Building Relationships That Last

Zach Stone's family owns a bed and breakfast, so he grew up in the hospitality industry where relationship building is the lifeblood of their business' success. Lindsey Daher's mom manages a medical practice where relationships are the lifeblood of a successful business. Attorneys can learn a lot from how businesses in other industries build long-lasting relationships. It isn't about doing one thing right, but doing everything well for the lifespan of a client. In our March 2018 webinar, Zach Stone and Lindsey Daher discussed: The Follow-up and Introduction. Potential clients are not familiar with your process and may not understand its benefits. You may feel that their questions about your way of working aim to criticize rather than learn. Are you putting your best foot forward? Intake and Communication. Ask the right questions up front to learn where your potential client is at and what problems they're trying to solve. You will need to overcome gaps in terminology, expectations, and different past experiences. Breakdowns occur when clarity of expectations is lost. Moving Forward…or Not. The transition from potential client to client (or non-client) is extremely important. 9 out of 10 times, frustrations on both sides occur because we aren't effectively communicating with our clients. Most of the time, we think we're communicating fine, but the reality is that our communication needs to be more effective and more frequent. Maintaining the Relationship. Stay in touch with your existing and former clients. How can you remain connected with past clients (and people you weren't able to represent) to stay top of mind and continue building a relationship that will stand the test of time? Sometimes you have to look beyond your industry for ways to outperform your competition. Follow along with the slides here.