Posted by Roslyn Drotar, Personal Account Manager
INTEGRITY MARKETING SOLUTIONS
The key to successful marketing is to always have a few fundamentals that work no matter what! One of those fundamentals is lead generation. One of your biggest marketing challenges as an estate planning or elder law attorney is keeping the pipeline full, even while you are working with the clients -- or when you (or your assistant) go on vacation! Here are two things you can do to set your Essential Solution® marketing program on autopilot to help keep that pipeline full with new leads:
- Post to Your Blog. You can schedule your posts out a week in advance. Make sure you take the time to get that content up. Remember, you’re not just posting to your blog, you’re also feeding that content to your Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn connections. Create a process in your office to make sure your blogging happens even if you are busy or on vacation. It’s one of the basics that can keep running with or without you. Train your team to back you up. If your assistant already takes on this important task, train one additional person in your practice to take it on in her absence. Have a clear written firm process. Posting to your blog helps your Google ranking so people can find you on Google even when you’re on vacation!
- Update your newsletter and enewsletter list with new prospects (ie, those people who need to “think about it” or are “going to wait” - for their ah-ha moment) and new referral sources every month. Nothing excites the team here at IMS more than when we receive a new list each month from our clients (well there are a few other things) but honestly it shows us that you are committed to your marking and, believe it or not, this does good things. Did you know that your e-newsletter is typically the second most popular entry page to your website? And we send it out for you each month. When those e-newsletters hit, activity on your website goes up. That shows us that people are clicking through, and reading the information you’re giving them. All you and your team need to do is export your list each month. We automatically kick out duplicative names so just export and send.
Finally, you need to make sure you have a process for exactly how the calls from your leads are going to be handled in your office. Who do they talk with first? The first person they speak to gives the first impression of your office. When I was working in the practice there were times when the team would get frustrated by the bombarding for free advice. Don't think of it that way. But rather, a genuine person on the other side of that phone wanting to know how they can protect their estate and ensure their minor children are cared for. They want to make sure you’re a good fit for them and their family. Take the time to let them know you can help them and that they came to the right place. Take it a step further and have your team document their biggest concerns and then pass that information along to the attorney so their concerns can be addressed in the initial consult. Addressing the things they are most concerned about is bound to help your closing ratio. Let your team know how they can help you to qualify those leads, and not just book the appointment (all while your on vacation).
