Making a decision to run your business can be a rewarding decision. However in order to sustain yourself you need clients. There are thousands of businesses looking for help with business law everyday, however how you get them to become your client is a different story.
Not everyone has access to unlimited funds, and despite what you may be sold over the phone, running Google Ads simply isn't always the best decision... particularly when the cost per click can skyrocket above $100.
Some of the best ways you can generate new clients, ranging from cheapest to most expensive, include:
Did you know word of mouth accounts for 13% of all sales, worth $6 trillion in annual global sales. This is more effective than paid ads!
Generating word of mouth conversations is easy, tracking word of mouth sales is harder.
The best places to find your potential word of mouth speakers is to first identify your network. Do you have friends and family members who know what you do? Are they consciously injecting your business into conversation when it arrises? If not, ask them to. There is no shame in promoting your business to your friends and family as a starting point.
Once you have your network working for you, you need to consider your existing clients. Do you have any long term clients or any who have sent in positive feedback?
Consider sending an email to all your customers asking for feedback and a review. If they respond, call them, thank them and ask them to introduce you to someone. The key is to be genuine, feedback is just as valuable as a new client, as it could help retain others.
Simply asking and reminding your existing client you are there for them will keep you top of mind, and ensure any conversation they have with other business owners will include you as a key partner. This can be as simple as sending out a monthly email with latest legislation changes to be aware of.
Asking for a referral is one of the most overlooked approaches to finding new customers. The majority of our first clients here at BizziEvents were from word of mouth and referrals. Besides being a way to gauge your customer satisfaction, it is a very cheap way to build your client base.
For every interaction you have, you should be asking for a referral.
Whether you are at a seminar event, barbecue, local sports game or on a phone call, you should be asking. Every case closed is another referral opportunity.
Contrary to popular belief, you don't need to generate referrals exclusively from your existing clients. Consider adding your referral strategy to prospective clients, existing clients and past clients. Just because someone isn't working with you anymore doesn't mean they don't have a network. It could be they closed their business down, hired in-house or switched due to board pressures. Unless the reason is specifically that they don't like you, chances are they are a valid referral opporunity.
Social Media makes the list for a clear reason. It is where millions of people spend their down time. The challenge most Legal professionals face generating new business on social media is generating content. You have all the knowledge in your head that your audience would love to learn from. Consider looking back on your University Introduction to Law notes, or the training you give new starters at your business. Are there any documented notes you could rewrite or turn into a simple post? If not, leverage your junior staff to write some content every week.
If you do have the time to create social posts, consider using a tool like Canva, that has thousands of templates you can use.
If you don't have the time to create social posts regularly, consider joining Groups and providing real value to businesses in need. Ensure when joining a group you read and abide by the rules. This may include the ability to post about your business, or may require some sort of offer (e.g. a free call). These groups could include:
By providing real value on social media you are putting yourself as the trusted source. This approach may take time and effort, so you may be best to focus initially on one media e.g. Facebook or LinkedIn, depending on where your audience is.
If you haven't heard of Eventbrite, you are missing out. Not only could you find events to attend and potentially find new customers, but you are able to list your own events, often for free. 48% of brands realise a ROI between 3-5:1 with their events. Beyond Return On Investment alone, 74% of attendees say they have a more positive opinion about the company after the event. Events are a no brainer that most law firms forget exist as a viable option.
The knowledge you have is knowledge business owners and your clients would love to learn. Consider topics around contracts, disputes and property. These are things you know a wealth about, but the average business owner doesn't.
To find out what type of event you should be running, you need to consider the reason why most of your customers chose you as their law firm. Is it because they need help with disputes? Is it because they don't know how to manage different contract types and conflicts? Is it because they just don't have the time or skills to do it in-house?
Once you know what causes the most stress for your clients, consider running an event.
If you are savvy with tech, you could consider running a virtual webinar, however this may lack the personal touch that you want to leave in order to generate a sale, and often you will find half the webinar will be working at the same time, won't show or won't be paying attention.
One of the most effective ways to generate a client at an event is to run a small (10-15 people) sales seminar or presentation. Here you can invite new or existing prospects and clients to come together to learn. Note: be selective of the clients you invite to the event. You don't want an unhappy client ensuring nobody becomes a customer.
Creating an event requires a few things, nearly all of which can be done for free, however some paid versions may result in a higher quality event.
To run an event you will need to consider:
A general guide for physical event prices is below:
We have a great, free guide on how to plan a sales seminar, located at the bottom of this page. If you need a bit of extra support, contact us.
There are dozens of advertising channels you can pick to generate new clients. The costs range from a few cents per view, to affiliates who might charge 25% commissions. An overview of some of the advertising channels is below.
It is recommended to engage a professional to run advertising, else risking accidental overspend or underperformance. Often times finding ads that perform will take time and money, so treat this venture as a longer term solution and always remember to bundle all conversations with leads (and marketing agencies) with a referral request.
Getting new customers doesn't have to be an expensive endeavour. While you can invest as much as you want into generating new customers, and if you have the skill to do so, it might be a great investment, you can also invest your time just as effectively.
Using any combination of the above will help you generate new clients that not only stick, but often will refer others to your business too.
BizziEvents provides free, ungated guides for planning corporate events. Whether it is your first event, or five hundredth, access unlimited free guides.