In part one of our two-part series on the latest episode of our IT Unfiltered Podcast on relationship building with clients, we looked at the downsides to transactional sales and why American Digital would rather build a long-term relationship with clients. If you haven’t read the first installment, you can find it here But what are key advantages to a relationship-focused model, and how does that relationship work? What became apparent during the discussion was that American Digital’s approach to relationships with its customers delved beyond a one-on-one conversation between two project managers or points of contact. Instead, it embraced everyone in the client’s organization, everyone on the American Digital team—even OEM partners are fostering valuable relationships with client organizations.
The company has found that once you get everyone involved, and once you’ve built that trusted foundation across the board, large projects tend to come together more efficiently and collaboratively. You have an environment where everyone knows one another and is able to work closely and communicate effectively to reach their objectives.
But this doesn’t happen overnight. In fact, it begins with a bit of matchmaking. Paul Guten, VP of National Accounts at American Digital, and Mary Galvanoni, Senior Account Manager, both said they enjoy getting to know individual personalities and making sure everyone feels comfortable connecting with the best internal resources to suit their particular style and to further that connection. Events then take relationships to the next level, where everyone can get to know each other personally, meet family members, and network with the entire team along with partners and other clients.
Stemming from this approach are clients who’ve been with American Digital for more than a decade. In fact, several CIOs have changed companies only to insist they work with American Digital in their new role even when that meant cutting ties with the company’s existing IT vendor.
And employees stay with American Digital just as long. “I think that’s a primary reason why we’ve all been here for so long,” Mary said. That close-knit relationship and the rewards of success make the job incredibly fulfilling. It means everyone knows what they need to do and feels fully supported along the way. Tune into the full conversation at: https://www.buzzsprout.com/1781683/9706673-the-american-digital-team-talks-why-building-relationships-with-clients-is-key-to-our-success.mp3?download=true