Remove the Pain for Financial Gain - Part 3 - The Interview
In Part 1 of this series we discussed the attorney’s role as a pain relief expert. In Part 2 we outlined the process for pain relief – the sales process known as IDAP. This is an acronym for Interview Diagnose Agitate and Prescribe.
In Part 3 we will begin to get into the details of the IDAP process by outlining the Interview step.
Our goal in the interview step of the process is twofold. First, we want to establish an environment that allows the client to be open and forthcoming without feeling like he is embarrassed or uncomfortable. Second, we want to understand, in as much detail as possible, the issue that is affecting our potential client.
A good interview can help us achieve both of these goals. Here’s how.
As we being the interview we need to start off by creating some common ground with our client and bonding with him/her.
People do business with people they like. They do not do business with people who intimidate them or are condescending. Save your “game face” and your killer glare for the opposing counsel in the proceedings. When you’re with your client, they need to feel good about their relationship with you. They need to see that you are human…that you have some vulnerability.
The quickest way to establish this kind of rapport is to appear a little awkward or uncomfortable yourself. I know it sounds crazy but it works.
I remember a time when I was going to meet with the CEO of a retail company to try to close a big deal. This gentleman was tough…and very intimidating. He was about 6 feet 4 inches tall and he spoke with a pronounced southern drawl. He had worked his way up through the ranks of the company – really paid his dues by busting his butt in the warehouse, on the sales floor and in the accounting and purchasing departments. He knew his business and he certainly didn’t want some “Ivy League New York Punk” coming in and telling him what to do to improve it.
I got to the building about 30 minutes early and I signed in at the security desk in the lobby. I then got in the elevator and it proceeded to get stuck… and the air-conditioning shut off. I was in there for about 20 minutes in 90 degree heat.
By the time the building maintenance crew got it moving I had perspired completely through my shirt.
Since I was already five minutes late, I literally ran down the hall toward the CEO’s office. Just as I turned the corner I slammed into….yes, you guessed it….a 6 foot 4 inch man who was coming back to the office from a trip to the rest room.
After I picked up the papers that went flying from my briefcase (which he helped me do) I explained how I had been stuck in the elevator and I was trying not to be late for the meeting. (I later found out that he had been stuck in that same elevator earlier in the day.) The entire incident help him feel completely comfortable with me – and probably a little sorry for me – and it set the stage for what was a fantastic interview and a profitable relationship (for both firms).
I’m not telling you to purposely get stuck in the elevator when you meet with a prospective client. What I am saying is that you need to make the other person feel at ease in the early stages of the interview. The best way to do this is to be human and make some sort of a self-deprecating statement or gesture.
Let them feel like they are more comfortable in their own skin than you are in yours.
Fumble around in your brief case looking for a pen. Or better yet ask to borrow the client’s pen. Drop some of your notes on the ground and take some time picking them up. Give the other person the opportunity to be comfortable with you. You have to be an approachable and likeable regular guy/gal.
After you’ve shown the prospective client some vulnerability and you have him feeling comfortable, the best way to open up the interview is by saying something like:
“Thanks for inviting me in today. It’s been a hectic day and we have not spent much time talking about your situation. Would you mind filling me in on what’s going on?”
You need to use this kind of an opening even if the prospective client gave you a good portion of the information before you sat down with him. You want to do this for two reasons: 1). you want to get the client talking and 2). you want to hear the client restate what he thinks his problem is.
When I describe this opening statement people often say:
“Dave won’t that make me seem stupid? Won’t the client think I’m dumb? I mean we just talked about his problem on the phone a couple of days before the meeting. He’s going to think I’m an idiot if I ask him for the information again.”
I understand why you may think that the client will feel this way. But most of the time they don’t.
Think of an appointment you may have with a therapist, counselor or doctor. The first thing the therapist will ask you to do is recap what you covered in the last session. The doctor is going to ask you to tell him where it hurts and review your medical history. The counselor is going to want to know what issue brought you into his office. They are looking for a description of the symptoms you are feeling. That’s exactly the same thing you are doing with your client.
So as you get into the interview you need to make sure you get the prospective client to describe the situation in as much detail as possible. The goal is for him to speak 80% of the time and for you to speak 20% of the time.
This is not an opportunity for you to show him how smart you are by giving a presentation. You want him to give you clues as to how you can help him. To get him to do this you need to be supportive and encouraging as he is giving you the information.
When he says something like:
“We didn’t get the deposit from the customer up front and now he owes us over 3 million dollars. Wasn’t that stupid?”
You should say something to the effect:
“That’s not unheard of. I’ve seen many clients act in good faith and then have a difficult time collecting.”
The idea is to get the information from him and let him preserve his dignity and self-respect while he spills this painful information out all over the floor.
It takes practice to get this part of the process right. Our first instinct is always to show how smart we are and to make ourselves feel good by putting the other guy down. That’s the quickest way to lose the client. Be smart by letting the other guy feel good during this process.
In Part 4 of our series on Removing the Pain for Financial Gain will discuss the next step in IDAP – Diagnosing the client’s pain.
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