Stacy West Clark of Stacy Clark Marketing. Courtesy photo Stacy West Clark of Stacy Clark Marketing. Courtesy photo

I try to help lawyers and law firms every day make more money—that's my job and I love it. Unfortunately, I have seen the good, bad and really ugly go down—where lawyers just—to put it frankly—shoot themselves in the foot and sabotage all the good I have advised them to do. And I have heard stories from my colleagues in the bar of things they did that unfortunately went south—badly.

So here is my top-10 list. Please don't do these things:

  • Don't try at all to personalize your service to your clients.

As Maya Angelou said, "people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel." Being your client is an experience—you are hosting a party of one. Make the experience outstanding from the client's point of view. At the most basic level, please know your client's name and face so if you see them at a street fair or supermarket or Eagles game, you can say their name: "Hello Susan—great to see you …". This matters SO much to people.