"Thank You" Marketing

James E. Thompson, JD

Like you, I went to Law School, learned about Torts, Contracts, Civil Procedure, etc., but did I ever have a course in how to market my services. Did I learn how to get Clients? The answer is NO, and I am sure that you did not either. 

The simple truth is: you might be the Greatest Lawyer ever, but if you don’t market yourself and find Clients, you will not be able to stay in business.

To most lawyers, when you say market your services, they get this mental block which says I am a professional and I do not have to sell my product like so many other businesses.  Lets face it, the service you perform for clients is a product and if the public does not know who you are and what you do, you will not be in business very long.

If you have read this far, you are now waiting for me to give you the sure fire way to get more Clients and see your practice grow.  Read on as I am going to start you on the road to getting Clients.

The magic formula for professional services marketing is choosing a set of simple, effective things to do and doing them consistently.

I am going to give you one simple thing you can do and I guarantee it will get you clients. I call this “Thank You Marketing”. However,  I want to caution you that this is not just the only thing you should be doing, you should think of this as only one step in a process.

If you asked most lawyers,  “Where do you get your Clients?”  they would respond from referrals. They get their Clients from referrals. From   some clients, other Lawyers, friends, family and I am sure that you get most of your Clients from referrals.

Now, I would like you to simply ask yourself, when was the last time you thanked someone who referred a client to you? I mean really took the time to thank them. After all they took the time to refer a Client to you.

There are many ways of saying thank you, but there is one way you must never use and that is an email to say “Thank You“. So what is the “Best” way to say Thank You for a referral. In the opinion of marketing experts the best way and quite frankly the simplest way is to send a handwritten Thank You Card. Not just a an ordinary run of the mill  thank you card but one that will stand out. If you are going to send a Thank You Card, it doesn‘t take that much longer to send a distinctive one that is remembered.

What do you say in a Thank You Card?  As simple as it may sound you say “Thank You”. There are many ways of doing this and it is something you will need to tailor to your own personality etc, but here is a start:

Hi John, 

 I really want to thank you for referring Rich to me. You can be assured that I will handle all of his matters as I have handled your in the past.

Thanks again, 

Jim

Simple stuff, right? Then why aren’t you doing it?

Now lets talk about thanking your  Clients, both those that you are still working with and those that you have completed a matter for.  These are the people who have allowed you to have a nice home, purchase a new car, go on vacation, and send your kids to college. So when was the last time you let them know just how much you appreciate their business? 

Again if you are still working with a Client, send them a note thanking them for having the trust in you to handle their legal matters. If you have concluded a matter, thank them for allowing you to handle their legal matters. Again, the wording will be yours but you get the idea. 

Now, you may be asking yourself, just how is it that sending a Thank You card will get me more clients. 

Here are a few of the reasons you want to do this and what it will do for your practice: 

1. When you get a referral and send a Thank You the person that sent the referral will know that you appreciate a referral and they will send more. When was the last time someone sent you a Thank You card? What was your reaction? First you felt appreciated and it made you feel special because most people never send a Thank You card and the person that sent it stands out in your mind.  You will subconsciously keep that person in mind and likewise whomever  you send a Thank You to, will keep you in mind
2. It shows the person that sent you a referral that you are a professional who follows up and follows through.
3. When you send a Thank You to a Client, it lets them know that you really appreciate the trust they have in you and as a side benefit, they will keep you in mind when they hear of others who may need your legal services.
4. A selfish reason. I  say this because when you send a Thank You it will make you feel good. Just think about the last time you thanked someone and how it made you feel.  After all, the practice of law is very demanding and sometimes taking a minute to send a Thank You card, takes a bit of the pressure away and  makes you feel good.

These are but a few of the reasons for sending a Thank You and I am sure you can think of others. 

As the saying goes, Knowledge without ACTION is useless. Here is what I would like for you to do, and I would like you to do it as soon as you finish this article but in no event later than  the close of business tomorrow.  I want you to set a deadline for yourself. 

Get some nice cards,  and keep them in the top drawer of your desk. After you get these cards, think of 3 clients or referral sources you can send a thank you to and do it.  Do this the next day and the next two days  and you will see how easy this can be. Set a goal of sending 3 cards a day for the next  2 weeks and you will be surprised the reaction you receive,  I  assure you, that if you do this,  there will be more business coming your way.