The character traits we are looking at this week, gratitude and optimism, seem pretty straightforward. After all, you’ve surely thanked your clients for their business, and having a generally positive attitude is easy enough. But our experiences at Wicker Park Group have taught us that taking purposeful steps to effectively express gratitude and cultivate an optimistic attitude can easily make or break a client relationship.

Gratitude
No client relationship is ever going to be successful if the client does not feel appreciated by you and your team. It’s easy for an attorney to assume that clients know they are appreciated, but too often that’s not the case. In an interview with Wicker Park Group, a client who was unhappy with the outside counsel relationship mentioned how much it bothered him that his attorneys never expressed gratitude. He said, “Every now and then it would be nice if they said, ‘Thanks for taking the time with the project, and by the way what’s going on in your day-to-day life?’ It’s about building a relationship.” The client hit on the fundamental point: it is about the relationship. And even though “building a relationship” can sound daunting, just picking up the phone for a thank-you call is an easy first step.

An executive at a large retailer once described in a client interview how outside counsel, after finishing a project, sent a nice e-mail and left a voicemail expressing his appreciation for the work. The executive said, “It was very classy. He took the time to say ‘Thank you so much.’ He has a big fan club here.” The action took only a few minutes but left a huge impression.
“One thing that [my attorney] always does, in every conversation, is to make me feel like he values us as a client and appreciates working for us,” said another interviewee. “He thanks us for being his client.”

Optimism
In addition to being appreciative, it’s also highly valuable to cultivate more of an optimistic attitude in your day-to-day working life. As a client told Wicker Park Group, “No one wants to do business with an Eeyore.”

While it creates a pleasant work environment, being optimistic can also help you face obstacles and maintain control over situations for your clients. In the book Primal Leadership, psychologist Daniel Goleman and his co-authors write that “a leader who is optimistic can roll with the punches, seeing an opportunity rather than a threat in a setback. Such leaders see others positively, expecting the best of them.”

Another client told Wicker Park Group that one of the attorneys on her outside counsel team was unnecessarily “negative and insecure” about the relationship whenever constructive feedback was provided. The attorney responded to criticism by suggesting he was not right for the work, when the client only wanted him to work on the problem. By responding to criticisms and other obstacles with optimism, you can prove your dedication and avoid potentially losing a client.

Take a few minutes and think about how to incorporate more optimism and gratitude into your client relationships; you won’t be disappointed with the results.

Next week we’ll discuss the benefits of curiosity, so stay tuned for the final post in this series.

In our ongoing look at the seven character traits of high achievers, we are devoting this post to an important one: social intelligence. Daniel Goleman, a psychologist and expert in social intelligence, explains in an article for the Harvard Business Review that neuroscience research has shown us the high value of social intelligence and its impact on successful leadership.

Without getting into the science behind it (which you can read about in the article), these are the main components of social intelligence:

• Empathy – Do you understand what motivates others? Are you sensitive to their needs?


• Attunement – Do you listen attentively and think about how others feel?


• Organizational Awareness – Do you appreciate a group’s cultures and social networks?


• Influence – Can you persuade others by appealing to their interests and getting key support?


• Developing Others – Do you coach and mentor others with compassion?


• Inspiration – Do you articulate a compelling vision and foster a positive emotional tone?


• Teamwork – Do you foster cooperation and support all members?

So how do these traits relate to client relationship management? For starters, Wicker Park Group’s Nancy Mangan says that empathy is essential to relationship management. Nancy, who works with attorneys to develop these traits, explains, “It’s the essence of business development/sales to put yourself in someone’s shoes and thus figure out what motivates them and what is going to motivate them to select your product or service over someone else’s.” As a client once told Wicker Park Group of outside counsel, “I feel they care about our business as much as I do.”

When it comes to attunement with clients, even the small gestures can greatly impact client trust. A client who was extremely happy with outside counsel’s performance attributed the attorney’s ability to listen and respond well to the relationship’s success. As the client told Wicker Park Group, the attorney “always gives the impression that I am the most important call.” Adds Nancy, “[It’s important to] really listen and have a dialogue as opposed to throwing your legal expertise out there.”

Nancy also says that organizational awareness can play a huge role in the success of client relationship management. “We hear from clients that lawyers are offering boilerplate services and don’t understand their industry or their needs,” she says. “It’s critical to relationship management and business development, because by understanding more of what’s going on in the organization you start to get this more fully rounded picture of what’s going on with the client and how your services relate to what’s going on with the client.” A very complementary client spoke highly of outside counsel’s “thorough understanding” of the company’s culture and “what’s reasonable and not - within that culture and what we are comfortable doing.”

Alternatively, a client who was unhappy with outside counsel told Wicker Park Group, “They should meet with us and our management to better understand our competitive strategies and internal politics. Sometimes those are more fiery than the external [politics].”

The notion of mentorship is also very applicable to relationship management. It is always beneficial for a senior attorney to help a less experienced client develop professional skills. But it is also important for the client to see counsel mentoring more junior attorneys at the firm. A client from a large information services company made a point of saying in an interview that seeing such mentoring among her outside counsel was highly valuable. It increases the value of the entire team working for the client and also proves the relationship attorney’s attitude of teamwork.

Along those lines, clients almost always sense when a team of attorneys doesn’t work well together. And how can a client feel that outside counsel is a trusted advisor—a “part of the team”—if the attorney can’t even foster that spirit among colleagues? Echoing a sentiment we’ve heard many times before, one client noted to Wicker Park Group that he placed high value on the lack of “turf protection” among the partners at his chosen firm.

Nancy adds one final but essential point about all of these skills: While they are vital, they can be learned. “Part of the challenge is to help lawyers understand and embrace how critical these soft skills are,” she says. “That’s something lawyers often have a problem with. They think it’s either not important or they can’t develop those skills. They are merely behavioral skills; this is not something innate you are born with. This is a behavior you learn at some point. You begin engaging in it and you learn those skills.”

If you’re interested in learning more about social intelligence, contact Wicker Park Group regarding Nancy’s training and utilization of the Emotional and Social Competency Inventory, which measures emotional and social intelligence.

Labels: business development training, client relationship management, Emotional Intelligence, law firm business development

As we wrote in our previous post, we are exploring seven character traits of high achievers that also translate into great success for client relationship management and business development. In this post, we are covering zest, grit and self-control.

Zest
When we hear the term zest used within a professional context, a lot of us imagine the office “cheerleader” always telling everyone what a good job they’ve done. But that’s not really what this means—it means active participation and enthusiasm for the task ahead. When done right, zest makes people want to work with you and have more confidence in your abilities. Many times, we’ve heard clients specifically mention enthusiasm as a factor in who they hire and how they rate attorney abilities. In one instance, a large client of a mid-sized firm moved its work from the firm to another one because the client received an unsolicited “great pitch” from attorneys who were impressive and enthusiastic. The client said, “We hadn’t gotten the same experience or enthusiasm from [our former firm].”

Likewise, a GC once singled out passion for the law as an important added value. He said, “[I notice] when attorneys have a passion for the law, are passionate about their jobs, are passionate about providing legal services and it’s not just a rote experience for them. That’s infectious and that makes us want to work together. I think that helps breed a successful relationship.”

In another interview, a client pointedly expressed disappointment that outside counsel was always excited about their firm’s own programs and events even though the events were never really related to the client’s business. Any mention of programs that would match the client’s interests never garnered much excitement, and it made an impact on the client.

Yet another client noted in an interview that he knew his outside counsel was excited about his business because the senior partner demonstrated it by introducing him to other clients at the firm and frequently visiting the client’s facilities.

One cautionary point: Too often we hear outside counsel deciding what the client will do, say or think without asking. Having a zest for extraordinary client service, which is often characterized as “understanding me and my business,” doesn’t mean deciding what the client should do without asking the client.

These days, being an intelligent, competent attorney (or marketing professional, for that matter) isn’t enough. There are plenty of people that fit that category, and you’ve got to distinguish yourself. Zest is one way to do that.

Grit
People who achieve outstanding success—from Steve Jobs to Oprah—are often intelligent and motivated. But the most likely indicator of success might be grit, or single-minded devotion to accomplishing your task. As part of the research that eventually led to the seven character traits we are writing about, University of Pennsylvania professor Angela Duckworth created a simple 12-question “Grit Scale” and found it to be highly predictive of success in a variety of groups. (See Duckworth give a great lecture on grit at a TEDx conference here.)

What this means for client relationship management is that clients will recognize and greatly value a determined attorney. In one interview conducted by Wicker Park Group, a client mentioned that her outside counsel had made efforts to build a relationship with her after meeting at a conference for four years before she hired him on anything. He kept her informed on legal updates and industry news and gossip, which made her feel “plugged into the industry.” She now considers him a valued advisor and one of her primary legal service providers.

You can demonstrate perseverance to existing clients in a variety of ways, depending on the client and the situation. In one example, a general counsel expressed gratitude for his outside counsel’s extreme dedication to keeping him on track. He said, “[My outside counsel] will call me four times to keep me on task and I need it.”

Another attorney deeply impressed a client by submitting a proposal and then, when the proposal was not accepted, asking for specific feedback in order to submit a better one in the future. The client hired the attorney on the spot for an unrelated piece of work. We’ve also heard multiple clients praise those attorneys who doggedly take steps to keep learning the client’s business, even if they’ve worked together for years already.

Displaying grit, whether it’s in pursuit of new business or consistent pursuit of client goals, will make a big difference in your client relationships and requires resilience and a willingness to seek feedback and act on it. Malcolm Gladwell talks about the “10,000 Hour Rule” in Outliers – that’s extraordinary grit.

Self-Control
Having a high level of self-control can affect everything from how well you control your temper to how well you meet deadlines. Unsurprisingly, it plays a huge part in the management of your client relationships.

Keeping emotions in check and avoiding outbursts demonstrates that you are professional and sends signals about your ability to handle serious situations. As the authors of the book Primal Leadership write, “A hallmark of self-control is the leader who stays calm and clear-headed under high stress or during a crisis—or who remains unflappable even when confronted by a trying situation.”

Self-control is also about managing your more nuanced interactions. One bank client told Wicker Park Group that he was frustrated by his attorney’s tendency to get caught up in the speed of doing business. The client said, “[The attorneys] have such zeal to please the bank that they often rush ahead with edits and comments on a deal without considering what the end goal should be and how to best get to that goal.” Another talked about how annoyed he was when he and his team, along with his lead attorney, traveled out of state for a meeting on a major case. He watched the lead attorney sit on his Blackberry the whole afternoon and not give the situation the attention it needed.

Clients also greatly appreciate the attorneys who demonstrate self-control by admitting that someone else may be better suited or skilled to handle a certain matter and recommend another attorney. Take a minute and think about what you are saying to your clients in how you control your attitudes and emotions as well as your actions.

Next week we will focus on the character strength that is both highly important and often lacking: social intelligence.

Labels: business development training, client feedback, client perspective, client service, client voice, grit, law firm business development, law firm marketing, self control, zest

In a fascinating article in The New York Times Magazine I read that several educators across various socioeconomic backgrounds are trying to measure and improve the character of their students. The idea is that by improving character, particularly “performance character,” the students will be better prepared to face the challenges of college and adulthood. Based on the research of two psychology professors, the educators came up with a list of seven strengths that are most likely to predict life satisfaction and high achievement:

• Zest
• Grit
• Self-control
• Social Intelligence
• Gratitude
• Optimism
• Curiosity

Here’s the kicker: These seven indicators are also ingredients that will lead to success in client relationship management and business development. Each character strength feeds into how you relate to your clients, how you achieve desired results and how you manage all of the relationships around you successfully. Do you know how you measure up?

Over a series of blog posts, we are going to explore the meaning of each trait, ideas for improving your own performance character and how you can utilize these seven strengths within the world of client management. Stay tuned to learn more.

Labels: business development training, client feedback, client service, law firm business development