How To Leverage Your Existing Contact List to Increase Your Income
How To Leverage Your Existing Contact List to Increase Your Income
This is part of two in a 5-part series entitled, Why Every Lawyer Should Be Marketing For Personal Injury Cases.
In part one of this series we discussed why every non-personal injury attorney should be adding a passive stream of income to their law firm through referral fees. This is something that criminal defense attorneys, family law and estate planning attorneys can easily do with just a little know-how.
While we all know that changes in legislation can swiftly wipe out entire divisions of a law firm, I don’t think any of us had “global pandemic” on our list of areas of concern. We have seen successful law firms be sold to larger firms, we have watched as titans in our industry have closed their doors, and we have gotten call after call from worried attorneys who are concerned about how they will make ends meet.
Everyone has been impacted by the last 12 months. Criminal arrests are down a staggering amount which is affecting every single criminal lawyer who is in private practice. With businesses shuttered and people staying home, personal injury firms are feeling the slow down in astronomical ways as well.
There has never been a time where it has been so evident that we need a strong business and marketing plan. Until fairly recently, lawyers weren’t talking about marketing much. They are good at what they do, clients need their help and they focus on the law. Our industry is now so over-saturated and competitive that it’s no longer enough to just be a good attorney. You have to have a back-up plan. You need multiple streams of income and you need to ensure that your firm will survive any slow down that may come your way. How do you do this?
It’s simple. You need to learn how to market yourself. I know, I know… you didn’t go to law school to do marketing. The thing is, you absolutely MUST learn this skill in order to compete in today’s legal industry. There will be a time when you can hand your marketing plan over to a member of your team to execute. This is not that time (unless you have already learned how to market your firm).
When you learn some basic marketing skills you will not only make your existing law firm stronger, you can also add passive streams of income through referral fees.
Our personal injury firm, Case Barnett Law, pays multiple six-figure referral fees each year. We do this every. single. year. All of those referral fees have been paid to criminal defense attorneys (I lie, one was paid to an estate planning attorney).
Many of these smart attorneys refer us multiple cases each year and they could literally live off of referral fees from our firm alone. What are these attorneys doing that you aren’t?
These attorneys are using their existing contact lists, made up of past and current clients, and they are marketing to their list. They have also learned how to identify a strong potential personal injury case when it comes across their desk and, instead of saying, “I don’t handle personal injury cases, ” they say, “I work with a referral partner named Case Barnett. He specializes in personal injury and is an expert in this area.”
That’s it. It’s that simple. Really.
Let’s break this down a bit.
Your contact list is worth more than gold.
Using Your Existing Contact List To Get More Clients For Your Law Firm
Being the amazing attorney that you are, you probably already have a large group of people who look to you for legal help. People who have worked directly with you know that they can trust you and that you are a professional who they can seek out when they are in need of legal assistance.
Do not put yourself in a box here. If you are, for example, a criminal defense attorney, do not shut out opportunities to speak to an accident client. If you are family law attorney, be on the lookout for clients you can help outside of your area of expertise.
The hugely important shift you need to make is seeing yourself as a “Legal Expert”. This simple shift will open you up to a world of opportunity. Seek to become THE go-to attorney in your community. Teach people that they should come to you any time they have a legal need.
GIANT, MONUMENTAL IMPORTANT DISCLAIMER!!!
It is extremely important to be an expert in your field and, even better if you can niche your practice down. We are not telling you to become someone who claims they handle all types of law. This is a terrible plan for marketing. When you tell people they can come to you any time they need legal help, you are not telling them that you will handle any and all cases that come your way.
What you are telling them is that you can help them. When someone comes to you after an accident, because you are the only attorney they know or trust, you should be able to refer them to someone who will help them. Sure, you can simply tell them you don’t handle personal injury cases, or you can refer them to some PI guy you follow on Instagram.
Simply rejecting the case leaves you missing out on a referral fee. (Please note: we are in California and every state has different rules surrounding referral fees. See the bottom of this blog for more information). Referring them to someone you don’t have a personal working relationship with leaves you relying upon this person’s word. Will they take care of your client in the same way you would or will your client simply become another number at their law firm? Your good name is on the line when you refer a case out. Additionally, can you trust that this lawyer will communicate with you, follow the laws for referral fees and be honest with you?
If you know that you want to start earning a passive income through referral fees we suggest the following steps:
Leverage Your Existing Contact List
This one seems simple but it may take more work than you realize. Some lawyers are really good about keeping a file of their client’s contact information but others are not. You should also be capturing the contact information of any and all leads that come your way. Even if you don’t take a client on, you should be adding them to your list of contacts. To build a contact list that works do the following:
Start with current clients. Create an Excel or Google doc to store the following information for each client: full name, physical mailing address and email address. Save this tab in your document as “Current Clients”
Do the same for past clients if you are able to. Save this tab as “Past Clients”
Create a tab for “Rejected Cases/Leads” and add their full name, physical mailing address and email address.
Add a tab for “Friends/Family”
Lastly, create a tab for “Referral Partners”
You now have an extremely powerful piece of marketing material. You can target messages to specific groups of people… the possibilities are endless and we will cover them in upcoming blog posts. It is important to get both the physical mailing address and the email address for many reasons, to be discussed here in the future. For now, begin here and trust the process.
Your “Referral Partners” tab is an extremely important piece of this puzzle. You want to quickly be able to refer leads out to attorneys you trust. To build this list start with lawyers you know and trust. Call them and ask if they are open to you sending clients their way when you can’t personally help them. A smart attorney will offer to do the same for you and understand the rules surrounding referral fees in your state. Make sure you discuss this though and ensure that all parties are on the same page here.
Aim to have at least one trusted attorney in each practice area so that whenever anyone needs legal help in an area outside of your expertise, you can easily send them to someone you trust. Keep track of who you send leads to. A good lawyer will keep you up to date on the clients you sent their way and will provide updates on how the case is progressing.
Get the Word Out
Figure out how to let your contacts know that you can help them, in any legal situation. This will depend on what you already do for marketing. Here are some ideas to get you started:
Use your existing email or print newsletter to make an announcement. For example, lets say you reached out to us and asked if you could send accident clients to our firm. We are both excited to help each other’s clients out and you know that we are trustworthy and well versed in the legalities of referral fees. You run an article in your newsletter about your trusted accident attorney pal who can help them out. You can do this in any and all areas that are non-competitive practice areas. The more you craft your marketing around being a trusted expert for your community, the better. Don’t worry about your contacts reaching out directly to the firm and you losing your referral fee. These people have the relationship with you and they trust you. Almost 100% of the time the contact will call you for an introduction or advice, not the partner you spotlight. If you are still worried about that happening you can leave out the law firm’s contact information and just discuss the type of law they practice.
Be innovative in your marketing and always plan with the intent to become a trusted source for all things legal. You can plan speaking engagements, trainings, seminars, events… the possibilities are endless. It’s important that you see yourself through the lens of “connector” and “available to all who need help”.
You may want to add a blurb on your website, social media, or places like Yelp, etc. that state that, while you specialize in x practice area, you are well connected to attorneys in all practice areas and enjoy helping anyone who needs assistance.
Learn How to Spot a Potential Personal Injury Case
There are a lot of factors to look at when screening personal injury cases. Many of which don’t become known until you are already in litigation. Below is a general idea of what to look for so you don’t miss any opportunities.
There are three primary areas you must investigate: damages, liability, and collectability.
The damages analysis looks at the injuries of the potential plaintiff. The more life altering the injury, the greater the potential recovery. Will someone need care for the rest of their lives? Are there future surgeries required? While not a damages category per se, the offensiveness of the defendant’s conduct also plays a role in case value.
The liability analysis consists of looking at what the defendant’s negligence was and was that negligence the proximate cause of Plaintiff’s injuries.
Finally, collectability looks at the likelihood that there will be money to recover. Is there a commercial defendant (increasing the likelihood that there is a larger commercial insurance policy in place)? Does defendant appear to be someone who would carry a larger insurance policy or an umbrella policy?
Make sure you only refer cases out to attorneys you know and trust.
If you gather good information on these categories, you can better assess case value and how to handle the potential new client. Each of these categories is important, but collectability can be tricky given that insurance companies like to hide their money. Just gather as much information as possible to decide how much more time to invest in the case.
In conclusion: You have already helped so many people. These people know and trust you. When someone has a legal need, finding the right lawyer is extremely overwhelming. You can help your current and past clients, friends and family by becoming a trusted source for all things legal. There are a lot of lawyers out there ready to take advantage of your clients. Don’t let it happen. Get your clients to someone you know and trust.
Build your contact list, speak to other attorneys about your plan to refer clients in need their way and learn to recognize a potential personal injury case when it crosses your desk.
This plan will help you generate passive income through referral fees. Just as importantly, you have cemented yourself as a trusted expert in the legal industry, you’re helping your community and establishing strong connections with like-minded business professionals.
Attorneys in California must follow the Cal Bar rules of professional conduct found here.
You must ensure that you are using the current rules of professional conduct for your state. We are not responsible for updating the rules on this page or making claims about what is legal for your situation.
Other blog posts in this series:
Part Three: Frequently Asked Questions About Personal Injury Cases, For Non P.I. Lawyers
Part Four: How to Ensure You Receive Your Referral Fee After You Send a Case to Another Law Firm
Part Five: Part Five: How to Settle a Personal Injury Case in Pre-Litigation
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Disclaimer: When collecting or paying referral fees, be sure to follow the Rules of Professional Conduct for your state. This blog is made available by the legal consulting firm, Law Prophet, LLC, for educational purposes. It provides general information and a general understanding of the law and business practices, but does not provide specific legal advice. By using this site, commenting on posts, or sending inquiries through the site or contact email, you confirm that there is no attorney-client or business relationship between you and the Law Prophet blog publisher. The blog should not be used as a substitute for competent legal advice from a licensed attorney in your jurisdiction.This blog is informational in nature and is not a substitute for legal research or a consultation on specific matters pertaining to you or your clients. Due to the dynamic nature of legal doctrines, what might be accurate one day may be inaccurate the next. As such, the contents of this blog must not be relied upon as a basis for arguments to a court or for your advice to clients and other attorneys without, again, further research or a consultation with a professional.