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I read a great article at The Rainmaker Blog about ways to achieve marketing success. One particularly interesting point he made at the end of the article was to emphasize price at your own peril.

This is not the time to reduce your rates just to pull a few more clients in the door. It’s often the price shoppers who are the most demanding, take up more of your time, complain more frequently, and are slow payers.

He hits the nail on the head here. It is so tempting to adjust your pricing to get that next client in door. Cash flow is tough, your account receivables aren’t coming in, whatever the case may be. You are simply trading one set of problems for a different set.

Here are three reasons you shouldn’t sell your legal services on price:

1. Anyone can undercut you: Selling any professional service on price is difficult and risky positioning. The biggest reason is that at any time, someone else can decide to undercut your price. If that happens, you lose. You are no longer the cheapest guy in town. Also, you face the problem that people often associate quality with price. I remember when I was living outside the Detroit area there was an eye clinic that offered lasik surgery. Their big marketing push was that they were the cheapest place in town. Only $200 an eye! It was structured like a used car commercial. I always thought to myself…..you know, if someone is going to perform surgery on my eyes, I probably want to go with the best guy…not the $200 an eye job. I don’t see legal services being any different.

2. Cheaper price means you need more clients: It’s simple math. The less you sell your services for, the more clients you will need. You have now created a business that is more volume based. To get more volume you are going to need more leads, more marketing, more hours, etc. This doesn’t mean it can’t work, it just is a fact. Something to think about before deciding to lower those prices in the hopes of more clients.

3. Your demographic changes when you sell on price: This is the point made in The Rainmaker Blog article. It’s important to think about the type of client you desire beforehand. What type of demographic does your client fit into? What is their socio-economic status? What do competitors of yours charge for the same type of client? Just be aware that lowering your price will not necessarily get you more of that type of client. You will get a different type of client that is attracted to your lower prices. The trick is to find ways to market, appeal to, and get in front of the type of client you desire. Simply lowering your price is an easy way out.

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5 Lawyer Marketing Mistakes To Avoid Want to learn 5 of the most common mistakes when marketing your firm? Download AttorneySync’s Free Guide: 5 Lawyer Marketing Mistakes To Avoid.

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The Rainmaker Blog recently had an interesting post taking law schools to task. The post focused on the lack of training and preparation law schools currently provide young associates with regards to building and running a successful law practice.

Being a great lawyer and running a great law practice are two distinct and important skills.  Just because an individual is a great lawyer, does not mean they will be a great business person.

I believe one of the most important skills to learn is the art of the sale.  Sometimes sales has a bad stigma attached with it and as a result, lawyers never like to think of themselves as salesmen.  But the truth is that all of us are in sales.  We are always selling something be it an idea, a product, a service, ourselves, etc.  Just like anything else, sales is a skill that needs to be nurtured, worked on, and practiced in order to improve.  If you ignore the art of selling, you do so at your own peril.  Your practice won’t last long if you can’t bring new clients in the door.

Here are 5 things lawyers need to know about sales:

1. Order Taking Is Not Selling – It is every lawyer’s dream that a steady flow of potential clients walks into their practice, credit card or checkbook in hand, asking when the lawyer can start working on their case.  I have bad news, this isn’t going to happen.  Sure you will get an occasional referral that is ready to go right away, but the reality is that people are in all different stages of the “buying cycle”.  Some are currently comparing different lawyers they want to hire, some are looking for answers to their legal questions, some have legal concerns and don’t know what they should do.  You need to be ready to convince them, if appropriate of course, why retaining your services will be the best option and provide the optimum outcome to their situation.

2. Be A Good Listener – Many people think that being skilled with selling involves having a silver tongue.  The truth is that the best sales people are the best listeners.  Understanding peoples concerns, fears, issues, and needs goes hand in hand with providing the best service and solutions. Ask questions and really listen to what the answers are.  The client will tell you what they are looking for out of the attorney they want to hire.  Do your best to explain how you are going to help solve their problems.

3. What’s In It For Them – How many of you have been on a date where all night you listened to the other person talk about themselves.  I’ll bet it didn’t leave a great impression.  Same goes for potential clients.  They want to know what’s in it for them.  They don’t really care about you or your practice.  They only want to know how you will help resolve their issue.  Take the time to think about how you are presenting your firm.  Are you a solver of the client’s problems or do you talk about all of your accomplishments and how great you are at your job?

4. Relationship Building – Sales is about relationship building…and not just relationships with the clients.  The best lawyers establish relationships and networks so that they have a steady stream of referrals and other people working for them in essence.  The key thing to remember is that this doesn’t just happen on it’s own.  It takes a lot of work, time, and a conscious effort to network.  I’ve written before about becoming a thought leader and establishing a niche practice.  The best sales people are the ones that understand networking.

5. Develop Sales Systems and Measure Results – This might be the most important element with regards to success in sales.  You need to develop systems to handle incoming contacts, follow ups, intake interviews, and measuring of results.  There is a terrific book call The E-Myth Revisited that addresses implementing systems into a business.  Much of being successful with sales is being organized, persistent, and having good follow through.  In today’s hyper-competitive legal world, you can’t afford to haphazardly handle your stream of potential contacts and clients.  Doing work ahead of time to develop the experience a potential client has from the moment they contact your firm to the resolution of their issue will pay huge dividends for your practice.

Curious about mistakes you should avoid with your lawyer marketing?  Download AttorneySync’s Free guide: 5 Lawyer Marketing Mistakes to Avoid.

5 Lawyer Marketing Mistakes To Avoid Want to learn 5 of the most common mistakes when marketing your firm? Download AttorneySync’s Free Guide: 5 Lawyer Marketing Mistakes To Avoid.

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