Introduction
If you have more clients than you can handle, you are definitely in the minority as far as business owners are concerned. For the rest of us, we are always looking for ways to bring in more potential clients.
If you’ve ever struggled to get more clients, or you are just looking to take your business to the next level, this comprehensive guide is full of strategies to bring your business up a notch.
Offline Methods
1. Networking
Oh boy, he said it.
When I say networking I’m not talking about those horrible events where a bunch of people dressed in full business casual pass business cards around to people they will probably never speak to again.
Every person you know is a potential client.
Every. Single. Person.
- Family – Hopefully your family already knows that you practice law, and that they can come to you if they need anything in your field. But, it doesn’t hurt to remind more distant family members that you are an option. Facebook can be an awesome tool for this.
- Friends – How many old friends do you have that would probably love to hear from you, that you never talk to anymore? Do you have 500 Facebook friends and only talk to 6 of them? Say hello to all those old pals and make sure they know that you can help them with any legal matters they need help with.
- Colleagues – Other lawyers can be a valuable resource. If you are a family lawyer and you maintain a positive relationship with a criminal defense attorney, there is a high chance that if someone comes to your friend looking for a family lawyer, they could be sent your way.
Networking is a numbers game. The more people in your Rolodex, the more likely you are to gain value from your network.
Keep in mind, however, that those relationships have to be nurtured. Meet someone once and they are likely to forget about you. Personal CRM systems like Dex can help you make sure you are staying on top of your network.
2. Word of Mouth
Referrals are the lifeblood of any established business. Remember that every client is a potential referrer, so it is critical that you make the most positive impression every time.
If you exceed the expectations of your client, they will want to send you more business. They will be excited to tell their friends and family about how pleasant their experience was with your firm.
When you sign a new client, try sending a handwritten thank you note to their office and depending on your budget maybe a small gift. Things like this solidify you in the client’s memory.
3. Public Speaking
Public speaking is a perfect way to get your name out to literally anyone who will listen.
These don’t have to be high-profile speaking gigs. Volunteering to speak to law students at your local university can build trust in the community and get your name out to a wide variety of people.
When one of those people you speak to needs a lawyer, or someone they know needs a lawyer, you will be top of mind.
Online Methods
Pay-Per-Click Marketing (PPC)
Search Engine Optimization
A huge number of people use Google search. According to Google, there are approximately 6 billion, yes billion with a “B,” searches performed per day.
If you rank number one in the Google search results for a particular topic, almost 40% of the people searching for that topic will click their way into your website.
What if you’re ranked second? 18%.
4th? 7%.
See the trend? Ranking number one is a passive way to bring in a ton of potential clients.
The practice of getting a web page to number one in Google search results is called Search Engine Optimization, or SEO for short. Of course, there are several components to SEO, none of which you can afford to ignore.
Local SEO
You know you’ve searched “Italian restaurants near me” or something similar in Google. Google uses the location of the person searching combined with their database to return a list of highly relevant results to users.
The Google map pack is the holy grail of local SEO. When you get to the top of the results on here, you’re not only featured right at the top of the results, but you are big and bold, with the social proof of your reviews featured front and center.
On-Page SEO
On-Page SEO is everything you can do on your web page itself to optimize your content for Google’s users. When someone visits your page, you only have a few seconds to grab their attention, so you should do everything in your power to make it an amazing experience.
On-page SEO consists of many factors. Some of those relate more to the copy on your page, while others are technical issues that need some technical expertise to fix. Some examples are:
- Page load speed – Nothing is worse than visiting a web page only to wait 10 seconds while the page loads. Most users will click that back button after waiting for just a few seconds.
- Keyword use – Google can’t rank you for keywords if they aren’t in the text of your page. Strategic use of keywords helps to let Google know what it is you’re talking about, so they can deliver your content to relevant users.
- Internal links – How much content do you have? The more articles you write about different aspects of a topic, and the more those articles link to one another, the more Google feels like you are an expert in that field.
- Optimized headlines – Clickbait works. As much as none of us want to admit it, we are creatures driven by emotion and curiosity. While it’s unethical to lie in your headlines, optimizing them to be enticing is crucial.
- Security – Google wants to know that its users will be safe when visiting your site. Using the latest security standards is of utmost importance.
- On-page SEO consists of many factors. Some of those relate more to the copy on your page, while others are technical issues that need some technical expertise to fix. Some examples are:
Off-Site SEO
Not only do potential clients look for social proof, Google does too.
The golden chalice of off-site SEO is backlinks. A link from another website that sees your content as a credible resource on your topic shows Google that you are an authority on the topic.
You can also gain backlinks by guest posting on other blogs. Guest posting is when you write an article for another website. Then somewhere in that article, maybe in your about the author section, you get a link back to your site in return.
Besides backlinks, you have to accumulate reviews, manage your reputation on social media and everywhere else on the interwebs.
Content
In order to get any results from your SEO campaign, you need to develop engaging content. Blogging is a very effective way to share your knowledge, be discovered, and bring in new potential clients passively.
But what can you blog about?
Think about the kind of questions your potential clients are asking, and answer them in your blog, or in YouTube videos, or whatever your chosen medium.
Sites like AnswerThePublic make it really easy to find topics. Type in a keyword like “lawyer,” and get 50 questions from Google that real people are asking search engines every day.
Email Marketing
Email marketing is one of the most powerful marketing tools in any marketer’s toolbox. According to Mailchimp, email marketing can have a stunning 38x return on investment.
Having someone’s email address gives you direct access to their personal inbox any time you want. That’s power.
Building your list can be tough though.
One of the most popular ways to do this, and I’m sure you’ve seen it, is to have a captivating lead magnet. Offer your readers something like a free ebook that you’ve written, in exchange for their email address.
This is an exchange of value, rather than just asking for an email address in exchange for making your stupid popup go away.
If your firm primarily deals with other businesses, you may want to use tools like Linkedin to find business owners and reach out to them directly. Cold email, or cold Linkedin connection requests, can be a convenient way to meet new potential clients. A quick Google search will reveal a ton of tools designed to make this easier.
Social Media
Of course, if you are alive today and you want anyone to know who you are, you’ve got to be on social media.
But, not all social media platforms are created equal. Be present on all platforms, but put your focus on one or two that you identify as being the most crucial for reaching your desired audience.
YouTube
YouTube is great because things that rank high for a keyword on Youtube also rank for that keyword on Google. Google often shows YouTube search results at the top of the list.
If you have the know-how to make an impressive video, or the budget to hire someone to help you do it, this can be a powerful way to passively bring in new clients.
One video can stay on YouTube, passively attracting potential clients for years to come.
Twitter is tough. If you are trying to make it on Twitter, and you don’t already have an audience, you are likely to struggle. It really requires you to engage in conversation and add real value to the community to get anyone’s attention.
But, if you do that, you can get some amazing, loyal friends and followers that can be extremely beneficial for your business.
TikTok
If you haven’t heard of TikTok you must be living under a rock. The latest trend in social media, TikTok has something that makes it special.
Rather than prioritizing the people you already follow, it prioritizes an effective algorithm that shows its users relevant content that they are likely to enjoy, from creators they aren’t familiar with. That means that of all of the platforms, you are most likely to be seen by new people on TikTok.
But, making a compelling video can be challenging, so be ready to do some research into what is trending. With the right secret sauce, you can easily go viral on TikTok.
Directories
There are a million directories that try to aggregate businesses onto a single website. Some are more broad, like Yelp, or Yellowpages, while others are more niche.
Get on as many directories as you can, and nurture those pages to get as many positive reviews as you can on each of them. For lawyers, here are a few to start with:
Conclusion
Online and offline, in person, over the phone, you as a business owner have to meet your potential clients where they are. If you take anything away from this guide, let it be that giving value to other people will bring value back to you tenfold.
Give love and attention in your interactions with others, and knowledge through your content. Give until people have no choice but to turn to you for your services because they feel it’s the least they can do.
