Listen to the People Who Vote With Their Wallets

• Author: David V. Lorenzo
• Pages: 91-92

Listen to the People Who Vote With Their Wallets §46.

91

§46.

LISTEN TO TH E PEO PL E WH O VOTE WI TH THE IR

WALLETS

The title of this principle has been one of the rules I have lived by since my business career

began.

This principle, simply stated, means to ignore the opinion of EVERYONE other than

people who pay for your service.

Why? Three reasons:

1. Most people are not qualified to evaluate you. We only truly value things we invest in.

That investment can be financial and/or emotional. Unless someone has invested in you or your

services, they cannot give you an opinion of the value you provide.

Many of us receive opinions from detached observers. And while these people may be able

to point out some areas for growth and development, they cannot speak about your services from

the perspective of an actual interactive experience.

Do yourself a favor, if you want advice about the service you provide and the value the client

receives, ask a client.

2. Everyone else is part of the problem. If I had a dollar for every time I saw a lawyer

receive bad business advice from another lawyer, I would have a pile of money the size of Mount

Everest. Lawyers are the worst people to ask about strategy or marketing. The majority of lawyers

believe you can ignore these business disciplines and live happily ever after. A select few lawyers

believe marketing and business success can be found exclusively online or in social media.

Remember this: Most lawyers in private practice struggle with their finances, their

work/life balance or both.

Ignore advice from other lawyers, even those you believe to be successful. If you want to

know how to improve the quality of your service or your marketing message, ask your clients.

3. Your success benefits you. Most people do not want to see you succeed.

I know. This is not the feel-good-happy-town account of the world you will get from many

self help folks. But it is human nature. Several studies by leading institutions of higher learning

have proven that seeing other people in pain actually helps most humans cope with the trials and

tribulations of their own life. Sad but true. For additional proof, look at news reports and televi-

sion ratings of reality TV.