{"id":627,"date":"2014-01-26T14:00:00","date_gmt":"2014-01-26T13:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/hub.findingsimple.com\/au\/putting-pro-back-professional-service\/"},"modified":"2022-08-03T16:04:50","modified_gmt":"2022-08-03T05:04:50","slug":"putting-pro-back-professional-service","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/insight.thomsonreuters.com.au\/legal\/posts\/putting-pro-back-professional-service","title":{"rendered":"Putting the &#8220;Pro&#8221; Back in Professional Service"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"intro-paragraph\">There is a unique quality to consider when determining a successful professional service provider. That quality is you and your ability to create value.<\/p>\n<p>The main reason for this is <i>intangible service.&nbsp;<\/i>If buyers can touch, feel or see what they\u2019re buying, many purchasing concerns disappear. However in professional services you don\u2019t have this advantage. When clients don\u2019t have a tangible product, they often put credence on criteria such as chemistry and the credibility of the consultant.<\/p>\n<p><strong><span style=\"color: #ff9900\">You are important<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>When a client invests in a professional service, be it legal, accounting, financial or consulting, they consider the credibility and likeability of the person providing the service. Will the consultant bring the expertise required? Will she culturally fit with the designated client staff? What if we move forward with this firm and we don\u2019t like them after the project begins? These concerns enter a clients mind when moving forward with a professional service purchase.<\/p>\n<p>Unlike a product sale where a buyer can purchase a product because of its superiority \u2013 regardless of the seller \u2013 clients of professional services are looking for a partnership or a relationship. This means as a client, I\u2019m going to have to interact with you as my provider. If I don\u2019t respect your expertise \u2013 even worse, I don\u2019t trust you \u2013 the results are not likely to be win\/win and it is likely I will feel dissatisfied with the outcomes of the engagement. Therefore <i>trust and the relationship are seminal to the sale<\/i>.<\/p>\n<p><strong><span style=\"color: #ff9900\">The feedback<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>While working with one of the Big Four firms, we (<a title=\"Huthwaite\" href=\"http:\/\/www.huthwaite.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Huthwaite<\/a>) were asked to ascertain how buyers of professional services define \u2018trust\u2019, and what they look for in sellers of professional services. When all the responses were analysed, we found clients were consistently looking for three qualities:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Concern:<\/strong> defined as a focus on client\u2019s needs not oneself, nor ones products and services;<\/li>\n<li><strong>Candor:<\/strong> defined as being honest, not pretending to know, not exaggerating; and<\/li>\n<li><strong>Competence:<\/strong> defined as knowing what problems one\u2019s offering solve and how those offerings meet the needs of the client.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>In that study, \u2018 concern\u2019 was cited as the most lacking in the professional services*.<\/p>\n<p>In summary, a professional service is intangible. Therefore, as a service provider, you are the key factor in value creation, and the trust and relationship you build will be the key contribution to your continued success.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Source:<br \/>\n<\/strong><em>Avoiding the Traps in Selling Professional Services<\/em>, Neil Rackham<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>If buyers can touch, feel or see what they\u2019re buying, many purchasing concerns disappear. In professional services you don\u2019t have this advantage. So what is the unique quality defining a successful professional service provider?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":18,"featured_media":629,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[576,629],"tags":[117],"insight_job_role":[1315,614,628],"insight_practice_area":[],"class_list":["entry","author-johndougan","has-excerpt","post-627","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-business-management","category-strategy-and-business-development","tag-client-service","insight_job_role-barrister","insight_job_role-partner","insight_job_role-solicitor","hentry"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.2 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Putting the &quot;Pro&quot; Back in Professional Service | Legal Insight<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"There is a unique quality to consider when determining a successful professional service provider. 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