Building a successful estate planning practice hinges on your ability to develop and nurture Lifetime Relationships -- with clients, professional advisors and other referral sources within your Centers of Influence.
Too often attorneys allow their estate planning practice to become transactional. I once spoke to the managing partner of an estate planning firm who told me, "I have no need to communicate with my clients. Their plans are already done. I need to reach new clients." This attorney was shortchanging both his clients and his practice. Estate planning is a lifetime process, not a one-time event. Accordingly, building your practice is a lifetime process as well.
The long-term success of your practice certainly is not hinged on any single event, referral source, client, or marketing strategy. While reaching new clients (and referral sources) is a vital component of any marketing strategy, a sound plan also includes longer-term strategies that will pay off over time. Your client base is one often-overlooked natural resource for the long-term growth of your practice. Lifetime Relationships with your clients result in additional planning opportunities as events impact your clients’ lives and the lives of their loved ones; as they refer you as a trusted advisor to their friends and relatives; and as you work with the next generation for whom you helped preserve and protect an inheritance.
There are three basic rules for developing Lifetime Client Relationships.
Rule #1: Know Your Business
Knowing your business means more than having a thorough legal knowledge of estate planning. When you know your business you don’t just now what you’re selling, you know what your clients are buying.
One of the main motivations for estate planning is fear, or perhaps a more accurate term for some clients would be Concern: Concern over their own future, and the future of those they love. Realize, then, that while you may be selling legal services, it’s Peace of Mind that your client is buying. You help clients ease their concerns over their own future and that of their loved ones. When you understand that you are in the Peace of Mind Business, you’ve taken the first step toward building a lifetime relationship with your client.
Rule #2: Stop Selling
Now, I know you may think it odd that a marketing consultant advises you to stop selling. But, the truth is, you can’t sell Peace of Mind. Your client develops Peace of Mind when dealing with you. There are three steps in that development process:
Establish Trust -- Studies consistently show that clients want, above all else, an advisor whom they can trust. Establish trust with your clients by listening to and focusing on their needs, desires and concerns.
Form Client-Centered Relationships -- Stop talking about yourself and the history of your firm and your prestigious legal education. Let the client talk about their needs, desires and concerns. Many attorneys handle the initial consultation something like this: "Hello, my name is Dave. I’m the managing partner of this firm and I have 12 years of legal experience. I’m a graduate of Prestigious University Law School and have published numerous articles in Prestigious Trade Journal magazine. In addition to my prestigious law degree, I also have several other prestigious designations. But, enough about me. Let’s talk about you. What do you like about me?" This is not a client-centered relationship.
Meet Needs & Fulfill Dreams -- Stop explaining the usefulness of estate planning in terms of dollars and statistics. Listen to your client’s needs and dreams, and go about trying to fulfill them. How can all the children be treated fairly, if not necessarily equally? How can the client maintain dignity and control through illness and incapacity? How can a financial legacy reflect the value of a lifetime’s efforts?
Rule #3: Communicate
Every time you send a client letter confirming a meeting or conversation, make a phone call, or send a newsletter, you are helping your client achieve Peace of Mind. You are also sending an implied message: I appreciate you, I am thinking of you, and I am concerned about your needs and dreams.
Your newsletter is one of the key components of The Essential Solution® marketing program -- both your enewsletter and your mailed newsletter. Use these monthly communications to nurture the kinds of Lifetime Relationships that will make your practice more profitable and enjoyable.
To learn more about The Essential Solution®, call James at 1-877-352-2021, ext. 0 and request our free DVD.
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