When a prospective client goes online to look for a lawyer, they’re usually looking for help with a single legal matter. One case, one problem, one issue.

Even if they have several issues, one issue is usually the most pressing and they search for a lawyer or firm who can help them with that problem.

They might be interested in hearing about your other services and solutions at some point, but right now, they want to know how you can help get out of jail, get a divorce, incorporate their business, collect a debt, plan their estate, or protect their intellectual property.

So, tell them about that.

Too often, lawyers don’t. They want prospective clients to know about everything they do, no doubt thinking this will impress them, or that the more services and solutions they show people, the more likely it is they will get hired (for something).

But that’s not the way clients search. Or ask for a referral.

Am I saying you should market each service separately? I am.

Because when you don’t, your message gets muddled, prospects get confused, and often continue their search for someone who is talking about solutions to their specific problem.

Marketing each of your services separately fosters clarity, builds trust, and allows you to appeal to the prospect’s emotions. You can talk about things your prospective clients are thinking about and experiencing, and use examples and success stories that show them how you have helped others with the same problem.

It also helps you appear to specialize, even if you don’t, and clients prefer lawyers who specialize.

You can also market all of your firm’s capabilities and offerings with another website and other marketing materials. But don’t make that your first or primary showing.

Show them what you can do to help them solve their problem, alleviate their pain, or get what they want and need right now.

Show them “what else” you do after they’ve hired you or are close to doing that.

More: The Attorney Marketing Formula

If you tell prospective clients to “take it or leave it,” you shouldn’t be surprised if they leave it. They may not be ready or able to hire you or talk to you about their case. That’s why it makes sense to give them other options:

• Get more information (about your services/offers)
• Subscribe to your newsletter, podcast, or channel
• Download your free report
• Follow you on social, like your page, share your post
• Sign up for your next webinar or in-person event, or watch a replay
• Send questions to be answered (during your next event, in your newsletter, etc.)

Because anything they do is better than doing nothing.

For them and for you.

It’s better for them because they learn more about their problem and how you can help them. It’s better for you because they take a step closer to knowing, liking, and trusting you—and hiring or referring you.

And, when they do something, they are more likely to do something else.

The problem is, when you give them too many options, they may get confused and do nothing.

The same is true when you talk to them and give them too many options for hiring you.

Give them the option to choose service A or service B and they might choose one or the other. Give them too many choices and they often tell you they have to think about it, which means they probably won’t.

So, give people options, but not too many.

How many is best? The answer is as much art as science. Test different numbers (science) and see what works best, but also make sure you know your prospects (art)—what they might need, what they might want, the likely urgency of their problem, and other factors.

Which means you have to know your ideal client, since that’s who you want to attract.

You also need to consider context.

If you’re speaking to them personally, you can ask questions and assess how ready they are to take the next step. If you’re “speaking” to them from the stage at the end of an in-person presentation, the context is different.

It’s also different online. If they’re on your website, the page they are viewing makes a difference. Are they reading a page that describes one of your services or offers? Are they reading your blog? Have they come to a landing page from an ad? Have they followed a link you included in your newsletter?

Give them options. But not too many. And consider the context.

The elements of an effective website

There are four different approaches to marketing. Which one describes you?

(1) OLD SCHOOL.

You don’t do any marketing to speak of, nor do you want to. You’ve built a successful practice by doing good legal work and treating your clients well, and while you’re open minded (which is why you’re reading this), someone will have to work hard to convince you it’s worth your time or money to do anything else.

You might do a little networking or speaking, but only because someone invited you. You might send your clients a Christmas or birthday card, but other than that, you believe they know where to find you if they need you. You don’t understand or see the value in social media. You might invite a business contact out to lunch, but for you, this is friendship or good manners, not marketing. You might have a one-page website or directory listing, but you might have to ask your assistant how to find it.

(2) CASUAL.

You do some marketing, either regularly or sporadically, and you’re willing to do more, but it’s not something you relish. You do it because you want to get more clients and better clients or cases, and increase your income, but you would like it better if you didn’t have to.

You might occasionally do some writing or speaking or networking. You’re willing to be interviewed, but it’s not something you seek out. You might have a few social media accounts, but you don’t post regularly. You might have a list of your client’s emails and send them something from time to time, but it’s not a priority. You don’t keep a list of prospective clients; you don’t write a newsletter or blog, but you do have a website and post information about your services and about the law.

(3) ACTIVE.

You believe that marketing is important, and you do it regularly and enthusiastically. You read, take courses, and continually look for ways to improve your marketing. You regularly create and post content and stay in touch with your clients and prospects and professional contacts.

You write a newsletter and/or blog; you educate people about what you do and how you can help them and the people they know, and you do whatever you can to encourage repeat business and referrals. You schedule time for marketing each week and while you might spend only an hour a week, this is a priority for you and you take it seriously.

(4) ALL IN.

You see marketing as essential to achieving your goals. You want to be top dog in your field and you’re willing to do whatever it takes to get there. You consistently invest time and money and creative energy in marketing and developing your practice.

You have lists and actively build them. You stay in touch with clients and former clients, prospective clients, centers of influence in your target market, and your professional contacts. You advertise or wish you could. You hire people to assist you and/or advise you. Marketing isn’t something you have to remember to do or force yourself to do, it’s integral to your vision of your future.

Obviously, things aren’t always this black and white. There is a lot of overlap and things frequently change. But where are you on this spectrum right now? Where would you like to be? And what will you do next to get there?

The Attorney Marketing Formula will help you get sorted

Some marketing goofball tells you to create a description of your ideal client. You sit down to do that and come up with some ideas.

You want clients with lots of money and lots of legal problems. Or you want clients who know a lot of other people with legal problems. Or you want clients who are easy to get along with and readily follow your advice.

Or you want all of the above.

You go through the exercise and make a long list of things you want and some you don’t want. You describe their industry or occupation, their market or niche, and other demographics.

Eventually, you come up with a profile. “There, that’s my ideal client.”

Very nice. Now you can optimize your marketing to attract more of these perfect specimens.

Sounds like a plan.

But there’s another plan you might want to follow, especially if you’re not sure what you want or how to describe them. Maybe you’re new to all this, or maybe you’re still not convinced you need to spend time on this exercise.

Fortunately, there’s another way you can go about this.

Sit down with a list or database of your current or former clients and point to the ones you consider your best clients. Your favorites.

Who paid or pays you the most? Who has the most work for you? Who sends you the most referrals, the biggest and best cases, or the work you most enjoy doing?

Don’t think too much. Go with your gut. And then narrow your list to no more than 30.

Pretend that marketing goof asked, “If you could only have 30 clients and would have to farm out everyone else, who would you choose?“

Once you have your list, study it and the people and/or businesses on it, and reverse engineer it.

What do these clients have in common in terms of industry or market, needs or wants, demographics, or other identifiable characteristics?

How did they find you? Why did they choose you? What do they like about you and what do you like about them?

Write down what you see and you have a profile of your ideal client.

Later, you can add to or modify that profile, to add different markets, practice areas, or other descriptors.

But you might not need to do that. Because you’ve already got a great list of clients you want to clone.

How to choose your ideal client and target market