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What to do with Client Dissatisfaction

Written by Allan Colman on . Posted in Attorney Marketing, Business Development, Client Retention.

While client dissatisfaction is never comfortable to deal with, it is something you should be aware of long before a client disengages. Even if it seems insignificant, when even the smallest issues arise during an engagement DEAL WITH THEM IMMEDIATELY. Especially if they have been a long term client, take action and win them back. According to Jay Abraham, 80% of these relationships can be recovered with instant actions – in fact, you may find that they become your best clients.

Part II. – Prepare For Things That Go Bump in the Night

Written by Allan Colman on . Posted in Allan Colman, Asking for Business, Attorney Marketing, Business Development, Client Retention, Marketing for Law Firms.

The tactics presented in OWN THE ZONE are all used one way or another in our business development training sessions and workshops. For example, our training emphasizes thinking long term. When it comes to approaching a new prospect or a long term client, we encourage our clients to:

* UNDERSTAND the prospects’ and clients’ needs and internal pressures;
* BECOME a trusted adviser, and
* PROTECT the prospects’ and clients’ interests.

Become a valued business partner and friend, offer rewarding solutions that are profitable for all involved. It’s how we work with our clients and how we encourage them to approach their prospects and clients in the same way.

Things That Go Bump In the Night – II.

Written by Allan Colman on . Posted in Asking for Business, Attorney Marketing, Client Retention, Marketing for Law Firms.

Continuing with this series of “prepare, prepare, prepare,” from our book, OWN THE ZONE, our client training and advising focuses on thinking long term. When it comes to approaching a new prospect or long-term client for business development opportunities, we encourage you to:

UNDERSTAND the prospects’ and clients’ needs and internal pressures;

BECOME a trusted advisor, and

PROTECT the prospects’ and clients’ interests.

These are key elements of Jay Abraham’s “Strategy of preeminence.”

Prepare For Things That Go Bump In the Night

Written by Allan Colman on . Posted in Attorney Marketing, Business Development, Client Retention, Marketing for Law Firms.

In chapter 9 of our book, OWN THE ZONE, we often refer to Jay Abraham. He has been called “America’s number one marketing wizard” enough times that it’s the tag line used on the “About” page on his website. He’s seen as a genius at getting down to basics and, having worked with him in the past, I check in on his work from time to time.

When we work with our clients, we follow Jay’s “Strategy of Preeminence.” As a marketing and business development consultant, we aim to become a valued friend, to offer results oriented solutions that are profitable for everyone involved and we encourage our clients to approach their prospects and clients in the same way.

In the next several columns, we will discuss how to prepare for things that become challenges and how to overcome them to become -“preeminent.”

The First 7 Quick Hits to Business Development

Written by Allan Colman on . Posted in Attorney Marketing, Client Retention, Law Firm Leadership, Practice Group Leaders.

For those clients who ask us for immediate client targeting, managing, contacting, meeting, training and evaluation, we work with them to:

A. Build additional services into current engagements;
B. Consult recent clients;
C. Target new lead sources who should be using your firm;
D. Revisit clients who have NOT selected your firm;
E. Customize your initial approaches, proposal options, etc.
F. Gather and prioritize input from your colleagues.

Note that most of these first “quick hits” focus on those who know you, clients and significant prospects. In the next column, we’ll add to this list. Go to www.closersgroup.com/services to learn more.

IS IT TOO LATE FOR CUBAN CIGARS?

Written by Allan Colman on . Posted in Business Development, Client Retention, Law Firm Marketing, Marketing for Law Firms.

If only the President had loosened relations with Cuba sooner, many of you would be buying Cuban Cigars for holiday gifts for your top clients. Perhaps we should celebrate FESTIVUS, the new holiday established by Kramer in the Seinfeld show and make this the key celebration?

In any event, a very happy Christmas, Chanukah, Kwanza, and Chinese New Year to you all.

Turn Mistakes Into Marketing Opportunities

Written by Allan Colman on . Posted in Allan Colman, Attorney Marketing, Business Development, Client Retention, Marketing for Law Firms.

One of the most important lessons to be learned in professional services business is that when there’s a problem, it needs to be fixed right away. The process involves identifying a mistake, fixing it quickly, and making sure that your clients know what you’ve done to take action.

While no one wants to make mistakes, when one occurs, you have the opportunity to:

1. Identify how you responded to the situation:
2. Look at the relationships that you do have with clients and see how those relationships are
progressing;
3. Determine whether or not you are providing them the support and resources they need;
4. Examine what can be done to assist as their businesses continue to grow.

Having a prompt response to a mistake — and having a rapid fix — allows you to demonstrate how important client retention is to you.

Read more at www.ownthezonebook.com.

CLIENT RETENTION – 2 More Clues to Success

Written by Allan Colman on . Posted in Allan Colman, Client Retention, Law Firm Leadership, Marketing for Law Firms.

After discussing, in the previous 2 columns, the first 3 tactics we recommend to clients to insure their clients stay with them we’ll get to the last 2.

* Turn clients into advocates
* Know what’s working and what could be better
* Focus on more than just what you’re doing now.

With this as a refresher, the last two in our list really resonate with your clients:

* KEEP ADDING BENEFITS TO YOUR SERVICES. While performing a service or conducting a client interview, keep notes on issues that you are spotting. Give your clients something extra by arranging a lunch to go over these issues, without charging a fee, of course.

* PARTICIPATE RATHER THAN JUST ATTEND . Selling success requires you and others to attend and actively participate rather than just buying tables at dinners or offering tickets to sporting events.

Keeping clients may be just as tough as getting them. Keep at it!

CLIENT RETENTION – WHAT COULD BE BETTER?

Written by Allan Colman on . Posted in Allan Colman, Asking for Business, Attorney Marketing, Client Retention, Marketing for Law Firms.

In our last column, we identified steps that contribute to keeping your clients. It is a key to business development success. In addition to turning clients into your advocates, we recommend to our own clients that they:

* KNOW WHAT’S WORKING AND WHAT COULD BE BETTER — Find out by conducting regular client satisfaction visits or discussions to enhance client retention opportunities.

* FOCUS ON MORE THAN JUST WHAT YOU’RE DOING NOW — Cross-selling other practice group services is a solid approach to marketing.

Two more clues that we suggest will be in our next column.

The 50% Value of Client Retention

Written by Allan Colman on . Posted in Allan Colman, Asking for Business, Attorney Marketing, Client Retention, Marketing for Law Firms.

According to a Harvard Business Review blog, at least 50% of new business every year, for professional service firms, should come from clients and referrals—that’s right 50%!

* Turn your clients into important advocates and spokespeople for your firm.
* Know what’s working and what could be better.
* Focus on more than what you are doing now.
* Keep adding benefits to your services.
* Participate rather than just attend.

We’ll discuss each of these in more details in the following posts. You can also obtain lots of additional ideas from www.allancolman.com/services.