Swimming Upstream Increases Credibility, Makes Your Marketing Message Stand Out

SWIMMING UPSTREAM INCREASES CREDIBILITY, MAKES YOUR MARKETING MESSAGE STAND OUT By Trey Ryder

The fundamental principle behind education-based marketing is to educate prospects so they understand their problems and the solutions you can provide.

But how do you focus prospects' attention on your marketing message when competing lawyers deliver a similar message?

Easy. Offer tips that explain why prospects should not necessarily take the most- recommended course of action, appearing to argue against your own self interest.

Here's a true case history using an estate planning example:

In 1986, the living trust revolution was in full swing. Nearly every estate planning lawyer was jumping on the living trust bandwagon. The problem my client faced was that all lawyers seemed to offer the same message: Get a living trust to avoid probate and lower estate taxes. With dozens of lawyers broadcasting the same message in the same city, many consumers soon viewed living trusts as commodities. As a result, lawyers often lowered their fees in hopes of remaining competitive.

During that time, my client told me that lawyers often did not explain the negative side of living trusts. And while the positives usually outweighed the negatives, he believed prospects should understand both the pros and cons. This gave rise to our educational handout, "8 Potential Problems with Living Trusts."

Since no other lawyers focused this much attention on the negatives, my client immediately stood out. Here was a lawyer who seemed to speak against the solution most lawyers recommended.

How did consumers respond?

When prospects heard that my client offered an article entitled "8 Potential Problems With Living Trusts," his phone rang off the hook. Many prospects who were preparing to hire a lawyer stopped dead in their tracks -- until they received and read my client's article.

Did this mean my client was turning people away from living trusts? Of course not. But when people asked for this article, they learned eight areas that could prove to be problems -- and the importance of choosing a skilled, experienced attorney who knew how to avoid those pitfalls.

What did this new handout accomplish? First, it created another powerful title that would attract prospects' interest. Second, by providing information that other lawyers did not offer, prospects concluded that my client was more honest and straightforward than lawyers who appeared to be one-sidedly positive. Third, this article generated a new stream of prospects who had been thinking about hiring other lawyers until they saw this new, objective discussion.

I call this method swimming upstream -- because we created a message that went in the opposite direction of our competitors. When you highlight information that appears to argue against what other lawyers recommend, you quickly increase your credibility and attract prospects who want the whole story.

If you often suggest the same solution other lawyers recommend, I encourage you to swim upstream by identifying potential problems with the commonly accepted solution. This will greatly increase your credibility -- cause you to stand out among competitors -- and give your prospect one more powerful reason to choose you.

Here are a few examples of messages you might use.

-- In your area of law, if lawyers regularly recommend a particular tax-planning tool, write a list of times when this tool may not be your client's best choice.

-- In your area of law, if lawyers regularly recommend that prospects hire an attorney, identify and explain when prospects can handle the matter themselves.

-- In your area of law, if lawyers often recommend a particular type of contract, write a list of times when that contract may not be sufficient to protect your prospect's interests.

-- In your area of law, if prospects believe they must hire a large law firm, identify when it’s really in their best interests to hire a small firm instead.

Whatever the conventional wisdom, you supercharge your marketing message when you identify, list and explain when it's in your clients' best interests to do the opposite. This immediately attracts prospects to your message, greatly increases your credibility (justifying higher fees), and often results in those prospects hiring you.