Delivering commercial advice

Clients say they want advisers to be “commercial” and to be “trusted advisers,” not just technical specialists.

This workshop will help professionals deliver commercial advice.

We have been studying the relationship between professional advisers and their clients for 17 years. Throughout this time, clients have complained about advisers’ lack of commerciality. The result was the ‘Seven Habits of a Commercial Adviser’ framework, developed by Meridian West and our colleagues at Kommercialize, based on extensive research into the needs of clients of professional firms. Our team has conducted thousands of client feedback interviews.

Firms such as Coffin Mew tell us that they owe their recent success in winning new clients and strengthening their relationships with intermediaries to the Seven Habits framework. Other recent clients have included GVA, Kemp Little, Withers and the Financial Times.

The seven habits framework

The Seven Habits supports the understanding what commerciality means and what practical steps professionals can take to improve. This interactive session will take you through the Seven Habits, share best practice from other firms and help you to build development plans.

Habit 1: Understand your client’s desired outcomes – what do we mean by outcomes; how to stay focussed on the end result
Habit 2: Understand the business – how to get to grips with the wider business and market context
Habit 3:Understand the economics – understand financial jargon and apply financial models
Habit 4: Understand the people – stakeholder mapping and people management
Habit 5: Agree the scope – manage client expectations and deliver profitability
Habit 6: Build practical solutions – create lasting change for the client
Habit 7: Communicate for impact – the art of persuasion

Participants will be expected to do c. 45 minutes of pre-reading including:

A case study – developed by your firm, based on a Meridian West template
Meridian West research / your firm’s own client feedback

Logistics

The workshop is for groups of 8 – 15 people
Participants can be
- From the same client team / practice group or across the firm
- Of a similar level of seniority or with different levels of experience
Fee includes access to Meridian West research

About Meridian West workshops

Our workshops are based on practical experience and our research with over 1000 buyers of professional services each year (meaning that we know exactly what delights – and irritates – clients like yours). The content is practical, proven in the real world and action-oriented. Delivery is interactive.