For many lawyers, generating law firm leads is a concept with which they’re not all that familiar because it’s more of a marketing and sales strategy employed by business, rather than a legal concept. However, your firm is a business, so building and establishing clientele for the firm is essential.
What is lead generation? Simply put, it’s all about the process of acquiring clients, from reaching out to individuals who are interested in your services to converting them into paying clients. The most important step to getting new law firm leads is to know your target audience. Your marketing strategy will depend upon your firm’s practice areas. A strategy that works for a family law attorney won’t necessarily work for a personal injury attorney.
There are many options to better market your firm, but how do you go about closing the deal and getting signed cases after those initial emails, calls, filled-out contact forms or online chats?
Every client is different
Getting more law firm leads is a great goal to shoot for, but unless you’re able to convert them into paying clients, all of your efforts will be for nothing. What can you do to improve the lead conversion rate of your firm? First and foremost is to hire a dedicated intake specialist whose background is in sales vs. customer service.
Your intake specialist should know what information you want collected, including: name, phone, email, purpose of the call, how to be quick and efficient when it comes to qualifying vs disqualifying potential clients; listing the reasons for coming in for a consultation; setting up appointments for initial consultations, etc.
Once you’ve gotten a lead on a potential client, what are some strategies for closing the deal:
The Consultation Close: using the free consultation to get the material details of the case, to assess whether the prospective client has a legitimate case, and to determine what they’re looking for in an attorney
The Follow-up Close: If you couldn’t close after the initial call or consultation, follow up via a quick call or email afterwards and then again with an email or call the following week.
The Contract Close: For prospective clients that want to know, up front, what they’re getting before making the decision to hire you, send them your contract ASAP to demonstrate that you’re serious, legitimate, and organized. Many law firms use this strategy to turn leads into clients.
Your email list is gold
If you want to be successful at marketing your law firm to new prospects and closing law firm leads, maintaining relationships with existing and previous clients with whom you’ve had positive case results can lead to referrals from satisfied clients.
Use your email list of new and past clients as a way to stay in touch by sending out monthly newsletters, designing an email campaign to encourage referrals, or to communicate about blogs and videos posted on your firm’s website.
Consider website marketing for law firms to generate leads for your firm. Contact Caroff Communications to learn about the power of online marketing tools.
