It's been quite a week on Wall Street. Smart law firms like yours use this time as an opportunity to build upon their marketing strategies while competitors are reducing their marketing budgets.  Here are a few low-cost suggestions on how to improve your client conversions and increase sales.• Offer Payment Plans. Offering payment plans may boost transactions because it breaks down costs in smaller, more attainable increments. According to an Inquire Market Research Study when a practitioner advertises the availability of financing via literature, a display, or a staff member, clients are more likely to end their search for a practitioner sooner.Additionally, the survey reported that, although the professional's reputation, products offered, and practice location were the top three most important factors in practitioner selection, availability of payment plans ranked fourth, making it “a more important consideration than referrals from a friend, the office staff, or a low price.” Additionally, payment plans were more influential than newspaper ads, direct mail offers, or yellow page ads. In addition to winning patients over, offering a payment plan saves practices from awkward payment situations with clients. Payment plans provide a cost-effective solution for clients as well as viable marketing strategy to boost sales.• Make Sure Consultations are Thorough. Now is the time to really give each and every potential client the attention he deserves.  A thorough consultation ensures a potential client that you are knowledgeable of their needs. It also gives an overview of your capabilities and unique selling points.  Don't rush your free consultations with clients.  A few extra minutes during a consultation may be the difference between a signed or unsigned retainer agreement.• Follow up. As we all know, many people do not hire an attorney during the first consultation.  They may be shopping around or procrastinating. They may be very busy, or distracted, or broke, or tired. They may have forgotten, or misplaced your contact information. They may not be ready, or maybe they're just not sure if they want to hire an attorney.  This is a great opportunity for the marketing savvy lawyer (you) to get the client. Following up with a client says that their business is too important to lose to a competitor. After a potential client has a free consultation, what do your intake specialists do to follow up?  Do they send follow up letters or emails?  Do they call back?  If not, take a moment this week to calendar follow-up phone calls with each and every lead your office has received.If your firm has calendars follow up correspondence, you will start signing some potential clients that “fell through the cracks.”  A hand-written personal note or phone call is more important than a full page ad in the New York Times. If you invest in your client base, it will be a perpetual source of income for life. No competitor could win them over if you stay in constant contact and follow up with your clients.• Point out Added Value Benefits. Consumers need ways to justify their expenditures. They want to make sure they found the best lawyer possible. Pointing out the added value in using your firm differentiates you from your competitors, and may be the deciding factor in choosing you as their law firm. This will help your clients justify that they chose the right firm in choosing yours. Focus on the fact that you are the one-stop shop for all their needs. This will calm their nerves on what potentially can be a very confusing and traumatic time in their lives. If you're not following up with your prospective clients, you could be handing them to your competitors....