JUPITER, Florida — Why should lawyers stand when their clients walk through the door, always have something in their hand and something in their mind, and leverage the power of the “tenacious takeaway?” These are just a few of the questions Josh Konigsberg, Partner & Co-Founder of Law Firm Marketing Pros and his guest Glenn Poulos answer on Episode 14 of the Behind the Bench Podcast for Lawyers.
Poulos, the Co-founder, Vice President and General Manager of Gap Wireless, Inc., a leading distributor for the mobile broadband wireless and test and measurement, has over three decades of experience in sales, and has developed a successful belief and strategy system by spending thousands of hours in the field or on the phone with customers, and working with salespeople in several highly successful companies.
After entering the sales field in 1985 as a Technical Sales Rep, Glenn founded his first company, mmWave Technologies Inc. in 1991 and simultaneously served as President of Anritsu Electronics Ltd. for nine years. Using his extensive knowledge and experience in the industry, he lectures groups on sales strategy, consumerism, and what motivates people at a raw emotional level.
Poulos released his book, Never Sit in the Lobby: 57 Winning Sales Factors to Grow a Business and Build a Career Selling, in February, 2022. Konigsberg interviewed Poulos on the Behind the Bench Podcast for Lawyers Episode 14 to apply Poulos’ sales principles to the field of law and help lawyers attract and retain more clients.
Early in the interview, Poulos explains the meaning of his book’s title, which is one of his golden rules — an idea his editor came up with after shooting down his original idea. By “never sit in the lobby,” the author means that you should always stand while waiting for your client, not sit and flip through magazines or scroll on your phone. “I always found that it was better to be standing up, so I could sort of meet them at their own level, than having to rise up from a chair and put things down,” Poulos explains. “It just became a golden rule. And it was a catchy thing for the title.”
Konigsberg then asks Poulos for his advice specifically for attorneys. “When it’s possible…establish face to face rapport with a client,” he responds. “It doesn’t matter whether you’re selling legal services, insurance, whatever. It really does boil down to the same thing. If you can’t visit the client, use the power of Zoom to have a face-to-face on whatever you’re presenting. Like, ‘I’m going to send you this document with a Zoom link and I’ll walk you through it,’ so you can get a reaction.”
“For personal injury, they’ll have to go to the hospital and visit a client who’s severely injured, or with criminal defense, they’ll have to go to jail, unfortunately,” Konigsberg adds.
Poulos agrees and further explains that this second rule, “Never fax the facts,” is a throwback to 1985 when he first started and fax machines were commonly used. “After that rule, my next rule is, when you go there, “always show up with something in your hand and something in your mind”. This is a rule I created over time that I learned from good salespeople. I realized that when you have something to give them and something to tell them, it becomes powerful, more powerful than just showing up and rambling on. It might be the retainer kind of proposal. It might be, if somebody’s injured, some kind of a token of ‘get well’. I’m thinking about somebody showing up at the hospital, maybe you should show up with flowers, but something in your hand. And it doesn’t need to be expensive.”
The author goes on to explain what he refers to as one of the most effective techniques in the book: the tenacious takeaway. It’s where you realize your potential new client is somewhat aligned with a different brand, and in the case of lawyers, a different law firm. As a lawyer speaking with this potential new client, you sense in their body language that they’re loyal to another firm. As you speak with them, you can tell your message is not resonating. In the tenacious takeaway technique, you stop and say, “Look, I can tell that we’re not really the right fit for you. I don’t seem to be resonating with you. So I’m just gonna get going. And, you know, good luck to you.” Poulos emphasizes that you must say it nicely as you remove yourself.
They’ll respond with, “Wait a minute, why are you suddenly walking out of the room?” And you will say, “Because I’m not going to stick around.” This technique taps into a fear of loss. If you explain, “I just don’t feel like you’re listening; it doesn’t sound like you have a realistic desire to work with us,” most of the time they will respond with, “Oh, I’m sorry, let’s reset to zero and sit down.” Poulos explains that’s when they open up their minds and you can start from scratch. He warns that you obviously can’t use it all the time; however, there are situations where the tenacious takeaway works incredibly well.
For more insights about sales techniques lawyers can use to attract and retain more clients, click below to listen to the full interview.
About Law Firm Marketing Pros
At Law Firm Marketing Pros, our vision is to help improve the way law firms market their services. Our mission is to educate, serve, and provide our clients with the most cutting-edge, efficient, and cost-effective online marketing tools available to increase their revenues and profits and exceed their goals.
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