In marketing, many lawyers prioritize getting new leads and attracting new prospects when they should prioritize following-up with the ones they already have.
Anyone who expressed interest is far more valuable to you than someone you’ve never spoken to, doesn’t recognize your name, and may or may not have any interest in hearing how you can help them.
And since you’ve already invested your time or money to acquire those leads or attract those inquires, why wouldn’t you follow up?
Some attorneys never follow-up. They meet someone, give them their card, and leave it up to the would-be client to take the next step. Or someone visits their website and downloads their report or asks a question and once they deliver the report or answer the question, that’s it. No additional follow-up.
They justify this by saying, “If they want to know more, they know where to find me.”
This may be true, but it is beside the point. They showed interest but may not be ready to take the next step or ask for more information. If you don’t follow up with them, by the time they are ready to hire you or talk to you, they may not recall your name or know where to find you.
Or they hire another lawyer who did follow-up.
How long should you follow up? Days? Weeks? Months? Years?
Forever. Until they “buy or die”.
Actually, don’t stop after they buy. They might buy again. Or need an update. Or tell someone about you. Or provide a review or testimonial. Or share your content. Or ask a question that gives you a great idea for your newsletter.
Don’t stop when they die, either. Their surviving spouse or children or partner may need your services, or know someone who does.
So never stop. Once someone is on your list, don’t stop emailing or remove them unless they tell you to.
“But I don’t want to annoy them?”
Annoy them. You might email them precisely when they need you and be very glad you did.
It’s better to contact someone too often than not often enough. They can delete or ignore your emails, click the link to remove themselves from your list, or tell you to do it for them.
How often should you contact them? At the beginning, just after you’ve met them or spoken to them or they signed up for your report, more often. They are more likely to hire you or take the next step with they are “fresh”.
Make your initial follow-ups more personal and do them more often. Strike while the iron is hot.
After a suitable period, stay in touch with them more generally and (perhaps) less often, via a newsletter. You might choose to supplement that with something more personal: a card, a call, a reminder of something they told you or asked you about, but you don’t have to. You can let your newsletter do the heavy lifting, and it will.
How to use an email newsletter to follow-up with prospects and clients
