“You can’t connect the dots looking forward; you can only connect them looking backwards. So you have to trust that the dots will somehow connect in your future. You have to trust in something — your gut, destiny, life, karma, whatever. This approach has never let me down, and it has made all the difference in my life.”
Steve Jobs (1955-2011) founder of Apple Inc.
A few years ago, I was walking around the mall and saw a Footlocker store. It was right outside the restrooms where I was waiting for my friend.
“Do you want to buy these shoes?” asked the salesman.
“Not now, thank you,” I replied.
An hour later I walked past the same store and the sales guy said the same thing.
“Do you want to buy these shoes?”
I thought to myself: how weird for this guy to ask me the exact same question, with the exact same lame sales pitch.
He probably didn’t realize that he’d asked me before. He must see hundreds of people pass by every hour.
And then a thought struck me. That single thought ended up being responsible for millions in additional clients for attorneys across the country.
You see, when someone searches for an attorney, they genuinely NEED one. It isn’t something people just ‘do’ in their spare time.
Once someone clicks on your ad and visits your website, there is a very good chance they have the potential to become a client.
However, only 2-3% of people take the next action.
That means, 97-98% of people who see your sales pitch say ‘no’.
Obviously, using the landing page templates I revealed to you in a previous article get better results than that (you’ve seen the proof), yet the point remains.
People say “no” way more often than they say “yes” – here’s what you need to STOP doing RIGHT NOW.
In the past, a large number of potential clients saying “no” was ok. We only need a small percentage of people to say yes for you to make good money.
However, as advertising costs started creeping up, people came up with ingenious ways to improve their results.
For example, one of the most successful tactics was retargeting.
In its most basic form, when you click on an ad online and visit a website, you’ll get followed around (annoyingly) on every single other website you go to.
For example:
You visit Footlocker.com, then you read an article on CNN. All of a sudden you see an ad for footlocker. And you see that same ad over and over again on different websites.
It follows you around like a stalker. Constantly asking you to buy their shoes.
It is kind of like that Footlocker salesman but on overdrive. Imagine you go into Footlocker, and you say no to the salesman.
Then you go into McDonald’s, and there that same guy is again, asking you to buy shoes again.
Then you go to another town entirely and stop at the library. And sure enough, this same salesman is there trying to sell you shoes with the same sales pitch.
Even while you are having a BBQ with your friends, this guy keeps rearing his annoying head.
No matter what you do, or where you go, this salesman is following you around with the same sales pitch.
Attorneys are using this method all of the time. Although it worked wonders in 2011, it is draining their bank accounts today.
When that Footlocker salesman asked me the second time, a thought occurred to me. Asking me over and over again if I want the same thing after saying no, made me more determined to say no again.
So, if 97% of people say no to your sales pitch, in the form of your website, why are attorney marketing companies constantly hitting those prospects with the same sales pitch over and over again.
Step #1: Offer them something different.
If you look at this, it is a direct sales pitch for your services:
What if, instead of a sales pitch, you send them something of value.
The best way to illustrate how this works is to put yourself in the shoes of your prospect (pun intended).
Once somebody visits Google and searches “DUI attorney Dallas” and they click on your ad, you know that they want and need a lawyer.
Why else would they stop binge-watching Netflix to search for something that they have no real desire for?
Bingo! They have a problem that needs solving. And Google was their answer.
Just because the user doesn’t respond to the “sales pitch” in your ad doesn’t mean they don’t need a lawyer.
It means they are procrastinating.
In the past you would have paid for that click and lost them forever. By the time they feel like contacting you again they have forgotten who you are.
So, here’s what you do to make sure that never happens.
Now that you know that person is interested in finding a DUI attorney, and you know they are on the fence, you can send them something a little different.
When they visit your landing page you can ‘tag’ their browser.
This allows you to place ads in front of them throughout the next few weeks.
Instead of annoying them with ads, we’re going to smack them in the face with information that helps to alleviate the problem they are facing.
We’re going to do this by posting an article on their Facebook newsfeed.
Here’s a quick example.
I go to Google and type in “DUI attorney Phoenix”.
I get cold feet for some reason and decide to watch cat videos on Facebook.
Next thing I see is a helpful article specifically speaking to the problem I have in my Facebook newsfeed.
It is an article in my Facebook newsfeed.
Imagine you are searching for a DUI lawyer and then this article pops up on your favorite website?
Would you consider it useful?
How about this?
We call this a Passive Return Agent (PRA). Instead of bludgeoning your prospect to death with the same sales pitch over and over, you decide to help them with a simple 500-word article.
This stays true to the problem first approach to advertising. It also comes with the added benefit of solidifying your authority in the particular area of law they are interested in.
Not only did they see your ads on Google, but now they are seeing you all over Facebook with helpful articles. When they finally decide to pick up the phone and call an attorney, who do you think they’ll think of first?
Step #2: A simple follow up system that makes you the only logical choice
And it doesn’t stop there.
Below you can see an illustration of what is happening.
Now we’ve potentially doubled the number of prospects reaching out to you. And what most people don’t know, is that you can carry this process on for up to six months.
Remember, people procrastinate. In some cases it takes months for them to finally pick up the phone and call you.
So, we add another Passive Return Agent and push it out to them the month after on Facebook.
After six months the entire advertising funnel looks like this:
This is called the Crocodile Close™. As you can see, once you’ve identified a prospect who needs an attorney, you’re going to take hold of them, and help them for as long as they let you.
Just like a crocodile, who patiently waits for its prey, this does not let go of them. However, instead of killing and eating your prospect, you’ll be helping them, and in turn feed the growth of your law firm.
Are you starting to see why advertising does NOT work for the average attorney?
Do you believe that every single advertiser out there puts this much thought into their campaigns?
Sadly, you’ll probably agree that they do not.
Like I said in a previous article, times are changing. Everything is getting more sophisticated, and technology will leave tens of thousands of attorneys out of business.
They will not be able to keep up with this rapidly changing environment.
However, you shouldn’t worry. A period of rapid change always gives rise to rapid opportunity.
Right now, while reading this article, you have an opportunity to lead yourself to a growing income. With the information you have at your disposal right now you could take complete control over how much and how fast your law firm grows.
You can be the one who snaps up struggling attorneys and start covering vast areas of law without doing much of the extra work.
By embracing this information, you now have a choice.
Choice #1:
You can choose to live comfortably by deploying these techniques. You can stay slightly ahead of the pack and enjoy life as a highly profitable attorney. It is a pretty good life and one that many attorneys that have these tools at their disposal pick.
Or…
You have choice #2:
You can grow your law firm. You can become one of the super attorneys with vast resources, wealth, and staff at your disposal. You can even go from being a small regional player to dominating your state.
I’ll even give you a checklist later for growing your law firm across state lines.
Turning yourself into a national giant isn’t impossible
Essentially, you now have some of the tools necessary to decide your fate. You can choose how big and how successful you want to be. You no longer need to feel like there are elements out of your control.
Instead of your competition, the market, or technology dictating what you can do, and how high you can reach, you now have that power.
Remaining a profitable small firm is totally fine. It is your choice.
Becoming a medium-sized profitable firm is fine too. It is your choice.
Turning yourself into a super firm that stretches across state lines, is also your choice.
The point is, you have the freedom to grow as much and as fast as you want.
Nobody can take that choice away from you.
However, that is only the case if you take action. If you ignore all of the growth strategies mentioned in this blog, then you will watch as your competition chooses to grow.
In the next article we’re going to cover another growth strategy. This will help you to dominate your local Google and Bing listings.
And as always, most attorneys are ignoring this low hanging fruit at their own risk.
The attorneys on this page are not.
We have over 300 reviews from attorneys, just like you, who have decided to use us to grow their law firm.
Add a Comment