Check Out Our Top 10 Blog Articles!
Law Firm Suites has amazing blog content designed to help aspire and establish solo attorneys and small law firms. We’ve gathered the top 10 articles on the importance of referrals for your law firm, on our Law Firm Suites blog. Take a look and see the benefit of this content.
5 Ways to Increase Referrals From Your Past and Current Clients
How can I increase referrals? This is a question solos are constantly asking themselves. It is the driving force behind many of the decisions they make for their law practice. A steady flow of referrals means accelerating the growth of your firm and easing your worries regarding getting new clients. One of the best audiences to exploit when it comes to building referrals comes from the people who already know and love your firm… Your clients!
How I Went From Sinking to Getting Referrals in Just a Few Weeks
A few weeks ago, I was hitting a bit of a rough patch and feeling discouraged. Pardon my momentary lapse of self-pity, it was just discouraging to think I was getting nowhere after three months of mostly networking. My networking and communication skills in general improved drastically over the past week. I threw cold water in my face, picked myself up, and am feeling a little better, though, an income would certainly be nice.
Don’t Let Your Personal Image Cost You Referrals
You must pay careful attention to your personal image if you ever want to receive referrals from your peers. For small firm attorneys and solos, appearing credible is always an issue, especially in a B-to-B practice. You may be perceived as being less professional, or proficient, than your counterparts in bigger firms merely for being a small firm lawyer. There are basic things that clients (and attorneys who refer clients) will expect you and your practice to have. These are signs on which your professionalism will be judged. Without these things, clients will not take you seriously and neither will be referring attorneys.
Tips for Cultivating Referrals from your Legal Peers
Your legal peers are not just great for mentors or bouncing ideas off of, they can be your best source of referrals, especially if you are in a shared law office rental. But much like any other relationship, there are certain things you can do to increase the likelihood of a long-lasting mutually beneficial relationship. A strategic referral partnership is all about relationship building. Think of it like making a new best friend. It takes time and effort, and it rarely happens overnight. To help, we’ve listed two great tips that will put you on the path to creating more beneficial and lasting relationships. Increasing the number of referrals you will receive and boost your firm’s bottom line.
Are Legal Referrals Becoming the Horse & Buggy of Legal Marketing?
Ask any lawyer and they will tell you, the best clients come from referrals. This is backed up by science. A study by McKinsey found that “marketing-induced consumer-to-consumer word of mouth generates more than twice the sales of paid advertising.” And of those that were acquired through word-of-mouth had a 37 percent higher retention rate. (Source: Adweek) But the process of cultivating referral relationships can be slow. For most lawyers, there are only so many hours in the day for one-on-one glad-handing.
The “Mean Girls” of Law: How Attorney Cliques Could Make You Miss Out on Referrals
Is your legal circle making you lose referral income? “You’re like really pretty.” “Thank you.” “So you agree? You think you’re really pretty?” Sound familiar? It’s one of the most iconic conversations from the 2004 film Mean Girls. Now, why would we be referencing a movie about teenage girls? It’s because situations like this occur even among lawyers. “Mean girls” do exist in the legal industry. The only difference is that this type of behavior could result in you being passed up for referrals from other lawyers who feel excluded from your group. While it’s great to have a professional circle, it’s important to be aware of how your circle is perceived and how you’re treating other lawyers.
Marketing Mondays: Use LinkedIn Groups to Increase Referrals
Over the past few months at Law Firm Suites we have been very busy producing content that, we hope, self-employed attorneys will find valuable. Of course, there’s no point in producing content if no one sees it. On the suggestion of one of our marketing consultants (and despite our reluctance to use social media as a business development tool), we started to post our content across several social media platforms. Amazingly, more and more lawyers were finding our content. LinkedIn, and in particular, their Groups was far and wide the best source of new readers. In fact, in the last month alone, increased readership has led to a direct increase in leads, and at least two new virtual office NYC clients.
How to Make Connections at Networking Events That Actually Lead To Referrals
For most solo lawyers, networking is the largest and quickest source of new business. The problem is that these interactions often require starting in large social engagements, which can be a challenge for introverts or people who don’t thrive in crowded environments. Social anxiety is a very real thing, and sometimes it would shock you to hear when someone isn’t comfortable in networking scenarios because they do such a great job covering it up. As a solo lawyer, conferences and networking must be a part of your marketing strategy, and it would be unfortunate to miss those opportunities because you feel awkward making small talk with strangers.
Shared Law Office Space Can Get You More Referrals
A shared law office space can be the missing link when it comes to long-lasting referral relationships. Referrals are the name of the game in law. They boost your bottom line while also helping you improve your skills as an attorney. If you’re a new lawyer, then you will quickly learn why referrals are the best sources of new business. So why are referrals the best? Because they are vetted! Not all areas of law are complementary to each other, so when an attorney comes across a case that they are not suited for they will most likely send that case to someone who is. But referrals don’t happen randomly. First, you have to develop a relationship with other attorneys.
5 Rules to Follow When Sending Referrals
For many lawyers, sending referrals is one of the best ways to ensure that they will receive referrals in return. But this is a delicate and sometimes tricky process. If you’re causing more harm than good when sharing referrals, then your peers will be less inclined to return the favor down the road. Follow these five rules to make sure you’re sending high-quality referrals to your peers, and building strong and impactful referral partnerships.
