Search results for: ask for referrals

The vast majority of new legal work for lawyers comes from referrals, whether they be from clients, former clients, or other people who, know like and trust you. Often called word-of-mouth marketing, primarily new work comes because of what other people say about you. (One exception obviously is plaintiff’s work, which is basically garnered through advertising).

I have written many posts over this blog’s 10 years on the subject of referrals. And I have included links to 10 below, and invite you to breeze through them for tidbits you might find helpful.

But today I will list, with no further explanation needed IMHO, seven tips I am convinced will guarantee you referrals. So here goes:

  1. Do excellent legal work
  2. Dress professionally
  3. Beat deadlines
  4. Respect clients
  5. Never (unfavorably) surprise a client about anything
  6. Charge reasonable fees
  7. Be a nice person

That’s all folks.

….

Except for other of my posts on referrals (I apologize in advance for broken links, as some no longer are available):

 

If you haven’t figured it out by now… my focus the past few posts is, planning for 2012. Yes, I want you to focus… focus… focus! And I’m not about to let up anytime soon! Why? Because I believe PLANNING is critical to business development success. (Actually, any success… no matter what the endeavor.)

Today, I want to discuss referrals: HOW and WHY to make them, then let’s plan what to expect in 2012. First, there are many reasons why you recommend a lawyer… 

1. To help your client… it’s good client service.

2. In hopes that you will get referrals in return… referrals are currency.

3. To let that lawyer know that you think highly of them… you respect their work and want others to receive the benefit of that expertise. 

4. To earn a referral fee… plain and simple, "money makes the world go ’round!

If these are the reasons you make a referral you have to ask… "Have I communicated it CLEARLY?" Chances are the answer is NO. Not so much. Most lawyers tend to be a bit loose and casual about it. Well, referrals are an extremely important part of how the legal profession works… (Or doesn’t work for some.) So, let’s look at our list again…

1. IF… it’s good client service… are you following through? Do you call your client to touch base and find out how things are going? Do you show your concern for their situation? This is an opportunity to show how much you REALLY care, since you aren’t billing them.

2. IF… referrals are currency. Wouldn’t it be better to pay out before you receive? You bet!

3. IF… you respect a lawyer’s work and want others to know how good they are. Are you saying it clearly, to both parties? If you would trust this lawyer with YOUR life… tell them both that!

4. IF… you earn a referral fee… make sure you show your appreciation. Most often it is the person paying out the fee that is saying thank you for the referral… but are you not thankful that they did a good job on the case and made you look good? Say so!

There is no doubt that referrals are the life-blood of just about any legal practice. Make sure yours are doing the job that is intended… follow through and say what you mean, as clearly as possible.

Now that you are maximizing your referral sources… let’s do some planning. Look at your list of referral sources and project what you might get from them in 2012. To get a good read on it, analyze what you got in the past two years, one year doesn’t always tell the story. Ask yourself if they are still in a situation to encounter the kind of cases they could send your way? Now, assign a dollar value. Could it be a small, medium or large case? Granted… this is just a guess… an educated guess.

Be bold… think big! Why not? If you enter 2012 with a big far reaching goal chances are you will be on the look out for just such an opportunity. You will recognize the opportunity when it presents itself. It’s up to you… what do you want your referral sources to send your way next year?

 

 

It continues to amaze many clients that more law firms do not seek their feedback on the legal services provided. Over the years I have met with dozens of law firm clients, and heard often that they welcome opportunities to provide feedback.

In this economy, client satisfaction surveys are more important than ever. The value of satisfied clients should be obvious. They will continue to send and refer work to the firm. The best way to ensure they are satisfied is to ask them. The two main reasons  you should be asking:

  1. Your competitors are asking them, and
  2. Your clients may be wondering why you aren’t.

A good time to ask clients for feedback on how the firm is doing , or did, includes during a matter and at its conclusion, and on an annual or biannual basis. Written or telephone surveys are okay, and better than doing nothing; but, the most effective surveys are in-person interviews of at least your top clients. The latter two should be carried out by the managing partner, other senior lawyer, or an outside third party; not by the attorney who directly works with the client. Some questions that might be asked include:

  • What is the firm doing well?
  • If there is one thing the firm could do better or differently to improve our services, what would that be?
  • Would you recommend the firm to others? Why (yes or no)?
  • Anything I haven’t asked that I should have?

Of course, you should ask specific questions about the firm’s responsiveness, quality of legal product, knowledge of industry, reasonableness of fees, and overall benefit to their business, as well. It is much better to ask before the client leaves for another firm, particularly if there is a problem that could be easily rectified. Remember, satisfied clients send more work and referrals.

So, how satisfied are your key clients? Are you sure?

Most lawyers understand the referral adage "give to get." It’s pretty simple really. If you refer potential business to others, most will refer work in return, if for no other reason than they’ll feel an obligation to do so. Not everyone does, but most will.

Unfortunately, many of us are regularly guilty of not proactively seeking opportunities to refer clients/customers to others. Often times it’s because we don’t listen to the needs of people we encounter, and thus don’t uncover opportunities to make referrals. Stephen Seckler tells just such a story on his CounseltoCounsel blog   involving a lawyer and a financial planner. The story goes that the financial planner found that when it comes to referrals “lawyers are the worst.” Seckler was sure the planner was wrong, so he stopped an estate planning lawyer he knew and asked him about that. The lawyer’s response was that he didn’t have opportunities to make such referrals because, as Seckler reports, “his T&E clients never ask for a referral to a financial planner.” And, it seems pretty obvious that he never asked them either.

I am sure that is not always the case, and I know of estate planning lawyers who do work on referrals from brokers and financial planners. However, the point is a good one, as I’m also sure that a number of lawyers do not proactively looking for opportunities to make outgoing referrals.

Seckler’s example points out why lawyers should talk with, and listen intently to, their clients and others to uncover needs beyond pure legal representation. But, this would require proactive listening in order to learn about the needs of others. That way you could give more referrals, and increase your chances of getting more in return.

There could be a number of reasons that clients might bad mouth your firm. As the saying goes, an unhappy client/customer will tell up to 10 people how dissatisfied they are with a product or service. For a lawyer, that can be the kiss of death, since anywhere from 71% to 80% of new matters come from referrals. The reasons may have nothing to do with the ultimate outcome of their legal matter.

In a recent blog post Jamie Field points out the need for creating realistic expectations to avoid negative word-of-mouth damage from clients. Her suggestions include better communication (asking the client by what manner, how often, and when they would like communication during their matter); what the lawyer will realistically do for the client; and what outcome options – “both good and bad” – can be expected.

Actually, there are more concerns to be considered in order to avoid unhappy clients, who may “bad mouth” you or the firm. They include:

  • Amount of the fee, irrespective of the result;
  • How they were treated by the lawyer and staff;
  • Whether there were any unpleasant surprises of any kind;
  • Failure to keep client informed of the status of their matter; and
  • Shown a lack of respect as a person.

It is the lawyer’s fault if a client has unrealistic expectations, or is treated poorly. Accordingly, it is critical to have a meaningful discussion upfront as to what the scope and objectives of the representation will be, as well as what they can realistically expect. That includes not only the possible outcomes, but how they will be treated, and what the matter is likely to cost. In today’s world that is increasingly important in managing a legal project. It also can help avoid bad mouthing by disgruntled clients.

Getting referrals from happy clients – better still raving fans – is a much more effective business development strategy.

In March I wrote a post about a client of mine who admitted being timid when it came to asking clients for work (or friends as I recall). There are also many lawyers who are shy when it comes to asking for referrals. One reason is that they don’t want to appear “pushy” or come across as a snake oil salesperson.

Today I ran across a post on Automatic Referrals that mentions the “no-pressure referrals” that Judith Cane talks about on Advisor Radio  (unfortunately, not being a financial professional, I couldn’t figure out how to register free as the post suggests – hey, I was on vacation last week and my mind hasn’t fully reengaged). Notwithstanding, I wanted to make a point about asking for no-pressure referrals without scaring off the referral source.

One option involves offering educational opportunities for potential clients to learn more about the dangers in your area of the law. On these occasions, you can outline the benefits to them by getting professional help without directly asking for their business. This can be done via newsletters or seminars.

So, let your referral sources know about the availability of such resources; and ask them if they know of anyone that might benefit from such information. In effect, this is an indirect referral since your contact is only providing the name of a “potential” client who may or may not benefit from information you are willing to share.

After getting more work or referrals from clients, the next best source of new business is from referrals from other sources. Many of the same types of business development activities you undertake for clients are effective for referral sources as well. They include: visiting their offices, seeking feedback, sending them clients, sending information of interest and newsletters, etc. etc. However, will clients and other contacts actually refer work?

Seth Godin in “How to get referrals,” says that much has been written about how referrals “are the very best way to grow your business,” yet often they simply don’t happen. Why?

Three reasons in Seth’s view:

  1. Not important to the referrer,
  2. Referrer has a lot to lose (mostly credibility) by referring a friend, and
  3. Recommending isn’t easy (as in bringing up the subject, I think he means).

So, what’s a lawyer to do?  Well actually, Seth isn’t referring (oops, sorry about that) to lawyers in the following five suggestions, but I thought I would:

  • Make it easy for someone to bring up what you do (that is, let your contacts know something unique about your practice, your practice niche),
  • Give clients something of real value to offer their friends (as in a dynamite, outstanding client service experience),
  • Paying a person to refer rarely works (and could get a lawyer disbarred, but returning the favor would work);
  • Low-risk referrals are easier than high-risk ones (so ask for referrals in a way that reduces the risk to the referrer); and
  • “Be worthy” and known as such in marketplace (if you are not known by the referral source as offering value in eyes of the community, then it is much tougher to make the referral).

 Hope there is some food for thought for you and your firm there.

When I saw the suggestion below on getting referrals, I just knew it was a legal marketing winner. I even said to myself “Self, why didn’t you think of that?” Apparently, the idea was first mentioned by Matt Homann on his (non)billable hour blog a few months back, and was later picked up by my friends Michelle Golden of Golden Practices and Miriam Lawrence at Automatic Referrals.

With that much blogging talent behind it, you just know it has to work. In Matt’s words, the suggestion is:

“Find your five favorite clients.  Take them to dinner.  Don’t let them leave until they answer this question:  What can I do to get more clients like you?”

It isn’t clear whether he is recommending that you take the five to dinner together or one at a time. I see advantages in either approach, but would recommend doing so one-on-one. The important thing is that it will work because:

  • Clients will be flattered that you think so highly of them, and their opinion;
  • What they say will tell you a lot about why they chose you, continue to use you, and what your brand is in their eyes; and
  • It will likely motivate them to think of clients they could actually refer to you.

I really like this idea.  You may ask the question differently, but the point is clear. Let me know if it works for you.

If someone were to ask you that question, or asked me for that matter, the answer would seem so obvious. The best sources of new referrals are the very same people you have referred clients to you in the past. That seems pretty simple, since they have shown a propensity and willingness to refer work, having already done so. End of story.

Well, maybe not. According to John Jantsch, even thought the principle is pretty “simplistic, nobody does it.” I’m not so sure I entirely agree with the “nobody” part, but I would agree that most business referrals likely come from the same small group of clients that have referred work in the past, and that not enough law firm marketing focuses on targeting referral sources.

In any event, John suggests that you approach those clients, and:

  • Clue them in on your marketing plans (expansion, focus, etc.),
  • Inquire as to additional referrals,
  • What you could do to make it easier for them to make more referrals,
  • Suggest how to refer your firm,
  • Keep yourself in the forefront of the client’s mind so they will think of you when a referral opportunity does come along (most important), and of course,
  • Show your appreciation for the referrals in very real ways.

Obvious or not, a reminder on how important referral sources are to lawyer marketing is a good thing.

Continue Reading Who Do You Target for Referrals?

You don’t have to be a rocket scientist to understand the importance of referrals to the legal marketing efforts of your law practice. Nonetheless, not all lawyers are comfortable asking for referrals from clients and other contacts. They just don’t want to come across as Lazarrus at the temple gate.

Mike McLaughlin over at The Guerrilla Consultant refers us to the article “Rethinking Referrals”  for those consultants reluctant to ask for them. The article is also applicable to lawyer marketers.

Two of Mike’s suggestions that can lead to unsolicited referrals include:

“First, you’ll have to consistently deliver on the promise of your consulting (read “lawyering”) work—plus a little bit more. Look for opportunities to broaden your value to the client beyond the project you’re working on.

“Help your client sort out other pressing issues by providing insights, relevant articles, and books, or by serving as a sounding board. Keep your interests focused on the client’s needs and you’ll be on your way to that unsolicited referral.

“Second, remember that stellar work and a trusting relationship aren’t enough to generate an unsolicited referral. Your client must also know enough about your business to make a productive referral. Without that knowledge, your client referrals will be hit or miss, which can be a costly way to try to build your business.

“As you work with clients, help them understand the breadth or your capabilities and how your services can be used most effectively. Not only will that knowledge help clients make more targeted referrals, it also helps them learn about other ways you can assist them.”

Bottom line:

  • Go the extra mile in the services you provide your clients, and
  • Let your clients know what you do and have done in your practice.