Therefore, I will give a very basic primer on how to close more cases over the telephone. For more detailed examples and training, contact me at 1-866-522-8529. 

New Client Lead:  this is typically either a phone call to my virtual 800 number that comes up on my iPhone as a new client call or a lead from dynamic contact forms built into my many websites. In my experience, a new lead needs to be called within 10 to 15 minutes of the initial contact.  If I have been in court and missed a new lead and waited even 30 minutes, they have usually moved on to another lawyer.  This is the Internet people…there is no built in loyalty here! 

Once I have made actual contact with the potential client, I launch into my sales pitch. This may sound down and dirty or “salesy”, but it works!!! The sales pitch consists of some basic elements. The first think you must do is qualify the buyer. What county is it in? What is the charge? Do they have a prior record of any kind? Is it a felony or misdemeanor? And if you are familiar with the local court, you can ask questions about who the charging agency is…is is the state prosecutor or a local municipality with more flexibility? 

Once I have qualified the client, I go into my experience and offer them specific examples of what they may encounter in the court process.  I then go into possible defenses and assess the amount of money to quote the client…over the phone!  I never wait and try to meet with the person in my office.  This only gives them an opportunity to scout out ten other lawyers and schedule competing meetings.  I want them to commit over the phone or at least check with their parents or significant other and call me back.

Based on my experience handling cases, I will always give the client a fixed fee that I charge that includes a trial. This gives them comfort in knowing that they will have one fee to pay and I will be their lawyer for the entire case, no matter what course they decide.

Once I have quoted my fee…I ask for their business!  I then will send them a written fee agreement and online invoice using our AutoRetainer system where I can send both with a couple form fields being filled out on either my laptop or iPhone.  Many times I will have money in my bank account and a signed fee agreement within 15 minutes of our initial conversation. This is how to close more sales and increase your bottom line.

If you would like to speak with Attorney McNeil about your sales process or vLawyer Consulting’s AutoRetainer system you can contact him at 1-866-522-8529

Every time a potential client fills out a form it gets immediately sent to my iPhone and to a contact management database called Highrise. It also sends them an autoresponder telling them that no attorney-client relationship has been established and that they can call my 800 number for immediate assistance. This particular client called my 800 number and I was able to return his call within a matter of minutes…this immediately establishes trust!

After speaking to the client’s father for 10 minutes, on a Saturday, I was able to establish enough of a rapport that he wanted to hire me on the spot.  I told him that I will send a written fee agreement and invoice that he can pay online immediately.  Most clients would expect to receive these documents on Monday or Tuesday. Not from my office. I tried logging in to my computer from home and it was frozen for some unknown reason…have to love Windows 7! 

Because we have an autoretainer system built and integrated into an online form generator, I was able to take my iPhone and follow these simple steps:

1.  I have the URL for a pre-built general form stored in the notes on my iPhone. I simply copy and paste the URL into my safari browser on my phone;

2.  The URL takes me to a form where I fill in the client name, address, email, court where the offense occurred, and the amount of the retainer quoted;

3.  I hit the submit button….and it is done!  That is it.

This simple step created a customized retainer agreement sent as an autoresponder. The form also integrated with my online invoicing system and created a custom invoice that is sent to the client’s email. This can be paid with PayPal or credit/debit card immediately.

It sends me a notification to my email that both were sent and the client called to acknowledge receipt of both. The client indicated he would be paying immediately and I had the money in my bank account from a non-refundable retainer agreement in less than 15 minutes…on a Saturday!  I can also check on my iPhone whether or not the client viewed the invoice and track payments since my program has an iPhone app. 

If you would like to create your own Autoretainer system, contact us today at 1-866-522-8529.

Our team took the time to really sit down with this attorney and target the key words and crimes that would be profitable for his practice. We also started developing a professional logo for his firm and had them take really good photographs.

The next step in the process was the key. Our team builds every website with Search Engine Optimization (SEO) in mind from the beginning. This means proper programming, choice of content management system, plug-ins, keyword analysis, domain name choice.  All of these factors combined in a “perfect storm” of SEO when we went live on this new lawyer’s site.

We went live without it being completely finished so that we could start getting time on the domain name. We made sure that all of the client’s contact information was in the bare bones site as well as some down and dirty content just in case someone happened to stumble on the site. However, we never imagined that his rankings would be high enough that soon to generate leads… we were wrong!

Within a week of launch, the site was ranking top page in Google for the search term we were targeting. I then contacted the client with this good news and he mentioned that he had already retained a new client from the website. I was shocked.  This is very rare, but basically one week of building his site the right way from the ground up paid for his initial investment…and then some! 

This is a perfect example of how a proper investment in Internet marketing can make all the difference in your bottom line. When you combine that with good quality content, photographs and blogging, it will certainly be a good New Year for this solo criminal attorney.

If you would like to experience similar success, contact Attorney McNeil today at 1-866-522-8529

The reality of the economic landscape lawyers find themselves embroiled in would portend differently. I primarily practice in the area of criminal defense and competition is fierce. It is equally fierce in the areas of family law and personal injury. Prospective clients today are utilizing breakthrough technology that was simply not available even three or four years ago. With the explosion of smartphones clients are searching for lawyers in their mobile browsers.

I have even seen lawyers developing iphone Apps and I believe that this will continue to be the trend into the future. This means that lawyers who generate client leads through the internet need a unique sales skill set in order to close those cases and get money in the door.

When I train an attorney on sales techniques, the number one thought that I have to drill in their head is that if the client does not reach someone immediately or get a return phone call within 5 to 10 minutes…they are on to the next lawyer in Google. This is very uncomfortable for many lawyers who are used to lag time to return phone calls and to develop new business. In the current economic crisis, it has become even more necessary to have a live voice answering the phone, almost 24 hours a day.

However, a live voice on the other end of the phone is not enough.  I would encourage lawyers who have solid internet leads to set up a virtual phone system that connects those callers to his or her cell phone directly using a service like grasshopper or ring central.  The clients want to talk to an attorney, not your staff member or paralegal.

Once I have a potential client on the line, I want to make sure and qualify the lead. This means that it is in a county that I can handle and am familiar with and that it is a case that I would normally take. Once they are qualified I try to start educating the client on the process and fill them in on any tips or tricks for that particular court system. Clients want an attorney that is familiar with their court and can guide them through successfully.

You must then qualify yourself. You need to give the potential client enough information about yourself that they feel comfortable with your ability to handle the case effectively. This takes practice to not be arrogant and yet stay professional.

The step that most lawyers skip is qualifying the client financially. Most lawyers save this conversation until it is too late and they have wasted both parties time. I find out if they have the financial resources to hire an attorney or help from family or friends before I go any further. This will also help me to determine how to structure a payment plan if I feel comfortable with the person’s ability to pay. 

You must then close the case!  This means you need to ask for their business and make it easy for them. You should have an auto-retainer system utilizing an internet link or other easy method for invoicing the client, generating a fee agreement and closing the transaction through the internet. I can have a client closed and money in my bank account within 15 minutes of first talking to them. Use technology and close the gap.

If you feel you or your firm could use sales training to increase your bottom line, contact Attorney McNeil today at (866) 522-8529.

I do not believe that there will be an immediate impact on U.S. based attorneys or any change in the level of service or Internet marketing provided by Findlaw.  However, there certainly is a possibility of long term effects. Findlaw and its company is essentially competing with the very same clients they are trying to get business through the internet.

Findlaw already serves multiple law firms and attorneys in the same area and has their own clients competing against each other for top spots in the major search engines. Our consulting firm typically will represent law firms exclusively in a certain geographic area if they sign up for internet marketing packages. It does not make any sense to have your clients competing against each other when the number one mission or goal of providing Internet marketing is to drive business to the law firm.

The more dangerous aspect of this purchase is that Thomson is now providing legal services. This directly competes with their interests in serving their attorney and law firm clients. Findlaw will have a vested interest in making sure that Pangea3 (their Indian outsourcing firm) comes up first in all the major search engines.  When they are paying an Indian lawyer the equivalent of $7000 a year for an attorney versus $160,000 for some associates in big cities, this makes perfect business sense.  There have also been rumors that American based offices are next for Pangea3.  That would bring the competition to your doorstep.

See a related article at http://www.law21.ca/2010/11/22/the-law-firm-of-the-future-thomson-reuters/

Attorney McNeil will also be recording “Top Tips in Ten Minutes” for the Institute for Continuing Legal Education in mid January as well as speaking on websites and law firm technology at a seminar on starting your law practice at the Inn at St. Johns January 17, 2011.  He has also been asked to record an hour long webcast for ICLE to supplement his top tips on virtual law practices.

If you need any consulting on your website or legal technology, contact Attorney McNeil today at -866-522-8529 or email him directly at bill@vlawyerconsulting.com

The best part about Internet marketing versus traditional advertising is the ability to track every visitor, every search term used, where they visited, how long they visited and to direct leads immediately to support staff and attorneys through their email and smartphones. These Internet leads are highly targeted people looking for a specific service and need to be called back or contacted, usually within 15 minutes of a lead coming through. 

Personal injury firms and others who spend a great deal of their advertising budget on traditional methods could also benefit from sophisticated call tracking that only a website can offer. Dynamic content changes, the use of dynamic video in different pages and their headers, and other tools can only be utilized through the Internet.

We will begin to see a shift in the advertising budgets to the Internet. Make sure your firm is on the leading edge of this technology and contact us at www.vlawyerconsulting.com for a free law firm marketing review.

Specifically, states like New Jersey are stabbing at the heart of the virtual law practice’s heart…the “bona fide office rule”. This is a blatant attack on virtual practices as it requires a lawyer to maintain a bona fide office, or brick and mortar physical office where clients can find their lawyer and drop off papers. Hello? These boards and ethics attorneys are not in the real world of today and the advances in technology.

My virtual law practice is a hybrid. I maintain an office in a professional office building where I get a physical address with mail service, a receptionist that answers my phone “McNeil Law Office”, and a nice office or conference room to meet clients in. They can stop by any time between 8 and 5 and someone is always there. In addition, they have my personal cell phone number and I check my email every 5 minutes on my iPhone. How is THIS not a bona fide office?

Lawyers are fond of putting signs up on their offices, “By Appointment Only”. That is my office…how is that any different. In addition, I am a happier lawyer and pass that on to my clients. Does a client really care if their legal work and mindless paperwork gets done in a stuffy office or out in the sun at a coffee shop? I would say NO.

The economy in many states for attorneys is dismal. It will become almost a necessity to operate a virtual law practice rather than harboring ridiculous overhead that comes due every month. Female attorneys in New Jersey have begun to attack back, saying that they do not want their home addresses published to their clients, especially if they have young children they are caring for on a part time basis.

These virtual hybrid offices are perfect for the part time lawyer/supermom. Even a state like Florida tries to implement a bona fide office rule through their advertising rules. However, a call to the ethics hotline will reveal that as long as you say some magic words…available for consultations at_______, then you are covered. How are magic phrases protecting the best interest of the client versus promoting better overall client service. I choose client service over abra cadabra any day.

Visit www.vlawyerconsulting.com for more tips on how to operate a virtual law practice ethically.

You can play the short term game of PPC, or pay-per-click, but be prepared to spend upwards of 5 to 10.00 per click! This ads up very quickly and your conversion rate (sales game) better be stellar. Like the story of the tortoise and the hair..slow and steady wins the race.

A better Internet strategy is to build a solid foundation. Any foundation must include a content-rich website with a contact form on every so that no matter which page the potential client lands on they can ask for more information. Then, and only then, can you look at sophisticated Internet marketing like SEO (search engine optimization) and PPC. Be sure to hire a qualified web designer that knows the legal market and can help with content writing…otherwise it is likely to never get done.

Contact us at www.vlawyerconsulting.com for a free website need analysis.