The Goal of This Post

This post distills the practices for building trust, gratitude and loyalty from our clients; from the book Getting Naked, by Patrick Lencioni.

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Naked Service “Defined”

The ability of a service provider to be vulnerable – to embrace uncommon levels of humility, selflessness, and transparency for the good of a client.

There is no better way to earn a person’s trust than by putting ourselves in a position of unprotected weakness and demonstrating that we believe they will support us.

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Fear #1: Fear of Losing the Business

What clients want more than anything is to know that we’re more interested in helping them than we are in maintaining our revenue source. And when we do something, or fail to do something, in order to protect our business, they eventually lose respect for us and understandably question whether they should trust us.

Fear #2: Fear of Being Embarrassed

Naked service providers are willing to ask questions and make suggestions even if those questions and suggestion could turn out to be laughably wrong. They readily admit what they don’t know and are quick to point out – even to celebrate – their errors because protecting their intellectual ego is not important to them.

Fear #3: Fear of Feeling Inferior

Naked service providers not only overcome their need to feel important in the eyes of their clients, but also purposefully put themselves in a lower position. They do whatever a client needs them to do to help them improve, even if that calls for the service provider to be overlooked or temporarily looked down on.

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Overcoming Fear #1: Losing Business

1) ALWAYS CONSULT INSTEAD OF SELL
Transform every sales situation into an opportunity to demonstrate the value of what you do.

2) GIVE AWAY THE BUSINESS
By demonstrating generosity and trust, you drastically increase the likelihood of making them a client, not to mention proving to them that you can help them.

3) TELL THE KIND TRUTH
Present counsel with kindness, empathy and respect, recognizing the dignity and humanity of the client.

4) ENTER THE DANGER
Don’t shy away from uncomfortable situations. Have the courage to fearlessly deal with an issue that everyone else is afraid to address. Dangerous situations become opportunities for adding value and building trust.

It is in your best interest to show that you are more focused on helping than you are in maximizing your short-term revenue.

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Overcoming Fear #2: Being Embarrassed

5) ASK DUMB QUESTIONS
Ask the questions that others in the room are afraid to ask out of fear that they would embarrass themselves. Clients love it. They’re almost always going to remember the great question we asked and forget about the others.

6) MAKE DUMB SUGGESTIONS
A client is going to remember that one great idea a consultant proposes far more than the not-so-great ones. And if that client thought we were holding back our ideas out of fear of being humiliated, they would – and should – feel cheated.

7) CELEBRATE YOUR MISTAKES
Naked service providers don’t enjoy being wrong; they just realize that it is an inevitability. And rather than attempting to hide or downplay their errors, they readily call them out and take responsibility for them. Clients expect honesty and transparency.

If we’re not putting ourselves on the line and offering everything we have, they would be unwise to trust us or feel loyal to us.

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Overcoming Fear #3: Feeling Inferior

8) TAKE A BULLET FOR THE CLIENT
It is about finding those moments when we can humble ourselves and sacrificially take some of the burden off of a client in a difficult situation, and then – and this is critical – confront them with the kind trust.

9) MAKE EVERYTHING ABOUT THE CLIENT
Naked service providers throw their full attention into the world of the client. They make it clear that their focus is on understanding, honoring, and supporting the business of the client.

10) HONOR THE CLIENT’S WORK
Naked service providers honor the client by taking an active interest in their business and by appreciating the importance of that business to the client and the client’s customers. They find a way to develop and demonstrate an interest out of respect for the client’s livelihood.

11) DO THE DIRTY WORK
Naked service providers are willing to take on whatever a client needs them to do within the context of their services. Because we are humbled and more concerned about our clients than we are about ourselves, we’ll do what they need. In doing so, we’ll earn their loyalty and gratitude.

And of course, when there is any doubt, taking a bullet means that the consultant always errs on the side of accepting responsibility.

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All content credit goes to the author(s). I’ve shared the bits I’ve enjoyed the most and found most useful.

Cheers ’til next time! Saludos!
Alberto