The Achilles’ heel of law firm marketing is follow-up. There’s always something else that’s more important, another estate planning document that needs to be prepared and another will that needs to be reviewed. This is often the reason that people think that marketing doesn’t work. It’s also the reason people think that networking doesn’t work. Nothing works if you don’t move through a process from beginning to middle to end.
Two major reasons people don’t do follow up:
- They’ll think I’m desperate for clients.
- They’ll say no.
There’s an old sales expression, “Some will, some won’t, so what?”
In other words, not everyone you follow up with will retain your estate planning law firm. But if your follow up is strategic and systematic, you can dramatically increase your chances of closing the loop with new clients.
Internet leads need a fast response. We can’t say this often enough. The person searching for an internet source is going to look at websites, send information, and make a decision based in large part on when you get back to them. A week later, you’re history.
Have a system in place to move them through your process. We designed CLIPSM for just this reason. Once your prospect has filled out a few forms and received some feedback—automatically and based on parameters that you define—they become invested and engaged. Remember, engagement takes place on an emotional level. After a few forms, they have invested time and effort in your practice. They are less likely to start all over again with another firm when they are already comfortable with your process and the idea of your firm taking care of their estate planning needs.
Lack of follow-up makes prospects feel like they don’t matter, you don’t care about them, and what’s worse, your practice is not operating efficiently.
Knowing how many leads come into your firm, where they come from and how many ultimately become clients is the missing data for many law firms. Another reason behind the success of our E2 CRM is the ability to run reports that get this information to your team. Maybe you are getting a lot of leads, but they are not converting. Is it because there’s no follow up? Knowing where the weak points in your follow up will help you grow your practice.