Clients are the lifeblood of a lawyer or law firm’s business – no matter what part of the world they’re providing legal counsel and service in. It takes time to understand the needs of any client and what they are hoping to gain from utilizing the expertise of a lawyer.
A post titled “Ten Things You Should Know About Every Client” on the Hubbard One blog, The Hubbard Perspective, features some thoughts on client relationships from Jim Durham, chief marketing and business development officer for McGuireWoods.
Durham’s list includes finding out the personal goals of the client. He asks:
4) What are the primary personal goals and concerns of the individuals who hire the lawyers? (How are the people who work with the lawyers, and the people who hire the lawyers, judged and rewarded? What makes them successful?)
Interestingly, Durham also focuses on personality.
6) What are the personality and communication styles of the decision-makers? (Are they intuitors or sensors? Introverts or extroverts? Visual, auditory of kinesthetic? Big picture or detail-oriented?)
Durham says whatever you learn becomes the foundation of your strategy.
…remember, developing business comes from developing relationships. Relationships are built on trust and by adding value to people’s personal and professional lives. This requires information – information about “them,” not about you!
You can read the full post on The Hubbard Perspective.
Posted by Kevin Hunt in:
In Practice | Practice tips |
