The Trusted Advisor Fieldbook: A Comprehensive Toolkit for Leading with Trust

A practical guide to being a trusted advisor for leaders in any industry In this hands-on successor to the popular book The Trusted Advisor, you'll find answers to pervasive questions about trust and leadership—such as how to develop business with trust, nurture trust-based relationships, build and run a trustworthy organization, and develop your trust skill set. This pragmatic workbook delivers everyday tools, exercises, resources, and actionable to-do lists for the wide range of situations a trusted advisor inevitably encounters. The authors speak in concrete terms about how to dramatically improve your results in sales, relationship management, and organizational performance. Your success as a leader will always be based on the degree to which you are trusted by your stakeholders. Each chapter offers specific ways to train your thinking and your habits in order to earn the trust that is necessary to be influential, successful, and known as someone who makes a difference. Self-administered worksheets and coaching questions provide immediate insights into your current business challenges Real-life examples demonstrate proven ways to "walk the talk" Action plans bridge the gap between insights and outcomes Put the knowledge and practices in this fieldbook to work, and you'll be someone who earns trust quickly, consistently, and sustainably—in business and in life.

Table of Contents:
Introduction xvi Why a Fieldbook xvi Who Should Read this Book xvi How to Use this Book xvii Where to Begin xvii Part I A Trust Primer 1 Chapter 1 Fundamental Truths 3 Trust Requires Trusting and Being Trusted 3 Trust Is Personal 3 Trust Is about Relationships 4 Trust Is Created in Interactions 4 There Is No Trust without Risk 4 Trust Is Paradoxical 5 Listening Drives Trust and Influence 5 Trust Does Not Take Time 5 Trust Is Strong and Durable, Not Fragile 6 You Get What You Give 7 Chapter 2 Fundamental Attitudes 9 Principles over Processes 9 You Are More Connected than You Think 11 It’s Not about You 11 Curiosity Trumps Knowing 11 Time Works for You 13 Chapter 3 The Dynamics of Influence 15 Earning the Right to Be Right: Three Steps 15 A Five-Point Checklist for Influencing Meetings 18 Chapter 4 Three Trust Models 22 The Trust Equation 22 The Trust Creation Process 25 The Trust Principles 26 Chapter 5 Five Trust Skills 33 Listen 33 Partner 34 Improvise 35 Risk 35 Know Yourself 36 Part II Developing Your Trust Skill Set 39 Chapter 6 Listen 41 The Listening Differentiator: Empathy 41 Four Barriers to Paying Attention 42 Three-Level Listening 43 Seven Listening Best Practices 47 Your Everyday Empathy Workout: Low Weights, High Reps 48 Chapter 7 Partner 51 Partnering Traits 51 Ten Common Partnering Barriers 52 Self-Assessment: Are You Primed for Partnership? 54 Specific Ways to Build Your Partnering Muscle 55 Chapter 8 Improvise 61 The Science behind Moments of Truth 62 How Moments of Truth Become Moments of Mastery 62 The Practice of Improvisation 62 Role-Play Your Way to Mastery 64 Chapter 9 Risk 68 The Relationship between Trust and Risk 69 Six Ways to Practice Risk-Taking 70 The Three-Question Transparency Test 71 A Tool for Truth-Telling: Name It and Claim It 72 The Power of Caveats 74 Chapter 10 Know Yourself 79 How Blind Spots Impede Trust-Building 79 Three Approaches to Expand Your Self-Knowledge 80 How to Use Self-Knowledge to Increase Trust 82 Part III Developing Business with Trust 85 Chapter 11 Trust-Based Marketing and Business Development 87 Focus on Your Customer 87 Collaborate to Drive New Business 89 Focus on Relationships, Not Transactions 90 Be Transparent with Prospects and Clients 91 Chapter 12 Trust-Based Networking 94 Ten Best Practices for Trust-Based Networking 95 Technology and Trust-Based Networking 97 Chapter 13 Delivering the Pitch 102 Sometimes the Best Pitch Is No Pitch 102 Don’t Skip the Prepitch Warm-Up 103 Make It Interactive 104 Have a Point of View 105 Take the Preoccupation Out of Price 105 With PowerPoint, Less Is More 106 Stop Selling Your Qualifications 106 Do Not Denigrate the Competition 107 Be Willing to Ditch the Pitch 107 Chapter 14 Handling Objections 110 The Problem: How You Think about Objections 110 The Antidote: Change Your Thinking 112 Three Ways to Improve the Quality of Your Conversations 113 Chapter 15 Talking Price 117 The Price Isn’t the Problem 118 When to Talk Price 119 How to Address Price Concerns 120 The Three Primary Drivers of Price Concerns 121 A Special Case: The Engineer Buyer 123 Chapter 16 Closing the Deal 125 Six Reasons Not to Always Be Closing 125 Five Practices to Stop Closing and Start Helping 127 Chapter 17 Developing New Business with Existing Clients 130 First, Deepen the Relationship 130 Move Upstream 131 Cross-Sell 132 Seek Referrals 133 Chapter 18 Selling to the C-Suite 136 What Sets the C-Suite Apart 136 A Different Kind of Preparation 136 Nine Best Practices for Successful C-Suite Meetings 139 Chapter 19 Reviving Stalled Relationships 143 How to Reengage 144 When It’s Time to Walk Away 145 Part IV Managing Relationships with Trust 149 Chapter 20 Starting Off Right 151 Three Ways Kickoffs Go Wrong 151 Four Key Ingredients for a Successful Kickoff 153 A Word of Caution 154 Chapter 21 Accelerating Trust 156 Three Steps for Creating Trust Quickly 157 21 Ways to Build Trust … Fast 158 Chapter 22 Navigating Politics 163 Seven Best Practices for Dealing with Organizational Politics 164 The Special Challenges of Client Politics 165 Chapter 23 Shifting from Tactics to Strategy 169 The Strategy Blind Spot 169 Four Key Questions to Shift the Conversation 170 How to Engage Strategically 173 Chapter 24 My Client Is a Jerk: Transforming Relationships Gone Bad 176 What Lies Behind Bad Behavior 176 From Difficult to Rewarding: Three Steps 177 Reframing: Five Steps to a Better Problem Statement 180 Chapter 25 Dealing with Untrustworthy People 183 Blame and an Inability to Confront 183 Constructive Confrontation 184 When You Can’t Confront 186 When to Walk Away 186 Chapter 26 Trust-Based Negotiations 189 Where Negotiations Go Wrong 189 Changing the Game by Working from Trust 191 Chapter 27 Building Trust at a Distance 195 The Key to Building Trust at a Distance: Familiarity 196 The Role of Technology in Communication 198 Ten Best Practices for Managing Virtual Teams 199 Part V Building and Running a Trustworthy Organization 201 Chapter 28 Making the Case for Trust 203 Economic Benefits of Trust 203 Social Benefits of Trust 206 Ethical Benefits of Trust 206 Chapter 29 Creating a Culture of Trust 209 Two Keys to Trust Culture Change: Virtues and Values 209 Implementing Trust Initiatives 211 Spotlight on Trust Diagnostics 215 Chapter 30 Trust in Internal Staff Functions 219 The Top Trust Barriers by Function 220 Five Trust-Enhancing Opportunities for Internal Staff 220 Don’t Confuse Your Metrics with Your Mission 222 Chapter 31 Training for Trustworthiness 225 The One-Two Punch for Trustworthiness Training 225 How to Set Off the Aha: A Nine-Point Checklist 227 Eleven Ways to Make It Stick 228 Create the Right Learning Environment 229 List of Lists Chapter 1 Fundamental Truths 233 Chapter 2 Fundamental Attitudes 233 Chapter 3 The Dynamics of Influence 233 Chapter 4 Three Trust Models 234 Chapter 5 Five Trust Skills 235 Chapter 6 Listen 236 Chapter 7 Partner 237 Chapter 8 Improvise 237 Chapter 9 Risk 238 Chapter 10 Know Yourself 239 Chapter 11 Trust-Based Marketing and Business Development 239 Chapter 13 Delivering the Pitch 241 Chapter 14 Handling Objections 242 Chapter 15 Talking Price 243 Chapter 16 Closing the Deal 244 Chapter 17 Developing New Business with Existing Clients 244 Chapter 18 Selling to the C-Suite 245 Chapter 19 Reviving Stalled Relationships 245 Chapter 20 Starting Off Right 246 Chapter 21 Accelerating Trust 246 Chapter 22 Navigating Politics 247 Chapter 23: Shifting from Tactics to Strategy 248 Chapter 24 My Client Is a Jerk: Transforming Relationships Gone Bad 249 Chapter 25 Dealing with Untrustworthy People 249 Chapter 26 Trust-Based Negotiations 250 Chapter 27 Building Trust at a Distance 251 Chapter 28 Making the Case for Trust 252 Chapter 29 Creating a Culture of Trust 252 Chapter 30 Trust in Internal Staff Functions 254 Chapter 31 Training for Trustworthiness 254 Notes 257 Selected Bibliography 263 About the Authors 264 Index 265

About the Author :
CHARLES H. GREEN is founder and CEO of Trusted Advisor Associates. The author of Trust-Based Selling and coauthor of The Trusted Advisor, he is a noted speaker on trust in sales, within organizations, and in external business relationships. ANDREA P. HOWE is part of the leadership team of Trusted Advisor Associates. She is also the founder and President of BossaNova Consulting Group. A veteran consultant and seminar leader, Andrea specializes in serving global professional services firms.