{"id":416,"date":"2026-06-30T12:23:08","date_gmt":"2026-06-30T10:23:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lauragarcialaguna.com\/?p=416"},"modified":"2026-06-30T14:10:49","modified_gmt":"2026-06-30T12:10:49","slug":"puntos-de-entrada-a-la-categoria","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lauragarcialaguna.com\/en\/puntos-de-entrada-a-la-categoria\/","title":{"rendered":"Why they choose you (or don\u2019t even consider you)"},"content":{"rendered":"

No one wakes up thinking, \"I need a corporate lawyer specializing in shareholder agreements.\" What really happens is something else: someone experiences a moment\u2014an argument with a business partner, the fear of signing something they don't understand, the excitement of starting their own business\u2014and in that instant, their mind decides who to turn to.<\/strong> Or who not to. Marketing calls these moments Category Entry Points<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The concept has been studied for years, and although it originated to sell products, it explains, like few other things, why a client chooses you\u2026 or why you're not even on their radar.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What Marketing Discovered and Law Hardly Uses<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

\u200b Category Entry Points<\/strong> (CEPs<\/em>) are the situations, motivations, or needs that lead someone to start considering<\/strong> hiring within a particular field. The concept was developed in Australia by Professors Byron Sharp and Jenni Romaniuk<\/strong>of the Ehrenberg-Bass Institute for Marketing Science.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The underlying idea is simple and a little uncomfortable: you're not chosen because you're the best on paper; you're chosen because you're the name that pops into the client's head<\/strong> at the right moment. And here's the key: the more entry points associated with you, the greater your real market share.<\/strong> Not the one your website claims, but the one that lives in people's minds.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

They are, ultimately, moments that people remember.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The client doesn't think in legal categories; they think in moments<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

We organize the world by branches<\/strong>: commercial, family, tax, labor. The client doesn't. The client thinks, \"I'm getting divorced and I'm worried about my children,\" \"I've inherited something and I don't know what to do,\" \"I want to start something with a friend and I don't want it to fall apart.\" They don't think about family law; they think about their life. <\/strong>And perhaps the first thing that comes to mind is the legal-aid lawyer who got them out of a tight spot but was very friendly and approachable.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The entire business of a lawyer hinges on that bridge: translating a person's experiences into the help you can offer<\/strong>. If you wait for the client to speak your language, you're already too late.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A lawyer isn't just for when things go wrong<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

We tend to associate lawyers with problems<\/strong>: a lawsuit, a fine, a divorce, an inheritance dispute within the family. That's understandable, but it's only half the picture.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The other half represents the moments of building<\/strong>: like buying a house, starting a business, signing a partnership agreement, hiring someone, protecting an idea, expanding into another country, or ensuring an estate is properly settled while you're still alive. None of that is a failure or an emergency; these are important decisions<\/strong> that go much more smoothly with a lawyer by your side.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And the difference is enormous: if your client only associates you with conflicts, they'll only remember you when they're already facing one\u2026 and by then, often, the best advice would have been to call you sooner<\/strong>. If you only manage to be remembered this way, you're missing out on a huge number of situations where you could also be the person who comes to mind.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The moments, one by one<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Romaniuk suggests looking at these entry points by asking several questions. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Adapted to the legal world, they would be something like this:<\/p>\n\n\n\n