The Secret to Lifetime Clients
Unknown: Hello, I'm Davina
Frederick. And I'd like to
welcome you to the wealthy woman
lawyer podcast. If you've been a
fan for a while now, thank you,
we so appreciate you. If you are
new to the wealthy woman lawyer
podcast Welcome. I'm so glad
you're here. The welcome wealthy
woman layer podcast is sponsored
by wealthy woman lawyer, a
company that helps women law
firm owners scale their law firm
business to and through a
million dollars in gross annual
revenue with total ease. So you
can fully fund and still have
time to enjoy the lifestyle of
your dreams. If that sounds like
something you'd like to do, then
come hang out with us in our
Facebook community, wealthy
woman lawyer or follow us on
Instagram at wealth woman
lawyer, you also can connect
with me on LinkedIn or visit our
website at WWW dot wealthy woman
lawyer.com. Today, I wanted to
share with you a short story. So
recently, I hired a vendor to
handle a design project for me.
And she came highly recommended
from a trusted source. Right
from the start, she had very
clear process and rules for
working with her. And one of
those rules was not to make
changes in her design myself
while she was working on the
design online on the website.
And I agree that that was a
smart rule because changes can
be lost if we were working on
top of each other. So after a
few days, she sent me the
project for my approval. She
also sent an email telling me
she was not able to upload
videos and asked me if we could
do it if my team and I could do
it. So we did. And it was not
the only revision that needed to
be made. But it was the only
quote unquote change that we
made on the site. Otherwise, I
just gave her feedback. And so
we did this based on her request
of uploading videos. But since
she only had two placeholders
for videos, we needed to upload
four videos, it affected her
design. And I just had to put
them somewhere on the page and
then with the expectation that
she would design them thought
design around them and get them
into the place that they needed.
In my mind, this was a really
easy fix, and shouldn't take her
too long to do. So I was
expecting her to say thank you.
And instead I received a really
school D email from her re
emphasizing her rule about not
working on a project. While she
was I was pretty incredulous,
because number one she asked me
to upload the data. And number
two, she was not working on the
site at the time because she was
waiting for my feedback and
approval. So there was no danger
of be working on top of her and
sort of losing any of her
changes. Now, if you know me,
well, you know that I do not
like to be scolded. Quite
frankly, I don't know anyone who
does. But I especially do not
like to be scolded when I had
paid someone 1000s of dollars to
handle a project for me. So I
didn't take it very well. But
you know, we we worked through
it and moved on. And we were
able to get the project
completed without too much
incident. But this got me really
thinking about how companies use
their processes and procedures
of policy, not as a means to
create a better client
experience, but as barriers to
relationships with between the
service provider and their
clients. As you know, I am a
huge advocate of creating and
implementing systems in your law
firm business. In fact, I think
if you do not have good systems,
your clients will immediately
lose confidence in you, your
team and your law firm systems
tell us that you know exactly
what you're doing that you have
got got a handle on this, right.
So it immediately elevates a
client's confidence if you have
IT systems because they just can
breathe a sigh of relief knowing
that somebody else has got this.
It really positioned you as a an
experienced expert. We've done
this before. We've done it so
many times that we actually have
a system around it. But
sometimes we can take that too
far. And here's what I mean.
Have you ever had an experience
with a company where one or more
of their employees as told you?
We can't help you because it's
against company policy? So how
did that make you feel? It make
you feel frustrated? Did it make
you feel angry? Usually that's
what happens when you're being
stonewalled by a company and
they use the excuse of their
policy to not be able to solve
your problem.
This response is why so many
people go postal on large
companies. In many cases
employees just aren't empowered
to solve a part have their hands
are tied by policies and
procedures to which they must
adhere. And in some cases,
policies, procedures, processes
all that is great, and it's
necessary. So don't don't
misunderstand me. A lot of a lot
of these things are necessary.
However, just as it is with the
law, you remember how we learned
in law school that for every
rule, there are exceptions. And
oftentimes, there are exceptions
to exceptions. Having the
ability to recognize those
exceptions and make other
choices can make a huge
difference in the client
experience. This got me thinking
about how, why it isn't so many
small business owners today that
I've encountered that I've been
dealing with are so inflexible
around their policies and their
procedures. And here's some of
the reasons I think that may be
I'm sure, there are many more,
but here's some that occurred to
me. One is that perhaps they see
everyone talking about policies,
procedures, and processes and
systems. And they think this is
the be all end all of running as
far business. Okay, so no
exceptions ever. Or maybe it's
because they invested a lot of
time and effort into setting up
systems. So now there's no
flexibility, we must follow the
rules, precisely, no exceptions.
Perhaps. They're just rule
followers, and it never occurred
to them, that there is another
way, I know, there are a lot,
I'm a I'm a rule follower
person. I know this is certain,
certain ones of us have this
sort of personality, if we know
the rules, we can follow the
rules. And if we don't know the
rules, you know, that's a
problem. So maybe it's that
maybe they fear they'll be
perceived as a bad business
person, if they make exceptions.
So I draw these boundaries and
set these policies and set up
the systems. And if I go back on
something, then somebody's going
to take advantage, and I'm going
to be a bad business person. Or
maybe they just prefer to hide
behind the keyboard to avoid
uncomfortable conversations. And
so you know, we can just blame
it on my system, right. I think
the biggest thing, though, is
that so much small business
owners these days often focus on
their own comfort, and not the
experience their client is
having. In the, in the case that
I was talking, I told you at the
beginning, I do believe that
the vendor that I hired was very
introverted, she's very process
oriented. And, and so for her,
this was all about her comfort,
and she wasn't really
considering what the reactions
would be would be of someone who
receives the school the email
from her. So I get it, I mean,
I'd love to just think about me
and mining, it's, I really
would, and I know it that, like
we just want to build a business
around ourselves and our needs.
But the reality of business is,
is that there's got to be a
balance, you definitely have to
have boundaries for yourself.
But you also need to consider
the experience your clients are
having, because your clients are
the ones who pay you and
actually make your business
dream possible. So we can
certainly do that we can
certainly just focus on on our
own needs only. But when we do,
we're setting our businesses up
to be transactional in nature,
and not built on enduring
relationships with our ideal
clients, relationships that
could feed you and yours for
years to come. So in the example
that I gave you, I'm less
inclined now to hire this person
again. So she just had a got
paid to do one thing. And it was
a very transactional experience.
But because of the way it made
me feel unlikely to go seek out
other people who can do what she
does, and there are many, many
of them. And look for somebody
who's more relationship
oriented, somebody who's more
likely to want to keep a
relationship with me over the
long term. And they as a result
are likely to make a lot of more
money than she what she made. So
to give you an example, my
clients are busy women, law firm
owners as as all of you know,
many times, they will have
scheduled meetings with me on my
calendar, only to have to cancel
them the day before, even the
day of sometimes. Now my private
coaching process lays out a very
specific schedule for them.
However, if I were not able to
be flexible and unbothered when
a client cancels that last
minute, because perhaps they got
caught up in court or in traffic
or dealing with emergency at
home, or maybe they just weren't
in the right mental space that
day. How long do I think I will
keep those relationships? Now I
understand there canceling, and
we conduct our meetings over
zoom. So it's not like I get in
the car and drive someplace and
then somebody cancels because I
can understand if people did
that, I'd have to come up with a
new process because that would
not work for me. But it does
work for me. Because if they
cancel, then I just move on to
something else, I don't get
upset about it, right. So they
might, they might adhere to my
requirements. If I required
this, they might adhere to my
requirements for the term or the
contract. But rest assured as
soon as that contract was up and
never renew many of my clients
renew year after year, and part
of the reason why is because I
prioritize the relationship over
one particular transaction one
particular moment in time. It is
more important to me that my
clients feel supported and
accepted than it is to enforce
that particular policy. Other
policies and procedures are
necessary for their success. So
I'm not suggesting that we throw
the whole baby out with the
bathwater. There are deal
breakers to be sure. Let's think
about it. In terms of etiquette,
though, if you're familiar with
Emily Post and the rules of
etiquette, you know that there
are societal rules governing
proper behavior in certain
settings. So obviously, this in
2022, we don't have the same
types of social rules and
etiquette behaviors as we used
to have, you know, in our
society, they changed. And we
also have rules of etiquette
that never would have even
entered anybody's mind a decade
or so ago. For instance, all the
etiquette around social media.
But, for example, if if you're
going to attend a formal dinner
with people you'd like to
impress, you might want to brush
up on your table manners, you
want to note proper etiquette
for a formal dinner. The purpose
of etiquette is not to make
anyone who does not no proper
etiquette feel excluded, though,
the purpose of etiquette in and
we're going to paraphrase the
words of etiquette expert, and
we post I mentioned is to make
others feel comfortable in our
presence. For instance, a person
with good manners would never
point out to another
that they picked up the wrong
fork at dinner. Only people with
poor etiquette shame or scold
others who don't know any
better. So it's the same for you
and your clients. The purpose of
your systems is to ensure that
client has a good experience and
working with you, your team and
your law firm. Of course,
systems have many other benefits
two systems can help minimize
human error. They can prevent
miscommunications, they can
provide a level of consistency
and reliability. They can keep
us from getting grieved by the
bar or sued for malpractice,
there's a whole lot that systems
can can help us accomplish.
Certainly, they improve the
experience for everyone involved
in our business, including you
and your team. Or at least they
should. Occasionally, there will
be a moment when a client
doesn't fit into your process or
your system. And you certainly
can bounce them out of your
business and your life hits that
if that's the case. And in some
cases you should. So for
example, if a client is
harassing one of your employees,
or they're lying to you, or they
refuse to pay the bill, no
matter what solutions you offer,
those are all good reasons to
bounce that client and just say,
You know what, this isn't a good
fit. However, if we want to
prioritize relationships over
transactions, so that you're
creating clients, for a
lifetime, instead of a moment in
time, then sometimes the wiser
choice is to offer up some
grace. Everyone, you and me
included, require. All of us
require a little bit of
flexibility now, man, it's okay
to allow others to be
imperfectly human, and for you
to be imperfectly human as well.
Before I go today, I just want
to leave you with one last
little story. A few years ago,
around the new year, I made
myself a promise that this year,
I would not shy away from hard
conversations. And I would have
faith that a little direct
communication can go a long way.
I did this because I was I had
some boundaries that were a
little too permeable. And I
wanted to get better at sort of
drawing boundaries for myself to
make sure I was protecting my
own needs instead of just to but
instead of just discarding
relationships with people who
made me uncomfortable, because
they disagree with me. At some
point or another, or they can
find me on issue or I felt like
they're pushing boundaries, I
committed to have our
conversations, to put in the
work to try and understand. I
also really honored my
boundaries, those are important
too. And I made room for
acknowledging that maybe if I
had a conversation with someone,
that we could get past our issue
and work on our relationship and
have a longer term relationship.
And it is amazing, every time I
applied this tech B, the outcome
turned out even better than I
expected. Because I think at the
heart of it, we need to
remember, remember that we are
working with people. And if we
can cut through all the noise of
the processes, and all all of
the clutter going on, and where
all the information clutter, and
just have conversations with one
another, sometimes we really can
come out on the other side, much
better for it. Now, I know that
there, there are certain things
that are deal breakers. So if
you are somebody who struggles
with boundaries, and you're
trying to set some boundaries
for yourself, and you're
listening to this, and you're
thinking, Oh, my goodness, now I
need to go back on my
boundaries. That's not what I'm
suggesting. What I'm suggesting
is, is that we need to look more
holistically at the situation.
And don't be afraid to have a
conversation with somebody.
Because the worst that can
happen is, you know, you may in
the relationship anyway, or you
know, somebody might get hurt
feelings. But you're also going
to grow out of the experience of
having conversation, you might
learn something about yourself,
you might learn something about
the other person. You can have
them both though, you can have
boundaries, and you also can be
open to hearing another person's
viewpoint. And maybe growing
from that experience, you might
be amazed at the benefits. So
that's it for today's episode, I
would like to know, if you would
like to know more about how to
set up systems that not only
support you and your team, but
your clients as well, then check
out my new training. It's called
seven essential systems, every
law firm needs to scale to seven
figures. Plus three mistakes to
avoid. The registration link is
in the show notes. I thank you
all for being here today. If you
enjoy this podcast, as always, I
invite you to please share it
with other women law firm
owners. That's a super easy
thing to do right from the app,
you can just click on Share
episode, or you can share it a
whole podcast. Also, if you're
listening to this on Apple,
please leave us a review and
recommendation. We so appreciate
every one of them. And we know
it helps us to rank higher on
the app. So more people can get
exposed to the podcast and maybe
buying some little gold nuggets
here that will help them in
scaling their locker businesses.
Thank you so much for being
here, and we'll see you next
week.
