Referrals mean better clients, bigger income for lawyers

April 2, 2008 By Leave a Comment

Where did your clients first find out about you? Chances are it was one of the following:

  • They were referred to you
  • They saw an article you wrote or heard you speak
  • They met you at a networking event
  • They saw your ad
  • They saw an article about you or saw you on the news
  • They found your web site via a search engine

Whatever brought you clients in the past is probably something you should continue to do in the future.

Do it in more places, do it more often, do it better, and you should bring in more clients.

But no matter what other marketing strategies you use, the cornerstone of your marketing efforts should be based on getting more referrals.

Referred clients are the best clients. As a general rule, they come to you pre-sold. You don’t have to convince them to hire you, to pay what you ask, or to follow your advice.

Referred clients tend to be better clients, too. They are less likely to complain and more likely to come back to you again and again. And, because they were themselves referred, they are far more likely to refer other clients to you.

Lawyers who get a lot of referrals tend to have the most profitable (and enjoyable) practices.

Use other marketing methods to bring clients to your attention if they suit your style and budget. But build your practice on a foundation of referrals.

Referrals from clients are the easiest to generate. But while clients may be the most willing to refer, there are usually limits as to how much–or how often–they CAN refer.

Non-client referral sources may have the ability to refer you a lot of business, but they may not (yet) be willing to do so.

You need strategies to deal with both situations.

For clients, the simplest strategy is simply to stay in touch. Clients who don’t have anyone to refer to you today may have referrals tomorrow. Your objective is to be "in their minds and their mailboxes" when that occurs.

For non-client referral sources–attorneys, other professionals, business owners, and so on–don’t count on merely letting them know what you do. You may get some referrals that way, but your best sources are likely to come only after you have built relationships with key centers of influence.

Building those relationships doesn’t necessarily depend on your ability to refer them business. Do it if you can, but if you can’t, you can either

  • Build a personal relationship, based on friendship and common interests, and/or
  • Help them professionally in other ways. For example, while you might not be able to refer them much business yourself, you can introduce them to some of your colleagues who might be able to refer them business.

Relationship marketing means helping others first, without demanding or expecting anything in return. It means finding out what prospective referral sources want and looking for ways to help them get it. Put aside what you want for now, and help others, FIRST. Try it and watch what happens.

Zig Ziglar said, "You can get anything you want in the world by helping enough people get what they want."

Shameless plug: The number one resource for lawyers who want to build a referral-based practice is my own, "Referral Magic" marketing course. More than 5,000 attorneys worldwide are using Referral Magic to get more clients and build a successful law practice. You can learn about The Referral Magic Marketing Program on this page.

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Filed Under: Increase your income, Marketing legal services, Referrals, Relationship marketing Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

The three things that matter most

March 24, 2008 By Leave a Comment

What are the three most important things you do in your career? Sure, you do a lot of things, but chances are, three of them are more important than the rest. We’ve talked about the 80/20 Principle before. These three things are the twenty-percent activities that deliver eighty percent of your results. They are worth identifying. If you can identity them, you can do more of them (and less of those things that aren’t of the three).

What’s more, if there are only three things, you can remember them. You don’t need a list. “These are the three areas I focus on,” you’ll say. “This is where I focus eighty percent of my time.” So what are they? If you could only do three things all day long, what would they be? Don’t think too much about this; you already know the answer.

When I was practicing (personal injury), I would have said that these are my three things:

  1. Marketing
  2. Settling Cases
  3. Managing staff

For me, litigation was not one of the three things that matter(ed) most. We did it, but the practice was a high-volume of smaller cases and litigation was not our primary focus. So, it was these three things that mattered most to my practice. If I was doing one of these three things, I was doing “twenty-percent activity”. Anything else was “eighty-percent activity” (which brings in only twenty percent of the results).

Let’s take things a step further, shall we? Once you have identified your “three things that matter most,” what about identifying the three things that matter most about each of those three things? This allows you to get more specific about how you are spending your time and how you are focusing your energy. You will perform “on purpose” instead of reacting to whatever presents itself. And, if you can recall the three things that matter most, you should also be able to recall the three things about each of those things, too. If they are truly important and you are doing them, they will be second nature to you.

In my case, I would have identified the three things about my three things, like this:

MARKETING

  1. Ads in yellow pages
  2. Network with referral sources
  3. Client referral strategies

SETTLE CASES

  1. Client interviews/evidence collection
  2. Demand package
  3. Negotiation

MANAGE STAFF

  1. Interview/hire
  2. Monitor work flow
  3. Recognize and incentivize

What are your three things? And what are the three things about each of those three? Take the time to identity these crucial items and then focus eighty percent of your time and attention on them. You’ll get more done in less time and you’ll get more results. You’ll earn more and work less.

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Filed Under: Increase your income, Productivity Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Do you know what “passive income” is?

January 28, 2008 By Leave a Comment

A friend of mine by the name of Brian used to be a real estate agent. He told me a story about a very successful business mentor of his who once asked him if he knew what "passive income" was. Brian said he did. "Well, do you have any?" he asked. When Brian said he did not, the mentor said, "Then I don’t think you know what it is, because if you did, you would crash through walls to get some."

He went on to explain it this way:

"When you sell a house, you get paid a commission, right? And then you move onto the next deal. If you don’t sell a house, you don’t get paid. You’re only as good as your last deal. Now, what would you rather have, $5,000 when you sell a house or $50 every time someone opened or closed a door? That’s passive income."

I once explained passive income to a lawyer this way: "Think about what you currently earn in your practice and imagine that you were paid that amount but you didn’t have to show up for work."

What would it mean to you if you had enough passive income coming in so that you never had to work again? If you had money AND the time to enjoy it?

If there was a way to accomplish that, would you want to know about it?

(Keep reading. . .)

Very few people have passive income. Athletes, entertainers, artists, writers, are usually cited as examples. Some attorneys achieve passive income by taking a percentage of their client’s business venture or intellectual property. But most attorneys (and I was no exception when I was practicing) earn linear income.

Linear income means there is a direct correlation between your personal services and your compensation. It doesn’t matter whether you bill hourly, flat rate, or contingency, what you get still depends (mostly) on what you do.

When you have employees, you have leverage, and that provides a semblance of passive income. Someone else does the work, you bill the client at a higher rate, and you profit from the difference. But it’s not true passive income because you still have to supervise those employees and you are responsible for the work they do.

If your firm is big enough that you don’t have to do that, if you can stay home and the practice runs without you, then you have true passive income. But then you probably wouldn’t be reading this.

What if there was another way to generate passive income? What if, in the next few years, you could create a six-figure passive income and it didn’t interfere with your current practice or job?

And what if I told you that a lot of attorneys have already done it?

Including me.

It’s true. In just a few years, working part time, I created a six-figure passive income that continues to pay me today. The money comes in month after month, year after year, and I don’t have to work for it.

Now you know I’m telling you this for a reason. I won’t keep you in suspense any longer. I’ve just launched a new web site that will tell you exactly what I did to create this passive income, and, more importantly, how you can do it too.

Here’s the site: http://passiveincomeforlawyers.com

Take a look and let me know what you like best.

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Filed Under: Increase your income, Wealth Tagged With: , , , , , , ,

I dare you. . .

December 10, 2007 By Leave a Comment

I just told my business partners (my other business) that my goal for 2008 is to triple my 2007 income.

This is BIG GOAL! (Let’s just say I already do okay).

I told them I was sharing my goal with them for two reasons. First, so they would hold me accountable to it. Few things motivate more than accountability. Remember something we used to call “peer pressure”? That’s accountability. If you go to the gym and have a work out partner or coach, that’s accountability. When you promise your spouse you will do something and it’s important, that’s accountability. Accountability to others is powerful because we will often do for others (or what we have promised to others) what we won’t do for ourselves. I also asked my parnters to tell me their goals, so I could hold them accountable.

The second reason I shared my goal with my partners was to inspire them to think bigger. After all, if it’s good enough for me to think in those terms, it gives them “permission” to think bigger, probably bigger than they would do on their own.

So, as you contemplate 2007 and plan for 2008, I am issuing you a challenge to not only think bigger than you have ever thought before, but to find someone who will hold you accountable.

Helen Keller once said, “Life is either a daring adventure or it is nothing.”

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Filed Under: Goal Setting, Increase your income

Don’t let this happen to your clients (or you)

December 3, 2007 By 1 Comment

Many (most?) people think identity theft is about credit and credit cards, but that’s only about a fourth of the problem. These two videos are frightening examples of other kinds of identity theft and, unfortunately, they are more common than you think.

Once you have watched these, spend a little time educating yourself about identity theft, and then tell your clients. Warn them and inform them. Tell them what to watch out for and tell them how to protect themselves. Especially now, during the holiday season, when identity thieves run like pack wolves. As the first video suggests, it could save their life.

And if you don’t have identity theft protection, think about getting some. I have what I believe is the best service available and I also sell it. (No commercials, though; if you want some information about the service for yourself and/or to offer it to your clients, contact me.)

 

 

 

 

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Filed Under: Client relations, Increase your income Tagged With:

Marketing opportunity for lawyers: FTC releases survey of identity theft

November 28, 2007 By 2 Comments

FTC Releases Survey of Identity Theft in the U.S. Study Shows 8.3 Million Victims in 2005

Now that you know, do you know what to do about it?

Here’s the lead to their press release:

The Federal Trade Commission today released a survey showing that 8.3 million American adults, or 3.7 percent of all American adults, were victims of identity theft in 2005. Of the victims, 3.2 million, or 1.4 percent of all adults, experienced misuse of their existing credit card accounts; 3.3 million, or 1.5 percent, experienced misuse of non-credit card accounts; and 1.8 million victims, or 0.8 percent, found that new accounts were opened or other frauds were committed using their personal identifying information.

"Whether you’re from Malibu or Manhattan, Tacoma or Tallahassee, no one is immune to identity theft," said Lydia B. Parnes, Director of the FTC’s Bureau of Consumer Protection. "The important thing is that people learn how to deter identity thieves, detect suspicious activity on their financial records, and defend against the crime, should it happen."

The full story: http://www.ftc.gov/opa/2007/11/idtheft.shtm

The FTC Identity Theft site: http://www.ftc.gov/idtheft

Another FTC Identity Theft resource: http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/edu/microsites/idtheft/

Identity theft is a growing problem and some experts predict it will soon become an epidemic. As more people become aware of the issue, they will be seeking answers. Who better to provide those answers than an attorney?

There is no shortage of information available. In addition to the FTC, which, I believe grossly understates the scope of the problem, millions of web pages provide an abundance of data and real life stories of identity theft victims. A few hours of weekend research would provide enough background to make you conversant with the issues and various strategies for combatting the growing problem.

Armed with this knowledge, you could inform your clients, prospects, and referral sources, via your newsletter, ezine, reports, articles, web sites, seminars, and so on, and thus, position yourself as a valuable resource on the subject. That opens up all kinds of marketing opportunities for you. And, as identity theft becomes more prevalent, the value of your "expertise" on the subject could skyrocket.

There are five common types of identity theft, and anyone with a social security number is at risk. Personal information stolen from the victim themself is not the biggest risk. It is the vulnerability of the thousands of databases where that information resides. Every day we see evidence of this in the news–stolen laptops, hacking, insufficient wireless encryption. And no, we cannot stop identity theft, as some advertising would have you believe. All anyone can do is prepare themselves for the consequences in the event they become a victim. By the way, the odds of that happening, according to some estimates, will soon be in the neighborhood of one in four.

Your business clients are at risk as well, and so are you. New federal laws impose administrative and civil penalties, and even criminal liability, for failiure to safeguard certain non-public data, even if that data is not stolen. These laws apply to nearly any business that is in possession of that data, and that includes lawyers. Many states are considering (and some have already passed) even more stringent legislation. And, we’re starting to see the plaintiff class action bar sharpening their chisels. (Why is that not surprising?)

So, this is not something that’s going to go away. A lawyer friend of mine who has become a national expert in this field tells me identity theft will increase twenty-fold in the next two years. Bad news for consumers and businesses, but a marketing bonanza for astute attorneys who position themselves in front of the coming wave.

One more thing: some lawyers have developed a new practice area, consulting business clients on (a) how to comply with the new laws and (b) how to mitigate their exposure in the event of a breach. And many lawyers are starting to offer their (business and consumer) clients third-party identity theft protection services, both as a service to those clients and as a source of revenue. If you are interested in either one (consulting and/or offering third-party services), I’ll be happy to show you what I, and many other still-practicing attorneys are doing. 

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Filed Under: Client relations, Increase your income, Marketing legal services

Should lawyers offer a money back guarantee?

September 18, 2007 By Leave a Comment

"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.

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Filed Under: Advertising, Increase your income Tagged With: , , ,

Three simple ways to increase your income

August 29, 2007 By Leave a Comment

Getting more clients through networking, advertising, writing articles, speaking, and so forth, is the obvious way to grow your law practice, and your income. But there are other ways.

There are three things you can do to increase your income that require no time or money, only a little creativity.

The best part is that if you do ALL THREE THINGS, your practice will grow not arithmetically but. . .

. . .geometrically.

Interested?

Okay, here are the three things:

1. Enlarge the size of your average engagement
2. Encourage your clients to hire you more often
3. Get your existing clients to refer other clients

You can enlarge the size of your average engagement by offering a "deluxe" version of your services or by packaging your services in ways that offer clients incentives to hire you to do more now.

You can encourage clients to hire you more often by offering "maintenence contracts" or other incentives to use you more often, or by simply staying in touch with clients and reminding them of the need for your services and the benefits thereof.

You can get your clients to refer other clients by asking for referrals or asking them for the names of their friends and colleagues to whom you can send valuable free information, i.e., reports, newsletters, etc., or special offers, or to simply inform them about your services.

You invested time and money in acquiring your clients. Work smart and maximize your profits with bigger engagements and more repeat business and referrals.

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Filed Under: Increase your income, Leverage Tagged With: ,
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