3 Things to Consider Before Choosing a Law Firm Marketing Provider

The new world of Web 2.0 has made things look a bit like the Wild West in terms of law firm marketing. Everything is new, there are no guidelines, and frankly it can be a bit scary at times. I understand. Once I was also surprised by the myriad of opportunities.

But you must take the time to understand your options.

In today’s world, with more options than ever, your law firm will never have a constant stream of potential clients calling you if you’re not in the business of marketing. And let’s be honest, marketing can be time consuming, has a steep learning curve, and typically requires a lot of costly trial and error.

Fortunately, once you figure it out, business (and life) just gets a lot easier. And when you have the advantage of attracting the right prospects and involving more than 80% of those who call your office, you now have a real business. [ed note: if you aren’t engaging over 80% of the prospects who call your office, you are wasting a whole lot of your time & most of the money you spend on your marketing.]

I can definitely understand the desire to outsource a substantial portion of your lead stream. Who wouldn’t want someone else to take care of what for many of you is the hardest part of your business – ringing the phone?

In response, companies have emerged that claim they will make their phone ring by harnessing the power of the Internet. However, not all companies are the same. Here’s what to look for when hiring any outside legal marketing firm to help you with your marketing:

1. Pay only for the results.

Pay for results or (pay for performance) means that you only pay if you get results. But not all results are the same.

Beware of companies that promise to bring your website to the top of Google or other search engines. These are not necessarily the results you want or are interested in. Sure, they can get you to the top of Google for certain keywords, but are those the keywords your prospects are looking for? What about all the other searches? And what happens when people access your website? Is your website ready to turn looky-loos into your customers? If your site is like most of the lawyer sites I’ve seen, no.

If you are not prepared to invest the time and money in building a website that converts (we can cover that another day), you may want to look for a company that provides you with qualified leads.

2. No long-term contracts.

Look for a provider that doesn’t require you to sign a long-term contract. If it’s pay for results or pay for performance, why require a long-term contract? Either you are receiving the contacts or not.

3. Screening tests that benefit you and not the provider.

I’ve heard a rumor that some pay-for-performance companies analyze queries and select the best cases for themselves or their friends. I understand that this is more common in the personal injury field and I cannot confirm this, but be careful if you are one of the 5 or 6 attorneys who have contacts in a specific area. Look for a company that gives you ALL the contacts that come in for your specific area with no room for discretion on which of the contacts you get and which you don’t.

If you use these guidelines before choosing a company to outsource your marketing to, you take little or no risk.

And, while you know I’m a huge fan of outsourcing so you can be the attorney you’ve always wanted to be, don’t rely on outsourced marketing as your only source of leads. Make pay-for-performance online marketing part of your mix, but make sure you have your own in-house systems to become THE go-to attorney in your local community as well.