Building Long-Term Client Relationships

Lawyers love words like "ipso facto". Clients don’t. ⛔ Newsflash: Most of them don't know Latin. 🤣 They want clarity, not complexity. Connection, not cold professionalism. Want to be the lawyer they trust and rave about? Here’s what they wish YOU knew: 1/ Speak Human, Not Legalese ↳ “If they leave confused, they leave frustrated.” ↳ Simplify. Use analogies. Add visuals. 2/ Ask Better Questions ↳ “What’s keeping you up at night?” gets you closer to the real issue than “What’s the matter?” 3/ Learn Their World ↳ Tailored advice > textbook advice. ↳ Know their business. Speak their language. 4/ Set Expectations Early ↳ No one likes surprise bills or radio silence. ↳ Map the process. Flag risks upfront. 5/ Be Accessible (Without Burnout) ↳ Boundaries matter. But so does communication. ↳ Tools like case dashboards help. 6/ Acknowledge Their Emotions ↳ A little empathy goes a long way. Legal issues are personal—even in business. 7/ Celebrate Wins ↳ A simple “Congrats! So happy for you!” builds trust faster than a 30-page opinion. 👉 Final Thought: Clients may never say it out loud, but they notice the small things. Show you get them, and you’ll be the one they recommend. What’s one lesson you’ve learnt from your clients? Drop it below. 👇 ♻️ Repost to help lawyers. 🔔 And follow Shulin Lee for more.

6 Follow Up Templates That Keep Networking Conversations Alive: 1. The Value-First Follow Up Aim to add value to an initiative you know they're working on: "Hi Sarah, saw your company just announced the new product launch. I came across this article on similar launches in your industry. Thought it might spark some ideas for your marketing strategy. Hope the launch prep is going smoothly!" 2. The Specific Question Angle Asking specific questions shows credibility and can get you info you can use to add value: "Hey David, been thinking about our coffee chat last week. You mentioned struggling with team retention in H2. Have you tried implementing "retention interviews" yet? I saw 3 companies in tech reduce turnover by 40% using them, here's a link to that data." 3. The Introduction Offer Networking is hard (as you know!). Offering to make an intro is a great way to add value to two people: "Hi Jessica, following up from our chat. You mentioned needing a UI/UX designer for that new AI feature. My former colleague Anna just went freelance and she's brilliant. She redesigned our entire app in 6 weeks last year. Happy to make an intro if you're still looking!" 4. The Industry Update Hook Leveraging a shift in the market or industry can be a great way to spark a follow up conversation: "Hey Marcus, did you see [Company]'s new Slack-free hours announcement? It directly impacts what we discussed about interrupted work and team output. Could be something worth looking into for your team?" 5. The Achievement Celebration Everyone loves to be recognized for their achievements. Be that person! "Lisa! Just saw you got promoted to VP on LinkedIn. I remember you mentioned being in an interview process when we met for coffee. I know how stressed you were about the interview with the C-Level. Looks like you crushed it! Would love to hear about your new role if you're up for a chat in the next week or two." 6. The Resource Share Sharing resources aligned with your contact's needs is one of the best ways to stay top of mind: "Hi Tom, I know you'd mentioned how much time your sales team was spending on pre-qualification. A connection of mine just shared an AI automation flow that solves for that exact problem. He said it's saved his team 15+ hours per week and led to more sales. I grabbed a copy if you'd like to see it. Just let me know!" —— ➕ Follow Austin Belcak for more 🔵 Ready to land your dream job? Click here to learn more about how we help people land amazing jobs in ~3.5 months with a $44k raise: https://lnkd.in/gdysHr-r

“It’s not enough to just win,” an old boss of mine used to explain. “The other side has to lose, badly.” Nothing gave him more satisfaction than eating his rivals’ lunch - and his competitive nature was contagious. When I started my first business I adopted his approach. But I soon also learned that I had to ally that competitive spirit with a more nuanced approach if I was to retain clients rather than just churn through them. Unlike winning deals, retention isn't just about having the best product — it's about creating value and a level of reliability that rivals can't match. 1. Retain on value, not price: Competitors will use price to try and attract your customers. It’s tempting to drop your yield accordingly, but that’s a race to the bottom. Instead take time to make sure your client can see how much they get for every pound or dollar they invest. Adding extra value will always be more profitable than reducing your fee. 2. Add features before you’re asked to: Write a customer engagement strategy that involves adding useful new services or features for your existing customers at least once or twice a year. Use these to upsell, build loyalty and increase their pain of moving suppliers. 3. Build trust through relentless delivery: Unreliability is one of the top reasons clients will look elsewhere. Meet key clients on a regular basis to understand how their needs are evolving and pivot your offering accordingly. And always keep your promises. 4. Outmanoeuvre your competitors: Never underestimate how determined your competitors will be to knock you off your perch. Devote adequate time to learning from their approach so you know the threat you face. Match your instinct to win new business with an equal determination to retain customers. Crack that and not only will you eat your competitors’ lunch today but you’ll have it every day.

For most of my early years at hedgehog lab, I was the primary commercial driver. When I co-founded the company in 2007, I did not think of myself as a salesperson. I was a technologist who happened to start a business. But the work needed to come from somewhere, and for most of the journey, that responsibility sat with me. I originated most of our key accounts. I led the pitches. I built the relationships that turned into long-term clients. For a long time, I thought this was just what founders did. Over 18 years, I learned a few things that might be useful if you are in a similar position. 𝗟𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗯𝗲𝗮𝘁𝘀 𝗽𝗿𝗲𝘀𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴. The best opportunities I ever won came from understanding what the client actually needed, not from presenting what we wanted to sell. I used to walk into pitches with a deck full of capabilities. The wins came when I put the deck down and asked better questions. What is the real problem you are trying to solve? What does success look like for you personally, not just the business? What have you tried before that did not work? 𝗥𝗲𝗹𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗽𝘀 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱 𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗿 𝘆𝗲𝗮𝗿𝘀, 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗺𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗵𝘀. Some of our biggest clients came from connections I made five or ten years earlier. Not because I was strategically nurturing them, but because I stayed curious about people and kept showing up. Consultancy sales is a long game. The founders who treat it as transactional tend to struggle. 𝗬𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗿𝗲𝗽𝘂𝘁𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗶𝘀 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗽𝗶𝗽𝗲𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗲. We spent years chasing new logos before I understood that the clients who already trusted us were the real growth engine. Referrals and repeat business built most of what we became. The energy I put into new business would have been better spent making existing clients genuinely successful. 𝗬𝗼𝘂 𝗵𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝗯𝘂𝗶𝗹𝗱 𝗯𝗲𝘆𝗼𝗻𝗱 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿𝘀𝗲𝗹𝗳. This was the hardest lesson. I was comfortable being the commercial engine. It felt safe. But it also meant the business depended on me in ways that were not sustainable. I started building broader commercial capability later than I should have. If you are the founder and you are also the primary seller, that is fine for a while. It is not a permanent strategy. If you run a consultancy and you recognise yourself in this, you are not alone. Most founders I mentor carry the same weight. The path to distributing commercial responsibility is not obvious. But I think it starts with being honest about the dependency.

Closing the deal isn’t the finish line—it’s the starting point. The most overlooked growth opportunity in sales is the customer you already have. Staying in touch after the sale isn’t about checking a box; it’s about delivering on expectations, understanding outcomes, and continuing the conversation long after the contract is signed. Call to say thank you. Ask how things are actually going. Learn what’s changed in their business. Share connections. Invite feedback. Make it easy for them to tell you where you’re winning—and where you can improve. Sales doesn’t scale through transactions. It scales through relationships that stay active, intentional, and valuable over time. If you want more repeat business, referrals, and long-term trust, the work starts after the sale.

I talked with them for business but now they are like close friends!! It still surprises me how many of our best client relationships started with just a simple conversation: no pitch, no deck, just real talk. Early on at Torchlight, I believed sales was about perfect decks, clever pitches, and chasing every lead in sight. But as we started handling bigger accounts and more complex projects, one thing became clear: No one trusts a stranger with a big-ticket decision. Did you know a study by even LinkedIn shows that buyers are five times more likely to engage with someone who’s helped them before, even without a pitch. At Torchlight, this is how we work. We never just show up in someone’s inbox and start selling services. We spend time understanding what’s actually going on in their business, what’s working, what’s not, what keeps them up at night. Sometimes, it’s a simple conversation about what’s happening in their industry. Sometimes, it’s sharing a resource or insight, no strings attached. We’ve had deals that took six months to close, but those are the clients who stay with us for years. Because by the time we talk business, they already trust that we “get it.” We become their sounding board, not just another agency chasing targets. Why does this work? When someone feels you’re invested in their success, not just your own, it triggers what is called the “liking principle”, people want to do business with people they actually like and trust. Quick wins in sales are rare, and usually, they don’t last. But relationships? Those are the real long-term assets. They bring in more business, more referrals, and frankly, more satisfaction at the end of the day. So before you rush to pitch your next service, ask yourself: Have you earned a seat at their table, as a person, not just a provider? That’s where the real selling starts.

As a VC, I don’t just back numbers. I back people. And you only see the real person when they’re out of their comfort zone. Most investor-founder conversations happen in the same setup: Polished tables, pitch decks, and 30-minute slots. But that format only tells me what a founder is building. It rarely shows me who they are. And as every VC will agree, it’s the founder not the spreadsheet that ultimately determines whether a company survives the storm. That’s why we created ISPL (Indian Startup Premier League). On the cricket turf, something changes: - Founders aren’t just “pitching,” they’re making quick decisions, leading teams, staying calm under pressure. - Investors aren’t just “evaluating,” they’re connecting as human beings, cheering, joking, building trust. - Conversations flow naturally not forced by slides or a timer. In Season 1 alone, we saw founders and investors walk away with more than just introductions. Partnerships began, mentorships clicked, and yes,  funding conversations too. To me, ISPL is proof that building ecosystems isn’t just about capital. It’s about building trust in environments where people can be themselves. And sometimes, that’s easier to see when a founder is chasing runs instead of chasing valuations. 

Access to justice organizations present unique opportunities for technology companies. Some thoughts on effectively engaging with this impactful sector: 1. Prioritize affordability: Develop flexible pricing models, including sliding scales based on organizational size or client volume. Consider offering pro bono licenses to qualifying nonprofits. 2. Streamline intake processes: Demonstrate how your case management system can reduce initial client screening time by 50% or how your chatbot can triage inquiries, freeing up staff for complex cases. 3. Emphasize data privacy: Highlight robust anonymization features and compliance with domestic violence shelter confidentiality requirements. Detail your approach to handling sensitive immigration status information. 4. Design for accessibility: Create interfaces optimized for users with limited digital literacy. Ensure compatibility with screen readers and offer multilingual support for common languages in underserved communities. 5. Form community partnerships: Collaborate with bar associations and law schools to gather insights on unmet legal needs. This informs product development and builds credibility with potential clients. 6. Develop social impact metrics: Invest in analytics that quantify your technology's effect on case outcomes, time saved, or number of additional clients served. This data supports grant applications and impact reporting. 7. Address specific legal domains: Tailor solutions for high-need areas like eviction defense, debt collection, or public benefits appeals. Offer modules that incorporate relevant local laws and court procedures. 8. Facilitate knowledge sharing: Implement features that allow easy creation and distribution of know-your-rights materials or pro se resources, amplifying the reach of limited legal staff. The stakes in this market extend far beyond profit margins. By developing tools that expand access to justice, tech companies have the potential to reduce inequality, prevent homelessness, protect domestic violence survivors, and strengthen the very fabric of civil society. Those who successfully navigate the unique challenges of this sector won't just capture market share – they'll play a pivotal role in fulfilling the promise of equal justice under law. #legaltech #innovation #law #business #learning

"Let me know if you have any questions." "Happy to discuss further." "Looking forward to your thoughts." Every time you end a follow-up with these wimpy closes, you're asking busy executives to do work they won't do. They're not going to think of questions. They're not going to schedule a follow-up call. They're not going to send you their thoughts. They're going to delete your email and move on with their actual job. The fix is making the next step so easy that a drunk executive could do it. Instead of "let me know if you have questions," embed your calendar link directly in the email. One click to book time. Instead of "happy to discuss further," Create a simple yes/no decision box: "Ready to see the ROI calculation? Yes | No" Instead of hoping they'll respond with their availability, give them three specific time slots to choose from. The most powerful follow-up technique? Use their exact words from your call. When Jessica said she's "bleeding money on software licenses," don't paraphrase it. Quote it exactly. Reference her Thursday board meeting. Add one insight she didn't know. There's nothing more impossible to ignore than hearing your own words reflected back with new value attached. Your generic templates sound like every other vendor they're ghosting. But your personalized follow-ups that reference specific moments from your conversation get responses. Stop making prospects do the work of figuring out next steps. Start making it obvious how they move forward. Every follow-up is life or death for your deal. Most AEs are committing suicide with their own emails. Don’t be like most AEs.

I watched a talented professional send 127 follow-up emails after interviews. Got replies from 3 companies. 2.3% response rate. Then she showed me what she was writing. I immediately knew why recruiters ignored her. Here's the truth about follow-ups: Most people remind recruiters they're desperate. Not that they're valuable. The typical follow-up: "Just checking in on my application..." "Any updates on the timeline?" Translation: "Please don't forget I exist." Recruiters read anxiety, not confidence. After years of coaching professionals, I've noticed: The follow-ups that get responses don't ASK for updates. They DELIVER value. Stop following up on YOUR need. Start following up with THEIR solution. Think: → What problem did they mention? → What insight can I share? → How can I make their decision easier? One client rewrote her follow-up: Instead of: "Any updates on the position?" She wrote "Hi [HR Manager Name ], been thinking about the bandwidth challenge you mentioned. Found an approach that might help—similar to what I used before. Would love to share if useful. Recruiter replied within hours. She shifted from "remember me?" to "I'm already solving your problems." The difference between ignored and responded follow-ups? One reminds them you're waiting. The other reminds them why they need you. Your follow-up isn't about checking their timeline. It's about them seeing you as the solution they can't ignore. People who add value get calls back. People who add pressure get silence. Stop checking in. Start showing up as the answer. PS: For more such content subscribe to my newsletter. Check out my feature section.