By Colleen Hallinan, Founder of Qii Consulting
“The Bigger Pie Mindset” is an important leveraging concept — it’s when you’re more in tune with “baking” and sharing a bigger pie with others than maximizing the size of your own pie. The happy by-product of such an approach is you become more of a partner to others, which makes you more valuable and memorable.
Partnering for a Bigger Pie applies across the board
- Professionals who serve the same types of clients as you do
- Your clients themselves
- Professionals who serve you in your business
- Your industry peers
You might be surprised to see “Your industry peers” in the list above. In the Bigger Pie mindset, you needn’t worry about competition. When you support, share and collaborate with your peers on how to better serve clients, it is no longer a zero-sum game. You raise the standards of wisdom and service in the circles you run in, which attracts more of the clients you want to the whole circle, ultimately creating a bigger pie.
The Bigger Pie Mindset sounds like this
- I can move forward on my own strengths, but by combining them with someone else’s gifts, I can take giant leaps!
- I tell my clients we’ll work with their kids, their parents, and their siblings — no minimum required.
- There are no competitors — everyone I meet is a potential friend, partner, employee, employer, teacher, protégé, or resource.
- Successful partnerships are based on each side being overgenerous to one another, and I am the first to give.
Four ways to soak up the Bigger Pie approach
1. Tell each client in their next review how your team is ready to help their family members, regardless of asset amounts — or no amounts. Determine a reasonable model so you can serve smaller family accounts profitably, and the amount of time you will give to those that simply need to hear your wisdom. Your clients’ gratitude will surpass your efforts. By serving their lesser-monied relatives, you are likely providing them even more peace of mind.
2. Be open-minded about everyone you meet in your business. Ask how they give value, and how they set themselves apart. Make a note of it. There will be a day when someone else you know needs them. There will be a client that doesn’t quite rock your boat, but fits this other person’s service model or target market. Even an annoying or narcissistic person can be your PET – a personal emotional trainer, by giving you the opportunity to practice grace. There will be a time when you’ll be glad you had that practice.
3. The next time you are talking to another professional in your business, whether it’s a vendor that serves your industry, or another professional serving the same kinds of clients:
Do what you do best – discovery.
- Explore the kinds of clients they prefer, what differentiates their service, and how they serve clients.
- Learn about their aspirations and challenges, so you can be in a position to inspire their growth, helping them like you help your clients.
This professional could end up being someone your clients may need now or in the future, or perhaps one of your peers will ask you one day “Do you know someone that ….” And, you never know, you may even find yourself coming back to them for help down the road.
By focusing only on this other professional — not on what YOU do — they will experience how you serve your clients and will likely want their clients to experience that genuine care as well.
4. Every time you are inspired by something new you’ve read or learned, share it with a client, a colleague, or a business ally who will also appreciate it.
There is an alchemy that happens when two or more individuals commit their respective gifts to an endeavor. When you go into a situation ready to contribute to someone else’s pie, that’s what they remember — how things are better after talking with you.
Are you looking for more organic growth? Adopting the Bigger Pie Mindset is a key step in becoming a referral magnet. For more tips on amping up your referability, check out The COI Developer on Qii’s Resources page, under Tools.
