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Every consultant wants to be seen as a Trusted Advisor. It’s the gold standard in client relationships—when your opinion is sought, your calls are answered, and your guidance genuinely shapes decisions. But trust isn’t conferred by a job title. It’s earned, moment by moment, over time.

David Maister, author of The Trusted Advisor, defined trust not as a single trait, but a blend of credibility, reliability, intimacy, and low self-orientation. That final one—not making it about you—is perhaps the hardest to master. Clients know when you’re more focused on billables than on what really matters to them.

So, what can you do to earn that coveted status?

Discretion is the Foundation

Being a trusted advisor means clients feel safe opening up about their real concerns—sometimes even the messy ones. Whether it’s a looming cashflow issue or friction in the leadership team, they share because they believe you’ll keep their confidence.

Loose lips cost trust. It’s never just a story. It’s someone’s business, reputation, or future. A trusted advisor knows when to speak up—and when to keep absolutely silent.

Remember What You’ve Said

And what they’ve said, too. If you advise a client to make a tough hire or restructure a team, you need to follow that thread through your future conversations. Trust isn’t just built through insight—it’s built through consistency.

Taking good notes, checking in on past advice, and showing that you remember the context builds a sense of partnership. No one likes repeating themselves. When you show that their business matters to you, they’ll keep coming back.

Earn the Right to Advise

The irony? You don’t start by advising. You start by listening. By asking smart questions. By caring enough to dig below the surface of the brief.

A trusted advisor is less interested in being right, and more interested in being useful. The goal is to become the first person your client calls—not because they need something done, but because they need someone to think it through with.

That’s trust. And it’s worth the effort.

Aedon.Accounting knows what it takes to become a trusted expert in the financial field. Got questions? Give Aedon.Accounting a call today or book a demo.