Creating a Stellar Client Experience with Jarrod Upton
By creating a great client experience, your clients will become your best salespeople.
When clients are happy with their experience, they will on their own compliment you and your firm to all their friends. Not only that, when they hear about someone with a similar issue that they had, your name will be the first thing out of their mouth.
To accomplish that we need a well structured process for our clients, but how do we go about doing that?
Creating a Stellar Client Experience
There are five steps to take to make the perfect client experience.
1. Personal Conversation
- What brings them there?
- Did they work with an attorney before?
- What are their values?
- What are their concerns?
- What are their goals?
- What are their short term and long term outcomes they hope for?
2. Aligning Your Values
- You both should share similar core values.
- You want to work with someone who is on the same page as you.
3. Your History and Mission
- People resonate with stories.
- Being able to connect will bring them closer.
4. The Process You’ll Be Taking Them Through
- How many times will you meet?
- What will you need from them?
5. How to Get Started
- What’s the first step they need to take?
Creating the Process
A replicable process. You want each client to get the same valuable experience, tailored to their needs.
Document the process. Everyone should be on the same page and you’ll achieve that by writing down the whole process.
Initial call/consultation. After your first call you and your client should know whether both of you are a good fit for each other or not.
Don’t accept the wrong clients. There will always be clients that won’t be the right fit for you and your firm. Don’t take on those clients, instead refer them to someone who you think will be the right fit for them. By doing so you will save yourself a lot of grief and your clients will respect and appreciate you for not wasting their time.
That is the whole onboarding experience, but you can’t just stop there. You need the rest of the client experience to be great as well.
There are two parts to making sure your clients are happy throughout the whole process:
- Client experience - this is the part of the process the client sees
- Operational experience - this is the behind the scenes of the process
Don’t forget to document both of these.
Let’s further explain this by comparing it to a house.
The client experience is like seeing the exterior of the house.
The operational experience is like the workings of a house (foundation, plumbing, etc.)
Even though you’re clients aren’t directly seeing your operational experience, they will be interacting with your staff and different processes. Just like if they would test the plumbing or electricity in the house, they are bound to find out if it works.
Your processes need to be well thought out and planned, otherwise your clients will see that you’re unorganized and they will get frustrated with you.
Having some form of a written checklist that you can hand out to your employees will help your firm run smoothly, making sure nothing is ever skipped or forgotten.
Employees
Your employees are one of the most important parts of the whole experience.
You need your team to be inspired and energized, so that they can provide a great experience for your clients.
- Engage. They need to know the core values and mission of your firm in order to stand behind them and feel like what they’re doing is meaningful.
- Lead. Instead of directing them, involve them by asking questions.
- Empower. Empower them by letting them come up with their own solutions.
By engaging, asking questions and empowering you will create a solutions driven culture. Instead of constantly coming to you with problems, they will learn to figure it out on their own and only come to you if necessary.
The “Wow” Factor
You don’t want your clients to just feel “good” about their experience. You want them to be amazed, to feel that personal touch.
To create a “wow” experience, all you need is a human connection.
A simple handwritten note will do the trick.
How to Get a Written Testimonial
If your clients enjoyed their experience, all you have to do is ask and let them know that it will help other people and they’ll be happy to give you a testimonial.
The Outcome
Once you’ve created a great client experience, that means your clients now have a personal connection with you and believe in what you and your firm are doing for people.
With this experience and having your story, they will go out on their own and advocate for you without you even asking them to.
When Getting Started Just Take One Step At a Time
Resources
How Great Leaders Inspire Action by Simon Sinek
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qp0HIF3SfI4
The Checklist Manifesto by Atul Gawande
https://www.amazon.com/Checklist-Manifesto-How-Things-Right/dp/0312430000
How to Say Anything to Anyone: A Guide to Building Business Relationships That Really Work by Shari Harley
https://www.amazon.com/How-Say-Anything-Anyone-Relationships/dp/1608324095
Episode 6
https://www.profitwithlaw.com/006
You can find Jarrod Upton on LinkedIn, Twitter or his website
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Author
Moshe Amsel
Author
Moshe Amsel the host of the Profit with Law podcast is not an attorney. As the owner of a successful accounting firm DreamBuilder Financial and Law Firm Growth coaching organization Profit with Law, Moshe has proven that there are better and different ways for a law firm to do business and be successful.
