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The key to success as an attorney in any type of negotiation is to get the other party to view things as you do. If you can do this, you win. You have successfully converted those sitting in judgment into believers. To do this, you have probably employed some psychological triggers as your persuasion agents.

So why aren’t you using human psychology to help you convert prospects into paying clients?

Here are 10 mental triggers you can deploy immediately to increase your sales dramatically:

Avoid pain/gain pleasure.

Humans are wired to avoid pain and seek pleasure. We may not like to work out, it may be painful, but we do it because of the pleasure of a slimmer body and better health. Applied to your marketing efforts, you must know your target client’s pain point and communicate how you will relieve this pain and bring them pleasure. For example, if they have suffered an injury from a defective drug or product, you as an attorney cannot take away their physical pain but you can help alleviate their psychological pain by making the manufacturer pay for what they did to your client. It is imperative that you educate prospects on how you will take them from where they are now (pain) to where they want to be (pleasure) before you ask for their money.

Use novelty.

Humans love the new and unfamiliar. Being exposed to something novel actually increases the level of dopamine in our brain, making us feel pleasure for a potential reward that novelty brings. This is the reason why people line up for the latest iPhone or Starbucks drink concoction.

Give a reason.

The human brain is constantly searching for answers and people are more willing to do something for you if you give them a reason. Explaining to prospects why you do what you do — especially if it is a compelling story — will make them more likely to become clients.

Use storytelling.

People are moved to action through storytelling because our brains make us feel the experience even though we did not directly experience it ourselves. Use storytelling in your marketing that reinforces the message you want to convey to prospects.

Make it simple.

When people are confronted with several different ways of achieving the same goal, they will choose the easiest course of action. Capitalize on this trigger by simplifying the process of doing business with you and providing the easiest, simplest solution to your prospect’s problem.

Capitalize on a common enemy.

Even when common enemies do not exist, people create them as a way to explain why bad things happen to them. Fortunately, you and your prospect already have a common enemy — the entity or person you are suing that caused harm to your client. The more you are perceived as the solution to taking down this common enemy, the more likely it is that potential clients will sign up with you.

Create scarcity.

It is ingrained in us to believe that if something is scarce, it has greater value. This is why limited time offers or limited product releases create such demand and make people want to buy. Conducting webinars or seminars with limited attendance capacity is one way to make the scarcity rule work for your law firm.

Build anticipation.

Companies like Apple and Starbucks do a great job of building anticipation for upcoming product releases, sometimes even to the point of frustrating their customers. But even if they’re frustrated, they still buy! Having something to look forward to is a key to human happiness. Create anticipation among potential clients by detailing what they can look forward to achieving if they hire you.

Promote social proof.

We are all social creatures and tend to follow the crowd, which is why providing social proof on your website and in your content by using client reviews and testimonials can help you with lead conversion.

Make prospects feel important.

We all need to feel that we are important. It is ingrained in us as human beings to want to feel significant, in our own eyes and in the eyes of others. This is why exceptional client service needs to start before a prospect even becomes a client. You do this by having an intake process where your team listens to prospects’ stories, empathizes and provides helpful guidance every step along the way. You must micromanage the experience prospects have with your firm so you can ensure they feel that you value them, and that they are not just a file number to you. Scrutinize your intake process for areas where you can emphasize their importance to your firm. Even simple things like offering them a bottle of water for the road when they are leaving your office can make a huge difference in how well you are able to convert them into clients.

Deploying these triggers will help you influence prospects, which will lead to improved lead conversion rates for your law firm.