Lawyers and other expert professionals are right to be wary of applying "hard sell" tactics to their clients and prospective clients.
Hard hitting pitches, peddling, misleading information, or harassing prospects into submission, do not belong in the repertoire of an honourable profession. "Soft selling" resources and behaviours should figure prominently in the kit bag of a successful professional.
Check that you're up to speed on:
- knowledge of client industries and businesses
- understanding key problems and challenges they face
- ability to help clients recognise their problems
- familiarity with client decisionmaking processes and priorities
- clearly explaining how your services will bring direct benefit to the client
- skills to support clients in translating problem recognition into action
- credibility
- ability to develop and maintain trusting relationships
- the resources of your firm available to support clients
- active listening and questioning skills to collaboratively survey problems with clients and develop tailor-made solutions
- genuine, sincere interest in being helpful and doing a great job for the client
- good manners, good nature, and diligence.
Soft selling skills rarely figure in characterisations of "used car salespeople". By contrast, our research with buyers of legal services indicates that these soft selling behaviours and resources are widely evidenced among the experts whose services they have engaged.
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