What drives client satisfaction in professional services? Is it the quality of the end product and the results you deliver? No. Good communication is the key and Adam Turinas runs through the key factors to good communication.

Andre Coetzee poses the question: “Have you ever suggested a great idea that just didn’t ‘land’, only to have it suggested by someone else a little while later and it being actively received?” He explains that getting your good ideas across has a better chance of succeeding if you develop some subtle skills of timing and persuasion to ensure that they are not only understood but received enthusiastically.

Good writing should be a core executive skill because the written word remains the fundamental tool of communication. Good writing make suppliers more valuable to their clients because they write faster, show more clarity of thought, and their writing is easier to read.

Face-to-face meetings help build good business relationships. But that could be affected by the emergence of the iPhone generation, who are used to communicating through digital devices. Suppliers and clients will have to find ways to manage this.

The more senior the client, the shorter the attention span. Service providers must learn how to be more concise and make every word count. This is a skill which doesn’t come easily to a lot of client relationship managers.

Service providers should actively merchandise their successes to existing clients. All too often clients know more about the firms or agencies soliciting their business than the incumbent