Dealing with difficult clients

January 20, 2014 by
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We’ve all had clients who are overly demanding, rude to you or your staff, or complain about things until you want to scream. And let’s not forget the clients who want to micro-manage their case.

Sometimes, you have to sit these clients down and have a heart-to-heart talk. Explain the problem and ask for their cooperation. You do risk embarrassing them, and perhaps losing them, but when things have gone too far, you do what you have to do.

Before things go that far, however, look for less confrontational ways to deliver your message. You may be able to do this by talking about the problem in a letter to all clients or in your newsletter. It’s easier to say things to “everyone” than to confront a misbehaving individual.

When you post an article about “best practices” for working with your office, for example, and discuss which decisions the attorney makes, and why, you allow the micro-managing client to see what they are doing wrong and give them a chance to correct course. If they don’t, you still have the option of speaking to them individually.

Clients need to be trained. You need to tell them what is expected of them. At the same time, tell them what to do if they have a complaint or disagree with something, or want to make a suggestion. Give them a path to follow that allows them to be heard without manhandling you and your staff.

Put your policies in your new client kit and post them on your website. Explain how things work at your first meeting with new clients.

Dealing with difficult clients is easier when you address their difficulties before they occur.

Avoid billing problems and complaints. Get the Check.

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Filed Under: Client relations, Communication, Law office management Tagged With: , ,

What to do when a potential client says no

January 17, 2014 by
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You meet with a prospective client, diagnose their problem, propose a solution, and quote a fee. They need your help, but tell you they want to think about it. They don’t call.

What should you do? How can you get them to hire you?

Sorry, bub. It’s probably too late. “I want to think about it” usually means no. It’s an excuse for some other objection.

They aren’t convinced they need a lawyer’s help. They aren’t convinced you’re the one they should choose. They don’t have the money. Or they need some else’s permission.

By and large, these objections should be dealt with before the client calls for an appointment or before they meet you.

You post information on your website, so they know why they need a lawyer and why they should choose you. You post detailed answers to FAQ’s, about your area of the law and the available options you offer.

You don’t quote fees online (or on the phone), but provide guidelines, so people have a general idea of how much they can expect to pay and what payment options you offer. They know they can’t hire you for $1,000 but it won’t cost them $100,000. They know they don’t need to pay 100% up front but they know they have to pay something.

Do this and when they call, they will already know that they need a lawyer and that you’re the one they want. They’ll know they will probably be able to afford your fees.

When they call to make an appointment, you make sure they bring their spouse or partner or other decision maker, or that they otherwise have the authority to hire you.

Now, when they’re in the office and you diagnose their problem, propose a solution, and quote a fee, you have eliminated most or all of their reasons to say no. If there are any remaining objections, you find out about them and deal them when they’re sitting in your office.

This way, they don’t have to think about it.

You deal with objections before they arise. You eliminate reasons to say no before they are said. After the fact, there’s not a lot you can do.

When a potential client says no, or I want to think about, or otherwise does not hire you, don’t blame them, and don’t chase them. Put them on your mailing list and stay in touch with them because they may hire you some day or refer business some day. But probably not today.

Learn what to put on your website to eliminate objections before they arise. Click here.

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Filed Under: Closing the sale, Communication, Handling objections, Online Marketing, Salesmanship

How to handle negative reviews and comments

November 18, 2013 by
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I just read a post on the subject of dealing with negative comments on sites like Yelp and social media. The author says, in a nutshell, that if the statement is factually untrue, and you can prove it, you can ask the site to remove it. If it is an opinion, the author says to, “add a comment to the post explaining your rational [sic] in a non-hostile way and how you plan on addressing the situation.”

I disagree. I would not respond to negative reviews in a public forum. Doing so only invites more negative comments, from the original poster or from others who side with him or see the need to defend him.

An opinion is an opinion. If they didn’t like something, they didn’t like it. Right or wrong, it’s their opinion. Any efforts to defend or explain yourself will only make you look bad. As much as it might hurt, it’s almost always best to ignore these comments, at least publicly.

If you can identify the client who made the post, reach out to them privately. See if you can resolve the issue. Apologize, make amends, offer satisfaction. Do what you can to win back the client, or at least make them see that their public comment was too harsh and retract or amend it.

The author recommends encouraging visitors to the site or thread to contact you privately by email, so you can respond to questions or comments. I’m not sure that’s a good idea. You want people to communicate with you, of course, and that includes negative comments. But if you “make an appearance” on the forum or in the thread to extend this invitation, you leave readers wondering why you didn’t respond to the negative comment(s).

The better way to handle this is before it occurs. Make sure your clients and others who engage with you and your staff are openly and repeatedly encouraged to contact you if they have any questions or concerns. Let them know that if they are unhappy about anything, you want to hear about it. Set up mechanisms that make it easy for people to contact you, even anonymously. And remind them to do so. When people know they can blow off steam directly to you, they may be a little less likely to do it publicly.

One thing the author of this post and I agree on, if you do have negative comments, ask some of your happy clients to post positive comments. If you have enough positive comments, you can effectively bury the negative ones. People are smart. If you have twenty positive comments and one that is critical, most people will put things in context.

I know many attorneys resist getting involved with social media and review sites like Yelp because they don’t want to invite negative comments. But these will occur, if they occur, regardless of your involvement. The better course of action is to be proactive. Set up accounts and invite your clients to share their views. I suspect most will be positive. If an unhappy individual comes along, perhaps even the losing party in an acrimonious case, there will be no need for you to defend yourself, your other clients will do it for you.

I’d love to hear your thoughts on how to handle negative reviews. What do you do, or plan to do, about negative comments?

Make the Phone Ring is my course on Internet marketing for attorneys. Check it out here.

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Filed Under: Communication, Marketing legal services, Online Marketing, Social media, Social media marketing Tagged With: , ,

How much do you know about your prospective clients?

November 15, 2013 by
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You’ll notice that in the headline to this post (or email subject if you are reading it as an email), I use the term “prospective clients” and not “prospects.” That’s because lawyers don’t use the word prospects. Prospects are for sales people. Lawyers have clients and everyone else is a prospective client.

Minor difference? Perhaps. But it’s important to show people you understand them and that starts with speaking the same language.

This morning, I received an email inviting me to join a group. The group describes itself as “An exchange where businesses source legal services.” Some of the benefits of the group:

“Free online project management tools allow you to collaborate with your customer, create project schedules, upload files and receive feedback effortlessly. [company] handles all payment and invoicing on your behalf.”

I don’t really understand what they do and I’m not really interested in learning more. Their email told me everything I needed to know: they don’t know the first thing about lawyers.

If they did, they wouldn’t say things like “collaborate with your customer”. They’re clients, bub, and we don’t collaborate with them. When we get hired, we don’t call them projects. Before I even consider uploading files, I’ve got a million questions you’ll have to answer, and even then, I’d have to think about it. And, thanks for the offer, but we like to take care of the invoicing and money ourselves.

So, from concept to terminology, I knew I wasn’t going to waste any time looking into this.

In marketing legal services, you really need to know your patient.

The Attorney Marketing Formula is for attorneys (and by an attorney). See it here.

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Filed Under: Communication, Marketing legal services, Writing

How to deliver a great presentation

November 7, 2013 by
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If you’ve never seen Simon Sinek’s TED Talk on inspiring action you’re in for a treat. In it, Sinek explains why companies like Apple captivate and dominate their market when legions of other companies sell boxes that do essentially the same thing. He tells us why the Wright Brothers were first to flight with no funding or credentials that would have predicted their success.

Sinek also helps us to understand the difference between a leader and those who lead, and why great ideas and great products often languish while smaller ideas catch fire.

His talk is filled with wisdom. In a few minutes, he will help you understand the key to success in marketing your services and building a firm that sustains and grows. I heartily recommend that you take the time to watch his presentation and learn why it is the second most popular TED Talk with more than 12 million views.

But there’s another reason to watch it. Not only will you learn great insights about marketing and business, you’ll also see a great presentation. As you know, a presentation isn’t just what you say, it’s how you say it. It’s how the information you deliver is packaged and staged. A great presentation connects with the minds and emotions of the audience, and this is a great presentation.

If you want to know how to deliver a great presentation, study this one. See how he packages and presents his information. Learn how you can make your next presentation more effective.

This post makes it easier. It analyzes the structure, style, and delivery of Sinek’s talk, helping us to understand why in a world of presentations, this is one of the greats.

Do you know The Attorney Marketing Formula? Check it out here.

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Filed Under: Communication, Law office management, Marketing legal services, Personal development, Presentations, Writing Tagged With: ,

The gold standard for legal writing

November 4, 2013 by
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Writing for clients and prospects is different than writing for lawyers and judges. I know you know that but are you doing that? Do you write blog posts and articles and books that clients want to read?

I just read several reviews of a lawyer’s book for start-ups and small business owners. I don’t know if the book is any good by legal standards but if the reviews are any indication, the book is a winner. Here’s what one reviewer said:

“I’ve tried to read legal books before, and this is definitely the best. The writing style is crisp and conversational, and the author uses the word “I” and “my clients” to tell stories, so it feels like talking to a very smart and experienced business person rather than plowing through a textbook. The book used a lot of real-life examples, which is the only way I can get my head around legal issues, so I feel like I got more out of this book than the big start-up textbooks I tried before.

. . .really is just like having a two-hour coffee chat with an unusually friendly attorney.”

Another reviewer said

“I suspect this book was written by a real human being, not a conference room full of lawyers. For one thing, it’s not boring. . . .this book talks about business almost as much as it talks about law.”

Readers liked the book and, presumably, the author. For marketing purposes, this lawyer has hit a home run.

She accomplished this by writing to the reader, conversationally, and by using stories about her clients and cases. She also inserted herself into the narrative.

Reviewers also liked that the book “talks about business almost as much as it talks about law”. The author shows that she understands the reader from their point of view in running a business. She understands what it’s like dealing with vendors, for example, and talks about strategy, not just law.

Legal writing for clients and prospects is about connection more than content. Yes, the information is important, but if that connection is absent, the writing will have missed it’s mark.

You want to inform readers about the law. Even more, you want to reach out from the page and speak to them in a way that helps them imagine what it would be like to have you as their lawyer.

For more on legal writing for clients and prospects, get this.

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Filed Under: Communication, Marketing legal services, Writing

The wave of the future for attorney marketing

October 24, 2013 by
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In the 1967 film, The Graduate, Dustin Hoffman’s character was at a party, wondering about his future career, when he was taken aside and offered some advice. “Plastics. There’s a great future in plastics,” he was told.

Plastics were the next big thing in 1967. Today? Who knows.

The thing is, when it comes to attorney marketing, there is no next big thing. It’s still all about information and people. Always was. Always will be.

Technology changes. Fundamentals don’t.

Educate your market place about the law, about problems and solutions, and about the process. Stay in touch with your clients and prospects. Treat people the way you would like to be treated. That’s all attorneys have ever had to do to build a successful practice and it still is.

Don’t get hung up on what “everyone” else is doing or feel left behind if you aren’t following the latest trend. But don’t stick your head in the sand, either. Technology does make things easier, quicker, and cheaper.

Put content on a website or blog because it makes it easier to educate your market and communicate with clients and prospects, not because someone said you must. Use social media to find and engage people because it expands your reach (and you enjoy it), not because all the cool lawyers do it.

The wave of the future for attorney marketing is information and people, same as always. Slicker and more fun with an iPad, but still the same.

Starting or expanding your website or blog? Start here.

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Filed Under: Career satisfaction, Client relations, Communication, Legal industry, Marketing legal services, Online Marketing, Social media, Technology

Creating an operations manual for your law practice

October 1, 2013 by
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Early in my career I rented space from an attorney who had a very lucrative high volume personal injury practice.

He had half a dozen employees, including one attorney, and everything ran very smoothly. The office was busy but quiet. Everything was orderly. They never seemed to miss deadlines or suffer a major crisis.

One reason why the office was so successful was that the attorney had prepared an operations manual. Every aspect of the practice was documented. Every employee knew what they were supposed to do.

He created the manual, I was told, so that if someone quit or went on maternity leave or got sick, the new hire or temp would be able to quickly get up to speed.

The manual explained how to open a new file, how to close a file, and everything in between. There were forms and checklists for every stage of the case, and fill-in-the-blank form letters, too. The calendaring procedure was spelled out in detail.

As a result, nothing fell through the cracks. The cases got worked and settled or tried. Things moved quickly. Mistakes were rare.

I never saw the actual manual but hearing about it inspired me to create my own. I started by making extra copies of every letter I wrote and putting them in a separate file. I created checklists for repetitive tasks. I asked other attorneys I knew for copies of their forms and form letters and re-wrote them to suit my style and work flow.

I was also able to build a sizable practice with a relatively small staff, in part, because of my manual.

One of the benefits of going through this process is that it forces you to think about everything you do, allowing you to find ways to do them better. You find holes in your procedures, places where mistakes can happen, and you can patch them. You find wasteful tasks and can eliminate them. You see opportunities for doing things faster.

You also find ways to improve client relations. For example, you may discover gaps in communicating progress to clients about their case, or find ways to make their experience less stressful. Repeat business and referrals will increase because you always send welcome letters and thank you letters and remember clients’ birthdays.

The bottom line is that creating an operations manual for your law practice will save time, save money, help you avoid errors (and malpractice claims), and make your practice run more smoothly and more profitably.

If you don’t have an operations manual for your practice, I encourage you to start one. If you have staff, enlist their aid. If you do have a manual, make a note to review it periodically, so you can update it with changes in the law, new forms, and new ideas.

You’ll thank me later.

For more on creating an operations manual, see The Attorney Marketing Formula

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Filed Under: Career satisfaction, Client loyalty, Client relations, Communication, Increase your income, Law office management, Marketing legal services, Productivity Tagged With: , , , , ,

When was the last time a client made you cry?

September 27, 2013 by
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You say you care about your clients but is this really true?

Do you comfort them when they are afraid? Do you offer a shoulder to cry on when they are in pain? Do you offer them hope for a better future when they despair?

Many lawyers go through the motions with their clients, saying things that need to be said but not really meaning it. I know, you can’t do a good job for your clients if you fall apart emotionally. But I also know you can’t do a good job for your clients if you don’t feel anything.

Being a lawyer is about getting results, but even more, it’s about making people feel that you will do everything you can to help them, not because they paid you to do so but because you truly care about them.

You can’t fake it. Leadership author John C. Maxwell said, “People may hear your words, but they feel your attitude.”

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Filed Under: Client loyalty, Client relations, Communication, Personal development
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