Jaimie Field – Enlightened Rainmaking

You wouldn’t offer a monkey a slice of cheese when it wants a banana.

You wouldn’t give a hungry baby a steak when it wants a bottle of milk.

So why is it that we don’t figure out what our potential and current clients really want?  Instead, we tell them what we want for them.

Great Rainmakers take the time to figure out what their clients want when they work with them.  More often than not, it’s not only about a satisfactory resolution to their legal problems.  Clients want to be heard and understood.   They want someone to listen and respond to them on a timely basis.

Usually, if they are contacting you they are going through an issue which you can resolve.  However, it’s not usually the specific issue that causes them to contact you – it’s the pain that issue causes them.   Figure out what that specific pain is and find a way to resolve it.  You can find this “pain” by continually asking questions.

Put yourself in your clients’ place and try to understand what it is they truly want.

Rainmaking Recommendations are sent the first and third Wednesdays of the month.  They are bite size tips that when implemented will cause you to make rain. To learn more about Rainmaking, Goal Setting and Achieving the Life you want as an Attorney please contact Jaimie B. Field, Esq.

(N.B:  This was not the original Rainmaking Recommendation that was to be sent out today, but due to an increasingly frustrating phone call with a major website last night in which those three little words were used over and over, it had to be sent).

When a client sends you an email or calls you on the phone with a question to which you do not know the answer, what is your typical response?

If it’s those three little words:  “I Don’t Know”, you’ve committed a major faux pas with your clients.

Your answer should always be:  “I don’t have the answer to that right this second, but I will find it for you.  Let me get back to you shortly.”

This is because they are relying on you to be their advisor.  They called you because they trust and like you; they know that you will help them find the answer to their questions.  If you don’t know the answer, take a moment and find it for them.  If you cannot find it, there is someone in your network of people (you are building your network of people – right?) who does know the answer.

This is when you either:

a)      Call your contact who does the answer and ask them to contact your client personally (a referral), or

b)      You could call your contact and get the answer for your client and then call your client to provide them with the answer.

Your client will appreciate the fact that you found this answer for them and this will endear you to your clients.   Happy clients give referrals.

While you will not know the answer to every question you are asked, you can try to find the answer. If, in the end, you still cannot find the answer, let the client know what you have tried to do to try obtain this answer.  They will still appreciate that you have gone above and beyond for them.

Rainmaking Recommendations are sent the first and third Wednesdays of the month.  They are bite size tips that when implemented will cause you to make rain. To learn more about Rainmaking, Goal Setting and Achieving the Life you want as an Attorney please contact Jaimie B. Field, Esq.

(Starting in April 2011, the attorneys who signed up to receive the Rainmaking Recommendation in their email will receive the current tip two weeks earlier than it is posted on this blog.  This is my way of thanking them for being a part of the group.  If you would like to see the current Rainmaking Recommendation before anyone else, please sign up to be a part of the list.)

Who was your very first client?

When was the last time you spoke with them?

The clients you have worked with in the past could be the best source of new business in the future.   Many attorneys assume that once a matter is concluded, the client has no more need for their services.   At that time they lose contact with this client.

This couldn’t be further from the truth.

Past clients hired you because they liked you, trusted you and knew you would do a wonderful job helping them with their situation.  They could be one of the best resources for new matters or referrals to new clients.  However, you must continue to nurture the relationship you have with these clients.

or example:  you negotiated the sale of business for a client.  This doesn’t have to be the end of the relationship with the client.  Do they need a new estate plan or and updated Will to reflect the sale?  Are there tax implications that need to be addressed?

You have the opportunity to not be the attorney who does a single legal transaction (case/trial) and then exits from the clients’ life, but a true advisor.  Even if you don’t engage in these practice areas, you can still become their trusted advisor as you refer them to others who can help them with this work (this is called cross-marketing).

What if you haven’t spoken to them in a long time?

So what!

Pick up the phone, write an email, send a letter – let them know that you were thinking about them and wanted to find out what has been happening in their life, their family and their business.

Renewing a relationship with a past client could just bring you a future of big business.

Rainmaking Recommendations are sent the first and third Wednesdays of the month via email to a list of amazing  attorneys who have signed up to receive them.    They are bite size tips that, when implemented will cause you to make rain.  Previously the subscribers of the tips and the readers of this blog got the information simultaneously. They are not longer being  posted immediately to this blog.  As stated above, those who are subscribed will have the Rainmaking Recommendation two weeks earlier than those who read this blog.  To get these tips sent to your email before the rest of the world reads them, please follow the instructions for subscribing.

To learn more about Rainmaking, Goal Setting and Achieving the Life you want as an Attorney please contact Jaimie B. Field, Esq.

Did you know you can schedule an in-house, customized Rainmaking training workshop for your law firm? begin telephone or Skype individual rainmaking training from wherever you are in the world with Jaimie? Call or email for more information.

The economy seems to be turning around, albeit slowly; still many attorneys are finding themselves with more and more work on their desks.

Unfortunately, this is when many attorneys put their rainmaking activities on the back burner.  “I’m too busy right now,” is the reason they give.

They discontinue networking activities, they stop following up with prospective clients, they let their other marketing activities fall by the way side.  They are so busy trying to bill the hours of work that are now on their desk that they neglect to cultivate the relationships which will bring them more business in the future.

Big mistake!

Now is when you need to continue your rainmaking activities.  Not when you don’t have any business on your desk, but when you do.   At some point the case will be over, the project will be finished, the client will no longer need your services at this time.  Then you will find yourself desperate for new projects, cases and clients with which to work.

By lining up new prospective clients or matters with current clients on an ongoing basis you mitigate this risk.   You have the ability to stop the cycle of “feast or famine” as it relates to your book of business by continuing to market yourself and your services consistently and constantly.

*Many thanks to Fleetwood Mac and Classic Rock Radio which inspired this Rainmaking Recommendation when I heard this song.

Rainmaking Recommendations are sent the first and third Wednesdays of the month.  They are bite size tips that, when implemented will cause you to make rain. To learn more about Rainmaking, Goal Setting and Achieving the Life you want as an Attorney please contact Jaimie B. Field, Esq. If you would like to have these tips sent directly to your in box, please sign up here.

Did you know you can schedule an in-house, customized Rainmaking training workshop for your law firm? begin telephone or Skype individual rainmaking training from wherever you are in the world with Jaimie? Call or email for more information.

Here is the scenario: A prospective client just came to your office.  They only need a small matter resolved which you could easily handle.   This case will only take you a short amount of time which really doesn’t create much income for you or your firm.

Do you take the matter?

The answer is always YES!

More importantly, you need to treat this prospect as if they are just as important as your largest client.  There are at least two reasons why you should treat this small matter as if they were a VIP:

First:  Small matters could lead to large matters with this prospective client.  While they only need you to take care of something miniscule right now, who knows what they will need in the future.  Do a great job and they will come back to you again and again.

Second:  While they may have a matter which seems trivial to you, it’s important enough to them that they came to you.  In the age of Social Media, the Internet and Word of Mouth Marketing, the one thing that is clear is that the world has gotten much smaller.  Instead of “Six Degrees of Separation”, it really is closer to “Three Degrees”.  You never know who they know.  In fact, they may be friends with the biggest “big-wig” in the area.

Treat you “little” clients like VIPs and they will refer you to others.

Rainmaking Recommendations are sent the first and third Wednesdays of the month.  They are bite size tips that, when implemented will cause you to make rain. To learn more about Rainmaking, Goal Setting and Achieving the Life you want as an Attorney please contact Jaimie B. Field, Esq. If you would like to have these tips sent directly to your in box, please sign up here.

Did you know you can schedule an in-house, customized Rainmaking training workshop for your law firm? begin telephone or Skype individual rainmaking training from wherever you are in the world with Jaimie? Call or email for more information.

When we are trying to woo potential new clients, we have a tendency to promise them the world.

In New Jersey, The Rules of Professional Conduct 7.1(a)(1) it is unethical for attorneys to promise a certain outcome of a case (I cannot imagine that it is allowed in any state).

While you may not be making a promise about how the specific case will go, are you making promises about how you are going to interact with your clients?

Are you promising that they are your number one priority?   That you will respond to every contact and call?  That you will keep them informed throughout the time they are working with your firm?

“Client Service” is not just a term to put on your website as a mission statement which you don’t live up to – “Our Clients are our number one priority” or “We care about our clients.”  Client Service is a living and breathing edict.

Keeping your promises will help you to keep your clients.

At Marketing Field, LLC  - “Our promise is that every correspondence is returned within 24 hours during the business week (and usually a lot sooner)”.  We don’t strive to keep this promise, we just do it!

Rainmaking Recommendations are sent the first and third Wednesdays of the month.  They are bite size tips that, when implemented will cause you to make rain. To learn more about Rainmaking, Goal Setting and Achieving the Life you want as an Attorney please contact Jaimie B. Field, Esq. If you would like to have these tips sent directly to your in box, please sign up here.

Did you know you can schedule an in-house, customized Rainmaking training workshop for your law firm? begin telephone or Skype individual rainmaking training from wherever you are in the world with Jaimie? Call or email for more information.

Rainmaking Recommendation #22:  Giving Thanks

In one week (and one day) it will be Thanksgiving.

Thanksgiving was originally a holiday to express thankfulness, gratitude, and appreciation for having been blessed with a bountiful harvest of material possessions, food and relationships. While it has morphed into a day off with tons of food and some good football games, maybe it’s time to get back to basics.

Why not take the time to thank those with whom you have worked over the past year – clients, associates and staff.  The fact is that we sometimes take these relationships for granted without even realizing it.

Take the opportunity over the next week to call or email your favorite clients and wish them a happy holiday.   Thank the people with whom you work on a daily basis.  Thank anyone who has ever helped you. When you say “thank you” it makes people feel appreciated.  Appreciated people go out of their way to try to help you some more, leading to more business and referrals.

(While you’re at it, don’t forget your family and friends.  Thank them for all of their support as well.)

Take time during this season to acknowledge others and it will come back to you.

Most importantly, I want to take this opportunity to thank YOU for your support.  I look forward to continuing to help you in any way I can. Please feel free to email or call me at any time.  Your comments are always welcome as well.

Happy Thanksgiving!

As attorneys, the most potent Rainmaking tactic is Word-of-Mouth marketing.  This is when clients tell others about the work you do and referrals are a result.  However, word-of- mouth marketing is also one of the ways that we lose clients as well.

The problem is that in most legal cases, at least in the clients’ mind, there will always be a winner and a loser.  While we would like to believe that we will always win our cases, someone will walk away with the judgment or the money; someone else will have to pay in one way or another.  Not only does this create negative feelings on the part of the “losing” party, but also negative word-of-mouth towards the attorney who was only doing their best to assist their client(s).

This is why you need to create realistic client expectations from the outset of your relationship.  This includes:

• How, how often, and when you will communicate with them;
• What you are realistically going to do for your client while handling their case;
• And, the various outcomes of a given matter – both good and bad.

If you create realistic expectations (and then attempt to exceed them) clients will be satisfied and be more likely to refer others to you.

What do you do to create realistic expectations for your clients?  Leave your comment below for other attorneys.

Rainmaking Recommendations are sent the first and third Wednesdays of the month.   They are bite size tips that, when implemented will cause you to make rain. To sign up to receive them in your in box visit Marketing Field.com for instructions. To learn more about Rainmaking, Goal Setting and Achieving the Life you want as an Attorney please contact Jaimie B. Field, Esq.

What to keep your clients happy?  Respond.

One of the main reasons why clients state that they leave their current attorney’s can be classified as “attorney indifference”.   Attorneys do not respond to emails, voicemails, or requests for information.

More often than not, it is because the attorney does not have any current news about a case.  Ergo, most attorneys decide that because of this, a client’s contact does not warrant a response.

This does not excuse you from responding.

It takes less than 60 seconds to hit the reply button and respond to an email with “Thank you for contacting me.  So far there is nothing to tell you, but as soon as something comes up, I will get in contact.”

It takes less than 2 minutes to call up and say:  “I cannot really chat right now, but I just wanted to let you know that I got your call and so far nothing new is happening, but feel free to contact me if you have any questions or concerns. “

Attorneys need to remember that most clients are not used to being in legal disputes of any kind.  This is scary to a client and they just want to be reassured that their attorney is still working on their behalf.

“How can I help?”

The interesting thing about this question is the various responses you can elicit.

When asked of friends or family it may bring a closer relationship.

When asked of colleagues it may bring to light issues they are having with which you have the solution.  Or it may result in you being able to make a referral of some of your contacts to them.

When asked of prospective or current clients it may draw out new legal matters with which they may not have known that you or your firm may be able to help.

When you give you receive, in so many ways.  Unfortunately, most people spend their entire lives asking “What’s in it for me?”  If you stop asking that question and ask the one stated above you’d be surprised at all the good that comes back to you.

Rainmaking Recommendations are sent the first and third Wednesdays of the month.  They are bite size tips that, when implemented will cause you to make rain. To learn more about Rainmaking, Goal Setting and Achieving the Life you want as an Attorney please contact Jaimie B. Field, Esq.

Did you know you can schedule an in-house, customized Rainmaking training workshop for your law firm? Begin telephone or Skype individual rainmaking training from wherever you are in the world with Jaimie?  Contact for more information