pcventures,
First, I would like to congratulate you on your new business venture.
One of the toughest things about getting started in a business is
finding a way to market your services to the niche market you have
chosen. Being that you are focusing on the legal profession, there
are a couple of avenues you can take to get your name in front of
potential clients. If you have a superior product or service and it
provides a value to the firms, once you establish the relationship,
the rest is easy.
The first thing you should do is put yourself in your customer's shoes
and think "What would I think if I were in their shoes?" Lawyers are
constantly approached by vendors of every shape and form, from phone
service to office supplies and everything else in between. As you
said, typically, the technical side of the of their business is
secondary to everything else and gets passed on to someone within the
firm. In this way, you have already answered your question in how to
respond to "We already have someone to do that". Some responses you
could use:
"That's great. Since you have someone responsible for the computers
in your office, you know how important it is that they be up and
running. Let me ask you, though, the person that is handling that, is
it their sole responsibility?"
-This allows you to determine if they have a dedicated IT person/staff
or, as you stated, they have passed it off onto to somebody.
"That is good to hear. I speak to so many firms who don't have anyone
that is trained or experienced in the maintainance and upkeep of their
computers and when something goes wrong, they are stuck. Has that
ever happened to you?"
-This will give you a feel of how satisfied they are and if something
has happened in the past, it will come up and let you know their pain
point.
This gives you an idea of where to go. Praise them for having the
wherewithall to have someone that handles their IT services, but get
them thinking about a time when that may not have been the best
option.
As for getting in front of the firms, there are several options you
can look at. The market you are going after (Westchester and
Manhattan) is huge in regards to the number of lawyers and firms that
are out there. First, join local Chambers of Commerce. There are
some great networking opportunities at various Chamber events. Bear
in mind that the majority of the folks that come to these events are
like you, trying to sell something. They are often sales people
selling to sales people. That being said, the key is getting people
to know you and your business. All of these business people,
typically, have lawyers. You get to know them and establish a
relationship with them, by proxy, you will begin a relationship with
their attornies.
The website for the Westchester Chamber of Commerce is
http://www.westchesterny.org/
You should also get to know other businesses that sell to legal firms.
They have a relationship and can recommend you to their existing
clients and vice versa. Once you get a network of relationships
established, you will begin to see more people calling you instead of
you calling them. Offer referral discounts. Lawyers are a very
tightnit bunch. You get one or two as a client, they are going to
tell their friends, they are going to tell their friends..you get the
picture. Then, at their Bar Association meetings, they will talk.
This leads to another opportunity. The local Bar Association. The
Westchester County Bar Association, http://www.wcbany.org/, would be
the first call I make. Ask them if they have a newsletter you could
place a small advertisement in or some other way to get in contact
with their membership OR you could offer to sponsor their newsletter
by either picking up the printing and postage costs or running an
electronic version of it. Also, within the Bar Association, they have
a Law Office Management Committee. You may be able to speak to the
chair of this committee and see how you may be able to get out in
front of the members.
Visit various resources that lawyers, or their "technical people"
would visit. The fact that, especially with smaller and mid-sized
firms, they may not have the technical staff, so the poor soul who has
been assigned that duty is going to be looking for anything they can
that will help them. Learn about newsletters they read. One that I
found, ESQLawTech at http://www.mylawtips.com/ has a newsletter that
covers technological aspects of a law practice. Also,
http://www.reachlawyers.com/ has a marketing system that is designed
to get you in front of your prospective client base.
Here are some places you can visit that will assist you in marketing
to the legal profession:
10 Things To Remember When Selling to Lawyers and Law Firms
http://www.marketingtolawyers.com/Articles/10_Things/10_things.html
Marketing to Lawyers
http://www.berbay.com/pages/articles/MarketingToLawyers.html
This article is focused toward CPAs, but it has some great points
Legal Technology Insider
http://www.legaltechnology.com/
Great ideas to market and it gives you an idea of what legal firms are
looking for and need in regards to technology. It is a UK based site,
but still has some good stuff. Subscribe to their newsletter
Law Office Computing
http://www.lawofficecomputing.com/
Subscribe to this magazine
The bottom line here is that you are going to have to get in front of
as many as possible and close a few deals. The first 5 are the
hardest. After that, as long as you provide service and value, the
referrals will come and it will get much easier.
I wish you much luck in your endeavor and I hope the information I
have provided is helpful. If you need any additional clarification,
please let me know.
Regards,
-THV
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