You know the law. You know how to get results for your clients. In an ideal world, that’s all you need to find success, right?
Think about all the businesses in the world and what makes them successful. Success stems from repeat business and a good reputation. The services and products a business provides must be solid, but business owners can’t be content solely with the quality of their core offerings if they want to compete with all the other businesses operating in the same space.
If you want to stand out, you need to do what other law firms aren’t doing. The good news is that it isn’t the undertaking you might expect it to be. There are several ways to grow your law firm, but nearly all of them stem from the way you deal with people.
It’s often the case that the first attorney that truly listens to a client is the attorney that gets hired. So many attorneys have a mental filter that separates the necessary and unnecessary information a client tells them. But all of the details a client gives you should inform the way you treat them, even if they go off on a tangent about how their children are doing in school. When clients offer up those little tidbits, they are revealing who they are and what is important to them. You and your staff should take note of the “little” things, so you can show the client that you have heard them and that you care enough to follow up on the aspects of their lives that are important to them.
Consider the success of major brands like Starbucks. Starbucks became successful not just because it offered people great coffee. A lot of coffee shops do that. When Starbucks came on the scene, it bowled people over by its presentation and its customer service. You want to be like Starbucks. Clients know that they’ll be treated better in your office than in any other office, and they’ll come to trust the consistency of their experience.
Too many lawyers are reluctant to embrace their own story, and this makes it impossible for them to distinguish themselves from competitors. To grow our firm, you need to articulate who you are and why that informs your practice. You don’t need to look for ways in which your story might overlap with your clientele; you just need to be yourself and let that become your brand. Clients want someone they can identify with, but that doesn’t mean they need to come from the same background. Attorneys simply need to embrace what makes them human, and that means relating who you are and why it sets you apart.
Once you know your brand and you’re wowing clients, you’ll be able to make the most of your online presence. Happy clients leave glowing reviews, which, in turn, brings more clients to your firm. You can also use data from your website’s traffic to find out what resonates with readers. You might be able to offer services that require little additional effort but bring in a significant amount of business. If you aren’t taking your website or social media platforms seriously, you won’t be putting your best foot forward. Because so many people start their search for an attorney online, you need to make sure it’s a priority for your firm.
Hard work and exceptional professional ability are invaluable skills for growing your law firm. However, if you haven’t taken a close look at how you deal with the people you’re representing, you’re doing your firm a great disservice.
Take the time to rethink your approach to client experience. Ask yourself whether you’re presenting yourself as just another attorney using the same legal jargon. Or are you connecting with people by being yourself? Leverage every opportunity to set yourself apart, and you’ll find that the way you treat your clients will make a radical difference in the growth of your firm.
