The Science of Trusted Relationships: Professional Services
Daniel Pink's 2014 book "To Sell is Human" makes the insightful point that "we're all in sales now", even if we are not actually employed as salespeople. A teacher is "selling" to a child in the sense they are making a proposition, or offer: your attention and effort for my knowledge. In the same way, doctors, priests, counsellors and all who "advise", in the broadest possible sense, are doing the same. If one sees selling as influencing the thoughts, actions or intentions of another, it becomes easier to see. An organisation is simply the sum of its relationships. In advice-giving businesses, relationships are also the major driver of commercial activity. We’re all in sales now, whether transactionally or not, as we simply strive to influence the thinking and actions of another, so marketing and BD is but one element.
But it is getting harder. Structural overcapacity in western markets, alternative business models, disintermediation and global digital marketplaces mean developing deeper, better, trusted client relationships is more crucial than ever to ensure future growth. Highly matrixed and complex organisations with overseas offices or partnerships make trusted relationships harder to attain, a problem exacerbated by an ever-present stream of corporate restructurings.
What we’re learning about the brain has huge implications for how we work effectively with peers, clients or other stakeholders. Building deeper, stickier relationships remain key strategic imperatives for all organisations, yet business or law schools don’t teach it. In fact, most relationship management or sales training offered to employees ignores key truisms about human behaviour, hence is largely ineffectual. And it is something many of us find hard to do well.
The neurosciences point to the fact that we’re blissfully unaware of most of our reactions and others’ perceptions of us, and that it takes deliberate effort to become aware of them. When someone “sells at us”, we tend to react pre-consciously, activating threat responses before we rationally listen to any sales message.
How We Can Help
With access to cutting edge research from both clinical and social sciences, Untapped Talent not only offers access to coaches who have trained with leading experts in the fields of neuroscience, psychology and behavioural economics to help individuals:
Shift from presenting to persuading
Increase/protect revenues by upskilling from transactional sales to position of trusted advisor
Introduce the concept of meta programs and how to tap into those of your most valuable clients
Develop key skills in behavioural adaptability to build rapport and trust quickly
Influence others positively, generate common purpose and gain buy-in to ideas
Build trust and credibility with clients, peers and seniors
We offer both 121 coaching and group coaching workshops, run in a highly experiential way over a number of small, bite-sized sessions to allow space to reflect, embed and reinforce learning. A small confidential group dynamic also offers the opportunity for participants to learn from each other’s experiences, work together on business development challenges and develop best practice to take back to their seats. Sharing some of the science behind human behaviour and using cutting edge profiling instruments and tools, we help senior business development professionals and leaders to truly understand effective relationship building.
Correctly identifying someone else’s preferences and responding appropriately is crucial. If done correctly and when faced with a choice, a client’s subconscious will encourage them to choose you rather than your competitors – even if your client’s rational self disagrees. All too often, people fail because they’re trying to impress their audience with knowledge rather than trying to relate to them as potential clients.