Archives for September 2007

Google Alerts: Free intel on you, your clients, competition

September 27, 2007 by David M. Ward

I use "Google Alerts," their free, automated service, to notify me when anything appears in their database about me, my web sites, or subjects I’m interested in. You should, too.

Find out if someone mentions your name or your firm name in a web page or blog post.

Keep track of news in your practice areas.

Stay abreast of items that mention your clients or prospects, by name, or their industry. Show them you care about them by judiciously forwarding links to that information.

Another way to use Google Alerts is to track information about key people with whom you want to network. You might make a list of key vendors, suppliers, or professional advisors to the types of clients you target. Alerts will allow you to follow what they are doing. For example, if a consultant publishes a new article or gets an award, you can write and congratulate them, offer comments on their article, or propose a joint marketing effort.

The possibilities are endless.

For more information on Google Alerts, go to http://www.google.com/alerts

Filed Under: Online Marketing, Relationship marketing

Don’t make this mistake in your communications

September 26, 2007 by David M. Ward

The language of the brain is pictures, sounds, and feelings. If I tell you I saw a pink turtle, your mind will process my statement by creating a mental picture of a pink turtle. However, if I tell you that I did NOT see a pink turtle, you will still see a pink turtle. That’s because the brain can only process positive information. You can’t make a mental picture of NOT seeing something because the brain can’t process negative pictures, sounds, or feelings.

If you tell your child, “Don’t run across the street,” the message their brain sees is “run across the street.” You have planted the visual image of them doing the very thing you don’t want them to do.

Sure, as adults we have the facility to translate the negation of a thought to its positive form, but the additional step involved in doing so means there is a lesser chance that the information you want to communicate will get through.

If you want to communicate more clearly, be conscious not to plant negative suggestions in others’ minds with the words you choose. Speak in the positive. Say “It’s a pleasure” instead of “no problem”. Use the words “Call me” instead of “Don’t hesitate to call.” Tell clients, “The trial will go smoothly,” and not, “Don’t worry about the trial.”

Tell people what you want rather than what you don’t want. Tell people what to do rather than what not to do. When you phrase things in the positive, you will communicate more clearly and you will get more of the results you seek.

There are exceptions, however, and you can use them to your advantage.

The title of this article (intentionally) tells you what NOT to do, and uses a negative, the word “mistake”. In this case, the title is meant to create curiosity or “mental tension” that can only be relieved by reading the article. The title doesn’t tell you what to do, the article does, and you are compelled to read it to find out.

Curiosity is a powerful motivator because our brains want to see what can’t be seen, to find the positive image it cannot see but knows is there.

Filed Under: Communication, Copywriting Tagged With: Steve Jobs, Writing

Clients don’t care how much you know. . .

September 25, 2007 by David M. Ward

A few years ago, my wife had a potentially life-threatening illness. I went with her for a consultation with a physician who had been recommended to us as one of the top in the field.

Doctor after doctor spoke highly of him. Virtually everyone also remarked about how nice he was.

He had the right credentials, including being selected as one of the “Best Doctors in America,” and a busy, successful practice. We were fortunate to have found someone as competent and well regarded as he.

But I didn’t like him.

For one thing, when he came into the office where my wife and I were seated, he didn’t talk to us, he talked “at” us. He talked about his practice and his partners and the surgeries he had performed, as though he were presenting his CV to a panel of physicians rather than counseling real people at a vulnerable time of their lives.

He asked a few questions, but I wasn’t sure he listened to the answers. He looked at the records as he spoke, making notes, reading, doing what seemed to me what he should have done before he came into the room. There was no humor about him, nor a glimmer of lightness or humanity. No small talk. No smile.

What bothered me most, though, was that he didn’t look at us. No eye contact at all. As he talked, his eyes were on the medical records. He didn’t look up!

It was as if we weren’t even in the same room.

He told us my wife should have surgery, buzzed his nurse to arrange it, and that was that. Next case!

My wife felt that not looking at people was his way of dealing with all the death he must surely deal with every day. She was willing to dismiss this as quirkiness, in view of his outstanding reputation.

I wasn’t. His demeanor troubled me. I thought a doctor could be competent AND show some humanity.

We wanted a second opinion and got a referral to another doctor of equally high reputation. I liked him immediately. Not only was he friendly, when he talked, he looked us squarely in the eye. Unlike the first doctor, he patiently explained what was in the records, drew, on paper, a diagram of what he was referring to, and described the different choices that were available to us.

Choices!

He told us the pros and cons, and helped us weigh them. He let us know that the final decision was up to us, but he felt we were entitled to his opinion and recommendation, which he gave us (an alternative to surgery!)

I liked the way he weighed the “evidence” and helped us follow a logical path to the ultimate conclusion. It was as if he were saying, “Let’s look at this together so you can see what I see.” It reminded me of how I would speak to clients when it was time to consider going to trial.

Of course we preferred the second doctor’s opinion, but even if it had been the same, the bottom line is that the second doctor made us feel like he cared.

Doctors and lawyers counsel people in times of trouble, and we must never forget that our bedside manner is at least as important as our technical competence.

In the end, clients don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care.

Filed Under: Client relations Tagged With: business-customers-dont-care-what-you-know-until-they-know-that-you-care, care-how-much-you-know-know-how-much-you-care, clients-dont-care-how-much-you-know, clients-dont-care-how-much-you-know-as-how-much-you-care, clients-dont-care-how-much-you-know-until-they-know-how-much-you-care, the-clients-dont-care, Writing, your-customer-doesnt-care-how-much-you-know-until-they-know-how-much-you-care

How to offer a discount (if you must)

September 24, 2007 by David M. Ward

Discounts can be tricky for professionals. They should be offered only occasionally, if at all. (I prefer freebies.) There’s no doubt that discounts can generate a lot of business in a short period of time, but they can also damage the perceived value of your services (or your professionalism) if done too frequently or too aggressively.

A great way to offer a discount without impairing your image, is to tie the discount to a fundraising effort.

For example, I got a discount offer from a local Lasik eye doctor: "Make a donation of $25 or more to [charity], and we’ll reduce the cost of [service] by $1,000!"

When discounts are tied to worthy causes, and seen as a special, one-time deal, not only does your reputation remain intact, you’ll be seen in a positive light, helping others in need.

I suggest you choose a charity or cause that you truly believe in, ideally, one about which you have a personal story to tell. Your personal connection to their cause will not only reinforce your "reason" for your discount, it should result in a higher response to your offer.

Filed Under: Attorneys fees Tagged With: bad-economy-clipart, how-to-offer-dicounts, how-to-offer-discount, how-to-offer-discounts

Book review: “Presenting to Win: The Art of Telling Your Story”

September 21, 2007 by David M. Ward

In "Presenting to Win: The Art of Telling Your Story," author Jerry Weissman talks about the importance of capturing your audience’s attention at the beginning of a presentation. He warns about launching into your presentation "at full speed" because you would mentally bypass your audience and they would have a hard time catching up.

He suggests seven different "opening gambits" or short statements designed to simultaneously grab the attention of your audience and help launch into your presentation, "in a comfortable, conversational manner." [p 83]

The seven Opening Gambits

QUESTION. A question directed at members of the audience.
FACTOID. A striking statistic or little-known fact.
RETROSPECTIVE/PROSPECTIVE. A look backward or forward.
ANECDOTE. A short human interest story.
QUOTATION. An endorsement about your business from a respected source.
APHORISM. A familiar saying.
ANALOGY. A comparison between two seemingly unrelated items that helps to illuminate a complex, arcane, or obscure topic.

Weissman says that you can combine two or three of these options to create your opening gambit.

He also says that your opening should be linked to what he calls your "Point B" or your "call to action" (what you want the listeners to know or do) as a result of your talk. By foreshadowing your "Point B," you make it more likely that your audience will recognize and act on it when you get to it.

For example, your opening might say, "When you. . . I know you’ll want to. . ." as a way of alerting the audience to what is expected of them. They will then listen to your "proof" in the context of those expectations.

I used this book recently to prepare a presentation. It’s excellent, equally strong on content and visuals. It is useful for any kind of presentation, whether for marketing purposes, in the courtroom or boardroom.

Filed Under: Book review, Public Speaking Tagged With: book-and-pen, book-pen, bookandpen, books-with-a-pen, bookwithpenconclusion, hand-writing, hand-writing-on-paper, handwriting, handwriting-on-paper, have-a-presentation, image-hand-writing-on-paper, marcus-buckingham-books, ordinarydifferentialequationbookfreedownloadfreedownload, pen-books, pen-writing-on-paper, penonbook, presenting-to-win-book-summary, reviewsummary-of-erry-weissmans-book-presenting-to-win-the-art-of-telling-your-story-isbn9780137144174, someone-writing-a-book, writing-book

How to get more clients to hire you

September 20, 2007 by David M. Ward

Lawyers often tell me they have trouble "closing the sale". What they’re really saying is they don’t know how to handle objections. I addressed this in an article, "What to say when the client says, "I want to think about it". But the best way to handle objections is to eliminate them before they ever come up.

In your marketing materials, your live presentations, your comments after a free consultation, make sure you answer these four "unspoken questions" that reside in every prospects mind:

1. What can you do for me?
2. Why should I believe you?
3. How long will it take?
4. Can I afford it?

Let’s look at these a little closer.

1. What can you do for me?

The number one reason why clients don’t authorize the work to be done is that they don’t see the need. Your job is to show them why they need what you are offering, and make the case so compellingly that when you are done, they not only see that need, they truly WANT what you offer.

Here, you must distinguish between FEATURES and BENEFITS. Features are what you do. Benefits are what the client gets as a result.

For example, preparing a Living Trust is a feature; it’s WHAT you do. But what’s important to the client is what happens when you do that. Tell them about the peace of mind, protection, savings, and control they will have as a result of your preparing that trust. That’s what people REALLY want.

In addition to telling them the benefits they gain when they hire you, tell them the potential consequences they face if they do not. What might they lose? What detriment might they suffer? Fear of loss is almost always a more powerful motivation than the desire for gain.

2. Why should I believe you?

Prove what you say by providing evidence of the following:

Your background, education
Awards and distinctions
Articles, seminars, speeches
Testimonials from satisfied clients
Endorsements from other professionals
Number of clients, cases, trials, verdicts, etc.
Success stories; results you have obtained for other clients in a similar situation

You can also "prove" your expertise via the advice you offer during the initial consultation. If you sound knowledgeable, most people will tend to believe you know what you are doing.

Most of all, clients want to hear that you have done for others what you propose to do for them. Therefore, weave into your consultation, writing or presentation, examples taken from other clients or cases.

3. How long will it take?

Tell them WHEN they can have the benefits you promise. Everyone is in a hurry today; nobody wants to wait.

Clients also fear open ended time lines, especially when your meter is running. Be up front with them. Tell them how long it will take, and what factors might contribute to delay. If possible, guarantee a delivery date. Make sure you under-promise so you can come in early and over-deliver. When you can’t control the time factor, limit their risk by offering flat fees.

4. Can I afford it?

Once a client is convinced they need what you offer, they want it, and they believe you can deliver it, the only thing left is whether they can afford it. Here are some ways to convincing them that they can:

Distinguish cost vs. value. Focus their attention on what they get, not what they pay
Enhance the value of what they get by providing bonuses, free updates, and other incentives
Limit their risk with flat fees and guarantees
Show them that what they pay is only "X per day"
Make it easy with payment plans and accepting credit cards
Give them options and let them choose which "works best" for them. You want them deciding between option A and option B, instead of "yes" (hiring you) and "no" (not hiring you)

Answer these questions before they ask them, and you’ll have more clients writing you a check. And if they still say, "I want to think about it," here’s what to do.

Filed Under: Client relations, Closing the sale, Handling objections Tagged With: 16-objections-in-marketing, closing-attorney-marketing, dont-need-it, dont-want, golden-fish-shark-picture, goldenfishshark, goldfish-competition, goldfish-no-limits, goldfish-with-attitude, how-to-handle-objections-from-lawyers, how-to-hire-more-clients, i-dont-want-to-tell-it, keep-an-eye-on-competition, marketing-goldfish, marketing-handling-objections, no-want, tagline-examples, want-it-but-dont-know-how, writing-inspirations-about-goldfish, yes-no-clip-art

Why lawyers don’t charge enough

September 19, 2007 by David M. Ward

Most attorneys don’t charge enough. There are several reasons:

They try to match their rates to what other lawyers are charging, so they can “stay competitive”
They believe they will get more clients by offering rates somewhat lower than other attorneys
They haven’t factored in the costs of overhead or inflation
They start out low and are afraid that if they raise their rates they’ll lose clients

Here’s reality: the best clients don’t shop around for the lowest priced attorney, and you don’t want the ones who do. Don’t compete on price. You’ll attract the worst clients, and besides, there will always be someone who charges less than you, and that’s a slippery slope leading to bankruptcy.

The best clients — the ones who return again and again and refer others — understand that you get what you pay for. In fact, if you charge less than most other attorneys, you’ll actually make your clients nervous. What would you think if you found out that the doctor who was about to operate on your brain charged much less than other surgeons. Wouldn’t you want to know why?

Low fees will often lead to fewer clients, not more. You don’t want a reputation for being “low priced”. Instead, you want clients to think of you as “charging top dollar but worth every penny.” In this way, you get the better clients and maximize your revenues and profits.

I recommend that you regularly review your fee structure so that you at least stay in the upper third of fees in your area. You don’t have to be the most expensive in town to get the best clients (although that may be an effective strategy), but you do want to be among that group.

Will you lose some clients as you raise your rates? Yes, but far fewer than you might imagine, and the revenue lost will be more than compensated for by the gains from remaining clients.

And, you may find that by raising your rates, demand for your services increases. More clients at higher rates? That would be okay, wouldn’t it?

Filed Under: Attorneys fees, Increase your income Tagged With: 80-20-pareto, are-there-lawyers-without-jobs-in-economy-2012, cash-receive-icon, estate-planning-attorney-marketing, feebilling, how-are-attorneys-doing-in-this-economy-in-2012, lawyers-without-jobs-2012, lawyersfee, lawyerslogo, receive-cash-icon, the-noble-art-of-leaving-things-undone, why-do-some-attorneys-charge-less

New tool brings free website traffic

September 18, 2007 by David M. Ward

See that widget in the far right column? It’s a new tool that brings free traffic to your blog. It’s called BlogRush and it’s from Internet marketing star, John Reese.

BlogRush is like a traffic exchange. You put the widget on your blog and get a credit each time it’s displayed. For each credit you generate, your blog articles are syndicated across other blogs that use the widget.

I installed it at The Attorney Marketing Center and I’m already getting referrals.

There’s a short video that explains what it is and how it works. Click here to watch the video.

Here’s a quick explanation: There is a ten-level referral system, so if you refer other people into BlogRush, you also get credit for credits they generate. You also get credit for people they refer and so on, up to ten levels below you.

Since this widget was just released this weekend, it’s the perfect time to join and start referring other people and generating credits that will turn into traffic for your blog.

Watch the video or sign up free by clicking here.

Filed Under: Blogging, Web traffic

Free, easy way to send press releases

September 18, 2007 by David M. Ward

I just sent out a press release announcing the re-opening of The Attorney Marketing Center, the re-naming of the newsletter, and some background about me.

There are several free services available for sending a press release. I chose PRLog.com because it was easy to open an account and easy to send the release. They had also been recommended.

There are many paid press release distribution services. Two of the best known are PRWeb.com and BusinessWire.com. Why would you choose a paid service? One reason is that busy editors are, arguably, more likely to read a release coming from one of these services than one of the free ones.

The paid services also allow targeting, and since I want to reach lawyers, using the free, untargeted services would seem to be pointless. Not so. The free services do a good job of distributing your release to search engines and directories where they will take up permanent residence and point to your web site, and this provides immediate, tangible value. Sure, I’d like a writer or editor to pick up my release and run it or contact me for an interview, but that is unlikely given the tepidness of my "news".

Check out some of the services available. Search "press release distribution". Most provide good tips on writing press releases and other valuable information.

And here is my press release.

Filed Under: Press release, Publicity Tagged With: clients, free-easy-backdrop, how-can-pi-lawyers-promote-themselves, publicity-lawyer, selling-publicity-to-lawyers

Should lawyers offer a money back guarantee?

September 18, 2007 by David M. Ward

"Ridiculous!" "Unethical!" "Stupid!"

Or is it?

Marketing is about cutting through the clutter and standing out from the crowd. It’s about making a big promise and then backing it up. It’s about removing the risk from your client and absorbing it yourself. Isn’t that what contingency fees do?

Money back guarantees work. They are a powerful, proven marketing technique, and you should consider them.

Will you get stung? Maybe. Sometimes. What if that happens, say, once every twenty times you offer it but you get five times more business because of it? What if you lose some but you are so darn popular, you can charge twenty percent more than your competition?

What about ethics? Well, that’s something you have to verify with the powers that be in your jurisdiction, but don’t confuse a guarantee of fees with a guarantee of outcome. There was a discussion about this on Jamie Spencer’s blog about a week ago and there is a big difference. The key is not outcome, it’s client satisfaction. "Your money back if you’re not delighted."

Scary, isn’t it? That’s what makes it so powerful.

Marketing studies prove that most people won’t take advantage of you and, of course, there are ways to limit your exposure. C’mon, you’re a lawyer–that’s what you do. But I challenge you to err on the side of trusting your clients. Those same marketing studies prove that the longer and more expansive the money back guarantee, the more profitable the overall results.

If you’re all intrigued by this idea, but (a) you’re not sure if it will work, or (b) you’re afraid it might backfire, "test" it. Find a small market segment that you can reach with a limited marketing communication, a small mailing, a classified ad, offering it at the close of a free seminar, and see what happens. If you like the results, you can test the idea with larger segments.

Is this idea for everyone? No. But some lawyers will make a fortune with it. In fact. . . I guarantee it.

Filed Under: Advertising, Increase your income Tagged With: can-lawyers-offer-money-back-guarantee, do-lawyers-offer-a-money-back-guarantee, f, marketing, marketingplanandproductivity

Archives for September 2007

Google Alerts: Free intel on you, your clients, competition

Don’t make this mistake in your communications

Clients don’t care how much you know. . .

How to offer a discount (if you must)

Book review: “Presenting to Win: The Art of Telling Your Story”

How to get more clients to hire you

Why lawyers don’t charge enough

New tool brings free website traffic

Free, easy way to send press releases

Should lawyers offer a money back guarantee?

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