Recently PILMMA commissioned a study to better understand why Consumers hire the PI lawyers that they do. We wanted to get into the minds of today’s consumers to identify what they really think about PI lawyers, and what drives them to choose one PI firm over another. And here’s one of the big things we found out:
87% OF TODAY’S CONSUMERS WANT A PI LAWYER WHO UNDERSTANDS HOW INSURANCE COMPANIES OPERATE and THEY WANT SOMEONE THEY CONSIDER TO BE AN “EXPERT” IN THEIR TYPE OF CASE.
This inside info on consumer mindset is HUGE for PI lawyers that understand how to capitalize on this insight.
(FYI – the 2023 Consumer Behavior Study: How Consumers Choose Their Personal Injury Lawyer is available now, for FREE – Just click here to request a copy)
In today’s glutted market there’s a law firm on every digital “corner.” Current consumers are literally inundated with options when it comes to choosing a law firm. They have local law firms, national firms, the firms their friends or family recommend and the firms that advertise all over their televisions, and their I-phones. There’s never been a more critical time to set yourself apart from all the competing law firms in your market.
The good news is that standing out from the competition is easier than you might think. You can set yourself apart as an “expert” and address the very concerns that keep your consumers up at night. One of the easiest and most effective ways to do this is by writing a book.
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Think about it – If you want to find someone who is an expert in a particular field, seeing that they have written a book about the topic gives you some level of confidence that they are knowledgeable on the subject, doesn’t it? When you see they’ve written a book, then you assume that they are, in essence, some level of an “expert” on the matter. Interestingly, you might not even take the time to read the book they’ve written. Oftentimes, it’s enough to know they’ve written a book or two on the subject.
Your prospective clients are no different.
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If a consumer in your market has been involved in a motor vehicle accident, and sees that you have written a book entitled “What to do and not to do when you’ve been in a auto accident”, or “ What the insurance company won’t tell you about your case” they are much more likely to believe that you are an expert in this area and that you have the inside knowledge to help them with their case.
Books build credibility with today’s consumers.
But at this point you may be rolling your eyes, thinking, “How can I write a book when I’ve got a law firm to run and loads of cases to work or manage?” Frankly, there’s never been an easier time to get a book written.
Today’s law firm owners have many options: You can certainly write the book yourself, line by line, but you don’t have to. Celebrities aren’t the only ones who hire ghostwriters. It’s a simple and relatively painless process. Companies like Michael DeLon’s The Paperback Expert, do the bulk of the work for you. Typically, the ghostwriter interviews you at length, and then takes those interviews and turns it into a readable text which you then edit as necessary to ensure it’s in your “voice” and that you are satisfied with the content. It takes time to do the interviews and to edit the material, but it’s a fraction of the time you’d have to spend writing your own book from scratch.
Another option is to personalize done-for-you books. PILMMA offers its members access to PILMMA Publishing, where we’ve created over a dozen books, written in a lawyer’s voice to prospective clients, giving them knowledge about a particular area of the law, but written in a way that is designed to encourage them to hire an experienced attorney. (Presumably you, of course.) Our ready-made books are licensed and market exclusive, so no one else in your market can license the books. You then spend about 2 hours adding a short intro, and tweaking the content to ensure it is in conformity with your state’s laws. We can redesign the front cover, and your name is on the front as the author, and your photo is on the back cover. It’s your book, but you don’t have to deal with writing it or going through the interview process with a ghostwriter. To date, PILMMA publishing covers areas such as auto accidents, trucking accidents, motorcycle injury, workers compensation, premises liability, and the likes.
For more info on PILMMA Publishing, or to see if we have titles available in your market, go to https://www.pilmma.org/publishing/
You could also give AI/ChaptGPT a try to write the book for you, but I wouldn’t advise it right now…. Although AI is game-changing for increasing your firm’s productivity, it isn’t yet at a point to replace legitimate writers when it comes to books on legal topics that you want to sign your name to. (Remember the recent news story about the lawyer who relied on AI – to his detriment – to write his legal memoranda, only to find out after the fact that AI cited bogus cases, complete with fictional citations)
The big Take Away here is the importance of understanding that the prospects in your market are looking for a lawyer they believe has the inside scoop on how insurance companies operate and are “experts” in their specific kind of case. Writing a book that shows you understand their kind of case and how the insurance company process works sets you apart from your competition.
Once you’ve got the book written, offer hard copies to all your existing clients, to share with their friends and family. Offer digital copies on your website and across all relevant social media platforms. Take chapters of the book and push them out in blogs, and additional videos and/or reels on social media. Be creative and repurpose the content to continue to show prospects in your market that you are the expert they should hire.
If you have not yet obtained your copy of PILMMA’s 2023 Consumer Behavior Study, make sure you do so today, so you can start leveraging this data to help you better reach and resonate with the consumers in your market.
