It’s a well-known maxim that bears repeating: “People prefer to hire and work with people they know, like, and trust.” That’s true even when those people are attorneys. 

Actually, it’s even more true of attorneys because we sell personal services and work closely with our clients. Hard to please clients if they don’t like or trust you. 

Now, besides being nice to our clients and delivering excellent outcomes at a reasonable fee, is there anything else we can do to enhance our client relationships? 

Yes, and you probably already do it. 

You stay in touch with your clients, right? Send them holiday and birthday cards, a newsletter, and let them know when you have a new article or video that can help them? 

NB: If you don’t do these things with your clients and contacts, you’re missing out on one of the simplest and most effective ways to grow your practice. Just saying.

What else can you do to make your clients feel appreciated and help them remember that you’re still around? 

You can send them a personal note. Not an email, a handwritten note sent in ye olde mail.  

Say hello, thank them for their business and referrals, ask about their business or job, mention their spouse or kids, share something you recall about them or their case, and otherwise treat them as someone you care about.  

You do care about them, don’t you?

“A personal note, for all my current and former clients? I don’t have time to do that,” you say? 

Yes, you do. You can do what attorney Mike Alder does for his clients. I heard that every morning he writes 3 personal notes to clients and pops them in the mail. You can do that. 

“It’s not worth the effort,” you say. Tell that to Mike. He’s built an injury and employment firm that has recovered over $3 billion for their clients. Let’s see, one third of a billion is how much? 

Yeah, personal notes. And phone calls, too. And being a mensch and treating your clients like you care about them as people, not just clients. 

That’s how clients get to know, like, and trust you.

Some attorneys are terrible about returning phone calls and replying to emails. 

Don’t be like them. 

Clients hate “not knowing” if you received their message and if you (or someone on your behalf) will reply. When they don’t hear from you, it makes it look like you don’t care about them—so why should they care about you? Or continue to hire you. 

You should have a standard policy of returning calls and replying to emails within one business day, or to at least confirm receipt of their message and tell them when you will reply.

Be as specific as possible without promising more than you can deliver. Make it a pledge. Put it in writing. Put it on your website. Put it in your “new client” kit. 

And apologize if you occasionally mess up. 

I’m guessing you already do this to some extent. Your clients know they can count on you, which is one reason they stay with you and refer others to you. 

So work on memorializing and improving your follow-up policies. Keep your clients well-fed.

That’s not all. You should also have a policy for replying to prospective clients who contact you.

Ad leads, referrals, website inquiries, networking contacts—timely follow-up is arguably even more critical. 

Why? Because you know your existing clients will probably forgive you if you don’t return their calls immediately. You can’t expect the same from prospective clients. 

They’ll just call someone else. 

So, you need a plan. 

What to do when a prospective client calls and has questions. What you will say, what you will send them, what you will do after the initial call or email, and when.

Especially when. Because the clock is ticking. 

Map out a series of follow-ups—when you will call again, what you will say, what you will offer.

And when you will follow-up after that.

Don’t leave it up to the prospective clients. It’s up to you to call again, and don’t stop calling, until they hire you or tell you to stop. 

Because the fortune, your fortune, is in the follow-up.