RAD Newsletter Apr 2010
Making a Great Impression on Pre-Paid Legal Members
Establishing an outstanding relationship with a new client often depends on both great legal advice and customer service. Here are some important tips for making a great impression on Pre-Paid Legal members.
- Courtesy consultations with newly referred members help you and the client decide if you will be a good match for their case.
- An efficient new client intake process is a great way to get all of a member’s important information at one time. Here is a new client intake form, provided by Pre-Paid Legal Services, that you may use to record new client information.
- Explain clearly your fees, retainer agreement and the 25% discount to members.
- Respond to referred members’ calls within 24 hours. Timely responses help eliminate unnecessary member complaints.
- Keep members informed of their case’s status. If there is a new development in the case or if you have been waiting for information from the client or a third party, call or write and let the client know what is going on.
- Follow up with clients once the case has concluded to make sure they have all the necessary paperwork and understand the outcome and consequences.
- Ask the member for feedback. This helps you understand how clients perceive your firm. Ultimately, productive feedback from clients will help you refine your customer service.
WOW Training: Focus
I promise to not only hear, but listen
A common complaint attorneys hear from clients is that they did not feel like they were heard. You may provide counsel to countless clients with similar issues. However, for your client the issue is often new and extremely troubling. It is important to make sure your client knows you are listening.
Here are some simple steps that will help convey your focus.
Understand the difference between hearing and listening. Hearing is the physical act of receiving sound, but just because you hear doesn’t mean you are listening. Listening is the mental act of hearing with thoughtful attention. It can be difficult to listen actively with all of the world’s distractions. Taking the extra time to actively listen to your clients will improve your ability to convey focus.
Prepare yourself to listen. Try to start each client meeting or phone interview with a clean slate. Turn off your computer monitor and your cell phone. Leave behind thoughts about your other cases and personal issues. Free your mind of biases and assumptions about your client.
Read between the lines. A client who is facing a particularly troubling issue or is confused about legal technicalities may have trouble expressing their concerns. Try to get to the heart of the clients concerns. What is troubling them and what can you do to help them with their situation?
Ask questions that help confirm your sense of the conversation. Do not ask questions that make a client feel as if they are being interrogated. Use questions as a means to help the client begin to reach their own conclusions.
Confirm your understanding. Summarize your understanding of the conversation. If something is unclear to you, clarify it with the client immediately.
4 Quick Law Firm Marketing Tips
Less Print, More Digital – The relevance of print advertising has decreased significantly in the past 5 years. Make sure your advertising budget reflects this change. You should be allocating less money to newspaper and yellow page listings and more to search engine optimization and pay-per-click advertising online.
Online vs. Traditional Networking – While online social networking has become a powerful tool in the law firm marketing playbook, it doesn’t completely replace the need for traditional networking. It is still important to get out there and shake hands. Social networking online can sometimes feel cold and impersonal and a face–to-face meeting leaves a longer lasting impression than a quick flash on a computer screen.
Do not Blog Unless You Have Something to Say – If you do not have time to post frequently, do not bother starting a blog. Make sure you have something interesting to say or a unique perspective to offer. A poorly developed blog will do nothing to help your firm.
Reach Out to Former Clients – Email marketing allows you to affordably contact your existing and former clients. Reminding former clients that you are available to help is a great was to garner repeat and word of mouth business.
