An alternative to a conventional website
Developing a website as well as maximizing your business cards potential have both been discussed during the last two Lawyers Connecting meetings that I have attended. Having a website can be costly and sometimes even detrimental to acquiring potential clients when done poorly. However, when a quality website is created and maintained, it can often be the difference between gaining a client and losing a potential one. The first thing that an individual who is looking for an attorney does is perform a Google search. If the attorney they have searched for doesn’t have a website, the individual most often moves on to the next attorney that had been recommended to them and does another search. Many attorneys acknowledge this problem but often say they are unable to afford cost and the maintenance which goes along with creating a website. The solution in my opinion, maybe not for the long term but a solution nonetheless, is developing a strong public profile for your Linkedin account.
By making a public profile you allow your page to become accessible by way of a Google search, thus allowing yourself to be discovered by potential clients. Many of you are very familiar with the layout associated with a Linkedin profile, so I’ll keep this brief. Your public profile can convey your mission statement, a summary of your practice, your experience as an attorney, your contact information and perhaps most importantly it can display your recommendations. If creating a website is not something that is in your budget, with fifteen minutes and zero dollars you can create a Linkedin public profile which will allow you to connect to potential clients who would have otherwise passed you up.
While creating a public page is a creative and effective alternative to establishing a website, one should also display their public page’s URL on the business cards which they plan to distribute at networking events. It may not look as clean as a conventional website’s URL, but it will allow individuals who may have your card, but don’t remember you, to rediscover why they wanted to remain in contact with you. Cheap fixes and alternatives most often do not pay off, but these little additions to your networking efforts could be difference your practice needs in acquiring new clients.
Daniel Lenzini
DLenzini@gmail.com
http://www.linkedin.com/pub/daniel-lenzini/5/3b7/144