Just because an individual is a great lawyer does not necessarily mean they will be successful running a law practice. These two skill sets are unique and mutually exclusive.
I believe a critical skill for lawyers is the art of the sale. Often times sales is thought of in a negative light but the reality is that we are all in sales. If you don’t sell a product you sell an idea, a service, or yourself. Your law practice will suffer if you don’t consistently bring new clients in the door.
Here are 5 things attorneys need to know about sales:
1. Taking Orders Isn’t Selling – It would be a wonderful world if clients walked in your door and asked how much they should write the check for. Unfortunately, this isn’t how things play out. Potential clients are in all different stages of the “buying cycle”. Some are looking for answers to legal questions, others are shopping around, some aren’t even sure if they need a lawyer or not. Your job is to convince them why retaining your services is their best option. The key is that many will need to be convinced…not simply sign up with you.
2. You Have To Be A Good Listener – The best sales people understand that the secret to successful sales is the ability to listen to your prospects. A person makes a buying decision based on their emotions and the ability to solve a problem they have. In order to successfully communicate your ability as a lawyer to do this, you need to listen to the needs of your clients.
3. Communicate How You Will Help The Client – A prospect sitting in your office is really concerned about one thing: How are you going to solve their problem. They aren’t that concerned with your awards, your practice. or even you. They are concerned about themselves. Learning how to address the needs of the client and communicate to them your ability to effectively handle their issue is important for your success.
4. Network, Network, Network – The key to sales, especially in the legal field, is networking. Building contacts, relationships, and networks will lead to a successful practice. Ignore this at your own peril.
5. Consider The Sales Systems You Have In Place – You must spend some time planning out and considering the sales process in place at your firm today. You should have a process in place to handle follow ups, intake interviews, existing clients, referrals, etc. Could someone new learn your systems? Are you the only one that can work with them? McDonalds is successful because they have systems for everything. Try to create systems that work for your firm.
Our attorney marketing services for attorneys are designed to generate more traffic, leads, and ultimately clients for you. We aren’t trying to sell you rankings for a few keywords, we build a attorney web marketing system that works.
