Archives for June 2013

Use emotional word pictures to sell more legal services

June 14, 2013 by
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Let’s say I’m selling oranges instead of legal services. I want you to buy my orange so I give you the facts: oranges are good for your health, they taste good, and they are economical. I am very experienced in growing oranges. Many people have bought my oranges and been satisfied with their purchase.

So, do you want to buy my orange?

Maybe, maybe not.

How about if I tell you my orange has a brightly colored peel and a nob at the top and the skin is not too thick and not too thin. You can picture my orange, can’t you? It looks pretty good, doesn’t it?

But you still may not be ready to buy. Let me have another go at it:

The orange is hefty in my hand and as I squeeze it and tear away the upper part of the peel, juice squirts into the air and I can smell the distinct orange fragrance. The naked orange feels sticky in my hands. I dig my thumbs into the top and pull it apart and juice drips onto my fingers. I put a slice into my mouth and the sweet liquid makes my mouth pucker. As I bite down, juice explodes inside my mouth and cascades down my throat.

Not only can see the orange, you can smell it, feel it, and taste it.

My mouth is watering right now, how about yours?

Emotional word pictures stimulate the right side of the brain, where our emotions operate. Engaging the emotions of your listener not only makes it easier for them to understand your message, it also makes it more likely that they will be persuaded by it.

You may not always be able to invoke their other senses, but if you can help them picture what you are describing, or better yet, the results of what you are offering to do for them, you will make it more likely that they will hire you to get it.

Learn more about how to be more persuasive in The Attorney Marketing Formula.

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Filed Under: Communication, Copywriting, Marketing legal services, Presentations, Public Speaking, Writing Tagged With:

Sharing personal information online

June 13, 2013 by
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Look at your website and social media profiles. Are you sharing personal information online? You should be.

No, don’t be reckless. But don’t hide everything about your personal life, either.

Prospective clients, referral sources, and other people who find you online want to know what you are like. You, not your practice. What kind of a person are you? What motivates you? What do you do for fun?

People prefer to do business with people they know, like, and trust. Personal details help people get to know you, like you, and trust you. A few details about your personal life can give them a sense of what it would be like work with you.

Your photo is a must. They need to see what you look like.

Post a few details about your background, hobbies, or outside interests. Tell them a story that illustrates what’s important to you, perhaps why you went to law school or how you were affected by a particular case.

Personal information can also give people reasons to like you. You like country music. You grew up in a small town. You like to cook. When a prospective client sees that and thinks, “me too!” they connect with you.

But even if they don’t share your background or personal interests, they can appreciate that you are a well rounded and passionate human being, not just a legal technician.

Share a few details about your personal life, but not too many. Too much information can work against you.

You may enjoy playing Words With Friends, but if you tell people you have 32 games going, they may think you are weird or not serious about your work.

Don’t talk about your sex life, dating life or health problems. Do talk about your kids, your family vacation, and your love of sports.

Avoid politics and religion, unless you are marketing to people who share your politics or religion and you don’t care about losing everyone else.

It’s okay to mention that you like to have a glass of wine with dinner. Don’t talk about sleeping it off on a friend’s sofa.

Humor is tricky. If it is in good taste and truly funny, it’s a good thing. Too much of a good thing can make you look unprofessional.

Sharing personal information online or with your clients and professional contacts will bring you more business. You may want clients to hire you because you’re really good at what you do but if they hire you because they like your smile or you went to the same college, that’s okay, isn’t it?

Learn more about sharing personal information online in Make the Phone Ring.

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Filed Under: Client relations, Image, Marketing legal services, Online Marketing Tagged With:

How to make more money as a lawyer

June 12, 2013 by
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I’ve had lawyers say to me, “I should be earning more.”

I give them a dose of reality: “No, you shouldn’t. Because if you should, you would.”

If you deserved to earn more, you would earn more.

We are all paid exactly what we are worth. No more, no less. In a free market, our income is in direct proportion to the value we deliver to the marketplace.

If you want to know how to make more money as a lawyer, the answer is to deliver more value.

“Maybe I’m just not good at communicating the value I deliver. I need to get better at doing that, better at marketing my services.”

Yes, but that’s all part of your value. Value is a relative term. It’s based on perception. And the market is never wrong. If they don’t see that you are worth more to them, by definition, you’re not worth more to them.

If you want more clients to choose you instead of other lawyers, you have to give them a reason. Show them an advantage to choosing you.

If you want clients to pay you more than they do, you have to give them more value.

My new course, “Make the Phone Ring,“ shows you how to make more money as a lawyer. Get it here.

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Filed Under: Increase your income Tagged With: ,

How do I get more referrals from other professionals?

June 11, 2013 by
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Attorneys often ask me, “How do I get more referrals from other professionals?”

Their clients may be willing to refer but not know many people who need their services. Their professional contacts, on the other hand, know lots of prospective clients but may not (yet) be willing to refer.

Here’s what I suggest.

Make a list of every professional you know who has referred at least one client to you in the last three years or has said they are willing to do so.

Let’s say you’ve got 30 names on the first list. Nine professionals sent you one or two clients. One sent you eight clients.

You know from yesterday’s post about how to get more referrals that one of the keys to getting more referrals is to give first. Give them referrals or find other ways to help them. But you have only so many referrals to give and only so much time you can spend helping others.

What do you do?

Do you focus on the 20 who said they would send business but haven’t? If you can get each one to send you just one client, that would be a nice bump.

Do you focus on the nine who sent you one or two clients, to see if you can encourage them to send you more?

What about the one professional who sent you eight referrals? It seems like they don’t need much encouragement. They are a proven source of business and you should probably spend your time finding more like them, right?

The answer is to spend MOST of your time with (and send most of your referrals to) the professional who sent you eight referrals.

When you find a spark, pour gasoline on it and build it into a raging bonfire. Pay attention to this individual. Give them your time and attention. Give them every referral you can.

When someone has demonstrated their willingness and ability to send you business, that’s who you want to focus on. You want to keep their referrals flowing. You want them to introduce you to their counterparts. You want them to promote your seminars and send traffic to your website.

Build your practice by helping them build theirs.

Next, turn your attention to the nine who sent you one or two clients. They have also proven their willingness to refer. Give them some love and see if you can increase their numbers.

How about the 20 who didn’t send you any? Well, don’t ignore them. Stay in touch with them. See what you can do to help them. They may waiting to see if you are serious about helping them before they “spend” their referrals on you. A referral or two from you may turn on the spigot.

Many professionals are able to refer but don’t because they already have another lawyer they are committed to. Others don’t because you have not yet earned their trust. But over time, things change. Nurture this crop of potential referral sources. One day, they may bear fruit.

Allocate your time as follows:

Spend 80% of your time with the professionals who have already sent you business, and twenty percent of your time with the ones who have not. Spend 80% of that 80% on the professional who sent you eight referrals, and twenty percent on the other nine.

If you want to get more referrals, give first. Give more to the ones who give back.

Ask me how I can help you get more referrals. 

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Filed Under: Marketing legal services, Referral sources, Referrals, Relationship marketing, Time Management Tagged With: , ,

How to get more referrals

June 10, 2013 by
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Every attorney wants to know how to get more referrals. We love ’em, don’t we? They are good for our egos as well as our bank accounts. No matter how many referrals we get we always want more.

So, how do you get more referrals? Mostly, by focusing on three fundamental concepts:

1. Give first

You can get referrals simply because you are good at what you do. Someone needs your help, someone else knows what you do, and the next thing you know, a new client is referred to you. It happens every day.

If you want to get even more referrals, however, you should develop the habit of giving clients more value than they expect or have paid for. Truly serve them. Smother them with attention. Thrill and delight them.

When you do, you invoke the law of reciprocity. Your clients will feel psychologically compelled to reciprocate. That means that not only will they be willing to refer clients, they will often go out of their way to look for them. They owe you. They NEED to reciprocate. And they will.

The same goes for your professional contacts. If you want their referrals, give them referrals first. And look for other ways you can help them. Provide information. Make introductions. Help them solve their problems and achieve their objectives. They too will reciprocate.

But here’s the thing. You cannot give with the expectation of return. You have to give because it is a part of who you are, not the first step in a quid pro quo exchange.

Yes, there will be clients and professional contacts who don’t reciprocate. That’s okay. The more you give, the more you will get, just not necessarily from the people to whom you give.

Call it Karma or The Law of Attraction. When you give, freely and generously, because it makes you feel good to do so, you will attract more referrals. But you will be doubly blessed because you will also experience the joy of giving.

2. Tell people what you want

Make sure your clients and professional contacts know who would be a good referral for you. Educate them about your “ideal client”.

Post articles that describe your ideal client on your website. Link to them in your emails. Print copies and put them in your “new client kit” and in your waiting room.

Be specific about the legal issues and other characteristics of your ideal clients. Describe them by occupation, industry, or background. The more specific you are, the easier it will be for your clients and contacts to recognize a good referral.

Share stories about your ideal clients. Let clients see, in their mind’s eye, what your best clients look like. Every time you share a client success story or case study, not only will people be reminded about the kinds of problems you solve, they will also be reminded to be on the lookout for people like the clients in your stories.

3. Ask for help

Many studies have shown that professionals who ask for referrals, get more referrals.

You can ask directly or indirectly.

Asking directly means speaking to a client or contact and asking, “Who do you know who. . .?” followed by a description of your ideal client. Or, describing your ideal client first and asking people to keep you in mind if they meet someone who fits that description.

Asking indirectly means having someone in your office asking those questions, or, posting that information on your website, in your emails, and in other marketing collateral.

But you don’t have to ask specifically for referrals in order to get referrals. You can ask for other kinds of help.

Ask your clients to refer people to your website, where they can get lots of information about their legal issues and available solutions. Ask them to Like or mention your page, effectively referring that page to their friends and followers. Ask them to forward your report to people they know. Or ask them to invite people to your webinar or seminar.

Ask people to help you, and they will. Especially if you have helped them first.

The Attorney Marketing Formula will help you create a profile of your ideal client. Get the details here.

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Filed Under: Client relations, Marketing legal services, Referral sources, Referrals, Relationship marketing Tagged With: , , , ,

What do clients want from their lawyers?

June 7, 2013 by
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What do clients want from their lawyers? I don’t mean just your work product or the results of your efforts.

I’m talking about their overall experience with you and your firm.

You need to know so you can give it to them.

You should ask your clients what they want. Put up a survey on your website or hire a firm to conduct one over the phone. Or mail a questionnaire to your former clients.

But what do you ask?

I was thinking about this the other night while I was watching a commercial for a hotel chain. I asked myself what I thought was the most important factor for me in choosing a hotel. The answer came to me immediately: cleanliness.

Now I’m not a clean freak, by any means. I’ve stayed in hotels before that weren’t particularly clean and I survived. But if I have a choice (and I do) and I’m going to be sleeping in a bed that hundreds of others have slept in, I’m going to choose a hotel that appears to have very high standards of cleanliness.

I jotted down other factors I might consider in choosing a hotel (in no particular order):

  • Convenient location
  • Security features
  • Quiet rooms
  • Free wifi
  • Reasonable prices
  • Free breakfast
  • Participation in my credit card rewards program
  • Starbucks in the lobby or nearby

Some are more important than others. Many of them I can live without, but each one is a selling factor.

Now, do the same thing for your practice. Make a list of what you think clients want from their lawyers, specifically, you and your firm. Try to think of things your clients would tell you and things they might not say but nevertheless want.

I’ll help you get started:

  • Office near the client’s home or work
  • Early/late/weekend appointments
  • Phone answered within three rings; on hold for no more than 30 seconds
  • Clear explanation of options, risks, timeline, contingenices
  • No pressure to sign up
  • Polite treatment by staff, attorneys
  • Being seen at the time of the appointment (not having to wait)
  • Billing statement that’s easy to understand and sufficient detail
  • Flat fees, so they know in advance the total cost
  • Not being charged for every phone call, every copy (not “nickeled-and-dimed”)
  • Payment options (payments, financing, credit cards)
  • Regular progress reports (at no additional charge)
  • Returned phone calls within 48 hours maximum, preferably 24 hours
  • Free/validated parking
  • Starbucks. . .

Now you have some ideas for creating a survey. You also have some ideas for improving your services.

Don’t stop there. Dig deeper and see what else you can come up with for improving client relations. In the category of being “polite treatment,” for example, think about how you would make that occur. You might want to start another list:

  • Greeted by name upon arrival
  • Smile, eye contact, asking about their day
  • Shaking hands
  • Offering water, soft drink or coffee
  • Having coloring books or toys available for children
  • Box of tissues within reach of the client’s chair
  • Not taking calls or checking text messages during appointment
  • Introducing other staff who will be working on their case
  • Brief tour of the office
  • Patiently and thoroughly answering all questions
  • Walking them out after the appointment
  • Personal  thank you note from lawyer

What do clients want from their lawyers? If you were hiring a lawyer, what would you want? Write that down. Now you know.

Marketing is everything you do to get and keep good clients. Here’s the Formula.

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Filed Under: Client relations, Law office management, Marketing legal services

Email marketing for attorneys

June 6, 2013 by
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Yesterday, an email arrived in my inbox. See if you can tell what’s wrong with it:

–BEGIN EMAIL–
David,

First of all thanks you for subscribing over the years. I know
many of you have read my books or taken some of my courses
and I truly appreciate that.

The reason I have been so passionate in creating an online
business over the years is because it is the perfect way to
reach people worldwide and EXPRESS YOUR CREATIVITY.

I have tried the do this in my [Product names] . . . as well as my music.

——————————
QUICK NOTE:

Our once a year World Class [Product Name] Certification
Program starts next Monday June 10. Only a few spots left.

[Link to sign up]

——————————

THE SECRET OF LIFE

In my opinion it is doing what you love and sharing it
with others (and best of all make a living at it).

But rather than talk about it let me SING it to you
with some help from [Famous singer]…

[Youtube link of famous singer with writer of email]

In this You Tube channel you will see a part of me
many of you haven’t. In 1976 I got a Masters in
[Music degree, school]

. . .

–END EMAIL–

Okay, that’s enough. The rest of the email discusses his music and asks us to subscribe to his Youtube channel. He then mentions that he is working on another product and signs off.

So, what’s wrong with this email?

1. Who is this guy?

You can’t tell from the email itself but this is a list I signed up for a long time ago and I haven’t heard from this guy for at least six months. I don’t remember anything about him or what he does.

When people subscribe to your list, you have to write to them regularly or they forget who you are and that they signed up on your list. At best, they delete your email or unsubscribe. At worst, they flag your email as SPAM and now, when you do write to your list, your emails get filtered out and don’t get read.

You must write regularly, and frequently. You want to build a relationship with your readers, so that they know who you are and look forward to hearing from you. You don’t know when they will need to hire you, or know someone who does, and if you’re not in their mailboxes and their minds when that occurs, you’re not going to get the call.

2. “I know many of you have. . .”.

When you write to me, write to me. Don’t write in the collective. Say “you” not “many of you”.

Even if there are thousands of subscribers on your list, write your email as though it is a personal communication sent only to one reader. Me.

3. What’s in it for me?

When you write to me, tell me something that will make my life better. Give me something valuable–a tip, a link to something I can use in my business or personal life. There is nothing in this email that does that.

I’m blazing through my inbox, reading and saving a few emails that have something of value for me and deleting (and unsubscribing) everything else. If you want me to read your email, give me a reason. Give me a benefit. Tell me what’s in it for me.

4. “I have been so passionate about. . .”.

Your readers may care about what you are passionate about, but only if they share that passion or they have a relationship with you. The rest of us don’t care. We have our own problems to solve and lives to lead. We’re busy. We don’t have time to look at what you’re doing and did I mention, we really don’t care?

Ironically, I do share his passion for expressing my creativity. I also like the music of the famous singer he refers to. But I didn’t go watch his videos because I can watch videos of the famous singer any time I want. I don’t care that years ago, this guy played with him. So what? Lots of people did. I don’t know them, either.

On the other hand, when you have a relationship with your subscribers, you can share with them something about you that has no direct benefit to them, and they will pay attention.

When you have a relationship with someone, they’ll read your emails, Like and Tweet your posts, send their friends to your website, and respond to your requests. When they need your help, they’ll hire you. When they have a referral, they’ll give it to you. And when you share a video of you playing with a famous musician, they’ll go watch, because they probably don’t have a relationship with anyone else who did that and it might be neat to go see someone they know in a video with someone famous.

Build your list. Build relationships with your list.

Email marketing for attorneys. Click here for details.

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Filed Under: Client loyalty, Client relations, Communication, Copywriting, Email, List building, Marketing legal services, Newsletters, Online Marketing, Writing Tagged With:

What’s the best way to handle objections?

June 5, 2013 by
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What’s the best way to handle objections?

The best way is to eliminate them before they occur. That means providing enough information to prospective clients on your website, in your presentations, and in your client meetings, so that all of their issues and concerns are addressed and there is nothing left to object to.

Give them the facts. Share the stories. Provide FAQ’s that deal with all of the objections you commonly hear.

If money is a common objection, make sure you build the value of what they get, show them how not hiring you could be even more costly, and explain the payment options you have available. Deal with this issue in advance and you will get far fewer objections.

You won’t completely eliminate objections, however. What then?

It depends.

Sometimes, the best way to handle objections is to repeat them back to the prospective client. People often say things they don’t really mean or haven’t thought through. When they hear their own words repeated back to them, it causes them to re-evaluate. As they respond, they often answer their own objection.

Your conversation might go like this:

CLIENT: “I want to think about it”
YOU: “You want to think about it?”
CLIENT: “Yeah, I need a day or two”
YOU: “A day or two?”
CLIENT: “Well, maybe not that long. I need to see if this is something I want to do.”
YOU: “Something you want to do?”
CLIENT: “Well, I know I need to do this but it’s kinda expensive [the true objection reveals itself]. . .”
YOU: “Expensive?”
CLIENT: “Yeah, it’s a lot of money to me. But like I say, I know I need to do this and I guess I can put it on a credit card, so let’s get this going. . .”.

Sometimes, the best way to handle objections is to respond directly. When the client tells you they want to think about it and you know the real objection is probably something else, like money, you might say, “I understand completely. It is a big decision and it is a lot of money. But you have to consider what might happen if you ignore this problem. As we discussed. . .” and go over the issues and possible outcomes again.

If you’re not sure what the real objection is, ask them. “What exactly do you want to think about? Is it the need? Is it the cost?”

Handling objections this way is sometimes referred to as “Feel, Felt, Found.” It is a way to validate the client’s position before you respond to and overcome their objection. So if they object to the expense, you might say, “I understand how you FEEL. A lot of my clients tell me they FELT the same way when they were in your position. But once we got started, they FOUND that it was money well spent and they were glad they got it taken care of.”

Sometimes, the best way to handle objections is to ignore them. You’ve handed the client a retainer agreement and pen and he tells says he wants to think about it. Instead of saying, “Sure, just let me know,” and having him walk out, you say, “I can get started this afternoon and have everything done for you by next Tuesday. You will finally be able to move forward with your life and you told me that’s what you want to do. Today is the 15th; make sure you write the date here” and point to the blank for the date.

Clients typically have the same four or five objections, not hundreds. Think about the last few prospective clients who didn’t retain you. What did they say? How did you respond? How might you have handled it differently?

Come up with two or three ways to handle each common objection and the next time they arise, you’ll be ready.

Want to make the phone ring? Here’s my step-by-step system.

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Filed Under: Closing the sale, Handling objections, Salesmanship

How to stand out from the crowd

June 4, 2013 by
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“There are so many attorneys who do what I do. How do I stand out from the crowd?”

I was thinking about this the other day as I was browsing through the app store. There are thousands of apps for writing, note taking, outlining, and task management. I love checking out new productivity apps, but they are all so similar, more and more I find myself not even bothering to look.

Attorneys have the same challenge. If you do what all the other attorneys do, why should anyone choose you? How do you even get them to look?

App developers and attorneys have three ways to differentiate themselves.

THE FIRST WAY TO STAND OUT FROM THE CROWD

If your services (or app) are extraordinary, meaning so much better than what everyone else offers, you will eventually be noticed. The cream will rise to the top.

I have my favorite note taking app. I consider it the best in it’s class. I even wrote a book about it. However, if I ever found something demonstrably better, I would be open to switching. It wouldn’t be easy to convince me, but it could be done.

Attorneys can stand out from the crowd by working hard to serve them in every way possible. Since many attorneys don’t “get” this, however, this is not as difficult as it may appear. You don’t necessarily have to be the best, just better than the crowd.

THE SECOND WAY TO STAND OUT FROM THE CROWD

Jerry Garcia once said, “It’s not enough to be the best at what you do; you must be perceived as the only one who does what you do.” You may not be any better than other attorneys, but you can stand out from the crowd by being different.

Are you the only one who does what you do? Do you have a “unique selling proposition” (USP)?

The key word is “perceived”. You don’t really have to be unique. Jerry Garcia wasn’t the best musician and he certainly wasn’t the only musician. But he definitely did stand out from the crowd.

THE THIRD WAY TO STAND OUT FROM THE CROWD

The easiest way to stand out from the crowd is by defining what you do in terms of for whom you do it. By marketing to well defined niche markets instead of the mass market, you can clearly differentiate yourself from other attorneys.

In addition, through your knowledge of and experience in your niche market, you will be able to provide better service and more value than other attorneys who don’t have that knowledge and experience, so you will be perceived as better as well as different.

How do you stand out from the crowd? By being seen as better, unique, or by serving a particular niche market. Any one will get the job done. Get all three right and you may find clients describing you as “the only one who does what you do”.

The Attorney Marketing Formula shows you how to craft your USP. Get it here.

 

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Filed Under: Marketing legal services, Specializing Tagged With: , , , , ,

Internet Marketing for Attorneys: How to Make the Phone Ring

June 3, 2013 by
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The Attorney Marketing Center announced the release of a new course, “Make the Phone Ring: A Step-by-Step System for Attracting Good Clients.” The course is primarily about Internet marketing for attorneys, says David M. Ward, author of the course and CEO of The Attorney Marketing Center, but also shows attorneys how to get more referrals.

Ward, a former practicing attorney, taught himself how to get clients online and says too many attorneys spend money on high priced consultants or expensive websites that bring very poor results. “Internet marketing for attorneys is not that difficult once you know what to do,” he says.

“Make the Phone Ring” shows attorneys how to create an effective website, the basis of marketing online. “Many attorney’s websites are little more than an online brochure which does nothing to differentiate them from other attorneys who offer similar services,” Ward says. “An effective website shows visitors how the attorney is different and why the visitor should choose them.”

Ward says that among other features, an effective website has lots of high quality information that helps people understand their legal problems and the available solutions. “When prospective clients go online, this is precisely what they are looking for. They don’t want ads, they want information,” Ward says. “When your website provides this information, visitors see why they should choose you because you’re not just telling them you know what you’re doing, you’re showing them.”

In addition, a website that provides this information will also attract those prospective clients through search engines and social sharing. “Internet marketing for attorneys is actually quite simple. The more information on your website, the more likely it is that prospective clients will find you and sell themselves on hiring you,” Ward says.

Ward based the course on his system of marketing online. He says that every day his website attracts attorneys who are looking for the solutions he offers and he doesn’t spend a lot of time or money on marketing. Most attorneys can do what he does in a couple of hours a week, he says.

“Make the Phone Ring” is available as a pdf download at Ward’s website. For additional information, please visit The Attorney Marketing Center.

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Filed Under: Marketing legal services, News, Online Marketing Tagged With: ,
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