In this month’s column, I will profile the persona associated with being “The Voice of Reason.” This is the second stage of the relationship capital continuum and I’ll be sharing the distinctive qualities and behaviors that one would portray at this level.
When we think of our reputation, the following words echoed by Jay Danzie are so reflective of what we must be mindful of to establish higher amounts of relationship capital: “Your smile is your logo, your personality is your business card, how you leave others feeling after having an experience with you becomes your trademark.”
Establish a cadence
As you reflect on this statement, it is important to understand that it requires intent and higher levels of self-awareness to establish a cadence where others seek you out. When you serve in the role of “The Voice of Reason,” you are perceived as an educator, enlightener and counselor. The people you impact feel that they can learn from you and your extended network in a manner that is insightful, relatable and actionable.
You are viewed as a creative problem solver, a critical thinker and one who possesses a unique ability to challenge others by providing alternative viewpoints and options to consider. These individuals exhibit patience, build consensus, make the complicated understandable and have the uncanny ability to influence client expectations without coming across as condescending, aggressive or too commercially driven.
To add further context, I’ll share a brief story about an individual who serves as my “Voice of Reason.” As a business owner, I spend a fair amount of time exploring different client acquisition strategies and my VOR could tell that I was getting too caught up in the execution details and not thinking about it with the end in mind.
She challenged me to examine all the different leverage points, recommended a few potential service providers to speak with and was resourceful enough to introduce me to one of her clients. This individual was also in the professional service provider space and had just invested the time to scale his business, utilizing a different blend of client acquisition strategies.
Understand your impact
In this example, my “VOR” leveraged her extended network of relationship assets and allowed me to go through my own self-discovery by enlightening me versus just telling me what to do. What is interesting to underscore is that she did not possess the domain expertise herself, but understood the importance of knowing others who could impact my business.
We all have limited time to expand our network. The difference is knowing what types of investments we are willing to make to become more valuable to others. In this example, this individual understood the importance of serving as a potential revenue catalyst.
As you reflect upon these insights, it is important to recognize that our quest to continuously learn must be directed beyond our own profession to encompass areas that can impact the stakeholders we serve with greater impact. ●
Marc Rosen is co-founder at The Client Experience Institute and president of the Vector Group LLC
