Make Me Feel Important
By Liza Vasquez CMC ICF and Jeffrey F. Silber MBA CMC
Certified Master Business and Life Coaches
Have you heard the story of the lawyer who met a potential client and after a half-hour of speaking non-stop about himself, said “Oh, please forgive me: I have done nothing but talk about myself for the last half-hour: Now it’s your turn, now you can talk about me.”
This may be a bit of a humorous exaggeration, but it is all too often fairly close to the truth about lawyers and their egos. One of our clients told us that in law school she was taught that a lawyer without and ego, is an accountant. This is ridiculous for several reasons, one of which is that accountants often have over-sized egos as well.
The real point is that a lawyer’s ego can be a barrier to obtaining new clients. Our Golden Rule whenever you meet a potential new client or even when you meet someone socially, is to imagine that this person has a sign around their neck that says “Make Me Feel Important” and structure your conversation accordingly.
With justification, clients and potential clients believe they are the center of the universe when it comes to dealing with their outside service providers such as lawyers, accountants and other consultants.
As you know, you have competition. Essentially whatever your area of expertise, it is virtually impossible for you to win a new client by saying that you are the best in the country. Of course, you have to be an excellent lawyer just to be in the running for the top clients.
However, there must be some factor which allows a potential client to find an all-important distinction among law firms on which to base his/her final selection.
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