Learn How To Best Serve Your Business
Mark strives to make sure each of his clients has the most positive experience with his firm as possible. He notes that criminal defense lawyers often get a bad rap in the public eye for being uninvested in their clients’ needs.
Mark is rewriting that narrative. He has found that investing in his business and its operations ultimately means investing in his clients.
“My highest value to the firm is not actually being in court. … [It] is being able to be in the office and sign up clients … because that’s the way the firm can move forward and grow.”
Get The Support Your Business Needs
Mark recalls meeting a new attorney making a seven-figure salary just three years after she started practicing law. He was blown away. Her secret: She had a business coach.
Mark admits a good business coach is expensive, but it quickly pays off. Within the first year of receiving coaching, his business doubled.
His coach has helped him manage sales and client intake better and create efficient systems. Implementing sound systems and processes can ensure a scalable and repeatable result that delivers high value to your clients.
Mark’s firm didn’t stagnate during the 2020 pandemic — in fact, it grew. He offers tips he learned both from his business coach and the pandemic:
- Give your business the support it needs, even if you think you can’t afford it
- Don’t eliminate your marketing budget
- Don’t allow yourself to fall victim to a “too busy” mentality
If your firm needs support in a specific area, respond, and you will see the return.
Automate For More Human Client Experiences
Automation paradoxically has created the opportunity for Mark’s firm to serve his clients on a more human level and has made more time for him to be a human, too. For example, he hired a call center so prospective clients could reach the firm and schedule an appointment at any time.
As a result, potential clients receive attention when needed, and Mark can spend his weekends with his wife and new son.
Automation, however, should never replace intentionality. When it comes to securing a prospective client, Mark and his team implement the “READ” process:
- Relate: At the first consultation meeting, get to know the client and share common ground before reading their paperwork.
- Establish the need: Ask the client what their specific concerns for their case are.
- Advance a tailored solution: Carefully listen to those concerns and craft a way forward specific to the client and their needs.
- Develop commitment: Create a firm closing. Ask the client if there’s any reason you shouldn’t move forward together based on the information they’ve provided.
Mark offers a formula: Listen 80% of the time, talk 20%. People want to be understood, and knowing their problem is important.
Best Practices
Mark has a wealth of experience and wisdom. He stresses the importance of setting personal and business goals — and to do so every 90 days.
Personal goals can help you be a better strategic business owner and avoid burning out. Make time for your family, friends, and hobbies. Investing in your personal life is also an investment in your business.
Learn More:
The Law Office of Mark G Scheurerman
