Feb. 17, 2010 – In his blog, practice management consultant Reid Trautz remarked that lawyers are confronted with the challenge of showing the value of their services – an intangible often shrouded in legalese.
“Clients cannot touch, feel or smell what they purchase from lawyers,” Trautz wrote. “Sure, they can feel the estate documents that cost them several thousand dollars, but they cannot touch or see the huge pile of money your expert drafting just saved them.”
Further complicating this advertising problem, Trautz said clients themselves are looking for certain intangibles when selecting a lawyer. “Clients are really seeking trust, experience, attentiveness, wisdom, security, understanding, loyalty, leadership, foresight, peace of mind, and certainty,” Trautz commented.
At the State Bar Solo and Small Firm Conference last fall, Trautz joined a panel of marketing experts to offer tips for connecting with clients in a program called “60+ Best Practices in Marketing in 60 Minutes.” The other panelists were Jim Calloway, director of the Oklahoma Bar Association’s Management Assistance Program; Dustin Cole, president and founder of the Attorneys Master Class; and Nerino Petro, practice management advisor for the State Bar of Wisconsin Law Office Management Assistance program.
Getting clients
Attracting clients is the obvious first step, and Petro urged lawyers to consult the state Rules of Professional Conduct on advertising before doing anything. From there, Petro recommended a lawyer develop a presence on the Internet, registering for a domain name identifying the practice.
“While some people don’t mind sending email to an AOL, GMAIL, or HotMail account, it lacks a sense of professionalism and indicates to the world that you don’t take modern communication practices seriously,” Petro said, adding that a lawyer should always prefer a .com address while also acquiring the rights to a .net address to avoid confusion.
Petro said that a website or a blog permits a lawyer to go further than just a listing of services and the lawyer’s education background. Petro suggested a visitor to the website should find “take away” information such as a downloadable booklet, report, or CD such as “Know Your Rights as an Accident Victim,” “The Top 10 Things Every Home Seller Needs to Know,” or “The Pet Owner’s Guide to Estate Planning for Pets.”
Similarly, Trautz said that lawyers should take advantage of today’s inexpensive cameras to make short videos about the practice, upload them to YouTube or TubeMogul, and then hyperlink that multimedia feature to the website.
Once the lawyer’s Internet site is established, Calloway discussed the ways of increasing its visibility. For example, he said that creating a Google profile can improve your presence in returned search results. Similarly, Google offers every local business a free ad, which will rotate with similar ads and appear on potentially thousands of computer screens in the lawyer’s area, he said.
At the same time a lawyer focuses on an Internet presence, Petro said a lawyer should not overlook the traditional brochure or business card. “Your business cards and stationary are often the first things that a client or a potential client sees,” Petro said. “Make sure your contact info, including phone, email, and website, are included.”
Once speaking with a potential client, Cole advised lawyers to describe their services without legal jargon and abstractions such as “family law” in favor of an emphasis on how they help clients in practical terms to achieve their goals.
Petro said that when meeting people, the lawyer may receive a business card. “Use the back side to write down where you met them and one thing that they seemed to be interested in,” Petro said. “As soon as possible, after the meeting, follow up with a card or letter telling them you were glad to have had an opportunity to meet them and discuss that specific topic with them.”
Keeping clients
“Eighty percent of your work will come from 20 percent of your clients,” said Petro. “Make sure you incorporate this into your marketing plans and acknowledge their business.”
Lawyers might consider innovative ways to show appreciation for their existing clients. “Once a month, take a different client out to lunch or meet them at their business,” Petro suggested. “Find out how they are doing, and use it as an opportunity to discuss other services that you offer that they may not be aware of.”
Petro said a lawyer who sets aside this kind of time at no charge simply to better understand the client’s needs makes a strong impression on clients. “However, you should listen more than you talk,” Petro said. “You have two ears and one mouth – use them in that ratio.”
The routine of the practice should also reflect a client-centric approach. For example, a lawyer should have an office policy to return phone calls no later than the same day, Petro said. If the lawyer cannot personally return the call, a staff member should contact the client or prospective client to say the lawyer has received the message and will call as soon as possible the next day.
Trautz observed that convenience is a strong selling point for a law firm, attracting new clients and keeping existing ones. “Find ways to make your services more convenient to clients, then tout them,” Trautz said, suggesting that a lawyer stay open after hours for clients who have no time during the day to seek legal help. Free parking, web-based intake forms, an office located in proximity to where the lawyer expects to find most of his or her clients, and even house calls are steps to increase accessibility, Trautz said.
Building a practice
Calloway said that a closing letter to the client is more than just good practice to document the lawyer’s termination of a representation. It is also an opportunity to build the practice.
A closing letter should thank the client for the opportunity to serve him or her and state the lawyer’s belief that this particular legal matter has ended, Calloway said. The letter should then list the lawyer’s other services and welcome the client’s referral of anyone in need of such help.
Among existing clients, Petro said lawyers should survey their top five clients to find out what they particularly like about the services they are receiving and what could be improved. Likewise, Petro said lawyers should ask their five newest clients why they chose them.
