Closing Time: How PR Can Help You Close New Business

Like other businesses in other industries, law firms have business development leaders whose job is to identify and land prospective new clients for the firm. They also have PR directors and consultants whose job is, broadly, to raise the profile of the firm in the media and in public opinion.

In law firms these two all-important groups don’t always work collaboratively or in lock step. But they should. Working together to develop and amplify the law firm’s brand and messaging Is critical to a firm’s growth and success.

This isn’t a novel concept. To quote an excellent article in Entrepreneur magazine from 2014:

Let’s imagine two hypothetical websites. Both have a news section. The first has a consistent history of press releases being published every couple of months. Topics include events the company will be attending, awards won and new products being released. The second site also has a list of press releases, but the last one published more than nine months ago. The first website reassures the visitor that things are humming along. That’s the power of consistent public relations. And that could be what it takes to swing a purchase decision in your favor.

Precisely.

Successful public relations efforts, if they are amassed over a substantial period of time and are deployed thoughtfully, can have a major impact on purchase decisions. They can be particularly helpful at “closing time,” when a prospect is about to sign on the dotted line. Pr can, in fact, be the one final push that can make the close.

However, this only works if your BD and PR departments work together to further the same themes and messages. In some firms, the two departments hardly interact and hardly speak to one another. As always, communication and planning are indispensable. In the best firm/client relationships, clients always say that communication is the key to success. The same holds true in law firms.