Dear Stephen,
 Welcome to the November edition of the Rainmaker Report.
Are you communicating with prospective clients in a way they understand? Are you using "legal jargon" which can be confusing to your clients?
This month's feature article provides you with a simple exercise which will help you clearly define and accurately demonstrate the products and services you offer.
Have you received your complimentary copy of The Rainmaker Advisor? Check out the right column to learn more about the very first print magazine in the nation dedicated to legal marketing strategies for small law firms and solo practitioners.
In This Issue
|
|
|
|
Law Firm Marketing Strategies: Crossing the Language Barrier to Market Your Services
|
by: Stephen Fairley,
CEO, The Rainmaker Institute
If your law firm is not growing (or worse yet, shrinking) and your revenue stream is down to a trickle, it's high time to start being proactive with your Marketing.
One of the most important aspects of successful law firm Marketing is the ability to clearly define and demonstrate the services which you offer.
After many years of studying effective law firm Marketing strategies, I have seen a common problem. Many attorneys communicate with prospective clients in a way clients do not understand.
One of the biggest mistakes a lawyer can make is to use "legal jargon" when speaking with prospects. No one wants to feel stupid and would rather save face than risk embarrassment by asking you to define what you believe is a "common legal term".
Effective Marketing for attorneys relies on your ability to be understood; without a clear understanding of what you can do for them, most clients will head for the nearest exit.
As a lawyer, you must uncover the words and phrases your clients use to describe their goals, challenges and problems. You must cross their "language barrier" before you can begin to entice them to learn more about how you can help them.
For example, unless they have experienced it most people don't know the difference between Chapter 7, 11, and 13 bankruptcy. Nor do they know the difference between a will, living trust, and an estate plan.
Here is a simple exercise which will help you accurately demonstrate your product and services:
1. Write down the terms and language you use to describe what you do to another professional in your field.
2. Now, write down the key words and phrases your clients use to describe your services to you. (If you can't complete this step, start asking your clients and listen to them as they describe their problems.) Your ability to succeed in law firm Marketing will rely, in part, on your willingness to write down the key words and phrases your clients are using and committing them to memory.
These two lists should be very different. If they overlap by 50% or more, you are probably not listening closely enough to prospects and clients. It is recommended that you go back to square one and ask more questions, listening more intently, if you expect your legal Marketing efforts to be effective.
Review your current Marketing materials closely.
Are they filled with terms from your list or your client's list?
Which list of words predominate your legal Marketing material, like your website and brochure?
|
The Rainmaker Institute Blog: Stay Current with Law Firm Marketing |
For many a law firm, Marketing is an after-thought. It is something to consider only after the business of serving your clients is finished. However, the real truth is that for firms that want to increase in size or that want to choose the clientele they serve, law firm Marketing is essential.
I spoke recently with John Bisnar, principle for one of the top personal injury firms in the country and founder of www.bisnarchase .com. And he said the turning point for his practice was when he and his partner restructured their business model to make law firm Marketing a focus all its own.
The trouble is that law firm Marketing changes at a pace most people (attorneys included) are not aware of. Marketing strategies that worked five or more years ago may not give you the same return today. In fact, they may not give any return at all.
Social media is a great example of that phenomenon.
Where five years ago, the term didn't even exist, today the likes of social networking sites LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter are not so much common place - as they are the places where some of the best law firm Marketing happens.
There are forums where lawyers can engage each other and potential clients one on one. They are place where you can see firsthand what your client base is concerned about, and what you can do to address those concerns.
There are also forums that can be leveraged to promote your firm, to attract precisely the kind of clients you desire, and even to increase the popularity of your web site.
In sum, law firm Marketing must have a focus all its own if you want to increase the size of your firm. It must also keep pace with trends in Marketing, such as social media. In my next blog, I will discuss some of the top social media available today.
You can also connect with me on LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter. Here's how:
www .linkedin/in/StephenFairley Send me an invitation to connect. Mention you saw my blog post.
www.new.facebook.com/people/St ephen_Fairley/515660911 Send me a friend request.
twitter.com/step henfairley Sign up for a free twitter account and then start "following me"
Read More Recent Blog Posts
|
Elite Rainmaker Seminar Series ....with travel by tax-deductible luxury cruise ship!
|
I invite you to join me for the Elite Rainmaker Series event with six-star ultra luxury water transportation aboard Silversea's Silver Shadow from Ft. Lauderdale to Bridgetown, Barbados on December 3-12, 2008. (Other dates and locations are also available.)
Here's a sample of just a few items you will learn when you join us:
- How to build a Lifestyle Law Practice
- How to Generate More and Better Referrals
- 7 Proven Strategies for Building a 7 Figure Practice
- How to Use the Internet to Increase Your Revenues by 30%
- 10 Ways to Set Your Law Firm Apart from Competitors
And all this in just the first seminar!
Register online at www.BusinessTravelOnly.com/seminars-by- sea Or call toll-free: 1-866-593-7272
Reserve Your Spot |
|
The Rainmaker Advisor |
Many law firms are facing decreasing revenues due to today's troubled economy. However a growing number of our clients are seizing this opportunity to become the dominant force in their market place by:
Refocusing on marketing their practice,
Rebuilding referral relationships and
Renewing connections to current and former clients.
How are they doing this?
By reviewing and implementing key strategies included in The Rainmaker Advisor's exclusive articles.
Here are just a few of the diamonds you will find in every issue of this very first print magazine in the nation dedicated to legal marketing strategies for small and solo practitioners:
- Exclusive articles filled with cutting edge strategies to build your law firm
- Practical steps for creating a law firm marketing plan that really works
- How to consistently generate more and better qualified referrals
- Using your Website and the Internet to attract new clients
- Case studies on successful attorneys and how they run their practice behind the scenes
- Rainmakers tools you can use to automate your Marketing and leverage your time
- Secrets of Top Rainmakers - Interviews with 7 figure lawyers and their keys to succ'ess
Claim your trial issue and over $1,200 worth of bonuses at The Rainmaker Advisor
|
|
