Posted by Kyle E. Krull, Esq., President
INTEGRITY MARKETING SOLUTIONS
Have you ever had this happen to you?
You read about an estate planning client of yours in your local business journal. It seems she came up with a brilliant idea for a new business a year ago and it just went public. You call to congratulate her.
During the course of the conversation, you ask who helped her set up the business entity. “Oh, that was attorney John Doe,” she replies. Hmmmm. John Doe is a solo practitioner who office-shares with a few other chaps just around the corner from your office.
Out of curiosity, you query “Why didn’t you give me a call, as that is something I do, too?” Silence. “Really, I didn’t know you did anything other than estate planning and elder law,” is the answer. “Had I known, I would rather have had you do it,” she adds.
Epilogue: The featured business becomes the “next big thing” and John Doe wisely took shares of stock as compensation for the setup. Later, as you take a short lunch break at your desk, you peruse the local bar journal. As you get to the “Movers and Shakers” section (filled with the usual photos from “black tie” high-society events), you notice that John is recently retired, a beloved local philanthropist and a scratch golfer.
There is a lesson in this little vignette – your clients, prospects and referral sources need to know everything you do. Everything.
I am an estate planning attorney. However, more than a decade ago I began cultivating referral relationships with other attorneys and most of them are AV-rated in their respective practice areas. I call it my Referral Attorney Network and I operate as the senior partner of this “virtual” law firm. Accordingly, I maintain a list of practice areas for which I can provide referrals to my clients, prospects and referral sources.
For example, a good friend and colleague of mine is an estate litigator, as well as an expert in probate/trust administration. He also is 10 years my junior and is my law practice succession plan. As a result, I refer all of my estate litigation and probate/trust administration matters to him. [These are services I really do not like to do… and, fortunately, he does.] Note: I remain involved in the cases referred to varying degrees and even share in the fees with full disclosure to the clients. Sidebar: Shared fees can be a rather nice addition to your bottom line, especially if the referral is to a personal injury litigator and I assist with some of the case preparation and client communication. [Note: Be sure to comply with the strictest interpretation of the model rules governing fee sharing for any jurisdiction in which you are admitted.]
Regardless whether you are interested in creating your own “referral attorney network,” make sure you educate your clients, prospects and referral sources about your own additional services early and often. In fact, if your marketing system is The Essential Solution®, then you already have all of the necessary tools to educate everyone about the full scope of your services.
Remember, a robust website should include information about your core services, related services and your referral services. Add this information to the back of your hardcopy monthly newsletter, too. And, don’t forget to include links on your monthly e-newsletter (that, in turn, links back to your website). Finally, consider weaving articles related to your range of services into the rotation of your daily blog postings.
Epilogue: If you market your services strategically today, then you just may find yourself retired, a beloved local philanthropist, and a scratch golfer tomorrow.
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