In my guide for lawyers on how to avoid The 3 Biggest Mistakes that keep clients away, I recommend using ‘education-based’ marketing if you want more of your ideal clients to approach you, rather than you having to chase after them. Education-based marketing means providing valuable information to educate your prospective clients, rather than just trying to sell your services to them.
But the biggest mistake I see lawyers and other professionals making when they adopt this strategy is giving too much away.
Have you ever run a seminar for clients and got rave reviews and glowing feedback, but no instructions?
Have you ever had an initial consultation with a potential client about what you can do for them, but they leave saying they feel they now know what to do and will call you if they need more help?
If you have, then chances are you gave too much away.
By which I mean too much of the ‘how’ and not enough of the ‘why’.
You see, when you tell people ‘what’ they need to do, then they go away thinking they can do it themselves – whether that’s download a template agreement to fill in themselves, or negotiate the deal themselves, or something else.
When you tell them ‘why’ they need to do something – and, importantly, what are the consequences of not doing it right – you help them to really understand why they need your help. Because you’ll help them realise that when they get your help, they will get it right, and will avoid the adverse consequences you have told them about.
Let me give you an example.
Jim is starting a business with his friend Paul. Jim and Paul go a seminar about starting your own business and hear a lawyer talking about the need for shareholders’ agreements. The lawyer gives a list of important things to include in an agreement. Jim and Paul leave the seminar thinking they should probably have this agreement and download a template shareholders’ agreement online which they fill in, using information they learned at the seminar about important clauses that should be in there.
Because the lawyer focused on telling them what clauses should go in the agreement, and didn’t spend enough time explaining to them about why it was important that those clauses were properly drafted to suit their own circumstances, Jim and Paul had a false sense of security and thought they could do it all themselves. Unfortunately, it wasn’t until they later fell out that they learned – to their cost – that the shareholders’ agreement didn’t really cover what they needed it to.
In this example, the lawyer really did Jim and Paul a dis-service. He would have served them better by helping them to understand why they would be better protected if they sought legal advice and got an agreement specifically tailored to their needs. That way, they probably would have got the legal advice they needed, and avoided the mess they ended up in when they later fell out.
So should you stop giving away free information?
In a word: no.
But you should make sure you give away the right information. Information which educates your ideal clients about why they need expert help and why you should be the one to provide it.
In my report The 3 Biggest Mistakes I cover the 6 critical elements you need to include in your education-based marketing if you want to make sure it attracts your clients, rather than repels them. Giving the right amount of value, and educating them about the right things, is just one of them.
I’ll be going in-depth on these critical elements at my next Profitable Practice Secrets Workshop.
I know this seminar will be a worthwhile investment of your time – you’ll leave this seminar with a 3 step strategy for attracting more clients than you can implement in the next 90 days. One of my solicitor clients increased his enquiries by 30% in 6 months using the strategies I’ll be showing you (see the testimonials on my website for more) and there’s no reason why you can’t do the same.
