What differentiates your services from another firm? If a prospective client wants you to do a basic legal transaction, are you really different from the other firms in town? Or, if that person is looking to, let’s say, incorporate a business, is he or she going to choose you because your firm has a higher profile than the next? But are your services fundamentally different from the next guy’s, really? Probably not much.
Forbes magazine warns that “when multiple law firms and multiple lawyers can provide the same legal work equally well, there is commoditization.” Are you selling a commodity? I know you don’t think so.
If you are not positioning yourself as distinctly different from other firms doing the same work, then the prospective client will not be able to tell you are different. How will they decide? Your logo is better than theirs? I hope people are not that shallow, although recent events seem to point in that direction.
People want to work with people they like. That requires you to meet them or at least create a likeable image in their minds because you can’t meet everyone. Employers, it is estimated by HR professionals, give a resume six seconds before deciding to keep it or trash it. I cannot imagine someone making a decision like choosing a law firm so casually because it is a very important decision. But so is hiring an employee. So, let’s say the same prospective client has read good things about you in the newspaper or heard good things from friends and family. That guy is going to call you first.
How do you generate a positive image so that people will like you and think you are better than Dewey, Cheatem & Howe? You position yourself as an expert. Someone your peers look up to. This is not an easy feat and it takes time to position yourself and your firm as leaders.
The good news is that there are many opportunities to position yourself as a leader and be perceived as such. One way is to speak to groups; national is good but the local Rotary or other fellowship clubs are fine to start out. You should know that every club has a meeting at least once a month and many need speakers for their meetings. It is not hard to network to find out who chooses the speaker; it is the program committee chair or the president. There are always timely topics to talk about and even if some topics are too “hot” you can talk about subjects of interest to the board members, such as board of director liability issues or not-for-profit reporting requirements.
Google your local organizations, even your bar association, and see if they need a speaker. While you’ve got them on the phone, chat them up. Even if they don’t need a speaker, you can bet they will tell a friend or two that they talked to you and how charming you are.
Another way to differentiate yourself is to be in the news regularly. Madison and St. Clair counties are covered by numerous local publications and radio stations, and all of the St. Louis media covers Illinois. Announce your settlements when you are allowed to do so in your agreements. If you have a clause in your agreement that prohibits revealing the terms, ask to strike it so you can talk about the case and the settlement. What’s the worse that can happen. They tell you “No.”
Send out press releases to these media outlets when you or your associates or partners reach a milestone. Work anniversaries, recognition by the bar association or a community organization fill newspapers and they are welcome. I have been told by editors and publishers that they need information about what is happening at law firms in Illinois. So, take advantage of the demand and supply them with some news.
Everything you do, from quality legal work to community service can be communicated in some way to the public; to that prospective client. You are talking directly to him or her. Tell them why you are different and better than the next firm. Show them you care about the community or you are an expert in your field by what you do and then tell them through announcements that you won or will be addressing a local organization. Be likeable.
Over time, that is how you build a good reputation in the public’s mind. Doing superior legal work is assumed but you have to tell people how good you are.
Don’t become commoditized.
Jim Grandone is owner of Grandone Strategies. He is past president of the St. Louis Chapter of the International Association of Business Communicators. Jim can be reached at (618) 692-1892 or grandone.james@gmail.com