Clients

Transforming client relationships

Building high performing teams that align closely to the needs of a client is challenging. Many try and few get there.

We have a track record of working with clients as they seek to implement approaches to establish client teams – something that has often not been part of their history.  Our advice and support has been able to transform many of their clients relationships that has contributed to the financial performance of the firm, a positive reputational change and has deepened the talent and leadership capability for the future.

All great teams need an excellent client lead. Our exclusive Client Leadership Programme shifts senior executives and partners’ mind-sets by building the belief that it is possible to change the status of a relationship and transform the Firm’s position with the client. We develop team leadership skills to grow and manage large scale and complex, often cross border client relationships. We develop client relationship skills so senior leaders project authority, presence and impact, and the associated confidence, to develop relationships at the most senior levels. Partners and senior executives become skilful leaders of multi-million pound major global client relationships.

Our trusted adviser programme is a highly targeted programme for senior executives, and partners too, who already excel at many of the core skills required to build effective client relationships but who also want to progress to become “great” at building trusted, long-term relationships and accelerate the contribution they can make to their clients and their own organisations.

Across our programmes, clients often work with our group of Client Executives, a carefully selected group of senior clients, available for partners to work with to practice their client relationship skills. Their years of experience of working with professional services clients can be relied upon to give insightful and credible feedback.

We also work with partners who need to successfully develop relationships, both within the firm and with clients – at speed. We train partners in TRACOM’S Social Style® model to help them accelerate their relationship building process. The model is backed by an ongoing, 60-year research programme, giving it an unparalleled track record.

Firms earn higher margins, inspire greater client loyalty, attract and retain the best talent, and gain a competitive edge when lawyers collaborate across borders and across practice and sector boundaries. Our Smart Collaboration programme helps create high performing teams with shared goals and objectives to bring excellence to clients.

Success stories from recent programmes include:

• Client leadership

A global law firm had an excellent client base but only a small number of the clients worked with more than one office or practice group. The firm set a strategy to have a greater number of clients delivering fees of over $20m alongside all partners raising their level of ambition for their client relationships.

Our role was to develop a programme of support with the Client Relationship Partners, industry group leaders and members of the Executive Committee. By blending internal inputs, external thinking, rehearsals with client executives, success stories and coaching, the programme delivered shifts in mindset, ambition, confidence and fees. Having built a strong initial focus the programme was then adapted and rolled out as part of a broader initiative to raise the sights of partners developing high growth clients.

• Accelerating trusted advisors

A global investment bank wondered if they could bottle the “special sauce” of those few people who were able to operate at the highest level of clients on behalf of the bank and get it into the DNA of the juniors.

PSFI built a bespoke model for the bank, developed a comprehensive programme of support and provided confidential coaching. The programme progressed from a regional pilot to a global programme offered to all those going through a significant proposal. Feedback from clients was tracked as ROI as well as internal measures and self-monitoring reports. All indicated significant improvements in the quality of relationship with the client.