The client’s case is finished, and you close the file. Do you ever speak to the client again?
My half-true/kinda joking response is “NOT if I can help it.” I’m sure you know what I mean. Sometimes these people can drive you crazy.
However, it is a mistake to avoid them. Keeping in touch is the better practice.
Former clients are often the most valuable asset of a practice. These folks wander around saying good things about us and referring their friends and family. But what happens when we lose touch with them? What happens when their memory of our representation starts to fade?
Realistically, they talk about us for a short while, but then they move on. Their lives bump into the next issue, and we become a faint and distant memory. Sadly, we’re forgettable.
Reminding Your Clients That You Exist
There’s no reason for them to forget about us. There’s no reason for them to go elsewhere when they need legal services. We can be proactive about staying top of mind.
There’s an app for that!
I met the guys behind PracBuilder. They call it your virtual marketing director. That might be a stretch (but who am I to criticize marketing talk?).
What PracBuilder does is maintain your relationships automatically via e-mail. It helps you create templated e-mails and then send them on a schedule. It’s loaded with cool features, and it was built from the ground up with lawyers in mind.
PracBuilder team members interviewed tons of lawyers before building the product. They asked questions, and they listened. They incorporated lawyer concerns into the product.
Then they released a version and let lawyers use it. It worked, but it needed some tweaking based on lawyer feedback. They did the tweaking. These guys may be the most responsive software developers I’ve ever met.
Think of PracBuilder as a cross between an e-mail sender and a tickler system on steroids. It’s awesome in the way it helps people remember you. But, and this is critical, it never takes action without your explicit approval. It never sends a canned e-mail without asking you. You don’t have to worry about some birthday greeting going out the day after the dude died. You’ll be asked first whether you want the e-mail sent.
Getting the Best Out of Your Virtual Marketer
PracBuilder comes ready to roll. It has all kinds of built-in e-mails, systems, etc. If you want, you then customize and tailor the product to your operation. Of course, you can get started and tweak the e-mails as you go.
I love how PracBuilder tells you what to do and when to do it. Sometimes we just need some guidance, and this system provides it. You can use it to nurture relationships with current clients, former clients, and referral sources. It adapts well to different use cases.
Best of all, this product is cheap. It’s $30 a month with no commitment. You can pay for a year at $270. That’s a really good deal for what you’re getting.
If I were you, I’d get started with the system and incorporate former clients. Then I’d move on to referral sources and existing clients. Then I’d get fancy and automate the onboarding of new clients. The system is flexible and powerful. You can do all sorts of sorting, tagging, customizing, and organizing.
Or you can just use PracBuilder as is, with no tweaking, and you’ll start getting calls from old clients who otherwise have forgotten all about you.
I’ve set up a 10% discount for Divorce Discourse readers (using promotion code: DISCOURSE). It’s not much of a savings since this product is already inexpensive, but hey, it’s $3 a month. Can you say Starbucks? Use this link to get your discount.
