7. Are You Bargain Hunting?
There are two common types of clients – bargain hunters and relationship builders.
Bargain Hunters
First, there are the bargain-hunting clients who are always looking for a better deal. To them, legal representation is a commodity rather than a professional service. They will switch lawyers at the drop of a hat if they think there’s a better deal to be had.
Bargain hunters are constantly searching for excellent legal representation at discount prices. For these clients, attorneys are the hired help (a necessary nuisance) but there’s no real relationship between the client and the Internet lawyer.
Price is usually mentioned in the first or second sentence of any initial contact with the lawyer. And as soon as the work is done, chances are the client will simply disappear.
If you’re price shopping for cheap help, our Internet business law firm isn’t going to be a good fit for you.
Relationship Builders
Other clients are looking for an Internet lawyer to protect their business interests long-term. As time goes by, the attorney learns more about the client’s businesses and can often warn the client about new e-commerce laws.
This type of client treats the Internet lawyer as a trusted advisor looking out for the client’s business interests.
Which type of business client are you?
There’s no “right” answer to this question.
However, you should answer it truthfully before you start your search for an Internet lawyer to represent you. Otherwise, you won’t know what you’re really looking for…
Remember these three key points when hunting…
- There are attorneys who will work for bargain-hunting clients and treat them accordingly. Legal services are traded for money. As soon as the project is done, both attorney and client forget each other.
- Some attorneys who don’t know e-commerce law will pretend to be Internet attorneys in order to represent bargain hunters because these attorneys are hungry for new clients. They usually are identified when they claim to be able to represent clients in just about any area of law.
- There are also attorneys who focus on building long-term “win-win” relationships designed to protect and grow their clients’ businesses. If you want that type of business relationship with your Internet lawyer, schedule a phone consultation with us.
