Anyone who is anyone has been given several G-mail invites to hand out like exclusive backstage passes(I don't have one yet, so that confirms my belief that I am not anyone). Google has gotten people talking about their service (that is going to be free anyway) for months before its official rollout.
This got me thinking about what my firm could give away to build buzz and get our new name out there. I don't want to just give away trinkets, mugs, calendars, etc. Instead, weve been thinking about doing small business incorporations for free. No strings attached. Of course, we'd pitch our monthly service pricing package to each small business and hope they'd retain us as their counsel. We might even pay the $150 filing fee to the Illinois Secretary of State out of our own pockets.
Why do I think this might work? Well, not everyone gets the deal. We limit the number we do every month to five or so, and businesses that want their free incorporation must apply by giving us a business plan or some other evidence they are likely to be around for a while. So, even though we are doing the work for free, we are getting to pick the applicants most likely to succeed and become long term clients. Mirroring the G-mail plan, current clients will get anywhere from 1-5 "invites," and anyone who is referred by an existing client automatically gets one of the free monthly slots.
All of the month's clients will have to come to a seminar where we cover the basics of incorporation, so we don't have to cover the basics with each one individually. We'll even bring in a CPA to cover tax issues with them.
Assuming we can cover ourselves from a malpractice standpoint, we will essentially be paying $150.00 (plus the time, of course) to acquire a new client and build goodwill. I'd love your comments.
That's the exact business model the successful ambulance chasers use. They put an add on TV, get thousands of calls, and pick the very few cases out of those that actually have merit and a good chance of success.
Posted by: J.I. | June 24, 2004 at 04:54 AM
Matthew -
I have some gmail invites and love your blog! I'd gladly give you one. If you're interested, email scott AT skidder DOT net. Hopefully you can pass my spam filters, hah hah.
s
Posted by: Scott Kidder | June 23, 2004 at 09:52 AM
Matthew,
That is an outstanding idea!
You also build a group that people want to be a part of. It becomes a potential networking opportunity for the people in the club. Keep it exclusive. Hold a day long meeting once a year with (like Mike said) speakers that can help them with other aspects of their business.
You need you give them something that they can show people and use to gain entrance to the meetings. A badge. A limited edition Tom Bihn laptop bag. Something physical. Again the exclusivity.
The idea of giving people the chance to invite other to the club is great. Referrals are the only way to build a service business. Make the invite cool too.
Keep us posted on this one.
Posted by: Todd | June 22, 2004 at 05:02 PM
Bravo! But don't stop at the initial meeting. Why not offer a continuing set of meetings with ALL of your lucky winners, to foster community and networking. You wouldn't need to provide all of the content; you could invite presentations by other advisor-types that your new companies need as well. You want to keep those customer evangelists engaged and actively evangelizing for you!
Posted by: Mike | June 22, 2004 at 08:51 AM