<b><I>Voice of the Client</I></b>: Why Put Clients on Mute?

So, I have decided to skip the usual discussion of the multiple benefits to the firm, the relationship lawyer, and the client, of bringing the voice of the client into the firm. Rather, I will just share a range of examples of what you can learn from engaging clients in a meaningful dialogue. It is difficult not to conclude that the following quotes had an incredibly important — in some cases profound — impact on the firms who got this feedback.

What Clients Are Saying

Here is what clients have told me in client feedback meetings:

“We use firm X more than the firm you are representing because they put their associates more front and center … It's hard to know how good the associates are when the partners usually over-shadow them.”

“We are planning to shift $50k of our work to a different firm because the partner assigned to do the work [by the relationship partner] does not have good chemistry with our team.”

A lawyer whom I trained to do a formal client interview asked this question when he arrived for the interview: “Why are these other people at the meeting?” Client response: “They are [executives] who wanted to see what lawyers look like who would fly halfway across the country to ask how they are doing.”

After the client raved about how great their primary lawyer was, I asked if they expected to have additional needs in the coming year. Here is what the client said: “We will have $400k of new patent work next year, but we will not be giving that work to [primary lawyer] because he is so busy we are worried about his health. We are concerned that the additional work might give him a heart attack.” [I explained that if I told him what I just heard he would have a heart attack, so we worked out a way to save the work!]

“We give most of our work to [firm I was representing], but we are getting exposure to other excellent firms because [firm I was representing] doesn't have an office in ____.” [They opened one there.]

I will never forget an interview about 20 years ago with one of a firm's most significant clients. The General Counsel had great things to say about the lawyers, but then said, “But if they don't get more [expletive] fax machines, they will be fired … ” [Yes, the firm added the machines.]

“We didn't know the firm did M&A work” [I have heard that dozens of times with the reference to many different practice groups].

“I use firm X more than [the firm I was representing] for private equity deals because they can get it done with one partner and an associate or two, not a team of five or six.”

“We would give them more work if they would just make an effort to do a budget at the beginning of cases.”

“We have offered work to other firms because [the firm you are representing] takes us for granted/lacks consistent quality across offices/doesn't keep us informed of matter status/can't conform to our billing guidelines/doesn't have a plan for when lawyer X retires/increased our billing rates without talking to us/is too academic, doesn't seem to look for creative solutions”

Finally, my favorite comment that I have heard many times at the end of an interview: “Thanks for coming, I can't believe more firms don't do this.”

Conclusion

Let's be clear, client feedback is overwhelmingly positive. But it always reveals work that is at risk, or an opportunity for new work. Clients want you to know what you do well, so you will keep doing it! They also want to reward you for doing the interview by giving you honest feedback on how to improve — and even get more work.

I hope I have fulfilled my assignment — not by talking about the voice of the client, but by letting you hear it. Would you like to know why clients use you, why they might not, and what they will be looking for from outside counsel in the future? Just ask, as it can have a profound impact on your future.

*****
Jim Durham is a Managing Director with GrowthPlay, which helps firms and companies build an effective sales force and business development strategy. Jim has consulted with hundreds of professional service firms, and served as the CMO of three national law firms. He may be reached at [email protected].

When I was asked to write about “the voice of the client,” I was hesitant to accept the assignment — not because it is not an important subject, but because the voice of the client is still largely silent. For more than 20 years, many in our industry have been writing about the importance of getting client feedback. We have suggested that firms bring clients to retreats and to informal luncheons; we suggest that lawyers ask them for advice on everything from client service excellence and billing practices to firm strategy.

A number of firms have increased their efforts to bring the voice of the client into the firm, but the vast majority still do very little to consistently obtain client feedback and input. What I find interesting — dare I say paradoxical — is that lawyers are willing to ask clients to provide input for a branding initiative. They are more comfortable asking a client to take a call from someone at an agency to ask questions about the firm's perceived market position, than they are asking for feedback.

Having conducted hundreds of in-person client feedback interviews, I can say without reservation that clients would welcome — and prefer — a call or meeting focused on what the firm is doing well, what it could be doing better, and how the firm can provide more value.

So, I have decided to skip the usual discussion of the multiple benefits to the firm, the relationship lawyer, and the client, of bringing the voice of the client into the firm. Rather, I will just share a range of examples of what you can learn from engaging clients in a meaningful dialogue. It is difficult not to conclude that the following quotes had an incredibly important — in some cases profound — impact on the firms who got this feedback.

What Clients Are Saying

Here is what clients have told me in client feedback meetings:

“We use firm X more than the firm you are representing because they put their associates more front and center … It's hard to know how good the associates are when the partners usually over-shadow them.”

“We are planning to shift $50k of our work to a different firm because the partner assigned to do the work [by the relationship partner] does not have good chemistry with our team.”

A lawyer whom I trained to do a formal client interview asked this question when he arrived for the interview: “Why are these other people at the meeting?” Client response: “They are [executives] who wanted to see what lawyers look like who would fly halfway across the country to ask how they are doing.”

After the client raved about how great their primary lawyer was, I asked if they expected to have additional needs in the coming year. Here is what the client said: “We will have $400k of new patent work next year, but we will not be giving that work to [primary lawyer] because he is so busy we are worried about his health. We are concerned that the additional work might give him a heart attack.” [I explained that if I told him what I just heard he would have a heart attack, so we worked out a way to save the work!]

“We give most of our work to [firm I was representing], but we are getting exposure to other excellent firms because [firm I was representing] doesn't have an office in ____.” [They opened one there.]

I will never forget an interview about 20 years ago with one of a firm's most significant clients. The General Counsel had great things to say about the lawyers, but then said, “But if they don't get more [expletive] fax machines, they will be fired … ” [Yes, the firm added the machines.]

“We didn't know the firm did M&A work” [I have heard that dozens of times with the reference to many different practice groups].

“I use firm X more than [the firm I was representing] for private equity deals because they can get it done with one partner and an associate or two, not a team of five or six.”

“We would give them more work if they would just make an effort to do a budget at the beginning of cases.”

“We have offered work to other firms because [the firm you are representing] takes us for granted/lacks consistent quality across offices/doesn't keep us informed of matter status/can't conform to our billing guidelines/doesn't have a plan for when lawyer X retires/increased our billing rates without talking to us/is too academic, doesn't seem to look for creative solutions”

Finally, my favorite comment that I have heard many times at the end of an interview: “Thanks for coming, I can't believe more firms don't do this.”

Conclusion

Let's be clear, client feedback is overwhelmingly positive. But it always reveals work that is at risk, or an opportunity for new work. Clients want you to know what you do well, so you will keep doing it! They also want to reward you for doing the interview by giving you honest feedback on how to improve — and even get more work.

I hope I have fulfilled my assignment — not by talking about the voice of the client, but by letting you hear it. Would you like to know why clients use you, why they might not, and what they will be looking for from outside counsel in the future? Just ask, as it can have a profound impact on your future.

*****
Jim Durham is a Managing Director with GrowthPlay, which helps firms and companies build an effective sales force and business development strategy. Jim has consulted with hundreds of professional service firms, and served as the CMO of three national law firms. He may be reached at [email protected].