1. B E C O M I N G A S T R AT E G I C B U S I N E S S
PARTNER WITH YOUR CLIENTS
BY
FREDERICK C. MILITELLO, JR.
SENIOR THOUGHT LEADER
WWW.FUTURECHANGEMANAGEMENT.COM .
FMILITELLO@FUTURECHANGEMANAGEMENT.CO
M.
TEL: +1 518.634.7003

2. APPLICABLE AUDIENCES
For financial people in corporations looking to increase
their partnering relationships and get a seat at the
business table
For financial people in accounting and consulting firms
seeking to break-out of the commodity zone and into
the advisory zone
For relationship bankers seeking to differentiate
themselves and appreciate what it takes to have ―C‖
level conversations
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3. OPENING QUESTION
What does it mean to be a strategic
partner and climb the relationship
pyramid?
For insight let’s look at a client
perspective.
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4. CLIENT PERSPECTIVE/CLIENT NEEDS
Here the client is a corporate financial executive
(CFO, for example) – a client that would be very
relevant to anyone working in the financial
services industry
To serve this client we must meet his/her needs and
those needs may very well be focused on the
client’s desire to build stronger relationships with
the business people in his/her company
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5. THE CLIENT SPEAKS…
“TODAY, THE ONLY REAL POWER YOU HAVE AS A FINANCE
PERSON IS TO INFLUENCE BUSINESS DECISIONS IN THE
RIGHT DIRECTIONS AND TO MAKE AVAILABLE THE FINANCIAL
RESOURCES BUSINESS PEOPLE NEED TO ACCOMPLISH THEIR
GOALS. TO GET THAT INFLUENCE YOU NEED TO BE VIEWED AS
A STRATEGIC PARTNER. YOU NEED TO BE AT THE BUSINESS
TABLE….”
GUY MERCIER, SOLVAY POLYMERS
ADAPTED FROM LEVERAGE COMPETENCIES: WHAT FINANCIAL EXECUTIVES NEED TO LEAD, PROF. MILITELLO/DR. SCHWALBERG FT/PRENTICE
HALL
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6. Being a Strategic Partner – A Client View
Key: Don’t forget clients
have their own internal
STRATEGIC PARTNER pyramids to climb.
Key: Don’t forget clients
= INFLUENCE have their own critical
success factors to
BUSINESS CHOICES achieve.
Key: Help them climb,
+ DECISION SUPPORT help them achieve, and
you will likely climb and
= SEAT AT BUSINESS TABLE achieve as well.
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7. STRATEGIC PARTNERING QUESTIONS
Knowing that the client wants to be a strategic partner with
the business people of his/her company helps us to set our
compasses in the right direction
How can we help the client get a seat at the business table?
Are we having the right conversations?
How can we help the client keep his/her seat at the business
table?
Are we providing the right products, services and most
importantly ideas?
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8. ACHIEVING STRATEGIC PARTNERSHIP:
IT’S ALL ABOUT THE RIGHT MIND-SET AND
BEHAVIOR! IT’S ABOUT GETTING INTO THE RIGHT
RELATIONSHIP ZONE AND STAYING THERE.
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9. CLIMBING THE CLIENT RELATIONSHIP PYRAMID
There are three relationship zones:
1. The Vendor = The Danger Zone
2. The Consultant = The Comfort Zone
3. The Strategic Partner = The
Achievement Zone
Let’s look at each…
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10. THE VENDOR – THE DANGER ZONE
Focus is more on:
Selling products
Reactivity
Price
You are in the Danger Zone. There
Transactional knowledge
is no sustainable differentiation
Skills here. Expect to be treated like a
Credibility vendor because you are behaving
Vendor role/behavior like one. You are on a
commodity-like trajectory and will
never be thought of as a strategic
partner or prospect for being so.
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11. THE CONSULTANT – THE COMFORT ZONE
Focus is more on:
Physiological needs
Proactivity/presentation
Fear You are in the Comfort Zone. This is
where most of us are satisfied
Informational knowledge
being. But it is really not a
Skills/Cognition partnership state. It does not go
Reliability beyond physiological needs and is
Consultative role/behavior
fearful of emotions and intuition.
Most importantly, it leaves you in
the red waters of competition –
ironically not a very comforting
place to be at all.
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12. THE STRATEGIC PARTNER – THE ACHIEVEMENT
ZONE
Focus is more on:
Psychological needs
Interactivity/conversation
Value
You are in the Achievement
Tacit knowledge Zone. Here we have
Behavior/experiential differentiation. We have
Values identification broken out of the Safety Zone
and are exploring less well
Strategic role/behavior
defined needs. Everything
becomes less clear (more
strategic). Our focus is clearly
on mutual needs, mutual
discovery, interactivity and
conversation. It’s a strategic
partnership.
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13. Client
Achievement
Zone
Comfort Zone
Danger Zone
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14. The further away you move from the client, the less
partnership becomes a reality.
When you are in the Danger Zone you are easily
replaced. You are a vendor.
When you are in the Comfort Zone you are closer to
your client; however, communication still tends to
be one directional. Moreover, ―conversations‖
tend to be around questions of survival and
safety and not of a higher-level nature. You are a
consultant.
When you are in the Achievement Zone you are close
to your client. Conversations tend to focus more
on mutual agendas and more psychological goals
such as belonging, recognition and actualization
of one’s goals. You are an advisor and partner.
Strategic partnering only can exist when you are in
the Achievement Zone.
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15. Actual
ization
Recognit
ion
Belonging
Safety
Survival
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16. Maslow’s Pyramid of Human Needs best depicts the
desired climb on the relationship pyramid.
Basically, the climb is inherit in human nature
and behavior.
Before we can join a society (become partners) we
must first provide for our survival and safety.
These are our most basic needs. This is also
where most financial service providers feel the
greatest comfort. It’s their Comfort Zone.
However, ―higher-level‖ needs are where true
partnering opportunities arise. It is here where
we begin to see the need to belong, to be
recognized and eventually to actualize our
lives. This is the Achievement Zone. It is where
the greatest opportunities for strategic
partnering exist and largely remains an
opportunity of open space
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17. The
Achievement
Zone
(Strategic
Partnering)
The Comfort Zone
(Consultative
Selling)
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18. Let’s focus on the most likely zones of relationship
climbing.
The Comfort Zone feels safe like the needs we seek
to provide; namely, survival and safety. These
needs correlate more easily with our product
offerings. They are more explicit and tangible.
But they are not viewed strategically and they
do not emanate from the desire to reach out to
others. They are more physiological.
The Achievement Zone is where we really begin to
climb the pyramid and leave the competition
behind. Here we are dealing with the human
needs for belonging, recognition and
actualization. Here we have the greatest
opportunities for strategic conversation and
partnering.
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19. Actualization
= Legacy
Recognition =
Social
Responsibility
Belonging = Affiliations
Safety = Insurance
Survival = Capital
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20. As you climb the relationship pyramid
client needs almost naturally
become more outward looking.
They scream out for partnership
with others.
These ―higher‖ needs become more
personal. They require more
trust. They require more
interactivity. As an advisor, they
require that you have earned the
right to give advice and become a
partner.
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21. EXPERIENTIAL OBSERVATIONS
The pyramid is not just an upward climb—as many
suggest Maslow originally implied.
The pyramid represents both an upward and downward
progression of client needs.
The goal is to capture the entire pyramid—making its
totality the Zone of Achievement.
The goal is to have strategic conversations where/while
others are behaving like vendors or consultants.
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22. AN EXAMPLE/FROM VENDOR TO STRATEGIC
CONVERSATIONS
Risk management is usually thought of as a safety product. It’s in our comfort zone.
However, it is not the product that determines the zone of conversation—rather it is
the nature of the conversation.
For example, a company may have the need for diversification (flexibility in its
operations).
It can do so by getting larger—making acquisitions.
It can do so by focusing on growth—less emphasis on core competency growth.
It can do so by changing its capital structure—deleveraging.
But how about risk management? It too can provide the business with the flexibility
that business operations do not.
Risk management becomes strategic when the conversation is strategic—it moves
from the Comfort Zone to the Achievement Zone!
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23. ACHIEVEMENT ZONE INDICATORS
Having increased conversations with ―C‖ Getting your client asked back to the
level executives. business table.
Having conversations that are more Being asked to return to the business
concerned with business choices
table with your client.
and support activities. Being recognized as a business
strategy and decision-support
Having conversations that are more advisor.
concerned with belonging,
Achieving an overall increase in client
recognition and actualization. fee income.
Having strategic conversations about Achieving a higher economic return
needs that previously were in your on one’s client portfolio.
Comfort Zone. Achieving a far larger share of client
Getting your client to the business table. portfolio business than one’s
competitive counterparts.
Being asked to join your client at the
business table.
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24. ACHIEVEMENT ZONE TIPS
Leave the Safety Zone of physiological
Rethink what it means to be competent. needs. Needs are more than
You need more than skills – you physiological. The most important
need behavioral competencies to address involve the psyche.
Build trust – third tier trust. Such trust Enter the Achievement Zone of
requires that you put the needs of psychological needs, e.g., help
others before your own. It requires others to belong, be recognized
the identification and sharing of and actualize their goals.
mutual values. Practice reinforcing Achievement Zone
Refrain from giving advice too quickly. behaviors e.g., mutual discovery,
Remember, you must earn the right art of conversation, intuition, etc.
to give advice. Be willing to take risks and climb the
Listen to others. When you listen to relationship pyramid remembering
people they feel you care about that higher levels of trust bring with
them. They trust you. them higher levels of responsibility.
Put your own agenda aside. Stop selling Practice leadership. Call it service
products. leadership if you will.
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