 Restructure Your Services and Provide More Options
Most attorneys are trapped in the broken model of trading their time for money, but a growing number of firms are recognizing the power in offering "packaged" or "tiered" services. Several of my clients with who emphasize business law or estate planning are either exploring or starting to develop two or three levels of services their clients can receive for an ongoing monthly fee.
For example, with "Level One," clients receive:
· One new incorporation per year.
· One operating agreement.
· One employee contract.
· A customized employee handbook.
· A monthly strategy session by phone.
Level Two includes all of the above services plus:
· Review of all joint venture contracts.
· One trademark or service mark application.
· Membership in a monthly mastermind group.
Level Three includes all of the above plus one full day of onsite training and legal consulting per quarter for the owner and staff. This can include training on sexual harassment, human resource issues, negotiating strategies, and other common problems small companies face.
 The attorneys are using a pricing structure ranging from $750 per month for Level One to $2,500 per month for Level Three. (None of the tiered services include any litigation.) The programs can be structured to fit specific target markets, companies with a certain number of employees or revenues, or positioned for a specific industry or profession.
In helping one of my clients structure his program, we ran some numbers and determined if he had only 10 clients sign up at each level, he would generate an additional $600,000 per year. (Not bad for a solo.) Remember, this is above and beyond any hourly or project-based work he does. This is guaranteed monthly revenues he can count on. He'll continue to offer all of his regular services with a similar pricing structure, but for a select group of clients that fit a certain profile, he now has a different option to offer them. Business clients love this because it allows them to budget for almost all their legal costs.
Although this approach will not work in every practice area, it's a great option for many business and estate planning attorneys as well as other firms who focus on business-to-business law, providing different services repeatedly to the same clientele.
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