The holidays are upon us and it’s a time when everyone takes actions to
show their gratitude. But why confine it to only one or two months out of
twelve? Whether you have existing clients or someone nibbling on the postcard
hook, or you are out there stone cold calling, take some donuts, or some candy,
or a nice basket with cookies. I do this
quite often with my existing clients; yes, existing. This simple gesture does two things; it builds customer loyalty, and it lets anyone
else in that law firm who isn’t a client want to be your client so they can be
the recipient of those goodies. When
following up with those who are not yet a client, but who have shown some interest
by responding to some of your other marketing, follow up on the call by making
a visit with a sweet offering.
Most of the people you are going to be dealing with on a day-to-day
basis are legal assistants; secretaries, paralegals and legal assistants who are
predominantly female. What wonderful
lady doesn’t like chocolate? Or scented
candles? Or cookies? Bubble
bath soap? If they weren’t a client yet,
by the time you leave the law firm, they will be if not for the simple reason that
you made them feel special with your nice gift.
Holidays are the perfect time to focus on gift giving, Halloween, Christmas
or even Valentine’s Day, but so is any other day of the year.
Here’s a perfect example of how it can work. A particular legal assistant at a law firm
where I did not have clients had contacted me about obtaining a copy of a court
document. She knew I had retrieved a copy of this document for a client of mine
who happened to be on the other side of the lawsuit her law firm was working
on. She just wanted to get a copy of the
document and knew I could provide it as I had a copy already. Her firm was going to (naturally) pay for the
copy, but that didn’t mean at this point she was going to start using me to
obtain court documents or serve legal process or conduct investigations for her
on a regular basis. I saw this one
contact as an opportunity and used it to my advantage.
I provided what she needed and sent it to her along with my invoice. A month went by and the invoice came up in my
accounting system as having not been paid.
I wasn’t worried that I wouldn’t get paid. Someone else might have, but I was familiar
with the type of law firm she worked at and had a good feeling that it was
merely an oversight by accounting department folks (which it was). I contacted her, and gently reminded her that
the invoice had come up past due. I also
made some small-talk with her, and was generally friendly in tone, then hung up
and went about my day. A week later the
invoice was paid. But that isn’t the end
of the story.
Since I had had some interaction with this legal assistant, I put her
on my list for a goody basket for Christmas.
I went to the firm in person and delivered a basket filled with the
candy and cookies. Instead of being
confronted by the receptionist as just another solicitor (with a scowl), I was
instead welcomed (with a glowing smile).
I introduced myself, said I had a basket for the legal assistant, and
asked if she could come and get it so I could meet her.
As it turned out, the legal assistant wasn’t in that day, but that was
fine. I left the basket for her with her
name on it and my business cards in it.
Then six weeks later, Valentine’s Day came up. I did the same thing. I delivered a nicely boxed Valentine
chocolate from a very high-end chocolatier. The legal assistant was out to lunch, so again
I couldn’t meet her (honestly, my timing was simply off with this one).
On St. Patrick’s Day, I went with a bag of goodies to help celebrate
that holiday. This time, I figured, I
haven’t received any work from her, or a thank you, or a phone call, and had
not been able to meet with her, so I just left the bag of goodies, and figured
this would probably be the last shot at it.
A week went by and I received a handwritten note from her on the law
firm’s stationery. She told me how sorry
she was for not having written sooner, or having called to say thank you, but
she was so happy for the goodies she had received over the last few
months. In fact, she was most
appreciative of the Valentine’s Day gift as she was single and had been feeling
gloomy on Valentine’s Day until my gift showed up. I still have the letter to this day even
though it was written years ago.
Subsequently, she called me to serve a subpoena for her attorney. Then another assignment came in -- and then another
and another. Then another legal
assistant in her law firm contacted me.
She said she had been referred by the first and needed a citation
served, and then she called again a few weeks later, and then called again, and
again, etc. This went on throughout that
law firm, which was a sizable office with a couple dozen attorneys.
To this day, I still receive a substantial
number of assignments from various legal assistants and attorneys in that law
firm, and some of them have become good friends beyond being merely just
clients. From that one opportunity and a
little persistence combined with sweet bribery of the chocolate type, I was
able to obtain a repeat client and a large stream of continuous income. That first legal assistant eventually left
that law firm and went to another. She
recommended me around the office of her new law firm. Then she moved on to another law firm and did
the same thing there. I didn’t even need
to sell to these other law firms. She
did the selling for me and all because I made her day … one day …Valentine’s
Day.
But, you might ask, why do this for existing clients? I already have their business. Why would I
want to spend the time and the money?
Two reasons: loyalty, and because I personally enjoy giving. It feels good to give.
Look, your clients are, and will always be, the only reason you are in
business. Without them, you have no
business. You have no income. You have
no house, car, computer, phone, vacation money, groceries, or electricity. Take care of each one of them as if their
assignments were the only ones you have in your hand. If you show them appreciation (i.e., a little
love, a little friendship), along with a competent service, they will be a
customer for life. What’s more, you will
have such a good feeling in your heart when you see the look in their eyes once
they get a nice gift for the holidays.
You’re giving back, you’re saying thank you for the business they have
given you which has allowed you to feed your family or make your mortgage
payment. Show a little love and be
grateful.
I am so thankful for the opportunity my friends (clients) have provided
me by being of service to them. If they hadn’t let me serve their papers, or
retrieve their court documents, or investigate the matters involved in their
lawsuits, I would be homeless … or worse yet, working in a dead-end job for
somebody else. They have given me
everything and I rejoice in that.
Even if it is just a basket of cookies, it is the very least I can do to
bring them a little something to show my appreciation that they do business
with me. And you should do the same with
your existing clients. It is an
expression of gratitude which can nurture the continuance of a relationship
with your customer. And, being nice is a gift you give yourself.
As a final
thought, if you know of someone who is just starting out their process server
business, consider gifting them with a copy of my book The Business End of Process Service, Running a Process Service Company
from the Ground Up or CounterSpy, The
Industrial Counter-Surveillance Manual, both available on Amazon.com
