Law Offices Professional Image And Marketing

Face it. Financial bottom lines are affected by the fact we live in a world that judges a book by its cover. Pretty singers sell more records, court cases rank higher in the news if the person is attractive, and politicians are elected based on their image as much any other factor.Its not right, but this issue of image is one that you have to live with and learn to work with.Appearance Your physical persona and the way present yourself.Information Accuracy and honesty; the keys to presenting the data gathered during a case.Education The continual improvement to your professional knowledge base.- Always dress in a professional manner. For men and women both, the attire should be business professional, which for men means suit and tie whenever possible, and for the ladies, business suits, nice skirt and blouse, or dresses. If you look unkempt or second rate the client will wonder how youll represent them while working their case.- Keep jewelry at a minimum. Jewelry should follow the rule on colognes. Its best to smell of nothing than to overpower with the wrong thing. A general jewelry guideline is no more than 2 rings per hand, no more than 2 thin necklaces, and either post or small-ring earrings. And… you guessed it, visible exotic piercings or tattoos are out if youre going to be taken seriously by the legal community. The Professional Image Dress website at http://www.professionalimagedress.com has some good articles and checklists. Also, youll find some good books and magazines on business and professional image at your local library.- Business cards are a must. Make them distinctive, but with minimal content. Let your website or brochure carry the heavy content.- For stationery, choose quality paper and have your letterhead and envelopes, as well as your contracts, professionally produced by the same people who do your business cards. Make sure their color themes match. Your local print shop or office supply store should have everything you need. If theres any one place you want to spend a little money, this is near the top of the list.- Stay away from blank notepads and manila folders. Theyll both get too messy too soon and not only will that make you look unprofessional and disorganized, but blank notepads make you look unprepared, and lost or disorganized notes lead to inaccurate reports and invoices. Invest a little time and/or money into buying or developing a comprehensive set of forms or an organizer system to use while assembling your case.- Rule one is, always has been, and always will be, Use a good case management system. Make sure everyone working for you uses the same system, and that your standards of accuracy start at the beginning, and continues through the whole case and through any follow-up you may ever have with that client. Then treat all of your other clients the same way.- With any kind of information transfer, the key word in todays legal climate is PRIVACY! Reassure your clients in your contract, and in your final report that your relationship with them is as private as the law allows, and everything you do in connection with their case, before, during, or after the fact, will remain confidential. Loose lips not only sink ships, they destroy good client relationships.- When you answer the phone, do so cheerfully and actually smile. You can tell when someones not happy to be on the phone and so can others. This phone call might be your first contact with the next big client, so make it count.- If voice mail is your only option, make the best of it. First, be smiling and cheerful when you record the message. Second, have the message convey your high standards. Say something like As were extremely devoted to all our clients, were probably working a case on their behalf right now. However, YOU are just as important to us so please leave us your name and number and well get back to you within the hour. Then, if you say youll be back to them within the hour, actually do it. Prompt personal attention is a major plus in any business.- The written word should follow the same rule. Make sure your business cards, letterhead, brochures, reports, invoices, and all other written documents use correct spelling and proper grammar. Though your client may be enamoured enough with your abilities as a legal professional to overlook a minor grammatical error, you never know who else of importance might see your report or correspondence.- Many states require continuing education. If your state does, you should publish this fact in your firms literature. If your state does not require CEU, you should still take it upon yourself to keep your own training updated and make that fact a prominent component of your marketing materials.- Many online communication forums are professionally dedicated and will provide educational information and opportunities through either on-site or on-line courses, or through the hints, tips, and suggestions offered by members. One good online communication forum is found through Yahoo Groups at http://www.yahoogroups.com. The free registration is easy to complete, and all youll need to do is search through the groups using the phrase private investigator or other keywords associated with your specialty.As you attend some of these educational functions, take the opportunity to look around you and either further your own education on this issue of appearance by studying your colleagues, or help improve the way they represent you by helping educate them as to the benefits of a more professional image.