Competitive intelligence is an imperative for strategic thinking of client-facing professionals
Client-facing professionals [CFP’s] can bring in more business if they are perceived as trusted advisors by their clients. How can CFPs inspire trust if they know very little about their client’s market? A key piece of intelligence is client’s competition. They need to be trained to gain this knowledge before they interact with clients.
I often hear complaints from companies that the onsite outsourcing team [client-facing professionals] working on their projects are very transaction-driven. They do not share new thoughts, ideas or solutions. How can they be expected to provide solutions if they do not understand the client’s business? Yes, sometimes cultural barriers may keep the team from being solution-driven. However, the overriding factor is lack of market insights. They work in a vacuum. They become transaction driven and not solution driven. Negotiations with clients become event based and not relationship driven. Arming them with intelligence and training them to use it is a win-win proposition to the client and service provider.
Do you agree? Please share your comments. If you wish to know more about how to engage CFPs in their business by arming them with intelligence, please send email to mala@mktinsite for full copy of article.