by Tom Trush

"My prospects are different."

Every time I hear this claim my ear drums rattle.

These words were recently uttered to me again by a business owner who asked for help rescuing a direct-mail campaign that initially generated zero responses from his prospects.

After one look at his marketing piece, it was clear he did little to address his prospects' problems. Instead, he focused on a traditional pitch for his services.

The truth is your prospects may have different desires related to your legal services, but the characteristics that lead to a sale are the same regardless of your target audience.

1. Your prospects are skeptical. Just like you, they've thrown away money on promises that never panned out. You gain an instant advantage when you establish yourself as a credible source who understands what it's like to walk in your prospects' shoes.

2. Your prospects want direction. If they understood how to eliminate their problems, they would have never started searching for solutions. So don't hesitate to share a little knowledge and give detailed instructions about what steps to take next.

3. Your prospects don't like sales pitches. Unnecessary pressure makes sales pitches repulsive. But you make your message welcome when you focus on educating, establishing trust and involving your prospects in your marketing efforts.

4. Your prospects are already inundated with messages. Your copy is just another collection of claims unless you do something to prove your promise -- and make your marketing message memorable. Don't hesitate to try an approach that's different from your competition.

5. Your prospects are afraid of the unknown. If you don't clearly communicate what happens after moving forward with your offer, then your prospects are less likely to respond. So use your writing to help them visualize what it's like to work with you or use your use your legal services.

6. Your prospects have an internal timeframe for coming to a buying decision. You can't determine how long it takes your prospects to gather information, analyze the data and pull out their wallets -- that decision is based on personal comfort. However, deadlines will often speed up the process.

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© Trey Ryder

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