Recently I was speaking in front of a group of lawyers on productivity, systematizing your practice and client selection. One lawyer stood up to ask a question and began with, “Most of my clients are ‘one off’ clients, so…” I immediately cringed, as I do any time any lawyer makes assumptions about ‘one off’ clients. But since I wasn’t there to speak about ‘marketing’ I chose not to address his ‘one off’ comment – although I will address it here, because I think lawyers make a big mistake when they make those assumptions.
Many lawyers think their clients are ‘one off’ clients and they make mistakes such as:
- Failing to keep in touch with former clients after the engagement is over;
- Failing to find out additional information about clients such as their other needs, both legal and non-legal;
- Failing to create a consistent client experience;
While a lawyer with a ‘one time only’ kind of practice (like bankruptcy) may rarely or never see the same client twice in the lifetime of her practice, that lawyer misses huge business opportunities by thinking of clients as ‘one off’ clients. Why? Because there’s really no such thing as a ‘one off’ client.
For example, if you have a bankruptcy practice, you may be in the enviable position of having more work than you can handle right now. But when the economy recovers, what will your practice look like? Many lawyers with cyclical practices have partners who practice in a complimentary area (such as real estate), or who practice in both of those areas themselves. While a consumer bankruptcy client may never return for bankruptcy services, they might need real estate services in the future.
Even if your practice is limited to one practice area, statistics show that it’s much easier to get business from those with whom you’ve done business in the past than it is to get business from ‘new’ clients all of the time. Your existing and former clients are your best source of referrals. They might have friends, neighbors, colleagues, business associates, or relatives that might need your services in the future. You can’t expect them to remember you if you treat them as ‘one off’ clients and fail to keep in touch with them to keep ‘top of mind’ awareness with these individuals so that when a referral opportunity arises, your name will be the obvious choice.
The practice if law is all about relationships, which are built on trust and strengthened over time. Once you’ve worked with a client and built a strong relationship, it’s foolish to squander that relationship by ignoring those former clients, all the while working much harder to establish relationships with a new group of people who might be potential clients or future referral sources.
The more you know about your clients, the stronger your relationship will be. If those clients need legal services in the future, even if those legal services don’t involve your practice area, your clients will likely seek advice from you – allowing you to prove your worth by becoming an information hub and possibly referring that business to another lawyer – strengthening a relationship with other lawyers who may, in turn, be referral sources for you.
If you want more information about improving client service at your firm, check out the articles, information and resources at LawyerMeltdown.com
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