7 Client Interaction Blunders That Blow It Every Time
I am asked frequently why some lawyers create such amazing rapport with their clients. Much of this stems from the art of the first impression . The first client interaction is more about not making a bad impression than it is making a good one.
Here are 7 first client interaction blunders that virtually guarantee you won’t develop healthy client rapport:
- Talking only about yourself
- Revealing too much
- Not listening
- Not looking your best
- Trying to be cool or aloof
- Not being yourself
- Not listening to your gut
CONFESSION: I stole these! …from genius (he denies it) Brad Isaac who invented Achieve-IT software, known as the Breakthrough Goal Setting Method.
He actually posted 10 First Date Blunders That Blow It Every Time on his Achieve-IT blog and I thought, hmmm, can we learn (transpose from one context to another).
You will note that there were 10 in his post and seven in mine – as for the three I left out, I thought two were not relevant and thought better of including the third, they were:
- Going someplace where you can’t talk
- Bringing friends along
- Having sex or being too sexual
By the way, Brad's blog has some very interesting posts - check it out!
Gerry, your seven are great! What is also missing from many of these relationships is the ability to be downright likeable, even lovable, to those around you. People forget to smile, and to be genuinely happy to see someone they are meeting. Having an "open" look on your face when listening, presenting, meeting, etc. is much more appealing than someone who isn't engaged when you are talking to them, is looking over your shoulder, has a scowl, or no, look on his/her face, and doesn't understand how to exude confidence and a welcome demeanor.
Your point about talking too much and not listening can not be stressed enough. The nervous reaction for so many people is to keep on talking because they simply don't know how to genuinely follow up on something someone has said about him/herself, and ask the next logical question. How many conversations have you walked away from thinking...They could have cared less what I did, or anything about me. It can be tought if someone is truly interested in learning the skills necessary.
Number 11 would be asking the wrong questions. If you don't ask the right questions, how can you trust the answers?