2019 CXps Conference Recap

Last week I had the pleasure of attending the CXps Conference hosted by Client Savvy for the second year in a row.

Client Experience for Professional Services (CXps) is the event for those interested in being part of a growing community of individuals who recognize that Client Experience (CX) is (and will continue to be) the differentiator for their firm.

I have attended plenty of marketing, sales, and professional development conferences. This conference is different because it presents learning and case studies specifically about CX. It is different from other conferences in that the attendees are from all professional service firms – architecture, engineering, construction, law, accounting, and IT services. The attendees are also very diverse in roles representing C-suite, operations, marketing, human resources, and IT.

This three-day conference included hands-on workshops, breakout sessions, and keynotes. It also had a CX awards ceremony, and a closing panel consisting of CXps first followers. Below is a recap of the sessions I attended. To learn more about CX specifically for A/E/C firms, I encourage you to check out the case studies and blog on Client Savvy’s website.

Jumpstarting Your CX Engine

(Brandi Hobbs – Poyner Spruill)

Brandi came to CXps for the first time in 2017 and has since then successfully jumpstarted a CX program at her firm. A true believer in collaborating and sharing, Brandi’s workshop focused on getting started (or maybe getting started again), making meaningful progress, celebrating victories, and recognizing when to change course. The attendees broke up into group organized by firm size. She then prompted us to assess our current situation and identify any unique factors due to our firm size.

CX was best quoted by Brandi Hobbs, presenter:

My key takeaways from this workshop are below. Many of these ideas can be used when implementing any change management.

• When Brandi was first developing the CX program to implement, it was very grand and fast-tracked. She realized that her team members could respond as this CX would be just one more thing to do on top of their busy days. Instead, she didn’t call it a program at all but approached it using “stealth CX.” In this method, she communicated that the team members could do the tasks the way they wanted if everyone was going down the same path in the same direction.
• She also reminded us to capture the moments when you can to build positive internal feedback.
• Stop and celebrate when something is going well. Use that to adjust and figure out how to apply that to the next step in the process.

Using Analytics to Visualize CX

(Gerald Cox – Clearview Software and Nathan Moore – Kleingers Group)

In this breakout session, Gerald and Nathan walked us through how to leverage analytics to interact with your CX data and the role it can play in your CX strategy. They showed us how to use analytics to visualize and explore data relationships of CX and project performance that can drive real business decisions.

My key takeaways from this session were:

• Part of their CX implementation approach was to make it easier “to do” than “not to do.” They wanted to be able to send client feedback surveys from the dashboard as well as send automatically based on triggering events such as project completion milestones.
• They needed to provide both visible AND usable results. This included combining CX and project performance together on their dashboard. This way they could compare their client feedback data to project financial performance. Then eventually use that information to predict future project performance.

Accelerating Sales through the Delivery of Exceptional Client Experience

(Deb Knupp – GrowthPlay)

This workshop repositioned what client-centric selling looks like (and feels like) and showcase specific CX behaviors, tools, and tactics that accelerate sales growth.

Because my background is in sales, I didn’t think I would learn a thing in this workshop. Boy, was I wrong! I took the most notes in this one. Below are just a few of the best tidbits from my pages of notes.

• The buying triggers (the four C’s) and how you can implement CX strategies into each buying trigger.
  • Concern – What’s their concern?
  • Curiosity – Share “thoughtful” stories and ask “thoughtful” questions.
  • Confidence – Find ways to instill more confidence.
  • Connection – Ask: “How do your clients feel about themselves when they are working with you?”
• Messaging fundamentals – Have a message ready to answer the following questions:
  • “What do you do?”  – Use a formula such as “I/We   (verb)     (who)     (accomplish what).”
  • “What’s new?” – Use this as a vehicle to educate or energize. Convey a positive relative message ready every time you engage with a client.
• Building relationships – Use the three “Ins” to help you stay connected and provide authentic relationship building between projects. Those are Invitations, Information, and Introductions.
• Apply the six pillars of CX to your sales process. Those six pillars are:
  • Develop and maintain authentic relationships with clients.
  • Understand and provide counsel in the context of the client’s success.
  • Communicate in ways that manage expectations and build trust and loyalty.
  • Demonstrate appreciation for clients and their business.
  • Initiate high impact client intake/kick-off meetings and regularly seek client feedback.
  • Demonstrate care and relationship investment during pricing, billing, and budgeting.

Converting CX into Financial Success

(Mike Phillips, AIA – Phillips Architecture)

Phillips Architecture continues to be in an elite group of firms whose profitability continues to rise year after year by focusing on their clients. In this session, Mike shared how Phillips has structured their project delivery process to 1) identify the process needed for each project that will deliver the most value to the client, 2) provide their team with the chance to capitalize on their strengths, and 3) use client sentiment tracking to remain in alignment with what their clients perceive as most valuable.

Some great takeaways from this session were:

• CX and client feedback give your clients a chance to tell you how to be most valuable to them.
• Client feedback can be used to evaluate and decide on:
  • How you staff projects. You can use metrics to assign project team and roles.
  • Reduce liability. Quality of client relationships plays a big part in determining if a client is going to make a claim or sue a service provider.
• Their firm spends on average one hour per month per employee on client feedback.

Three important words in CX: Culture, Culture, Culture

(Steven Keith and Jamie Spreitzer – CX Pilots)

Organizations considering an investment in client experience need to consider the internal, cultural elements. In this session, we looked at CX through the lens of both the employee and the client.

Key takeaways included:

• The largest element of CX implementation failure is culture disengagement.
• They described the differences between culture, climate, weather, and storms. A firm may have an individual weather event (like a good or bad new hire or major project loss). Those events don’t make up the culture.
• Empathy is a key element of CX and firm culture. What does this look like for a professional services firm? What kinds of empathy training is needed?

Closing Panel: Q&A with CX First Followers

This closing panel included firms who were some of the first professional services firms to implement formal CX programs. Moderated by Kevin Hebblethwaite, FSMPS, CPSM from Full Sail Partners, questions were provided from the audience and sent in through the conference app. Below are some of the questions and responses from the panel I noted.

Where should you start with a CX program?

The answers included:

• Look for places where you already have client feedback. Look at how to use that information. Group it together by themes.
• Determine how this effort will benefit your project managers. Make it connect to their concerns.
• Identify a small group of champions. It’s better if these are the folks ready for change and who are comfortable with change.
• Develop a shared language within the firm of how to serve and treat clients.
• Develop CX metrics. CX needs to be measured like financial metrics.
• Become the “chief listening officer.” Even you don’t have a formal program, you can be that person at your firm that listens. The CLO listens to both clients and employees. Then brings all the information together.

What are some best practices to get started with a CX program?

Responses were:

• Make sure that multiple stakeholders are leading initiatives and are working collaboratively.
• Trust your team.
• Reiterate that your employees won’t be punished for bad scores.

How do you help them (Project Managers) spend time on CX and keep accountable?

The panel responses were:

• Measure CX participation rates. Don’t focus on the client feedback scores but the level of participation.
• Utilize others such as administrative support to help send out client feedback surveys.

In Conclusion

I could go on and on with even more notes, but it might turn into a book! I hope this recap gives you a glimpse into Client Experience and how it can truly differentiate your firm in our industry.

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Your Turn

Did you attend CXps 2019? If so, comment below on one key takeaway from this year’s conference. If you didn’t attend CXps 2019, comment below to ask any questions about next year’s conference. It is generally in May. If your firm is even thinking about client feedback or learning