For a long time, the commercial performance of Relationship Managers was seen simply as a dichotomy between ‘Hunters’ and ‘Farmers’. But value creation is not limited to winning new business or nurturing existing relationships. Here, Iavor Tzolov offers a broader perspective on the role, based on six key areas that provide a better understanding of the strengths, complementary skills and areas for attention specific to each RM.
For years, Relationship Managers have been categorised into two groups: ‘Hunters’, capable of acquiring new clients, and ‘Farmers’, who are more focused on developing existing relationships.
This distinction remains relevant. It helps us understand where a Relationship Manager’s growth comes from: from their ability to establish new relationships or to develop those they already have.
But another question now arises: how does a Relationship Manager actually create value?
Our research into Relationship Managers and their client relationships has gradually led us to explore this question. Behind comparable results, we observe very different ways of carrying out the job. Establishing new relationships or developing existing ones, of course. But also understanding a complex problem, clarifying a decision, grasping the human issues behind a financial matter, or bringing together various areas of expertise to address a single situation.
These approaches correspond to different mechanisms for creating value.
Six approaches to value creation
We have grouped them into six main archetypes.
The Pioneer is focused on openness. They seek out new relationships, forge connections and aim to turn an initial contact into a lasting relationship. Their natural terrain is that of relationships yet to be built.
The Builder builds on what already exists. They seek to develop an established relationship, deepening and broadening it as the client’s needs evolve.
The Expert delves into the substance. Faced with a difficult question, their instinct is to understand the mechanisms at play, to explore the reasoning in depth and to form a judgement. Expertise is their primary means of contributing.
The Strategist seeks to understand what lies behind the question asked. They identify the decision to be made, test the assumptions and highlight the trade-offs hidden behind the problem.
The Confidant looks beyond the financial issue. They seek to understand the personal or family context that gives it its true meaning: concerns, plans, family dynamics or priorities that may alter the nature of the need.
Finally,the Architect tackles complexity through orchestration. Their instinct is to identify the relevant people, expertise and resources, then bring them together around the need in order to ensure their contributions remain consistent.
Origination, development, expertise, decision-making, context and orchestration. These are six different ways of creating value in a relationship.
Multidimensional profiles
Each relationship manager combines these six approaches in their own way. Some stand out more than others and give the profile its own unique configuration.
The combinations then become just as interesting as the archetypes themselves.
Let’s take two RMs who both have strong Expert and Strategist orientations. The Expert–Strategist starts with the problem. They seek to understand it thoroughly, delve deeper into their analysis, and then identify the decision to be made. The Strategist–Expert, on the other hand, starts with the decision. They first seek to determine what needs to be decided, then draw on the necessary expertise to address it.
The same orientations can thus be combined in different ways and produce markedly distinct approaches.
The archetype describes the professional centre of gravity: that towards which the RM gravitates when seeking to contribute something useful to a relationship. However, this orientation does not indicate the degree to which this approach is mastered. A Confidant may be naturally very comfortable in bringing out the personal context, whilst still having room for improvement in how they conduct these conversations. An Architect may have a strong instinct for orchestration and continue to develop their ability to coordinate complex situations effectively.
The orientation describes the preferred way of approaching value creation, whilst competence and performance refer to its implementation and the results achieved.
Each orientation also involves its own trade-offs
Understanding an orientation also helps to identify potential pitfalls that may arise when it is particularly pronounced.
An RM with a strong Pioneer orientation may keep numerous avenues open simultaneously and would benefit from becoming more selective. A Builder may continue to broaden a relationship when stricter prioritisation would be more useful. An Expert may delve into an issue beyond the level necessary to make a decision. A Strategist may continue to reframe a problem when the decision is already sufficiently clear. A Confidant may continue to broaden the context when the essential elements are already known. An Architect may involve more stakeholders and coordination than the situation requires.
The challenge, therefore, is not to correct a particular approach, but to recognise the situations in which it risks being taken too far. Gaining a better understanding of one’s profile helps to make these trade-offs more apparent: knowing when to rely fully on one’s natural way of creating value, when to temper it, and when to make more room for a different approach.
Context matters
A professional orientation always manifests itself within a specific environment.
A Pioneer, for example, may manage a largely inherited, mature portfolio. Their day-to-day work will then be mainly devoted to developing existing relationships, even if their natural orientation remains focused on building new ones. Conversely, an RM may focus a large part of their work on origination simply because their role and objectives require it.
What an RM does today does not, therefore, always reflect what they are naturally inclined to do.
This distinction raises a particularly interesting question. Do certain approaches find more favourable ground with certain clients, in certain situations or within certain banking models?
Banks have long segmented their clients according to their wealth, geographical location, the source of their wealth, the complexity of their circumstances or their needs. They differentiate their products, areas of expertise and client relationship models.
Understanding the different orientations of their relationship managers allows them to take this approach a step further.
What approaches are present within a team? How do they complement one another? In which environments are they particularly relevant? How can this insight be integrated into talent development, team composition, recruitment or, ultimately, portfolio allocation strategies?
The archetype provides an initial framework from which these questions can be explored.
From ‘Hunter or Farmer?’ to ‘How do you create value?’
Hunter/Farmer helps us understand two key drivers of business development: establishing new relationships and nurturing existing ones.
The six archetypes broaden this perspective to encompass six mechanisms:
The Pioneer opens up opportunities.
The Builder develops.
The Expert deepens.
The Strategist clarifies.
The Confidant puts things into context.
The Architect orchestrates.
Each RM combines these approaches in a configuration unique to them.
The question then becomes: how do you naturally tend to create value?
This is what the MercuryMetrics RM Archetype Test seeks to shed light on.
Available free of charge, it enables every Relationship Manager to discover their profile across the six dimensions and the approaches that stand out most strongly.
MercuryMetrics - RM Archetype Assessment