This Sneaky Trick = More Clients!
I’ve received A LOT of positive feedback from subscribers about last week’s “Happy Meal” newsletter. Thank you for all the emails!
You might recall, last time, I told you how McDonald’s uses the Happy Meal toy as an underlying or “secondary” marketing strategy to sell their primary product — food. Like I said, this strategy has been around for years and years. But McDonald’s has taken it to a new level, selling many BILLIONS of dollars in Happy Meals over several decades.
This week, I’m going to give you four examples of secondary marketing strategies some lawyers have used to lasso in the clients and make more money. Is this approach a little on the sneaky side? Maybe. But it works.
Remember: the idea of the Underlying Benefit strategy is to make the secondary benefit so alluring, prospects are essentially compelled to hire your firm and ignore the others that don’t offer the “toy.”
1. Real Estate Attorney Gives Clients the “Limo Treatment”
One of my private clients is a real estate attorney who handles all types of residential and commercial real estate transactions. During our consultation phone call, I extracted from him the fact that one of his very good friends owns a limo company. Within minutes, I… Continue reading
What’s YOUR Happy Meal Toy?
Dear Subscriber & Friend,
You might not like what I’m about to say… but I’m going to say it anyway.
It’s something no one else has probably ever said to you.
Simply knowing about it can potentially boost your bottom line. Maybe by a lot.
The fact is…
A Client’s Decision to Hire You Isn’t Always Based on How Great a Lawyer You Are…
It’s Sometimes All About an UNDERLYING BENEFIT They’re Receiving from You
Here’s the kicker: Some lawyers don’t even realize that they’re offering an “underlying benefit.” And some don’t know enough to offer one at all.
Read on because there’s a very important marketing lesson here.
Today’s big “ah-ha!” moment is sponsored by the McDonald’s Happy Meal. Created in 1977 by Bob Bernstein, founder and CEO of Bernstein-Rein Advertising, The Happy Meal single-handedly revolutionized the way the fast food industry markets its products.
The secret to the Happy Meal? It’s certainly wasn’t their succulent, flavorful, mouth-watering burger. Uh… nope.
It also wasn’t their fries (although I’ll admit, I love Mickie D’s fries).
The reason why tots everywhere would throw a tantrum every time their little eyes spotted the iconic golden arches is because…
They Couldn’t Wait to Get Their Hands on the Toys!
If you have kids, you know… Continue reading
The #1 World’s Easiest Legal Marketing Strategy
Dear Subscriber & Friend,
I will get right to it today. No windup, no buildup.
Here’s one simple strategy that can create multiple NEW CLIENT marketing opportunities. I call it the “Great Bait” strategy.
Here’s What It’s All About…
Throughout your day, how many people in various service industries do you come in contact with? One, three, five, ten or more? Think about EVERYONE: waiters, waitresses, cashiers, drivers, shop keepers, professionals. business owners, managers, etc. (the list can go on and on). Think about EVERYTHING you do during the day and EVERY PERSON you encounter.
Assuming you get good service from any of these individuals, you say to him or her, “Thank you so much, I really appreciate all your great service. I”ll definitely have to send you some business — do you mind if I refer my friends to you?”
Other person: “Yes, absolutely. That would be great!”
You: “No problem. I’m sure you’ll take good care of them like you did me. And hopefully, if you or your friends ever need my services, I’ll take good care of you as well.”
AT THIS POINT, STOP. SAY NOTHING.
The question 99.9% of people will follow up with and ask (either out of obligation or curiosity) is…
“So What Do YOU Do?”… Continue reading
Do This and be a Referral Magnet
Dear Subscriber & Friend,
How would you like to make such a splash with your referral sources that they wouldn’t ever think of sending cases to any lawyer other than you?
I mean it wouldn’t even be close! Not only would you be at the top of the referral list… but… you would render every other lawyer virtually INVISIBLE.
Do I have your attention yet? Good.
What I’m referring to is a strategy I call the “Over the Top Thank You.” It’s actually quite a simple concept. All it needs is a little creativity and consistency.
Here’s What It’s All About…
Every single referral you receive should be rewarded with a thank you that’s special. I mean really SPECIAL. And no — I don’t consider a phone call, email or note “special.” Frankly, that’s the absolute minimum you should do. (If you’re reading this and saying to yourself, yikes — I don’t even do that — then we need to have a little talk about common courtesy. Come on, not even a thank you?)
But it should go much further.
The fact is, if you want to be at the top of the referral “leaderboard,” then you should really go OVER THE TOP in letting the referral source know just… Continue reading
10 minutes = $2,000? Sweet!
Dear Subscriber & Friend,
Maybe it’s because I’m a parent, but I don’t usually like to reward naughty behavior. It sends a bad message.
But in this case, I’ll make an exception.
You see, one of my attorney subscribers, Nelson from Florida, was so excited about my advice on using the appointment confirmation call as an opportunity to “re-sell,” that he decided to give it a shot on a new consultation the very next day (even though I had yet to share the formula in my newsletter).
Nelson is such a rebel!
So Nelson gave some specific directions to his assistant to not simply confirm the appointment and hang up (like she always does), but he wanted her to engage the potential client… make sure the client had perfect directions… and resell the client on how good of a decision it was to consult with Nelson. She did exactly that. She was on the phone for about 10 minutes. (Normally her confirmation call would have taken only about 30 seconds.)
The result? Client showed up early, complimented Nelson on how friendly and professional his staff was and plopped down a $2,000 retainer check. Sweet!
Nelson believes the “sticky” call (“sticky” because it makes the prospect stick to the appointment) did… Continue reading