Train your people to talk to your clients about the relationship they have with you

Audit your key relationships

What is the client service interview programme?

Most organisations in the business services sector have some sort of relationship review programme. They speak to clients about the services they provide and the state of the relationship between client and advisor.

But many of these client relationship programmes are inconsistent, don't get to the heart of what's going on in a relationship and don't reveal where improvements could be made.

Part of the answer lies in the effectiveness of the discussion with your clients. A well facilitated discussion gives clients the opportunity to talk through the aspects of the relationship they have with your firm. The right kind of client interview establishes what is working in a constructive way and what isn’t.

These conversations require skill, tact and an ability to probe what lies behind the comments clients make about their advisors. If your firm has decided to use its own staff to conduct such interviews, a key criteria for success is that the interviewer is adequately trained to minimise bias and to explore the relationship professionally.

At its best, the client service interview is a productive conversation which makes the client feel valued and enables the firm to identify further relationship-building opportunities. However, the latest client research from Lighthouse Global reveals that many firms are getting these conversations badly wrong. Many interviews fail to cover the issues giving a ‘false positive’ result. Other interviews can turn into a thinly-veiled sales meeting, which leaves the client feel cheated of their opportunity to discuss the relationship, and your firm left with limited and superficial feedback.

Our client service interview programme is designed to solve this problem. Through a series of interactive sessions – including role play scenarios - we empower your people with the confidence to talk to clients in the right way. They will be introduced to a series of questioning tools and techniques. Following the course, your teams will know how to conduct a detailed and balanced interview. They will learn how to delve below the superficial and behind the cliché to get intelligent, considered feedback.

What does the course cover?

  • How to plan and structure a successful client relationship interview.
  • Basic and advanced interview techniques
  • The best way to gather competitor intelligence through the client feedback process
  • How to analyse, report and write-up the interview
  • Common mistakes in interview technique (including how to minimise the bias)
  • How to handle the trickiest client service questions relating to (i) individuals (ii) fees (iii) project management (iv) delivering joined-up advice across the firm’s teams or international offices

Why Berwick Gilbey?

  • Insight from the experts: we draw on Lighthouse’s Executive Insight team to demonstrate best practice – the team have conducted several thousand in-depth interviews with board-level executive clients of advisory firms.
  • Interactive approach and role-play: you have the chance to practice the interviewing techniques with an experienced role-player and see how you do on film.
  • Understanding the client service issues: we understand your clients, and so we are uniquely placed to help you probe into the issues that are critical for your relationship.

Who is it for?

  • Partners and senior marketers who conduct client service reviews

What are the benefits?

  • A client relationship programme which delivers more actionable insight
  • Greater opportunities to deepen your relationship with existing clients