How do you make a potential client feel?

There are two distinct aspects to increasing and improving business and generating more enquiries. ?First, how do you generate enquires and, second, when ?you have generated enquiries, how do you improve conversion rates? Many law firms do not have a clear marketing strategy, yet seem to annually spend ?a large sum on advertising, sometimes in the most peculiar way. This method has no measurability, and many firms do not track where their work actually comes from.

How about targeting your existing clients? Most firms are sitting on a small fortune, yet choose to spend money on advertising for new clients when their existing client base could greatly increase enquiries. Many firms have large will banks, but the data is not kept up-to-date, therefore making marketing and cross-selling difficult.

Will banks

Why not spend some of your marketing budget on cleansing your will bank? I cannot count the number of times I have heard that there is no value in a will bank, ?yet others find a way to create ?real value in direct marketing. First, you need to ensure the data ?held within the banks is bang up-to-date and kept up-to-date. It’s a vast exercise for many firms, and they have neither the time nor resources to do this. 

RightWill, the brainchild of Simpsons Solicitors, for example, has invested heavily in the processes, people, and systems to make this happen and generate a substantial ongoing value. They do this by updating wills, using outbound activity to generate new enquiries for lasting powers of attorney, and becoming trustees, which therefore guarantees probate in over ?90 per cent of cases. For many firms, creating real value from their will bank could well be ?their retirement income over ?a 20-year period.

Some solicitors claim they ?have enormous value in their ?will bank, yet have not kept ?this up-to-date and have not contacted their clients for many years. The potential of those wills to generate probate work never materialises and therefore any value  dissipates.

So, let’s assume you have a marketing plan and budget ?with cost-effective, measurable activities, such as a social media programme that engages with clients using Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter on a regular basis and a website that encourages traffic and provides free information.

Success stories

Whatever the spend, it is imperative you focus your attention on converting enquiries, whether they come from the web, email, telephone, or good old-fashioned footfall. Key questions to ask are:

• Who is the first point of contact? 

• Does the best fee earner convert more business? and 

• How do we identify a conversion champion? 

Successful firms are investing in business development staff and ?a dependency on the firm’s size and marketing spend. I cannot believe the number of firms that waste the money they spend on marketing by not investing in the right people to convert enquires. Making sure the overworked receptionist or the stressed fee earner or secretary does not ?deal with inbound enquiries ?is a pre-requisite for the successful firm.

For firms that embrace business development, conversion rates should be well over 80 per cent from enquiries. People will buy services from people that listen and present solutions. When considering your proposition, ask the following: 

• How do we make the potential client feel? 

• How do we convey value ?in our proposition? and 

• Why would a client choose you over a competitor?

Remember to value price your proposition – why should a client choose you? – identify  what is unique about your firm and why ?a prospect should pay a premium for your service. It is not the time you spend on a matter but the value your clients place on your advice. The death of the hourly rate is upon us; clients want and demand certainty, yet by using techniques to offer an estimate ?of total cost but offering three choices in  price, many clients ?will pick the greater value.

What are the unique selling points  you offer over your competitors, what methods ?are at your disposal to get this message across, and how will ?this information improve your conversion rate?

Viv Williams is CEO of 360 Legal Group @360legal www.360legalgroup.co.uk