Law firm partner - What are you selling?
If you ask a law firm partner what they are selling, few will say “law”. They have been on too many courses to fall for that one. They will probably say “a solution to my client's problems” or “a way for the client to get from A to B with the maximum ease and minimum cost”. Which are fine answers, but insufficient.
Because the client is buying value. And the client doesn’t know whetehr he’s getting value or not unless you educate him. Only the biggest institutional clients do the do the same transaction sufficiently often to get a like-for-like comparison. All other clients are measuring the difference between what they think they got and what they think they paid. And when we get into the realms of perception we’re not just counting money. We’re including how much they like you, how easy you are to work with, how speedily you deal with them and probably how you compare with others they have used. It’s called behavioural selling.
If you have ever been to an upmarket accessory shop, you will have witnessed a great exponent of behavioural selling. Before they tell you the price they will tell you of the fraught and time-intensive processes that went into manufacturing the item – quite unlike the mass produced alternative you might have compared it to. They educate you. Clients need you to do the same. Tell them why similar clients in similar cicumstances have chosen you, and explain why it matters.
Then you really are selling.