Many law firms have found themselves introducing concepts and policies outside their areas of jurisdiction, not because they wanted to but they are acting in response to the present competitive market. Learning the acts of being a law firm change agent can however help in bringing success to your law firm as well as your career in so many ways. Sales and service professionals know what they lack in a law firm but they are either not prepared to handle such problems or they are simply not aware of the kind of solutions they will give.
Effective law firm marketing and change agents will  possess some qualities which will actually make them prepare for making such positive changes in their law firms and such qualities include;  Strategic thinking and staging of law firm’s priorities, A strong work ethic, abilities to be patient in helping a law firm achieves its aims and objectives, Abilities to identify and understand the multiple perspectives existing in a law firm and ability to energize others and build a consensus with others. When an attorney possess these qualities then he or she can proceed and act as a law firm change agent and actualize his firm’s law firm marketing ideals for the general development of the firm.
There are several methodologies an efficient law firm change agent should employ in order to bring the right changes to a law firm. He must be able to establish an early and critical partnership with key leaders both within the law firm and outside, he must be able to identify the issues and challenges related to any objective, he must be able to identify the needs of the law firm as an organization and then needs of the individual staffs and clients, He should be able to communicate effectively, his plans and objectives alongside his visions and plans for the law firm and the clients, He must be able to develop a technical and systematic step-by-step mechanism for achieving the law firm goals, and he must be able to measure and communicate the results of his actions.
It is essential to make small and large changes to the policies in a law firm marketing strategy and share this result with other attorneys within the organization in order to convince them that you are indeed an agent of positive changes in the law firm. Many law firms are stocked to the successful marketing strategies of the past and they are not aware that newer challenges are being created on daily basis.  A change is often the most needed law firm marketing strategy especially in periods of crisis, a law firm that is stocked to a failing marketing strategy will not be able to make any meaning changes when the need arises.
As a matter of fact, record keeping including database records are also essential when making necessary changes in a law firm marketing plan. This is important to keep records of market marketing successes and failures to make a much more ideal plan.

The keys to a successful law firm marketing strategies lie in the ability of a law firm to convince potential clients about its readiness to help them on their specific legal problems in a unique style. When it comes to  the use of  such marketing strategies, it is ideal to ensure  that some key main marketing areas are focused upon. Domain name purchase{ especially if your law firm is operating or starting off a law firm website for the first time}, Search engine submissions, and Keyword optimized law firm website pages which should also include standard SEM audits to review performance of the law firm website are some of the keys to a successful law firm marketing strategy.
Putting legal information on the web should be aimed at satisfying the curiosity of individuals who are looking for law firms with great reputation and special abilities to handle their peculiar cases. Aside this special abilities, a law firm is expected to have a unique market differentiator, and must be located close to the potential client.  A  good law firm optimization strategy on the internet will draw qualified traffic from different parts of the world just like submission to top search engines will continue to yield positive feedbacks for a law firm.
The four major aspects of law firm Search Engine Marketing{ SEM} solutions include; Keyword research, law firm website Performance monitoring,  Search engine submissions and a perfect law firm web design. Keyword research is a tool in law firm SEM strategy which involves the use of the most prominent law firm marketing keywords which will generate the widest traffic for a law firm on the web. It involves the identification of the right keyword phrases which are carefully crafted into law firm web contents . The use of the most popular keywords on your law firm website will ensure that your law firm website motivates potential clients in contacting you. You can make use of free keyword research tools online for this purpose.
Search engine submissions involves all forms of Search engine optimization techniques that will launch a website to the top of search engines including Google, Yahoo, MSN, and the likes. Search engines often change their mode of operation and ranking and search engine experts must follow this trend to ensure that law firm websites remain at the top despite the varying conditions used by these search engines in ranking  websites. Search engine submission will also include the periodic evaluation of a law firm website contents{ this includes the updating of web contents and checking out for broken links, damaged files }. Search engine submission ensures that a website remains valuable online at all times.
Performance monitoring is the last stage in law firm marketing or SEM. It is a constant thing to continuously monitoring the performance of a law firm search engine on the internet . A hosted web analytics solution for instance is used to analyze visitors data on a law firm website . The monitoring of visitors data will ensure that you have a knowledge of the particular location from which your most valuable traffic are coming from. Performance monitoring ensures that you keep your law firm marketing strategies effective online.

Identifying where to start your law firm marketing strategies especially when identifying the right clients within a specified market often becomes difficult for most law firms. A good contact list is the one of the most potent tools for marketing and selling efforts . You contact lists include the names, addresses and any other contact information of people you have met, those you know and those  you are about meeting. Such categories of people are potential clients, prospects and good referral source and they include; Friends, families, neighbours, Other lawyers, communities, religious organizations, acquaintances, charity organizations , school mates from college, high school or universities, and Business people.
You need to capture as many information on your prospects as possible { emails, phone  numbers and addresses are most critical}. Do not forget the situation that brought you and the contacts together and how well you were able to related with them on your first meeting especially if they were introduced to you by another individual. Categorizing your prospects as clients, referral sources and prospects is one of the best possible ways you can memorize them. You must invest your time in organizing your contact lists to help you with making references when they are needed.
Using your list to identifying prospects is the next step after creating the list. You can do this by identifying which of such contacts have direct and indirect influence on other people and organizations that will benefit your law firm marketing and services. You must be as inclusive as possible in identifying the strength of your individual contacts to help you determine the areas where they will be needed more.
One of the questions often asked is that of How to define the limits of searching for clients. If you are operating a law firm basically with attorneys that specialize in family law for instance, you should streamline your contact lists to those who are able to find prospects, clients and referrals in that area only. You don’t have to be a “jack of all trade”. Depending on a realistic assessment of yourself, attorneys and law firm, you should be able to find out how valuable your referral network can be in helping you find the right market for your law firm products and services. Creating a narrower niche will help your law firm have a firm grip on your targeted market.
To identify a prospect worth pursuing, Lawyers need to streamline the kind of people that will be included in their contacts . Though this might look quite hard to do especially when a law firm has invested time and money in getting all the contacts, it does become difficult removing those contacts that might prove unprofitable to the law firm. Prioritization processes will help you review and build your law firm business and it is important that you stick with people whom you can stay in touch with for a long period of time to come.

With all demands placed on attorneys especially from Clients, friends, community work, business partners and families, it is ideal to develop a concrete personal sales and law firm marketing plan that will incorporate all these integral parts of your law firm success. Each associate has various needs to meet and that depends on several different variables. You should not under-estimate the kind of person you are, your goals and objectives and where you are heading for. The most important thing is that you remain focus and you understand how well you want to spend your marketing and selling time.
A simple business plan which must be reviewed periodically is very essential. First of all, your plan is all about you. When you draft your personal sales and marketing plan, you must emphasize on your strength and the areas of expertise. Doing this will naturally boost your self confidence and you don’t have to push yourself too fast. You should not see your life and career as a sprint , therefore you can always review your plans when you are  being slow down. Your personal sales  and marketing plan should contain elements that are appropriate for your experience level,  firm size, area of practice, the time you are willing to invest, and your comfort zone. You need to understand the starting point which you can easily personalized for your own usage.
After planning your activities, you must include deadlines and important dates on your calendar which will serve as valuable source of support and guide when executing your plan. You can work with administrative assistance to help you become more organized and in control of the situation. Your administrative assistance will also be in the best position to offer suggestions and best practices that will apply to you.
Having a smart plan for your personal sales  and law firm marketing strategy does not mean you have to create a formal document of such. Your smart goals should contain facts and strategies that are specific, measurable, Realistic, Attainable, Tangible, and Timely. In order to stay focus and maintain a steady execution of your plan, you must essentially define what exactly you want to do . Though the simple steps look simple but in the real sense some of them becomes tougher than normal. Your plan must be measurable so that you can manage it effectively. Evaluating such plans is essential for you to remain focus.
Your personal sales and marketing plans must be attainable especially when you identify your goals and begin to figure out ways by which you can realize them. This means you are developing a vision . You will definitely need to reach and stretch yourself to attain this level of achievement.
Your plan should be realistic in the sense that you must take some time to develop a network and client base which are those that need your service most. You don’t have to incorporate every individual in your plan, just take a realistic approach and your personal sales  and law firm marketing plan will be successful.

One of the most critical step you can take in the integration of your marketing strategy and business development is to have a generally skilled personnel in managing large scale law firm programs and events – an individual who can act as a project manager of your law firm service campaign. Secondly, you will need a public relation expert who can effectively communicate your law firm’s point of view to the appropriate media and analysts. Next you deserve a digital media experts who will help your law firm leverage all Internet channels which include  SEO marketing , online law firm marketing and several other law firm advertising channels.
As a larger large law firm, you will need the services of business developers who will sell services covered by your law firm campaign or those that can act as your liaison officers to the broader business development community. Most law firms do not understand the importance of an integrated contact management database in their law firm operations. This database will help your marketing and business development team managers to manage and track their interactions with prospective clients especially during the tenure of the campaign. Doing these  things will ensure that the integration of a law firm marketing strategy and its business development ideas are in order and will bring more effective law firm campaign.
It is important to note that if your law firm’s campaign content is weak, such a campaign will naturally become ineffective,  opinions based on few facts will make your law firm marketing strategy very weak, but compelling points of view will naturally make an irresistible appeal to your targeted clients. A law firm campaign that has no superior point of view regardless of how well such campaign is packaged will make no meaningful impact in the minds of your targeted audiences. But, if you legal team can create a powerful point of view to promote , then it can develop a consistent and integrated campaign which the bigger professional clients can subscribe unto.
A law firm should understand that professional legal clients will need some high degree of trust before they select a law firm for their legal representations. They know that much is at stake for such a decision maker and his company when selecting the most suitable legal representation. Therefore, professional legal services and sales campaign that can steadily increase trust should poccess some three important phases which will also correspond to the phases that will influence a potential client’s decision. The first phase is that an organization will start to look out for the law firm that can adequately cover a critical situation in its legal demands, secondly , the organization is looking for a law firm that can be an essential part of its own development, and lastly the organization wants a law firm that can permanently take care of its legal needs.
The success of law firm marketing strategy depends on how well a law firm can integrate its marketing strategy with a good business development plan that can adequately take care of its clients needs.

One of the most important questions you should ask yourself is whether your law firm website is making you generate sales or not. You should know that people will not stop at the first hand information they hear about before hiring you, they will like to make searches online to find every information about you before even considering your for a trial.  Your law firm website play a key role in the recovery process and in it dictates the tone which a prospective client will use in evaluating you.
Once you have settled for a good law firm marketing strategy, the next thing is to get a powerful-packed law firm website that will strategically position your law firm in the top ranking search engines is very critical.  Bios and flattering photos of your law firm and attorneys will make your law firm easily located online and those vital contact information will trigger in their hearts the possibility of contacting you.  You don’t have to rely on electronically printed brochures all the time, turn your law firm web design into a sales generating tool for your law firm and you will see the great bargain in terms of investment you will receive.
Some incredible facts have shown that about 80% of law firms gain their clients whose first awareness are through the internet, similarly more than  60% of general clients use  the websites of law firms they hire. According to some researches, prospective clients are demanding the value for their money outside the billable hours and they always go for law firms that have a track record of their recent legal experiences on the internet.
It is very pathetic to note that many law firms are spending millions of dollars in branding and differentiation strategies with little or no successes. There are no better ways of protecting your law firm’s distinctive qualities than getting the pictures, video presentations and blogs on your website and putting them on the internet- simply because more than 1 billion people make use of the internet on daily basis.  Some of the ways through which you can generate sales through your law firm website includes;
1 Keeping your law firm website current;  Your most recent deals and legal representations must be included and updated on your law firm website, this will help prospective clients in similar situations. The most recent articles, speeches , and legal jobs of your attorneys must be presented in a clear and concise manner. Likewise try to make some objective points on recent happenings in the society.
2  Showcasing your legal expertise is another step you need to take in generating sales through your law firm website. When you publicize your attorneys’ accolades, seminar activities, speeches and likes, you give them more exposure and prospective clients will have more confidence in subscribing to your services.
3 Since your law firm website is the face of your law firm, it is very critical that you make everything easy on it. It must come with easy navigation, useful functions and potential clients must get the information they are looking for.
4 Focus more on their needs rather than your law firm and ask them to do business with you

Owners of legal firms can increase their returns on law firm marketing strategies if they can successful get their law firm marketing and business development strategies on the same level and having the same game plan and score card for such partnership. Most law firms are not making much progress in their law firm marketing plan because they are not having their  marketing strategies and business development goals on the same  developmental plan and they often tend to forget that marketing and business development are the main points for expanding their clients base.
Researches have shown that , when marketing and business development are on the same page, a law firm will have a better competitive advantage.  Putting your law firm business development and marketing on the same page will naturally boost your service sales and you will naturally also get bigger and more profitable projects.   Before you put your law firm marketing strategies and business development on the same page, you must consider some factors;
You need to see marketing and selling as not independent entities but as integrated strategy which  through which marketing and business development will have different but complementary roles to play.
You need to understand how to organize the demand for marketing and business development  creation processes in which your prospective clients will always prefer to get the high-cost services and invest in higher stakes in your legal firm
Concentrating your marketing and business development services on fewer professional service will help you emphasize more on your strength and that will protect you from reduction in market exposure if you had focus on all professional aspects of the legal professional.
Having a well research and vigorous insights in law firm marketing strategies will help you redefine the way your target audiences think, . This will help your professional law firm to shape your leads to your advantage.
In creating an ideal marketing and business development goals for your law firm , you need to understand creating demand from one point of view at a time regardless of your marketing and business development plan is essential. When you incorporate such marketing and business plan into one single plan and then focus on one  service demand area at a time, you will naturally generate more leads and then more sales rather than focusing on multiple areas the same time and generating fewer results.
You need to understand that collaboration is critical to the survival of your marketing and business development plan. It is more critical especially when you are operating a more complex and multinational law firm. Solving your marketing and business development problems should always start with the creation of multi-disciplinary group that is organized and set-out within a specific campaign.
A successful  law firm marketing strategy  should include components such as Conducting media relations, Holding meetings with your targeted service buyers and clients, disseminating marketing materials to your potential clients, Holding seminars and presentations among several others.

Many attorneys often think about getting new clients when they are about to sell their products and services, but many of them do underrate the existing clients they have and they do not know that such clients have more greater value when it comes to projecting their law firm services to a wider audience. Experts in legal practices do believe that it is much easier to sell a law firm product or services to people you already know compared to strangers. Many law firms do believe that spending more on hiring business developers , and spending more on their law firm marketing strategies will be the best ways to launch their new services-this might be true to some extent but nothing works better than making use of your existing clients in launching yourself into a bigger market.
One of the first steps you can use in using your existing clients for new prospects is by scheduling periodic meetings with them, asking them about their business needs and how well  your legal services have changed their lives positively. This will help you build a stronger relationship with them and at the same time protects you in the face of stiff competition. Remember, in this present competitive market, other law firms are working tirelessly to snatch your best clients from you.
In measuring the progress of your law firm marketing and other strategies, you need to know that there is a much difference between activity and results. Assessing what you have been doing whether it is bringing a significant success to your law firm is very important. Tracking your activities through your client relationship management system{ CRM} is one of the ways of keeping yourself updated.
There are objective and subjective ways of measuring your law firm marketing success. When it comes to subjective measurement of  the success your law firm marketing strategies, you might decide to measure the progress in the relationship you have built with existing clients. There are several ways of measuring objectively  the success rate of your marketing strategies and that includes;
Conversion rate; this is the number of people who have hired you at one time or the other. Scheduling periodic meetings and numbering them in such meetings is one way of using this tool.
Number of meetings with your targeted contact and taking note of the attendance is also a tool in measuring your marketing success.
Calculating the number of new clients added to your list
Billable and billed hours for a particular client will help you ascertain how well you have legally represented a client
Originations and fee receipts can also help you calculate how much new clients you have gained
The number of new clients and new matters you received should be calculated periodically to ascertain how many new clients you have gotten and how well your marketing strategies are working
Other objective ways of measuring your marketing successes include; proposals, referral rates, clients satisfaction and loyalty , and many more.

Leverage networking is one of the best possible ways of making the most returns on what you invested in your referral networking. Most attorneys do go out seeking for referrals and at the end of the day , they get few people simply because they have not used leverage networking techniques.  First of all you need to understand that you can’t catch large number of fishes with a small net. You need to understand how networking can create opportunities for you before seeking out for such referral networks.
You need to understand that networking is not always the use of people but the use of the personal relationships you have with others in increasing your exposure to opportunities and information. Most attorneys are making random contacts with  those they believe will work effectively for them on their referral lists however they fail to make follow-ups, most of the people they meet often do not have any client to refer or they don’t have confidence in the attorney to whom they are referring potential clients.
The objectives of law firm referral networking are; Creating an ever-expanding relationship within the networks and potential clients, and gathering information that will be very helpful for your business. Being successful in your leverage marketing means you have to detect those you want to reach, you have successfully figure out those among your referral network that will help you contact such people, You need to ask the primary network members if they know any of your targeted potential clients, you need to have a personal introduction with the leverage contact and establish a relationship with him and have a follow up. When you follow these simple steps you will optimize your law firm referral network marketing to your best advantage.
Expanding your network is one of the major steps you must take in enforcing your leverage referral network. Remember, for each person you add to your network there is a potential of adding more than double the potential clients on your law firm services, your added clients will thus serve as the secondary referral network. Remember to ask members of your secondary referral network  for potential clients after you have satisfied their needs- Doing this will help  you create chains of referral networks through leverage network marketing. You need to seek out for people with leadership and people-oriented minds who are in professions that expose them to meeting different kinds of people.

Though most attorneys prefer a one approach rate ,however the ever changing economic situations as well as changes in the intensity of legal services provided has made it imperative for attorneys to consider different factors while setting their legal service fees.  There are different forms of approaches that can be used in setting legal service fees and some of the commonest ones include; The contingency sliding scale tactic, The split fee tactic, The hourly sliding scale tactic, and the minimum fee tactic.

1.The minimum fee tactic is most suitable for legal cases such as uncontested divorce cases, and plaintiffs’ employment cases. In this situation, the attorney only accepts a non refundable retainer which is the minimum fee acceptable for such cases. The retainer is often replenished if the case exceeds the hourly rate, however in contingency cases, and where there is recovery, then the retainer is deducted from the attorney’s fee upon disbursement.

2.The Hourly sliding scale tactic involves a tactic in which the attorney bills a client for the first 100 hours of his service at a normal hourly rate , then the percentage of  charges levied on subsequent hours of legal services offered increases. Bigger clients often prefer this method of billing because they think the attorney becomes more efficient as the percentage of charges increases.

3.In the case of Split fee tactic, the client is charged at half of what obtains normally on hourly rates . In this situation , the half of the contingency fee is taken upon recovery. This is a tactic that is becoming more popular in litigations involving contractual obligations including the collection of debts and related issues. Corporate clients often prefer this mode of fees because they feel the attorney is sharing the risk involved in such litigations with them and the attorney is not getting a huge share out of the money recovered.

4.The contingency sliding scale traffic is not a static fee arrangement but it depends on the nature or kind of work done.  The fee might be low in situations where the attorney settles the case without filing a suit, the fees chargeable increases if a lawyer has to file a suit and the case goes to court. One other variation in this situation is that an attorney may charge his client base on recovery- the charges increase as the weight of recovery increases.

It is ideal for an attorney to understand retainers and other fees chargeable for legal services to have a better relationship with prospective clients