Metrics for Firing a Client

The Journal of Accountancy published an article earlier this year that attorneys might want to consider as well.

Entitled "Letting Go: Evaluating and Firing Clients," it is written by Mark Koziel, CPA. The author observes that not every client is a good client, which is a sentiment I expressed in my book Courting Your Clients.

During these challenging economic times, it may make sense for a firm to prune their client list so that valued employee resources can be redirected away from low performing accounts and focused on higer value clients.

The AICPA Private Companies Practice Section (PCPS) offers guidance on how to evaluate accounts from a quantitative and qualitative perspective. Evaluation criteria include the following:

1. Job Risk/Complexity
2. Job Recovery/Profitability
3. Referral Source/Client Tie-In
4. Additional Potential Services
5. Timeliness of Payment
6. Client Satisfaction (meaning, how satisfied are YOU in working with this client?)

Once rated, accounts can be ranked from high ("A" accounts) to low ("D" accounts). The "D" accounts are candidates for dismissal, which must of course be handled very carefully.

A major reason that law and accounting firms don't want to lose clients is because a partner is frequently compensated based on revenue generation. Accordingly, some adjustments may be needed in incentive compensation calculations.

Read the full article here:
http://www.aicpa.org/pubs/jofa/jan2008/letting_go.htm

Legal Directories: Add HG.org to the List

The other day we wrote about recent TV ads being run by Martindale-Hubbell, and also mentioned the online legal directory offered by FindLaw.

While we are on the topic of online legal directories, the Rainmaking Lady would like to expand your options by mentioning HG.org. This Internet-savvy online directory offers U.S. and international law firms a great value with an in-depth profile that can include attorney photos and multiple office listings. A new technology platform launched in 2007 is resulting in high search engine visibility on Google. A companion directory of expert witnesses is online at www.hgexperts.com.

Other legal directories include SuperLawyers, Best Lawyers, Chambers, The Legal 500, and many more. There is a full chapter on legal directories in my legal marketing book, Courting Your Clients. You can also access a list of law firm directories at: http://www.legalexpertconnections.com/courting-directories.html