Archives for June 2012

Engage your clients and prospects by explaining the news

June 29, 2012 by
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So we have some health care news. Now what?

Your clients and prospects are wondering what it all means. What do they have to know? What do they have to do? What will it cost them? What’s next?

This is a great opportunity to provide some answers. Leverage news events like these to add value to the lives of the people who follow you. They will appreciate you for sorting it out for them and the next time you write, tweet, post, or otherwise open your mouth, they will be more likely to pay attention.

If you don’t know what to make of everything yourself, there’s plenty of help available. Here’s an article that explains, “How Will the New Health Care Law Affect Me?” Here’s one about, “How Your Business Will Be Affected.” You can use articles like these as a starting point to write your own summary.

You don’t need to write a comprehensive legal analysis (unless your clients are in the health care field or are affected more than most). Give them the who, what, where, when, and why.

But be careful with the why. If you get political, you may alienate a lot of people who put food on your table.

Show people they can trust you. Give them the facts. Help them understand.

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Filed Under: Blogging, Client loyalty, Client relations, Communication, Image, News, Newsletters Tagged With: ,

Three Tips For Your Next Speaking Gig

June 28, 2012 by
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At breakfast this morning I reminded myself that I did not yet have a topic for today’s blog post. When that happens, I usually dig through my backlog of ideas (saved in Evernote) and unread articles and blog posts (saved in Instapaper). Instead, this morning I began with a title.

Actually, not the whole title. I wrote down, “Three Tips for. . .” and went back to my eggs.

My subconscious mind came to the rescue. It reminded me that earlier this week, I had given a luncheon presentation. There must be three things I could share about public speaking.

The first one was easy. It was something I didn’t do but will do the next time. The other two I nailed.

So here are my three tips:

Tip number one: Meet the audience before you begin.

Had I done this, I would have learned that one of the guests was an attorney. I could have tailored my remarks to him. I might have engaged him with a question or two. Another guest was a real estate agent. I could have incorporated her background in one of the examples I used in my talk.

It’s usually not possible to meet everyone but meet as many as you can. I knew I was addressing business owners and professionals, but had I met some of them in advance, I would have been able to provide more relevant context (examples, stories) and generally deliver a better talk.

Tip number two: Don’t depend on A/V.

There was no projector available at this location, so I could not use slides. No problem. I knew my talk and could deliver it without any visual aids. In my opinion, this makes for a better presentation because the audience focuses on you instead of the screen.

Use slides if you have to. Avoid them if you can. No matter what, you need to know your subject well enough so that you can deliver it when there is no projector, no electricity, or the bulb burns out.

Tip number three: Have some friendly faces in the audience.

A speaker is only as good as his audience. We draw our energy from the people in the room. If you are addressing a group of dullards, people who don’t smile, don’t laugh at your jokes, and don’t respond when you ask for a show of hands, I don’t care how good you are, your talk will suffer.

My wife was with me. I can always count on her. One of my business partners was in the front row and he has good energy. When I looked at him leaning forward in his seat and smiling at me, it not only helped me, it helped the others in the room who took their cues from him. I had him “keep score” every time one of my “jokes” got a laugh and this added to the fun.

So those are three tips gleaned from this week’s presentation. Okay, I just thought of one more. If you’re doing a lunch presentation, start off by asking for a show of hands: “Did anyone order a salad?” Apologize and tell them you asked the restaurant to leave out the tomatoes. “They’re way too easy to throw at the speaker.”

Make people laugh and they will like you and your presentation. Even if you don’t have any slides.

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Filed Under: Blogging, Communication, Public Speaking Tagged With: , , , , ,

Marketing legal services the Evernote way

June 27, 2012 by
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You know I’m a big fan of Evernote. I use it all day long for everything I do in my work and in my personal life. I detailed my use in my Evernote for Lawyers ebook.

I’m also a fan of how Evernote does their marketing. They use a “freemium” model–giving away their apps and service for free, believing that users will fall in love with the product and sign up for the paid service.

Their free service is not stripped down. It has everything most people would want. The paid version provides additional capacity and features.

Evernote understands that the more people who use their free service, and the longer they use it, the more who will subscribe and pay.

Evernote does not advertise. They rely on word of mouth–satisfied users sharing their experiences with the product.

Their model works. Evernote has some 40 million free users and 1.4 million paid subscribers. They have recently achieved a billion dollar valuation.

Attorneys who offer free consultations are following a similar marketing model. The more free consultations they give, the more paying clients they get. Some attorneys take things a step further, offering not just free consultations but free services to get prospective clients to “try before they buy”. If you offer a free will, for example, a certain percentage of clients will want to upgrade to a trust or other paid services.

Evernote does not pressure users to upgrade. They provide upgrade links in their desktop, web, and mobile apps, but users are reminded to upgrade only when they try to use a paid feature or go beyond their free monthly usage limit.

There’s something attractive about a company that doesn’t push you. They give you value, lets you know there’s more available, and leave it up to you to come to them. Contrast that to what many companies do: they push, they chase, they sell.

I don’t know about you but when I’m chased, I usually run the opposite way.

Evernote provides value through their service and also through their blog and newsletter. Their blog provides tips and uses for making Evernote more useful and it’s fun to read.

Marketing consultant Jim Connolly wrote today about Evernote’s newsletter, contrasting it with other newsletters that do little more than sell. He says Evernote’s newsletter gets it right for three reasons:

  1. Their newsletter actually contains news
  2. Their newsletter makes Evernote more valuable
  3. Their newsletter doesn’t push

Connolly and I agree that providing valuable content that enhances the user experience with the product is effective in making the case for upgrading without ever asking users to do so. Their approach attracts us, instead of pushing us away with sales pitches and an abundance of links.

Attorneys deal with issues that don’t always allow for such a laid back approach. If it’s in the client’s best interests to push them to take action, a little push is not a bad thing. Nevertheless, I think we can all learn from Evernote how to be more attractive and let people sell themselves on hiring us.

People like to buy. They don’t like to be sold.

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Filed Under: Communication, Image, Marketing legal services, Newsletters, Technology Tagged With: , , , , , , , ,

The Attorney Marketing Center: Official Blog of Successful Attorneys Everywhere

June 26, 2012 by
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My wife saw a coupon this morning for a dry cleaner (seems to be a theme with me lately) that had just changed its name from “Luck Cleaners” to “Joy Cleaners”. Or something something like that.

What caught my attention was the statement, “Official Cleaner of [a well known clothing company]”.

I wondered how they had achieved that. “How does one become the official anything for a well known company?”

Were they doing the cleaning for the company and simply asked if they could advertise that they were the official cleaner? Or did they approach the company and offer to do their cleaning for free or at a big discount, in return for being able to say they were the official cleaner?

It doesn’t matter. What does matter is that a law firm could do the same thing.

If you have a business client who is well known in your niche market, ask them if you could mention the fact that yours is the official law firm for their company. Then, mention your official-ness everywhere. You will be providing social proof of the worthiness of your firm.

You could approach any well known company and offer them free legal services in return for an official designation. But what do you do if the better known companies already have lawyers they are happy with and they aren’t willing to switch, even to get free services from you?

Find a charity and see if they would like some free legal services.

It doesn’t matter how well known the charity’s name is. When your marketing messages say that your firm is the official law firm for the “Save the Platypus Foundation,” or whatever, people will notice. Your name will be associated with doing good work for a good cause.

The press will notice, because you will send out a media release and announce it.

Similar charities will notice because, well, they are similar.

And every company your charity does business with will notice, especially if your offer requires the charity to mention your firm in all of their mailings and advertising collateral.

You should also be able to get yourself invited to the charity’s dinners and fund raisers, hang a banner at the charity’s booth at their industry’s conventions, and network with their board of directors, major donors and supporters.

And because you are the “official law firm. . .,” you’ll be able to reach out to other professionals, business owners, politicians, and other influentials, to invite them as your guest to one of the charity’s events.

I don’t know how this will all play out for you, but I can tell you that this could bring you a lot of business. Even if you never mention that you are the “official law firm,” the contacts you will make and the paying clients that result, will more than pay for the services you donate.

Choose a charity you believe in, of course, something you would support regardless of personal gain. Get excited about their cause. And tell everyone to join you in supporting them.

You will have great Joy and great Luck. I’m not sure if your clothes will be any cleaner, however.

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Filed Under: Advertising, Image, Marketing legal services, Networking, Press release, Publicity, Relationship marketing Tagged With: ,

Marketing insights for sole practitioners

June 25, 2012 by
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My post on going solo brought emails from lawyers who appreciated that I didn’t varnish the truth about how hard it is.

If you are a solo or thinking of opening your own office, I recommend you read Philly attorney Jordan Rushie’s candid post about his experiences in staring his own practice. It’s interesting reading if you want to compare notes, required reading if you’re about to open that office and need to make a shopping list.

Rushie agrees that going solo is almost a crazy idea–a lot harder and more costly than some would have you believe, far more work and far less income than you can imagine. Although he acknowledges that it’s never the “right time” to go solo, if you have a choice, wait until you have the experience, money, and contacts to be able to do it right.

Rushie’s has some interesting comments about marketing for the new solo. Actually, his advice rings true for just about any attorney. He says you don’t need:

  • An expensive, fancy web site. I agree. You need a place to send people to get information about your practice and how to contact you. You can add more content and make things look nicer later on, after you’re making money.
  • A logo. Right again. Although you can get a decent one designed for a few dollars to a few hundred dollars, you’ll waste too much time deciding on the right look. You don’t need a logo, you need clients.
  • “SEO Optimization”. Rushie suggests that more traffic won’t necessarily bring you good clients but that it will certainly bring you tire kickers. You can set up mechanisms to screen and filter out the low-quality inquiries and, therefore, get some decent clients, but the time (and money) you will spend are probably better spent elsewhere. Put this on the list for later.
  • A marketing/PR firm. I agree with this, too. Even if you could afford the cost and could find a firm that really knows what they’re doing (many don’t), you’re better off building relationships. Rushie says, “take potential clients to a ball game,” family, friends, and other lawyers out to dinner. No question about it, you will get far more business by leveraging your existing relationships for business and referrals than you will get hiring a marketing firm. I’m not saying you don’t need marketing information and advice. You do. But you’re better off learning it yourself so you can do it yourself.
  • Social Media or a social media consultant. Rushie says he doesn’t rely on social media to build his practice. He gets about 5% of his work from Facebook friends, “but they are usually people I knew from high school who would have called me anyway.” I know there are exceptions, but I hear something similar from a lot of attorneys. Don’t ignore social media but don’t depend on it, either. Use it as an excuse to connect or re-connect with real people because the magic happens when you talk to people or meet with people in the real world.

Rushie says not having a plan on how to grow your practice is a big mistake and of course, I concur. The good news is that the plan is a lot easier, less technically challenging, and less costly than you might think. Build your practice by building relationships.

Unfortunately, unless you know a lot of (the right) people, building relationships may take up a lot of time. Fortunately, as a new solo without a lot of clients or work keeping you busy, you have time to go meet some new people. Unless you’re too busy learning how to practice law.

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Filed Under: Career satisfaction, Inspiration, Legal industry, Marketing legal services, Relationship marketing, Social media, Social media marketing Tagged With: , , , ,

The economy sucks. What are you doing about it?

June 22, 2012 by
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Okay, I’m not going to go all save-the-world on you but yes, if you can do something to make things better, you should. Get involved in local politics, volunteer at a charity, help someone in need.

The best thing you can do is to grow your practice. A bigger income would mean you could do more to help others. And you know what they say about the best way to help the poor: don’t become one of them.

I saw this photo on Facebook yesterday and it touched me. In case you can’t see it, it’s the window of a dry cleaner’s with a sign that says, “If you are unemployed and need an outfit clean for an interview, we will clean it for FREE”.

Nice.

Do you think the owner will get some business from this, beyond what he does for free? Publicity? Positive word of mouth? Do you think anyone who takes him up on his offer will continue to patronize his store in the future? Do you think he will tell everyone he knows about the business owner who helped him when he really needed a break?

No question about it. Doing good is good for business.

Could you do something similar for your clients and prospects? For your community?

A discount, a free service, even some non-legal advice. Offer a free financial literacy seminar to help people get a handle on their debts. Get someone a job interview at one of your client’s companies. Offer struggling entrepreneurs two hours of free advice.

Lots of people need help right now. Unemployed, struggling military families, people losing their homes.

What can you do?

Don’t do it solely because it might bring you some business. Do it because it makes you feel good to help a fellow human being.

If we all do that, even a little, everyone will be better off. Including us.

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Filed Under: Advertising, Image, Inspiration, Marketing legal services, Publicity, Social media Tagged With: , , , ,

Would you ever sue your own client for fees owed?

June 21, 2012 by
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I was asked that in an email this morning and it’s a great question. How would you answer it?

I never sued a client for fees. I don’t think I would, but “would you ever?” covers a lot of territory. I suppose it’s possible. But unlikely, at least for me. Bad Karma. Better to focus on getting new clients and especially, better paying clients.

If I considered it, I would think about things like

  • How much was owed and for how long
  • Who the client is (corporate or individual, long-time client or first time client)
  • Why aren’t they paying? Are they dissatisfied with something? Having financial difficulties?
  • What is their attitude? Contrite? Jerk? Are they ignoring me or willing to talk about it?
  • Are they willing to pay anything?
  • Could I collect if I won?

I’d also think about what I might lose if I did sue. Maybe if I cut them some slack they would pay me when they could. Maybe they’ll feel guilty and send some referrals. And maybe they will solve their immediate cash flow problem and become long-time, good paying clients.

One thing is sure, if you ever do sue a client, you can be pretty sure they will never hire you again (although it does happen) or send you any referrals.

Of course the best thing to do is avoid getting into this position. Get paid in advance or at least get big retainers, auto-bill their credit card, and never let the balance get too big (i.e., bill monthly).

At the end of the day, there will always be uncollected fees. As long as it’s a small percentage of gross receipts, I consider it an acceptable cost of doing business. If it’s not a small percentage, I know I’m doing something wrong.

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Filed Under: Attorneys fees, Fees and Billing, Law office management Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , ,

Thinking of going solo? You must be crazy.

June 20, 2012 by
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I was reading an article that had questions you should ask yourself before you go solo. Questions like, are you self-disciplined, can you financially and emotionally handle not having a steady income, and do you like wearing many hats because in the beginning, you’ll be doing everything yourself.

If you are a sole practitioner, you may have asked yourself these types of questions before you took the plunge. If you’re thinking about going solo, you may be going through this process right now. But if you’re like a lot of attorneys today, you may not bother asking these types of questions, you’re going solo because you have no choice.

Maybe you’re fresh out of law school and you can’t find a job. Maybe you got laid off and know that the odds of replacing the job you just lost are very slim. Or maybe you just can’t stand what you’re doing and you need to be on your own.

Solo practice sounds exciting. No one to report to, make your own hours, do your own thing. In reality, sole practitioners put in longer hours and have far more pressure on them than their employed counterparts.

You have to bring in the clients and do all the work, and since most newly minted sole practitioners don’t have employees, you have to do all the ancillary chores as well. There are no benefits, paid vacations, or sick days. And when you’re the only one who shows up for work every day, it can get lonely.

A solo practice is actually a very poor business model.

And yet, many attorneys make it work.

I wasn’t one of those who was ideally suited to being a sole practitioner. I just knew I couldn’t work for anyone else.

I had worked for my father for a year out of law school and then opened my own office. I must have been crazy to do it. I had no clients, no money in the bank, and very little experience as an attorney. On top of that, I was 24 and looked 20.

From day one it was a constant struggle to survive and it was five years before I actually had anything resembling a successful practice.

I went solo because I had to. I survived because I had to.

If you’re thinking of going solo, do it because you have the experience, the clients, the financial staying power, and the temperament to run your own show. Or do it because you have no choice.

When you have no other options, you keep going. You figure it out. You do what you have to do.

One more thing. When everyone says you’re crazy for doing it, just keep thinking about how good it will feel when you prove them wrong.

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Filed Under: Career satisfaction, Inspiration, Legal industry Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Why you don’t have to be better than your competition

June 19, 2012 by
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Are you are a better lawyer than your competition? Maybe, maybe not. Guess what? It doesn’t matter because most clients can’t tell the difference.

When was the last time you heard something like,

  • “Wow, great motion you wrote there!”
  • “Nobody takes a deposition like you,” or
  • “You are so much smarter than my last attorney. . .”

If you are a better lawyer, and you can prove it, great. But marketing legend, Dan Kennedy, says, “It’s better to be different than it is to be better.”

People notice different. People remember different. People are attracted to different.

You can build a strong marketing message around what makes you different from other lawyers. It could be as simple as telling your story. Your legal services may be identical to what other lawyers offer but you are unique.

Incorporate your background, your outside interests, or your personality into your marketing message. That message will show people how you are different.

There are other ways you can be different: who you represent, the added value you deliver, a performance guarantee, or alternative fee arrangements, to name a few.

Your challenge is not to prove that you are a better lawyer, but to distinguish yourself from other lawyers.

If you are better and you can prove it, great. But you don’t have to better, just different.

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Filed Under: Communication, Copywriting, Image, Marketing legal services Tagged With: , , ,

Why you should consider increasing your legal fees

June 18, 2012 by
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Times are tough. Clients are having trouble paying their attorneys. And that’s exactly why you should consider increasing your fees.

When times are tough for your clients, you also feel the pinch. But your overhead keeps increasing, doesn’t it? At some point, some of the services you offer will no longer be profitable. “We lose money on every client but we make it up in volume,” is an old joke. But some attorneys don’t understand, the joke is on them.

What would happen if you raised the price on those services? You may lose a percentage of your clients, but the increased revenue from your remaining clients would provide a profit on every “sale”. And if you lose more clients than you expect, you will have more time to do more (higher paying) work for other clients.

True, you may not have other clients to fill the gap right now, but you will have more free time for marketing so you can bring in new clients, something you may not have time to do right now.

And you may find that you don’t lose many clients when you increase fees. Prices for everything are going up these days, so to some extent, your clients expect you to follow suit.

When an airplane loses cabin pressure we’re told to put the oxygen mask on our mouth first. Once we’re out of trouble, we can help the people next to us. It’s the same thing in a law practice. If your practice is in trouble, you won’t be around long to help your clients with their troubles.

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Filed Under: Attorneys fees, Fees and Billing, Increase your income, Law office management Tagged With: ,
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