Avvo: Falsus in Uno, Falsus in Omnibus

Like Kramer asking for extra MSG on Seinfeld, I think I am going to put myself on a “please call” list for marketers.

Just kidding.

Some marketing guy from Avvo called me the other day, and I shut him down the same way I shut down most marketers: I told him I am so swamped with business that I couldn’t possibly take on one more case. There is always a long silence on the other end of the phone whenever I say this. They have lots to say if you question the cost or the utility of their service. But they have no idea how to respond when you tell them this.

Although this marketer was not as obnoxious as many of the people who call, I continue to have problems with Avvo. And the problems begin with their advertisements and their claims.

For example:  Avvo claims that my profile was “seen” by 1,566 “potential clients over the past 30 days.  I have no idea what it means to be “seen”:  Does this mean that my profile came up on 1,566 searches for a criminal defense lawyer in D.C. or Virginia?  Or that someone actually clicked through to my profile?

But I can’t help thinking it doesn’t mean anything at all. I claimed my Avvo profile three and a half years ago. If I averaged 1,500 views a month over that time period, which is just under the number they say I had for the last 30 days, that would come to 63,000 “potential clients” who had seen my profile. And yet, as far as I know, I have not had a single person even contact me through my Avvo profile, much less decide to hire me.  “I found you through Avvo” is something I have never once heard.

And if Avvo is not being completely straight with me when it comes to how many people come across my profile, I can’t help wondering how else they are not being honest with me.  As they say:  Falsus in uno, falsus in omnibus.