Meeting clients for the first time is always a delicate dance. The client is trying to decide if you and/or your firm is the right one to represent them. You are trying to understand the client’s issues, earn their confidence, and establish a basis for working together. To make a great first impression, use some professional common sense and follow these essential guidelines:

Create a Great Website

Before a client visits you, chances are they are going to visit your website to find out whatever they can: your credentials, experience, areas of expertise, publications, awards, etc. Give it to them. There is no excuse not to have a professional-looking website with information about the firm that answers a client’s basic questions about who you are and how you operate. People want to know who they are dealing with, so don’t keep it a mystery.

Be Prepared

The Boy Scout motto applies to many things, and first meetings are one of them. If possible, do some due diligence on potential clients. For potential corporate clients, comb their website, search for news stories involving them, other legal matters they may be involved in, etc. For individuals, a simple Google search and a peek at their Facebook and LinkedIn accounts can yield plenty of useful information that could be helpful in securing a personal connection—a connection that could lead to a profitable professional relationship.

Look Professional, Be Punctual

For better or worse, people do make snap judgments about a lawyer’s professional competence by the way they are dressed and the way they conduct themselves. Dress professionally, be friendly, look people in the eye, and be on time for meetings. Punctuality not only conveys professionalism, it is also a sign that you respect other people’s time, and that you are organized enough to keep your own schedule under control.  

Get Organized

Just as with dressing professionally, people will judge you based on your office. A disorganized office suggests a disorganized mind. If your desk is covered with stacks of paper and file folders, consider using practice-management software to stay more organized and reduce the need for paper. Cloud-based software also gives you access to your files anywhere, no matter where you meet. Your pre-meeting routine should also include a list of questions that need to be answered, and a standard procedure for determining next steps.

Engage, Listen, Communicate

From the moment a new client walks in the door, your attention should be 100 percent on them and nothing else. Ignore all distractions and focus not only on what your new client is saying, but what they are not. Let them know you are listening by asking pertinent, pointed, even probing questions. If there is an emotional component, let them know that you understand and empathize. Avoid legal jargon—communicate as simply and clearly as possible.

Be Honest . . . Sometimes to a Fault

By definition, new clients are people who have a problem and need a solution. They come through the door with a certain level of hope and expectation. Part of your job is to manage their expectations without crushing their hope. That sometimes means telling new clients what they don’t want to hear. But it’s better to be open and honest at the outset, even if it means putting new business at risk. People will respect you more for telling them a hard truth than a sugarcoated one, and may hire you anyway simply because they trust you to be straight with them.

Project Confidence and Competence

People who hire lawyers not only want honesty, they want reassurance. They want to feel on a gut level like they are in good hands and that, by choosing you or your firm to represent them, they have made the right choice. Your confidence gives them confidence. Your competence makes them feel like they are getting their money’s worth. (Which they are, of course.)

Map the Future

Remember, first meetings are all about laying a foundation to build on. Once trust and rapport have been established, new clients need to leave a first meeting feeling that they’ve been heard, knowing that they’ve been understood, and confident that you, their new lawyer, are already working on a plan to help them. Outline next steps—what will be required of them, what the process will look like, how long the matter might take, what type of communication to expect, etc.—and don’t be afraid to discuss fees and payment. Before they leave, reassure your new client that you are taking their matter seriously and will work hard on their behalf. You don’t have to promise the moon, just that you will do your best to help them get there.

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Amy Larson is a Director in Small Law Firm Customer Marketing at Thomson Reuters. She has over 17 years of experience in technology marketing with extensive focus on learning how technology can meet the needs of attorneys. Amy has been involved in numerous product launches throughout her tenure, public relations efforts, interviewing customers and telling their stories, and often writes and distributes information on how legal technology can help small law firms with their practice of law and law firm management responsibilities.