Most lawyers are familiar with the term cross-selling. Some even realize itโs important because, effectively done, it increases the number of services you provide a client,ย increases the clientโs dependence on youโand increases your business.ย Unfortunately, many lawyers miss these opportunities because, even ifย they try, they go about it the wrong way. People donโt want to be sold something. They want to buy. So donโt try toย cross-sell your clients. Instead, cross-market and educate them.
Itโs not rocket science. Here’s how to do it:
- Beย sure clients are delighted with your work and service.ย Notice I saidย โdelighted,โ not just โsatisfied.โ How do you find out? Askย them!ย โAre you pleased with the work Iโve done? Are you pleased with myย service?ย How could I improve it?โ
- โKnowย thy client.” Learnย about them, their goals, their plans inย addition to the information you needed to handle the matter you worked on forย them. How? Ask them. And show interest inย their work, family and hobbies.
- Identifyย their wants and their needs. These areย often not the same. Wants are thingsย they recognize or talk about. Needs, on the other hand, are things they shouldย do but may not recognize or want to do.ย For example, they may want to change their will or buy the buildingย their business is renting. On the otherย hand, they may need to update theirย will and estate plan but donโt recognize it. They may need a succession planย for passing on the ownership of their business but don’t want to do it.
- Askย leading questions.ย Forย example.ย โHave you thought about transferring some of your assets to yourย spouse or children?โ or โWhat would you do if your business partner diedย suddenly?โ Or, if they have complained about how another lawyer is handlingย their labor work, โDo you feel the problems youโve told me about could haveย been avoided?โ
- Educateย clients about other services you can provideย that meet their wants or needs.ย If youย write newsletters or client alerts, be sure all your clients receive them. If you have been quoted in the press about anย issue, send clients a copy when appropriate.
- Tellย โwar stories.โย Oneย of the best ways to educate clients about other types of legal work you do is toย tell war stories. The best cross-marketerย I ever knew was always telling stories about how he helped other clientsโand the example always matched the need or want of the client to whom he wasย telling the story! Right then, or laterย on, many of his clients would ask, โCould you handle that same issue for me?โ
- Rememberย my father-in-law. Hisย name was Al. In this case, spell it ALโfor “Ask” and “Listen.” After you ask yourย client questions, listen to their answers.
Bob Denney is President of Robert Denney Associates, Inc. He says โit seems like foreverโ that he has been providing counsel on management and growth strategy to firms throughout the United States and parts of Canada. You can find his firm’s latest reports on โWhatโs Hot and Whatโs Not in the Legal Professionโ atย www.robertdenney.com.
Related Dispatches
- Tapping Trends to Build New Businessย by Robert Denney
- Turn Trends to Your Advantageย by Robert Denney
- Your Business Development Marching Orders by Merrilyn Astin Tarlton
Illustration ยฉImageZoo.