So you’ve paid for a wonderful website, but it just doesn’t “work.”

It looks great, has lots of info about your team and your legal services . . . but you don’t see it delivering any measurable revenue.

Sadly, it’s surprisingly common.

Most practice managers and managing partners will reluctantly admit that, for all the time and money poured into it, their website doesn’t bring many new clients.

Why is that?

Put simply, it’s because it was built to ‘inform’ – NOT GET RESULTS!

It’s not your fault.

You know the law, not online marketing. So when you need a website you contact a web designer, right? Except that’s where the wheels fall off because, although they can build your website and drive traffic to it, most web designers aren’t conversion experts!

Yes, conversion strategies are a “thing.”

For example, BEFORE building a website, you should first take some time to learn about the Buyer Decision Process. (It’s an established concept in marketing.)

1. Problem Recognition
2. Information Search
3. Evaluation of Alternatives
4. Purchase Decision
5. Post-purchase Evaluation

Most people visiting your website are at stage 2. They already know they need legal advice, and they found you with a Google search.

In fact, they might even be at stage 3. Your potential clients are comparing you and your competitors, to find a law practice to work with…

And yet, you don’t even know they exist!

So how much of a problem is it?

A research study reveals that 76% of new clients look at more than three websites before choosing a law firm, while 29% look at more than six! (ilawyer)

Prospective clients drift across your website and disappear. Your analytics show they came (you do check your stats, yes?)

But now they’ve gone, taking with them any chance of a sale.

STOP this from happening!

You must get prospects to “engage” with your firm. Give them a reason to stop searching and stay with you.

What you actually need is a FUNNEL.

Our funnel starts with an “overlay” on your website, leading to a simple landing page.

It’s designed to sort ‘wheat from chaff’ so you’ll only engage with website visitors who are seriously interested in legal advice and support.

But that’s only a start. In fact, your funnel must do THREE things:

1. Identify high-value prospects
2. Meet them in their Buyer Decision Process
3. Establish your authority

Authority? It’s your secret weapon in stages 3 and 4 of the process.

If done successfully, your funnel will ‘stop the scroll’ – stop people continuing to search for alternatives – and immediately boost your sales conversions.

Read on, and I’ll explain how.

After all, that’s exactly why you’re reading this, isn’t it? You’ve started a Buyer Decision Process of your own!

• You’re not happy with the performance of your website (Stage 1: Problem Recognition)
• You’re looking for solutions (Stage 2: Information Search)

Wait! Are you nodding as you read? Of course you are, because this makes a lot of sense. In fact you might already be wondering if I can help you get leads online.

Yes. But not just any leads.

QUALIFIED Leads. Potential clients who believe you have the expertise to give them the outcome they seek.

I’ll turn them into “educated” prospects, who will know exactly what they need – and who understand why YOU are the best choice to provide the support they want.

And then, at the bottom of the funnel, they’re converted to BUYERS.

Isn’t that what you need? (A law firm is a business, after all.)

As author James Malinchak wrote: “The #1 question for the owner of any business is: ‘How will you get new customers?’ It’s the question most likely to keep you awake at night.”

Maybe it doesn’t keep you awake, but you DO want new clients, right?

Well, 93% of business owners say they do, according to an omnibus study. So I’m guessing you do, too.

Why should I instruct YOU?

But now you’ve got to ask yourself: WHY would somebody want to work with YOU? What does your firm have, or do, to set you apart from competing firms?

If I go to your website, what will I find that makes me want to choose you, instead of another law firm?

Try this exercise on your website: pretend to substitute the name of another law firm in place of yours. Does the website still make sense?

Oops.

If you can’t see any difference, then neither can potential clients.

OK, so how do you differentiate your firm? How can you make it stand apart from your competitors?

As Harvard Business School professor Bharat Anand says,
“Success doesn’t just benefit from being different to others. It REQUIRES it. If you aren’t different in business, you’ll die.”

What’s the most valuable differentiation?

Expertise and authority.

Easier said than done, perhaps. How could you possibly convince prospects, who are only briefly on your website, that you supply legal advice and representation they can confidently trust?

Actually, it’s surprisingly simple. Demonstrate your knowledge and experience with a specific and detailed ‘Lead Magnet’ information guide.

Remember, people who are looking at your website will be at stage 2 or 3 of the Buyer Decision Process.

They’re aware of the problem, or opportunity, they face and they’re trying to choose the ‘best’ law firm to achieve their desired outcome.

So if your Information Guide exactly matches the “pain” associated with their situation, they’ll click the button to get it.

For example:

• “3 Keys To A Successful Immigration Application”
• “Successful Exit Strategies For Business Owners”
• “Five Steps To A Stress-free Divorce”
• “Essential Principles For Ecommerce Fulfilment”
• “Three Traps To Avoid When Buying A Franchise”

If someone’s not interested in this information they won’t do anything. That’s great! Because you won’t be wasting time, following up uncommited prospects.

On the other hand, someone who downloads the report is, by definition, a serious prospect. Someone you want to get to know.

Does that make sense?

OK, now it’s starting to get exciting!

Because magic truly starts AFTER they request your Free Guide.

Build relationships “automagically!”

As marketer Dan Kennedy says, the next most valuable asset for any business – after cash in the bank – is a list of people who want to hear from you.

Your free guide helps create educated prospects at stage 3 of the Buyer Decision Process: Evaluation of Alternatives. Now, you’ll continue to provide value, with more information and helpful tips delivered by an automated sequence of emails.

You need a ​series of 10, 15, or more messages. Written carefully (using NLP, Open Loops, etc.) they should contain the “six weapons of persuasion” described by Dr. Robert Cialdini in his book ‘Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion.’

The messages follow a path, which confirms your authority and expertise. Imagine if you could teach your prospects:

• what to look for
• what to avoid
• what questions to ask
• what potential outcomes to expect
• how to compare, or choose
• how to save time and money

You’re building a relationship.

When you think about it, ALL successful marketing is based on relationships, built through communication. By staying in touch with them, your emails build trust and confidence with clients.

Don’t miss this:
On average, 80% of those who are going to instruct your firm will do so by the time they’ve heard from you 12 times.

And there’s another reason to stay in touch, which psychologists call the “Mere Exposure Effect” or the “Familiarity Principle.” It says, the more often your prospects hear from you, the more pleasing and likeable they find you!

Get New Clients

These are prospects you don’t have now, and a well-designed funnel can turn them into fee-paying clients.

When you educate them the right way – in the right sequence, and using the right tools – you’ll have a repeatable success system, which you can put on autopilot for months and years to come.

• You can automate all your lead generation.
• You can automate the qualification process for your leads, attracting the best kind of clients for your business.
• And you can open new files much more easily. You’ll never again have to wonder where your next instructions are coming from!