Finding and retaining new clients can often feel like the most complicated part of running your own practice. Marketing your firm is not rocket science but it takes intentionality and diligence, especially in the early days of your practice when you are likely wearing many different hats. A prospective client will hire you if they believe that you are the person who can solve their problem and they feel an authentic connection with you. You can achieve this by putting on the hat of a teacher first.
I have heard many discussions among lawyers about whether to charge for consultations. While I do not believe there is a right or wrong approach, an attitude of keeping your knowledge close to the vest can be harmful to the growth of your practice. Known in other industries as the “know, like, trust factor”, prospective clients first need to be aware of your services, view you as an expert in your field, and then trust you to counsel them through and solve their legal problem. To accomplish that in a competitive market, you must take on the role of a teacher both before and during a consultation.
Keep in mind that you are not teaching a law school course and your intention should not be to simply impress prospective clients with how much you know. Your goal should be to achieve their understanding. Consider these four tips to step into the role of a teacher:
- Get back to the basics.
Think about your core practice areas or the key services that you provide within your practice area. What is your client’s problem? What result are you striving to achieve for your client? Is their problem obvious or do you need to first educate prospective clients about when and why they may need your services?
Record some basic information around this topic, as if you were teaching a 15-minute 101 class to non-lawyers. Assume your audience knows nothing about the topic. Find someone in your life who is a non-lawyer like a family member, friend, or even better, a 10-year-old if you can find one, and ask them what they know about the subject. Help them fill in the gaps by explaining the problem in more depth, along with potential outcomes and solutions.
- Avoid legal jargon.
Pay special attention to the language you use when creating content for your firm and communicating with prospective clients. Also, listen to the terms they use when asking questions or commenting on the discussion. Answer their questions and clarify any misunderstandings using terms they will understand.
More than once, prospective clients have told me that the first attorney they spoke with about their trademark issue used language they did not understand and even mentioned the potential of a “2(d) refusal” instead of simply stating that there could be a likelihood of consumer confusion with another trademark.
Clients are not going to be impressed that you can cite a relevant statute. They will be impressed if they believe you can expertly guide them through a difficult process and solve their legal problems. You can better demonstrate your ability to do that by helping them to understand those issues and their options.
- Be ready to slow down and listen.
Put yourself in your prospective client’s shoes as you listen to and answer their questions and concerns. Remove any assumptions you have about what they know or understand. If it seems like you might be using language that they do not understand or reasoning that does not resonate with them, be ready to pivot and change the way you are communicating.
If you are having a one-on-one discussion with a prospective client, do not ramble on without pausing to make sure you have not lost them. If they look confused, slow down and listen. What is confusing them? What information did you assume they knew but they didn’t? Also, be conscious of any false assumptions they may hold about their legal situation and gently correct them.
- Be where your prospective clients are.
All the teaching skills in the world will be useless if no one is listening to you (or the wrong people are listening). Generously produce valuable teaching content and make that content accessible to the types of people who need your service by showing up where they already are.
You might think about starting a blog to answer frequently asked questions about your practice area. Invest some time into learning about search engine optimization (SEO) and include important key words like the name of your city or county. Then, consider investing in Google Ads, so your blog articles appear at the top of search results when prospective clients are searching for guidance.
Join social media groups where your ideal clients are hanging out. If you are a business lawyer, join entrepreneur groups. If you are in family law, join local parent groups. Then, be ready to offer valuable information—even if that is a link to a blog article you have written—when someone asks a relevant question or for a lawyer recommendation.
In an industry that runs on the billable hour, cultivate a firm culture (even if it’s just you) of generosity and service. You can do that by producing helpful and digestible content to attract prospective clients. Stick with a medium you are comfortable with, whether that be video, audio, or blogs, but make content creation a cornerstone of your marketing strategy.
As author Seth Godin put it, “Content marketing is the only marketing left.” People are searching for answers to the problems you can help them solve, so show up with a teaching spirit to position yourself as a trusted expert. When someone books a consultation with you—whether its complimentary or paid—you do not need to worry about selling your services. Simply focus on helping them to understand the issue and their options and the clients will come.
Kailey Jacomet is a mom of two, IP attorney, and founder of Lawstyle, a community of like-minded attorneys building law firms that fit around their lifestyles. When her daughter was born, Kailey left her job as a trial attorney and embarked on a journey to create a new type of practice model—one that put her life and family first. Now, Kailey coaches other lawyers on how to build and grow a flexible, virtual law practice through the Lifestyle Law Firm Accelerator program. Connect with Kailey on Instagram at @kaileyjacomet or at [email protected].
