Darren Hardy, publisher of Success Magazine, writes about an interview he did with marketing legend Dan Kennedy for a recent issue. I’m a big fan of Dan, who is well known for using bold, some would say outrageous concepts to gain attention and win the sale. He’s one of the best marketing minds in a crowded field and if you have not read his books, I suggest you do so as soon as possible.

One of the subjects discussed during the interview was “shock and awe marketing.” This is where the marketer (that’s you) delivers to the prospective client an experience that is so compelling, they are almost powerless to say no.

Hardy was familiar with the concept. He said that as a young man selling real estate, he used this strategy to get more than his fair share of coveted expired listings to re-list with him.

He describes his “Shock and Awe Blitz Campaign,” as follows:

I made up in hustle and aggressiveness what I lacked in age and experience. I developed what I called my Shock and Awe Blitz Campaign. Once I set my sights on you, you were either going to love me or hate me, but you would not be able to ignore nor forget me.

Between 6 and 7 a.m. the morning your listing expired, I’d be standing on your doorstep asking to relist your home with me (immediately separating myself from everyone else and delivering a little shock). Sometimes this is all it took, but if not…

Later that day you would get a package hand-delivered by an assistant, that we affectionately called “Da-Bomb,” because it was big and stuffed full of combustible materials explaining why I was “Da-Bomb.”

Then in the early evening an assistant would show up and hand them a SOLD sign and say, “This is a gift from Darren Hardy; you will need this soon after you hire him to sell your house.”

Later that evening I would stop by in person and ask for the listing again.
(Key point: More than 50% of the time the listing was won or lost within the first 24 hours. This is why I blitzed all-out during that time.)

If the listing still hadn’t been secured I would then have something hand-delivered or mailed to them every day for at least two weeks along with a daily call from me personally.

It wasn’t long before they would call exasperated, exclaiming that if I would market their house like I market myself, I had the job. Shock and awe baby!

Now I know there are lawyers reading this and thinking, “I could never do anything like that.” But they’re thinking inside a box that’s labeled, “lawyers can’t approach prospective clients,” or another box labeled, “that’s undignified.”

They need a new box.

You may not be able to approach prospective clients this way, or any way, but couldn’t you go back to a former client with a compelling campaign to win their business?

I’ll answer for you: yes.

What about a shock and awe campaign targeted not at prospective clients but at prospective referral sources?

Sounds like a plan.

Could you do something like this with a publisher, meeting planner, or the media?

Yes, yes, and yes.

Hardy challenges his readers to create a shock and awe package and campaign and I second the motion. Put together a collection of compelling evidence as to why you are the best lawyer for the job, and a process for delivering it. This could be as simple as a timed series of letters or emails that successively build upon each other, making the case for why someone should choose you.

At the very least, you should have a “shock and awe” package you can deliver to prospects who ask about your services.

In a world filled with lawyers who (appear to) do the same things you do, you cannot rely on charm and good looks to get clients to choose you. Unless, of course, your charm and good looks are irresistible.