What sets your firm apart from all the other law firms in your community? If you want to build a successful practice, your focus should be on creating, preserving, and nurturing deep relationships with your clients.

One of the biggest mistakes lawyers make is focusing on attracting new clients, to the exclusion of keeping the clients they have. Why is this important? Because not only are lifetime clients an invaluable revenue source for you, they’re also your best source for referrals. The flip side of this is that on average, a dissatisfied client will tell 10 to 20 people what a horrible experience they had with your firm. Not exactly great advertising.

How can you upgrade your clients’ experience so that they wouldn’t dream of going anywhere else… and they’re raving about your firm to their family and friends? The first step is to take an honest look at your firm through your clients’ eyes. What do they see when they first walk through your door? Are their phone calls returned promptly? Are documents ready when they’re promised?

Once you get a picture of what your clients’ current experience is, you can work on upgrading every part of that experience. Sit down and brainstorm – what would make you, as a client, say “Wow!” about your firm? Get your staff involved… you may be surprised at their insights. When our members did this, they came up with numerous ideas for improving client experiences. Here are just a few of these ideas:

• Greet the clients by name as they walk in the door

• On a client’s first visit, ask them what their favorite beverage is and then put it in a database so that it will be remembered the next time they visit

• Have an annual client appreciation event, and include your clients’ friends and family.

You may come up with completely different ideas, but the key is to really think about what will make a difference to your clients, come up with a plan, and implement it.

Creating, nurturing and preserving deep relationships with your clients is just one of the topics we’ll be covering in our August 10^th teleseminar for non-member attorneys. If you’d like to join us, you can send an e-mail to info@aaepa.com, and we’ll get you the registration information.

Robert Armstrong
President & Co-Founder
American Academy of Estate Planning Attorneys, Inc.
6050 Santo Road, Suite 240
San Diego, CA 92124
(800) 846-1555
www.aaepa.com