Program
Trusted Advisor Skills Training for Client-Facing Teams
Moving from supplier to advisor: credibility, consultative questioning and the standing to challenge a client's thinking.
- Duration
- 2 days
- Format
- In-person, real account work
- Group size
- 12–18 participants
The problem we are solving
Most client-facing professionals are competent and replaceable, because the relationship is transactional. Requests come in, they are fulfilled, and the client's real agenda is never discussed.
Advisor status is not granted by seniority. It is earned by asking better questions than the client expected and occasionally disagreeing with them well.
About this program
Trusted advisor training for sales, account and consulting teams who want to move from supplier to advisor. It builds credibility beyond product knowledge, consultative questioning and the standing to challenge a client's thinking.
Each participant works on a real account, so the shift shows up in the next client conversation rather than in a feedback form.
What changes in behaviour
- Build credibility beyond product knowledge
- Run a consultative conversation rather than a pitch
- Understand the client's business drivers
- Earn the right to challenge and disagree well
- Bring insight the client did not ask for
- Sustain the relationship between transactions
What the program covers
- The trust equation in practice
- Consultative questioning
- Understanding the client's commercial context
- Challenging constructively
- Bringing proactive insight
- Relationship planning
Who it is for
- Key account and relationship managers
- Senior sales and pre-sales professionals
- Consultants and customer success leaders
- Do participants work on live accounts?
- Yes. Each participant builds a plan for a real account and gets peer and facilitator challenge on it.
Start with one cohort. Judge the behaviour change.
Most engagements begin as a single pilot cohort, so your team can evaluate the facilitation and the follow-through before a wider rollout.