Know-How Exchange : Website Critique

Dear Carrie,

When I do business with a lawyer, I want to know what the person looks like, what they've done, who they've done it for, what they can do for me, and how good they are at what they do.

I see none of this here. So, if this guy wants to hear his phone ringing, here's what I'd recommend:

1. A pro or semi pro head shot of this guy.
2. Social proof: testimonials.
3. Explanation ... in plain English ... about what this guy can do, for whom, and just who his ideal client is. What I DON'T want to read is stuff like this "While studying commercial litigation at Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law, he completed Cardozo’s renowned Intensive Trial Advocacy Program, led by Innocence Project founder, Barry Sheck." YAWN!
4. Some kind of sign up form where I can get "Legal Advice of the Week" style tips (pre selling that will also build this guy's list).
5. A simple talking head video of 3 to 4 minutes where this guy outlines his dog and pony show.
6. A NAMED e-mail address and not just some lame-assed "info@" e-mail address.
7. Some kind of social media connection (LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook).
8. This might sound selfish but DAMNIT! I want to know about ME! I've run a customer focus test on this guy's site and the results are that he talks about himself EXCLUSIVELY. Not good.
9. Some kind of offer.
10. Some kind of call to action.

I hope this helps.

Gary Bloomer
The Direct Response Marketing Guy™
January 31, 2011, 7:27pm EST

Who is his target audience? Why should they hire him instead of one of the 1,000 other lawyers within a 5 mile radius? Even if I am in the target audience what is it he'd like me to do?

From a positioning perspective, the site is really boring. Lots of gray, lots of copy, nothing interesting that really grabs the visitor. And in all those boring pages there are no pictures of human beings. It's all about law books and inanimate objects. And, to top it off, I don't think there are any colors on any of the pages except gray and sepia.

Nobody is going to read all that copy if they don't think there's going to be a payoff for them. For each page, your son's friend should write down the one important thought he'd like to have people take away from that page, and then redo the page to communicate that one thought very specifically and clearly.

I'm guessing he hasn't thought much about who is going to visit the site, how they will find it, or what they might be looking for. So he's created a site that will be equally useless to everyone ... but says what he would say if someone asked who he is or what he does.

I agree that the site should be scrapped and he should start over -- perhaps with some professional help next time.

Carrie, where to begin? It's awful. It's not the look - it's the lack of any reason to want to go on living... His copy literally saps the energy from the reader. I know, that's what lawyers are renowned for, but why would he want to be like all the rest?

Besides, it's only 99% of lawyers that give the rest a bad name...

Gary, Phil and Michael have already pointed out all the issues and asked all the right questions.

Here's my recommendation: Tell him to sign up for the mentor program with Alan Weiss at Summit Consulting - he's not far from him (RI).

For a few thousand dollars investment he would get world-class advice and repositioning from an expert who makes huge money and has based his whole career on offering real value to the buyer.

Best of luck to him.

Hi Carrie,

I’m sorry to say I have to agree with the wisdom provided by the above posters.

I spent a decade as the executive director of a large LA based firm and primarily focused on landing Fortune 1000 companies as clients. There is next to zero chance that the General Counsel or Chief Legal Officers of big business would pay any attention to this site or it’s offerings.

Who is Ben Speciale targeting? What specific legal services is he planning that will re-position the very well established law firm brands (not to mention insurance companies and risk management firms).

The concept of legal audits, preventative or risk exposure programs and the like as law firm service products goes back for decades. I tested these concepts in the 90s with little to no success as a positioning strategy. I’m not saying Mr. Speciale is wrong to pursue this niche path, I’m just advising that this site does not represent the kind of deep strategic development needed to revolutionize an industry that does not want to be changed. And believe me, the ABA will fight any attempt to change a system that works so well to reinforce it’s collective business model.

Hope this helps,

Steve