It’s no secret that most professional service providers aim to grow
their businesses by building their relationships with clients (even if
it’s not always clear that’s what clients want). The goal, of course, is
for the investment to pay off in follow-on work and future referrals.
Accenture, the global consulting firm, for example, reports that
nearly 85 percent of the firm’s 100 largest clients have been clients
for ten years or more.
Naturally, there are advantages to on-going relationships. Over time,
and with the completion of flawless work, you and client can build
mutual trust that allows each to take risks that wouldn’t be possible
with purely client-vendor transactions.
When a client-consultant relationship works well, both parties
benefit. With strong, trusting business relationships, consultants
report lower cost of sales and higher project profitability; they can
define and deliver work more quickly, and with a lot less hassle. That
should mean higher quality work, at a lower price, for the client.
The Trade-Offs
In spite of all the good reasons to grow your client relationships,
there are trade-offs. I know consultants who have found that great
relationships with a small number of clients stalled their careers and
long-term financial success.
read more: http://mindshareconsulting.com/downside-client-relationships/
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