How to Respond When Clients Say Your Fees Are Too High (Full Transcript)

[00:00:01] Speaker 1: Christy has a question. How do you respond when clients say that our rates are too high, even though they are clearly listed on the fee agreement?

[00:00:07] Speaker 2: I think I probably just let them know that, you know, I'm happy to help them. But if they have decided to go in a different direction, you know, these are my fees. But if they've decided to go in a different direction, then that's okay. They have every right to do that. And there are some clients who will step away at that point. And that's fine. And I always say to them, it's okay, we can part as friends, right? You know, it's, it's, I'm here to I'm here to help. But I've also been in practice for 30 years. I went to school for many years before that. I generally know what I'm doing, you know, most days, right. And those are my fees. So if you want to work with me, that's what we're going to charge.

[00:00:46] Speaker 3: Yeah, I really like that approach, too. And you should be confident, because you have been in practice for many years. And with the experience that you get in practice is invaluable. So I think it's totally justified to approach it with approach a conversation like that with confidence.

[00:01:05] Speaker 1: I always think, hey, you are free to call around and ask questions. And what I always tell clients, I've never once lost a client, I've had clients complain about the fee, but I've never lost one because of that. And it's typically because I do something akin to what Linda does, where it's like, you are, you are absolutely free to do whatever you wish, like, I would love to represent you. But I completely understand if that's not within your budget, completely understand, but call around. Because chances are, you're going to find that I have extremely competitive rates, considering where I am and for the amount of experience that I have.

[00:01:36] Speaker 4: Well, it's basically what we do as well, we pretty much mentioned that they were an engagement letter that you signed and remind them of that. We also have to remind them about the retainers and how they work with that firm a lot. Always referencing the engagement letter, but we'll mention our experience like Linda said as well. And, you know, shop around, look around. But we've got the years of experience from our attorneys. And usually smooths things over pretty well.

[00:02:05] Speaker 1: Typically, also, that's when I'll send them an email saying, hey, here's how to maximize your advance payment or your retainer. Like, hey, save all of your emails for what, you know, send it to me in one big chunk, things like that. So I think that makes them feel better too. As far as, hey, I'm trying to watch out for you and your money also. So that's something too that you can think about adding is as far as, hey, here's an email to the client saying, here's how to get the most bang for your buck with hiring me.