There are certain actions that I see attorneys committing time and again that drive clients from their doors, and the lawyers who commit them are clueless about why their competition is getting new clients and they are not.
Here are 7 steps I have found work well for attracting and keeping great clients:
Don’t try to be all things to all people. You should be measuring your success in terms of profit, not just revenue. If you are signing everyone who walks in your door or calls you on the phone, you are probably discovering that many are not your ideal client, and are wasting your precious time and resources without hope of a satisfactory outcome.
Set expectations. Most relationships with clients that go south do so because of unmet expectations. Be realistic about the services you provide and the outcome they can expect, and do it up-front.
Communicate. You don’t mean to ignore them, but you’re busy and time slips by. If you had a process in place for communicating with them regularly, this wouldn’t be a problem.
Talk to them in their language. Some attorneys have a very bad habit of making clients feel stupid by using too many legal terms in conversation. Stay on your client’s level and always make sure they understood what you were trying to communicate.
Return calls promptly. When clients need you, they don’t like to keep leaving voicemail messages….worse still is a full voicemail box. Offer your cell phone number or a way they can reach you when they need you.
Listen. Most clients just want to be heard, especially by their own attorneys. This takes time on your part, and an effort to understand their point of pain and how to solve it.
Stay visible. Is the only time a client ever sees you when they are ready to sign on the dotted line? If you only make an appearance when money is on the table and then hand clients off to junior associates, you have just created a major disconnect in the loyalty chain.
