Googlize your Firm

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.