Lawyers often have trouble closing deals with prospective clients because they are not trained salespeople. But, closing deal is an important part of business, so it’s crucial to learn effective sales techniques.
The key is realizing that people remember how you make them feel, not what you say. Follow these legal marketing tips to sign more clients:
Get Clients Talking
Start the conversation with a prospective lead off by asking, “What brings you in today?”
This is a great opener because it gets clients to immediately begin talking about their pain, which is their legal issue.
Listen
The next step is simple: shut up and listen. Let prospective clients answer your question in as much detail as possible.
Fight the urge to interrupt with your own thoughts or opinions for now—just let them talk. The more they tell you, the more they trust you.
Take mental notes as they are talking. Identify their pain points—what are their worries, goals, and fears? What do they believe will happen if they don’t hire an attorney?
Prospective clients make decisions based on their emotions, not logic. Therefore, it’s important to understand what emotions they are experiencing at this moment.
Ask Questions
Jump in and ask open-ended questions about their pain points to get them talking again. For example, let’s say you are talking to someone with children who is preparing to file for divorce.
One of their biggest pain points may be the fear of losing their children in a custody battle.
Try to get them to provide more information about this pain point. Let them get these thoughts, worries, and fears off of their chest. As they answer these questions, sit back and listen carefully.
Offer Help
By this point, you should have a better understanding of why they are in need of your legal services. Make it clear to them that you understand exactly what they need from you by restating their pain points and offering legal assistance.
Say something like, “I understand that you are worried about losing primary custody of your children, but I can help you prevent this outcome.”
This statement shows the prospective client that a) you were listening, b) you understand exactly what they are going through, and c) you know how to achieve the outcome they desire.
This simple technique will make the prospective client feel safe at ease with you, which is what will convince them to sign on the dotted line.
