i1. Increase your Conversion Rates
One of the best ways to generate more revenue is by increasing your conversion rates at each stage. Conversion starts the moment an interested prospect contacts your law firm. How many of those people turn into appointments? That's part of conversion. Start there by finding ways to increase the percentage of leads that turn into appointments. By increasing that number by just 10% you can radically improve your revenues!
The Rainmaker Institute builds customized lead conversion systems for law firms. These systems automate your conversion process and helps to increase your conversion rate at every stage. You can also get a clear picture of which types of leads are the most profitable for your firm.
2. Raise Your Rates
I understand we are still in a difficult economy. However, unless you are already charging near the top 20% of prices in your practice area, I find that most of the small practitioners I consult with can immediately increase their prices by 10-30%. I had a dozen clients who did that last year, including a criminal defense attorney who went from charging $275 per hour to $395 per hour! By the way, he now has more work than he can handle and has had to hire two more attorneys.
In our example above, by moving from an Average Client Worth of $2,000 per client to just $2,500 you would only need 1,015 leads per year, a 20% decrease. This is often the fastest way to get to your goals.
3. Increase Repeat Business
Yes, I know this is a mantra in the legal industry, but most law firms do not have any specific plans for doing so. On average, acquiring a new client will cost your law firm almost 10 times as much as obtaining repeat business from an existing client!
One of the most effective ways to do this is with a monthly e-Newsletter. Recently I asked a room of over 40 attorneys from small firms how many of them received newsletters, either electronic or print, from other professionals. Most of them raised their hands. Then I asked them, how many of you send out a newsletter to your prospects, clients, and referral sources? Only 3 of them raised their hands!
One of the laws of marketing is "out of sight is out of mind." If you don't keep in touch with your prospects, clients and referral sources someone else will. The number one reason why you aren't receiving more repeat business from your former clients is lack of connection-you haven't stayed in touch with them. Make a commitment to change that!
