What Does Trusted Advisor Mean?
Getting and maintaining a customer’s “trust” is an advantage over your competitors. The relationship between a trusted advisor and his customers can change over time. Consultants who are good at their jobs become trusted advisors, and they can maintain that reputation and prove their integrity throughout their careers. These individuals also propel their companies’ image in a positive light setting it apart from others in the industry.
What is a Trusted Advisor?
Working together with clients by advising, strategizing, and executing their vision is not the ability of any staff member. It is a skill that a specialist learns and perfects over time by adapting to the changing trends while still delivering on the clients’ needs.
Trusted advisor meaning: A trusted advisor is someone who is considered a partner that the customer wants to work with when making strategic decisions to reach their goal. He/she offers sound and practical advice on the industry or competitive trends without putting their own interests first.
Patience, persistence, and focus are attributes of a trusted advisor who is seasoned in the art of bringing the customers’ needs into the spotlight. They will guide the customers before any decisions are made based on the behavior and projections of their particular industry.
How Do You Know If You are a Trusted Advisor?
There are no blurred lines between an advisor and a supplier. It is very clear when a customer relates to you as a trusted advisor based on the relationship and degree of involvement in their needs and goals.
Customers who only ask about products and services are normally not looking for an advisor. Still, those who inquire about the industry behavior, want specific needs addressed, or seek guidance on realizing their goals are in the market for a trusted advisor.
When you are in the loop for ideation and strategy meetings, that is a good sign. Your input may be valuable during the decision-making process, and your skills may be required to carry out business plans. This puts you in the right spot because it shows the customer is interested in your guidance and not just the products or services you deal in.
What is a trusted advisor in the eyes of the customer? Someone who is familiar with the functions of multiple departments, has a positive rapport with both them and their colleagues, and someone who can work hand-in-hand with them in achieving their goals.
The Benefits of Being a Trusted Advisor
Now that you understand the trusted advisor meaning, and how to tell if you are one, what are the benefits? After all, it will take time and effort to become a trusted advisor, so you need to know if it’s worth it. Ultimately, just providing valuable advice will make your customers happy, which will translate to an increase in the company’s bottom line. In other words, it is certainly worth putting in the work to become one. As a trusted advisor, you’ll enjoy:
● Higher Customer Retention
If customers trust you, they will stick around. They value their business relationship with you because it is beneficial to them, and they feel they are valued. A caring attitude towards them tells them you value their goals and needs. In other words, ‘service above self’ can prevent churn and yield more income over time.
● The Ability to Provide Quick and Direct Feedback
Knowing the industry details will put you in a position to advise appropriately and give feedback the customer needs directly. If there are any concerns, customers can present them early enough to be addressed before they become a challenge.
● Data Prediction
When a customer shares their data and statistics with you, it helps predict the future of their business in the industry. Understanding their current position in the industry will help you as a trusted advisor to forecast future trends and make informed and deliberate decisions for both them and your own company.
● Strengthen Inter-organizational Relationships
Company relationships that are formed based on trust are stronger and can result in better loyalty. Company-wide partnerships are beneficial to everyone involved. The operations flow smoothly most of the time, and changes like organizational restructuring are less likely to result in the end of the partnership.
● Increase the Value of the Customer
You have significant intellectual capital as a trusted advisor, meaning you are in a better position to help customers generate revenues and increase their bottom lines. With the partnership intact and working with real-time statistics, the future of an industry can be more easily predicted, which will give the customer more bargaining power, hence increasing their value.
● Managing the customers’ expectations
A customer will benefit from an advisor’s honesty and trustworthiness, even about things they don’t want to hear. For example, not delivering on what your company needs. Having a knowledgeable advisor who is privy to useful resources and insider information will ensure that expectations are realistically managed, and this may save money from being spent unwisely.
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