By: James M. Brown, Esq.
There is a subset of companies that are not law firms but that chase leads and try to find clients for law firms. Many leads companies have well designed websites that attract prospective clients looking for information and a free legal consultation on whatever their issue or problem might be, These companies sell the leads to law firms at a cost per lead. These leads come in a variety of sizes and shapes. Some are great, some are terrible, some are expensive, some are a bargain, and depending upon the firm that is selling and the firm that is buying, the use of this type of source of business may or may not be the right thing to do. In any case, it is worth looking into and understanding your options.
The first step however is to find out if it is permissible under your state ethics codes. Originally most states permitted law firms to buy leads from non-attorney companies on a fee per lead. This was not considered buying cases because the prospect had affirmatively gone on line seeking advice from an attorney. This is under review in several states at the time of publication.
Some companies charge a flat fee per month for a territory. This arrangement is acceptable as it is not paying for a guaranteed amount of prospects on a cost per head basis.
Other companies will sell a certain amount of leads but each lead is also given to three other attorneys. This appears to be acceptable as the prospect is not being sold exclusively to one firm.
If your state does not permit buying leads and your practice is Social Security Disability or Veterans Disability law, you face major competition from the non-attorney representatives. They will not have the restrictions and can buy all of the leads. You do have an alternative. I have advised many law firms to establish a non-attorney firm to represent people in areas that do not require an attorney representative. This can include Social Security, Veteran’s Disability, Federal Workers’ Compensation, Vaccination Law and a few others. The advantages can be numerous
If you are going to buy internet leads you have to factor in labor costs. If you buy 200 leads a month someone has to call all of those prospects. Time is of the essence. Most people who go online looking for the free advice are usually going to between four and six sites. That means the first firm to contact the prospects is most likely going to win them as a client. If you don’t call within five minutes of getting the lead, 24 hours a day, you are wasting your money. I recommend hiring an “off site receptionist” (a good one is significantly different from an answering service) to call the lead within 10 minutes of when the email hits your inbox. Most of the lead generators send a lot of leads at night and on weekends. If you wait until morning or Monday you will have lost a lot of them. If someone calls the lead that comes in at 2 AM within five minutes and says they are calling for you and gathers most of the information from your intake, you have increased the chance of retaining the client tenfold. If it is a good personal injury case, you can create a protocol where certain callers are forwarded to you at any hour.
Intake staff must always remember that they are “selling,” often to people who don’t realize that they may be buying. This is especially true on Internet leads you may be buying.
When buying leads you will want to purchase them by county, area code, and zip code or television market. You may want to purchase from a company that will let you limit the amount of leads you are getting each month. The filter they put on their leads is important. If there is no filter they better be very cheap. Filter one Is that they must not already have an attorney. You do not want to be paying for leads that are already represented.
If it is a Personal Injury case you want them to have already gone to the emergency room or a physician. You will have wanted a police report. You may want to know that there is insurance. Lost time from work may be important. The more filters you require the more expensive the lead will be.
In Worker’s Compensation you want to know if there is a claim number; has the employer contested the case; is the prospect seeing a physician; how much time have they lost from work; are they being paid for their time off work; etc.
In Social Security, you want to know their age; education; have they filed their claim; received a decision; appealed; seeing a physician; applied before; worked five of the last 10 years; and keep defining it further.
Remember that no one puts all of their information on the free consult form. It takes a good intake specialist to find out if it will really be a good case. Just because it does not appear good on the lead you receive does not mean it isn’t a potentially viable client.
Most of my clients, before they retain me, in the Worker’s Compensation arena say they are converting about 10% of their Internet leads; in Personal Injury, it is about 4% and in Social Security it is about 12 to 14%. By changing a lot of their methods I have been able to get the PI attorneys up to about 9%, Worker’s Comp to about 20% and Social Security to about 35%.
Responding quickly, 24 hours a day is the first crucial step. Taking a better history is almost as important. Don’t assume they have told you why they can’t work. And speak to the prospect as if you want to represent them. Don’t speak to them as if they were another form to fill out. If you are buying leads sell yourself to the people you want to represent. Make them want to buy you.
Time is of the essence with Internet leads. The first firm to call is most likely to get the client. Call within five minutes of when the lead comes in. They won’t be going to other sites because you were providing the information immediately.
Be empathetic. If the person calling is just filling in blanks on a form, there is no emotional reason for the prospect to hire your firm. They have to like you to want to hire you. Let the caller know that you have this practice because people need you.
Be thorough. Gather all the information necessary to determine if it is a good case. Most people do not fill out all of the information on an Internet questionnaire. It takes skilled probing to determine the actual quality of the case.
Be kind and polite if you have the perceived know-it-all attitude of an attorney instead of the compassion of someone who wants to help a fellow human being with a problem, you will not reach your potential on this type of marketing.
About the Author:
James Mitchell Brown, Esq. is the nation’s leading consultant for contingency fee law firms. He consults on marketing plans; crisis management; business plans; office efficiency; buying and selling practices; retirement planning and most other issues regarding a practice. He can be reached at jim@attorneyconsultants.com
|
|
|
|
|
|
Many lawyers promulgate a marketing message (ad, email, web page, article, etc.) with a call to action that says little more than “hire us”.
That’s okay if you’re talking to people who are ready, willing, and able to hire an attorney. But most people who see that message aren’t.
Some aren’t sure they have a legal problem. Some aren’t sure they need an attorney. Some think they can wait. And just about everyone doesn’t yet know, like, and trust you.
What’s the answer? Don’t try to close the sale with your first impression. Use that to get them to the next step.
Don’t sell your service, sell the appointment. Get them into the office so you can diagnose their problem, show them their options, build trust and persuade them to hire you.
But selling the appointment at stage one may also be too heavy a burden. You’ll probably be more effective selling your report or ebook or seminar, to get them to opt-in to your list. From there, you can sell the appointment.
But wait. You have to get their attention, first. Offer them some free content, on your website, on youtube, or on others’ blogs (as guest posts or interviews). Let your free content sell the report you give them when they opt-in. Let that report and the accompanying emails you send them sell the appointment.
It’s called a marketing funnel. You start broad (with free content) and sell them on taking the next step. And so on. Until they’re sitting in your office and handing you a check.
Some prospects will skip steps. Some will speed through the steps and hire you the first day they hear your name. All good. But most will need to go through the process, so make sure you have a process for them to go through.
About the Author:
David M. Ward is an attorney and marketing consultant to attorneys. His website is The Attorney Marketing Center where he offers a free newsletter about marketing, productivity, and personal development.
You can learn more at http://attorneymarketing.com
|
|
