Generating repeat business should be one of your top priorities. Think about it: if you can’t keep the clients you have, how do you expect to score referral business from people who truly appreciate your work? Word of mouth is one of the most powerful (and cost-efficient) tools at your disposal. In order to get it, you need to understand what your clients want from their lawyer.
What exactly do your clients want? This is an age-old question that is in desperate need of your attention.
In this article, we hope to shed some light on what you need to deliver to your clients in order to ensure they keep coming back to you.
1. Make Your Clients Feel Comfortable With You
Your clients typically aren’t coming to you in their emotional prime.
They’re approaching you because they’re in need of their services. Their needs probably are rooted in emotional duress. This is something you need to be cognizant of when you interact with potential or existing clients. Yes, business is business; but there’s no need to be sterile about the transaction. Make your clients feel heard and they will always remember it.
2. Reassure Them That You’re The Lawyer for Them
Put yourself in their shoes: meetings with lawyers can be intimidating. Even if you’re the least intimidating person in the world, potential clients might feel overwhelmed by reaching out for your services.
Do your best to put them at ease and assure them that you’re the right lawyer for their needs. It’s easy to come off as patronizing if you throw around legal jargon like some sort of walking thesaurus; humanize every interaction to let your clients know you have their best interests in mind.
You can do this by considering the top questions your client is probably asking themselves:
1. What’s going on?
2. Is this the solution to my problem?
3. Will this fail?
What’s going on?
It’s important that your client fully understands the nuances of their legal needs and how you plan to address them. Lay out a clear timeline of events with obtainable benchmarks so that they know the wheels are turning.
Is this the solution to my problem?
Nobody likes the feeling of uncertainty, especially if they already have a lot on their plate.
Reiterate your experience in the legal field, specifically with the type of issues your client is directly facing. This will make them more confident in your services and they’ll follow your advice to the end of the earth.
Will this fail?
Legal services can cost a pretty penny. Clients want to be reassured that their investment won’t be wasted and that there is a solution to their issues on the horizon.
Of course, you aren’t a fortuneteller. Although it is possible that the case might not go in your client’s favor, do everything you can to let them know you’re in their corner. Treat every client opportunity as you would treat a family member in the same situation; if there’s something you can do to further the chances of success, do it.
Considering these questions will help you be more present for your client and garner their trust as your relationship grows.
3. Establish Genuine Connections with Your Clients
This is a big one. It’s in our nature to crave connections with other people; this holds true for professional relationships, as well.
Many lawyers make the mistake of leading with logic and pushing emotion to the wayside (perhaps sometimes as a means of self preservation and avoiding burnout). Avoid reducing your client to a case number or a paycheck.
It’s important to find the right balance between reason and empathy. Your client is a real person with a real problem; make sure they always feel as though you treat them that way.
The simplest way to accomplish this is pretty straightforward: tell them you’re there for them and that you care. It may not seem like much, but sometimes even the smallest gestures can have the greatest impact.
Wrapping Up
It’s more important than ever to stand out from the competition; the easiest way to do this is to create genuine relationships with your clients to keep them coming back. Identify what exactly your clients want from your services by putting yourself in their shoes. Treat them like a person as opposed to a paycheck. Make sure their voices are heard.
We hope this article has helped you gain a better understanding of how to better serve your community!
