While perusing one of my clients’ latest posts on Chatter, I came across a Harvard Business Review blog on the high value of customer relationships. Now, the idea itself wasn’t any big surprise. We all know that the key to any successful consulting gig is really being that “trusted advisor.” But there was something about the way Mr. Keith Ferrazzi said it that really struck a chord.

He put it into the terms of being prepared with "five packets of generosity" for each meeting. He defines each packet of generosity as a means to “make the person you’re meeting successful," but not just in the business sense. Keith brings up the point that when you’re doing your homework for this meeting, you are looking for personal reasons to care about your client. You want to be seen as a human, after all, not a cyborg or just a sales guy.

In his study of 16 global account teams, Keith found that “strategic, relationship-focused teams grew their accounts at least twice as fast as regular transactionally-focused account teams.”  In other words, when you are focused on your customer’s success and not your own, this is precisely the moment that makes your services most attractive to them. You advance the relationship, and improve your own sales karma in the process. Once you’ve earned your client’s trust and opened up their ears, they’re more likely to be receptive to your ‘ask.’ And after all, if your ‘ask’ is really something you believe in, and it is coming from a “generous” place, then why shouldn’t they be receptive? That’s how to turn a relationship into a sale!

• What can I offer my clients to show them that I value the relationship and that I want their business to thrive just as much as they do?  
• Have I been “truly generous to this individual, and earned enough trust that they’re ready to listen” to my advice?
• Do I know the things my clients care most about (both professionally and personally)?

For more reading, musing, proactive application of this theory, please consult Keith Ferrazzi’s original HBR blog, “How to Turn a Relationship into a Sale.” What will your five packets of generosity be for your next meeting? I'd love to hear people's ideas!