By: Benjamin Glass, Esq.
One of the most frequently asked marketing questions that I see on lawyer list serves is some version of one of these:
Which web company should I use?
Or
I’ve heard of ABC software to help with my marketing, is it any good?
Lots of people pipe in with specific recommendations but that’s like asking the clerk at Home Depot “which tool should I buy?” without knowing what the heck you are going to build.
Here’s what you should be doing. Get out a legal pad. Get out a pen.
Just spend some time thinking and answering these questions:
- What you want your life to look like and be about? The question “what is your why?” is a real question to be answered. I wake up every morning to inspire those around me to live vibrant lives. I am very clear about why I am here.
- What type of firm/law practice supports that life? For me, the practice must provide for the emotional AND financial security of my family. If this is not balanced, I am not living my why.
- What type of client supports that firm? We have clients that we actually like. All of them. We ruthlessly say “no” to those we don’t’ genuinely like.
- What that prospective client is really thinking about when they have a legal situation that they need to solve? I’ll tell you what they are NOT thinking about: YOU. They don’t care where you went to law school. They don’t care what organizations you are a part of or how many blue ribbons you have hanging on your wall. They care FIRST about THEIR problem.
- How you might provide answers to those problems before they have to take the BIG step of actually talking to a lawyer on the phone (they have been thrust into our world without notice, typically, and we are scary to them)? This is done by producing a massive amount of good relevant content that actually will help them whether or not they hire you.
- What that prospective client is actually seeing/experiencing as they venture into the market to find one of us? You need to “play prospect” and study the marketing messages of your competitor.
- How your marketing messages differ from all of the other choices they will experience in the marketplace, including the choice to NOT hire an attorney. This is critical. You can’t win by saying the same things (i.e. Free Consultation! We Care! We are Aggressive”) that everyone else is saying
- What type of message/offer will provoke them to raise their hand and reach out to you first? I teach a very simple lead generation formula. First, offer them useful information and then make even more information available behind “door” that they can only get to if they give you some of their contact information.
- How you and your team will NOT disappoint them once they reach out. You and your team are being compared to the customer service they get from Amazon, FedEx and other great companies known for a very high level of service. Most law firms are complete failures at the “customer service” side of the equation. Being a ‘good lawyer’ is never enough.
- How you and your team will not disappoint in that first “live” interaction. There only one time to make a great first impression. Show up like no one else!
- How you will deliver not only excellent legal services but an excellent experience. How many times does your team “reach out and touch” a client for reasons OTHER than their legal problem each year? This, not your marketing message, shows you care.
There’s a ton more but this is a start and most lawyers never give serious thought to the above… they jump right to the purple pill, which is “which one do I buy?”
My suggestion is that once you have this mapped out on a trusty legal pad, THEN figure out what web vendor/software you will invest in to support what you have written down.
Also, notice that “great legal services” is at the bottom of the list.
Why?
Because the consumer, never having had to venture into our world before, is a very poor judge of “good lawyer/bad lawyer.”
For more information about how to build a practice that serves you, visitGreatLegalMarketing.com
