The accountant gave them your name. Then they looked you up.
Your partners do good deal work and introducers trust you. Yet introductions that used to become instructions now go to the other name on the list. This playbook shows what an owner checks before they reply — and where a referral quietly stops being yours.
The short versionCorporate and commercial firms usually lose referred clients during the online check: assistants name other firms, partner pages show qualifications but no sectors or deals, and fees are never explained. Then the introduction waits days for a busy partner. Clear partner pages, a fee approach and same-day ownership fix more than networking does.
6-minute read · Updated 20 Oct 2026 · Legal Services
9:41●●● 5G
Good law firm for selling my business?
AI assistant3 recommendations
1Mid-size commercial firmCorporate law firmNamed first · cited
2Large national firmCorporate law firmNamed · cited
–Your firmCorporate law firmNot mentioned
Why these three“For an owner-managed sale, Mid-size commercial firm is often cited for clear fee estimates and deal experience…”
Leak 1Not in the shortlistAssistants name two firms with clear sector focus.
Leak 2No fee approachNothing on fixed fees, caps or how estimates work.
Leak 3Slow first callIntroduction email sat a week waiting for a partner.
Start here
Tick anything that sounds like your week.
Eight things corporate and commercial firms commonly describe. Select the ones that apply and we'll show what usually causes them, in the order we'd tackle it. Nothing is submitted.
Tick what applies3 of 8 selected
Why a good firm still loses the referral
Referrals start the conversation. The online check decides it.
Most corporate and commercial work still arrives by introduction — an accountant, a bank, an investor, a former client. But the owner who receives your name now spends a few minutes checking before they reply. They ask an assistant who is good for their kind of deal, read the partner's page, look for recent work in their sector and try to work out what it might cost. If your firm looks generic, the introduction quietly goes to the other name on the list.
01
The shortlist an assistant gives without you
Which law firm to sell my company?
1Mid-size commercial firmNamed first · cited
2Large national firmNamed · directories
–Your firmNot namedNot cited
Why don't AI assistants recommend our corporate law firm?
Owners now ask an assistant “which law firm should I use to sell my company” or “commercial lawyer for software contracts”. Assistants name firms whose sector focus, deal types and partners are described clearly and consistently across their site, directories and articles. A generic “full-service firm” page gives them nothing to cite.
02
The fee approach nobody explains
lawyer cost to sell a business
Your page“Fees discussed on application.”Tab closed
Answered pageFixed-fee stages · how caps work · what moves the costQuoted by AI
Should a corporate law firm explain its fees online?
Business owners expect legal fees to be opaque and dread an open-ended hourly bill. You can't price a transaction online, but you can explain which work is fixed-fee, how estimates and caps work, what usually moves the cost and when a written estimate arrives. Firms that do this look easier to instruct.
03
The introduction that waited for a partner
Our accountant suggested you. Selling the company — can we talk?Email · 4:40 pm
Thanks — the partner will be in touch next week.3 days later · 9:15 am
Thanks, we have engaged another firm.9:48 am
Why do warm introductions to our firm go cold?
An accountant's introduction is warm for a few days. If the email sits until the partner finishes a completion, the owner calls the other firm on the list — and the introducer notices. A named owner who acknowledges the same day, starts the conflict check and books the call keeps the introduction alive.
What we'd do about it
Five moves, in the order that pays.
Fix the leaks first, then grow. Scaling a funnel that loses enquiries just spends more to lose more.
Move
W1W2W3W4W5W6W7W8W9W10W11W12M3+
01Fix what an introducee checksPartner, sector and deal-type pages rebuilt so a referred owner finds the right person, relevant experience and a clear next step within a minute of looking.Content Marketing
Weeks 1–3
02Explain the fee approachA plain page on fixed-fee stages, caps, estimates and what changes the cost, written within the professional conduct rules on fee information where you practise.Content Marketing
Weeks 2–5
03Close the introduction gapSame-day acknowledgement by a named owner, conflict check started, partner call booked. Website forms qualified by company size, matter type and timing.Conversion Optimisation
Weeks 3–6
04Become citableConsistent firm and partner descriptions across your site and directories, judgement-led articles from named partners, and tracking of which assistant questions name you.AI Search Optimisation
Weeks 4–11
05Then build sector demandSector pages for the industries you want more of, plus introducer pages for accountants and banks — once the basics work, because scaling a leaky funnel wastes money.SEO Services
Month 3 onward
Social presence · where clients check you
The introducer named you. They opened your LinkedIn next.
For business owners, your partners' LinkedIn is the second opinion after an introduction. Six things decide whether a profile view turns into a partner call.
9:41●●● 5G
yourfirm.law
YFYour FirmCorporate law firm
Corporate & commercial law for SMEsSales, investment, contractsBook a partner call ↓
EnquireMessageCall
SectorsPartnersFeesInsights
Selling up: first stepsDeal process · by MeeraWhat drives our feesShareholder deals FAQPartner Q&A · by ArjunDue diligence checklistNew rules, plain EnglishMeet the corporate teamFor introducers
WEDShort explainer videoA deal stage in under two minutes.
THUTeam spotlightWho handles which kind of matter.
FRIRule change, explainedWhat a new rule means for owners.
DAILYRepliesMessages and comments, same working day.
What we'd watch
Your dashboard, minus the vanity metrics.
Six numbers that show whether the work is turning into new instructions — each pulled from a system you already own. The audit fills in your baseline; every sprint after shows the trend.
Firm growth · monthlyYour dashboard after the free audit
Assistant mentionsAI visibility tracking
Baseline—
Branded searchesSearch Console
Baseline—
Introduction to first callCRM or practice system
Baseline—
Enquiry to instructionPractice management system
Baseline—
Introductions by sourceCRM
Baseline—
Fee value by sourceBilling system
Baseline—
Your numbers, not ours
What is the slow reply actually costing you?
Three inputs only you know. We don't know your business yet — so nothing here is a benchmark, just your own arithmetic.
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What you may be losing
$103,920a month in clients who book somewhere else — worked out from your three numbers above.
6 × 4.33 weeks× 1 in 2× $8,000
The fix is ownership, not budget. A named person acknowledges the same day and books the partner call — weeks 3 to 6 of the plan.
Free with any monthly plan from $499. Domain, hosting and paid tools are bought by you and stay in your name; shops and booking systems are quoted separately. The 48-hour clock starts once your plan is active and the launch checklist is done.
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Questions commercial law firms ask
Straight answers, no sales script.
Straight answers. If yours isn't here, a 30-minute call is the fastest route — no pitch, no deck.
Most of our work comes from referrals. Why does online matter?
Because introduced clients check you before they reply. They search your name, read the partner page and increasingly ask an assistant about you. A thin profile turns a warm introduction into one option among several.
Can AI assistants really affect who gets instructed?
They increasingly shape the shortlist an owner starts with, particularly owners without an adviser to ask. We can't control what an assistant says and we don't guarantee mentions, but clear, consistent and well-cited descriptions of your work make you easier to name.
We can't publish deal details. What can we show?
Deal types, sectors, typical client size and anonymised summaries the client has agreed to, plus partners' views on the issues those clients face. Everything respects confidentiality and stays within the professional conduct rules where you practise.
Should a commercial firm publish prices?
Not a price list, but your approach: which work is fixed-fee, how caps and estimates work and what changes the cost. Owners who understand how they'll be charged are more comfortable instructing.
How long before we see a difference?
Partner pages and introduction handling can change conversion within a couple of months. Being named by assistants and ranking for sector searches usually takes longer — several months, depending on competition.
Do partners need to write the articles?
They need to supply the judgement. We interview them briefly, draft the piece, and they edit and approve it. A named partner's view is what makes it worth citing.
Does LinkedIn matter for a corporate and commercial law firm?
Yes — it is where an owner or introducer checks your partners before replying. Partners posting practical guidance under their own names does more than a busy company page. Keep your Google Business Profile accurate for name searches and add YouTube explainers once posting is steady. Everything stays within your professional conduct rules: no outcome claims, nothing confidential.
Do we get a free website for our firm?
Yes. Every monthly plan includes a free 5-page website for your firm — fast, AI-readable and yours to keep. It goes live within 48 hours once your plan is active and the launch checklist is done. Your domain, hosting and any paid tools sit outside the offer and stay in your name; online shops and booking systems are quoted separately. What's included
Free · one business day
Tell us about your firm. Get a plan back.
A strategist reads your brief and replies within one business day with what we'd fix first for your firm, a timeline and the real cost.
Reply in 1 business dayFrom a strategist, not a bot
See what an introduced client finds when they check you.
We'll check what assistants say about your firm, review your partner and sector pages, and time how fast an introduction gets a reply — then send you what we found. You keep the findings either way.
Social presence · where clients check you
The introducer named you. They opened your LinkedIn next.
For business owners, your partners' LinkedIn is the second opinion after an introduction. Six things decide whether a profile view turns into a partner call.
yourfirm.law
Is your profile ready to sell?
Tap what's already true.
Where your clients look
A week that books, not just posts
Social Media Marketing Included in Zero to Hero (2 platforms) and Own The Answer (4 platforms).