RAINMAKERS
12 Indicators Of Relationship Decline
By Dr . Clifford Ferguson
The CEO of a Times 100 company I was advising got an unexpected call from the CEO of their largest technology supplier . The technology company CEO said he was going to be in London the following week and wanted to meet up to review the relationship .
They scheduled the day and time , and my client ’ s CEO then asked his own CIO to get in touch with the account manager that handled the relationship for the technology firm . Over time , he told me , the service and responsiveness of the technology supplier had slowly declined . They had gotten complacent , despite enjoying a huge contract with my client .
Incredibly , even after they made several phone calls and sent emails to the supplier ' s account manager , they got no response - he did not call the CIO back or otherwise respond .
In the meeting between the two CEOs , the tech firm head confidently said to my client , “ So , my account executive tells me we have an ‘ A ’ relationship with you .”
My client looked at him grimly and replied , “ Actually , we think it ’ s a C + right now .” The visiting CEO ’ s jaw dropped . He was truly blindsided .
Fortunately , the supplier eventually fixed the relationship . But it ’ s a cautionary tale - this can happen to anybody . Just as a neglected house eventually falls apart , so does a client relationship that isn ’ t given proper attention .
You need to carefully monitor the warning signs that a relationship is or will shortly be in danger . I call these the “ lead indicators of relationship decline .” Numbers one to seven have to do with you and your management of the relationship , and eight to 11 have more to do with external circumstances whose consequences you have to manage ( number 12 is sui generis ). All 12 are not automatically negative indicators , but they could presage adverse impacts .
The relationship has stopped growing
Your measures of relationship growth ought to include some or all of the
A relationship decline sign is when your organization has stopped investing in the relationship and is treating it like a “ cash cow .” To grow , you need to invest . The profit margins produced by a large , flagship client account , however , can become addictive . I often see companies milking large accounts when they should be investing in them each year . following : revenue growth ; an increase in the breadth of your services / products used by the client ; a growing set of relationships (“ many to many ”) in the client ’ s organization ; more and deeper senior-level relationships ; innovation growth ( e . g ., innovation in the solutions you provide the client , innovation in the way you manage the relationship , etc .); and growth in the impact you are having on the client ’ s business .
Is your relationship growing , quantitatively and qualitatively ?
You aren ’ t investing
Your organization has stopped investing in the relationship and is treating it like a “ cash cow .” To grow , you need to invest . The profit margins produced by a large , flagship client account , however , can become addictive . I often see companies milking large accounts when they should be investing in them each year . Investments could take many forms , for example : Time and research that are put into issues of interest to the client , a small but strategic piece of work that is done on a complementary basis , support for relationship-building activities , support to have guest visits from different subject matter experts in your organization , and so on .
Are you intentionally investing in your most important clients ?
Your relationship manager is complacent
How would you know if your relationship manager or account executive may be
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