Andrew Sobel

Services

The Client Leadership Forum

The Client Leadership Forum (CLF) develops leading-edge strategies to help its member firms build broad-based, enduring client relationships. CLF members include some of the world's leading companies, chiefly in services markets where success is predicated on developing and growing high-level, trust-based, consultative client relationships. Typically, one or two senior executives at the CEO, Senior Vice President, or Managing Director level represent each member firm at Forum meetings.

The Client Leadership Forum Program

Client Leadership Forum member firms are drawn from a wide array of services-oriented businesses, including management consulting, public relations, advertising, corporate and investment banking, law, telecommunications, IT services, and others. For all of these organizations, one of the most important critical success factors is the ability to consistently develop trusted, broad-based client relationships. This is, in effect, the singular focus of the CLF: Helping members develop effective, innovative strategies—at all levels of the organization—to build clients for life.

The annual program for members varies, but typically comprises:

Experience-sharing workshops

One or two senior executives from each member firm participate in these intimate sessions, usually held several times a year. These daylong workshops are facilitated by CLF founders Andrew Sobel and James Kelly. In a relaxed, non-competitive setting, senior executives are able to freely share their experiences, strategies, and lessons learned. Each session focuses on 3-4 critical issues that have been previously identified through interviews and surveys. These workshops are a unique opportunity to strip away the theory and buzz words and talk face to face with other top executives who are also trying to build and grow an enduring client franchise.

Best Practices Benchmarking Surveys

Periodically, we survey members to identify hot issues, assess their practices in different areas, and give them the means to compare themselves to other service firms. For example, over 300 client-facing executives (partners and managing directors) from CLF member organizations have participated in a comprehensive best practices survey about 7 key areas that support effective client development and management.

Primary Research Program

Each year, the CLF identifies one or two issues of critical importance to building the individual and institutional capabilities that underpin trusted client relationships. Through extensive interviews with both practitioners and clients themselves, we develop innovative strategies, detailed case studies, and implementation programs to help member firms build their own internal capabilities and stay on the leading edge of best and "next" practices.

Some of the topics that are the focus on the experience-sharing workshops and the research program include:

• Mobilizing across organizational boundaries to serve major clients
• Adding multiple layers of value in relationships
• Deepening trusted advisor skills
• Supporting and strengthening the relationship manager role
• Creating effective knowledge management–enabling expertise and experiences to be easily shared
• Developing improved strategies for pricing and managing the purchasing process
• Improving client listening and service innovation
• Using metrics to support the development of client relationships

Please contact Andrew Sobel at  andrew@andrewsobel.com if you would like to discuss your company's interest in the Client Leadership Forum. Please also visit the CLF web site at: www.clientleadership.com.