There is a growing problem in the professional services industry that is often acknowledged but rarely discussed: clients—even long-standing ones for whom firms have consistently delivered unquestioned value—are much less loyal to those firms and partners than they once were. This dramatic shift in client behavior has rendered traditional approaches to business development not only ineffective but counterproductive.
But top performers have figured out a radical new approach that is redefining what it means to be a rainmaker in today's professional services market.
Drawing on a comprehensive, quantitative study of nearly three thousand partners—spanning law, accounting, consulting, investment banking, executive search, and public relations—The Activator Advantage identifies five types of partners found across the professional services landscape and shows how only one of them—the Activator—drives consistent growth.
Activators deeply embed business development habits into their daily workflow, aggressively leverage their internal and external networks, and proactively deliver both business and personal value to clients—all of which not only helps shield them from the vagaries of modern client buying behavior but also lays the groundwork for more loyal, longer-lasting relationships.
Packed with eye-opening data, counterintuitive insights, and robust case examples, The Activator Advantage provides the road map for any professional services partner or firm leader looking to chart a path to greater client engagement, internal collaboration, and firm profitability in the new era of fading client loyalty.
Title
The Activator Advantage: What Today's Rainmakers Do Differently
Matt Dixon is one of the world’s leading experts on sales, customer service and customer experience. He is a Founding Partner of DCM Insights, The Customer Understanding Lab. Prior to co-founding DCMi, he served as the Chief Product & Research Officer of Tethr, an AI venture in Austin, TX, that helps companies mine customer voice data for insights. And before that, he spent time as a Senior Partner and the Global Head of Sales Force Effectiveness Solutions at Korn Ferry Hay Group and as Group Leader of the sales, service and customer experience practices of CEB, now Gartner. Matt is a sought-after speaker and advisor to corporate leadership teams around the world on topics ranging from sales effectiveness to customer service and customer experience and is also a noted business writer. His first book, The Challenger Sale: Taking Control of the Customer Conversation (Penguin, November 2011), was a #1 Amazon as well as Wall Street Journal best seller, selling more than a million copies worldwide. He is also the co-author of the customer experience bestseller The Effortless Experience: Conquering the New Battleground for Customer Loyalty (Penguin, September 2013) and the follow-on book to The Challenger Sale titled The Challenger Customer: Selling to the Hidden Influencer Who Can Multiply Your Results (Penguin, September 2015). His latest book is The JOLT Effect: How High Performers Overcome Customer Indecision (Penguin, September 2022). Matt is also a frequent contributor to Harvard Business Review with more than 20 print and online articles to date, including many that have appeared in HBR's "Top Ten Must Reads." Among his most-cited pieces are "Reinventing Customer Service" (November-December 2018), “Kick-Ass Customer Service” (January–February 2017), “Dismantling the Sales Machine” (November 2013), “The End of Solution Sales” (July–August 2012) and “Stop Trying to Delight Your Customers” (July–August 2010). Matt holds a Ph.D. from the Graduate School of Public and International Affairs at the University of Pittsburgh as well as a B.A. in International Studies from Mount Saint Mary’s University in Emmitsburg, Maryland. He lives in Silver Spring Maryland with his wife and four children.
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