Client loyalty

What do you say to a client who tries to negotiate your fee?

July 7, 2026 by David M. Ward

You make it clear you don’t reduce or negotiate fees, ask questions about what they want or need, and suggest looking for ways to adjust the size and scope of the engagement. You give them a path to getting the services and benefits they need without compromising your value.

If they tell you other lawyers charge a lower hourly rate, you tell them they’re not just paying for the hours of work, they’re paying for your experience and abilities, suggesting that you are better positioned to get them the outcome they desire, or do it more expeditiously.

And if it appears they simply can’t afford you, or don’t have the budget to hire you, you tell them you understand and offer to refer them to another lawyer you know who does good work and charges less.

Sometimes, that’s all it takes for them to realize that you are the best choice.

In every case, you maintain your posture and let the chips fall where they may. You don’t want “price shoppers”. Not every client is right for you, nor are you right for every client. If you do good work and have a good reputation, you should see most prospective clients saying yes.

If you don’t, if many prospective clients say you charge too much or they can’t afford you, or hire you once but don’t return, you might be charging more than your market can handle, or your marketing isn’t effectively communicating the value you deliver.

Adjustments might be warranted.

On the other hand, if most prospective clients say yes, hire you, return, and refer other clients, you might not be charging as much as you’re worth.

In which case, adjustments might be warranted.

The market ultimately tells you how much you’re worth and the market is always right.

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Filed Under: Client loyalty, Closing the sale, Fees and Billing

Do you have a ‘client loyalty plan’? Should you?

July 2, 2026 by David M. Ward

It sounds like a great idea, doesn’t it? Encourage first-time clients to hire you again, occasional clients to hire you more often. A plan that helps you increase revenue and decrease the expense and effort of attracting new clients–what lawyer or firm wouldn’t think that’s a good idea?

Maybe lawyers who think the whole idea smacks of commercialism, leaving a bad taste in their mouth. Maybe lawyers who see this as appropriate for a retail business, not a professional. “Are coupons and discounts next?”

Me? I say, “it depends”. It depends on how you do it.

If you announce the launch of a ‘client loyalty plan” and promote the idea to your clients and prospects and to other professionals, you might be playing with fire. If you quietly embrace the idea, and carefully and selectively implement it, you might be onto something big.

When a client gives you more business or otherwise demonstrates their patronage by providing you with referrals, testimonials, endorsements, invitations, and introductions, when they mention you in an article or quote something you said or mention something you did in their newsletter, when they hire you again for the third year in a row, when they invite you to speak at their networking event, why not acknowledge this and yes, reward them?

Maybe return the favor and introduce them to someone they should know. Maybe hold off for another six months or a year on fee increases your other clients are getting because they’ve been with you a long time. Maybe provide them with an extra service you ordinarily charge for, or promote their business or event in your newsletter.

Or maybe volunteer (i.e., without being asked) to write a recommendation for their child’s college application, because they are a valued client.

Show people you appreciate them. That’s the kind of client loyalty plan every lawyer should implement.

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Filed Under: Client loyalty, Client relations, Law office management, Relationship marketing

It’s simple

May 12, 2026 by David M. Ward

Building a successful practice isn’t easy. There are no shortcuts or hacks. Even if you have a lot of money and experience, even if you’re very good at what you do and have a great reputation, it takes a lot of blood, sweat, and tears (and years) to build the career and lifestyle I’m sure you want.

Stop looking for the secret sauce. Success is complicated.

But it’s also simple.

Yes, you have to get a lot of things right, but most of those things are small and obvious. You probably do most of them already.

Treating clients like you would like to be treated if you were in their shoes, for example. Being nice. Patiently explaining things. Going the extra mile.

Simple things like that.

But there’s a catch. You can’t be complacent. You have to keep doing the little things and you have to continuously improve them.

Professional services, after all.

So, here’s your plan:

Take inventory of every element in your marketing, client relations, and practice management. Brainstorm, talk to your employees and partners, and write down everything you do to get and keep clients and perform your services. Everything you do to attract them, get them to hire you, get them to return, and tell others about you.

It might be things you already do well but it could also be things that need fixing, or things you don’t do at all.

It should be a long list. Because success is complicated.

Next, the part that’s simple.

Choose something on your list you believe can be improved. Even a little. Because in any business, but especially in professional services, small, incremental improvements can make a very big difference. Attorneys work closely and directly with clients and those who can refer them, and little improvements get noticed.

All those little improvements compound and help you grow.

So, pick something and work on it. Make it better. Do it faster. Help clients and prospects feel a little better about you and your office.

Pick something you can improve and improve it. Then, look for something else and do that.

That’s the plan. And you can start on it immediately.

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Filed Under: Client loyalty, Client relations, Law office management, success

You’re not just paid for your legal services

February 26, 2026 by David M. Ward

Clients hire attorneys to solve legal problems and deliver desired outcomes. They want our advice and our work product. They pay for our services and the results we get for them.

But that’s not all we’re paid for.

We’re also paid for the experience we give our clients and, in great measure, that experience is just as important and valuable as the legal work we do and the outcomes we deliver.

It’s true. Airy-fairy as it may sound, clients value how we make them feel when we do what we do.

Your mom might have told you, it’s the little things that make the difference.

Little things like showing clients how hard you work to help them and how you give them hope.

A lot of it is in the tone of your voice, the look in your eyes, and the urgency with which you do what you do. The little things really aren’t little at all.

The way you respect them by seeing them at the time scheduled for their appointment (and apologizing if you were even a few minutes late); the way you refuse to look at your phone during your time with them, or the extra time you spend with them (off the clock) when they have more questions or are worried and need you to hold their hand.

And more.

The things you say or do that have nothing to do with your services, like sharing an idea you have that could help their business or telling them about your health challenge to encourage them about theirs.

Little things, like introducing them to people who can hire them, telling them about a support group you heard about that might have some answers they need or want.

It all counts. More than we might realize.

When you show clients you care about them as human beings more than you care about their business, you make them feel good about choosing you as their lawyer and good about themselves for overcoming their doubts and fears and taking a chance on you.

How you make clients feel doesn’t replace the work you do and the results you deliver, but it’s close.

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Filed Under: Client loyalty, Client relations

The truth, the whole truth, and (almost) nothing but the truth

February 10, 2026 by David M. Ward

You’re not good at everything. Sometimes you make mistakes. Sometimes you don’t do what you said you would do when you said you would do it.

You’re a lawyer. And pretty good at disguising your flaws, because why would you talk about them?

Why tell clients what you don’t do well or give them reasons to doubt you?

Because it might be the best thing you could do.

Transparency isn’t a common characteristic of most lawyers. We thrive on displaying strength and avoid revealing weakness. We say what must be said and avoid saying anything that doesn’t.

Of course we protect ourselves with disclaimers and disclosures in our retainer agreements, authorizations, invoices, and other documents, lest we later be accused of failing to disclose something.

We hide the negative in the fine print.

What if you shared some of that upfront? Better for clients to hear it from you instead of hearing it on social media or finding out after they’ve hired you.

What if, instead of downplaying some things that can go wrong with a case, you talk about them openly? What if you tell stories about problems you’ve seen in your practice and point out that not everything has a happy ending?

What if you tell clients what you do and what you don’t do? Tell them what you offer and what’s not included. Tell them you don’t handle “everything” and when you will refer them to someone you know and recommend.

How refreshing to hear some unvarnished truth from an attorney.

Transparency will let you differentiate yourself from most attorneys and give you a distinct marketing advantage by building trust and likeability.

You don’t have to walk around with a lie detector attached to your arm or take a truth serum before you meet with prospect clients.

Just don’t bury everything in 6-point type.

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Filed Under: Client loyalty, Image, Marketing legal services

Client retention made simple

December 9, 2025 by David M. Ward

Have you ever interviewed a new client, asked them the name of their previous attorney, and they can’t remember it?

Yeah. Me too.

Their previous attorney might have done a decent job for them, and treated them okay, but it wasn’t enough to get the client to return.

Don’t let that happen to you. Don’t assume that clients who aren’t unhappy will return, let alone give you referrals.

With client retention, assume nothing.

You need a plan.

Your plan has to be simple or (we both know), you won’t do it. Or won’t keep doing it, improving it, updating it. You’ll get complacent, and complacency is the enemy of a successful professional practice.

So here’s what I propose.

If you don’t already have one, in addition to the case file or a file dedicated to the legal matter for which you are hired, set up a separate file dedicated to the client who hired you.

What goes in that file? That’s up to you, of course, but I suggest you start with these 4 elements:

Profile. Everything you know about the client, their business, family, friends, contacts, interests, billing preferences, birthdays, milestones, what they want from you, why they left their former attorney, who they know, their ideal client or customer—everything.
Notes and ideas. What can you do to exceed their expectations? Future plans, people you might introduce them to, people they can introduce you to, ways you can promote their business or causes.
Diary. Keep a running record of personal communications (not about their legal matters)–what you said, what you sent them, what you did, what went well, what you could improve.
Calendar. In the future, how and when will you stay in touch with them? What will you send them, or tell them, and when? Will you call or email or send postal mail? This is the heart of your plan.

And that’s it.

The plan is simple, but you have to work at it. Review what you’ve done and what’s next. And again, assume nothing.

Pretend the client isn’t a client but is a prospect and you have to earn their business.

Because they are and you do.

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Filed Under: Client loyalty, Client relations

I feel your pain

December 2, 2025 by David M. Ward

I’m able to write about marketing and building a law practice, provide you with information and resources you want and need, answer your questions, inspire and entertain you, because I have been in your shoes.

I feel your pain (and desires) because I’ve had those pains and desires.

The question is, do your clients believe you can say the same thing about them? Do they believe you feel their pain?

For many attorneys, the answer is “no” because, frankly, they don’t feel their pain. They understand what their clients are going through, but understanding isn’t the same as feeling. And how you feel about your clients is key to how they feel about you.

You can build a practice with good marketing based on features and benefits, offers and outcomes, but business is about people, and how people feel about you is essential to long-term success.

And how they feel about you starts with how they believe you feel about them.

How they feel might not be the reason they hire you initially, but is a big part of the reason they hire you again, and recommend you. Logic and value and outcomes are clearly important, but ultimately, how people feel usually determines what they do.

But this doesn’t mean you have to build relationships with all of your clients, or any of them.

Many attorneys don’t. Their work is transactional. The client hires them; they do the work; they get paid. It’s fair and rational and pays the bills, but take note: building a practice is easier and more fruitful when there is a connection between you and the client that goes beyond the work.

That is the point of client relations, after all.

If you don’t have relationships with your clients (and business contacts), and you want to, start by paying attention. Watch and listen to what they say and do, talk to them about their life and business, and be willing to talk to them about yours.

You may come from different backgrounds, but if you can imagine what it feels like to be in their shoes, you will have a big head start on building a relationship.

Filed Under: Client loyalty, Client relations, Marketing legal services

It’s worth more than you imagine

November 20, 2025 by David M. Ward

“How am I doing?” It’s a question we don’t ask enough, but we should. Ask your clients and prospects and business contacts what they like about your services, your staff, your website, you ads and your image. What do they like about what you’re doing and what do they think you could improve?

Their feedback could be invaluable.

Ah, but don’t limit yourself to what you’re currently doing. Also, ask for feedback about what you might do.

What other services would your clients and prospects be interested in? Would they like to get your newsletter more often, or less? Would they like to learn about a certain subject or get content in a different format?

This can also be valuable information for you. And yet, it could be worthless.

People don’t always know what they want. Or what they think.

People lie because they don’t want to hurt your feelings. Or can’t tell you what they like or don’t like because they haven’t worked with a lot of attorneys and don’t know what to expect.

They might be unhappy about something but have trouble putting it into words. They might be mistaken about something you did or didn’t do.

Ask anyway. You might learn something important. Or get an idea you haven’t thought about before.

Feedback might be flawed, it’s true, so look for patterns. One client might have unreasonable expectations or demands or have had an anomalous experience and you can safely dismiss their opinion, but if several clients complain about something or prefer something, that’s probably something you need to look at.

This is hardly the first time I’ve talked about the value of conducting surveys, asking for ratings or reviews, or encouraging clients to tell you how they think you’re doing. You’ve heard this before, from me and others, but do you do it?

If not, I’ll give you another reason. Arguably, the most important reason of all.

No matter what you learn when you ask for feedback, there is value just in the asking.

It shows clients you care about serving them and making them happy. You care about what they think and want.

Most lawyers care about their reputation, of course, but don’t (regularly) ask what people think or want.

And that’s the point.

Asking for feedback is an easy way for you to differentiate yourself from other lawyers. And that is worth more than you can imagine.

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Filed Under: Client loyalty, Client relations, Marketing legal services

“Thank you” is the next step, not the last

October 16, 2025 by David M. Ward

The case is closed. The client’s happy. You got paid.

Now what?

Yes, you say thank you. And send a handwritten thank-you note. And call the client the next day or the next week to see if they have any additional questions or issues.

But there’s a lot more.

“Thank you” isn’t the end; it’s the beginning of what’s next. And you should have a process in place for making the best of it.

This is the best time to get (or lay the groundwork for getting):

Additional work from the happy client; what else do they need or want?
Referrals from the client; who do they know who might also need your help or might want some information?
Additional referrals from the client or professional who initially referred the case or client to you
Testimonials from the happy client (and permission to share them).
Feedback: asking the client to fill out a survey and tell you what they liked best about what you did, how they were treated by you and your staff, and anything they think you could improve
Social sharing: encouraging the happy client to post their great results, talk about how happy they are with your work, and making it easier for them to do that by proving templates, checklists, and showing them what other clients have said about your work on their social pages
A stronger relationship with the client, e.g., a celebratory lunch, photos, tickets to the ball game

This is also a good time to write notes about the case or matter, the issues or problems presented, what you did and how it worked out. These notes can be invaluable for sharing with your partners and staff and any advisors you might consult about what and how you’re doing.

You can also use these notes in your content creation or marketing, e.g., as a success story in a blog post or article, to add to your ads and newsletter, or to reference on the “what we do” or “how we can help you” page on your website.

The end of the case is a special time, and most lawyers don’t take advantage of it.

You can and should.

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Filed Under: Client loyalty, Client relations, Marketing legal services, Marketing Plan

Managing client expectations to sell more legal services

April 8, 2025 by David M. Ward

Prospective clients often don’t trust lawyers. They may have had a bad experience, friends or business associates may have shared their bad experiences, or decades of TV shows depicting lawyers as liars and cheats might have indoctrinated them.

So they often expect the worst from you.

Among other things, they expect you to be less than transparent about the value of your services and their strengths and limitations. They might expect you to charge top dollar for services they don’t need or could get elsewhere for a lot less.

You want to overcome their doubts and fears and get “the sale,” and make them happy so they hire you again and provide you with great reviews and lots of referrals.

To accomplish this, you should do your best to exceed their expectations. One way to do that is to “down sell” them.

They expect you to tell them they need your “big package,” which costs a lot but is necessary for their protection, yada yada, and they doubt you. When you instead tell them they don’t need that, that they can get most of the benefits they want and need with your “regular” package of services and save a bundle, they are surprised and probably thrilled.

Down selling is a simple and effective way to overcome a would-be client’s fear and skepticism and make them see you as one of the good guys.

You might be inclined to lead with your basic package to get them in the door and then show them your deluxe package or various extras. There are times when this is the right strategy.

But consider down selling instead.

Filed Under: Client loyalty, Client relations, Closing the sale, Increase your income, Salesmanship