Elevate Relationship Resource Guide

Elevate RELATIONSHIP RESOURCE GUIDE

THE RELATIONSHIP LADDER

The following are desired behaviors and actions that help move relationships up the ladder.

Once we reach the advocacy stage, we must continue the behaviors/actions in order to keep the relationship from falling down a rung or more.

invests in your future

unaware of who you are

aware of you and willing to meet with you

encourages you to submit/hires you

gives you repeat business

01 PROSPECT

05 ADVOCACY

03 TRUST

02 AWARENESS

04 LOYALTY

THE RELATIONSHIP LADDER

• unaware of who you are 01

• they are aware of your firm

• they view your website

• they ask others about you

• they meet with you

• encourages you or invites you to submit/propose on their project

• shares private, relevant information with you about their company

• willing to move forward with you or to the next step in their process

• hire you and add you to their approved roster

• uses information provided by you as their basis for comparison

• may react negatively to schedule/service issues

• not ready to give you the benefit of the doubt

• recommends future projects for which you would be suited

• gives you repeat business

• invites you or is open to you selling other services to them

• engages in personal conversations with you/asks you for advice

• calls you when there is an issue and overlooks minor issues 05

• provides you with insights, shares ideas & collaborates with you

• defends you

• calls you when there is an issue and trusts you to solve them

• provides feedback – both positive and negative

• provides testimonials

• refers and promotes you to future clients and selection committee

ADVOCACY

THE RELATIONSHIP LADDER

01

1. PROSPECT

2. POSITION

3. QUALIFY

4. PRIORITIZE

5. GATHER INTEL

02

AWARENESS

1. POSITION

2. CONNECT

3. GAIN PROJECT

UNDERSTANDING

4. BUILD TRUSTED RELATIONSHIPS

5. PURSUE

03 TRUST

04 LOYALTY

05 ADVOCACY

1. ONBOARD

2. KICK-OFF

3. POSITION

4. ENHANCE CLIENT RELATIONSHIPS

5. ELEVATED CLIENT EXPERIENCE

6. DEVELOP PROJECT STORY

1. POSITION

2. ENHANCE CLIENT RELATIONSHIPS

3. ELEVATED CLIENT EXPERIENCE

4. FEEDBACK

5. IMPROVE

1. POSITION

2. ENHANCE CLIENT RELATIONSHIPS

3. ELEVATED CLIENT EXPERIENCE

4. RECOGNIZE

5. INVEST

6. REQUEST REFERRALS

THE RELATIONSHIP LADDER 01 | PROSPECT

01

PROSPECT

1. PROSPECT

• Identify potential clients you would like to work with

• Start with low-hanging fruit based on relationships

2. POSITION

• Develop content using the Elevate CSBE Model

CHALLENGE

Client pain points and project challenges you have solved in the past

SOLUTION

What is the unique solution you provide?

Process, approach, turn-around time, etc.

BENEFIT

How does this solution benefit the client? Speed to market, early completion, reduced budget - which equates to dollars gained

EVIDENCE

Where have you done this before?

TIP: Use more than one project

• Re-purpose content while driving people to your website

• Personal communication (tip: request a 15 min. meeting to discuss the content)

• E-Blasts/Newsletters

• Speaking (workshops, lunch & learns, industry associations, community orgs, conferences)

• Publications (Eblasts/Newsletters, industry associations, community orgs & news)

• Social Media

• Content is best created when a technical writer Interviews your technical professionals, teaming partners and your client. They know how to dig for the right information and position the article. Consider adding this position in-house or using a consultant like Elevate.

• Co-Author with your strategic partners and clients - this will help extend the reach of your content.

• Under an NDA, call it “confidential project”

• Find opportunities to connect and partner

• Discuss projects of interest early including challenges associated with them

• Serve together in associations/organizations

• Make a commitment: information, investment

THE RELATIONSHIP LADDER 01 | PROSPECT

• Engage with your clients brands on a regular basis through social media

• Connect, Follow, Like, Share

• Tag your strategic partners, collaborators and clients

3. QUALIFY

• Confirm they meet our ideal client criteria

• Confirm they have future projects of interest (work program, annual report, teaming partners, direct client discussions)

• Confirm they are a good cultural fit. Website, teaming partners, etc.

4. PRIORITIZE

• Assign priority

• 1 – Core Client: A client whose loss or gain would have a significant impact on the firm through revenue or opportunity

• 2 – Key Client: A client who meets our ideal client profile, values our firm and we value them but does not rise to critical

• 3 – General Clients: Clients for long-term strategy, one-off clients, clients we would be ok losing

• Add client to tracking

• CRM

• Master Spreadsheets

• Be sure to add priority and track

• Track relationship level on ladder with client and contacts

5. GATHER INTEL

• Gather client demographic info and add to CRM & Email Database (client website, annual report, Google, LinkedIn, teaming partners)

• Identify teaming partners - Who do they work with? (contractors, architects, geo/cmt, MEP) & add to CRM plans

• Identify top 3 potential client pain points (teaming partners)

• Set up Google Alerts on company & main contacts

• Develop relationship action plan / Battle plan if Priority 1

• Identify projects of interest

THE RELATIONSHIP LADDER 02 | AWARENESS

AWARENESS

process, goals, needs, preferences, pain points. No one-sided presentations - make it a conversation about them. Visual aids are sometimes needed

• Share firm general differentiators, all services and passion for working with this client only after talking about them

• Follow-Up with Specific Quals Package

• Follow-Up with hand-written thank you note

1. POSITION

• Continue to position as experts (see under prospect)

2. CONNECT

• Mutual connections such as teaming partners - ask for introduction

• Identify what Associations/Organizations they are involved with & identify who will become involved priority 2 clients. identify conferences they attend & add to conference calendar

• Social Media - follow company

• Social Media - All firm team members across disciplines connect with all client contacts (be sure to send personal message with invite) and follow & personally invite to follow firm

• Send Initial Generic Brochure

• Initial Client Intro Meeting, Focus on the client, Understand

3. GAIN PROJECT UNDERSTANDING

• Perform research on projects of interest including site visits to understand potential challenges

• Talk with potential teaming partners to identify additional project challenges along with client needs

• Develop project solutions story (benefit vs feature)

• Meet with client on specific projects to position

• Follow-up with re-cap, thanks and desire for project

4. BUILD RELATIONSHIPS

• Core Clients (Priority 1) Monthly touch point

• Key Clients (Priority 2) Quarterly touch point – increase touch point to monthly when project is pending

• General Clients (Priority 3) Empathize with their struggles and

THE RELATIONSHIP LADDER 02 | AWARENESS

ask how you can help – whatever needs they may have

• Follow-Through!!!

• See client activity examples

5. PURSUE

• Proposal

• Develop proposal strategy based on client knowledge

• Showcase differentiators

• CSBE – Challenge, Solution, Benefit, Evidence

• Be sure to hold a red-team review

• Short-list

• Develop interview strategy based on client knowledge

• Showcase differentiators based on specific competitors

shortlisted

• Create a conversation versus a presentation

• Practice, Practice, Practice!!!

• Stumble Through

• Dry Run

• Dress Rehearsal

• Lost

• Debrief to improve

• Thank them and share you are committed to finding the right

• Won

project to work together

• Debrief to understand differentiators

• Thank them!

THE RELATIONSHIP LADDER 03 | TRUST

1. ONBOARD

• Send welcome kit to client

• Complete new client questionairre

• Integrate into client feedback program

• Walk the client through the experience they can expect from you from kick-off to completion including administrative things like accounting

2. KICK-OFF

• Plan: Create a project management plan

• Kick-Off Meeting: Project Vision

• Client Critical Success Factors

• Budget

• Schedule

• Safety Plan

• Team Roles and Responsibilities

• Client Team Roles and Responsibilities

• Deliverables / Document Control Plan

• Communication Plan

• Risk Management Plan

• Quality Control Plan

• Out of Scope Work Management

3. POSITION

• Continue to position as experts (see under prospect) while positioning for the next project

4. ENHANCE CLIENT RELATIONSHIPS

• Continue to build relationships (see under awareness) to build trust – never maintain, always continue to capture

THE RELATIONSHIP LADDER 03 | TRUST

5. ELEVATED CLIENT EXPERIENCE

• Throughout the project

• Accessibility: Available, especially during a time of crisis

• Proactiveness: Anticipate their needs

• Communication: Weekly progress updates

• Responsiveness: Respond same day with a plan and offer a quick turnaround

• Follow-Through: Set clear expectations of what would happen when and deliver on those expectations

• Attention: Your clients project is on the top of your list

• Recovery: Be accountable for problems when they come up and provide solutions

• Quality: Monitor quality on a regular basis and make needed improvements

• Check-in: Check in on a regular basis

• Feedback: Ask for feedback often

• Document: Gather Photos/Videos/Drone footage along with project challenges

• Be Intentional:

• Make them the hero

• Provide a human touch

• Demonstrate integrity

• Show empathy

• Be consistent in how you deliver information

• Reduce the client effort

• Transparency breeds trust – share lessons learned & fix mistakes

• PROJECT CLOSE-OUT

• Debrief with client, Lessons learned (make necessary changes), Challenges solved

• Gather feedback

• Send design completion thank you card / gift depending on client & level of project Participate in Ground Breaking

• Update marketing information based on specific project challenges and solutions/benefits - be sure to gather info from teaming partners, Request quote from client

• Gather constuctbility information for tracking & using as a differentiator

• Participate in grand opening, Determine if this is a marketing opportunitiy for a tour

• Develop case study with client and teaming partners

• Submit for awards

THE RELATIONSHIP LADDER 03 | TRUST

6. DEVELOP PROJECT STORY

• Use the Elevate CSBE Model

CHALLENGE

Client pain points and project challenges you have solved in the past

SOLUTION

What is the unique solution you provide?

Process, approach, turn-around time, etc.

BENEFIT

How does this solution benefit the client? Speed to market, early completion, reduced budget - which equates to dollars gained

EVIDENCE

Where have you done this before?

TIP:

Use more than one project

• Add to existing content or create new content piece

• Re-purpose through all channels

THE RELATIONSHIP LADDER 04 | LOYALTY

04 LOYALTY

4. FEEDBACK

• Act on all feedback – good or bad

5. IMPROVE

• Collaborate to improve processes and approaches

1. POSITION

• Continue to position as experts (see under prospect) while positioning for the next project

2. ENHANCE CLIENT RELATIONSHIPS

• Continue to build relationships (see under awareness) to build loyalty – show you value them

3. ELEVATED CLIENT EXPERIENCE

• Throughout the project (see under trust)

THE RELATIONSHIP LADDER 05 |

1. POSITION

• Continue to position as experts (see under prospect) while positioning for the next project

2. ENHANCE CLIENT RELATIONSHIPS

• Continue to build relationships (see under awareness) to build loyalty – show you value them

3. ELEVATED CLIENT EXPERIENCE

• Throughout the project (see under trust)

4. RECOGNIZE

• Show gratitude

• Celebrate milestones and successes

5. INVEST

• Collaborate to innovate

6. REQUEST REFERRALS

• Request to share positive feedback (can we use a quote for marketing?)

• Request to introduce us to other clients

• Ask to be a reference with another client

BD BINGO! 50 ACTIVITIES FOR BUILDING AND ENHANCING CLIENT RELATIONSHIPS

Bookend these activities - 5 minutes at the beginning and end of your day!

Let’s make it fun and turn it into a competition – BINGO!

Gather client capture plan/ battle plan intel

Gather list of potential future projects from a client

Research the client to find potential connection points and opportunities to connect and help

Connect and research client contact on LinkedIn

Write a recommendation for a client on LinkedIn

FREE

Create a client competitive analysis

Gather client intel from a teaming partner call

Learn something personal about a client contact - i.e. hobby, personal passion, goals

Send something personal to a client contact based on what you learned

Set up an initial client meet and greet - 30 min and focus on them and understanding process, pain points and needs

Send a thank you note or letter to a prospect, client, influencer or teaming partner

Send a client contact a small gift (if private sector client can accept)

Send a digital brochure or qualifications package or other marketing collateral to a client and ask for a 15 min meeting to discuss

Check in on a client for no reason

BD BINGO! 50 ACTIVITIES FOR BUILDING AND ENHANCING CLIENT RELATIONSHIPS

Bookend these activities - 5 minutes at the beginning and end of your day!

Let’s make it fun and turn it into a competition – BINGO!

Send a client contact an internal article or a white paper and ask for a 15 min meeting to discuss

Send a client an external article or something of interest

Set up a client meeting at a conference: coffee, dinner…

Invite a client to see you speak at a conference

Discuss potential work or upcoming projects with a client contact

Conduct a client debrief - win, loss, project close out (lessons learned, wins)

Download work program or annual report and identify projects of interest

FREE

Ask client questions: pain points, needs, preferences, frustrations, preferred communication methods, what they want in a consultant

Share your why with a client

Update your LinkedIn profile to add: your why based bio, signature project(s)

Site visit to gather project intelchallenges

Set up client meeting to discuss potential project challenges after your site visit or understanding

Take informal photography of an ongoing of completed project for marketing & social sharing

Professional association effortsassociation where clients attend or invite a client to be a speaker or guest

BD BINGO! 50 ACTIVITIES FOR BUILDING AND ENHANCING CLIENT RELATIONSHIPS

Bookend these activities - 5 minutes at the beginning and end of your day!

Let’s make it fun and turn it into a competition – BINGO!

Set up or attend a virtual networking event

Set up a charity event or intiative and partner with a client, teaming partners

Attended virtual conference/ tradeshow where your clients are

Set up a teaming partner meeting

Host a project walk through/ tour - can be virtual

Seek client feedback on project performance during the project

Volunteer for a community organization or political organization or gain a sponsorship for a fundraising event and invite a client

Develop new teaming relationship

Introduce the client to another service line leader in the firm - crosssell services

Present at association meeting or conferencetip: invite your client to speak with you

Plan and execute a BD event - lunch and learn, workshop... (live or virtual - tip: keep it short)

Contribute to thought leadership - tip: look at your client needs, fears, and pain points to develop articles

Request client quote

Invite a client or teaming partner to collaborate on thought leadership

BD BINGO! 50 ACTIVITIES FOR BUILDING AND ENHANCING CLIENT RELATIONSHIPS

Bookend these activities - 5 minutes at the beginning and end of your day!

Let’s make it fun and turn it into a competition – BINGO!

Invite a client or teaming partner to collaborate on thought leadership

Gather list of potential future projects from a client

Share firm LinkedIn & other social posts on your LinkedIn & other social

Write a recommendation for a client or teaming partner on LinkedIn

Invite a client or teaming partner to collaborate on a presentation or panel discussion

Present at association meeting or conferencetip: invite your client to speak with you

Work with marketing to develop a campaign

Set up an initial client meet and greet - 30 min and focus on them and understanding process, pain points and needs

Get drone footage and share on LinkedIn & other social

FREE

Share clients & teaming partners LinkedIn & other social post on your LinkedIn & other social

Get video footage and share on LinkedIn & other social

Send a client contact a small gift (if private sector client can accept)

Connect client’s & teaming partners PR/ Social/Marketing team with ours to offer support for joint comms efforts (brand toolkit, social media collaborations and tracking, press release management)

Share your why with a client

FOR MORE INFORMATION ON HOW ELEVATE CAN HELP YOU IMPLEMENT A SUCCESSFUL BD PROGRAM OR ENHANCE YOUR CURRENT PROGRAM, CONTACT:

Jen Newman, FSMPS, CPSM | jen@elevatemarketingadvisors.com

Doug Parker, FSMPS, CPSM | doug@elevatemarketingadvisors.com

Be sure to check out our Elevate C-Suite and Marketing/BD Cohorts!

www.elevatemarketingadvisors.com