Video: How a Law Firm Establishes a Competitive Advantage
How to Establishes a Competitive Advantage with a Law Firm Marketing Plan
Many attorneys, law firms and independent professionals fail to establish a clear competitive advantage within their market.
A true competitive advantage is not only unique to your law firm; it is also difficult to copy.
There are four basic ways to create a competitive advantage in your market.
The four ways a law firm can establish a competitive advantage within a market are:
1). Pricing
An example of this would be carving out a position as being the lowest price provider within your market.
This is never a strategy I recommend to my clients but there are other pricing strategies that can be effective.
2). Product
While the “product” in a law firm, consulting business or other professional service firm, is advice, there are many different ways to offer that product to the client.
The idea is to differentiate your offering based in the client’s perception of value. The more valuable your product is to your client, the more you have differentiated yourself.
3). Service
This is an area where many attorneys have an opportunity to offer a clear competitive advantage. You can “guarantee” that you will return all client phone calls within two hours. You can “guarantee” that you will review all client documents within 72 hours.
These kinds of “service guarantees” are great examples of a competitive advantage because your competition will be fearful of coping you.
4). Positioning
Your marketing can and should offer you a competitive advantage.
The way you hold yourself and your firm out to the public will help you create some separation between your firm and your competitor’s firms.
Do you take every client that comes along or are you exclusive?
There are numerous ways to create a competitive advantage within your market. If you are having trouble differentiating your firm from others, give us a call.
Dave Lorenzo - 888.692.5531
Print
EmailEven Small Law Firms Should Have a Web Marketing Strategy
It used to be that a detailed multimedia advertising campaign was something that only the big law firms could pull off. Essentially, if a law firm’s building took up an entire city block, then they were usually able to pour more money into their advertising than the average solo practice would make in even five years time. This made a level playing field nearly impossible.
Small law firms and solo practices have always had to accept that they simply couldn’t compete with the big guys in terms of marketing. Hiring a professional marketing agency to develop a brand, advertise, and maintain public relations used to be completely out of the scope of what small and solo law practices could afford.
Luckily, times have changed.
The Internet has completely revolutionized how companies market themselves. It is true that a small law firm or a solo practice would still not be able to compete with a larger law firm in terms of dollars spent on television, radio, or print advertisements. It is also true, however, that smaller law firms can get just as much exposure at a greatly reduced price.
Traditional Advertising Agencies vs. Web Marketing Agencies
Internet or web marketing has leveled the advertising playing field in two critical ways. First, there are now a myriad of ways to advertise your law firm, maintain contact with clients, and build your brand without spending a ton of cash. Second, there are now more than just a few marketing agencies that specialize in web marketing, which costs a fraction of what traditional marketing costs.
Many traditional marketing agencies are adding in web marketing departments, but these departments are often not as effective at web marketing as companies that were built on technology in the first place. In addition, when you go to a traditional marketing agency for web marketing you are still paying for their expensive overhead. Save your money and go to a web marketing firm that will charge you less for better work.
Web Marketing firms often have a significantly lower overhead because they’ve spent their time and money building a strong online presence. Many web marketing agencies deal with clients completely online. Web marketing agencies often have a small, functional office space that serves the needs of their staff. Some don’t have an office space at all. They staff advertising and Internet technology experts who want the flexibility of working from home. Some even build their companies with a handful of dedicated staff, and then they hire freelancers to handle special projects.
Web marketing agencies specialize in Internet marketing which includes developing a multi-faceted web site that allows your firm to bring in potential clients and then to build an online relationship with them before they even come into your office.
Another thing that web marketing agencies do is they focus on search engine marketing or SEM. Search engine marketing is a set of tools that web experts use to ensure that your firm is one of the first listed when someone uses the Internet to search for a law firm using keywords.
In addition, you can hire a web marketing firm to do just your public relations, like blogging or newsletters. Or you can hire a marketing firm that will simply focus on increasing the ranking of your website. Of course, you can always hire a web marketing firm to handle all of your online marketing needs.
What to Look for When Hiring a Web Marketing Firm
One of the great things about web marketing firms is that they are very easy to find online. A quick online search will pull up several. Like any other advertising or marketing agency, you need to look closely at their client list. The best case scenario is to choose a firm that has other law firms as clients. Law firms have unique advertising needs. They have a different set of priorities than a traditional company.
Look closely at their web marketing agency’s portfolio. First, examine the websites that the web marketing agency has developed in the past. If they don’t look interesting and well organized, move on. One of the most important things you can do is to test the quality of the search engine marketing that each firm has worked on. For example, if one of their current SEM clients is a plumber in New Haven, Connecticut, then you should be able to type in “New Haven CT plumber” in any major search engine and see their client listed on the first page. If this is not the case, then this company is not the one for you.
Think about whether or not you want to utilize television and radio advertisements in the future. If so, then choose a company that brings together traditional and web marketing models. These companies will be slightly more expensive, but if you’re looking for a combination of traditional and web marketing, then select a company that can meet your goals. When web marketing companies utilize traditional marketing outlets, you still can expect to pay less than a large advertising agency because you’re still not paying for that high overhead.
One last critical thing to look for is a web marketing company that values measurement. More and more web marketing agencies are focusing on measuring their client’s return on investment (ROI) for their marketing dollars. Your marketing ROI can and should be measured on a regular basis.
There was a time when hiring a professional, resourceful marketing agency was completely out of reach for small law firms or solo practices. Those days are gone. Get online and at least get a few quotes from web marketing agencies. You’ll be pleasantly surprised at just affordable they can be.
The Value of a Law Firm E-Newsletter
Does your law firm marketing plan include an e-newsletter?
One of the easiest, low cost ways for law firms to keep in touch with clients, prospects, and referral sources is an e-newsletter. E-newsletters are newsletters sent via email. Many attorneys buy into a legal e-newsletter service that specializes in sending out e-newsletters on behalf of law firms. Someone else writes the content, does the layout, and sends it out to their clients with some generic contact information about the law firm. Like everything else in technology, e-newsletters have evolved. Now any attorney, at any size firm can send out their own, customized e-newsletter.
The problem with using an e-newsletter service is that the information has to be fairly general in order to appeal to the numerous contact lists of hundreds of different law firms. When attorneys write the content themselves, they can tailor it so that it appeals to the unique individuals on their contact list.
Sending out an e-newsletter has become as easy as online bill pay or sending an email. It does not have to be labor intensive or time consuming. Many law firms who send out monthly e-newsletters are doing it in less than three hours a month. With a very minimal time investment, you can connect with all of your important clients, prospects, and referral sources. You can position your firm and yourself as experts by providing information and knowledge about your field of law. You can also keep your contacts up to date about any changes that may be happening within your firm.
Build an E-Newsletter to Build Your Brand
One of the wonderful benefits of an e-newsletter is how it builds your law firm’s brand. It provides a wonderful opportunity to let clients get to know you. With so many lawyer jokes circulating the globe, it’s easy to forget that most people are naturally intimidated by attorneys. As an attorney, you have a breadth of knowledge in a complicated subject area. Use your firm’s e-newsletter to remind people that, behind all of your expertise and experience, you are still human.
If you’re just starting out or are still trying to let people know about your niche, then an e-newsletter is a great way to get the word out. Each week you can write a short 300 - 500 word article about recent changes or little known facts in your field of law. While this might sound intimidating at first, don’t be daunted. Spend a few hours brainstorming a variety of topics that you can write about. Plan to write one featured article and then add at least one more section. Depending on your field of law, the additional section can be a link to an article that you found interesting or it can be about upcoming community events.
Link Back to Increase Activity
One of the best ways to use an e-newsletter is to include several links in the e-newsletter to your blog or to your website. The more visitors you have coming to your website, the more likely it is that Google will give your website a high ranking. High rankings mean a higher listing in search results.
If you have a blog on your website, encourage clients to visit the blog by mentioning some of the blog titles in your e-newsletter. If you are having a contest, are running a special, or if your firm is participating in a local community event, include the generic information in the e-newsletter but have the specifics listed on your website. This will drive interested readers to your website and will increase your traffic.
Still not convinced to make this a part of your law firm marketing plan?
E-Newsletters as a PR Tool
Think outside the box when deciding who to send your e-newsletter to. Of course you need to include past and current clients, potential clients, and referral sources. However, if you are truly trying to establish a niche, think about including journalists in your monthly mailing. Just like attorneys, most journalists have an area in which they specialize. They might specialize in whistle blower stories, medical writing, web technology, etc. Do some basic research to find out which journalists consistently write stories that relate to your field of law. Contact them and ask if you can send them your e-newsletter. This is a win for the both of you. Your content may help them to generate story ideas, and if they need a quote or legal research, they are very likely to reach out to you for help. Getting quoted in newspapers and magazines will definitely help to grow your practice and your brand.
It used to be that firms sent out e-newsletters to stay in touch. Today however, e-newsletters are a powerful, diverse, and inexpensive way to market your firm, educate current clients, and reach potential clients.
Your law firm marketing plan must include an e-newsletter if you want it to be successful. Add it today. You will be glad you did.
Legal Marketing: Multiple Streams of Prospecting
Everyone around town would surely agree that Ron McKay is a character. He’s a personal injury attorney who has had his own thriving practice for the past five years. Some would say that Ron is a master at promoting himself. Sure, he’s got radio and TV commercials running all the time but Ron’s a master of free publicity as well. He never seems to miss out on an opportunity to get his name in front of the people. I had occasion to use Ron for a minor legal matter and got to be buddies of sorts. I asked him how he built up his practice from scratch in such a short time. Not only did he tell me what he’d been doing, he gave me a detailed list of the marketing techniques he’s used to build up a solid client base.
First Ron told me that to get noticed you’ve got to be a joiner – join every club and association you can find. He’s a member of the local chamber of commerce, the Lions club, Rotary, Kiwanis, the United Way, three church groups as well as a scoutmaster for the Boy Scouts. And Ron’s wife is a member of every woman’s organization available. Ron explained that there are two ways to go as a member of such groups. You can behave as most would expect and simply try to suck up all the available business around. Or, you can offer value and good service and allow your actions to serve as an example to illustrate how you might treat your actual clients should you pick any up. Ron tries to do the latter while admitting that sometimes it’s tough.
Ron also likes to work on community projects. He’s a member of a committee studying the feasibility of building an annex to the old county hospital. He’s also the leader of a group trying to get historical status for several old houses in town.
Ron explains that the more exposure one receives the more people will think of you when the time comes when they need your services. But he also says that people can smell a phony so one needs to be sincere as a joiner and a community activist. Ron has an outgoing and engaging style and only he knows his true motivation for all of his public activities, but it would certainly seem that he enjoys what he’s doing and that he’s sincere about it. He also shared a lot of marketing techniques outside of public activity with me.
The following items are a few of the techniques he’s using presently.
Two for One Document Review
This one is simple. He offers to review two legal documents (contracts) for the price of a single document. He claims this to be one of his best client builders.
Waive consultation fee. From time to time Ron will run a radio ad offering a free consultation. Sometimes it’s a free phone consultation with a junior attorney at his firm and sometimes it’s a face to face consult with the man himself. This is another popular offer. Ron also says that he’s got to space these offers out over a period of several months or they aren’t as effective.
Special Reports
Ron has devoted a lot of time writing special reports pertaining to both personal injury and family law matters. He offers these to potential clients in his TV commercials as well as on his Website and radio spots. Two of his most popular free reports are titled: Know Your Rights After A Work Accident and Know Your Rights After An Automobile Accident.
Teach A Class or Seminar
Ron teaches a class every three months on Wills and Probate. He rents a meeting room at the hotel and holds the same seminar four times over the course of a weekend. When people learn what an endless nightmare probate can be he always has new clients seeking more information on trusts and other vehicles designed to circumvent probate.
Host Your Own Radio Show
Ron hasn’t managed to get his own show just yet. But he is a regular caller on two of the most popular radio shows in town. Both of the talk show hosts know him and welcome his calls along with the generous way he imparts useful information about family and personal injury law.
Write A Book
Being an author affords you almost instant credibility. Ron told me he’s just a few chapters away from completing his first book. Apparently he’s using the special reports he offers as the chapters for his book. He’s hired a professional editor to review the material and make it as free-flowing as possible. He looks forward to all of the activity that comes with being a successful author.
Sponsor A Contest
Ron runs an essay contest every February. The topic is Lawyers in History. The essay needs to be no more than 1000 words and no less than 750. The topic is: Lawyers In History Who Have Made a Difference. The prize is $500 toward any legal work or $250 donated to the charity of your choice. This competition generates a lot of interest and adds dozens of names and addresses to Ron’s mailing database every year. Many eventually convert to paying clients.
Additionally, Ron does mass mailings and keeps himself in the minds of potential clients with an almost omnipresent existence on radio and TV. Sometimes his commercials are goofy and other times they’re serious and solemn. You never know what you’re going to get with Ron – unless you actually hire him. Then you’re going to get fast and efficient service. I should know. I just paid him a bundle!
How to Market a Law Firm on a Budget
Most lawyers try to shy away from marketing themselves and their law firms. Many attorneys simply want their work to speak for itself.
Others may be concerned that aggressive marketing techniques will make their firms look unethical. For whatever the reason, lawyers are not known for getting the word out about themselves or their law firms. Now with the country facing economic uncertainty, more and more attorneys have another excuse for not marketing their firms.
They say it is just too expensive.
However, marketing is not an expense. It is an investment in your firm’s future. If you don’t get clients, you don’t make money. If you don’t make money, you can’t continue to practice law.
Marketing does not have to bust your law firm’s budget. You don’t have to buy a television commercial during the Super Bowl, but you do have to do something. Not marketing your law firm, especially in a challenging economy, is like waving a white flag. Don’t convince yourself that there is nothing you can do to get more clients in the door. Even law firms who have limited budgets can see significant results.
Here are a few ideas that you can use to effectively and efficiently attract new clients:
Don’t spend it all in one place. When trying to market your solo practice or small law firm, you have to be sure to pick a budget and stick with it. One rule in marketing is that clients need to hear about your firm seven times before getting the message about your firm. If you spend too much money in one area, you won’t have enough left over for repetitive advertising.
Use your face to advertise. Put your face on your business cards, printed materials, and your website. Facial recognition technology is so complicated that it is actually its own field of science. When potential clients see your face they see more than just your law firm’s name and specialty, they see a person. They are much more likely to remember you if they have the opportunity to put a name to a face.
Don’t get cheap business cards. Flimsy business cards that start to fall apart before potential clients can get them into their wallet are definitely not good for your image. Don’t decide that you don’t need business cards. You never know when you will meet someone who might require your services. Simply having business card with you at all times can lead to getting new clients. Make sure that your business cards are up to date. Pulling out your business card only to scratch off an old phone number and write a new one makes you seem disorganized. Disorganization is a quality that no client wants in an attorney.
You can blog your way to new clients. Blogs for small firms are usually free or very inexpensive. A blog can be uploaded to your current website and can be formatted to match your overall color scheme. You can use your firm’s blog to let clients get to know you. One of the wonderful things about blogs is that they let search engines know that the content on your website is constantly being updated. This will increase your search engine rankings and may lead to more potential clients finding your firm through its website.
Send out email newsletters. Email newsletters are a great way to keep in touch with clients and potential referral sources. Email newsletter accounts can be as inexpensive as $30 per month. You can use email newsletters to position yourself as an expert and a friendly legal resource. Newsletters can be sent out each month with a detailed article about changes in the law or the importance of using an attorney for certain life events, etc. When someone who receives your firm’s newsletter wants to refer you to a friend, your contact information is already stored in the most recent newsletter they received from you.
Find inexpensive ways to maintain relationships with referral sources. While it is always great to take a referral source out for lunch, the cost and the time can add up. Save the lunches for the referral sources that are most likely to land you large clients. Use less expensive and less time consuming methods to stay in touch with other referral sources. Send inexpensive birthday cards, or better yet, call your referral sources on their birthdays and on other holidays. This will only take a few minutes out of your day, but you will have made steps in cultivating an important relationship without the cost of lunch.
Join online directory listings. Potential clients will often scroll through a long list of lawyers in search of one who specializes in the area they need help with. Simply being listed in many of these directories is free because they rely on advertisements for revenue.
Consider using a pay-per-click advertising. Have you noticed that when you do a search for something in Google, Yahoo, or MSN that there are usually listings to the right or in a top banner for certain businesses? Sometimes these are called “sponsored links” or “sponsored ads”. The way that it works is that you select a certain set of key words, maybe “tax attorney” and then your firm’s zip code. Every time someone types in that particular key word combination, your firm’s website will be listed to the left or in the top banner.
Track the effectiveness of your firm’s marketing campaign. Traditional marketing was all about guess work. Law firms would put their message out there and hope to see the business rolling in. However, if a firm ran a print campaign, an online campaign, and a radio campaign, they had no way of knowing which one was brining clients in the door. Now, with unique landing pages on your website and proxy phone numbers on your mailings, you can know for sure just how your marketing dollars are working for you.
Don’t let a small budget keep you from doing some basic marketing for your firm. As this article shows, there are myriad of marketing options for firms operating on tight budgets.
Community Involvement, Charity Work and Law Firm Business Development
Sooner or later most law firms will be asked to support a local charity.
Some lawyers may simply write a check and then go about their day. Others may feel that charitable gifts are not the best use of their financial resources. In either response, attorneys and law firms are missing a tremendous opportunity to give back to the community and develop some great potential client relationships.
Let’s take a closer look at community involvement and how it can help your law firm’s overall marketing efforts.
Charitable giving is a good and wonderful thing in its own right. When paired with a strong, strategic plan, it can also be a low or sometimes no cost way to kick off a marketing campaign or to pump new life into a fledgling one.
Getting your law firm involved in some of the local nonprofits in your community has many advantages. Helping out local nonprofit organizations can get your name in front of thousands of eyes, can provide your attorneys with opportunities to network, and can also attract top talent who want to work for a law firm that is about more than the just the bottom line. In addition, community involvement can be a boost to the morale of your entire team.
The Benefits of Community Involvement for Solo Attorneys and Law Firms
Community involvement can lead to more business. Many clients prefer to do business with law firms they can feel good about. Getting your firm known as one that gives back to the community can be a key component in building your image or brand. Depending on which area of the law your firm specializes in, you might be able to make your firm a household name among people who may need your firm’s legal services one day.
Getting involved can provide opportunities for free advertising. Whenever you donate almost anything to a nonprofit, your firm will be listed in their annual report. This free advertising can also lead to name recognition. If you co-sponsor a local event, sometimes for as little as $500, you will often get the benefit of having your logo displayed at the event and in the printed event materials. Is your local YMCA, Boys and Girls Club, animal shelter, zoo, or children’s museum planning an expansion? For a few hundred dollars you may be able to have your logo prominently displayed in one of their facilities.
Community involvement can also be an opportunity to network. Certain charitable events are more likely to be frequented by influential members of your community. Golf tournaments are often used to raise funds for nonprofit organizations. Additionally, fundraising dinners are a great place to network. Your firm could buy a table or even just a few seats.
Beyond the free advertising your firm will receive by participating in charitable endeavors, you can provide a link on your website that details what charities your support and how your firm has made a difference in the community.
How to Get Involved
Contrary to popular belief, giving back to the community does not have to be expensive or even time consuming. One simple way to get involved is to sign your law firm up for weekend community service oriented events. You could offer to repaint a local children’s shelter or to deliver Meals on Wheels. You can team up with other firms or companies to do even larger projects like building a house for Habitat for Humanity.
There are other ways to give back and to help your law firm by doing so.
For anywhere from a few hundred dollars to several thousand you can buy a table at a fundraising dinner. You can either attend and network or you can donate the seats back. Donated tables are often used for the volunteers who help to run the nonprofit on a daily basis, but who cannot afford to attend the event. Most fundraising dinners campaign vigorously in the months leading up to their events. Sponsoring a local fundraising dinner ensures that your firm’s name is included in all of their mailings.
Another way to support local fundraising dinners is by providing items for a live or silent auction. Depending upon your area of specialization, your firm could offer a free one hour legal consultation or you could purchase a spa package or a getaway to be auctioned off.
If none of these ideas seem like a good fit for your firm, but you would like to get involved. Call some of the nonprofits in your area and ask them what your firm can do to help. The odds are that they will not be short on ideas. You can also ask your team of professionals what nonprofits they are interested in supporting. This does two things, first it gives you automatic buy in from your staff and second, it gives you the opportunity to task one of them with the responsibility for planning and executing the volunteer opportunity.
One thing to keep in mind is that the causes you choose to support will reflect upon the values of your firm. You may want to consider selecting a charity that relates to your legal specialty. This is a great way to reach potential clients.
Be sure to inform your tax specialist of how your firm is giving back. Often times, a philanthropic or even an in-kind donation can lead to meaningful tax savings.
When it Comes to Marketing Most Small Law Firms and Attorneys Don’t Get It
You’ve read about it on this website for a while now. But you still don’t believe it.
A law firm is a business.
And the key to business success is developing a set of systems and processes that will attract new clients.
Developing and deploying these systems is called marketing.
Aggressive marketing is the key to the success of a small law firm.
So this begs the question:
Why don’t most small law firms and solo attorneys focus on developing a marketing plan and building marketing systems that execute that plan automatically?
The answer may surprise you.
There are three main reasons why most attorneys don’t focus on marketing.
1.) They don’t truly recognize the need to deploy consistent, disciplined marketing. Attorneys are not required to study marketing in law school. In fact, a good deal of time and effort is put into what an attorney can’t say in his/her marketing. This helps condition new attorneys to avoid marketing as much as possible.
2.) Attorneys don’t know how to build a solid marketing machine. Traditional product businesses have a difficult time in developing and executing a solid marketing plan. The complexity of a professional services business – particularly a law firm – can greatly increase the degree of difficulty involved in marketing. Attorneys often choose to avoid this difficult and complex task. This is a huge mistake.
3.) Lawyers are not “wired” to develop marketing tools, systems and campaigns. Attorneys are typically analytical, logical, deductive thinkers. This is the exact opposite of the way most people (non-lawyers) make decisions. In order to market and sell your services to your clients, you have to be able to get inside their heads and speak to them in a language they understand. Attorneys have a difficult time doing that because of the way they are “wired”. The very thing that makes them good lawyers is what most often makes them terrible at building a marketing system.
Here’s how smart attorneys and smart small law firms overcome these challenges:
Successful attorneys realize that attracting clients requires as much effort and focus as servicing them. They make marketing a priority. They realize that “selling” themselves, their firm and their services to clients is not only necessary, it is essential to their success. In fact, successful attorneys take it beyond simply recognizing that marketing is important. They make attracting new clients the top priority of their firm. Once a law firm takes this mindset, everything else comes into focus.
Get this through your incredibly intelligent, thick head: If there are no clients, it doesn’t matter how good you are at drafting documents or arguing a case. You can be brilliant. You can be an expert. You can be the one source of expertise on a particular topic. But if you have no clients, it doesn’t matter.
Successful attorneys focus on sales and marketing.
Once you agree that marketing is important, you may find that you don’t have as much time to dedicate to it as is necessary. This is the reason successful attorneys build several different marketing systems that help them attract clients automatically. That’s correct. Automatically.
Once these systems are set up, they pull in qualified clients at a rapid pace. This allows the attorney to chose who he/she wants to work with. Good marketing systems eliminate desperation from the client attraction process. Once you attract potential clients who are a good fit for your firm, you can be selective.
Finally, smart attorneys look for assistance when it comes to building a marketing machine. You know the law. You are probably an expert in a specific area of the law.
And you probably don’t fix your own car or cut your own hair. So why would you try to figure out how to get the maximum number of clients possible – on your own? If you truly want to be able to pick and choose your clients, you need to work with a marketing expert.
A marketing expert can help you focus on your niche, command a fee premium and effortlessly draw new potential clients to your firm.
More and more attorneys are focusing on sales and marketing. This may have seemed like a competitive advantage at one time but now it is a point of entry into the market. If you hope to one day be financially independent, you need to focus on marketing.
When There’s Blood on the Streets Buy Property - Using Current Events To Build Your Client Base
I attended a small gathering recently and was privy to an interesting discussion among several attorneys. One of the men was lamenting the fact that his practice was suffering from a lack of clients. He was blaming the slump on the economy and complaining that if things didn’t change soon he’d have to let go several of his employees. A couple of others in the group were nodding in agreement expressing similar laments. Though there was a single member of this group who sat quietly with a smug look on his face. When asked how his business was doing he smiled and answered that he was having a record year.
Of course, the others were amazed. Almost in unison they asked how it could be that this one attorney could be having such a good year in the midst of all the economic uncertainty. Again, the man, who went by the name Peter, flashed a smug grin and simply said, “Current events.” He then excused himself promising to return shortly. He left the group buzzing about his answer.
When he returned Peter was bombarded with questions. What did he mean, current events?
I’m not sure that he was playing coy or simply playing with them but he answered the question with more questions. The first of the questions was a simple query about what was happening on the national scene. People offered answers. They mentioned the upcoming election. They mentioned the economy, the war, the rising price of gas and food. They covered almost everything that was an issue of importance currently – everything except the right answer, that is.
Finally, he relented and offered up the answer while still maintaining control of the group. He answered starting with yet another question. He asked what the catalyst that had triggered the current recession had been. And again, he was met with several varied answers. He waived his hand in the air as if to stop the babbling and simply said, “The sub prime mortgage crisis.”
Peter explained that there were literally thousands of people locally as well as nationally who had recently bought homes or refinanced and had been grossly misled by various members of the mortgage and banking professions. People were losing homes to foreclosure and many of those who were managing to hang on were only doing so with a great deal of struggle. At this point someone asked how this was a boom to his business. And again he smiled though someone else in the group answered the question for him.
A man named Carl offered the opinion that the mortgage crisis was no accident and had come about as a result of some very unscrupulous practices in the profession. His comment was immediately complemented by the successful attorney, Peter. He went on to say that he presently has more than 20 clients all of whom had encountered various levels of fraud or misrepresentation during their loan process. Some of the clients had received inflated appraisals on their properties stating the home was worth much more than it actually was. Others had signed documents prepared by overzealous mortgage brokers that contained fraudulent statements. He finished by saying that the sub prime mortgage mess was a litigator’s wet dream and that there was more than enough business in the niche for every attorney in town.
Following his explanation, the discussion turned to how to go about exploiting such a bonanza. One of the group members who was primarily a family practice attorney specializing in divorce commented that pursuing mortgage clients wouldn’t fit his practice so it wasn’t something he’d be able to do. Another attorney claimed that mortgage fraud litigation wouldn’t be a good fit for him because his primary business was personal injury.
Peter listened politely and finally chuckled and said confidently that almost all lawyers in private practice were primarily contract specialists. He said that after all was said and done that most legal matters revolved around contracts. He went on to say that a mortgage was nothing more than a contract and what was important was how the contract was originally represented and created. Then he said that virtually any attorney could secure mortgage fraud clients and farm out the heavy lifting to the specialists in the field. Finally, he hinted that mortgage fraud litigation was only one way to capitalize on the ‘current events’ business opportunity pool. There were more.
The group casually pondered the possibilities and how they might fit each member’s particular circumstances and practice. It wasn’t long before someone asked Peter what additional business might be found under the current events niche.
Peter smiled again but rather than continue his cat and mouse act simply said, “the stock market.” He then pointed out how much trouble many of the major banks were in and how much equity in these banking securities had evaporated over the last couple of years. It was obvious that he was familiar with the overall situation as he explained that much of the trouble in the banking sector had come about as a result of unethical and unsound business practices.
He said that individuals and funds heavily invested in the banking sector had sustained heavy losses. Then he once again smiled a sly smile and explained that when people lose value in their investments as a result of fraudulent or negligent management they have grounds for a suit with the company. And again he emphasized that it wasn’t necessary to be a securities specialist to secure these clients because any attorney could contract the actual legal work out to securities lawyers.
Before he was asked again Peter mentioned that there were similar opportunities to be found in the real estate foreclosures along with facilitating real estate short sales. Then he went back to playing smug and said, “Yesiree! Business is Booming!”
It was easy to see that Peter was enjoying current events.
Toast Your Way to New Business Development
I have a good friend Rosemary who, after 22 years as a trusted member of a prestigious law firm has just been downsized right out the back door. She received a generous severance package but that didn’t ease the sting much. I asked her what her plans were. She told me she was toying with the idea of opening her own law practice but wasn’t sure it was the right time. This gal places a lot of faith in her gut feelings and said she’d know when it was right. Until then she was going to do some traveling and relax a bit.
One of the things Rosemary has always wanted to do was to become skilled at delivering speeches. She didn’t have a lot of experience as a trial lawyer and thought she might feel more comfortable in the courtroom knowing she had a commanding presence in front of a live group. This is what led her to join Toastmasters. Toastmasters is a worldwide organization that helps people develop the skills to deliver great speeches. She joined a Thursday afternoon group that meets in one of the Department of State Transportation buildings in her state capital. This would turn out to be quite the blessing.
Rosemary was surprised at some of the prominent folks in her Toastmasters group. Important individuals from various levels of state and local government were members of her group. They too were seeking to improve their communication and speaking skills. Every member of Toastmasters is required to give speeches that are outlined in a member’s manual. Each speech is designed to have the member achieve a set goal for a particular lesson.
For example, in one lesson the member is to deliver a speech that introduces that member to the group, sort of a human show and tell. In another, the member tells a funny story, and still another the member must evoke emotion from his listeners. Rosemary delivered many of her speeches around the law theme offering a lot of useful information. And interestingly enough, she began to get some work from other members as a result.
Rosemary really enjoyed her Toastmasters membership and took advantage of most of the opportunities for learning the group offered. This is what led her to entering a regional speaking competition. The competition was nationwide. The winner would advance to the semifinals held in Washington DC. The regional competition was held in a state capital meeting hall with more than 400 people in attendance. Rosemary gave a passionate presentation about business fraud and placed third among seven entrants for the competition. But it was a week later that her speech really paid off.
For her presentation in the competition Rosemary gave a rousing speech about fraud and abuse in the stock market and banking industry. She cited many large brokers and financial institutions that were in trouble for questionable practices such as selling stocks they don’t actually own and other manipulative exploits. Her conclusion was that reform with actual criminal consequences for the perpetrators was necessary. She closed the speech with an outline of how some of the abuses might be curbed.
At her regular Toastmasters meeting the following week Rosemary was approached by two attorneys. Based on the speech she delivered for the competition she was offered an equal partnership in a brand new firm whose primary clientele would be victims of such abuse – especially the wholesale fraud found in the stock market.
One of the two attorneys offering the partnership had been in attendance at the Toastmasters competition and heard Rosemary deliver a passionate and factual overview of the abuse in the financial arena. He and his partner had recently successfully tried a blatant stock fraud case and had been awarded a sizable settlement. They were uncertain as to whether to unite and form a partnership to pursue such cases until hearing Rosemary. They felt she was a perfect fit for the two attorneys as she brought more than two decades of varied experience to the table as well as passion, intelligence and enthusiasm. They showed up at the regular weekly meeting to offer her a partnership.
Surprisingly, Rosemary didn’t jump at the opportunity immediately. She felt there were still things she wanted to do before getting back into the full swing of litigating. I asked Rosemary if her gut was telling her this was a valid opportunity. “Oh, yes,” she said. I then asked why she wasn’t jumping at the chance to be a partner in her own firm. This is when I found out just how savvy ole Rosemary was. She told me that one should never take a first offer, no matter how enticing it might be. She’d told her potential partners that she would work with them as a consultant while finishing up some personal business. That way she remained in contention for the partnership. “Besides,” she said, “they really want me in.”
Then she told me something in confidence. She was chomping at the bit to get into her own practice. But she wanted to be sure to be able to finish all of her speeches at Toastmasters first. Priorities, you know.
Turn Your Website Into a Lead Generation Machine
In the past month, how many new clients found you through your website?
How about in the past year?
Your attorney website should be one of the best ways for you to source new business. It should be one of the ways people find out who you are and what you have to offer. But it should also be much, much more than that. Your attorney website should be one of the most effective tools you have to sift, sort and screen potential clients. It should help you weed out the people who can’t pay, won’t pay or don’t pay.
A client who finds your firm through your attorney website should be ready willing and able to make a commitment to pay a premium for your services.
There are three ways to make sure that your attorney website is working hard to position you properly.
A good website does three things for an attorney:
- 1.) It educates the client on the attorney’s area of specialization.
- 2.) It helps build the attorney’s credibility in the eyes of the prospective client.
- 3.) It captures the prospective client’s contact information.
These three things are critically important. They must be built into the structure of the site itself.
As most bar associations will tell you, hiring an attorney is an important decision. It is also a decision that most of your clients will not take lightly. And you don’t want them to take it lightly. You want them to do as much research as possible.
Provide Educational Content
When you provide educational material on your website you help your client realize exactly how serious his situation is. This helps him understand that he will need a highly skilled professional to help him.
For example:
Bankruptcy Attorneys should provide information on their website about the complexity of bankruptcy law. They should cite several complex cases that demonstrate the need for an expert to help guide them through the maze of filings. Keep in mind that clients don’t know what they don’t know. You need to help them understand the depth of the law in your field.
Divorce Attorneys should help clients realize just how complicated a divorce can be from a legal prospective. The emotional toll will be enormous, and most clients expect to face that challenge. The challenge they will not anticipate and the challenge you should educate them on, is the implication of a poorly structured settlement. Help them see the things that they have no way of knowing. Help them understand that there is more to a divorce than fighting it out and signing some paperwork.
Corporate Attorneys should discuss the implications of not forming proper corporate entities or of not protecting the “corporate veil” or of poorly structured contracts.
There are endless topics that you can and should explore for your prospective clients. Help them get to a point where they can make an educated decision.
Build Credibility
Having a law degree and listing your graduation date on your website is not enough. Providing a list of credentials is not enough. Posting a resume with significant accomplishments listed in chronological order is not enough. You need to demonstrate to your prospective client why you are the best choice for him. Your website must make a compelling case for hiring you and ignoring all the alternative choices in your field.
You must make this case on your website just as you would make a case to a jury in a courtroom. You need to lay out the facts and weave them into a compelling story. The story should be interesting and it should highlight the client as the hero.
That’s right.
The client is the hero of the story. He saved the day by taking action. He chose YOU as the attorney.
Capture Client Contact Information
This is the area where 95% of all attorney websites fall short. They have no built-in follow-up mechanism. Your website is only as good as the leads it generates for you. If you don’t have a way of knowing who is visiting your site, you can’t follow-up with them.
It is a cold, hard business fact that people do not take action unless they are prompted to do so. In the case of a law practice, that prompt should come in the form of a follow-up email directly from you asking if you can answer any questions. If your website does not give you that opportunity, you are going to miss out on a good deal of potential business.
Your website should be one of the most profitable investments you make in your law practice. It should pay dividends for you day-in and day-out.
Do a quick audit of your web presence and see if it meets the three criteria we discussed. If it doesn’t, there is a good chance your next million-dollar client will be walking into the office of your competitor instead of sitting down in front of you.
