I read the above statement in a recent LinkedIn article.  It’s more relevant than many professionals realize.  The role I take on with many of my clients is that of business coach.  Much of what I do involves client perceptions.  This article deals with a common issue – “How others view your practice.”

Note:  This article appears in the Louisville Bar Association’s Bar Briefs (November Edition, Page 10)

According to the LBA, there were approximately 4,656 licensed attorneys in Jefferson County during the spring of 2016. That equates to only 165 people in our community, per each attorney (Nielsen Company Data, 2016 Jefferson County, KY).  It includes adults and children.  This is a crowded and competitive market.

Many of us are focused on growing respective businesses. That objective requires that we differentiate ourselves in the minds of our target audiences.

One way to do this is by defining your firm’s benefit statement. Simply put, this explains what you have to offer. All too often, many professionals choose to stop there. A more effective approach is to communicate in terms of the problems (the pain points) you could resolve. To iterate the title of this article, “Sell the problem you solve, not y0ur product.”

Luckily for all of us, our clients remind us of these problems every day. Pull out one of your most recent client intake forms. Look specifically for questions your prospective client asked.

Most likely, those questions stemmed from concerns (even fears) that person wants to resolve.

The more easily people make the connection between their problems and you, the person who can resolve them, the closer you are to landing a new client – which, by the way, may be the problem you’re trying to solve for your own practice.

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