Let’s clear this up once and for all: Lawyers sell legal services.
There, I said it.
It doesn’t make you a salesperson, but you can’t deny the fact that when someone hires you, a sale takes place.
The more of your services you sell, the more you earn. Pure and simple.
But that’s not all you sell.
Clients pay for your legal services, but what they want and expect you to deliver, what they really pay for, are solutions to their problems.
They hire you to get the benefits you deliver.
Get better at selling those solutions and benefits and you will sell more of your services.
Hold on. We’re not done.
You also sell clients the “experience” of working with you. How your clients feel having you in their corner, how you treat them and make them feel appreciated, and everything else under the ‘client relations’ banner.
Do a good job of this and your clients will stick around, return, and tell others. Mess up and they won’t.
It’s all selling.
But before clients can see any of this, before they hire you, there’s something else they buy (and you sell).
Your reputation.
You’re judged by your record of accomplishments and the things people say about you.
Even when your reputation is stellar, you still need to sell it because many clients can’t discern this. To most clients, we all look alike.
It’s called “reputation management” but it’s really just more selling.
I’ve got one more for you. Something else you sell.
You sell information.
About the law, problems and solutions, the how-to’s,—via your articles and posts, reports and books, presentations and other content.
Clients don’t pay for this information but you need to sell them on reading or listening, because this information shows them you know what you’re doing and can deliver the solutions they want.
Get better at selling this information and you get more leads and prospective clients contacting you, pre-sold on hiring you.
In fact, if your information is good enough, it will do most of the selling for you.
Which is why I repeatedly tell you to create a blog and newsletter.
