Get Lawyer Referrals for DUI And Personal Injury Cases (20 New Ways)
You’re trying to build up your firm, but you know that lawyer referrals for DUI and Personal Injury Attorneys can be hard to come by, right?
So, Where Do You Look For Referrals?
It’s like fishing, right? You go where the fish are.
You wouldn’t go fishing here:
Just like you wouldn’t look for referrals here:
You need to find out where your potential clients are, then go there and “cast your line”.
Remember the old adage, when the cops asked the famous bank robber, Willie Sutton, ‘Why do you rob banks?’ and Sutton replied, “Because that’s where the money is.”’
The same holds true with referrals. Find out where your prospects are, then go there and reel them in!
Get DUI And Personal Injury Attorney Referrals
We’ll start off with DUI and Personal Injury Lawyers as examples, though others will no doubt find this information helpful as well.
As an attorney, you know that a lot of your business referrals come from basically 4 places; friends, family, former clients and other lawyers you may know.
But sitting around waiting for others to send you people can be a waste of time and may not yield any results.
Even when you’re fishing, you have jiggle the line a bit, right?
So that’s what you’re going to do when you’re seeking referrals – throw out the line – and jiggle it a little bit!
And what kind of “bait” will you use? Your knowledge, your past victories and your reviews- both online and word of mouth. Your fishing rod might be your computer, but you still have to get out and meet people, press the flesh!
And remember, you need to be inside your prospect’s head before they get into an accident!
Here are 20 places and ways you can look for referrals, using DUI / Personal Injury Lawyers as an example;
- Bars
- Liquor stores
- Social Media
- Online Forums
- Autobody Shops / Towing Companies
- Chiropractors
- Doctors
- Hospitals – Nearby Businesses
- Department of Motor Vehicles
- Deli
- Supermarket
- Fast Food eateries in close proximity to hospitals
- Taxi Companies / Drivers
- Invite the local hospital workers union to a party
- Run a contest on social media
- Sponsor a sporting event at your local high school
- Therapists in your area that specialize in alcohol abuse
- Chamber Of Commerce
- Block Association
- Police and Fire Department
Now let’s go over how to approach these, step by step.
Throw A Party At A Local Bar – This Will Give You A Way To Tie In All The Businesses Mentioned Above.
1) Bars are Ground Zero for DUI Attorney Marketing! Here are some ways you can promote yourself at local bars;
You Have To Shmooze!
A. Chat up the security person that checks ID’s at the front door. Give her/ him your card and offer free advice when they call you. Security guards can find themselves in trouble for assault and end up your client, themselves. Also wrap your card in a crisp $20 bill. Remember, money talks.
B. Order a few non- alcoholic drinks at the bar and tip as if you were ordering champagne. Give the bartender your card/ offer of free advice. Mention you’d like to throw a party at the bar, to gauge the reaction. They will not forget the DUI Lawyer who ordered milk and tipped!
C. After You’ve gotten familiar with the staff, ask to get introduced to the owners. Introduce yourself and tell them you’re thinking about sponsoring an event at their bar that will give them some great local publicity. Give your card, get their number, follow up.
Promoting A Safe Driving Event At A Local Bar. Huh? Yeah!
So what’s this event you’re talking about? You can name it later, but the premise is safe driving after leaving the bar. You could find a local cab company or even a Big Name One Like Uber, and see if they will participate. The idea is that if the bar staff decides someone is too drunk to drive home- they will get a free ride from the car service that joins in the promotion.
Also consider contacting organizations that fight against drunk driving, like MADD. Ask if they will help promote the event online with social media and their website.
If you garner enough attention with this promotion, contact your local news channel with this human interest story. You see where this is going? Spending a few thousand dollars could bring you a huge return on your investment.
Details of who pays what can be arranged later. It’s possible that the taxi company will donate the first 10 rides free in exchange for the publicity you will give them. Maybe the bar will pay for the rides – in consideration for the publicity- which is your end of the deal.
As the organizer of this event, you will be responsible for promoting it. This means paid ads on local radio stations, social media and invitations.
You will need to hire a graphic designer to design Teeshirts and invitations. Both should look fantastic- they are your calling cards!
You will be giving a Free Teeshirt to each staff member at the bar, as well as at least the first 20 patrons who come in that night.
On one side of the Tee shirt- the event name and date /name of bar. On the back -your law firm’s name and logo. If you get paid sponsors, offer to list them on the Teeshirts and invites as an enticement.
How can you lose with this? How much does a DUI Attorney charge for one case? $2,500 -$5,000? So if you spend $5000 on this event and it gets you 5 new clients a month, doesn’t this make sense? In reality, you may get more, because the bar and taxi company won’t forget you.
And what if all this noise you are making lands you a serious personal injury case which resulted from a car accident or drunk driving?
If you play your cards right, you can get local businesses to sponsor a large part of this goodwill event. Now you’re asking yourself, “Who has time for all this?” It’s a good question. You probably don’t have time for all this, so you’ll have to delegate some of the activities associated to this project to some of your trusted employees, or you may want to team up with a local marketing company to help carry the load. This will help you with the day to day, so you don’t have to lose time with your practice.
2) Liquor Stores is a no – brainer. Just go into a different one each week, buy your Marsala Cooking Wine, chat up the owner and cashier. You offer free advice, leave some invites to the party and a few business cards, done.
3) Social Media / Online Forums – this includes social media sites like Twitter, Reddit, Facebook, Google+ – anywhere you can find groups related to bars, nightlife, alcohol abuse, drug abuse. So what do you do with them?! Start off by writing a blog post on your website about how people get arrested for DUI and what their defenses might be. Mention examples of clients you got off. Post links to your article on these social media platforms. This will generate targeted traffic to your website, and hopefully some of them will be impressed enough to convert into clients. The article has to be really useful to ordinary folk though. Don’t go citing caselaw!
And Always Mention The Party Time, Date and Location in All Social Media You Are On!
4) Auto Body Shops – you’re like, whaat? Ok, but how many drunks crash their cars? How many victims of drunk drivers take their cars to local Auto Body Shops to get fixed? Lots! I just spoke to an auto body shop owner the other day who told me he’s given several personal injury clients to a lawyer he knows. SEVERAL. Next time you get a dent, go around to several local shops, pay $25 for a written estimate, strike up a conversation, and give your card. Hey – you’ve got to be in it to win it!
5) Chiropractors – Yes, I said it … Chiropractors. Because how many times will a person involved in a car crash due to DUI, need to go to a Chiropractor? You’d be surprised. Now go, get your back cracked – leave your card and an invite to the party! You can do this online through social media as well.
6) Doctors – self- explanatory. ( see #5!)
7) Hospitals – Yikes! How to get into this one without getting slammed with an ethics violation?! Easy – you don’t go in at all.
But nothing’s stopping you from going “around”, right? Stand in front of your local hospital, turn your head 180 degrees. What do you see? Newsstands, delis, diners, durable medical equipment stores, hospital uniforms, and the list goes on. Each one of these is a target for your promotion.
8) Department of Motor Vehicles. It speaks for itself, but you can be assured that anyone charged with a DUI will be visiting this place at some point or another. Go into your local DMV for whatever you would usually do online – and meet and greet the security guards. Yes, because how many of them act as a shoulder to cry on for all those waiting in line to hear the bad news! If you’re having that promotion at the bar- make sure to give them some invites. These people have a thankless job and are often ignored. An invite to a party from a lawyer can really light up their day.
9) Local Deli – where some of the neighborhood people stop off for a six pack on their way home from work. Throw some generosity at the clerks. Maybe when they give someone their lottery ticket- they’ll include your card.
10) Supermarkets (see #9, Deli)
11) Fast Food Places – Can you guess why these could turn out to be goldmines? Delivery People that risk life or limb in the streets to deliver your food while it’s still hot! Have you ever thought to consider how many of these delivery people have been in traffic accidents while on the job? Lots. You definitely want these people to have your card.
12) Taxis / Taxi Companies – Ok, here’s the drill with this one. You or one of the younger associates or paralegals from the firm should go out on a Friday night to a bar infested area of town and walk the streets, chatting up cab drivers, security guards etc. Start building familiarity with these people before you organize your party- because they will all be able to help you get the word out. You’ll be in the area anyway, scoping out bars you might want to throw your party in, so why waste a trip?!
13) Invite the Local Hospital Workers Through Their Union. If you also practice personal injury, you’re probably saying to yourself, “Geez, why didn’t I think of that?!” NOW you did! For those who can’t attend the party at the bar because they’re working- you might consider throwing a follow up at a local eatery, using the same premises that applied to the bar party, only now it will be food instead of drink and they won’t need taxis to get them home. It can be a simple luncheon kind of thing, just to show you didn’t forget those who missed the party. Hey, if you’re this attentive to peoples’ needs- you MUST be a great lawyer, right? This is an investment that will just keep paying dividends, if done correctly.
14) Run a local contest Start with a blog post on your website and spread out to social media. Make sure you offer a really nice prize. The prize can be awarded at the party. Collect contact information / email addresses of all the contestants. This is a gold nugget in itself, for future contact with them. It will also start a buzz about your firm that will make your competition wonder, “Now how did they think of that?!” Very Important: Name The Winner On Your Website!
15) Sponsor a sporting event at the local high school. A banner at a high school football game with your firm’s name on it can’t hurt! Of course, you won’t be inviting underage high schoolers to your bar party- but you will get to meet their parents at the sporting event. Hey, they’re allowed to go, right?!
16) Therapists who specialize in alcohol abuse and substance abuse– find them online and reach out to them by email to invite them to your party.
17) Drug Rehab Clinics – network with them online. Try to involve them as sponsors to your party. Hey – you fish where the fish are, right?
18) Chamber Of Commerce – this is a vast resource of possible sponsors for your events. Think of all the businesses you can entice to contribute to a good cause (not getting you referrals -the event!).
19) Block Association – if there is one in your area, make sure they know of and are invited to your event.
20) Local Police Precincts and Fire Departments / EMS /Ambulance Workers Should Absolutely be Invited to Your Firm’s Event – they are the first responders in any drunk driving situation. They can come to the bar on their night off or at the end of their shift, whichever works. It wouldn’t hurt to buy some pizzas and have them delivered to the ones still working- to spread the cheer.
Ready For Your Bonus?
Create an online press release for free or through a company like Cision, for a more premium result. This will spread the word far and wide.
Please like, comment and share if you found this helpful and want to get the word out. Hey- sharing this gets your firm’s name out there- it’s an event in itself, and totally free!
If you’re an attorney who has ideas you’d like to add to this, please feel free to do so in the comments.
Thank you and if any of these ideas have worked for you in the past, please tell us in the comments section below. Thank You!