Top 25 Client Acquisition Tips for Estate Planning Lawyers
Marketing for estate planning lawyers isn’t about vanity metrics. It’s about building relationships and getting clients. Implement these tips to enhance your estate planning law firm’s client acquisition process.
1) Offer Complimentary Consultations
Consultations build trust with potential clients and give them a chance to know and like you. The better you answer their questions and prove that you can solve their problem, the more likely they are to hire you.
2) Set Up Email Capture on Your Website
Email capture converts website traffic into leads. If you are not converting your website traffic to newsletter signups, then you have valuable leads leaking out of your sales funnel. Add newsletter signup forms to your blog page and individual blogs. See our Newsletter Sign Up Form below.
3) Start a Newsletter
Your newsletter is your most powerful digital marketing tool because it is the most direct – it goes straight to peoples’ inbox. Thus, your newsletter should be your pillar content – the very best material from your blog and social media. Always be building your email list to maximize your newsletter’s reach.
4) Follow Up with Leads
Many law firms lose clients by failing to follow up with leads. Put a system in place so that you or your office follows up with every lead. Don’t lose leads due to poor follow-up procedures.
5) Update Your Testimonials
If you want your testimonials to have maximum impact, they should include the person’s name, title, photo, company, company logo, links to their profile and company page, and a headline. See our Testimonial below.
6) Include Testimonials on Every Page
Your testimonials, reviews, and case results are the most powerful evidence that you are great at your job. However, very few people read testimonials pages. Put your testimonials on every page of your website in conspicuous places where people will see them. Your best evidence is no good if nobody sees it.
7) Streamline Your Intake System
Organize your intake system into repeatable steps to create a uniform process. Prepare a standard intake questionnaire, consultation questionnaire, and client agreement that you use every time. Update them based on what’s working and what isn’t. Have a uniform onboarding system so you don’t lose leads to poor organization.
8) Set the Next Appointment
Always schedule the next appointment with leads before you get off the phone with them. If it is not possible to get an appointment on calendar, then tell the lead you will follow up with them. Do not wait for them to follow up with you.
9) Use Multiple Marketing Channels
Do SEO, PPC, social media, and newsletters at the same time for best results. Each marketing channel has different strengths, and they work best when employed together. Engaging multiple marketing channels is like having multiple fishing lines in the water – it increases the chances of a catch. The better you are at employing all of these channels, the more leads you will generate.
10) Make a Marketing Budget
Start with a total marketing budget of 7-10% of your annual income. Then, decide how much of your total budget you want to commit to each marketing segment (SEO, PPC, website design, print ads, etc.).
11) Optimize for Speed and Mobile
You will lose leads if your site is not fast on mobile friendly. Slow loading times are the silent killer of SEO. Check PageSpeed Insights to see your websites scores for speed and mobile compatibility. If you haven’t updated your website recently, chances are it’s. Talk to your developer or hire us to improve your PageSpeed scores.
12) Repurpose Your Blog Content
Convert your blog content into social media posts and email newsletters. Doing so increases the reach of your best content, keeps your messaging consistent across platforms, and drives traffic to your website. It also saves you the time of having to create new content for every platform.
13) Warn Against Do-It-Yourself Options
Nowadays, several companies offer do-it-yourself estate planning services. Highlight the benefits of your services and the pitfalls do-it-yourself options. Give detailed information about when and why clients should hire a lawyer for estate planning.
14) Invest in SEO
The goal is for your content to be so useful to people that they return to your website the next time they have an estate planning question – this establishes a personal relationship between you and the reader and positions you as their go-to source for estate planning information. The better you answer their questions, the more likely they are to hire you over another lawyer.
15) Network with Finance Professionals
Network with financial advisors, CPAs, and other financial professionals who can refer clients to you. You can refer clients to them as well and create a mutual relationship.
16) Market to High-Net Worth Clients
Gear your messaging towards high-net-worth clients. People with wealth are more likely to have estate planning needs. Emphasize the benefits of being proactive about estate planning and early intervention.
17) Segment Your Target Market
Break your target market down into segments and market to each segment individually. For example, your clients may homeowners, business owners, doctors, lawyers, retirees, and parents. Market to each of these groups individually and in deep detail.
18) Focus on Key Issues
Focus your messaging on the issues that matter most to your clients: preserving legacy, protecting assets, passing on values and ethics, reducing taxes, privacy, and emotional fulfillment. You’re not selling wills and trusts, your selling security and peace of mind.
19) Add Value
Focus your content on providing value rather than selling. Prove your worth by demonstrating expertise on the subject matter. Mastery of the subject matter will impress discerning clients more than a slick sales pitch.
20) Cover Related Practice Areas
Provide detailed information about your related practice areas. Often, estate planning intertwines with business, family, and tax law issues. Demonstrate your knowledge of these practice areas and share content about them.
21) Have Empathy
Estate planning issues are deeply personal. Embody your role as a ”counselor” and provide emotional support along with sharp legal advice. Focus on building a real relationship with clients rather than selling or preaching to them. Connect with people personally, addressing their individual concerns and offering solutions.
22) Highlight Pitfalls and How to Avoid Them
Tell people how to avoid common mistakes. Estate planning is complex and technical – help people avoid pitfalls.
23) Make Estate Planning Accessible
Demystify the processes of wills, trusts, estates, and asset management. Use plain language. Provide clarity and assurance. Be relatable and personable. Avoid legalese. Make your content comprehensive, but easy to read. Drill down into specific estate planning issues and use phrases your clients will likely search for.
24) Be A Sponsor
Sponsoring industry events shows that you are an industry leader and are committed to serving that specific industry. For example, if you
25) Hire A Top Marketing Agency for Your Estate Planning Law Firm
To be effectively market your law firm, you must write SEO, manage PPC, create social media content, write newsletters, and update your website consistently.
You don’t have time to do those things because you have to run a law firm. That’s why we are here to do them for you.
Contact us if you would like to rank at the top of local search results, drive traffic to your website, build your reputation online, and convert readers to clients. We offer a free 30-minute consultation where we ask questions about your practice and create a detailed marketing plan for you based on your answers.
Sign up today for your complimentary consultation.