There are a lot of ways that you can use past results, regardless of your practice area – although obviously you need to carefully review your state’s ethical rules to make sure that what you’re going to do is permissible – and in most cases, you’ll need to include some kind of disclaimer that past results do not guarantee a similar outcome. And you always want to make sure that you’re not disclosing any client confidences or compromising confidentiality in any way when disclosing past results.
Two of the best ways to use past results are testimonials and case studies.
Testimonials from clients: Testimonials are one of the most effective ways to discuss past results, because it’s the client discussing the result, not you. It’s one step away from a referral. I think it’s more powerful to use the client’s name, but you don't have to (and some argue that you shouldn't). Either way, in order to use a testimonial, you should have clear consent from your client.
There are whole books written about effective testimonials and what to include or not include, but the best testimonials will include not just that the client liked your work, but the result you achieved for them and how it affected them. Take the testmonial one step further beyond the results themselves.
Go beyond the result of the legal matter and discuss the result for the client's business: what did the financial result allow the client to do? How did the contract you negotiated for the client improve the client’s business? What problems did the client avoid as a result of listening to your advice?, etc.
Testimonials are also great for showing “past results” for things that are less tangible – such as how you provided your services and why that made a difference to them.
Case studies: Use a case study to tell the story of the results you achieved for a client. If it’s an especially sensitive case or if the case might reflect badly on a client, you can leave out identifying details.
For example, if you want to do a case study of a medical malpractice case and your client was the defendant/doctor, even if you got a great result, the client might not be too happy to have the story of the case in your marketing materials. The doctor doesn’t want the fact that they’ve been sued to be talked about. But you might be able to say that you defended a radiologist in a case in which there were X, Y, and Z injuries or A, B, and C claims, and that you achieved a certain result or defeated the plaintiff’s arguments, etc. You can also talk about how that case or decision may affect other doctors, or what other doctors can do to avoid getting into the same situation.
Case studies and testimonials are effective because they are a ‘snapshot’ of what it will be like to work with you and what the client can expect. They help the client visualize.
There are other ways to talk about results as well – for example, you might say that you’ve saved clients an average of $x each on certain kinds of transactions, or that you’ve helped clients increase their bottom line by x%.
The reason to talk about past results is to give clients an indication of what you can do for them (despite the disclaimer). The more concrete you make it, and the more you tie it to the benefits that the client will receive from working with you, the more effective it will be.
If you have a lot of clients with similar problems or in similar circumstances, you’ll want to include those facts or details in your discussion if you can, because it will help clients identify themselves as good candidates for your services. For example, if you're a plaintiff's products liability lawyer, you might want to list the products involved in the lawsuits you've handled. The client will see that you’ve handled their kind of case before, that you know what you’re doing, and that you’ve been successful. They will see themselves in your past clients, and they will say to themselves, “That’s what I need someone to do for me.” The more self-selected a client is before they come to you, the better off you are.
Think about what your potential client wants to know about you, your services and your results. Include as much of that as you can without running afoul of ethical rules, and of course, without compromising client confidentiality.
Need help figuring out how to use past results, contacting clients for testimonials, or writing case studies? Contact me at 631-642-0221 or email me to find out how I can help.
Great tips on using testimonials, Allison.
To make website testimonials even more powerful, try using audio or video testimonials. If you're using an audio testimonial, accompany it with a picture of the speaker and a link to the speaker's website(where appropriate, of course; for example, if you do commercial litigation, a happy client might be very happy to get additional exposure for his business and a link back to his site). Lawyers' websites can be so text-heavy that adding this kind of content can break up the monotony and give you a good excuse to add some visual interest (since people connect with faces).
One advantage of using audio testimonials is that an audio testimonial can be given over the phone, and you can record it. A very easy (and free) way to do this is to use a teleconference line from http://www.freeconferencecall.com, which includes a free call recording feature (of course, you still have to get the audio file onto your computer). Another way to accomplish this is to buy a telephone recording adapter that plugs into your computer (I got mine at Radio Shack, just search for "telephone recording"), and use a free audio editor program like Audacity (http://audacity.sourceforge.net/) to record and edit the testimonial.
To get the audio onto your website, you can use a paid hosting service like Audio Acrobat (www.AudioAcrobat.com), or a free hosting service like Odeo (http://www.odeo.com). You could also use a program like mp3 Sound Stream (http://www.mp3soundstream.com/), and host the audio files on your own website.
If you use pictures or videos of your "endorsers," make sure that you are also pictured on your site: you want site visitors to make the main connection with *you* after all.
Posted by: Lisa Solomon | March 28, 2008 at 10:47 AM