GC Sense That 'Building Relationships' Is A Euphemism for 'Give Us More Work'

Case in point.

Just read the first in the Protecting Your Crown Jewel Clients series (a little behind in my "must read" stuff) by Edge International and WHAM, the perfect example -- from the client's own mouth -- as to why selling and satsifaction questions must be completely separate (a point with which Tom Kane strongly concurs).  The article discusses:

Firstly, Too Many Law Firms Have Launched Far Too Many Teams, Far Too Quickly....

Secondly, Too Many Of These Client Teams Invest All Of Their Available Time In Formulating Plans Designed Only To Secure More Work.

As one General Counsel confided, “most of these efforts are defined and managed to serve the firm's interests. To us, they are nothing more than thinly veiled sales campaigns. Someone comes in, asks how their firm is doing and, if we dare say okay, they then want to immediately introduce us to a number of their other attorneys.”

Client service teams mean much more than marketing. Indeed, the term “service” should provide a clue as to what the primary focus should be. But, all too often, we look at our client's situation through the lens of our own offerings and our desire for another sale.

Little wonder that in law, for example, increasing numbers of General Counsel sense that when your firm talks about “building relationships” it becomes nothing more than a euphemism for “give us more work,” while “providing added value” becomes interpreted to mean, “at higher rates!”

Don't miss the 10 Question Test the authors offer for determining if you're really showing your best clients the service behavior they should receive.