A friend sent me an email he got from a company that offers law firm management consulting. He’d spoken to them about what they could do for his practice and wanted to know if I knew anything about them or if I had any advice.
I didn’t know them. My advice? Get more information. A lot more.
Granted, all I looked at was the email. I didn’t see a website or any other marketing materials. But what I did see left me less than impressed.
They have different packages ranging from $1500 per month up to more than $4000 per month, which isn’t expensive if they can help you grow from six-figures to seven-figures, something they allude to.
But can they? And what exactly do they do?
The email was a model of vague generalities. It talked about meetings and coaching, but not much about the subject of those meetings or that coaching. It talked a lot about bookkeeping and accounting. It mentioned the word marketing once.
Why anyone would talk so much about counting beans instead of getting more beans to count is beyond me.
So yeah, not impressed.
But here’s the thing. Some lawyers are paying these guys thousands of dollars a month to do whatever it is they do. So I have to assume that they deliver some value to their clients.
Whether or not they’re good at what they do, one thing they’re doing right is packaging their services in ways that make it difficult to compare what they offer with what other consulting firms offer.
And that’s the point, my little droogies.
When you offer the same services your competition offers, and you charge the same range of fees, you make it easier for clients to compare you to everyone else.
Sometimes they choose you. Sometimes they don’t.
On the other hand, when you offer something your competition doesn’t appear to offer, you give clients a reason to choose you. You can charge more, too.
Don’t offer what other lawyers offer. Package your services in ways that allow you to emphasize results and benefits and not the activities or time needed to deliver those results. Charge monthly fees or flat fees, not hourly.
A little slight of hand? Smoke and mirrors? Maybe. Or maybe just good marketing.
For more good marketing, go here
