- Client Retention | Closing Skills | Sales Training | Network Development
- Impact for Partners | Impact for Marketing Leadership
Sales Closing Skills
Everybody Markets, Few People Sell
You’re in the Red Zone, and the strategy for your firm’s business development plan has, up to this moment, been smooth sailing. Your firm has offered up a wealth of analysis and advice to your target; in turn, your potential client has eagerly devoured the information. There is nothing left to do but put pen to paper and shake hands.
There are two outcomes to this scenario: The first (and one we all prefer) is that your target is blown away by how the firm will benefit their company and demand your immediate services—yesterday.
The second, and more common outcome is that the potential client diminishes their initial zeal and adopts a more critical, even standoffish posturing. You’re left scratching your head, wondering where in the game you fell flat.
I have often heard the tales of woe from attorneys who have dutifully executed a law firm marketing strategy armed with the necessary elements to make the initial contact—the business and network development and research—but have slipped up on closing the sale, the last and golden rung of the ladder.
Elements of Sales and Closing, Closing Skills
In almost every instance my postmortem analysis is that those firms failed to refine their sales and closing skills to the client’s satisfaction. Closing, boiled down to its simplest form, is asking (subtly or outright) for the business. That goes for any professional service, from accounting to publishing and everything in between. Certainly, closing skills for legal services are no different here.
Good sales and closing require more art than technique, more knack than skill. Moreover, the dance must adapt from client to client and attorney to attorney on a case-by-case basis.
But with all its nuances, the elements of a good sales and closing process are essentially the same in every interaction:- An understanding of the client’s business overall, not just the problem at hand.
- Maintaining a client-centered approach.
- Discussing a plan of action.
- The ability to deal with unexpected changes.
- Your commitment. How committed are you to your client? Are you just chasing work, or working for the client?
The Close
For every interaction, there’s a close. Every call, lunch, email, meeting or golf game should end with the inquiry: "What is the next best step for you?" The answer will be different every time, so pay close attention to the clues and cues of your target in order to maximize the effectiveness of your closing skills.
