Five Ways to Get Better Clients Who Pay Higher Fees

• Author: David V. Lorenzo
• Pages: 31-32

Five Ways to Get Better Clients Who Pay Higher Fees §17.

31

§17.

FIVE WAYS TO GET BETTER CLIENTS WHO PAY

HIGHER FEES

People who appreciate quality are easy to identify. The guy who buys a pair of jeans at Saks

does not get his underwear at Big Lots. The guy who stays at the Four Seasons does not have a

Motel 6 Rewards Card in his wallet. You will never find the guy who travels on NetJets waiting

to board in a cattle call on Southwest.

The same is true when selecting a lawyer. People who haggle over a fee when selecting legal

services do not make quality representation a priority. The legal price shopper is a difficult client.

They require champagne service on a Charles Shaw budget. Accept these clients at your own peril.

Raise your fees and liberate the bargain hunters to pursue other lawyers. There is demand at

both the high end and the low end of the fee scale. The lawyers who work at the low end get terrible

clients, and plenty of them. The lawyers at the high end of the spectrum work with fewer clients

and make more money. Work less and make more with good clients or work more and deal with the

unwashed masses. You pick.

Here are five strategies ANY lawyer in ANY practice area can use to increase income and

attract better quality clients. Implement just one of them today and you will notice a difference

in your caseload and your wallet.

Strategy 1: Raise Your Fees. Sometimes it is just as simple as making a decision to require

more money for your services. Start by raising your fee 10% each month for the next 3 months. I

bet you encounter little resistance. If you feel really bold, raise your fees 30% this month. Again,

I bet you encounter little or no resistance.

The only person who has an issue with the amount of money you require is you. Raise your

fees now.

Strategy 2: Be Different. Do not charge what everyone else charges just because that is the

industry standard. Industry norms are set by what NORMAL (aka: AVERAGE) attorneys charge.

You want to be known as an exceptional attorney. You should charge exceptional fees.

If you clearly differentiate your law firm and your service from the service provided by your

competitors, you will occupy a category of one. If clients cannot compare you to anyone else they

cannot expect you to charge the same fees as everyone else.