Professional Marketing Blog by Larry Bodine

Bob Boehm, an in-house lawyer, presented a rollicking and lively talk on the “Top Ten ‘What Not To Do’s’ at When Conducting Client Interviews,” at the NorthStar Conference on Conducting Client Interviews in Chicago.

Boehm has been a partner at a law firm, where he handled securities M&A, and is now General Counsel of Steiner Leisure Limited, a spa company based in Coral Gables, FL

Top Ten “What Not To Do’s” When Conducting Client Interviews

Don’t forget your goal: to help the client. You’ve got to be really careful whom you send to do the client interview. If you send the Chief Marketing Officer to do it and there’s no letter of introduction, it is a huge mistake. The message is “we’re here to help ourselves.” You’ve got to be really careful. During the course of the interview, every question shouldn’t suggest that you’re trying to generate new business. Think how the question will play in the client’s mind, otherwise the interview can turn 180 degrees and will kill you. Be smart, everything you do should be done to help the client.
Don’t force the issue. Let’s say you spend months calling your client about the interview, and finally you reach them, and they say they’re too busy. You say to yourself, “This client is an idiot. Why don’t they want to do this?” Don’t force it. As a GC, I’m really busy. I may not want to meet with your lawyer, because it may not be the best use of my time. Don’t tell the clients what he or she needs. What you could do is say, “I’m going to call you back in a few months.” But don’t force the issue. They’ll feel you’re shoving marketing down their throat.”
Don’t make it seem as if you are doing this to help your law firm attract clients. Don’t let the client think this is a fishing expedition to get more business. Sometimes really smart lawyers say really dumb things. It’s so transparent when they are only posturing themselves to attract other clients in the industry.
Don’t make it a burden. I think that a person-to-person interview is the best way to do it, but your client may not think so. Your client may not have time and may just want a questionnaire. Do whatever the client wants, or don’t do it at all. You are taking a client away from working on other things. Make it easy for them. Make sure it’s user-friendly and you’re not taking up too much of their time.
Don’t bill for it. You wouldn’t think a law firm would be that stupid as to bill for a client interview. But, for example, I recently got a bill from a law firm – it had a one hour charge for “transitioning work to other associates” because an associate was leaving the firm. The partner should have reviewed the bill. You can put one hour of stupidity on a $50,000 bill, and the client will remember the stupidity.
Don’t leave yourself cell phone on or do dumb things. If your cell phone rings during a client interview, you’ve wasted it. You want to convey to your client “I love you and I want you to love me.” An interruption from a ringing cell phone wrecks this message.
Don’t ask the wrong questions. There may be awkward questions that make the General Counsel uncomfortable. Think about whom you’re talking to. Don’t get into a sensitive area, like where the GC messed up on. You’re talking about people’s careers. Don’t ask a question that will cost the GC his job.
However, don’t be afraid to ask questions that will elicit a response like, “you have a person at your firm that does that?” You should ask those tough questions about your own firm.
Don’t use the wrong personnel. Whom do you use? It depends. You’ve got to think about the relationship you have with the client, and how they will react to whom you use. For example, I tell my outside law firms in a nice way when I’m upset. For example, I was upset with a bill I got recently and I told the relationship manager. But other people would rather tell a third party because they want to say “I hate those people I’m working with.” Lawyers sometimes don’t put themselves in the shoes of the other party. Think about the other person, that’s the key
Don’t bother doing it if you are not going to use what you learn. It is much better to suffer a mediocre relationship with a client than to have them feel “you wasted my time, picked my brain and did nothing about it.” It’s worse not to follow through than not to ask the questions.