The truth is you are no longer simply competing with the solicitors down the road.  The market has in recent years become much more competitive with other organisations entering the private client market and traditional areas of work being offered in different ways. Furthermore, over the next five years private client practitioners can expect to experience even greater threats and competition as the effects of the Legal Services Act begin to be fully felt.

If you, as a private client practitioner are concerned about the level and sophistication of the competition, then you should be S and it will only get tougher over the next few years.

So what in practical terms should you be considering in light of these threats? Here are the top 5 key issues that ought to be on your real and mental agendas for discussion:

1.Focus on personal performance marketing skills - Ask yourself these questions. How would you rate yourself and your colleagues when it comes to sales, influencing, writing and networking skills? If these are not strong points and you have had no real training in these areas then you are always going to be on the back foot. The big high street brand names who you may have to compete with, will have people who are very comfortable and highly trained in these personal skill areas. Like it or not your legal skills will be a given to most private clients. If you want to be able to compete in the years to come you need to ensure that all your team at all levels have beefed up their personal performance marketing skills. Think about it. They all either deal with enquiries from prospective clients, talk to existing clients or know and meet people who are potential clients in the future.

2. Don’t be a www firm! - You all know what www stands for. I have an alternative meaning to describe many practices I have met in the last year.  It stands for ‘worry’, ‘winge’ and ‘wait’! Many practitioners tell me how worried they are about the external threats, then ‘winge’ about how bad things have got and how ³this isn’t the legal profession they entered² S but what do they do about it? They ‘wait’ to see what others are doing and in the meantime do nothing! I can tell you S right now there are opportunities out there to be taken advantage of. The longer you wait however, the less chance you will have to find and exploit them.

3. Strengthen your relationships with your existing clients – This is very important indeed. Focus on this before you spend your marketing budget attempting to generate new business. The rationale for this is very simple.
Your competitors will be after your clients. You need to secure your relationship with them now to make them feel like you are ‘their’ legal firm. The object is to make them as uncomfortable as possible about going elsewhere.

The key thing is to keep in touch with your clients as often as possible once a matter has been concluded. This of course needs to be for things that are for the client’s benefit, without bombarding them with too much junk post or e mail.

Two good things worth considering that help in this respect, are offers to review past Wills they have made, or perhaps an invitation to them to register their Will through your firm with Certainty the national Will Register. Both of these demonstrate client service, cement your relationship and are potentially  revenue producing.

4. Work with others – As you cast your eye over the growing competition, you will see a pattern emerging of people and organisations with different strengths joining together for mutual benefit. Typically, both are able to bring something different to the party. The model of private client practitioners from legal firms providing front line Wills and Probate services for large brand names is a good example of this. Actively, discuss and explore the question S who can you work with?

5. Review your opening hours - I rang a firm two days ago at 9.20 a.m. S believe it or not as a prospective client. A recorded message greeted me with an message that they don’t open until 9.30 a.m! As simple as it may seem, start to ask questions about your opening hours and accessibility. Many of the brand names and your new competitors will simply generate more clients and business because they are open and available when you are not!

Be Safe and use Certainty to register your will on the UK’s National Will Register.