Business Development

Don’t Cross-Sell, Cross-Market

By Bob Denney

Most lawyers are familiar with the term cross-selling. Some even realize itโ€™s important because, effectively done, it increases the number of services you provide a client,ย increases the clientโ€™s dependence on youโ€”and increases your business.ย Unfortunately, many lawyers miss these opportunities because, even ifย they try, they go about it the wrong way. People donโ€™t want to be sold something. They want to buy. So donโ€™t try toย cross-sell your clients. Instead, cross-market and educate them.

Itโ€™s not rocket science. Here’s how to do it:

  • Beย sure clients are delighted with your work and service.ย Notice I saidย โ€œdelighted,โ€ not just โ€œsatisfied.โ€ How do you find out? Askย them!ย โ€œAre you pleased with the work Iโ€™ve done? Are you pleased with myย service?ย How could I improve it?โ€
  • โ€œKnowย 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 donโ€™t 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 โ€œHave you thought about transferring some of your assets to yourย spouse or children?โ€ or โ€œWhat would you do if your business partner diedย suddenly?โ€ Or, if they have complained about how another lawyer is handlingย their labor work, โ€œDo you feel the problems youโ€™ve 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 โ€œwar stories.โ€ย 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 clientsโ€”and 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, โ€œCould you handle that same issue for me?โ€
  • Rememberย my father-in-law. Hisย name was Al. In this case, spell it ALโ€”for “Ask” and “Listen.” After you ask yourย client questions, listen to their answers.

Bob Denney is President of Robert Denney Associates, Inc. He says โ€œit 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 โ€œWhatโ€™s Hot and Whatโ€™s Not in the Legal Professionโ€ atย www.robertdenney.com.

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Illustration ยฉImageZoo.

Categories: Business Development, Daily Dispatch
Originally published September 12, 2011
Last updated April 9, 2018
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Bob Denney Bob Denney

For 45 years, Bob Denney provided services to over 400 U.S. law firms and legal organizations as well as serving as an outside director and interim CEO for public and privately held companies. At Robert Denney and Associates, Bob provided management, leadership, strategic planning and business development services and was a respected speaker and author.ย  His articles appeared in many legal publications, but he is best known for producing highly regarded reports on Whatโ€™s Hot and Whatโ€™s Not in the Legal Profession. Bob passed away in 2021 at the age of 89.

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