Experienced Social Worker Turned Practicing Attorney: Active Listening, Cultivating and Communicating Empathy, and Understanding the Lifetime Value of Each Client

Unbundled Attorney Mastermind

Episode 36: Experienced Social Worker Turned Practicing Attorney: Active Listening, Cultivating and Communicating Empathy, and Understanding the Lifetime Value of Each Client

Brian Picarello spent the first years of his professional life working as a social worker. After graduating law school in 2010 at the age of 38, Brian brings the years of experience working with clients in crisis situations to the practice of law. He explains how to become an effective active listener, including how to cultivate and communicate empathy with your clients. Brian has also been working with Unbundled Attorney since the day we launched in January of 2015, and has tracked his metrics and revenue from every lead he has received. He shares what his numbers are, and how understanding the long term, “lifetime” value of each client can inform your practice decisions and impact how you price your services.

To read the complete transcript of this interview, click here.

In this episode, you’ll learn:

• The fundamentals of active listening, and the difference between connecting with people versus trying the sell a product
• How to cultivate and communicate empathy for the emotional challenges your clients are facing
• Valuable lessons Brian has learned from other guests on the Unbundled Attorney Mastermind Podcast
• The importance of attorneys making the initial calls to their leads, and the only way to have staff make the call for you if you are unavailable to do so
• The two categories of leads (instant gratification vs. legitimate issues), how to identify each category and how Brian’s process differs for each type of lead
• Brian’s revenue, contact and conversion rate numbers from 2.5 years of fielding leads from Unbundled Attorney
• Why analyzing his numbers and the long term value of each lead was an influential factor in Brian's decision to shift away from an “hourly retainer” mentality and start to offering more affordable pricing options
• The real meaning behind “lifetime value” of each client, and how this understanding can impact the way you run your practice
• How Brian offers limited appearances, including how he sets appropriate expectations with his clients
• The percentage of Brian’s business that comes from referral income, and why so many lawyers fail to take this revenue into account when evaluating a lead generation service
• How Unbundled Attorney compares to other lead generation companies he has worked with
• The biggest complaint client’s have about lawyers, and how you can prevent this from happening in your practice
• The value of understanding your local courts, both in your ability to be an effective lawyer, and as a selling point to your clients
• And much more...

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For more information about Unbundled Attorney and how our Lead Generation services help grow your practice, visit: https://www.unbundledattorney.com