Don’t Sell What You Do But What Your Clients Can Do If They Hire You

This morning as I strode through metro en route to my office, I spied a green column emblazoned with a checklist of items – hotdogs, plates, charcoal and lights and a tagline that read “BBQ, delivered.” Interesting, I thought to myself — I’d been meaning to host a law-firm sponsored summer get-together for years now and this seemed like a really convenient way to do it. So I walked around the column to figure out what company to call for BBQ delivery and discovered that the column wasn’t sponsored by a food-supplier at all but Shipt , an internet-based delivery service.  Though others might have been taken aback or felt like victims of a bait and switch, I was impressed because it would have never occurred to me to use an online delivery service to help cater a party.

So I got to wondering whether there might be a way for lawyers to similarly promote their services. After all, in some ways legal service isn’t all that different from delivery service: useful but boring and frequently viewed as a luxury option rather than need unless demonstrated in context. For example, instead of listing all the boring legal work underpinning a small business, a lawyer might create an ad showing a castle in the air, and a tagline like “Building legal foundations to advance your dream.” Or a law firm might show a photo of a person moving into a new home and a caption “Fresh Start” with a law firm URL (could work for a divorce firm or bankruptcy) and maybe brief explanation that the firm can help give clients a fresh start.

Selling legal services isn’t particularly sexy. Many clients aren’t particularly interested in the nuts and bolts of filing complaints or how the divorce process works or the difference between a trust and will. But they are interested in what your services can help them achieve.