If a client can show up at your office and speak with you simply by calling and making an appointment, how many of them are serious about hiring a lawyer?
Do they actually have a real case, or are they just in a tough spot and need a quick answer to a legal question or advice on what their legal rights are?
When you offer free consultations, you’re going to be spending your time and your money on people who aren’t really serious at all.
Are clients vetting you or are you vetting clients?
Often, potential clients will lawyer shop. They’re looking for the best price and the best connection. While there’s nothing wrong with visiting a few attorneys to get a feel for how they’d handle a case, shopping around for the lowest price undervalues law firms everywhere.
Consider putting yourself in a position where you are vetting potential clients and taking on the cases you are most passionate about instead of the other way around.
Do you really want to be in a position where clients are vetting you and they get to decide if you’re worth their business? Probably not.
Do free consultations communicate the value you offer to your clients?
Think about it. Things that are free tend to have little or no value.
Consider the free giveaway. Companies will run a promotion where if a customer buys or signs up for something, they receive an extra something for free. If that extra something were truly of value, the company would not be giving it away for free — they’d lose too much money.
It’s usually something that is cool enough to entice customers but not valuable enough to cost the company money by giving it away.
If you’re offering a small portion of your services for free, does this communicate to them the value you can offer them?
Or are you setting up the “free giveaway” mindset from the very start?
Learn more about the right and wrong ways to position your law firm for success. Schedule a breakthrough session today at http://meetme.so/LawFirmMentor