Selling is about three things: listening, hearing, and helping. If you master those three, you’ll have more business than you can handle.
Unfortunately, most of us jump right to the third element and “help” ourselves right out of a client.
Listening means shutting your mouth and letting the prospective client talk.
Hearing means gaining certainty that what you understood is, in fact, what was being said.
Helping is, well, helping. It’s coming up with a plan, a solution—it’s problem solving. It’s the thing we love to do and are frequently pretty good at.
Let’s talk about listening. The next time you conduct an initial consultation, take some notes. Make a record of how much you talked and how much the prospect talked.
A good initial consult goes something like this:
“Welcome. I’m John Doe. I’m glad we could get you in so quickly. Why don’t you tell me what’s going on.”
You now listen for 30-45 minutes without saying much other than “oh” or “that sounds awful.”
At some point, your visitor will run out of gas. That’s when you ask a few follow-up questions. When the person really runs out of things to say to you, briefly restate the facts of the person’s case, making sure that you heard what he or she said. This may inspire some more talking and clarifying. Let the person run out of gas again.
Finally, you should briefly go over the plan. Keep in mind that the potential client isn’t likely to absorb much information. Keep it simple. Explain the necessary first steps, the fees, and your process. Stick to the basics.
When all is said and done, an initial consultation is usually 90% client talk and 10% lawyer talk. If your notes indicate that you’re talking more than about 10% of the time, then you’re likely not listening and hearing as much as necessary. In fact, if you’re busy talking, you probably weren’t able to take the notes to track the talking time for you and your client.
Write a note in your palm that says “listening, hearing, helping” and refer to it Sarah Palin-style during your consult. The next thing you know, you’ll be drafting and executing a retainer agreement for your new client.
