When should your clients take a back seat?

• Author: Hirsch, Stewart

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I've been coaching lawyers and others in professional services for almost 20 years. During that time, the same issues repeat themselves across generations and practice areas.

I was coaching Bob, a busy lawyer. One of his key goals was business development--obtaining new clients. He told me that he just didn't have time to work on business development--too busy. So I asked him a question (that's what coaches do).

What Are Your Priorities?

"Who is your most important client?" Bob responded with the typical answer. He started naming some large companies. "And what's on your 'to do' list?" Bob started listing specific tasks including depositions, client meetings, briefs ... well, you know the rest.

"What's not on your list?" He struggled to answer for a bit. Finally, he got it. His business development tasks were nowhere on the list. He didn't mention himself as an important client and didn't think of those tasks--the ones where he was investing in his own future--as being enough of a priority to even make it to his list. So, I asked the obvious question: "How will you accomplish your own marketing tasks if they don't get on the list?" Of course, he said: "I can't."

One of my own long-time coaching clients, Peter Vogel (www.vogelitlawblog.com/), a prominent Dallas attorney, shared the wisdom of the "who is your most important client" question with me several years ago. He got it from his father, a well-respected Dallas accountant. We are our most important client. Once we get that clear, we can create the right balance between our work, our clients and our lives.

Put Yourself on the List

Some of us have a fear that if we put ourselves on the list, we're no longer client-focused, that it's wrong to address our own needs if we have a client to whom we need to attend. But that simply is not true. If we don't take care of ourselves, we're not as valuable to our clients.

Examples we can all relate to: exercise, eating right, getting enough sleep. If we don't do these things for ourselves, we won't be able to function well eventually.

Examples we don't like to admit we really do need: taking a vacation, spending time with family, reading. These help us function at a higher level. Doing these activities clears our head, gives us valuable input and can be emotionally stabilizing.

Examples professional services providers often fail to acknowledge as valuable and necessary: networking, social media activities, writing, speaking...