For more great articles and FREE attorney resources visit us: www.RainmakerLawyer.com
This article is part of an article series on How to Get Clients as a Lawyer.
The Series Is titled: Remove the Pain for Financial Gain
Here are links to all the articles in the series:
Remove the Pain for Financial Gain: Part 1: Introduction
Remove the Pain for Financial Gain: Part 2: The Process
Remove the Pain for Financial Gain: Part 3: The Interview
Remove the Pain for Financial Gain: Part 4: The Diagnosis
Remove the Pain for Financial Gain: Part 5: The Agitation
Remove the Pain for Financial Gain: Part 6: The Prescription
Remove the Pain for Financial Gain: Wrap-up
Part 1: The Introduction
What business are you in?
Many attorneys don’t understand the answer to this question.
It’s not that they don’t understand the words as they are written. They literally do not understand the reason that they are in business.
They think it is about interpreting the law for their clients. Or they may think their job is about completing a transaction. Or defending a position. Or even making money.
All of those things are part of a larger picture.
When an attorney gets up in the morning he has one purpose and one purpose only.
Attorneys get paid to help their clients relieve or prevent pain.
That’s it.
I understand that you may not immediately agree with this assertion. So let’s walk through some typical scenarios.
A criminal defense attorney has a client who is charged with a crime. Going to prison would certainly be painful for the client.
An intellectual property attorney is hired by XYZ Company to prevent ABC Company from infringing on its intellectual property. XYZ has pain because they believe that someone is stealing from them and ABC has pain because they are now being accused of theft.
John and Jane Smith are purchasing a home from Sally and Sam Jones. Both the Jones family and the Smith family hire a real estate attorney to draw up and review the contract because they don’t want the pain of losing money or being a victim of fraud.
What about some of the less obvious disciplines within the law?
It really is difficult to find a case or situation that is not about pain relief or pain prevention.
Divorce = Pain Relief
Adoption = Pain Prevention
Personal Injury = Pain Relief
Employment Law = Pain Relief and Pain Prevention
Appellate Law = Pain Relief
Tax Law = Pain Relief and Pain Prevention
Ultimately a law practice is a pain relief or pain prevention business. That’s why your clients come to you. That is your purpose.
Once you understand that your purpose in life is to help people with their pain, “selling” your services takes on a whole new meaning.
We will talk more about that in Part 2 of Remove the Pain for Financial Gain.