Background: Gave consultation with accountant who wanted to build his firm by getting referrals
from bankruptcy attorneys. At the time, he was getting referrals from one bankruptcy law firm
(Ammerman & Goldberg) but wanted to enter into business relationships with more law firms. I
conducted research and drafted a marketing strategy for him that combined traditional (offline)
and digital (online) tactics.
Marketing Strategy to Reach Bankruptcy Attorneys
Create a Website
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Create a presentation (Powerpoint or Screen recording software such as ScreenFlow or
Screencast) that shows your expertise as it pertains to the special needs of individuals/
businesses who are filing for bankruptcy. The presentation would target both bankruptcy
attorneys (or panel trustees- see at the end of this document) and their clients but its
primary audience would be bankruptcy attorneys and demonstrate your expertise,
credibility and reliability to handle their clients.
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Lawyers are pressed on time, so make the presentation no more than 10
minutes.
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Set up a squeeze page on your website: Use an autoresponder (using a service such as
Aweber) to collect ‘leads’ from bankruptcy attorneys who must give you their contact info
(such as their email addresses/phone numbers) in order to see your presentation. The
presentation is used to educate bankruptcy attorneys/clients and to build a list of leads to
contact in the future.
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Get an endorsement from Ammerman & Goldberg and ask for permission to use it on
your website (and in other marketing materials such as brochures or direct mail pieces)
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Include other web pages (About, Contact, Services, links to social media channels)
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Consider creating a survey to get detailed information from bankruptcy attorneys about
the needs of their client base.
Create a Linkedin Profile
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Fill out the profile which is simply your professional bio.
Make a direct connection with Ammerman & Goldberg
Use Linkedin as a way to network with bankruptcy attorneys within A & G’s network.
Create a Business Facebook Page
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Invite your clients and Ammerman & Goldberg to ‘Like’ your page and share it with
others.
Post content just like you would on your personal Facebook page but instead make it
everything tax related.
Include links to your website, Linkedin profile, blog, or other social media channels.
Send Direct Mail Letters to Bankruptcy Attorneys in DMV area
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Select 20 bankruptcy attorneys in the DMV (preferably all or some who are in
Ammerman & Goldberg’s network) -see Linkedin profile-.
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Draft a letter explaining your tax prep services and include elements such as ‘why they
should refer their clients to you’, and Ammerman & Goldberg’s endorsement. Mail the
letter to their law offices and make sure to address the letters directly to the appropriate
person(s). The letter could also inform lawyers about your presentation (see ‘How to Get
on Bankruptcy Attorneys’ Schedules).
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Follow up with a telephone call.
How to Get on Bankruptcy Attorneys’ Schedules
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Lawyers live by their schedules. Consider making your presentation time-sensitive and
inform lawyers (through your direct mail letter, for example) when it will be available for
viewing online. This tactic could increase the conversion rate of bankruptcy attorneys
who actually view your presentation.
The presentation could be presented as a live webinar or pre-recorded and simply made
available at a specific date and time.
*Reach Out to Chapter 7 Panel Trustees
Source: http://www.nabt.com/faq.cfm
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Appointed in each Chapter 7 case to review the bankruptcy petition and schedules filed
with the court.
Chapter 7 Trustees are not gov’t employees. They are private citizens appointed and
supervised by the Office of U.S. Trustee.
Many are lawyers or accountants who continue their professions after their appointments
to the panel
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There are approx. 1000 Chapter 7 Trustees and most of them are members of the
National Association of Bankruptcy Trustees (NABT).
A Panel Trustee may` handle hundreds of cases!
Send direct mail letters to Panel Trustees.
Private Trustee Locator: http://www.justice.gov/ust/eo/private_trustee/locator/7.htm#MD
(Start with the trustees in the DMV. An endorsement from Ammerman & Goldberg would give
you credibility with them because it’s likely that they know the law firm.)
Do some research on each Trustee. Go to their practice’s websites. Find out information about
them and draft customized direct letters telling them about your services and don’t forget
Ammerman & Goldberg’s endorsement!
Notes:
After doing some preliminary research for you, it seems to me that you have two target markets:
Bankruptcy Attorneys and Panel Trustees. Panel Trustees should be your focus. Why? Well, the
bottom line is: 1 or 2 bankruptcy attorneys may bring you a handful of clients per year but panel
trustees handle hundreds of cases! If you develop a good working relationship with just one or
two panel trustees they could send you tens of referrals each year!
*Go to http://www.nabt.com/faq.cfm and scroll down to the section, “How are Panel Trustees
Compensated?”. This section tells you how they get paid ($60 per case + commission based
on the dollar amount of assets brought into the estate). You can work out either a flat fee or
commissioned based payment arrangement for each client/case they bring you.
(I’ve started compiling the names of Panel Trustees for you in DC, MD & VA. The names are
from the Private Trustee locator and you can still go there to get more info) (See below)
Maryland
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Monique D. Almy http://crowell.com/Professionals/Monique-Almy
Marc H. Baer http://www.autoinjurycomp.com/marcbaer.htm
Mark J. Friedman http://www.dlapiper.com/mark_friedman/
Richard M. Kremen http://www.dlapiper.com/richard_kremen/
Brian A. Goldman http://goldmangoldman.com/our-attorneys/brian-a-goldman
Charles R. Goldstein charles.goldstein@protiviti.com
Zvi Guttman http://zviguttman.com/index.html
Joel I. Sher http://www.shapirosher.com/pages/attorneys/64/joel-sher
Lori Simpson http://bdslegal.com/attorneys.html#simpson
Michael G. Wolff http://www.gwolaw.com/attorneys/michael-wolff/
Merrill Cohen http://www.cohenbaldinger.com/attorneys/merrill-cohen/
Steven H. Greenfeld http://www.cohenbaldinger.com/attorneys/steven-greenfeld/
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Janet M. Neese http://www.stinson.com/JanetNesse/