Building Your Practice in a Competitive Market
An estate planning practice offers concrete benefits:
- The rewards are fairly immediate, with the preparation and execution of effective estate planning documents.
- It’s not about “winning” and “losing,” so you typically have higher client satisfaction.
- It can be a lucrative practice, if you’re efficient and organized.
Not surprisingly, then, estate planning is a highly competitive area of practice. In addition, it can be a challenge to get estate planning clients to make initial contact with you, as there’s seldom a pressing legal need. To effectively build an estate planning practice, you need to be intentional in your marketing efforts, and it often pays to be creative. Here are some recommendations for growing your estate planning practice.
Help Potential Clients Understand Your Process Before They Hire You
For many, the estate planning process is complex, confusing, and intimidating. Potential clients may have a sense that they need to put an estate plan together, but they don’t know what that means. What will they need to gather? What options are available? How much work will it entail on their part?
One of the best ways to dispel the fear, anxiety, and uncertainty of a potential client is to put a clear, step-by-step explanation of the estate planning process on your website. Include a list of the items they should gather for a first meeting. In addition to easing their fears, such a page also demonstrates your knowledge and expertise.
Keep Your Website Content Fresh with Stories About Other Clients
Including stories about other clients on your website can serve two purposes. First, because Google and other search engines give weight to websites with fresh content, it will help you perform better when prospective clients search online. In addition, it creates empathy; potential clients will recognize themselves (and their situations) in the case studies of your other clients.
A caveat—never use the actual name of a client without permission. Always write your case studies in a way that your clients remain anonymous.
Solicit Reviews from Satisfied Clients
One of the most powerful ways to differentiate yourself from your competitors is through testimonials of satisfied clients. Whether those reviews are posted on Google (where they can boost your rankings) or social media platforms, such as Facebook and LinkedIn, they provide assurances to prospective clients that you have a high degree of knowledge, experience, and expertise.
Get Involved in Your Community
A key focus of estate planning is often charitable giving. If a prospective client sees that you are actively involved with beneficent organizations, that can immediately create a sense of trust. In addition, when you sponsor a local organization, you get many of the benefits of advertising without the hard sell.
Brag On Your Team
You want a potential client to feel that every member of your staff is approachable and committed to helping your client meet their goals. The more a potential client knows about your staff, the greater the likelihood they’ll feel a sense of trust. In addition, when you add personal details about staff members, it creates a sense of camaraderie, which makes it easier for a potential client to work with you.
Let GetLegal Help You Build Your Estate Planning Clientele
At GetLegal, we have more than two decades of experience providing comprehensive digital marketing services to attorneys and law firms throughout the United States. We offer a full range of online tools to help you grow your practice, including website development (with custom content), search engine optimization, full video production capability, social media marketing, reputation management and directory listings. To learn how we can help you build your estate planning practice online, go to https://glpbpro.wpengine.com/ or call 1-817-359-7077.
