The best client is a client you already have. The best of the best are clients you already have who want even more of your services.
Cross-selling your services to existing clients is one of the easiest, most inexpensive forms of marketing. But you've got to do it right. Here are our tips.
Let Client Needs Lead
Your clients' needs, not your own services, should drive cross-selling efforts. It's easy to take a client out to dinner, pitch them on how great your firm is at tax law, and make the argument for why they should get you to help them beat the IRS this tax season. But this scenario makes the pitch all about you. Instead, identify services clients actually need by engaging them, asking about their business and needs.
You might even identify some needed legal services that you can't provide. Your firm may be focused primarily on corporate and tax law, but you realize that a client could benefit from estate planning. Identify that need and refer the client to a specialized boutique -- that way, they'll stick with you for their services, without being stolen away by the firm down the street.
Internal Communication and Support Is Key
Isolation within your firm can make it difficult to cross-sell. If you work in personal injury while your partner across the hall does family law, you may have little idea about the needs of each others' clients and how they could be benefitted by cross-selling. It can be even worse if attorneys tend to "hoard" clients.
Practices committed to cross-selling need to make sure they have a strategy in place to provide integrated services. That means meeting regularly to discuss cross-selling opportunities. Regularly reviewing client opportunities, industry trends, and areas of potential growth, can make cross selling come more naturally. To really encourage cross-selling you might also need to bring it into your compensation system. Internal referrals can be as valuable as external ones and should be treated similarly.
Whatever you do, though, remember that cross-selling can be an easy and effective way to build extra business. If you're not doing it, you're leaving business behind.
Need more marketing help? The experts at FindLaw's Lawyer Marketing are always available to help you develop and implement a successful marketing plan.
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- Lawyer Marketing Beyond TV: How to Adapt to Changing Media Habits (FindLaw's Strategist)
- Legally Blogging: Is More Better for Your Firm Blog? (FindLaw's Strategist)
