What Clients Really Want From You
The best way to get new business is to win all your cases in spectacular fashion, right?
Wrong.
When it comes to attracting client referrals, personal service trumps results every time.
It seems counter-intuitive. The law is a competitive arena. Clients come to us to achieve specific objectives, not to have their hands held.
And yet survey after survey shows that clients love lawyers who are caring, committed and communicative.
The latest evidence comes from BTI Consulting, which asked actual clients what factors would cause them to recommend a specific law firm. Here are their responses:
- Exceptional client focus – 58 percent
- Specific expertise – 9 percent
- Breadth and depth of service – 9 percent
- Legal skills – 8 percent
- Delivers good value – 8 percent
- Reputation – 4 percent
- Delivers results – 3 percent
Most Clients Would Not Recommend Their Lawyer
The survey also revealed that a sizable majority of clients have a bad aftertaste when their cases are concluded. Less than a third of them said they would recommend their lawyer to a friend or relative. That is sad.
It is also easily avoidable.
All you have to do is open your ears and empathize.
Jay Reeves a/k/a The Risk Man is an attorney licensed in North Carolina and South Carolina. Formerly he was Legal Editor at Lawyers Weekly and Risk Manager at Lawyers Mutual. He wrote the short story “Nylon and Steel” that appears in the latest N.C. Bar Journal. Contact jay@lawyersmutualnc.com, phone 919-619-2441
Sources: BTI Consulting http://www.btibuzz.com/buzz/2013/7/24/why-clients-recommend-law-firms-client-service-x-5.html
