This is the article on building a referral-based law practice and I would like to focus on some commonly held myths about building a referral based practice for attorneys.
LAW FIRM MARKETING MYTH: Clients are the best source of referrals.
Over the last few years I've spoken at more than twenty of the largest state and local bar associations on practical law firm marketing strategies and without fail, I get more resistance to this myth than perhaps any other. Here's the truth behind the myth: for many lawyers, clients are simply the most obvious source of referrals, not the best source.
The numbers of variables you must take into account when seeking more referrals from your current and former clients are large. Here are just a couple of them:
Is your law firm primarily a B2C or B2B firm (Business to Consumer or Business to Business)? For many B2C attorneys, such as family law, personal injury, and criminal defense, referrals from former clients are generally random events. Either they know someone going through a divorce or they don't.
Many of our B2B clients, such as general business law, corporate litigation, and commercial real estate, have been able to develop semi-structured client referral programs because their clients often interact with other executives & companies who need similar services.
Have you made clients aware of all the different services you offer? I'm convinced one of the biggest reasons why attorneys don't receive more referrals is because they don't take the time to inform & remind their clients of the various services they offer. Most clients immediately put their attorney in a box and believe the only service the lawyer offers is the one they used.
I was speaking today with an attorney who practices business law. He was upset at a client because he helped the client set up an LLC three months ago, but at a recent meeting told the attorney they gave the name of a competing law firm to a friend who needed help with a multi-million dollar business transaction.
The client was shocked when the attorney explained that was his specialty. The client responded by saying, "I'm sorry about that, but you really need to do a better job informing me of what you do and what kind of cases you want because I don't know."
How much business have you lost because your clients simply aren't aware of the various services your firm can provide for them and their associates?
Can clients accurately explain who your ideal target market is? Your ideal target market is the person or company who is most likely to hire you initially, repeatedly and at the highest profit margin. With so many attorneys struggling to define their ideal client it's no wonder if your clients don't even know who they should refer to you.
Here's a small challenge for you, ask 3 of your clients this week who they believe your ideal client is and listen how accurately they respond. If you're struggling to define who your ideal client is, seek the help of a law firm marketing professional.
Do you regularly and consistently stay connected with clients in a way that adds value? Every law firm needs a client education plan that not only positions your law firm, explains different services you offer and keeps your current clients informed as to what's going on in your firm, but also acts as a resource and guide to them.
Law firm marketing is all about building a referral based practice. How are you coming along in that area? As a small or solo law practitioner how many referrals have you received in the last 90 days? Do you know where they came from? What are you actively doing to seek more and better qualified referrals?
In the last two parts of this series we have explored why other attorneys are not the best source of referrals, how to generate qualified referrals from other trusted advisors, and several tips attorneys can use to obtain repeat business and more referrals from former and existing clients.
LAW FIRM MARKETING MYTH 4. Networking is a great way to get more attorney referrals.
There are two types of networking: formal and informal. Formal networking is attending a chamber of commerce event, participating at a trade show, or joining a leads group (like Business Networking International). Informal networking is meeting with friends, colleagues, or potential referral sources over lunch or after work.
Over the years of helping over 6,000 attorneys at small and solo law firms grow their business, we have found that networking works exceptionally well for a select group of attorneys and not at all for most attorneys.
There are a couple reasons why networking is generally not an effective law firm marketing tool:
* Attorneys often attend the wrong kind of group one filled with their peers not their prospects. Unless your prospects are other attorneys, such as with professional liability, focus on attending groups filled with your prospects.
* Many attorneys don't know how to network properly and so it becomes a game to see how many business cards they can pass out in two hours. We have all had a business card thrust into our face followed by the words Call me if you meet anyone who needs. This is not networking, this is card pushing.
* There is no plan for following up in a timely manner. You have about 48 hours to follow up with a hot lead or they will likely forget about you. I once met an attorney who told me she was a member of 22 networking groups. It's no wonder she was struggling to build her practice! She never had time to even attend all the different groups, much less properly follow up with every person she met.
CONCLUSION
To recap, here are the four major myths that keep attorneys from building a referral based practice:
* Law Firm Marketing Myth 1. Clients are the best source of referrals. * Law Firm Marketing Myth 2. Most referrals come from other attorneys. * Law Firm Marketing Myth 3. Online legal directories produce a lot of attorney referrals. * Law Firm Marketing Myth 4. Networking is a great way to get more attorney referrals.
So how many of these four major myths have you fallen prey to? Let me leave you with three legal marketing tips to remember when working towards your goal of a referral based law practice:
* Don't rely on random referrals. You cannot build a financially successful law firm with random referrals. You need people you can count on who consistently send you highly qualified leads. Your law practice is too valuable to be left in the hands of fate.
* Identify your primary sources of current and potential referrals. Be sure you know who is currently sending you referrals and thank them and then look for the best possible sources for new referrals and cultivate those relationships.
* Create a system for connecting with current and potential referral sources on a consistent basis. You can either wait half your career to build enough relationships with referral sources to fill your practice or you can intentionally take specific steps to create powerful win-win relationships with dozens of referral sources.
Article Source :
Stephen Fairley has sinced written about articles on various topics from Marketing Tips, Business Plan and Advertising Guide. The Rainmaker Institute is the nation's largest law firm marketing company that specializes in helping small law firms and solo practitioners generate more and better referrals and fill their practice. Over 6,000 attorneys have benefited from applying our. Stephen Fairley's top article generates over 2900 views. to your Favourites.