How to Make an Attorney Prospect List

Making a list of your potential attorney prospects is one of the simplest steps you can take on your journey to work with estate planning professionals.

I call this my Fab 100 list, but you may find with attorney work it’s more of a “Fab 600” list, especially if you’re in a large metropolitan area. Why is this?

Contrary to the loan signing industry where there are only 55,000 or so escrow officers across the country, there are over 216,000 estate planning attorneys in the US, with an estimated 5,000 more graduating every year. That gives you a lot of prospects! If you're in a smaller community, expand your radius out to the surrounding areas. 

Right now, your list doesn’t have to be 100% accurate. Use the internet and online directories to search for estate planning attorneys in your area. Keep in mind that the attorney doesn't necessarily have to have an office in your area in order to have a client in your area.

To make this even easier for you, just put everyone you find on the list. You’ll clean it up later. 

A word of caution here: 

Don’t overcomplicate this OR oversimplify it.

Here’s what I mean: You don’t need anything fancy to actually make the list. A legal pad, a Google Sheet or Excel spreadsheet will be just fine. You don't need a fancy CRM. In fact, simpler is better to help get you started. You just need a system to keep track, check off boxes, and take notes. That’s it.

At the same time, don’t get too lazy with it and neglect to make a list of any kind. For example, I've coached notaries through this process and they insist on just dialing for dollars direct from the computer screen after they search "estate planning attorneys near me." If you're plan is to simply cold call, one and done, without ever building a relationships or following up, this might work (it won't, by the way). 

You need a database, your Fab 100 List, to make notes, highlight hot prospects, scratch out names that don't fit your model, and track your contact with each prospect. 

Marketing to attorneys has a longer sales process than you might realize. It will likely take 6-8 (or more) messages, emails, calls, or pop-ins (whatever method you choose) before you get a meeting or a yes. And, those points of contact might be spread over several months. 

That's why it's so important to get started right now.

Here's your first few steps to creating your Fab 100 List for attorneys:

1. Grab a legal pad or open up a new spreadsheet. 
2. Do an internet search for 'Estate Planning Attorney near me."
3. Put everyone you see on your list. Write firm name, location (cities only), website, initial notes (anything that stands out to you-no pressure). Remember, this is NOT the research phase. You don't have to go into a bunch of detail yet. That will come later. 
4. You can expand your search by looking at attorney directories too. You might get some crossover from your internet search, but I was surprised at how many attorneys didn't show up on one or the other. Keep in mind, throughout your marketing process, that attorneys don't always know how to advertise their business. They don't teach it in law school! 

Five popular attorney directories:

• AVVO
• FindLaw
• Lawyers.com
• Abogado (Spanish-speaking lawyers)
• The Bar Association

It's called the Fab 100 for a reason. Do whatever you can to get 100 names on your list. If you live in a small town with two attorneys, expand to the next biggest city, and the next. Search for estate plan companies, include paralegals and legal document preparers (each state may call them by a different name). 

Get to 100 names or more and then you can start the next phase- getting in their orbit and researching.