I wanted to share a perspective that may help you to become more competitive. One successful lawyer I know, once told me: “There are two types of lawyers: the ones that love lawyering and the ones that have clients. Since the beginning of my career, I have wanted to be the one with clients.”

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The Legal Sector Has Changed Dramatically

• Legal services have become a commodity. Your prospects have plenty of law firms to choose from when they need solutions for their legal problems.
• As more lawyers are entering the market, the number of prospective jobs is going down. Naturally, the competition is increasing.
• The old saying, "If you build it, they will come," is no longer valid.

In this tough market, only the law firms that have clients will ultimately survive.  But how can you get these clients? In short, your services must be sold. You cannot expect many prospects to hire your firm’s services without your having made much effort to bring them in.

My point is: you need to become a salesperson. You don’t have to be a sleazy, used-car kind of salesperson. You must merely articulate the value that you and your firm can bring to your prospective clients. In doing so, you must drive home these two very-important points:

1. They need a lawyer to fix their problems.
2. They should work with you, not a lawyer down the street.

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They Need a Lawyer to Fix Their Problems

Think about this from consumer perspective. Legal services are considered to be expensive.

Developments in technology coupled with easier access to information allow your prospective clients to handle many of their problems on their own. For this reason, several might be hesitant about hiring the services of a lawyer.

This requires you to approach your prospects from a position of authority so you can showcase your value as a lawyer. At the end of the day, you are the one who has the right training and experience to handle their legal matters. You must stress this point while articulating how your services provide value and peace-of-mind to your clients.

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They Should Work with You, Not a Lawyer down the Street

Articulating your value as a lawyer is only half of the equation. There are many lawyers out there who can offer the same legal-services that you do. The market has been commoditized for many practice areas.

You need to stand out and distinguish yourself from the other lawyers if you want to succeed.

If you want prospective clients to choose you, you must present yourself as a better lawyer than the one down the street. How can you accomplish this? There are few ways:

• Assess your value-proposition. Stop and think about what makes your firm better than your competition. Why should clients do business with you? How might you differentiate your firm from the competition in 4 to 7 bullet points? Think about your location, hours, experience, staff, etc.
• Be consistent with your value-proposition. Communicate it everywhere: your office, website, marketing materials, etc.
• Keep a professional image. Make sure that your website, other web-properties and marketing materials all look professional. Also, make sure they are consistent. This will add more trust and authority to your law firm’s appearance.
• Present strong and informative website copy.  In most cases, prospects who are looking for help know that they have a problem to solve. However, many do not know how to address these problems, what their options are, or what to do next. As a lawyer, you can highlight your knowledge by explaining the issue and presenting ways you can help. This will naturally prompt prospects to do business with you.

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You Can Become the Law Firm with Clients

Start changing your perspective. Understand that you must sell your services and stand out from the competition.

Once you have changed your perspective, your actions will follow and you will be on the right track to gaining new clientele.

What’s your take on an increased focus on sales?

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