Most of the marketing books on the shelves today focus primarily on marketing a product. While there are some similarities between marketing your legal services and a product, there are many differences. Here are three ways marketing a law firm differs from marketing products.

1 – Legal Services Are Intangible

When you buy a product like a digital camera, you know what you’re getting. You can go to Circuit City and pick it up, ask the sales guy for a demo, and try it out before you buy. The selling process involves ordering the product, paying for it, and walking out of the store with it (or having it delivered within a few days.)

Services, on the other hand, are highly customized and tailored to your client’s specific needs. As a lawyer, each client you work with brings a new set of circumstances – and thus, with each new client, you’re doing something slightly different than before. That can make prospects nervous.

When prospects are looking to hire someone, they’re looking for someone they can work with long term. Someone who can do what they say and is easy to work with. They usually don’t know much about their legal options and are looking for a trusted advisor to help them get their life back to normal. But, that means picking a lawyer that cares about them and their case, that has expertise in their problem area, and is willing to take the time to explain how the process works without the legal jargon or making them feel dumb.

2 – Lawyer Marketing Doesn’t End When a Product is Bought

Legal marketing involves building relationships and working together with clients.
With products, chances are that once you buy the product, you’ll never see the sales person again. With services, however, you will be working with your prospects throughout the job so the last thing you want to be perceived of is a sales person.

Therefore, that initial consultation is the first step towards building a working relationship and setting expectations that will be carried through the rest of the project. If the initial ‘personal chemistry’ just isn’t there, you’ll save yourself a lot of headaches walking away from the job.

3 – Lawyers Must Be Selective With Who They Work With.

You can sell a product to anyone with the money to buy it. With services, money is a factor, but there are a number of other qualifiers. These include whether your services match the problem your prospect wants you to solve, how easy the prospect is to work with, and whether your prospect will be satisfied with the services you provide.

You want to weed out any clients you believe might become ‘difficult.’ For instance, if your client brushes off a staff member or comes across as rude, those are warning signs for how they’ll act with you down the road.

You also want to make sure that your client’s case meets certain criteria. For instance, most personal injury lawyers have specific requirements for taking a case based on how viable it is legally. Most prospects, however, believe they have a good case – they’ve been injured and believe someone else is responsible – regardless of legal requirements. If there’s a disconnect, chances are, your client will walk away unhappy.

Finally, not all work that comes your way will be interesting and fulfilling to you, personally. If you’re not interested or don’t have the expertise to handle the case, that may be a sign that this client isn’t right for you.

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