To have a successful consulting practice, it's really all about how you cultivate the client relationship. This episode explores the two most common relationship types.

IT'S ALL ABOUT THE RELATIONSHIP

How do you view the relationship with your clients before offering staffing or discreet outsourcing services? Have you developed a strong, deep and meaningful relationship with your clients? Or is it more transactional if you're providing consulting or advisory services and not staffing or outsourcing? What's relationship like with your clients? Are they rating fans? Are they active promoters of your consulting firm? Do they make referrals to others without you having to ask? Well, to have a successful consulting practice, it's really all about the relationship. There are several interaction methods and relationships with clients. The transactional relationship focuses primarily on completing the work, collecting money, and moving on to the next project or the next client. The focus of the caring relationship is on the wellbeing of the organization and the people. This is how long lasting, deep and meaningful client relationships are developed. So I'd like to give you a few examples. 18 years ago, I was brought into a hospital health care system that had 20 hospitals in the Midwest to help them develop a strategy plan and implementation for a new digital diagnostic system in their hospitals. This replaced the legacy film based imaging in the radiology departments with filmless digital technologies for X ray, MRI, Cat scan and ultrasound. The initial fourmonth phase was to develop the strategy, detail the project plan, and build out the cost in the budget for this, which ended up being about $68 million. During this initial phase, which had a consulting fee value of about $125,000, I reported to a VP and also a director in the Information Services department. They loved the deliverables of the strategy and planning so much that they signed a two year agreement for me to manage the implementation teams. Well, the relationship continued to develop, and not long after, the two year project was completely asked me to manage another large program for several hospitals in St. Louis. My direct clients shifted their careers a little, and a few years later, they requested assistance for the acquisition and integration of a major academic medical center into their healthcare system. So by developing solid, meaningful relationships 18 years ago during that initial planning, it turned into a little more than $3 million in professional fees over a decade. So after this episode, you may want to explore our no cost accelerate consulting course at Consulting Ten X.com. That's right. There's no cost to it. It's free. Here's another example. Five years ago, we were requested to develop here's another example. Five years ago, we were requested to develop the strategy and planning to bring three hospitals in a close geographic area into a unified healthcare system. Again, we developed the strategy, planning, and budgets for funding. During that six month period, we developed deep relationships with the CIO COO and CEO of the new healthcare system. The following two years, we were invited back to assist them with system selections and more planning. Then we were awarded a two year implementation program of seven projects with a total consulting fee value of $8 million. So, developing a caring relationship is always much more impactful and longer than any transactional relationship. Hopefully, your consulting practice and consultants are developing caring relationships. If not, it's recommended that you take some actions to create a culture, shift the caring side, and remember to continually deliver excellence. You will excel. Join us with our free Accelerate Consulting course at Consulting10X.com