I learned a new word today: Askhole. It means, “A person who continually asks for your advice and then always does the opposite of what you told them.”
You’ve got clients like that, right? So you know how frustrating it is to give them your expert (and expensive) advice only to see them ignore it.
Even lawyers do it. In fact, lawyers probably do it more than regular folks. I’ve done hundreds of consultations with lawyers who seek out my advice, pay for it, and then, I’m pretty sure, do nothing.
Oh well. As long as their check cleared.
Here’s what’s interesting. I can almost always tell that they’re not going to follow my advice at the very moment I’m giving it to them.
They’re only half listening. They’re not asking questions or writing anything down. They’re going through the motions of getting advice but their voice tells me they aren’t going to follow it.
Why? Because they don’t want to.
They don’t want to change what they’re doing. They don’t want to hear that they’ve been doing something wrong. In fact, I suspect that many lawyers hire me not because they want to learn something but because they want me to validate what they’re currently doing.
When I don’t, they stick their fingers in their ears and say, “la la la, I can’t hear you.”
Does it bother me? Hey, I’m not their mother. I can’t make them follow my advice.
Okay, it is frustrating. But when I talk to a lawyer who “gets it,” it makes it all worthwhile.
Last week, I did a consultation with a personal injury attorney who wanted my help with his advertising and his website. The ads he’s been running for a long time aren’t doing as well as before. Within 30 seconds, I knew what the problem was and told him what to do.
Problem diagnosed. Problem solved.
I don’t know if he’ll follow all of my advice, but I’m pretty sure he’ll do what I suggested about his ad and website. I could hear it in his voice. He got it. It made sense to him. I could almost hear his palm slapping his forehead.
While there’s no guarantee that it will work, at least he’s got something to try. Which is better than being an Askhole and doing nothing.
Fix your website and make the phone ring
