If any lawyer does not understand how important client relationships are they need to find another line of work. In this month’s issue of Edge International’s Communiqué there is an article by Shirley Anne Fortina that points out how important strategic CRM is to business development.
She states “Client relationship management should be your number one business development activity.” I could not agree more. I have preached over and over that clients are the number one source of new business (whether in the form of new work or referrals to new clients).
Fortina lists 24 questions you should ask yourself to determine the type of relationship you have/want with clients. Here are 5 of my favorites:
- Do you care – I mean really care – about your clients?
- Do you clearly communicate what you’re doing and why?
- Do you keep the client sufficiently informed?
- Do you keep your promises on deadlines and targets?
- What are you doing to maintain, build and/or enhance relationships?
If you are truly interested in better client relationships, I recommend that you read the other 19 questions as well.
In conclusion, Fortina provides a great quote from Dale Carnegie; to wit: “You can make more friends in two months by becoming interested in other people than you can in two years by trying to get other people interested in you.”