How the Veg-O-Matic Can Help Your Practice
If your marketing isn’t bringing in new business, maybe you need to order a Ronco Veg-O-Matic or Miracle Bottle and Jug Cutter.
This is not so you can serve your clients elegantly sliced carrots while they wait to see you, nor to decorate your office with repurposed wine bottles.
It’s so you can understand the marketing genius of Ron Popeil, the man who founded Ronco in 1964. The undisputed “Father of the Infomercial” has raked in $2 billion in sales over the past 50 years by following a simple, three-part sales strategy:
- Identify a need the consumer might not even know exists. (“Tired of slimy egg whites in your scrambled eggs?”)
- Show how you can meet that need and make the consumer’s life easier. (“The Inside-The-Shell-Egg-Scrambler is the perfect solution!”)
- Make it easy on the consumer. (“Only $9.95! Call now toll-free! Operators are standing by!”)
As extra incentive, throw in a bonus (“But wait, there’s more!”)
How to apply the amazingly successful Ronco formula to your law business?
1. Help Clients Identify a Need for Legal Service
Potential clients usually know they have a problem. They are in debt. They got a speeding ticket. They’ve been hurt in an accident.
But they might not think they need a lawyer. They might assume they can handle it themselves, or that hiring an attorney would be too expensive, or that there’s not much a lawyer could do for them anyway.
“One of the biggest myths is that a person usually knows they need an attorney,” writes this legal marketing firm. “It’s not always true. But what a person usually knows is that they have a problem.”
The first step, then, is to move people from (a) knowing they have a problem to (b) realizing they need a lawyer – specifically, you – to help them solve that problem.
An example: instead of calling yourself a bankruptcy attorney, you can say you help people find solutions to their debt problems.
2. Show How You Can Make Their Life Easier
Let’s say you handle traffic cases. A simple marketing move is to write content for your website or blog that answers the question: “What should I do if I get a speeding ticket in North Carolina.” In the post, you should explain what someone who gets a ticket can expect. Discuss possible penalties. Outline the court process. Explain plea options and show how a conviction might affect auto insurance rates.
Try to be as specific as possible without giving legal advice or predicting actual outcomes. That way, when a prospect does a Google search for “traffic ticket penalties” or “will a speeding ticket make my insurance go up” they will be led to you.
“When that person visits your law firm’s website and reads that blog post, it helps them to answer the questions they have and provides them with useful information that can assuage their fears,” says this marketing source. “They may look at other blog posts you’ve written, they may read your attorney bio to learn more about you, they may read through any case results you’ve provided to see what kind of lawyer you are. But, the more information you provide there, the more confidence a person has that they should contact your law firm.”
3. Make It Easy on Your Clients
Publish your contact information in as many places as possible. Try to have a live person answer your phone. Return calls promptly.
Be available for appointments in the evenings or on weekends. Meet outside the office at the client’s request. Be creative with fees. Offer flexible payment arrangements.
You don’t have to break the bank for marketing consultants, SEO strategists or pay-per-click advertising. Just remember why millions of people ordered the Popeil Pocket Fisherman (“The biggest fishing invention since the hook!”). It was easily available and seemed like something that would improve their lives. And still only $19.95!
Sources:
- Ronco https://www.ronco.com/
- Lawlytics https://www.lawlytics.com/blog/legal-marketing-myth-clients-usually-know-need-attorney/
