Marketing maven Dan Kennedy talks about something he calls the “full parking lot phenomenon”. He says nobody wants to buy from a store, eat at a restaurant, or hire a lawyer with an empty parking lot.
It’s true.
If your parking lot or office waiting room is empty, if you don’t appear to have many clients, people get nervous.
They want to buy from successful merchants. They want to hire successful attorneys. You need to do whatever you can to create and maintain that image.
If you have lots of clients, talk about the work you’re doing for them–in your newsletter or on your blog, and in your conversations. Yep, tell war stories (but make them quick.)
If you are just starting out, talk about work you did for the firm you worked for prior to opening your office. If you’re going through a bad spell and you aren’t flush with clients, talk about the clients you do have or the ones you’ve had in the past. Nobody needs to know how long ago it was.
Book appointments back to back so that clients see other clients in your waiting room.
Talk about things busy lawyers do–your speaking engagements, writing, and networking. Let the world know that you are “in demand”.
Perception is everything. If you look successful, clients will assume that you are successful.
Does that mean that you should continually upgrade your image as you grow? New office, furniture, clothing, and car?
To some extent, yes.
If your clients (or the clients you wish to attract) expect their attorney to fit a certain image or profile, you should probably accommodate them. I know, we’ve all seen some very successful (and wealthy) attorneys who wear old clothes and drive old cars, but not everyone can get away with that.
Keep up appearances but don’t go overboard. You don’t want clients thinking you charge more than you’re worth because you are addicted to wearing $4000 suits.
You don’t need an expensive website. Here’s what you do need
