Clients come to you to resolve Problem A. Win or lose, it’s a specific transaction. When it’s over, it’s over. But your client relationship need not be over if you adopt client service initiatives that foster connection between matters. To continue to be a constructive resource for your clients, consider building strong connections with professionals and businesspeople who can help your clients resolve their problems.
When you help clients access vetted, trusted professionals who can assist with life, career and family related problems, you become more than their lawyer. You become their go-to person whatever their issue, whenever they need professional assistance of any kind.
If you are a lawyer in a “full-service” firm some of these capabilities are handed to you. But most private lawyers are solo practitioners or in small firms. How does a solo practitioner or someone in a boutique practice go about creating the kind of resource network available to lawyers in large firms?
Easily––by creating their own resource network of professionals in other solo and small firms as well as professionals offering nonlegal services. Creating a useful network is an ongoing process that begins with a core group of close, vetted peers and morphs and grows as clients and their issues change.
Think broadly about the situation that created the problems that brought key clients to you. What caused the legal challenge? Who is impacted by it? What kinds of services does your client need to resolve their ancillary difficulties?
A woman executive with three school-age children wants to divorce her husband for adultery. You represent her. She may need an investigator to validate the claim of adultery. Both she and her children may need psychological counseling to accept the new situation.
If the husband has moved away, she may need a locksmith to change the locks. She may need a nanny to provide childcare while she is at work, and tutors to ensure the turmoil at home doesn’t affect their school marks.
Thinking ahead, she will need a realtor, real estate attorney, title insurance professional and eventually, a moving service and perhaps an interior designer. Once moved, she may need a new set of resources to help the children adjust. Finances going forward will require advice from wealth management professionals, insurance brokers and trust and estate attorneys.
Your corporate client is sued by an executive who is charging workplace sexual harassment. Your client, the corporation, will probably need an outside investigator to put together a report and an employment compliance attorney to create the proper paper trail with relevant government agencies.
Your client may need outside human resources assistance to take care of the incident reporting processes and, at some point, a trainer to teach management and employees appropriate workplace behavior.
Networking is a perfect way to create resource affiliations. Look for networking opportunities that afford access to the kinds of professionals who would be useful for your clients.
To find attorneys, join your local, state and national bar associations, but rather than sticking with just your own practice area, attend meetings, CLEs or meet-and-greets with lawyers in practice areas that are relevant to your clients. Or, join a local lawyer-only networking group.
When you meet someone whom you think might be a good resource, create opportunities to meet one-on-one with them. When you are comfortable with them and feel that they have the same practice values and skill levels as you, talk to them about establishing a reciprocal resource relationship.
To find relevant professionals in other areas, consider joining “mixed membership groups.” These are usually geographically based groups with members from local businesses and professionals ranging from life coaches to CPAs. Again, find opportunities, such as committee work, that let you see how they approach work or mine your LinkedIn connections by reviewing their contacts and asking for introductions to people you would like to meet.
Finally, look to your personal, social world for psychologists, doctors, dentists, trainers, coaches, after-school programs and other personal care resources. That parent sitting next to you at your son’s soccer game may have just the skill set your clients need.
Once you have a group of three to five core resource professionals, set aside time every month to meet with them, one-on-one or in small groups to grow and deepen the relationships. Clients will feel comfortable working with these individuals because you have already established trust relationships with them.
On your website where you highlight your firm’s attributes, add a description of this client-centered service. You may or may not wish to include some individuals by name and offer links to their websites.
Clients need to know about your resource group. Tell them during engagements. Once or twice a year send your clients a case study based on one of your successful assists.
When you introduce clients to professionals in your resource group explain to both parties what you see as their common interest. Ask both of them to give you feedback. Call your client one to three months later to see how they are doing now.
If feedback shows that they worked well together, bask in their praise. If you hear any less-than-positive feedback, take steps to make future engagements successful.
One of the important tangential benefits of client-focused resource affiliations is that you learn from members of your resource network what the key concepts are in their world, the key questions to ask and what to listen for. You may even pick up a smattering of “their jargon.” When you use their language in conversations with them, it creates credibility and an immediate comfort level.
As you expand your resource network, you also expand your referral network. Opportunities arise as people in the orbit of your resource professionals hear about you through them.
Most importantly, you are a point person in your clients’ lives during their crises and ever after. You become a part of their advisor family, which can lead to introductions, work, and fun.
