On your website, in your marketing materials, when you speak with a prospective client, your top priority is to tell people why they should hire you.
(1) Tell them why they need a lawyer.
If you haven’t spoken to them, use if/then language. Ask rhetorical questions, tell them their risks and their options, and make the case for hiring an attorney instead of doing nothing or trying to fix the problem themselves.
If you are speaking to them, find out what they want (don’t assume it), and explain how an attorney can help them get what they want.
(2) Tell them why that lawyer should be you.
Spell out your qualifications, explain why you are a better choice than other attorneys, tell them about your solutions/services and the pros and cons and costs of each.
Of course it’s not just what you say, it’s also how you say it and how you make them feel, so make sure you:
- Build rapport, to help them relax, feel your strength and self-confidence, and build likeability and trust
- Get the client to talk about themselves—what they think, how they feel, what they want to happen, and why. What’s at stake for them? The more they talk, the more they are likely to sell themselves on taking the next step
- Ask appropriate questions, to show them you have experience with their problem, and show you care about helping them
- Share stories of clients you’ve represented in the same or similar situation, to illustrate how an attorney can help them and show them how you have helped others
- Confirm their understanding of each point before you go on to the next one, to eliminate potential misunderstandings and show them your thoroughness and patience
- Answer their questions and handle their objections before they raise them, and invite them to ask you more
And then, when they have no more questions, ask them what they want to do.
Yes, you can assume the sale and hand them (or send them) the paperwork to sign, but it’s much better when they tell you they want to get started. They’ll be more likely to do that when you show them they need you rather than telling them.
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