Are you focusing on what your clients want from their lawyer? Clearly your clients want the results they expect you to get, but that is the minimum of what they expect from you.
A lawyer I coach mentioned her clients wanted her to focus on:
- Helping them save money on their outside legal cost
- Anticipating their issues-clients do not have time to anticipate issues that will impact them
- Accountability and responsiveness-meaning they want her to meet or exceed any commitments she made
- No surprises-meaning she must timely advise them of any changes when they occur.
- Results-the results they expected and/or she told them to expect
I have been thinking about what clients want for a long time. To the list above, I would add that clients want you to listen more effectively, want you to see things they do not see and want you to help them do their job and look good in front of their management.
What do your clients want and how can you deliver it? When you know what they want and you consistently deliver it, you take your relationship to a trusted advisor level.