How to Get Great Repeat Clients for Ten Cents

Yes, it’s true. One of my best ever clients cost ten cents to acquire as a “forever” client, and in fact it wasn’t even my ten cents, it was his. Several other such clients cost a dollar or two, again of their own money. So, what’s the catch?

There is no catch. And here’s what’s even more odd: the ten cents involved was just the last tiny residue of hundreds of thousands of dollars that we had handled for the client for the purchase of a building or a business. Just a molecule in the scheme of things.

We were just giving them back their own money. So why would this tiny amount turn the client into a loyal fan?

Well, as you know, the standard procedure for most businesses and professionals (and in fact Revenue Canada) is a de minimis rule when it comes to refunds or money owing. The rule says that for some fixed, stated, small amount, there’s no refund or no collection. In other words, if you owe us $1.87, we write it off, and if we owe you $1.87, we keep it.

From a book-keeping and efficiency standpoint, the rule makes perfect sense, and over a lifetime it all evens out. But it doesn’t make you stand out.

We went the other direction and made it our practice to return the money to the client, even if it was only a few cents. For us, it was a symbol that our fiduciary care had no cutoff point.

Clients who got a dime in the mail would often call or write, laughing. But it was a good laugh, an appreciative laugh that we were meticulous about their money. Sure, there were lots of “honest lawyer” jokes, and suggestions that we adopt a de minimis rule, but every call was warm and endearing. And every one of those clients came back, and sent their friends and relatives.

I think we got started because my dear wife, Karen, who kept our books, insisted that it was the right thing to do. She was of rural merchant heritage, where a handshake meant everything, and your word was your word. How could I disagree?

But as we saw client reaction, we realized that we had stumbled onto an important element of business development.

Clients are complex human beings, and the professional relationship is not always coldly rational. Clients want to know that they are cherished and protected, not just in the professional matter at hand, but in the nickel and dime small matters. Clients need to know that they can trust their professionals, completely, even in the small things.

The really funny thing about professional-client relationships is that the client often pays too little attention to the important stuff, but they do pay big attention to how they are treated. Read the contract? “Nah, if you say it’s OK, that’s good enough for me.” Review the building plans? “Meh, I’ll just give them to my contractor.” Send me thirty-four cents from your trust account? “Wow! My lawyer is the best lawyer in the world!”

You see, most clients take it as a given that we are good at our jobs and will professionally do whatever it is that needs doing. But when we demonstrate that we personally care about them down to ten cents, they notice, they appreciate, and they tell their friends.