By David H. Maister, Charles H. Green and Robert M. Galford

David Maister, Charles Green and Robert Galford - all experts on professional service management - claim nobody can become a professional advisor until they first win the trust of their clients.

Trust is what earns the right to influence clients. Trust breeds client satisfaction and loyalty.

Maister, Green and Galford present the trust equation as a formula to show how different trust elements link and interact.

The Trust Equation

Where:

T = trustworthiness
C = credibility
R = reliability
I = intimacy
S = self-orientation

The trust equation is a simple but sophisticated formula.

Trust, the authors show, has multiple dimensions. "I might trust your expertise", they say, "but distrust (profoundly) your motives (i.e. self-orientation). I might trust your brilliance, but dislike your style of dealing with me (your intimacy)."

Maister, Green and Galford set out five steps you must take to create a trust-based relationship.

Each step - engage, listen, frame, envision and commit has its own chapter supported by easy to follow tips.

The chapter on cross-selling is a remarkably insightful explanation of why professionals so often struggle to pitch additional services to clients.

"Cross-selling", the authors remind us, "is like meeting your prospective in laws for the first time. They'll probably like you, but you'd better not take it for granted."

Readable and practical, The Trusted Advisor takes relationship building to a new level.

Have a pen ready you'll want to take notes.

Available for purchase from Amazon.com