🎃 "Trick or Treat" Client Experience: Ensuring Clients Get More Treats than Tricks from Your Firm 🎃

Hey there, my fang-tastic law firm leaders!

The dark and spooky season is upon us, a time when ghouls and ghosts roam the streets. But in our hallowed halls, we aim for no hauntings, only happy clients! Just as Jack Skellington wanted to bring the joy of Christmas to Halloween Town, we aim to give our clients a seamless, treat-filled experience. So, let's dive into how we can make sure our clients feel they've hit the jackpot of candy, not a bag of rocks…or Tootsie Rolls (gross).

During our 13 month cross-country roadtrip we were on the road for two Halloweens (Dallas and Louisville) and it was amazing to me the ability of my wife to find the GO TO neighborhood in both towns for the best trick or treating.

And let’s be honest, your clients have choices too when it comes to who they hire to handle their case, so let’s use this holiday as a great opportunity to provide them only treats and confirm for them that they made the right call.

Here are 5 Halloween tips for a better client experience

🦇 1. The Friendly Ghost's Presence: Transparency is Key 

I don’t know if you’ve seen Casper recently, but WOW the amount of funny cameos that were lost on me as a kid that crack me up as an adult watching it with my son…highly recommend checking it out (again).

And similar to a ghost, you should also always be transparent with your clients. A Coveo study found that 9 out of 10 buyers say transparency is a key factor in their buying decisions. Keep them in the loop, through automated emails and texts with updates.  Call them every few weeks.  Or even (if you MUST…) have a client portal they can check in.

Remember, while you know what to expect as you’ve handled a TON of these cases, they don’t.  So let them know what to expect and when to expect it and then FOLLOW THROUGH on what you say.

🦇 2. Sally's Intuition: Listen Actively 

In a Nightmare before Christmas, Sally knew something was off about Jack's Christmas plan, but he didn't quite listen. Avoid the pitfalls of not hearing out concerns. Harvard Business Review suggests that active listening can improve organizational performance. Truly hear your clients; their insights might save you from a potential disaster.

Here are 5 questions I think you should ask EVERY client after their case is over (MARIA FIND THIS LIST…IT’S IN NEWSLETTERS AND WE ALSO DID A CAROUSEL ON IT)

Then (and this is key) IMPLEMENT changes from the feedback you get!

🦇 3. Avoiding The Sanderson Sisters' Snare: Clear Communication 

In "Hocus Pocus", the Sanderson Sisters often misunderstood the modern world because they were stuck in the past. Similarly, clinging to archaic legalese can confuse your clients. The National Association of Judiciary Interpreters and Translators emphasizes the importance of clear communication, especially in legal contexts. Don't leave your clients bewitched, bothered, and bewildered—explain with clarity.

Bonus points - I PROMISE you, if your clients consistently get caught up on a legal concept, it would be a GREAT thing to share in social media to other potential clients.  It’s just like in school, when one person is brave enough to ask a question 99% of the time other people had the same issue.

🦇 4. Zero's Guiding Light: Lead with Empathy 

Just as Zero guides Jack through the fog (I will fight anyone who doesn’t think Zero is the best part of the movie), lead your clients with empathy. A Gallup poll found that firms led with empathy have clients who are 3 times more likely to stay. Understand their fears and ambitions. Be their beacon in the foggy legal realm.

I cannot tell you how many clients hire my firm because of #2 and #4.  We ACTIVELY listen to them during consults and we CARE.  Sometimes it’s REALLY that simple.

And it’s not just with lawyer, doctors who are nice get sued for malpractice WAY less often.

Seriously, a little humanity goes a LOOOOOOOOONG way.

Make sure you’re being a human to your clients, and make sure you hire people with people skills (if they’re working with the clients).

You are not scalable, but your firm as whole IS.

🎃 5. Ghostbusters' Grit: There's No 'I' in Team Who ya gonna call? Well, when it comes to legal battles, it's not just one Ghostbuster – it's the whole team. The collective expertise of Ray, Egon, Peter, and Winston was crucial for success. Forbes notes that businesses with collaborative teams are more likely to innovate and find solutions to complex problems. Ensure your firm isn’t operating in silos; collaboration can trap even the trickiest legal 'ghosts.'

And look…I know we have gone into this before from the team perspective (SEE IF YOU CAN LINK TO ANOTHER ARTICLE ON THAT) and I talked about it above.

But for this, I am ALSO saying to bring the client into the process and make them part of the team.  

Whether you need their answers for pain and suffering damages, or mandatory disclosure, or just to help you get witness info for their friends and family, the more they feel valued in getting a good outcome the more they will appreciate it and therefore you.

To be clear, I do not mean necessarily making them do more work (although that might be the case) but I mean making them feel like part of the team.

🍭 Wrap-up: This Halloween season, let's make our law firm feel like the treat-filled bag kids dream of, not the trick no one saw coming (or again…Tootsie Rolls…gross). Here's to ensuring our clients walk away with smiles, not scares. 

Stuff like this is how you become not a commodity.  Whether it’s LegalZoom, AI, or a cheaper firm down the street…the more you can PROVE a better client experience through steps like this (which then turn into rave reviews that you can share to show people what to expect) the more you WILL stand out.

Remember, even in a situation like the ones they experience every week on Scooby Doo, the ending was always the same, they uncovered the truth…and you don’t have those meddling kids to blame for not delivering the best client experience. We can and should do what you can to make sure your clients have the same amazing experience over and over again.

Happy Haunting and even Happier Clients! 🎃👻🦴

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