Software Maker Gets 40% Conversion Rate

For the longest time Randall Farrar, a technology consultant to the legal industry, believed lawyers could benefit greatly from automating their office operations. Over the past five years he’s been trying to convince them to do so through his company Esquire Innovations Inc. (www.esqinc.com).

Esquire sells its office automation software to law firms in the United States, Canada and Great Britain. About 70% of its marketing is done online though search engine optimization.

Since the beginning of this year Esquire has beefed up that online business through a redesigned Web site that draws an average of 3,300 hits per month. One of the newer features is a scheduling system though which clients can buy seats for training sessions and reserve software demonstration time—something that was impossible before the redesign, Farrar says.

Once firms agree to a demo, the conversion rate usually runs 30% to 40%, according to Farrar. For example, since January the number of product demos increased from four to 14 in March and to 20 in April, he says.

Esquire also promotes itself through daily telemarketing and postcards, calling and mailing to lists supplied by the Martindale-Hubbell legal directory, American Lawyers Association and the International Legal Technology Association. It picks up additional prospects by exhibiting at the latter two group’s conventions.

The company pulls in just under $10 million a year. It has 400 clients, ranging from sole practitioners to large firms and corporate in-house counsels.

Esquire’s software costs between $40 and $75 per workstation, depending on such factors as the number of workstations and the law firms’ size.

Esquire is looking to develop more reciprocal online links with comparable firms, which Farrar believes will help raise his company’s profile in the world of search engine marketing.

“Google ranks your site based on the number of reciprocal links you have,” he says.