With NY Legal Week just around the corner, I’m planning to meet new and established legal tech solution developers who have been working hard preparing launches and their big splashes into this incredible but demanding industry.

I am a fervent champion of innovating software developers, and I want them to succeed – so I need to ask:

Are the offerings ready for prime time?

Legal tech sales teams and developers are sometimes directed by the company to “get this product out there” before it is truly market ready. Once launched, they depend on—and actively seek—client feedback to determine whether the product delivers on its promises and meets industry needs. It might be a startup innovative software, or it could be a new iteration of a legacy tool. During my decades as a litigation paralegal, I was asked many times to “try it out, let us know how it works.”

To be clear, I’m not talking about little nits that pretty much every new product has; we’re talking about the substantive functions here.

While it might seem ideal to get it out quickly to client users to elicit feedback, don’t forget that the client has to get their own work done – not your work.  They are not in the business of software development and might feel resentful that they are doing what someone at your shop should be doing. It could send a red flag that they’d be spending their budget on a product that needs work. The point is, avoid turning your clients into after-market beta testers.

Tech developers have the great intention of creating functionality they think clients will want. That seems fine until real-life users implement the tool and discover it doesn’t work as advertised.

So now the account reps report back to developers, developers have to decipher what the clients want, company spends time and money hoping they get the functions right, it rolls out again hoping it’s now on point, and the whole cycle starts all over again. You may be starting your rollout with dissatisfied clients – this is a close-knit industry, and that’s the last thing you want.

I’ve seen this many times – the fallout from this approach is that a rough product goes out the door, and you lose credibility, time, and money.

I recommend different approaches. Full disclosure: this consulting is what I do for a living. But I’ve seen it deliver real results.  It is particularly crucial for startups – the last thing you want is to introduce something conceptually cool and then disappoint buyers and investors.

Here are some suggestions:

-Engage a power end-user consultant early on in development and certainly before rollout to fully vet the UI/UX, testing for bugs and suggesting feature improvements.

-Consultants can also evaluate whether you are over-developing.  This is a common occurrence, trying to get a tool to take a client from A to Z. My industry pals have heard me say “it proposes to paint your house and wash your car.”  It doesn’t have to.  And likely it shouldn’t.

-Consultants can collaborate with your pilot clients.  This takes the pressure off the sales folks and the client, in that client can freely talk about why this works or not, and sales team can clearly convey issues to developers in context. Clients become more comfortable they are achieving custom solutions.

-Would a “product ambassador” benefit your market rollout?  Someone who has gravitas and technology acumen who can help you promote your product.  Not sales, but in collaboration with your sales team.

This approach doesn’t have to mean a massive investment in money or time. In fact, it’s a small investment in comparison to losing client interest.

Client feedback is always important, but strategically engaging a consultant at the right time to refine your offering can provide significant ROI, leading to higher client satisfaction and stronger long-term relationships.