We all know that not everyone will become our client – if that were the case then we’d be the only lawyer in court, which would get pretty boring (though wildly profitable). But lawyers forget that when marketing their law practices, opting to create a strategy that will bring in every single person under the sun.
Bad idea. Very, very bad idea.
Here’s why: when you market your practice you are, by necessity, going to need to tell a story that your prospective client finds compelling. We relate to stories, we inject ourselves into them, and they allow us to help our audience understand what we’ve got to offer.
Bankruptcy lawyer? You’re going to want to tell a story about how ending financial problems isn’t the end of the world. To do that effectively you need to tell about how someone filed for bankruptcy and went on to great success. Ideally, that person would need to be just like your prospective client. If the character in the story is completely unlike the prospective client then there will be no opportunity for the person to mentally inject himself or herself into the story.
Divorce lawyer? You’re going to talk about how ending a marriage can help the prospective client be happier and more productive. Your story will possibly feature a parent who has a better relationship with his or her children post-divorce and who didn’t lose everything. Maybe even a child of divorce talking about how much calmer life was without mom and dad throwing plates at one another. Whatever, you get the picture.
Regardless of your field, you need to understand one very simple (and painful) fact of business life:
You Will Not Appeal to Every Possible Client, So You Should Not Waste Your Time Chasing Them All
Over at IdeaLaunch, an article about how your potential client base does not include everyone. The article speaks to the product or service that doesn’t appeal to everyone, but I’d like to take it a step beyond that – you, gentle reader, won’t appeal to everyone. And if you try to, you will not appeal to anyone at all.
Take, for example, me. I’m a cheapo, do-it-yourself guy who runs a law firm from his kitchen table. I don’t like to wear shoes, prefer to keep CNN on in the background, and need to be as close to my coffee pot each day as possible. I enjoy spending time with my family so much that I’ve structured my entire life and practice around them.
Most lawyers would hide behind this, opting to create an online and offline legal marketing campaign that would make liberal use of the royal “we.” Nowhere would it be mentioned that the lawyer works from home, and the language would be completely middle-of-the-road. Consequently, the lawyer probably wouldn’t attract very many of his or her ideal clients – in other words, clients who not only understand the legal system but relate to the lawyer in such a way as to create a bond of influence.
This isn’t to say that the lawyer wouldn’t make a good living or attract a lot of inquiries, but the relationships wouldn’t be so strong right out of the box. There would be a constant uphill battle of explaining how the office works, why there’s a dog barking in the background, and the whole, “I don’t have an office so I don’t want you coming to my house to drop off documents,” thing.
What did I do? I told my story, revealed my personality, and let people know exactly how I work. I tell my audience about my family (within reason), my life (again, without revealing my address and other things that could compromise my family’ safety in the wrong hands) and things like that. I let people know about my world, why I practice the way I do, and the things they need to do in order to work with me.
Result? I attract people with whom I have an affinity. People who see a little of themselves in me and my point of view. People who identify with me and, in so doing, are attracted to the prospect of working with me. By aligning myself with others who share my view of the world, I attract clients who would never think of using another lawyer. They’re willing to pay my fees without a second thought, comply with requests for documents, and evangelize on my behalf. When I tell them something is good, they accept it at face value. And when I say something is bad, they don’t ask questions.
They trust me because they see a little bit of their own world in mine.
Could I honestly and reliably do this with the entire pool of people who might need to file for bankruptcy? No way. Not everyone is going to like the way I do business, and those people aren’t a good fit for me. I can’t jam a square peg into a round hole. They won’t work well with me, won’t be happy with me, and won’t refer other people to me.
What’s your narrow net?
