Kaye Thomas, a sales associate with Real Estate West in Manhattan Beach, Calif., knows there are lots of
small things clients have to do after the sale.
Not exact matches
Things like interruptions,
client demands, employee issues, and spending time in the
small details may come to mind.
That explains why most startups and
small businesses are overly dependent on their initial
clients to get
things rolling.
My
client Allie * is the editor of a magazine for a
small community, and last week her Match.com date said a few
things throughout the evening that raised red flags for her.
Design helps create your brand — I've run into one
thing with my indie writer and
small publisher
clients — the authors often do not want to see their name large on the book.
It is also a very personal
thing to have my own
small business, everyone who comes through the doors, including
clients, become family.
Moreover, Tiwari adds, it's not such a bad
thing if
clients with
small portfolios don't work with planners: They can meet their needs using the increased number of platforms that offer low - cost funds to self - directed investors.
I would not worry about a
client using cheese or a
small amount of peanut butter or similar
things to help with administration of medications even after a bout of pancreatitis.
«
Small things like this really have a big impact on our
clients»
A survey published this year found that over 50 % of final year veterinary students in the UK do not feel confident either in discussing orodental problems with
clients or in performing a detailed examination of the oral cavity of their
small animal patients.1 Once in practice,
things don't always improve and, anecdotally, it seems many vets dread feline dental procedures.
Terms of invoicing are one of those
things that every
small business owner will have to establish with each
client.
They also have a
small fleet of Toyota Prius hybrids to meet
clients, and they created green - inspired graphics («Little
Things Make a BIG Difference» + the URL of their green - printing page).
Extraordinary standards of
client response, communication, accessibility and service can set
smaller law firms apart from the giants, which rarely prioritize these
things.
I've reviewed dozens of law firm Twitter accounts, some owned by global giants and some by midsize or
smaller operations, and in almost every instance I've come away shaking my head... A good law firm Twitter feed keeps two
things in mind: (1) it's all about the
clients, and (2) it's not all about the firm» -LSB-...]
It basically lays out when phone calls and emails will be returned, how to make appointments with me, what to do if they will be late for court or a meeting, and other
small things to help make our attorney -
client relationship smoother.
Matthew Moeller: Well, I think the big
thing was just trying to move away from the bundles and bundles of paper and I'm not saying that you should be a 100 % paperless, I mean, it's still today I often print
things out to look at I have
smaller books that maybe do not have material that's easy to navigate online on a bookshelf that I can just grab, but the days of the big file cabinets in the back of the office and the unlimited number of redwells falling out everywhere, that was something when I went out on my own that I certainly envisioned was not going to be a part of kind of how we do
things, and I think in moving away from that you're able to better control your operating costs, you're able to keep overhead to a lower level, and ultimately, I think you're able to deliver more value to the
client and running a much more streamlined process.
The one
thing clients don't want to see is a
small big firm.
However,
clients and matters don't fit neatly into the GTD system because projects in Getting
Things Done are
smaller than legal matters.
Every lawyer is different, but a few
things hold true for just about every law firm, big or
small: You need more cash flow and more
clients.
Another way to make your
client relationship more personal is to remember
small things about their lives, such as interests or hobbies.
One
thing is certain, alternative fee agreements are here to stay since more and more
clients, both large and
small, are starting to proactively ask for the cost predictability, certainty, and transparency which they provide.
It seems such a
small thing, and yet this is often the first interaction a
client may have of your firm «in real life».
He has a thesis in his new book about how kind of buyers or
clients are taking control of the dynamics of the industry and as part of that, I think he and you advocate for lawyers and
small law firms, thinking more like businesses and thinking about
clients as buyers and
things like that, that we'll get into in the episode, but one of the topics that I think is interesting to talk about then is something we've brought up a few times in the past about kind of identifying your ideal
client or crafting personas of your ideal
clients that you can have a story of who you're looking for and how to find them.
It was 2010, so a lot of my
smaller clients, they were tightening
things at their companies.
I wouldn't limit it to
small firm lawyers at all but it's rampant in
small firm lawyers that will regularly talk to people who say, «Oh yeah I know I should be doing that but,» and I guess that's the challenge and is one of the
things that I think is kind of scary about the
small firm industry is how frequent the, «I know I should but,» becomes a hindrance to success in
small firm practice and therefore there ends up being a lot of
small firm failure when there could be success if people would develop some skills, habits, commitment to learning to focus on their business as a business while still being great lawyers to their
clients.
Yet more proof that the rich really are different: Carolyn Elefant blogs a stereotype - busting report that uber - wealthy
clients prefer
small, even solo firms that can pony up better service, among other
things.
This is done by dragging
things out when in the old days the lawyers would have told their respective
clients not to sweat the
small stuff (and that allowed the lawyers to settle earlier and more often and move on to their other files).
It is a
small thing, but closing the file with a personal touch can go a long way to predispose former
clients to refer more business your way in the future.
And then I mentioned
things like blogs and e-alerts, webinars; by leveraging these digital platforms,
small and big law firms are able to offer really specific and tailored training for
clients.
While perhaps these recommendations are not on the cutting edge, I would suggest that the best
thing that a
small firm can do is to focus on the
client experience.
Today's technology automates
client screening, interviewing, signing, and communications, among other
things, enabling the cost - effective mass litigation of
smaller cases than ever before.
Disbursements, even if they represent a
small percentage of the bill, can be a landmine because
clients know what most
things cost.
If the course were set up with an emphasis on helping new lawyers to open their own practices or operate in very
small partnerships, it could provide training on precisely those
things that solos need to know and that big firms don't teach during articles: financial management, overhead costs, marketing, business development,
client relations, and much more.
I included the at least until recently above because I am seeing evidence that
things are finally changing, at least in the corporate and larger firm worlds (and no doubt it will trickle down to
smaller firms and non-corporate
clients).
There is no such
thing as a «
small project» or an «unimportant conference call with a
client.»
We pride ourselves on our
client and candidate satisfaction and have a strong belief in doing the
small things, that make a big difference.
I find that many of my
clients have spent so many years arguing they can't see there are
things they can agree on so the
small things trip them up.
My
client Ann's ex-husband would get angry over
small things and then withhold affection (including giving her the silent treatment).
One of the
things that, I believe, contributed to my own personal success in the industry, is that although I can and do talk openly with people, and speak my mind candidly when called upon to do so, the fact that I respect privacy in an absolute fashion, and remain neutral at all times, in no
small measure was noted by my
clients.
While the phrase «no problem» is taboo at CINC, Hoback notes that even though the difference between «no problem» and «my pleasure» is subtle, it's the
small things that add up to big
things when interacting with
clients.
He noticed the
smallest things, and even commented one day on the brand of thank you notes I was using for my
client base.
«My
clients love having someone who will come to the house at their convenience and do the
small things,» she says.
Advice: The most important
thing to tell your
client is that 1031 exchange rules are strict, and even a
small mistake can jeopardize the deferment of capital gains taxes.
Matt Bryant: Over the last couple of years, actually over the last 7 years, I've begun analyzing and buying
small rental properties to rent out to grow my own real estate portfolio, I've met a lot of
clients looking to do the same
thing and I've been able in after closing to help these
clients actually find renters for those properties.
Many times when beginning to decorate a
client's bedroom, the first
thing I notice is that their bedside lamps are too
small.
I guess it is wise to start
small and see how just suggesting to
clients what
things would make a difference like moving stuff, decluttering and painting then go from there if they want me to do some of the work..