If a client doesn’t sign a fee contract and walks out your door, that’s your last time contacting them or spending any time on them at all, right?

Not at all.

I’ll tell you why; meeting with an attorney is an overwhelming process and a good percentage of people won’t be ready to sign a contract with you from the first meeting, so I suggest you get that expectation out of your head right now. I am telling you now that it is important that you do not give up on them. What I’m not telling you to do is hound them with calls every day. “Did you hire an attorney?”

There are simple ways to keep in touch with them without hounding them.

First of all, there is no question that they should receive a personal follow-up call within three weeks of meeting you; that should be something you’re already doing.

One of the ways to keep yourself on their minds without actually talking to them is by sending them home with some of your professional work. If you’ve written a book, send them home with a free copy! Reading something that you’ve written will allow them to look at you as a trusted figure. They’re hearing your voice as they read the pages and already listening to your professional advice as well as your opinions. This kind of thing breeds trust and trust is the foundation of a great attorney-client relationship.

I’d suggest that you take five minutes of your time after your potential client has left your office and sit down to write out a letter to them.

If you have an appointment today, once you’ve shook their hands and said goodbye, take a few moments to write down a letter. You’ll see how simple it really is and it will make a difference. Mention some of the things that they spoke about like family members or maybe a beloved pet.

Once that letter is written, plan to mail it two weeks after meeting with them (hand it to an assistant and tell them to place it in the mail to go out in exactly two weeks!).

If they receive a letter that is personalized towards them, they think “Wow. He remembered all of this information and took the time to write me this letter. I like this guy. I trust him.”

Again, trust is crucial for your success as an attorney.

When someone trusts you as a person, they trust your decisions and advice as their lawyer. People won’t want to sign a contract with someone that they do not feel they can trust. With cases, they are likely placing a huge part of their lives in your hands. Think of it as a trust fall, if you don’t believe that someone is going to catch you, you will never jump.