s view, a business relationship will have one of three levels:
* Service source–a vendor, pure and simple
* Solution provider, there to solve your client’s problems
* Ally: a strategic partner who is <i>thoroughly committed to your clients’ growth and success</i>, and who is always thinking about ways to grow the relationship by being more helpful
It’s not about selling–but about being seen as the go-to person for trusted advice, and thus products. Allies, of course, make themselves indispensable–and thus not only recession-proof, but also protected against clients jumping ship or price-shopping because they may be satisfied, but they’re not inspired.
One way to be seen as an ally is to decline business that isn’t right for you, and couple that with a referral to someone who specializes in that need. There are many other paths as well, which involve your ability to refrain from traditional selling, think about your clients’ needs instead of your own, and ask the questions that make the client understand how to grow (rather than those that lead toward a one-shot sale).
While it may be easier to build ally relationships with new clients, Putman also includes specific steps to push you up the ladder with existing clients, one person at a time–and with often-dramatic results as clients subconsciously but happily accept the “free upgrade” in their status.
One final point: this approach is rooted in high ethical standards. As Putman says, there is “no place for deceit or spin.” In short, this is an excellent complement to my own award-winning book Principled Profit, especially if you’re in sales.
