Advisers always want the best for their clients. Sometimes, however, things don’t go quite as smoothly in reality as one might have imagined. No matter what arguments the adviser comes up with, the client remains uncooperative. What now? Do I stick with it and try to be persistent? Or are there other ways to persuade them? And when do I give up so I can devote my time to other clients? Paul Liese discusses this today with law firm consultant Angela Hamatschek.
Angela describes herself as a ‘practice optimist’ and, together with her partner Cordula Schneider, has been advising tax advisers for over 20 years on how to position their practices. Paul refers directly to the duo’s name: ‘Practice Optimists’. How might one envisage an optimistic approach? Angela immediately cites digitalisation as her first example. Naturally, she tackled the issue with great enthusiasm, but she soon realised that many colleagues were struggling with the change. Angela and her colleague address concerns such as the effort and costs involved to ensure progress is made.
As a second example, she cites mandatory projects such as procedural documentation or the StaRUG (Act on the Stabilisation and Restructuring Framework). Rather than welcoming further opportunities for consultancy work – and thus additional revenue – law firms often complain about the extra workload. Angela can only urge them to embrace new areas and make the most of the opportunities. Procedural documentation, for example, rarely generates much enthusiasm among clients. Many law firms persuade their clients to tackle the issue of documentation due to pressure from the authorities and fear. Yet Angela is firmly convinced that much more can be achieved by highlighting opportunities for process optimisation.
Convincing sceptical clients
Paul addresses the title of today’s livestream: ‘What to do when the client isn’t on board?’ The head of hsp points out that, in such cases, something has probably already gone wrong right from the start of the conversation. Angela has brought along this quote: ‘It’s not about being right, it’s about being helpful.’ For example, she advises approaching the client with a particular issue at the right time. She also stresses the importance of addressing the client’s individual needs.
In the next step, Paul turns to the issue of time. Law firm owners already have too little time to devote to new matters. Now they’re also expected to invest time in personalised engagement. How is that supposed to work? First and foremost, owners should be able to delegate repetitive tasks. Furthermore, the leader should be prepared to bring their individual strengths to bear when advising clients on-site.
And what should one do about law firms that say: ‘It’s worked for the past 20 years, so why should I change anything over the next 20 years?’ Angela says that even simple things like bookkeeping change over time. It is important to engage with these changes.
Strategically introducing new topics
Paul returns once more to the point of personalised communication. What does this personalised approach to clients look like? Angela immediately offers a clear recommendation: when tackling a new topic, law firms should identify the five clients who would benefit most from it – and who are most likely to go along with it. Implementation then begins with these clients. This automatically generates best-case scenarios, whilst also gathering valuable experience and arguments. This comprehensive approach helps to convince the next group of clients, who may be somewhat more sceptical or difficult to persuade. And tailoring the approach to each client means identifying the strongest trigger for each one.
Law firms have access to their clients’ entire accounting records. Should they use this information to generate new projects? Angela strongly recommends it; after all, the aim is to maximise the added value for clients as well. Particularly when it comes to calculating examples, for instance, to To gather arguments in favour of process documentation, the company’s actual figures appear far more convincing. Should a client postpone a decision on a project, law firms can use the time leading up to the second meeting to maintain a steady flow of communication. This does not, however, involve daily emails, but rather tools such as newsletters featuring best practices and success stories from comparable companies.
The right marketing for law firms
They both agree on one point: without communication, law firms will struggle. However, a small law firm does not need to set up a marketing department. It is enough to hire individuals on a part-time basis or students to document, edit and share all kinds of experiences with clients. For example, after projects have been completed, clients could be asked what key insights they have gained. Whatever law firms have in mind, especially when it comes to social media, not everything has to be perfect. The most important thing is simply to get started.
Now, after a six-month wait, the law firm is reaching out to the hesitant client once again. But the client still doesn’t want to go ahead with the project – what now? Angela points out that, of course, there’s no point in keeping to contact the client indefinitely. However, she advises always keeping the door open for the future. The client should be made to understand that, should they ever take an interest in the project, the door will always be open.
Next week, Paul will be presenting the August update. There is a new Opti.Tax release featuring new cloud functions and a new taxonomy for money laundering. There will also be new training courses available at the hsp Academy.
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