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Clients for Life: Evolving from an Expert-for-Hire to an Extraordinary Adviser
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$ 12.47
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$ 15.99 |
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| Item Number |
153106 |
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Item Description...
An Innovative Blueprint for Enduring Client RelationshipsMore than 15 million people in this country earn their livings by serving clients, and their numbers are growing every day. Unfortunately, far too few develop the skills and strategies needed to rise to the top in a world where clients have almost unlimited access to information and expertise. Supported by more than one hundred case studies and wisdom gleaned from interviews with dozens of leading CEOs and prominent business advisors, Clients for Life identifies what clients really want and lays out the core qualities that distinguish the client advisor -- an irreplaceable resource -- from the expert for hire -- a tradable commodity. - Experts are specialists; advisors become deep generalists who have broad perspective.
- Experts are for hire; advisors have selfless independence, balancing client devotion with objectivity and detachment.
- Experts have professional credibility; advisors develop deep personal trust.
- Experts analyze; advisors synthesize and bring big-picture thinking to the table.
- Experts supply expertise and information; advisors are educators who provide insight and wisdom.
Portraits of history's most famously successful advisors, including Machiavelli, Sir Thomas More, and J. P. Morgan, underscore these timeless qualities that modern professionals need to develop to excel in today's competitive environment. |
Item Specifications...
Pages 272
Dimensions: Length: 1" Width: 5.5" Height: 8.5"
Weight: 0.55 lbs.
Binding Softcover
Publisher Free Press
ISBN 0684870304
EAN 9780684870304
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Availability 17 units.
Availability accurate as of May 26, 2012 08:46.
Usually ships within one to two business days from Momence, IL.
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About this Author/Artist Jagdish Sheth is the Charles H. Kellstadt Professor of Marketing at the Goizueta Business School, Emory University, and the founder of the Center of Relationship Marketing. He has served as an advisor and consultant to AT&T, Lucent, Motorola, and Young & Rubicam, and contributes regularly to The Wall Street Journal and other publications. He lives in Atlanta, Georgia.
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Reviews - What do our customers think?
 | Its all about character May 14, 2007 |
| Strongly recommend this book. The professions would be better off if it were more widely read. An inspiring and enjoyable read, with interesting asides and illustrations. An anti-dote for aspiring individuals working in low-trust, money focussed organsiations. | | | | How to Become a Distinguished Advisor Jan 9, 2007 |
Jagdish Sheth and Andrew Sobel convincingly retrace in Clients for Life the journey that professionals can make to become extraordinary advisers to some of their clients. Their findings are based not only on their personal experience, but perhaps more importantly, on in-depth interviews with leaders of major corporations who have gained significant experience in buying services and seeking advice from professionals.
Sheth and Sobel make a distinction among expert for hire, steady supplier, and extraordinary adviser on the professional services continuum. Some professionals are sought-after advisers instead of being just an expert for hire who offers his expertise on a transactional basis or a steady supplier who despite his repeated engagements has not been admitted to the inner circle of close advisers. Sheth and Sobel call this broad-based, abiding client relationship which generates collaboration and insight a breakthrough relationship.
Sheth and Sobel have isolated seven attributes that great professionals successfully develop and integrate into a powerful whole to come to a breakthrough relationship with a client. At the bottom of the pyramid, there are selfless independence (meeting clients' needs while preserving integrity) and empathy. Knowledge depth and breadth, synthesis, and judgment represent the thinking process that is expected from an extraordinary adviser. Finally, at the top of the pyramid, there are integrity and conviction that make up the character expected from such an extraordinary adviser. Sheth and Sobel illustrate each attribute with examples that help the practitioner put their recommendations into practice.
Great professionals have to infuse everything they do with a soul of abundance (doing the right thing regardless of monetary outcome), mission, and self-renewal. Sheth and Sobel conclude their examination of breakthrough relationships with the pitfalls and dilemmas in client relationships. Not all clients are open to this type of relationship.
| | | | Essential for any consultant. May 4, 2005 |
| As a consultant, this book helped me focus on behaviors aimed at building a long-term practice rather than simply going from success-to-success. I say this not to toot my own horn (yes, I've had failures too) but rather because most decent consultants actually do OK--clients are generally happy. We appear to succeed on a regular basis. The great consultants, however, are the ones who build vocal followings...and that's where the value of this work rests. | | | | Client Loyalty Doesn't Have to be an Oxymoron Mar 28, 2005 |
Sheth and Sobel bring to life the concept of client relationships in a way that consultants, and other professioanl service providers, can use immediately. The value of this book is that it takes the client's point of view when discussing professional relationships, rather than focusing on how to sell services.
And, the book goes beyond theory to give the reader specific actions to guide their interactions with clients, and become true advisors to clients. The book stresses how to make the transition from a service provider to a client advisor.
The book also points out the land mines in client relationships, and how you can avoid them. An experienced consultant may find many of the concepts in this book familiar, but you may question how well you're following the authors' great advice. Those who are newer to the business will find a well-researched template for building a practice of clients for life.
Michael McLaughlin, coauthor with Jay Conrad Levinson of Guerrilla Marketing for Consultants. | | | | This Book is a Classic Jun 19, 2004 |
Clients for Life sets out seven key attributes or skills needed to evolve from an "expert for hire" to a client advisor. It is based on extensive interviews, conducted by the authors, with corporate executives and top CEOs about their most valuable outside professionals. The authors nicely contrast the expert for hire and the client advisor. For example: Experts tell, advisors ask great questions and listen; experts are specialists, advisors are deep generalists who have both depth and breadth; experts have professional credibility, advisors go further and build personal trust; and so on. There is a chapter on each of these attributes and transitions. I've worked with
clients for many years, and everything in Clients for Life rings true. I'd go further and say that this is one of those paradigm or mindset-shifting books. You cannot think about yourself in the same way after reading it. It raises a lot of questions about how we position ourselves with clients, and provides some good answers. Clients for Life is beautifully written. It is
honestly a must-read for anyone in fields like financial services, professional services, or who even manages large accounts in any industry. | | | Write your own review about Clients for Life: Evolving from an Expert-for-Hire to an Extraordinary Adviser
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