Legaltech and the Endless Sales Funnels
I’ve been helping lawyers and law firms choose their legaltech stack for over four years now. I've even been paid by firms to attend sales meetings with legaltech companies to save them time. Today, I want to address a growing trend that may impact law firms' decisions to implement legaltech: the overwhelming time and resources required to find the right solutions. Legaltech, designed to save time, has become a nightmare to acquire. Below, I’ll explain why law firms are hiring me to attend sales meetings and explore the rise of legaltech sales funnels.
The ‘Buy’ Button Replaced with ‘Contact Sales’
There was a time when you could easily click ‘buy’ on most legaltech platforms and test the software for a month, allowing firms to make informed decisions. Legaltech companies could compete openly, ensuring law firms received the best products. Some firms even offered free trials for a week or limited features.
However, I recently learned from a legaltech company that certain features incur costs, which might explain the shift away from free trials. What strikes me as odd is the growing prevalence of the ‘contact sales’ button, replacing the traditional ‘buy now’ option. Many legaltech websites now require potential customers to navigate a sales funnel to purchase products or access limited free trials. I’ve encountered instances where salespeople cancel demo calls if they don’t consider the firm a ‘big enough’ client, even when using my law work email. This issue isn’t limited to high-end software like Evisort that costs $25000 minimum; I’m referring to companies charging $99/month.
The Sales Funnel and Collecting Your Information
I soon realized that requiring contact information serves to add potential clients to the sales funnel and multiple newsletters. Here’s how the sales funnel typically works: you sign up for a free trial, receive an email from a salesperson prompting you to book a call, and then navigate scheduling challenges. The initial call often involves them asking questions about your firm to provide a ‘customized’ platform recommendation. After this, you may have a second meeting with a technical representative or account manager, going through similar information. Then a third and final meeting to onboard you. Considering the vast array of legaltech software available, even narrowing it down to five companies means attending a minimum of eight meetings. This is where law firms hire me to attend these multiple sales meetings, ultimately participating only in the final discussions.
What began as a desire to review legaltech software and make recommendations based on suitability and pricing has evolved. Unfortunately, even the ‘pricing’ button has been replaced with ‘contact sales.’ While many legaltech companies have complex pricing models that require personalized quotes, it seems that nearly every company now insists on direct contact to disclose their prices.
Pushback from Legaltech Companies
In response to my concerns, legaltech companies might argue that they need to organize their sales teams effectively and follow up with potential customers to increase sales. They may believe that law firms appreciate direct contact. Others might contend that pricing models change year after year, especially when legaltech companies are acquired and their products become part of a larger suite. Some companies also claim they want to protect their intellectual property from competitors.
Conclusion
I understand the challenges of managing a sales team, but it’s perplexing when companies label something as a free trial yet require navigating a sales funnel to access it. This situation could be compared to the retail version of a personal sales assistant in a high-end store. However, if every company adopts this approach, imagine the time and resources it takes to compare, test, and implement legaltech solutions. It starts to make sense why legaltech companies have large marketing budgets. If you don't get visibility, you won't get clients, and those without large marketing budgets suffer.