In the legal world, expertise in legal matters is just one piece of the puzzle. When it comes to attorneys in private practice, you also need to master the art of selling legal services.
If the mere mention of “sales” makes you cringe, you’re not alone. Many lawyers find selling to be uncomfortable, believing they shouldn’t need to sell.
But this mindset has negative consequences, leading to sales mistakes that sabotage your efforts. And the truth is this: the ability to attract clients is crucial for a thriving legal career. Which means you must get comfortable with selling legal services.
The good news is that you don’t have to feel uncomfortable when selling your services. In fact, when done right, selling can become a normal extension of your commitment to serve.
In this article, we’ll explore the top ten sales mistakes that lawyers make. These insights come from years of observation, personal experience and working with attorneys.
We’ll cover everything from mindset shifts to practical techniques, helping you:
- Reframe your perspective on – and approach to – selling legal services.
- Identify which legal sales mistakes you might be making.
- Learn how to approach sales in a way that feels authentic and ethical.
Your legal expertise is valuable – it’s time to ensure it reaches those who need it most.
The Top 10 Mistakes Lawyers Make When Selling Legal Services
Understanding common legal sales mistakes is crucial for lawyers looking to grow their practice. By recognizing and avoiding these pitfalls, you can significantly improve your business development efforts.
Let’s dive into the top ten mistakes I see lawyers making (on a daily basis) when selling legal services:
1. The “Have To Sell” Mindset
One of the most detrimental mistakes when selling legal services is when approaching client interactions with a “have to” mindset. This attitude often manifests as:
- Feeling pressured to “sell” during every interaction.
- Believing you must impress or be “on” at all times.
- Approaching networking events with dread.
This mindset can make you come across as desperate or inauthentic, undermining your efforts to connect with potential clients.
The Solution? Instead of thinking “I have to sell,” approach each interaction with the mindset of “How can I help?” This shift allows you to be more genuine and focused on the potential client’s needs, making the conversation feel less like a sales pitch and more like a valuable consultation.
[Recommended: Go deeper into how your mindset impacts your approach to selling legal services (and also, your legal marketing efforts) by listening to this Life & Law Podcast about How Your Mindset Impacts Business Growth].
2. Seeing Selling as Persuasion
Another common legal sales mistake is viewing selling as an act of persuasion. You feel selling legal services is primarily for the purpose of convincing someone to hire you. This perspective can lead to:
- Pushy or aggressive communication.
- Overlooking the client’s actual needs.
- Focusing too much on your credentials rather than the client’s problems.
Instead of thinking of selling as an act of inducement, reframe your approach as serving. Your role is to inform, serve and guide; not to convince.
Present your services as solutions to the problems your perfect clients deal with on a regular basis. Focus on how you can help rather than why they should hire you. This gives them a choice and keeps you away from trying to persuade.
It also gives prospects a chance to see your style and approach (which happens to be a natural selling point to those who want that style/approach).
3. Bad Timing
When selling your legal services, your timing is crucial. Getting this timing wrong is a common mistake. This can manifest in two ways:
- Asking for business too soon, before building a relationship.
- Waiting too long to ask, potentially missing opportunities.
To ensure the timing is right, focus on building relationships first. The right time to ask for business is when you’ve established trust and demonstrated value.
But don’t wait indefinitely – be proactive in moving the relationship forward when appropriate. What does that mean? Listen to obvious openings and make the ask when appropriate.
4. Making Assumptions
When selling legal services, making assumptions is often detrimental. Especially since the most common assumptions include:
- Assuming potential clients know you want their business.
- Assuming they’ll ask you when they’re ready.
- Assuming they can’t afford your services.
These assumptions can lead to missed opportunities and misunderstandings.
Instead of assuming:
- Be clear about your interest in working with a potential client.
- Reach out regularly to inquire as to how you might help them.
- Don’t be afraid to discuss your services and fees.
You’re providing valuable legal expertise – don’t sell yourself short by making assumptions about what clients can or can’t afford.
5. Telling, Not Showing
Lost of lawyers tell potential clients about their expertise rather than demonstrating it. This is a critical mistake when trying to sell legal services, and happens most often in networking and legal marketing efforts. Here is what this often looks like:
- Listing your credentials and experience without context.
- Speaking in generalities about your practice area.
- Failing to provide concrete examples of how you’ve helped similar clients.
To avoid these common legal sales mistakes, use storytelling and specific examples to showcase your expertise. When a potential client mentions a problem, share a brief anecdote about how you’ve solved a similar issue for another client.
This “show, don’t tell” approach is much more impactful and memorable.
Want help with how to do this? Listen to my Life & Law Podcast episode about how and why to use Storytelling In Legal Marketing here.
6. Faking Expertise
A prospect comes to you with a potential new matter outside of your area of expertise. You might have someone who could assist within your law firm but don’t want to look like you aren’t sure. And so you try to fake your way through the meeting, believing you’ll find the right person later and/or can figure it out as you go.
This happens more than most lawyers want to admit. I get it. It’s easy to think “I can figure this out at some point” when in the midst of selling legal services.
Don’t do this. It’s ethically dangerous and also likely to backfire, hurting the trust and credibility you’ve worked hard to build.
Instead of trying to puff yourself up, overstating your capabilities and/or failing to admit when you’re unsure about something, be honest about your experience and knowledge.
Clients appreciate honesty and are willing to work with lawyers who are transparent about their expertise. You might not get the immediate work but you will prove your trustworthiness, planting a seed for later on.
7. Talking Too Much
When selling legal services, lawyers often fall into the trap of talking excessively (often, due to nerves). This mistake can manifest as:
- Filling every moment of silence with unnecessary chatter.
- Over-explaining your services or experience.
- Not giving the potential client enough opportunity to speak.
By doing this, you not only turn potential clients off but fail to gather information and miss opportunities.
Instead of feeling the need to fill space, embrace the power of silence. Pauses allow both you and the potential client to process information and formulate thoughts.
Practice active listening and give the client ample opportunity to express their needs and concerns. I recommend following an 80/20 split when networking with potential clients (talk 20% of the time and allow them to speak 80% of the time).
Remember, selling legal services is as much about listening as it is about speaking.
8. Criticizing Without Contributing
Sometimes, when selling legal services you’ll be given information about what other attorneys have advised. Often, you’ll have a different approach or take. Don’t make the mistake of bad-mouthing these attorneys or their advice. Not only is this not a good look but it damages your credibility.
And note that bad-mouthing isn’t just about saying the other attorney gave bad advice, but also includes:
- Dismissing advice from other lawyers without explanation.
- Focusing on what’s wrong rather than how to make it right.
If you disagree with advice a potential client has received, frame your response constructively. Instead of outright criticism, offer your perspective on why a different approach might be more beneficial.
Use phrases like, “Another approach to consider is…” or “In my experience, what has worked well is…” This demonstrates your expertise without undermining the client’s trust in the legal profession as a whole.
9. Over-promising
While this might seem more like a service issue, over-promising when selling legal services is a critical mistake that can damage your reputation and future legal sales efforts. This includes:
- Guaranteeing specific outcomes in litigation or negotiations.
- Promising unrealistic timelines or availability.
- Overestimating your ability to handle certain aspects of a matter.
Be realistic about what you can deliver and when. It’s better to under-promise and over-deliver than to get caught overpromising.
Set clear expectations about your services, availability, and the potential outcomes of each matter. This honesty will build trust and lead to more satisfied clients, which in turn can lead to referrals and repeat business.
10. Treating “No” as Forever
The final common mistake most lawyers make when selling legal services is interpreting a “no” as a permanent rejection rather than a “not right now.” This mindset often leads to a failure in maintaining relationships that would likely produce results in the future.
Instead of treating a “no” as forever, accept that a “no” is often circumstantial. Continue to nurture relationships with potential clients even after they decline your services by:
- Keeping them updated on your practice.
- Sharing relevant insights.
- Periodically checking in to see if their needs have changed.
This persistent, but not pushy, approach can turn initial rejections into future opportunities.
Remember, selling legal services is about building relationships, demonstrating value, and genuinely seeking to help clients with their legal needs. It’s a skill that, like any aspect of law, improves with practice and reflection.
By learning to avoid the above mistakes, you’ll be well on your way to more comfortable sales conversations. Conversations that are effective – and hence, produce real results.
The Overarching Theme: Shift Your Mindset
Many of the common mistakes discussed above are a result of a common mindset lawyers bring to the act of selling legal services…
As an uncomfortable necessity that shouldn’t be an integral part of lawyering.
This is you if you find yourself thinking, “I went to law school to practice law, not to sell”. As stated above, the key to overcoming this hurdle lies in a fundamental shift in perspective: from selling to serving.
Let’s talk about how to do that.
Reframing Legal Sales
Instead of thinking about selling legal services as trying to convince someone to hire you, consider it as an extension of your professional duty to help people. After all, you became an attorney for a reason – to serve your clients and make a real impact on their lives, business and/or the world in general.
When you approach a prospective client, think of them as someone you genuinely want to help. They’re not so different from your existing clients, except that they haven’t engaged your services yet.
Adopting a service-first approach to legal sales can transform what might feel like a pushy or sleazy interaction into a natural, organic conversation. Here are 5 tips for how to shift your mindset around selling legal services:
Focus on their needs
Instead of thinking about what you can gain, focus on how you can help the potential client. What legal challenges are they facing? How can your expertise make a difference?
Provide value upfront
Share insights, offer relevant resources, or provide a fresh perspective on their situation. This demonstrates your expertise and commitment to helping, regardless of whether they immediately become a client.
Listen more than you speak
A key aspect of serving is understanding. Ask thoughtful questions and really listen to the answers. This not only helps you understand their needs better but also makes the potential client feel heard and valued. Remember, practice the 80/20 rule.
Be authentic
Don’t try to be someone you’re not. Your unique personality and approach to law are part of what makes you valuable. Let that shine through in your interactions.
Stay client-focused
Keep in mind that it’s not about you – it’s about what you can do for them. Keep the conversation centered on their needs and how you can address them.
Overcoming the Discomfort
If you still feel uncomfortable with the idea of selling, remember that you’re not trying to pressure anyone into a decision. You’re offering your professional services to those who need them.
By reframing sales as an opportunity to serve, you can approach these conversations with confidence and authenticity.
This mindset shift not only makes the process more comfortable for you but also more effective. Potential clients are more likely to respond positively to a lawyer who genuinely wants to help than to one who is focused on securing their business.
Transforming Your Approach To Selling Legal Services
Effective legal sales is not about aggressive pitching or uncomfortable self-promotion. Instead, it’s about building meaningful relationships, demonstrating value, and genuinely seeking to help clients with their legal needs.
By avoiding the ten common lawyer sales mistakes above, you can transform your approach to business development and achieve greater success in growing your practice.
Next Steps To Mastering Selling As A Lawyer
Check out the following resources to further hone your legal sales skills:
- Article: 5 Mindset Strategies for Success & Prosperity
- Life & Law Podcast: You Can Sell With Confidence (case study & interview)
- Life & Law Podcast: Law Firm Sales (Effective Sales Pitch Secrets)
- Client Development Blueprint: 5 Proven Steps To Grow Your Business to $1MM+ Without Anxiety or Overwhelm
