In the legal profession, building strong connections with clients is the ultimate game changer. It goes beyond providing legal services and becomes about cultivating meaningful relationships that foster loyalty, trust, and ongoing collaboration.

As a lawyer, your success heavily relies on your ability to connect with clients on a personal level, understanding their individual legal needs, concerns, and surpassing their expectations. In this competitive legal landscape, the power of client connections cannot be underestimated, as they hold the key to establishing a thriving and reputable legal practice.

Before starting my legal career, I had never attempted to collect anything apart from a few stamps and coins. However, once I entered the world of law, my focus shifted towards a few lifelong collections – gathering market information, client information, and legal precedents, while also embracing the possibilities of digitisation and leveraging technology to enhance my legal practice.

Beyond The Surface: Using Data Collection to Connect on a Deeper Level with Clients.

In today’s business world, to most people, data collection often revolves around algorithms, numbers and conversions. However, for lawyers, collecting data is more about understanding your clients, their transaction and what matters to them.

Collecting client information is crucial to building and maintaining strong relationships as a lawyer. It’s not just about knowing their legal needs but also about understanding their personal lives, interests, and values.

From good to great – embrace networking and relationship-building to become a legal rainmaker.

Gathering this data allows you to tailor your services to meet their specific needs and provide a more personalised experience. With a deeper understanding of your clients, you can connect with them on a more meaningful level and develop long-lasting relationships that go way beyond the transactional.

Networking To Build Connection And Trust

Are you content with just being a good lawyer? Or do you have the drive to become a great lawyer, the rainmaker? To build a business in the legal industry, you must embrace networking and relationship-building.

More than attending events and exchanging business cards is required. It’s not just about socialising at events; it’s about making real connections with people who can become lifelong clients and advocates for your work, even friends. It’s about making genuine connections and building trust with potential clients.

How To Break The Awkward Silence

One of the challenges of networking is getting past the awkward silence. To overcome this, it’s essential to have a few conversation starters up your sleeve. Reading local news, current affairs, and sports results can help you find common ground with your clients.

Not only does finding common ground help break the ice, but it can also lead to discovering shared interests and passions. This shared knowledge can deepen the connection and help build a stronger relationship.

Additionally, having conversation starters ready can help demonstrate your knowledge and expertise in a particular area, which can instill greater confidence and trust in your abilities as a lawyer. It also assists the client to be comfortable with you as a person, not just a legal adviser.

Mastering Note-Taking for Maximum Value

Taking notes during and after meetings is essential to show your clients that you value their time and opinions. It can also help you remember what matters to them, such as their interests, hobbies, and goals. Review your personal client notes before each meeting so their personal information comes to mind in an easy conversational manner.

The Power Of Building Lasting Relationships

I’ve been providing legal services to many of my clients for over three decades, and the key to my success is not just about providing exceptional legal services but also about building genuine connections with my clients.

It’s not just about remembering their legal needs, but also showing a sincere interest in their lives outside the office.

By being curious and asking about their families, hobbies, and interests, you can collect valuable data that helps you be more engaged and thoughtful. Remembering their spouses’ names, their children’s birthdates, or their favourite sports team can go a long way in making your clients feel valued, appreciated and understood.

Building a solid relationship with your clients is more than just a business tactic; it reflects your values as a person. It shows that you care about their needs and are dedicated to providing them with the best possible service.

Embrace the power of real-life connections! Networking is more than just virtual meetings. Get out of your comfort zone and build meaningful relationships in person.

The Limits of AI and Digital Media in Building Strong Connections

For those of you who have become comfortable working from home as armchair warriors and think that networking today is solely about chatting on Zoom instead of fronting up at the office and making real-life connections, listen up.

You will not make the same impact and connection as a face-to-face meeting, coffee, or conversation. And if you don’t believe my 40+ years of experience, consider this: a recent study found that only 7% of communication is conveyed through words alone. The remaining 93% is conveyed through non-verbal cues such as tone, body language, and facial expressions.

Think about it – have you ever tried to read someone’s body language or tone over Zoom? It’s nearly impossible. AI and digital media may be convenient, but they need to improve when it comes to building relationships with clients. These tools cannot replicate the emotional and personal connection that is established during face-to-face meetings.

Furthermore, relying solely on AI and digital media can be a lazy person’s attempt at building loyalty. It’s easy to sit behind a computer and send emails, but building lasting relationships with clients takes effort and intentionality.

So, if you want to build strong relationships and establish genuine connections with your clients, get off your computer and get out into the real world. It’s time to start making real-life connections that will set you apart.

While AI and digital media have their benefits, they cannot replace face-to-face interactions when building relationships. Zoom calls are a convenient option, but they can never replicate the same level of personal connection as meeting in person.

Universities Don’t Teach Lawyers Relationship Building:

Most lawyers are good with the law but must improve at marketing and connecting with clients. It’s not that they aren’t good communicators – most of the time, it’s a mindset thing. But let’s face it, in the age of technology, where lawyers are no longer the only option for legal advice, it’s more important than ever to stand out and build relationships with clients.

And where do lawyers learn these relationship-building skills? Certainly not in law school. It’s time for universities to step up and teach the foundations of making connections, much like a doctor needs to (or used to) work on their bedside manner.

A recent study found that communication and relationship-building skills are the fastest way to increase client satisfaction and loyalty. In fact, 68% of customers leave a company because they feel the company is indifferent to them.

As lawyers, we must connect with clients on a personal level to build trust and loyalty. It’s time to move beyond just learning the law and start learning how to connect with people.