During the last twenty weeks, we have been talking about tips for law office marketing, management and economics primarily dealing with getting clients, keeping clients and making them happy. I must admit that I have been looking forward to this week’s “tip” for several reasons. First, I think that this “tip” is one of the most fun things that you can do for your clients. It deals with the first concept of every successful business, which is always customers or clients. The second reason that I have been looking forward to this time is because this “tip” is the last in the area of customers and clients. Next week we will summarize everything we have covered in the customer and client area and move on to Administration. This week’s “tip” is to seek out and take advantage of opportunities to present your client with special creative mementos or gifts connected to special results or occasions in their lives.

I must admit that this idea first came to me a long time ago in somewhat of an oblique manner. When I was in college, my family subscribed to Reader’s Digest. Frankly, I believe it was our family “throne” book. I always found the various sections that appeared in each volume quite interesting and easy to read, but especially liked the short articles that dealt with human dynamics and motivation.

One article I remember in particular, I have adopted as a personal “mantra.” It was entitled “Take it to the Rainbow.” The concepts I have developed in my life, with regard to how I accomplish things, were dramatically affected by reading this article.

The gist of the article was that everything you approach in life should be done to its very best. The article indicated that there are two ways of doing your best that are memorable to other people, but doing them unconventionally by taking them to the next level and figuratively putting both a bow and a decorative piece on your package when it was delivered, would make the end result even more memorable.

The examples that the article used which I have quoted many times were numerous, but I remember two in particular. The first example I always use is the one where a person is delivering a cord of wood to your house for use in your fireplace. When the driver shows up to deliver the wood, he inquires where you would like to have it stacked. He lays a platform of flagstones underneath where you would like your wood, and neatly stacks the wood in such a way that it will both continue to dry out and be attractive in your yard. The firewood salesman is “taking it to the rainbow.” Another example I remember was a person who had asked for a local contractor to build him a farm pond. The contractor comes to the farm with his bulldozer and the first thing that he does is to talk to the owner about where he would like the pond. He and the owner walk the farm to find the exact perfect place for the pond. When the perfect spot is determined, the bulldozer driver builds the pond in the most attractive fashion possible, puts his bulldozer back on his lowboy and leaves. After the pond has filled and it is determined that the damn is watertight and that the run-over area is functioning properly, the contractor will take two white swans, place them in the pond and then go up to the farmer to be paid. Again, the contractor is “taking it to the rainbow.” I have attempted in every way I know to “take it to the rainbow” in all activities I have been involved in since the day that I read that article.

The question is, how do we translate that concept into a “tip” for getting client, keeping clients and making them happy? Specifically, there are a number of occasions when I have been able to use this concept concerning client’s special results or occasions that I explain you here to illustrate how the “take it to the rainbow” concept can be used.

Some years ago one of my clients was named “Hotel Man of the Year” in my community. There was going to be a gala dinner where he was going to be recognized. Unfortunately, I was going to be out of town at the time, and would be unable to congratulate him in person. I asked myself, how could I give him something meaningful and memorable to mark his designation as the “Hotel Man of the Year”? After some thought, it hit me that most people think of hotels when you mention the game “Monopoly.” I promptly went out and purchased a “Monopoly” game, took it to my local frame shop and had the frame shop make a shadow box for the “Monopoly” board. I placed a copy of the invitation to the party designating him as the honoree in the middle of the board and clustered various pieces of property and hotels from the game around it. Additionally, I glued other game pieces onto the board as well as appropriate cards from the other pieces of the game. Yes, I did put a get out of jail free card as well as a symbolic pen to remind my client to never sign anything until he called me first. This memento was presented to him while he was on stage after he received his award, so not only did I get a chance to give him something meaningful, but everybody in the audience saw it as well. I think it was pretty memorable.

Another client I had has probably been the recipient of even more of my creative items. This client, for some reason, seems to have some rather complex matters. Often times they were not only complicated, but also difficult and protracted. When a good result was finally achieved, I asked the client if I could give all of the lawyers and staff members in my office something to thank them for their collective efforts. The client agreed, and I promptly presented flowers and restaurant certificates to our lawyers and staff members saying, “Chester and I thank you.” I could have used his full name, Mr. Jones, but I think using only his first name was more personal. This same client had a family member who was becoming deeply involved in the family business and looked to be the heir apparent. I began to work with this person on a substantial amount of business and undertook the task of trying to resolve some long-term family issues that had been unresolved for years. Two opportunities presented themselves with regard to this situation. The first opportunity was to acknowledge the various roles that this family member was playing in this very substantial company. The client had made a comment about how many hats they were wearing. I saw this as an opportunity to go out and get a hall tree and to purchase approximately a dozen different hats that could be permanently attached to the hall tree and displayed at this person’s office or home. The hats were a hard hat, baseball cap with the company logo on it, a captain’s hat and various other hats that portrayed the various roles that this person was playing. Needless to say, the presentation of this made a big hit. I must admit I also got a hat like that of the Mad Hatter from Alice in Wonderland, because of the very interesting nature of all of the family dynamics in this company. My client had a great sense of humor so there wasn’t much risk in adding that hat to the mix.

The second opportunity to honor this client came after it was clear everything that needed to be resolved had finally been resolved through the tremendous efforts of this person who was to be the president of the company. I decided that a simple wooden plaque with a pair of boots bearing the company logo attached would be quite meaningful. On the plaque were individual brass plates containing the dates of important milestones that had occurred. Only this person and I knew the significance of the dates, but every time that person looked at those dates they would know exactly what they meant. The hall tree and the plaque are in my client’s office to this day.

Another example of an opportunity to do something for your clients comes to mind when I think about when I was invited to an 80th birthday party for one of my clients. They asked that no gifts be given, however, you could bring a card. I decided to write a poem about my client that was a take off on the famous poem “If” by Rudyard Kipling. Everybody’s cards were read at the party, but I was given a chance to read the poem myself. I had the poem framed and presented it to my client along with the other cards. I think it was a big hit.

I hope you are getting the drift here that it takes just a little bit more effort to “take it to the rainbow.” I literally could go on and on here with regard to examples of how every day I try to implement this concept in dealing with my family, my community, my coworkers and my clients. I think I have trained myself to always look for such opportunities and to act when such opportunities present themselves. You may not be “wired” the way that I am in this regard, but you can begin by looking for the very next opportunity when dealing with your client to “take it to the rainbow.” Exercise your imagination and creativity and you will be astounded at the results you get in terms of making yourself positively memorable.

Next week we are going to recap everything with regard to getting clients, keeping clients and making them happy, and then I am going to ask you to score yourself on where you are between “In the Stone Ages,” and the “Cutting Edge.” I am also going to ask you to give yourself some extra points if there are things you are doing that we have not talked about. I think you will find it quite interesting to determine your score and see exactly where you and your firm are at as far as customer relations.

Talk to you next week!

Jim Wirken is a civil trial attorney and the Chairman of the Board of The Wirken Law Group in Kansas City.