Be Unforgettable: Create Breakthrough Client Relationships that Go From Transactional to Transformational

Welcome to Your Business, Accelerated! Digitally remastered with AI, Your Business, Accelerated! is the go-to podcast for entrepreneurs ready to scale smart. Hosted by Attorney Shaune B. Arnold, it delivers strategic business insights, legal frameworks, and real-world solutions to help you operate with clarity and confidence. Get actionable guidance to protect, grow, and optimize your business—one smart move at a time.

In this power-packed episode of Your Business, Accelerated!, Attorney Shaune B. Arnold reveals how to build long-term, high-impact client relationships that drive business growth. Learn practical techniques—like providing massive value, raising crucial issues, and treating clients as partners—to deepen trust, loyalty, and profitability. This is how iconic businesses are built. 

Transcript

Hello, my friend and welcome. Welcome to this week's episode of your business accelerated. I am your host, attorney, Shaune B Arnold and I am just really excited to be here as I am every single week. This week we will talk about breakthrough relationships and creating those with your clients. 

But before we get started, I want to do a little bit of housekeeping, and I want to let you know that I am a California business attorney, and that means that to the extent that we deal with hard core legal issues here on your business accelerated, they have to be taken in the context of me being a California business attorney. And so if you are in another state or another country or another state of mind, then I encourage you to take what I tell you to an attorney in your jurisdiction so that they can let you know if there are any differences between the laws where I live and the laws where you live.

I also invite you to listen to my other podcast, LegalBiz Café. Over there, we deal with your mindset as the entrepreneur. These are the issues that make you just lay in front of the fireplace, rather than fix your business. When you listen to LegalBiz Café and Your Business Accelerated You will have the tools you need to build an iconic business.

Let’s get started talking about today's topic, and that is creating breakthrough relationships with your clients. First of all, I want to define, of course, what is a breakthrough relationship? Well, a breakthrough relationship with your client is one that is going to catapult you as a business owner, as a consultant, into the next level in your business, and they do that because there's loyalty. They do that because there's trust.

They do that because there is long term commitment to an outcome that you are both invested in reaching for their company. These are the companies that are going to be firmly within your 80/20 group. That is to say that 20% of your clients, will bring you 80% of your business, and these breakthrough client relationships will be squarely in that camp. Now in order to build them, it does take patience, because it takes time for people to develop that know, like and trust factor. I know that you've heard that people don't care what you have until they know that you care, and they don't know that you care until they get to know who you are.

And so, especially in this day and age, marketing has so changed. So changed. It used to be that you would lead with your product or your service. You would lead with the name of your company and brand that and now, even if you have a corporate structure around you, most people are expecting to know who you are. They're expecting you to be transparent. They're expecting to be able to follow you on social media and know where you are at least three days a week or three afternoons a week, and know what you are doing with your time and what you are doing with your business, and so that will all help you build that know like and trust factor.

But be patient, as I said, because it does take time that, having been said, there are a few techniques that will help you actually forge those breakthrough relationships with your clients. And I will give you some tips, of course, as to what some of those techniques are. The very first technique that I would recommend is to just provide value.

Provide huge value, especially before you ask for the client relationship. Provide value before you ask for the business. I had a conference call this morning, and I found myself taking copious notes and just, I mean, it was so intense, I felt like my hand was going to fall off. But guess what? I bought that businesses program because I just felt so supported and nurtured by the information that they gave me up front. I can't really say that it created a psychological debt, per se, but it did create a psychological desire, because they gave me just enough information to wet my whistle and to get me interested in their product or service, and I took those copious notes and I bought that program.

If you are providing a service or a product to the marketplace, then my suggestion is that you provide huge value for what you are receiving. In particular, in advance of you asking for the business that's going to be huge. That is going to create those breakthrough relationships. You can enhance your clients performance or improve their working environment as you provide this value. Those are two really good targets for you to hit when you are aiming at adding value to your client, enhance their performance or improve their working environment.

Perhaps your customers' critical functions are not functioning critically. When you help them with all of those systems, and they will love you for it. They will make you a long term member of their family. One other thing that you can do to provide this huge value is to catalog all of the issues that you see along the way as you are providing consultation value to the client.

Even if the issue that you're spotting is not within the purview of your contract, they're still going to appreciate that you brought it up. And if you don't ask for the business, that extra piece of business, chances are it'll come your way. If you ask for that piece of business, they may not give it to you, because they may see you as fishing.

So just point it out and let them give it to you, let them bring it to you, and that will help you build your business. You can also think in terms of grouping those issues into large issues like ethics and customer satisfaction, and at the end of the year, you can assess all of those various areas that you cataloged to see if there might be more improvement possible for your client. That's huge. You know, this occurred to me very, very recently.

I had just in terms of customer satisfaction, someone called me out of the blue to tell me about a phone call that they had with one of the employees in my client's business. The employee made a statement to that customer that they had to check up on the boss because the boss makes mistakes all the time and never gets anything right. And this customer was absolutely taken aback. She wanted to call the boss and tell the boss about this customer service, individual statements, but she didn't feel comfortable doing that.

She didn't want to get anybody into trouble, but she really did want the boss to know, so she called me, and guess what? I'm going to call the boss. I'm going to tell the boss what was said. I won't tell which client said it to me, but I will definitely bring that issue up to my client, even though it has nothing to do with the legal issues that I'm helping them with, because I think they need to know that is something that is critical to the success of their business. So there's an example for you in how to handle. All issues that come up that aren't within your contract, be accessible. 24/7, just in case of emergency. Now this doesn't mean that if you give them your home number and your fax number and your email address, your cell number, your you know all of your contact information. This doesn't mean that they're going to abuse it.

Chances are they will use it rarely, because most of your clients really don't want to work on the weekend. And if you are a business that charges a premium for weekend and evening service, they definitely don't want to go there. So be accessible. Give them that level of comfort that lets them know they can reach you if they need you.

Chances are they won't, but if they do, and they start to abuse it, then call them back the next morning, if, I mean, if they're abusing it, then it's not an emergency, right? It's just an anxious pain in the neck client. And yes, believe it or not, the less money they pay you, the more pain in the neck the client is likely to be so you have to stand firm when that kind of thing goes on. 

The next tip for you, my third tip for you, besides providing them huge value and being extremely accessible to them, is to raise crucial issues, like the customer service issue that I told you about earlier.

This shows the client that you see the issues, and they may have a scotoma about that issue. They may not see it at all. They may have their head in the sand. You know, this is really typical of family businesses, when the marketing is not right, when people are not coming in, and when things are just not being properly handled, they tend to stick their head in the sand.

They tend to pretend that it's the marketplace and not the silly things that they're doing to cause them strife. So be on the look of look out for it, and be aware that you could have a rebellious client on your hands, or a client that has a superior that might try to shut you down, because it's the superiors job to handle that issue that you're coming up with.

So just be aware of the politics. Is what I'm saying. Be aware of the politics, but I want you to be willing, ready, willing and able to bring up those crucial issues, because if you don't, then you are not being an effective consultant. And if that issue is outside your scope of work, then be clear again that it is outside your scope of work, and don't ask for it. They'll probably give it to you anyway. My fourth tip for you this evening is to recommend other resources where they're appropriate. You know, you see this in insurance companies, State Farm and progressive and certain insurance companies are actually giving you the gamut of several quotes when you call and ask for their quote. And if State Farm is less than progressive and you're on progressives website, then they just did you a huge favor, and you as a consultant, can do the same thing if, for example, the client doesn't need what you offer.

If you specialize in leadership and goal setting and they need help with their marketing systems, then they don't need what you have, and perhaps you have a relationship with someone who does have expertise in setting up those business systems, you can make that referral and still satisfy the client and create that breakthrough relationship with that client. It might lose you that assignment in the short run, but it might get you a nice, fat contract in the long run. So think about that and consider it. Consider it in terms of creating JV partners that you can bring in that can provide those legal and business services where you provide the leadership and goal setting services.

If there are vendors that you like, for example, and they're not going to pay you, you might want to recommend those vendors anyway. See, that's. The Law of reciprocation. If you pay it forward, it's going to come back to you. That is the law of circulation. Give and you will receive tenfold. You will I promise you. 

My next tip for you always do more than is expected, and timeliness counts. It's huge.

Les Brown has a saying from an old friend of his that said, our aim is not to satisfy our customers needs. Our aim is to amaze our customers. If you amaze your customers, like Virgin amazes its customers, you're going to shoot right past the competition, and you will be the place holder in the marketplace for your particular good or service. So don't be afraid to give more than the client expects. So many people are afraid to do that because they feel like the client is beating them. You know what? You need to build that relationship.

Give them value. Also help them with their marketing, if you can, if you can refer clients to them to buy their goods, to buy their services, they're going to remember you that is going to create that psychological debt in your favor, and you're going to wind up with A nice, fat contract dealing with that client Next, I want you to consider donating to your clients' favorite cause, a lot of speakers are doing that nowadays, where you're going to a two or three day workshop and they have a 501 c3 that is their pet project for that workshop, and they will actually solicit the people in the workshop to donate to that cause.

People want to know that their money is going to good use. And so they love doing that kind of stuff, especially if, for example, you are giving a workshop and they had a seat deposit, like a $97 seat deposit that you paid and you're going to return when they come to your event. Well, when they get to the event, you can suggest to them that they donate that $97 to your charity, and that will help get that, get that bump to the charity going.

Also, it gets them in the mood to spend. It gets them in the mindset that they've already spent with you, even though that day in the room, they haven't spent a dime, all they did was give up a check or some cash that they were expecting, you can also take that $97 by the way, and pour it into your products or service and give them that $97 discount for the day only on your products or service. So there's a lot you can do with that $97 so using that $97 to donate it to a 501, c3, however, is what I want you to get out of this particular conversation, because it's huge. Your clients will be very grateful that you are putting their money to work for them in a way that they would appreciate in a 501, c3 that they would put their own money in.

Next, be kind and be helpful to everybody that is in your client's business because you don't know who has whose ear. I've worked with some people that have been rude to secretaries and dismisses of people that they felt were underlings. Well, my opinion is the Secretary is the person you need to be the nicest to, because he or she can take you, they can prevent you from ever getting to the potential client. They can absolutely make you lose that contract if they take a disliking to you.

So be nice, because we are consultants, because we are Esquires, because we are educated and making good money, that does not make us a better class of human being. It just makes us a resource for our client, and we would do well to remember that and to be respectful to everyone. Don't be afraid. Right to take a stand if there is an issue in your client's business that truly needs to be addressed, for example, a sexual harassment issue or some discrimination issue or some other ethical issue that's going on in the corporate structure where, for example, the taxes aren't being paid or or something like that.

Take a stand. Not only will they appreciate it, but you want to take a stand. And you want to take a stand in writing, because you want to cover your butt, because if they don't fix the problem and they wind up in trouble. You don't want them turning around on you and saying, Why didn't you tell me? Why didn't you warn me? Why didn't you help me? You want to be brave. You want to be bold. You want to take that stand and be sure that you are adding quality advice to your client's arsenal.

And lastly, folks, consider treating your clients like your partner and not like a child or someone you're babysitting or somebody that can't figure it out without you. Treat them like a partner, treat them like you are all part of the same team, and teamwork makes the dream work. Yes, work together for a common cause and an outcome that is at the center of your relationship. A good way to handle this is to give them assignments. You can give the client reporting assignments. Yes, that's right. You don't have to be the one to write the report on the outcome.

The client can actually write it. It might even make sense for the client to write it, because they are the ones that have access to all of the internal systems, databases and functions and people, so it might make sense for them to be the one to write the reports and to really do the analysis as to whether or not the outcome has been met. 

These are the tips that I have for you today on creating those breakthrough relationships with your clients.

Ladies and gentlemen, I want to thank you for joining me today on this week’s episode of Your Business, Accelerated! I’m attorney Shaune B. Arnold. I invite you to follow me on Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter X. In all of those places, I’m known as S.H.A.U.N.E dot Arnold.

In the meantime, and in between time, I am …as always, reminding you to MAXIMIZE your COMPETENCE to get the CONFIDENCE YOU NEED to succeed.

I’ll see you right back here next week, on Your Business, Accelerated! Bye-bye, friends.