The Trusted Advisor: 20th Anniversary Edition Paperback – 14 April 2025

This is a great book that really helped me to carry through my career. It establishes the attitude to be "trusted". Many useful tips, great read.

If you would map out the four types of possible business relationships following 2 parameters (breath of business issues and depth of personal relationships) you would notice that trust-based relationships goes the deepest (followed by relationship-based, needs-based and service offering-based relationships, in descending order).This work covers trust-based relationships in a very systematic way, works out a trust process-model and illustrates on how making it work. The trust process-model with 5 stages (engage, listen, frame, envision and commit) is nicely explained and illustrated. Most of it will sound very familiar; still this work gives it a nice context and the overall structure of this book makes it a very pleasant read.Part 1 - Perspectives on trustPart 2 - The structure of trust buildingPart 3 - Putting trust to workIf you would just scan through the contents of this book, it would give you a good idea of the added value. A very interesting read!ContentsIntroductionHow to use this bookPart 1 - Perspectives on trust1) A sneak preview: What would be the benefits if your clients trusted you more? What are the primary characteristics of a trusted advisor?2) What is a Trusted Advisor? (What do great trusted advisors all seem to do?)3) Earning Trust (What are the dynamics of trusting and being trusted?)4) How to give advice (How do you ensure your advice is listened to?)5) The rules of Romance: Relationship building (What are the principles of building strong relationships?)6) The importance of mindsets (What attitude must you have to be effective?)7) Sincerity or technique? (Do you really have to care for those you advise?)Part 2 - The structure of trust building8) The trust equation (What are the four key components that determine the extent of trust?)9) The development of trust (What are the 5 stages of trust-building?)10) Engagement (How do you get clients to initiate discussions with you?)11) The art of listening (How can you improve your listening skills?)12) Framing the issue (How can you help clients look at their issues in a fresh way?)13) Envisioning an alternate reality (How can you help clients clarify what they're really after?)14) Commitment(How do you ensure clients are willing to do what it takes to solve their problems?)Part 3 - Putting trust to work15) What's so hard about all this? (Why are truly trust-based relationships so scarce?)16) Different client types (How do you deal with clients of differing types?)17) The Lieutenant Columbo approach (What can we learn from an unorthodox winner?)18) The role of trust in getting hired (How do you create trust at the outset of a relationship?)19) Building trust on the current assignment (How can you conduct your assignment in a way that adds to trust?)20) Re-earning trust away from the current assignment (How can we build trust when you're not working on an assignment?)21) The case of cross-selling (Why is cross-selling so hard, and what can be done about it?)22) The Quick-impact list to gain trust (What are the key things you should do first?)Appendix: A compilation of our listsNotes and references

This is a most useful book on how the professional adviser must act if they are to secure and retain the trust of their clients. It avoids the Dale Carnegie "Just Be Nice" approach by analysing why one wants to generate trust and how it is done. There is no argument that if you find you do not like a potential client you should walk away (and, speaking from personal experience what a joy that is); there are also some handy suggestions of how to do this if you are not a free agent in such a case but working within an organisation.The proposed responses are, of course, written by and for Americans and come over as deeply insincere in the mouths of the British, but they are not scripts but proposals. You can easily adapt them to different cultures because, however it is expressed, the basis of trust is the basically same in most cultures.The book acts as a valuable specific to those that suggest various up-selling strategies or ones in which the advisor portrays himself as The Top Man. By shifting one's vision to how this is perceived by the recipient we can see that up-selling can work, but only if the client leads you to it. The book's key is in constantly restating our approaches in terms of how they are perceived by the potential client, not how they address our internal needs and aims. It is a policy that I've found pays dividends.Recommended.

Genuinely a master class book for anyone who provides consulting advice to clients in almost any industry.

Clearly written. Lots of good hints and tips. Good checklists

For a scientist and technologist, looking to imprve their consulting skills, the Trusted Advisor provides real food for thought. It is not enough to have technical knowledge... how much more can we achieve on behalf of our clients if we can build high trust relationships, and really understand what their needs and interests are? Good relationships = requirements understood = expectations met = satisfied customers = repeat business...And to have this product in ipod/mp3 form allows the key messages to be heard anywhere, anytime, and it is easy to revisit key themes as a reminder of the reasons to work on behaving differently.Robin

I bought (and read) this volume back in 2005, and found it immensely helpful. I feel a tad embarrassed that it has taken me this long to post a review.This is an important book, as what Maister (and co-authors) manage to do is show how the element of trust is actually critical to every element contributing towards success within the professions. For myself, operating within financial intermediation (as the FSA likes to call it), the lessons outlined here are utterly pivotal and essential if one wishes to move beyond a mere transactional business model.Maister explains practical strategies for developing trust and makes the clear point that trust must be both developed and earned. In modern business, we do not seem to stress the latter aspect, treating this issue as more of a public relations exercise, than something which depends upon our own qualities and behaviours.If, as financial planners, or wealth-managers, or even accountants or solicitors, we are to deliver the best possible outcomes for our clients (and get paid what we are worth), we need to work so much harder on developing trust. This book will show you how.

Thank you fir the book. Love it 💛. Good Value