Lawyers sometimes come to my office to pick my brain about
marketing. Typically, I'll bring them in and show them all
of the things I do to get a client. I'll take out a blank
sheet of paper and draw the flow chart of what occurs to
get a client to raise their hand and say "I'm interested"
and then all of the things that happen to them once they
do. I'll show them the steps I force clients to take before
they can meet with me.
Most of my visitors leave disappointed. They were looking
for the magic bullet--the ONE thing they could do to get
more clients. The easy thing. The tweak in their yellow
page ad that would make the phone ring or the quick tips
for Internet marketing that would help them dominate Google
in their market area. They can't believe that I don't meet
with every client who wants a free consultation and that my
marketing material dissuades certain clients from even
calling for an appointment.
Getting clients is a complex problem. There's a ton of
competition in your market niche; consumers don't know how
to tell a good lawyer from a bad one; ethical rules appear
designed to make all lawyer marketing look the same; and
your marketing messages compete with 3,000-5,000 other
daily marketing messages.
Most lawyers look for the simple solution to this complex
problem. They add color to their yellow page ad, buy
"double truck" right next to the six other lawyers who use
that "solution" and they let web designers create the
prettiest web sites that brag about the law firm and its
years of "combined experience" but end up looking like
everyone else's web site.
There are no simple solutions for complex problems. There
are only complex solutions for complex problems.
A multi-step, multi-media marketing system that is complex
can serve to:
(1) differentiate you from the lawyers who rely on the old
two-step marketing approach which consists of buying an ad
and offering a free consultation;
(2) establish you as the wise man/woman at the top of the
mountain without you having to say so;
(3) ward off those "C" and "D" clients who you hate by
forcing them to qualify for your representation;
(4) increase the transaction value to you of each client,
thus reducing your case load in order allow more time for
family and other things you really like doing while you
make more money.
Still interested? Think this is too "outside the box" or
that lawyers shouldn't think about things like "transaction
value" or "representing only those clients with whom you
want to work?"
You do have a choice. If you are perfectly satisfied with
your life and your practice, then no need to read further.
But if you believe there is a better way to go about the
business of practicing law in order to lead the life you
(and your family) want you to lead, keep reading.
I suggest that lawyers start thinking about marketing in an
entirely different way. Shed the belief system that says
that you must market to "all-comers," meet with everyone
and accept every case that walks in the door. Get over the
fear that if you start rejecting clients through complex
marketing that you won't have any more clients. This has
not been my experience nor the experience of hundreds of
lawyers across the United States and Canada who have said
"no" to traditional two-step lawyer marketing.
Here's how you do it:
(1) Start with a different message. Begin by studying the
marketing messages of your competition. If you are a
personal injury lawyer, you'll likely find that most
personal injury advertising tries to lure in the client
with a not-very-unique offer of a free consultation with
ads that have non-interesting headlines like "Injured?" "We
Care for You" or "25 Years Combined Experience." Consider,
instead, a message such as "Injured? Before Talking to the
Adjuster, Hiring a Lawyer or Signing Any Forms, read the
new free book about [name your state] personal injury
claims written by attorney Jim Smith."
(2) Become an author. That's right, write a book. It takes
some time, often as long as 90 days, to go from book idea
to finished product but it is well worth it. A book is the
greatest business card ever invented. Have you ever noticed
how book authors are respected as experts? Do you think
people like Robert Kiyosaki ("Rich Dad, Poor Dad") or Jack
Canfield ("Chicken Soup For the Soul" series) waited around
for someone to ask them or appoint them to write a book?
What do you think happens when a client asks you for your
business card and you tell them you don't have one but you
can give them an autographed copy of the book you have
written in your practice niche?
(3) Make an audio CD and/or a DVD of information about your
practice niche. Answer questions that you know are running
through your prospect's head. It's easy to create these
products. You can either "go solo" or have someone
interview you. Some people learn by reading, others by
watching and still others by listening. (Make sure to post
clips of your DVD and audio CD on your web site!)
(4) Teach the prospect how to shop for a lawyer. They are
shopping. They are researching, yet 99% of them don't know
what they are looking for. Write a book or free report that
explains what the various things lawyers say about
themselves really mean (i.e. "I'm a member of XYZ Trial
Lawyer Association" or "I'm a former prosecutor") because
consumers really don't know. If you fail to educate a
consumer as to how to find the right lawyer for their case,
they may well choose the lawyer with the most TV ads or the
most yellow page ads.
(5) Prepare a brag book. Yes, go ahead. Do it. If you have
verdicts and settlements, testimonials, newspaper articles
about you or articles you have written that have appeared
in publications, use them. If you think your state does not
allow the use of testimonials in advertising, read the
rules again. In just about every state any such prohibition
is limited to public advertising, i.e. the stuff you run in
the yellow pages or put on your web site. I'm talking about
having a nice thick brag book available that you are
prepared to mail or hand to people who request more
information about your law firm (because you showed them
that an effective way to shop for a lawyer is to ask for
the book of testimonials, verdicts, newspaper articles and
publications.) The brag book works because it's not you
talking but others talking for you.
(6) Prepare as many other special reports or booklets as
you can think to do. You already know the topics because
you have been meeting with clients every day. You know the
questions they have. For example, reports for personal
injury clients might include: How to Deal with Your Doctor,
Why a Referral from a Lawyer to a Doctor May be the Kiss of
Death to Your Case, Why Your Health Insurance Company May
Want ALL of Your Recovery, How to Settle Your Property
Damage Case On Your Own, Why a Local Judge Called a
Chiropractor a Scam Artist, How to Buy Car Insurance in
[your state.]
(7) Design a multi-step, multi-media response to anyone
who, following your directions, reads your public
advertising and begins the process of requesting free
information from your law firm. In my case there are 11
steps that go into action when someone contacts my law firm
and the steps DO NOT BEGIN WITH "Come on in for a free
consultation." The steps include several mailings (real
mail, delivered by the mailman) of large packages packed
with information, CDs and DVDs, and emails which include
electronic versions of some of the free reports and books
that are being mailed to them. Then an outbound call to the
client is made to verify they have been in an accident, to
check to see that the mailings are being delivered and to
see if there are any questions. Then, AND ONLY THEN, is the
offer of a free consultation made.
About the Author:
Ben Glass is a personal injury attorney in Fairfax,
Virginia. He is the creator of the Ultimate Personal Injury
Practice Building Toolkit. He runs mastermind and coaching
groups, and conducts marketing seminars for attorneys,
teaching "Effective, Ethical and Outside the Box
Marketing." You can find out more about Ben Glass and get a
free three-hour CD set on marketing by visiting
http://www.GreatLegalMarketing.com
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