4 Reasons Solicitors Will Not Cross-Sell

Four Reasons Fee Earners Do Not Cross-Sell

1. Risk of an unhappy client

Referring a client means placing your own relationship with that client in someone else’s hands. The fee earner may not feel comfortable with the other fee earner’s work, tone, approach, or personality. Perhaps they are not kept up to date with their client’s other matters. Or maybe they feel that the other solicitor regularly invoices for more than they are comfortable with.

Whatever the reason, if they do not feel comfortable, or following up adds time to their current workload, they will not do it.

Taking time to understand what the personal concerns are helps.

Consider procedures that make this easier, such as a short update from the new lawyer back to the referring fee earner, or better yet, automation through the case management system. If you know some solicitors are unpopular with other fee earners, be aware that this will have a significant impact. In many firms, trust between colleagues is the biggest single barrier, and standard letters alone will not get around it.

2. No benefit to the fee earner

Fee earners need to prioritise. Their two main priorities are meeting their clients’ needs and deadlines, and achieving their financial targets. If time spent cross-selling does not support either of those, and there is no reward (financial or otherwise), there is less motivation when busy. This is true even when they know that cross-selling benefits the firm as a whole.

There can also be a concern about credit and recognition. If referrals are not recognised, or the fee earner fears the client relationship might drift towards a different colleague, holding on to the client can feel like the safer option. The same applies if the matter is likely to go to a fee earner in the other department whom they would not have chosen, when they would rather it went to a different colleague in that team.

If you are considering financial rewards, or other incentives, make sure they are fair, as some departments can cross-refer far more easily than others. Recognition matters too, so make sure referrals are noticed and acknowledged, and not simply expected.

3. They do not understand the other work

There seems to be a belief that fee earners (and support staff) clearly understand the work of other fee earners. This is often not the case, especially with junior solicitors, or where senior fee earners have no experience of another practice area.

To make an active referral, the fee earner must feel confident explaining the basics to clients, including pricing and the basic sequence of events, and must know when a good time to refer might be. Ongoing training will support this. One-off training is rarely enough for this to be retained, especially for junior lawyers. It also helps when fee earners know their colleagues as people, and not only as names on a department list.

4. It feels like selling

Many solicitors did not come into law to sell, and raising another service can feel pushy. There can be a worry that the client will think we are trying to get more money out of them, rather than trying to help them, particularly when they are already paying a sizeable bill.

However, when a client has a need they may not have spotted, telling them the firm can help is part of looking after them well. A client buying a home may also need a will. A business owner taking on staff may need employment contracts. When the conversation starts with the client’s likely next question, instead of the firm’s list of services, it usually feels far more natural for both the fee earner and the client. Training around how to present services can help.

Next Steps

When looking to increase cross-selling, it is important to look at procedures and at any personal blocks that might get in the way.

As with all training, or reminders, once every few years is not enough to keep cross-selling at the front of fee earners’ minds. Regular updates are key.

You might consider an anonymous survey to explore what concerns fee earners have, what would help, and whether there are departments they are more hesitant to refer to. Often, this is already known within a firm but left unaddressed. It is therefore important to decide what you will do with the answers before you ask, so that you are not inviting feedback and then doing nothing with it, which can affect morale.

It can also be worth asking clients from time to time. Some clients simply do not know what else the firm does, and a short questionnaire at the end of a matter can tell you a great deal.

Cross-selling is an important part of growing any profitable law firm. Time needs to be spent reviewing both the client’s journey and needs, to pinpoint who to cross-sell to and when, and the challenges fee earners face, if any, in making those referrals happen. Automation alongside confidence building is key.

Focus on regular reviews and updates, alongside practical support and a genuine response to any concerns. This is what can help keep cross-selling happening, adding value for your clients and increasing your firm’s profits.

How I Can Help

If you are a law firm owner or partner and something here feels familiar, coaching can give you the space to think it through and decide what you want to do next.

You can find out more about coaching for law firm owners and partners, or get in touch for a conversation.