By: Trey Ryder
I feel the chill in the air. You’re thinking, “Guaranteeing a lawyer’s services? You must be crazy.”
Sears built a retail empire on six words, “Satisfaction Guaranteed or Your Money Back.” Today, most online and offline retail stores and mail-order companies give you a prompt refund, exchange or credit for anything you buy that doesn’t meet your expectations.
You may be familiar with these, which I copied from their websites:
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OMAHA STEAKS
“If you are not absolutely thrilled with your purchase from Omaha Steaks, for any reason at all, we’ll cheerfully replace your purchase or refund your money, whichever you prefer.”
“When you order from Omaha Steaks, your satisfaction is always unconditionally guaranteed… so you can order with complete confidence. If at any time you have problems with an order, simply contact Customer Service.”
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LANDS’ END
We Want Nothing Less Than Your Absolute Satisfaction.
We stand behind our goods and services and trust you will be happy with your purchase. In the event you’re not, we have two words to help you rest easy: Guaranteed. Period.® “If you’re not satisfied with any item, simply return it to us at any time for an exchange or refund of its purchase price.”
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COSTCO
The warehouse club, which has one of the most liberal return policies of any mass merchant, says:
“100% satisfaction guaranteed. We guarantee your satisfaction on every product we sell with a full refund. We will refund your membership fee ($55) in full at any time if you are dissatisfied.”
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Imagine you are the prospective client. You have the field narrowed down to three attorneys. One guarantees his services in writing. Which lawyer would you hire?
A guarantee gives you a substantial competitive advantage over other lawyers who would never dream of guaranteeing anything.
The important thing is what you guarantee to do: refund their money, reduce your fee, correct the situation.
While you can’t guarantee the outcome of a case, let’s look at what you can guarantee. To be a meaningful competitive advantage, guarantee things that concern your prospects and clients. And since this is for marketing purposes, you want the guarantee to be as broad and all-inclusive as possible. Here are a few examples, with sample language you might use in your guarantee.
WE GUARANTEE THE QUALITY OF OUR LEGAL SERVICES. You can be sure that all legal work that comes from this office will be of the highest caliber. If you ever find anything that does not meet your needs or expectations, please bring it to our attention. We will correct the situation immediately.
WE GUARANTEE TO RETURN PHONE CALLS PROMPTLY. For a positive, productive lawyer/client relationship, we must communicate openly and freely with each other. We promise to return your phone call within two hours. If the lawyer you want to reach is in trial or otherwise detained, his secretary will call you and schedule a time when you can speak with him.
WE GUARANTEE TO ALWAYS HAVE A LAWYER AVAILABLE TO SERVE YOU. If you need help right away, we always have a lawyer available during business hours who can help you. So if you have an urgent question or problem, please don’t hesitate to call. We guarantee you the best possible service and we’ll be glad to hear from you.
WE GUARANTEE TO MEET ALL DEADLINES. Few things are as frustrating as deadlines that are not met. A missed deadline can do a lot to undermine a good lawyer/client relationship. What’s more, we want you to know that you can trust what we tell you, and meeting a deadline is important. So we guarantee to complete all promised work on time. If we don’t…
(Then include whatever you want to guarantee: We won’t charge you for the work. We’ll cut our fee in half. Or whatever you promise to do.)
WE GUARANTEE THE FEE WE QUOTED YOU. No one likes financial surprises. That’s why on every project we will provide you with a written fee quote. No matter how long it takes us, it will never cost you one penny more. Once we quote a fee, we stick to it, no matter what. You can depend on it.
WE GUARANTEE YOU’LL ALWAYS RECEIVE THE HIGHEST LEVEL OF PERSONAL CARE AND ATTENTION. No one likes to be thought of as a case number. Every person in our office is here for one purpose: To serve you. If you don’t receive the close personal care attention you want, nothing else matters. When you’re our client, you become part of our family. And we guarantee you’ll receive the best we offer.
WE GUARANTEE TO COMMUNICATE WITH YOU IN WRITING EVERY TWO WEEKS. You deserve to be kept current on the progress of your case. So every two weeks, without fail, we will mail you a written summary of what has happened regarding your case since the previous letter. And if nothing has happened, we tell you that, too. Good communication is the key to a good working relationship with your lawyer. And we intend to make sure that your relationship with our firm is the best you have ever had…or ever will have.
And so forth. You could look at everything you offer clients, and then put that in the form of a written guarantee.
What’s next?
You could go as far as offering a money-back guarantee for fees. Yes, it does happen. In years past, three of my clients have said in so many words, either you like what I do or I’ll refund your money. I’m not aware that a penny has ever been refunded, but their clients sure felt good knowing the lawyer would return their money if they asked.
Usually, the value of a money-back guarantee is so great that you should seriously consider offering one. The point is, you might double the number of clients you attract just by offering the guarantee. And even if you do issue a refund once in awhile, the fees you earn from your new clients would greatly surpass the amount you return.
Also, remember, if you offer a guarantee and then decide it was not a good idea, you can always go back to your previous policy. So, don’t feel the guarantee is etched in stone. It’s for as long as you wish, and nothing more.
I urge you to put your guarantee in writing and make it an integral part of your marketing materials and website.
Accountability is often lacking in business today, especially in the area of professional services. You create a substantial competitive advantage for yourself and your firm when you write down all the things you guarantee to provide your clients.
Then when you promote your guarantee — asserting that you do it for your clients’ protection — prospects will see immediately one more important way you differ from other lawyers.
And emphasizing your competitive advantages is what marketing’s all about.
About the Author
Trey Ryder specializes in Education-Based Marketing for lawyers. He has provided marketing services for lawyers for 37 years. Trey offers three free articles: 7 Secrets of Dignified Marketing, Marketing Secrets of Superstar Lawyers, 11 Brochure Mistakes Lawyers Make To receive these articles, send your name and e-mail address to trey@treyryder.com and ask for his free e-mail packet of articles.
Attorneys – Check it Out!! LET STEVEN HEISLER, “THE INJURY LAWYER”, AND THE LAW OFFICES OF STEVEN H. HEISLER BE YOUR GO TO INJURY ATTORNEYS IN THE STATE OF MARYLAND. If you have a client who has been in an accident, job injury, or any other type of injury in Maryland, don’t hesitate to call or email Steve personally to discuss. Steve has received referrals from numerous attorneys throughout the United States and will gladly provide references. sheisler@injurylawyermd.com410-625-4878 (HURT)877-228-4878 (HURT)www.theinjurylawyermd.comCell- 443-854-2471
Quick TipBy: David Ward, Esq. You want to grow your firm–bring on some major clients who provide status and billings and open doors to other clients of a similar ilk. You don’t have family or business connections that can deliver those types of clients (or you would already have them). What can you do? The usual strategy is to find ways to network with people who own, manage, or advise the kinds of clients you want to acquire. Promote their business or cause, introduce them to people who can help them, or otherwise add value to the relationship. One of their existing attorneys may retire, screw up, or have a conflict, and you may get the nod. Or, one of your new friends will introduce you to some of their contacts–smaller companies in their niche who need legal help, or people who know them. You might offer these smaller clients a sweet deal because one of these companies may take off and you can grow with them. Plus, you’ll have your foot in the industry door. Just being able to say you represent a certain company or you are on a board with some of the players in the industry may elevate your status enough to allow you to attract bigger clients. All of this will be easier if you focus on a niche market. You’ll have an edge over other firms because of your specialized knowledge and connections. You’ll know the issues, the people, the trends, and you can provide more value to people in that niche. So, that’s the usual way to do it. Hard work, provide value, bide your time. But there is another way. You can hire (or merge with) attorneys (or firms) that already have the types of clients you want. Offer them a good deal because they can bring you more clients like their existing book of business.
About the Author:David Ward is an attorney and marketing consultant to attorneys. His website is The Attorney Marketing Center where he offers a free newsletter about marketing, productivity, and personal development.
You can learn more at: http://attorneymarketing.com
That’s it for this week. I’ll have a brand new issue for you this time next week. Also, if you have any questions or comments about the content in this newsletter please email me at sheisler@injurylawyermd.com ~SHH
