Sometimes it just makes sense
to revisit the basics. Life is not static, neither is your business. What may
have worked for you once upon a time, may not work as well for you today. That
being said, let’s revisit my ten basic marketing steps that a process server
should take to become successful.
Your primary job is to get jobs. You can't
serve court documents if you don't have them in your hand. To that end,
one of the first rules of business a process server has to learn is this.
If you don't have a job, then your job becomes finding a job. Even when
you have jobs, you should always be actively looking for the next one. More
succinctly, you need to market your services.
Here are some very basic steps to take to get you moving, some of which require some capital while others require just a little of your time.
1. Advertise in the classified section of the local bar association newsletter.
2. Order quality business cards and place them in the hands of every court clerk that will take them. When someone comes into the courthouse to file a lawsuit, they may not already have a process server in mind, and if they ask the court clerk, your card will be right there at their fingertips.
3. Obtain the member mailing list from your local bar association. This could or could not be a little pricey, but now you have the names and addresses of all the attorneys in town that belong to the association. Begin by mailing postcards to those addresses by the hundreds. Be patient with this, though. On average it might take sending your postcard to the same attorneys up to five times before they finally contact you. Find a way to make your mailing stand out from others they may be getting. For instance, instead of asking them for the job – send a series of cards (a marketing campaign) with different messages – from an introduction, to a “have a nice day” to “give me a call when you need service”. There are programs and services available to make this a smooth, affordable process.
4. You need a website. Even if it is nothing more than a very basic online brochure of your services, an online presence is critical in the 21st century.
5. Social Media Networking. This falls in line with your website. You may not have a large budget for setting up and driving traffic to your website. So, a good way to establish a web presence that may also drive traffic toward your website is through the various social media networks such as Facebook, Linked-In, MerchantCircle, and several others. Make friends and connections anywhere and everywhere you can, but most especially with fellow process servers, private investigators, and attorneys.
6. Become a member of an industry association. Membership fees are generally inexpensive, but the networking possibilities for B2B exchange of work with other servers in other locations throughout the state and the nation are golden.
7. Become a corporate member of a legal secretaries or paralegal's association. These associations exist throughout the United States and are a perfect opportunity for you to interact one on one with your key client demographic - legal assistants/paralegals. They may even be a better “target market” for your post card mailings than the attorney list.
8. Sponsor an event with the local bar association. You'll get exposure as a vendor and you will be amazed at how inexpensive it is to be a sponsor of an event.
9. If you already have a client or two (or three), nothing works better than word of mouth. So, first thing, do a superior job for those clients. Second, take your clients some goodies -- chocolate works very well with legal secretaries -- or take them to lunch. Show a genuine interest in them, not just as a client, but as a friend. Be grateful. Remember, you are building a relationship here that could, over the course of many years, develop into a sizable stream of income, as well as the many, many referrals to other potential clients that these one or two clients will provide where they tout your services for you.
10. Door to door. Difficult and sometimes daunting, this one does work, but it is truly a numbers game. The key here is to know that most likely the law firm you are cold-calling or visiting probably already has a process server to whom they are quite loyal. You're not there to attempt to take the business away from that process server, but to offer to be the "back-up" in case their guy is too busy, sick, or on vacation.
Here are some very basic steps to take to get you moving, some of which require some capital while others require just a little of your time.
1. Advertise in the classified section of the local bar association newsletter.
2. Order quality business cards and place them in the hands of every court clerk that will take them. When someone comes into the courthouse to file a lawsuit, they may not already have a process server in mind, and if they ask the court clerk, your card will be right there at their fingertips.
3. Obtain the member mailing list from your local bar association. This could or could not be a little pricey, but now you have the names and addresses of all the attorneys in town that belong to the association. Begin by mailing postcards to those addresses by the hundreds. Be patient with this, though. On average it might take sending your postcard to the same attorneys up to five times before they finally contact you. Find a way to make your mailing stand out from others they may be getting. For instance, instead of asking them for the job – send a series of cards (a marketing campaign) with different messages – from an introduction, to a “have a nice day” to “give me a call when you need service”. There are programs and services available to make this a smooth, affordable process.
4. You need a website. Even if it is nothing more than a very basic online brochure of your services, an online presence is critical in the 21st century.
5. Social Media Networking. This falls in line with your website. You may not have a large budget for setting up and driving traffic to your website. So, a good way to establish a web presence that may also drive traffic toward your website is through the various social media networks such as Facebook, Linked-In, MerchantCircle, and several others. Make friends and connections anywhere and everywhere you can, but most especially with fellow process servers, private investigators, and attorneys.
6. Become a member of an industry association. Membership fees are generally inexpensive, but the networking possibilities for B2B exchange of work with other servers in other locations throughout the state and the nation are golden.
7. Become a corporate member of a legal secretaries or paralegal's association. These associations exist throughout the United States and are a perfect opportunity for you to interact one on one with your key client demographic - legal assistants/paralegals. They may even be a better “target market” for your post card mailings than the attorney list.
8. Sponsor an event with the local bar association. You'll get exposure as a vendor and you will be amazed at how inexpensive it is to be a sponsor of an event.
9. If you already have a client or two (or three), nothing works better than word of mouth. So, first thing, do a superior job for those clients. Second, take your clients some goodies -- chocolate works very well with legal secretaries -- or take them to lunch. Show a genuine interest in them, not just as a client, but as a friend. Be grateful. Remember, you are building a relationship here that could, over the course of many years, develop into a sizable stream of income, as well as the many, many referrals to other potential clients that these one or two clients will provide where they tout your services for you.
10. Door to door. Difficult and sometimes daunting, this one does work, but it is truly a numbers game. The key here is to know that most likely the law firm you are cold-calling or visiting probably already has a process server to whom they are quite loyal. You're not there to attempt to take the business away from that process server, but to offer to be the "back-up" in case their guy is too busy, sick, or on vacation.
Consider
what worked for you before. Is it still working? Does the process need
modification, updating? What efforts have provided the best ROI?
Keep evaluating and refining these ten steps to fit with the current market
trends.
I
appreciate your following. If you or someone you know would like more tips like
these check out my book “The Business End of Process Service, Running a Process
Service Company from the Group Up” or for a change of pace check out “CounterSpy,
The Industrial Counter-Surveillance Manual”. They are both available on
Amazon.com. http://www.amazon.com/Business-End-Process-Service-ebook/dp/B008E8RBHK/ref=sr_1_8?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1407774550&sr=1-8&keywords=bob+hill
and http://www.amazon.com/CounterSpy-Bob-Hill-ebook/dp/B00BTJYU1Q/ref=sr_1_3?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1407774644&sr=1-3&keywords=counterspy/ I think you’ll find the both useful in your
process service business. As always, I welcome your comments.
