Strike Us Down, We Shall Become More Powerful

OR

"Why Invalid Leads Aren't a Waste of Time"

One of the most common comments from clients of our legal lead service is that they don’t like wasting time with invalid leads. We have a refund system in place that’s as easy as it can be to help ease the pain, because we know that an occasional false lead is an unavoidable part of the game. Is it a waste of time, though? Could it be that these invalid leads are essential –even useful?

Can Getting “Struck Down” Get Us Ahead?

To help understand, we may as well turn to the only thing people are talking about right now, Star Wars.

For anyone who grew up with Star Wars around the time it debuted in 1977, here was one of the first moments in the story to short circuit our young minds.

Obi-Wan Kenobi faces off with Darth Vader in a lightsaber duel for the ages. (If this is not your thing, and you’re already lost allow me to translate: good guy, Obi-Wan, fights bad guy, Darth Vader, with laser swords.) Obi-Wan is buying time for his friends to escape the sinister Death Star. Darth Vader taunts his opponent, and Obi-Wan replies.

“You can’t win, Darth. If you strike me down I shall become more powerful than you can possibly imagine.”

As the audience, we thought that was pretty good smack talk. In our young minds we thought, “Boy, Obi-Wan sure can talk a good game, If I was Darth I’d be shaking in my –“

What!? Darth strikes him down. Darth strikes him down so good that Obi-Wan Kenobi actually “melts” away. Our hero is gone, and this “I shall become more powerful” business feels like a punch in the face.

Later we learn that Obi-Wan Kenobi has indeed grown powerful, becoming one with the all-powerful Force in his death and discovering new, cosmic party tricks to help the good guys win the day.

That’s a tough idea to swallow, that being “struck down” can make us stronger, and yet we know it to be true. If we’ve been paying attention at all in life, we know that in education, in work, in parenting, in sports, and in all manner of things we learn as much from our failures as we do our success.

But does that idea work for sales leads –

for legal leads in particular?

Is the “striking down” of an invalid lead

a waste of time?

A Mysterious, Living Force

In Star Wars, the Force is “an energy field created by all living things. It surrounds us and penetrates us; it binds the galaxy together.”

So, it’s a living thing made by living things, and it can be used for light or darkness. It takes years to master its use, and not everyone can do it.

That last bit we loved as kids in the 1980’s. There was this great mystery where some people were “strong” with the Force, and some weren’t.

Then, in 1999, the first Star Wars prequel came up with an explanation. Microscopic things in the blood called “midichlorians” determined who was strong with the Force. One could even get a blood test to check one’s “midichlorian count.”

Fan boys were miffed. Someone had just taken away a great mystery. And somehow, the mystery seemed more plausible than the explanation.

Systems on the internet run more on mystery than anyone wants to admit. Any software programmer will admit that what seems concrete to us, software code, contains varying degrees of creativity and organic origin. Microsoft collects untold data from error reports to create those pesky updates that have to be installed, and when something goes wrong there are no “parts” to replace like on a car. Someone has to imagine and invent the solution.

Every version of Windows, every app on your phone bears the illusion of being a simple “I tell you what to do and you do it” system, but they are living, growing things, made by living people. As such they are prone to errors which get discovered and then studied to make the whole stronger.

Legal lead services are no different, and for every campaign there are a ton of moving parts involving filters, databases, landing pages, forms, and online advertising.

The simple truth is this. Every refund we process at 4LegalLeads, for instance, is a data point, a clue leading to a way we can make our system better. A constant influx of data from refund reports on invalid leads is a gold mine to help refine and optimize a system – not such a waste of time. Obi-Wan was right, Striking down invalid leads only makes us more powerful.

In the first Star Wars film, (Not Episode I, but Episode IV which came out in – oh never mind.) there was a pilot who tried to destroy the Death Star (bad guy headquarters) who failed. If he hadn’t failed, Luke (protagonist and student of Obi-Wan Kenobi) wouldn’t have been convinced that he needed help from Obi-Wan, who was now an all-powerful part of the Force and could help guide Luke to victory.

And just in case that was too much Star Wars all at once, it comes down to this...

It takes a few mistakes to hit the bullseye,

and often we need a partner to learn how.

Partners in the Trenches

We want legal lead services to perform in a binary manner, like a gumball machine – money in, lead out. When I say “we” I mean everyone – both sides of the table. It would be so much easier.

The truth is that campaigns work best when the lead service and client see each other as partners. That’s why we use that language at 4LegalLeads.

The climactic scene of the original Star Wars movie is called the “trench run” as the jet-fighter equivalent of space ships attack the evil Death Star in a tight canyon of steel leading to their target. In this trench are Luke (living) and Obi-Wan (ghost-like), working together in the cockpit of Luke’s ship.

Standing between them and the target are all manner of obstacles – enemy space ships, laser cannons and the like.

It helps to think of any new campaign for legal leads as a partnership. The provider and client are really partners in the trenches, navigating obstacles and making course adjustments. In truth, the client is more like Obi-Wan Kenobi, providing valuable feedback from afar while the lead provider pilots the ship past obstacles to hit the target.

A lead campaign is a living thing created by living people, and it takes conversation between the provider and the client about what’s working and what’s not. Part of that input comes in the form of refund forms. Other parts come from obvious avenues like phone calls and emails.

In the end, time spent with invalid legal leads is a crucial, useful part of optimizing a campaign and never wasted.

Welcome to the “Force” of software and the internet, the mysterious land of the living where being struck down brings strength, where partners make it further than loners, and, as Star Wars teaches, patience leads us to the light side.

VIEW OUR WELCOME VIDEO BELOW.

(Since 2001 4LegalLeads has specialized in delivering prospective legal clients to the industry through targeted legal leads. All of our legal leads are exclusive, real-time, and are actively seeking legal help. We handle all lead tracking to final delivery, insuring the highest quality. Advanced targeting options combined with our powerful Backoffice Distribution System help grow legal businesses to the next level. Learn more at 4LegalLeads.com. (888) 444-3884)

#4legalleadsblog