July 27, 2021

Should Your Law Firm Use A Sales Funnel?

Like any other business, lawyers have to change their strategy to take advantage of the bustling online world. Business cards and referrals still work, but you need to use every avenue available to maximize your opportunities. Your potential clients go through a sales funnel before deciding if they will work with you. Investing in your funnel can help multiply your clients and bring in more business.

With most people on their computers and smartphones, there are many ways you can build a law firm sales funnel to create new leads.

Why a Funnel Is Necessary

A sales funnel is part of your marketing strategy. It pushes people in the right direction, depending on what stage of the funnel they are in. Not all sales funnels are the same, and yours should be unique based on your specialization. For example, a criminal lawyer will have a different approach to a divorce lawyer.

Despite that, every lawyer can benefit from having a law firm sales funnel to bring in potential clients. Here are some ways your sales funnel can take advantage of today’s online environment:

The Centerpiece of the Funnel: The Website

Your website is a vital piece of the puzzle. Whether you’re a large law firm or a small practice, a website evens the playing field. However, it needs to be more than an online brochure. You have to invest in it so that it can bring people to you.

Use your website to encourage potential clients to contact you, or create a way for visitors to share their details with you. Not all visitors will turn into clients right away. Some will take time, and you have to nurture them along the way.

Elaborate and Design

Many law websites have one problem: they show the firm’s results and talk about their specialization, but they don’t elaborate on what the firm can do. It leaves many potential clients with questions, and they hesitate to take the next step.

Encourage potential clients to connect with you by informing them what you’re all about and how you can help them.

If you find it hard doing this yourself, you can hire a copywriter to do it for you. They’ll know how to communicate what you mean and express it in a way that keeps your visitors’ attention. They can also help you by cutting down on the jargon and making your work understandable. Another way to approach this is to hire a designer and a marketing strategist.

The marketing strategist will help you streamline all the content. They’ll make the website appealing while staying concise. The designer will then help convert the vision into reality, making a pleasing website that matches your brand while using visual cues to guide potential clients to important information and contact forms.

Building the Sales Funnel

Other than the website, you have a lead magnet which is the anchor of your sales funnels, attracting leads to pass through the funnel. The most popular lead magnet in recent years is content. It allows you to draw in potential clients without the need for hard-sell tactics.

To create efficient content, you first have to build a profile of your ideal client. Look to your existing client base for guidance. What type of people do you often deal with? What do they usually go through before seeking legal help?

You can then create content that caters to this ideal audience, bringing them value and answering questions they often ask. This method is attractive because you already know that your firm works well with this type of client. They won’t be the only ones you attract, but they will make up the most of your leads.

Keep them informed, entertained, and build a story. Be careful not to give away too much, as you still need their business. Continue engaging, and if you don’t know how to do that, hire someone who can help.

Potential clients will find your content through search engines or other online avenues and click through to your website, but it may take several touches to convert them into paying clients. During this time, you have to continuously build content and engage with them until they are ready to work with you.

The Sales Funnel Process

At the top of your funnel are your visibility channels. You place them in locations where people congregate online. They will lead potential clients to your website or lead magnets. Here are some popular choices:

• PPC (pay-per-click)
• Press Releases
• Social Media
• Video advertising

After you bring them through any of these channels, you then entice them to contact you or share their details. To do this, you must give them access to something of value in return. For example, you can get their email information in exchange for a free checklist. Here are some examples of content other firms have used:

• Steps to take when you encounter a defective product.
• What happens during a divorce proceeding.
• What to do after a car accident.
• Filing for an immigration visa.

Afterward, keep in contact with them to ensure that they remain aware of your brand. For example, you can send an automated email that gives them more information about your firm. From here, your email marketing will do the work, as you send emails at set intervals.

The key here is to keep your content valuable. Provide educational and entertaining content as you nurture these leads. You don’t have to sell through any emails as they already know what services you provide. As long as you build a good impression, they will refer back to you when they need it.

Improving the Funnel

Over time, you should continue creating content that will help reinforce the top of your funnel and your email content. It doesn’t have to stay limited to written content. Some examples of things you can share include:

• Infographics
• Case studies
• Guides
• Videos
• Webinars

You should also categorize your leads, so you can adjust your content to deal with specific groups. You’ll have some that are distant and require more work to get them to acknowledge your firm. Others are ready and will only need maintenance to keep them within reach. Using the wrong approach or a one-size-fits-all approach can result in alienation.

Your law firm should also be prepared to handle inquiries from people who skip your funnel and contact you directly. You should ask for details to find out more about their situation to give a personalized response.

Get a feel for how serious the inquiry is and think of your law firm sales funnel to determine how to respond. For more serious inquiries, condense your sales funnel to convert them quickly. For less serious inquiries, stick to a more normal pace, focus on being helpful, and make sure you can follow up with them after an appropriate amount of time.

Making the Most of Opportunities

Offering value and opportunity is one way you can close many deals and convert people into paying clients. For example, a common practice by most law firms is to give a free consultation. Knowing that it doesn’t cost them anything will attract more people to inquire and consult with you. There, you can show even more of what you can offer them and increase the chances of getting hired.

People are more likely to commit once they get into the consultation. However, you have to make sure they know what to expect. Don’t give away any free legal advice, but instead, show the value of how you can help them when they hire you. You have to walk a thin line in regard to the information you can offer. Over time, you’ll get better at doing this.

Another way to attract people is to provide context to a customer’s experience. Testimonials, reviews, and even documents can work in your favor to put potential clients at ease.

One way to maximize your channels is to automate them. It can be fun to create content and engage with potential clients yourself, but you won’t always have the time to do it. Having automated marketing software and a team that can handle the sales process will make it much easier for you. They can continue to connect with clients while reeling in those who have shown interest.

It Does Not Have To Be Complex

You don’t have to make your law firm sales funnel complicated. You can keep the entire process simple, anchoring on the goal of getting people to respond to your offer for a free consultation. Once you have a framework, you can decide on what to add to it. You can offer webinars, a podcast, blog posts, and much more. Here is a simple example of a funnel:

• Social media and PPC advertising to direct people to informative content on your website
• Content and web design drive visitors to your lead magnet that offers value in exchange for contact details
• Contact details are used to begin sending an email campaign that fosters trust and connection with your law firm, eventually converting potential clients into paying clients

One of the rewards you’ll get for working on your sales funnel is that you’ll gain access to more potential clients. From there, you can continue to engage with them, driving them back toward the funnel through different means. You can share insightful content or do a bit of promotion through social media or emails.

The decisions you’ll make will ultimately rely on the budget you have. The good thing about a sales funnel is that you’ll always get something out of it. If you need help building a robust sales funnel, reach out to us — we’d be happy to help.