Attorney Marketing Blog

The last thing you want to have happen is you putting in the work to get a potential client to come to your law firm for an appointment, only for them to not sign the forms to offically remove the “potential” label. Just the thought of that is frustrating, isn’t it?

How can you prevent this from happening?

How do you stack the odds wildly in your favor that the potential client signs with you?

There are actually quite a few things that you can do in order to better ensure that you sign clients for your law firm during the appointment. Some of them are quite complex. However, I want to help you make quick, effective adjustments to the process so that you can immediately start improving your ability to get more clients for your law practice.

Here are the 3 EASY ways for your to sign more clients during appointments:

1. Pre-meeting Positioning: Start “closing” before the meeting! Before the appointment, you (or your assistant) should send emails and/or direct mail to the potential client that outlines the process of the meeting. Let them know what they are going to learn and tell them how to prepare. If they come in prepared, they are more likely to sign with you since they went through the effort to get ready. They don’t want to get ready for the meeting only to not have a positive outcome.What you are doing, in essence, is better positioning yourself as the expert in the particular legal situation of the potential client. Send them criteria on how to select a good attorney for their case with checkboxes that they can check off while meeting with you. When I was searching for a daycare for my daughter, one of the places did exactly this. The problem was that the checklist ended up helping a competitor because they didn’t live up to their own standards – I ended up choosing a different daycare that did meet the criteria.
2. Produced Experience: Make it a production! What does the potential client experience when they come to your office? There should be a level of staging to the process. You should be thinking about how they are greeted by staff, the drinks they are offered, and the space they sit in before the meeting itself. How does the office look and feel?Don’t let someone wander in to your office and get treated like they are at the dentist (“please have a seat and we’ll call you when we’re ready”). Make it a memorable experience. Potential clients will be much more eager to sign with you if they know that your firm takes the time to prepare and to take real care of its clients. Don’t make the mistake of thinking that your handling of the case is “taking care of your clients.” It’s not. Taking care of your clients is going above and beyond in customer service throughout the whole experience, starting from the initial meeting.
3. Assumed Close: Know that the client should sign with you! Your word choices send certain signals to clients. Don’t say, “and if you sign with us.” Say, “once the paperwork is completed.” You should enter the meeting completely confident that this person is already your client. Your verbal cues and body language should all align in that direction.Tell the potential client how their burden is about to be eased and the role they will play as part of the “team.” Clients do, after all, have a significant role to play in their need for legal services.

Pre-meeting Positioning. Produced Experience. Assumed Close.

If you implement these three ideas in your own law practice, you will quickly find that you will close more clients. You’ll never again make the mistake of assuming that just because someone wants to meet with you that they want to hire you. And you won’t need to do the “hard sell” during meetings either.

Do You Want More Leads so You Can Try Out the Above “Closing Strategies” During More Appointments?

The fastest path to new leads is getting more referrals for your practice. Members of Great Legal Marketing can take advantage of a simple, 100% templated program called The Ultimate Referral Letter to get new referred clients from other attorneys – in less than 60 days! Attorneys from all different practice areas have used this “copy and paste” system (the letter you need to send is already written for you) to get $5,000 to $50,000 in brand new client fees for their practices.

You can access this program FOR FREE when you start a new membership with Great Legal Marketing.Every month, you’ll receive law firm-specific guidance on building the practice you’ve always wanted. New marketing strategies will help you get more clients. Management tips will keep everything running smoothly. And mindset insight will ensure you stay focused on tackling the challenges that come with growing your practice.

There is no better program for solo and small firm attorneys than what Great Legal Marketing has put together.

It’s why thousands of attorney have entrusted GLM to help them grow their practices. Will you join them?

Additional marketing information in the related links below:

• 3 SEO Strategies for Law Firms
• Create Effective Direct Mail Pieces for Your Law Firm
• 5 Law Firm Marketing Mistakes

Ben Glass

Ben is a nationally recognized expert in attorney marketing and the owner of Great Legal Marketing.

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