Originally published on Forbes.com

When I was a kid, my dad would say, “Your word is your bond.” He was a scrappy, bare-knuckled contractor who fought for every job. Picture Ernest Hemingway with a hammer.

He worked with small crews in unbearable temperatures to get the work done and done right. He knew his word, and that delivering on his promises would help him earn or lose the next job. After all, people talk, especially in the small community where we lived. 

The Say-Do Ratio

My father knew almost instinctively something that entire books have been written about — integrity. I call it the say-do ratio. It simply means this: Do you do the things you say you will do?  A high say-do ratio means you consistently do what you say. A low say-do ratio means there’s a gap between what you promise and what you deliver.

Just to be clear, I don’t know anyone who has a perfect say-do ratio. I’m not sure that exists. But what I have noticed is that people who have a high say-do score are deeply trusted.

I’m not a hard-scrabble contractor fighting for every job. I’m a leader of a professional service firm that empowers other professional service firms to achieve breakthrough results. Even so, my say-do ratio, something I learned in the blue-collar world, is crucial to my success.

Earning Trust

In the professional services world, attaining trusted advisor status is a top goal. Trusted advisors have more fruitful client relationships because clients resist less and act more on their counsel. Trusted advisors produce better-than-average profits and command the highest fees. Their voice is weighty and clients seek their counsel before making big decisions.

Trusted advisors, without fail, have a high say-do ratio. But this is not granted; it’s earned over time. It’s relatively easy to earn a high say-do score in the early stages of client relationships but becomes harder later on.

Using simple metrics early on, clients begin to score your say-do card. Every interaction is an opportunity to strengthen or weaken your score.

Here are some ways to increase your say-do ratio:

• If your next meeting is at 10 a.m. on Tuesday, show up at 9:55, not 10:05.
• If you promise to get back to someone, specify when you’ll get back to them and about what. Then, deliver on time and in full measure.
• If you provide one fee in verbal communication, list that exact same fee in the proposal.

Prospective clients watch these matters very closely. When you’re consistent between what you say and what you do, they breathe a sigh of relief. Today’s service buyer is preconditioned to expect a low say-do ratio.

However, winning the trust of new clients is not what impacts profits most. Client retention and delight have a much stronger impact on service firm profits. This is where the say-do ratio and trusted advisor status get really tricky. 

Grey Areas

Client relationships in professional services often proceed along these lines:

• A service firm conducts discovery with a prospect to identify goals
• The firm produces a proposal to address the goals
• The proposal has a statement of work, timelines, deliverables and a fee structure
• The client says “yes” and signs
• The service firm delivers everything promised on time and on budget

This should produce a high say-do score, right? Not necessarily. In my experience, even if you deliver everything promised on time and on budget, if your deliverables do not yield the outcomes the client wanted to realize, your say-do score plummets. Client loyalty dips. Negotiations on the next round of projects get much harder.

There are many capable and respected professional service firms who disappoint clients. These include law firms, CPA firms, technology consulting, financial services, AEC professionals, management consulting and others. These firms often have longevity in the market, a good reputation and strong profits. But they also have a string of dissatisfied clients who are likely to migrate to another provider, given the opportunity.

The root cause of this dissatisfaction is not the technical capabilities of their people. It’s also not a disconnect between what was promised in the proposal and what was actually delivered. Usually, the source of the disappointment is client expectations concerning outcomes they were hoping to realize but might not have fully articulated.

In financial services, for example, if a client’s portfolio performs at better-than-average market rates of return, yet that client is underinsured, those market returns could be eviscerated in a single event like an accident. The client might say, “I want great investment returns.” But what they mean is, “I want to build long-lasting wealth.”

If a CPA firm delivers a solid tax return that will stand up to any audit, did they do their job? Yes. But if the client has a huge tax bill, will they be dissatisfied with the CPA firm? Yes. The client might say, “Please do my taxes,” but they mean, “Please reduce my tax bill.”

Another example is in corporate law. Inside counsel these days is looking for far more than just great technical capabilities from outside counsel. Inside counsel wants a partnership that respects their financial constraints, their culture and their people. They might say, “Handle these legal matters for us,” but they really mean, “Serve as an extension of our team.”

My point is simply this: Even if you do everything you promised to do, you might still be assigned a low say-do score. The most trusted advisors keep their promises and deliver outcomes that delight clients.

My father understood this very well. Some of our most gratifying moments came from handing over keys to new home owners. The delight and the wonder on the faces of those families is something I will never forget.

About The Author

Randy Shattuck is a seasoned entrepreneur who works hand-in-hand with senior leaders of mid-size professional service firms to grow revenues, acquire clients, open new markets, increase profits and effectively position their brands.