Trust worthiness is the most important component that a consultant is the most important factor in a relationship with a client and a consultant. It may seem that this is an obvious law, given the fact that a client reaches out to a consultancy for a specialty service to help them develop in areas of which they are lacking. Therefore, it is integral that the client trusts in our know-how, aptitude and expertise.
Boiling it down
David Maister, Charles Green & Robert Galford express in their book, The Trusted Advisor, that this can actually be boiled down to an equation. The book lays out that Trust Worthiness is equal to Credibility, Reliability, and Intimacy divided by Self Orientation.
Trust Worthiness = (Credibility + Reliability + Intimacy) / Self Orientation
I will go into detail as to each component of this equation in future posts, but holistically, trust worthiness is the key factor for any client/consultant relationship. Now, it’s important to make the distinction between trust, and trust worthiness. Trust comes over time and has to be earned. Trust worthiness is a more robust version of trust. Trust worthiness is not just a component of one individual coming through consistently in a relationship, but rather trust worthiness can be carried into other relationships that have not even been initiated.
How? References.
Through referrals of trusted individuals who have experience working with a consultancy and the consultants within it. Lets say I have a colleague or business associate that I have worked with for years and trust dearly. If this person has had success with a consultancy and a pleasant experience working with them, I am far more likely to put my faith in them. They have not established any trust directly with the client (yet), but through successful ventures with people, and even competitors, in the same or closely related industry, that trust can actually carry over.
So, if favorable references are the best way to grow a consultancy, how do we go about collecting these little pearls? Well, that’s where the equation comes into play- READ ON!