As you know, customer relations are at the heart of the performance of consulting professions.
This is all the more true for a competitive profession like that of lawyer, where transform your contacts into folders is a real problem.
Discover our advice for starting a good dialogue with your customers, from the first consultation.
Adapt to the new expectations of your customers
Litigants' expectations of lawyers are constantly evolving, whether in terms of price, speed or quality.
You must make sure to adapt accordingly.
Indeed, if your clients “make your firm”, they can also undo it in the event of dissatisfaction.
To improve the links you maintain with your customers, you must therefore rethink customer relations by putting the litigant at the heart of your strategy.
Interacting with your customers also means agreeing to exchange and establish a frank, sincere and productive dialogue with them.
The keys to good dialogue
Customer relations are worked on from the first consultation.
This is an important moment of meeting and discussion where you will be able to gauge your future client, but where they will also be able to form an opinion about you.
Here are 5 tips for establishing a good dialogue from the start:
1) Be accessible
This is no surprise, your client expects to be able to contact you whenever they want.
Availability is therefore key.
To avoid frustration on your side as well as on theirs, inform your client from the first meeting of the most convenient means of communication to reach you (telephone, email, text message, etc.) as well as your schedule.
Avoid at all costs that the litigant has the impression that you never answer his calls, he will then think that you are not working on his case.
Accessibility also requires a simplification of the law for your client, who is very often a layman in the matter.
Try to explain as best as possible the complex terms and concepts of the procedures you are going to undertake, to help them feel involved in the case.
Why not use visual aids (decision tree, infographic, power point, slideshare, etc.) to best illustrate the procedure?
2) Listen
Dialogue begins with listening.
So start by getting your client to talk and listening to them to better understand their needs, which is the key to better supporting them in their efforts and advising them.
Indeed, your strategy must be built around the needs of your client above all and only he is able to communicate them to you.
In addition to your legal skills, your clients expect from you “emotional” availability at a sometimes difficult time in their lives.
3) Customize your strategy
Every client is unique and wants to feel like that.
For this reason, you must strive to build a personalized strategy, tailor-made and perfectly adapted to the needs of your client.
Avoid a standardized solution or one disconnected from their reality, at the risk that they will sense it during your discussions and not feel supported as they expect.
4) Establish a partnership with the client
Your customer relationship must maintain a mutual understanding with your customer.
To do this, work on your contact, your responsiveness and your communication but also your transparency during discussions.
It is about creating conditions conducive to a real partnership, which can last over time regardless of the outcome of the case.
5) Create a relationship of trust
Finally, establishing a good dialogue with your customer should help you build a long-term relationship with them.
To build customer loyalty, do not neglect the relationship of trust that can be created between a litigant and his lawyer.
Be clear and transparent about your fees from the first meeting and keep them regularly informed of the progress of their file.
A customer who trusts you will be all the more likely to recommend you to their loved ones in the future.
