You’ve done a great job. Everything has gone as planned. The outcome is better than you expected. However, your client is unhappy.

Your opponent was mediocre. He wasn’t well prepared. Everything about his work was second-rate. The outcome wasn’t good. His client is happy. In fact, his client is much happier than yours.

How can that be? How can things have gone so well for your client, yet your client is disappointed?

The difference is the gap between what the client expected and what you delivered. For some reason, your client expected more than you delivered. For some reason, your opponent’s client expected less than your opponent delivered.

The key to happy clients is managing those expectations. You need to make promises and then overdeliver on those promises.

Taking things to the extreme: “I promise you’ll see your children again at some point before you die.” Client gets alternating weekend visits, and I’m the hero. “I promise you’ll have enough money to eat–beans and rice, that is–at least once per day.” Client can afford to eat in a restaurant once or twice a month after the judge rules. Again, I’m the hero.

You have to manage your clients’ expectations proactively. You don’t want to leave your clients free to imagine whatever outcome they please. Inevitably, they’re going to expect an outcome that’s better than you can deliver. It’s inevitable. You should start managing expectations from the moment of your first contact.

You should go beyond managing expectations about results. You should also manage expectations about fees, call return times, who will be the primary contact, and the like. Start early and keep managing expectations throughout the representation.

The fact is that client satisfaction is totally determined by how your clients compare what they expected to what you delivered. You have a huge impact on what they expect. Grab their expectations by the horns and rein them in. Then exceed those expectations by doing more than your clients ever thought you would or could do.