A successful private client practice isn't just about retaining your clients' business, it's also about retaining your clients' families' business.

1. business strategy
Family tree
Generational retention is the key
to seeing a private client practice
flourish, advises Douglas McPherson
the legal world is becoming more
competitive and growth for any
firm is increasingly becoming
a matter of retaining current clients
as much as winning new ones. More
importantly, if it is harder (and more
expensive) to win new clients, then your
retention strategy needs to be about
keeping your existing clients and making
sure they spend more with you each year.
Generation game
For commercial departments it’s relatively
straightforward, but for private client
practices it’s a different story. There’s
always some attempt to encourage repeat
purchase (like inviting clients to update
their wills) and rudimentary cross-selling
should also be in place in firms – most
notably after divorce where will revision,
changes to estate and alternative tax
planning is requisite rather than advisable.
But the real target of any ‘up-selling’
(because that’s what it is) on the private
client side has to be achieved through
generational retention, developing
relationships on a family rather than
an individual basis. When you act for a
commercial client, the aim is to maximise
your share of that client’s legal wallet,
acting for a family should be no different.
Once someone buys your services,
your primary aim should be to become
‘their lawyer’. Whether the client wants
help with a will or buying a house, the
quality of service and the quality of work
has to be of a level that guarantees that,
when they need additional legal advice,
the work will come to you.
The problem is the common
misconception within the legal industry
that, because this work is transactional,
it’s treated as a one-off. If your firm is to
take full advantage of the potential returns
generation retention offers, this mindset
needs to be replaced by a new objective:
the first piece of work is only the first part
of the selling process. Stop thinking about
matters, start thinking about relationships.
The cliché ‘you don’t get a second
chance at a first impression’ is right
– if you get that first interaction
wrong, the chance of you building a
relationship strong enough to facilitate an
introduction to their children, siblings or
significant other is going to be anorexic.
Stop thinking about
matters, start thinking
Working on a personal matter gives
you access to all the information you
need. You don’t need to learn how a
company’s overall structure fits together
– if you’re working on a will or a matter
involving trust, tax or family, you have
all the leads you need to develop that
client. You know how many children
they have, their matrimonial status and
their plans. Now you need to use that
information commercially.
Building blocks
If the children are old enough, ask them
in for an informal chat – if they’ve been
named in the work your invitation will
seem perfectly normal. Phrased as an
opportunity to give them a little bit of
an explanation on the part they’ll play in
their parents’ affairs, it’ll be perceived as
nice added value as well as that first all-important
30 Private Client Adviser
building block to establishing
a relationship.
It’s important to take into account
the age of the family members you
want to meet. While trust has been
established between you and your
client, is it immediately transferable
to a younger family member? Some
won’t be comfortable interacting with
their parents’ advisers so it may be
advisable to bring in someone closer
to their own age.
It’s about ‘appropriate approach’. The
easiest way to be appropriate is through
the existing relationship. Let
your client know your firm
has a good team of young
lawyers to serve the firm’s
next generation of clients...
then move the conversation
on to that next generation.
A word of warning though. One
managing partner told me he’d seen
instances where children wouldn’t meet
a lawyer out of principle because they
were their parents’ lawyer. On the other
hand, yours is probably the only firm
they know and, if you’ve managed the
relationship well, their perception will
always be positive. That means they’ve
bought your brand. The road from there
to fees could be as simple as introducing
them to someone closer to their own age
or who shares similar interests.
However, even with the best
planning and the right colleague standing
by, if your firm is perceived as old
fashioned, you’ll put younger clients off.
With so much competition you have to
make sure your website is up to scratch,
your offices are welcoming and you
portray a modern image.
about relationships

2. 31
Take into account the way people
want to work. Few will want to come
into the office the way their parents did.
Embrace technology – not just emails,
but SMS and easily downloadable/easily
digestible online information. Look at
SEO. Studies prove that even if they hear
you’re the greatest thing since sliced
bread, your targets will still go online for
confirmation. If you’re ranked 35th on
the third page of Google you will miss
your chance.
If there is a need for face-to-face
meetings, think about your targets’
schedules. Younger people work longer
hours, travel further to work and are
less likely to take time off for anything
other than holidays or emergencies. Do
you need to look at your opening hours
or weekend opening? Can you deliver
papers to work or use Skype so matters
can be concluded at their desk?
These alternatives will mark you out
from your competitors and back up their
parents’ recommendation.
There is no finer way to get people
onside than showering them with
hospitality. It works for commercial, but
for some reason private clients don’t
traditionally enjoy the same level of
entertainment. Hospitality-based events
with an open invite to the whole family
offer a great way to get you in front of
the various branches of a family tree,
but be creative. No one wants to come
into the boardroom for sandwiches.
One of our clients has a series of three
events designed for next year that will
include chamber music, wine tasting and,
hopefully, a bit of ballroom dancing. All
of the entertainment is free, thanks to
a bit of lateral thinking, and the initial
interest promises not only a decent
crowd but also a wealth of (free) press
coverage that can be used for future
promotional purposes.
Social network
Meanwhile, seminars – preferably
with wine and canapés – on more
complicated areas of law offer a good
opportunity for parents to explain to
their children what they’re planning
while you demonstrate your expertise
before meeting them socially afterwards.
At first reading, loyalty cards may
sound tacky, but studies consistently
show they work. You can offer a number
of services through a family loyalty
scheme and offer either a common
discount or a structured discount scheme
depending on the volume of services
bought. For example, if a ten per cent
discount was offered on all new wills
for family members, would your client
be more likely to refer their children?
“I don’t know,” is the usual response, but
I can assure you studies prove it works.
‘Discount’ of course is not a popular
word within the legal fraternity, but
cross-reference it with ‘no cost of
sale’ and ‘work you wouldn’t have got
otherwise’ and you may look on it a little
more favourably.
Reciprocity is a big thing when it
comes to marketing any type of legal
activity, but when should it start? It
may be that it could start years before
someone even needs legal advice. You
should be having conversations about
the members of a client’s family. If those
conversations were to bring to light that
a child was looking for work experience
in a certain sector, I would be hugely
surprised if your network didn’t contain
someone who would be able to find
them temporary employment – chances
are they wouldn’t even need to pay
them... If you could help, who would
they come to when they needed to buy
a house? Who would they recommend
to their friends?
Generational retention is about
generating opportunities through
relationships. Good relationships always
create opportunities and making yourself
attractive to the next generation will
allow things to develop. And, if you
can develop multiple relationships
throughout every family you work for,
how much less reliance (and budget)
would you have to place on new
client acquisition? n
Douglas McPherson is director
of marketing consultants
Size 10 1/2 Boots
February 2012