🟣 Law Firm Owners:  Do your fee-earners use their headline rate all the time? Most of the time?  Sometimes?  Rarely?  Never? 

Apologies for being Joe Blunt but I can pretty well guarantee that they won’t all use it all the time.

🟣So, my next question is do you know the answer to that question?

Maybe you do and maybe you don’t.

🟣Do you expect them to use their headline rate all the time?

🟣Whatever your answers are, what is the point of a headline rate if it’s not being consistently used?

Now that’s a great question, though I say it myself.

🟣Since I imagine your headline rates have been calculated to cover costs and make a certain profit, if fee-earners are not using it all the time, what is the impact on the business?

💥Yep – a loss of revenue.

🟣How much?

Fill in the answer.

🟣Is it sustainable?

🟣How long for?

So many questions.

🟣The next biggie is why do your fee-earners not use their headline rate?

💥Because they do not believe they are worth it.

💥Because they are not comfortable with the rate.

💥Because they think thoughts like:  I wouldn’t want to pay that.

🟣So, what is the solution?

You have to help your fee-earners understand why their headline rate is what it is by explaining it.

Even if you do that, it won’t be enough, because you need to tackle their inner thoughts and feelings.

And with all due respect, you probably don’t know how to do that.

Which is where I come in.

✅I help law firms (and other service-based businesses) to get paid their true worth consistently and unapologetically while keeping their clients happy, by uncovering and eliminating those behaviours which cause a financial loss.

 If you want to know more, just get in touch.

Law Firms:  This is Crucial to Know

Have you ever considered how your lawyers’ thoughts may impact on your firm’s bottom line?

Probably not unless you’re a linguist or a personal development coach of some sort.

Here are 5 phrases which I recommend they remove from their language.

❌ I’ll try.  The word try is just a three-letter word and not rude at all, yet it is an evil little sod.  What it means is that I probably won’t do it.  It’s a get out clause and is almost sure to lead to failure.  In a child, it usually comes with a whiney voice. 

Parents you will recognise this one, I’m sure.

So your lawyers might be avoiding doing things which are crucial to the business, yet nothing to do with their legal work.

Bin it!

Instead say:

✅ I’ll do it!

❌ I should … Fill in the blanks.  I should do this, I should do that, I should do the other.  What they really mean is I don’t want to do it and I am feeling pressurised in some way or other. 

I call it the wagging finger of the inner parent. 

Yes, you’ve guessed.  Bin it!

✅ Instead replace it with the word ‘could’.  This immediately gives you choice.  Choice is power. I could do this.  Oh how empowering!

They no longer feel obliged to do something.  This means that they choose to do things with good grace. 

What a different energy that is.

❌I’ll chase up that prospect, that non-payment of invoice or whatever else is outstanding.

Chasing implies that someone or something will run away.  So, it doesn’t feel good. 

It’s uncomfortable and there is a reluctance to do it.  And yet I hear my clients using the word, until I correct them of course. 😊 

It is very commonplace.

Bin it!

✅Instead use the phrase follow-up.  This is neutral.

It makes the task much easier.  The resistance has been eliminated.

How cool is that?

❌ I have to justify my fees.  Oh whenever I hear the word justify in relation to charging, I cringe. 

It means the person justifying does not actually believe that they are worth it. 

How sad is that?

It comes from a place of fear.

This means there is work to be done to change the perception. 

✅What can you say instead?  Let me look at the value I am providing my client. 

Let me reflect on my years’ experience and the results I have gained for previous clients.

Let me communicate that value to clients with confidence and certainty. 

There is no defensiveness or having to prove anything.

Not every prospect may understand your value and that’s OK. 

Those ones may not be your clients.

This is just the tip of the iceberg.

Every thought your lawyer has may be impacting your bottom line.

Will you leave this to chance?

✅I help law firms (and other service-based businesses) to get paid their true worth consistently and unapologetically while keeping their clients happy, by eliminating those behaviours which cause a financial loss.

If you want to know more, just get in touch.

Law firms: Do your fee-earners manage clients’ expectations well or not? 

In many instances, I would expect the answer to be no.

You would think it would be easy, wouldn’t you? Yet it’s not.

Why?  For a few reasons:

🧿Because they are focused on the legal work and not on communicating clearly with the client.

🧿Because they lack confidence.

🧿Because they don’t know what to say.

🧿Because they under-estimate how long a job will take. 

This means that they tell the client that the job will be completed on a certain date or at a certain time, but it is unrealistic.

Why do they do this?

🟣Because it’s human nature to under-estimate and they don’t know that.

🟣 Because they are people-pleasers and want to keep the client happy, but it backfires on them.

🟣Because it’s a habit that they keep on repeating.

Then what happens?

💧They miss the deadline and worse still,

💧they do not go back and tell the client!

Result:  One not-so-happy client who then has ammunition to ask for money off the bill.

What’s the solution?

💥Ask the client how urgent the job is. It may not be.

💥Ask the following question: How long will it really take me to do this job?

💥Add on another 20%.

💥Communicate clearly with the client, unapologetically, about how long it will take.

💥Add in that if you can improve on the time, you will, but not at the expense of the quality.

💥Reassure the client that you will keep them informed.

💥If things change, always let the client know.

✅Using, my unique True Worth methodology, I help law firms (and other service-based businesses) to get paid their true worth consistently and unapologetically while keeping their clients happy.

Result: Billing up, recovery rates up, confidence up.

 Want to know more then do get in touch.

Whoa.  Hold your horses and stop for one moment and just think about that.  It’s a bold statement and yet it’s true.

In fact, I want to expand that statement by saying:

💥your thoughts are more powerful than anything or anyone. 💥

There I’ve said it!

What are you thinking right now about that statement?

Is it, oh fantastic, I’m in charge or is it, no that can’t possibly be true?

Are your thoughts predominantly positive or predominantly negative❓

Whatever your answer, it’s just a habit and habits can be changed.

Many of your thoughts come from your subconscious mind. 

This means that they are the same thoughts you had yesterday, last week, last month, last year, last decade!

If you look at what is not working in your business or your life, you can be certain that part of the problem is your thinking.

💥You are in charge of that, no-one else. 💥

💥No-one to blame, not even yourself. 💥

So, let’s use an example related to my subject matter.

You raise an invoice for a client.

When you look at it, you think:

“Oh that’s a lot to charge.”

You feel decidedly uncomfortable and don’t like the feeling.

So you knock a bit off.

You still feel uncomfortable.

So you knock a bit more off.

Eventually, you decide that’s good enough and send the invoice off holding your breath.

So, who was in charge of that?

It was the thought, not you.

💥Remember your thoughts are more powerful than anything or anyone – for good or for bad. 💥

It was a thought you had had many times before, so it was well practised and therefore easy to do.

But if you think about it rationally, it’s really not good for business.

If you are one of the owners of a law firm, or other business for that matter, how many of your client-facing staff are doing that ❓

And how often ❓

Don’t know ❓

Well, they probably won’t come clean anyway.

To start the process of overcoming this challenge, may I suggest you grab a copy of my Best-Seller, True Worth or several copies, for that matter.

Here’s the link https://www.thetrueworthexpert.com/pandp/

It will get them thinking on the right track …

And then give me a call.

I’m not being rude, honestly.  Once you’ve stated your fees, stop talking. 

Visualise putting an imaginary hand over your mouth.

When you are nervous, the tendency is to carry on talking, to try and justify your charges.

As soon as you do that, you’re doomed.

Because it means that you don’t believe you’re worth what you’re asking for.

Logic therefore dictates that if you don’t, neither will your client.

So they are likely to push back or ask for a discount.

When you stop talking, you give the prospect an opportunity to speak.

And if they do push back, you need to be able to handle their objections.

In fact, you can be even braver than that.  Here’s my simple three step process.

💎State your fees

💎 Ask how that fits in with their budget.

💎 Shut up!

Can you be certain that your people are 100% confident in this process.

✅I help law firms and other service-based businesses get paid their true worth unapologetically and consistently using my unique True Worth methodology.  If your people need help with this, please get in touch.

It becomes a vicious circle as the fearful behaviour is repeated and repeated.

If you relate it to my expertise helping professionals get paid their true worth, here is some imaginary dialogue.

 Oh shit, I can’t possibly charge that.

you need to consider that it may be time to increase them.

It’s a lot to ask them to pay. 

What if they won’t pay it? 

After all, there’s a recession on. 

People will expect to get a lower price. 

Joe Bloggs down the road will do it cheaper.

If I don’t reduce my fees, I’ll lose the business and then what? 

I’ll lose my job, I’ll lose my business, I’ll lose my home!

Help!

On and on the diatribe in the mind will go ad nauseum, until you are in such an awful state that you are sweating like crazy. 

Now you’ll do absolutely anything to feel better.

Discount, sure why not?  How much would you like me to knock off?

£100? £200? £500? £1,000?

No worries, I’ll do it for free!

Whatever you say Mr or Mrs Client.

After all, the client has the power, doesn’t she?

Only if YOU let them!

STOP!

Here are 5 things to do to recession-proof your business:

💜Switch the news off.  Stop eating it morning, noon, and night.  What you focus on is what expands. 

So, if you focus on recession, you will act upon it and create exactly what you don’t want!

💜Speak positively to yourself.  Talk yourself up.  Tell yourself why you are worth the money you charge.

💜Stick to your guns when clients try to push your fees down.  Focus on the value you are creating for them.

💜Be very clear on who your clients are and who they are not.  Continue to be discerning.  Don’t just grab any work that comes along, otherwise you will become a busy fool.

💜Continue to invest in the business and invest in yourself. 

If you provide an excellent service and follow the above steps, you will pull through or better still thrive.

If you focus on the recession, you will not.

Whether you like it or not, this is impacting on your people.

What are you going to do to make sure that your people are recession-proof?

Speak to me if you’d like to maximise your fees and stay sane!