Archives for March 2014

Building a law practice is like growing a Chinese Bamboo tree

March 17, 2014 by David M. Ward

I mentioned to my wife that the recently planted tree in our yard didn’t seem to be growing much. She reminded me that it would first build its root structure before it grew above ground.

Of course. Roots before branches.

What a perfect metaphor for building a law practice.Â Before you grow branches or reaching out methods, make sure you have a strong foundation.

Before you attract prospective clients, make sure you are ready to do a good job for them and leverage their experience with you to generate referrals, website traffic, and positive word of mouth.

The roots of a successful law practice include your core competencies, your operating systems, and a commitment to delivering exceptional service. If your roots aren’t strong, networking, advertising, and content marketing may bring prospective clients to your door, but you may not sign them up. You may be able to do the work but if you aren’t prepared to surprise and delight the client, he may not be back.

Before you do any external marketing, you should know how you will ask clients for referrals. What will you say? When will you say it? What collateral material will you provide to make it easier to provide those referrals?

Before you connect with anyone on social media or at a networking event, you should be ready to respond when they ask for information about what you do and how you can help them. Make sure your website is filled with information and success stories that demonstrate your expertise and knowledge.

Before you sign up your next client, make sure you have a new client kit, thank you letter, and a system for sending out timely bills.

I am told that the Chinese Bamboo tree shows no visible signs of growth for four years after it is planted. All of the growth is underground. Then, in the fifth year, it breaks through the surface and in the next six weeks it grows to a height of 80 feet.

My law school torts professor told us it would take five years to build a successful practice from scratch. I didn’t want to believe him, but he was right. Today, because of the Internet, you can do it a bit quicker. But you still must have a solid root structure before you do anything else.

The 30 Day Referral Blitz shows you how to quickly get referrals. Click hereÂ for details.

Filed Under: Law office management, Legal industry, Marketing legal services, Marketing Plan

7-minute attorney marketing workout

March 14, 2014 by David M. Ward

Have you seen those 7-minute workout apps? You set them up with your workout schedule, the app reminds you what to do and when, and as you do your workouts, you record it in the app. It’s like having a workout coach in your pocket.

If you miss a day, it shows. Some apps nag you about it. You are motivated to keep up your workouts and not “break the chain” and so, even with just a few minutes a day, you get in shape.

What if you had something like this to track your marketing? Do you think you would get more marketing done on a regular basis? Do you think it would be easier to develop the marketing habit?

I think so, too.

And trust me, doing something every day, even for a few minutes, is easier than trying to book an hour or two once a week.

I don’t think there are any attorney marketing apps, but you could accomplish something similar with just about any calendar or reminder app. You need a list of activities (exercises), and a schedule. Set up recurring tasks or appointments, with reminders.

You might also want to have someone in your office, or a workout partner, hold you accountable. At the end of the day, they ask you if you did your workout. If you do this with a workout partner, you do the same for them.

I suggest 15 minutes per day, five days a week, but if you can only do 7-minutes, do that. Consistently is more important than quantity.

You can do a lot in a few minutes. You can make calls, write, work on your website, read and take notes, learn a new software program, or share ideas with your workout partner. You can plan a new seminar or webinar, outline a report, or work on a speech. You can research new networking groups, write and post blurbs on social media, or add new contacts on LinkedIn.

A few minutes a day and you can get your practice in shape. Without breaking a sweat.

Want ideas for marketing online? Get this.

Filed Under: Marketing legal services, Marketing Plan, Personal development, Productivity

Using sales funnels in your law firm marketing plan

March 13, 2014 by David M. Ward

When you create your law firm marketing plan, I strongly suggest you consider using sales funnels.

A sales funnel simply means that on the front end of the sales process (the narrow part of the funnel), you offer something inexpensive (relative to everything else you offer) or free. The idea is to get as many people as possible buying something on the front end, to get them into your funnel, where they will be offered progressively more expensive products or services.

On the front end, you can offer products, services, or both. So, your front end offer might be a free report or a free consultation. It might be a $5 or $10 ebook or a $99 document tune-up.Â Once they have purchased something, or availed themselves of your free offer, you have their contact information and tacit permission to contact them with additional offers.

A sales funnel is useful because it helps you to identify prospects (leads) and build a list of prospective clients. You then invest time and money marketing to these higher probability clients.

A sales funnel also works because someone who buys something from you, however inexpensive, is more likely to buy something else. When they buy two products or services from you, the odds that they will buy a third go up exponentially.Â And, clients who buy more than one service or product are also more likely to buy your more expensive services. Their lower priced “purchases” help build trust in you and help them to see the need for additional work.

Studies in the banking industry prove that if you have multiple accounts with a bank, the odds of you staying with that bank increase dramatically. It works the same way with legal clients.

You can have multiple sales funnels bringing in clients from many directions. One of your funnels might start with advertising a free report to build your list. Another funnel might start with offering your basic package (e.g., estate planning, corporate formation, etc.), followed by offers for more expensive services.

You can also work with other professionals to create packages that both of you can offer on the front end. For example, an estate planning attorney and financial planner could offer packages that include information, consultations, and/or actual paid (or free) services, to get prospective clients into your sales funnels.

Sales funnels all come down to two things: giving prospective clients a sample of your work or your expertise, and building your list. Make sure you use them in your law firm marketing plan.

For more on creating a law firm marketing plan, see The Attorney Marketing Formula

Filed Under: Marketing legal services, Marketing Plan Tagged With: sales funnel

What are you working on?

March 12, 2014 by David M. Ward

The life of a practicing lawyer is fairly predictable. Cases and clients come in, we do the work, and then we’re done. Some clients come back, new clients come in, and the cycle continues.

Is that all there is? Is that all there is? If that’s all there is, my friends, then let’s keep dancing. Let’s break out the booze and have a ball. If that’s all there is. (Big Peggy Lee fan, here.)

This can’t be all there is. There has to be something else. Something you’re working towards.

I’m not talking about formal goal setting here. I’m talking about something exciting that you are working on, outside of your regular daily work.

Renowned plastics surgeon and author of Psycho Cybernetics, Maxwell Maltz, put it this way:

“People who say that life is not worthwhile are really saying that they themselves have no personal goals which are worthwhile… Get yourself a goal worth working for. Better still, get yourself a projectâ€¦ Always have something ahead of you to ‘look forward to’ – work for and hope for.”

You might be starting a side business, writing a book, or training for your first marathon.

It should be something that puts a smile on your face every morning when you wake up and think about it. Something that makes you feel better when you’re having a bad day.

We all need a project. We all need something to look forward to.

So, what are you working on?

Filed Under: Inspiration, Personal development Tagged With: Maxwell Maltz

“Here, call my law firm,” said nobody ever

March 11, 2014 by David M. Ward

Your clients may write their check to your law firm, but they hire. . . wait for it. . . YOU.

They know you. When they call the switchboard, they ask for you. If you leave the firm, they will probably follow you. And when someone needs a referral, they hand them your card and say, “Here, call my lawyer”.

Not your firm. So, if you are marketing your firm, stop it. Market you.

When you send an email, it should be from you@yourname.com, not you@yourfirm.com.

If your firm has a blog, posts should be by-lined by you, the individual lawyer, not the firm. If you don’t want to take my word for it, here are seven reasons why you should be the author. And if your firm doesn’t have a blog, you should start one. You, not the firm. It should be hosted at yourname.com or yournamelawyer.com.

Social media pages and profiles, you guessed it, should feature you, not your firm. Your firm can have a page, too, but you should promote yours, not theirs.

This is not just for branding purposes. It’s also for self-preservation. If everything is in your firm’s name and not yours, what do you do if your firm dissolves or you leave? You start from scratch, that’s what you do.

Now, what if you own the firm? Same advice. Brand yourself. You can promote and brand the firm, too, but don’t forget to get and keep your name in front of your target market. Because people hire lawyers, not law firms.

Filed Under: Blogging, Law office management, Marketing legal services Tagged With: Branding, branding-law-firm

What I learned about marketing legal services at my car wash

March 10, 2014 by David M. Ward

The car wash I go to has a nice touch. When the car is ready, one of the employees comes into the waiting room (or the outside waiting area), walks up to me with my keys and says, “Mr. Ward, your car is ready.”

He doesn’t shout out my name to the crowd or wave a rag and expect me to notice. He comes and finds me.

The first time this happened, I was impressed. How did he know? When it happened the second time, I asked. When they take my car at the entrance, the employee asks for my last name and writes it on the ticket. He also writes down what I’m wearing: “blue shirt, glasses” or “tall, dark, and handsome”.

Simple.

Now, when you go out to your waiting room to meet a new client (you do go out yourself, right?), do you walk over to the client and greet him by name? You should. It’s a nice touch. Much nicer than shouting his name or waving a rag.

All you have to do is have the receptionist write down what the client looks like or what they are wearing.

Your clients will appreciate the gesture.

I’ll tell you what else they will appreciate. When they come back for another appointment and the receptionist (and you) recognize them and greet them by name. Or when you meet the client for his court appearance and find him in a crowded hallway.

How do you do this? At the first appointment, ask the client if you can take their photo for your file. It’s for their protection. So nobody can pretend to be them and pick up their settlement check. Or, because you have many clients and you like to get to know them.

You often hear that marketing legal services is mostly about the little things. If you’ve ever wondered what that means, now you know.

Marketing is everything we do to get and keep good clients. Here’s The Formula

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

And another thing about social media marketing. . .

March 7, 2014 by David M. Ward

I have an addendum to yesterday’s “enough-with-the-social-media-blitzkrieg” rant.

One of the keys to social media marketing, we are told, is engagement. “It’s a conversation, not a speech,” they say. We are told not to simply push out information, but to engage people, befriend them, earn their trust, and eventually invite them to see what we do.

But what if we don’t want to have a conversation? What if we don’t want to engage? What if we want to use social media to make a speech, for fun, or not at all?

Will we be visited by the social media police? Will our Facebook privileges be revoked? We we be remonstrated by a 26 year old billionaire and told we’re not worthy of being online?

The truth is, engaging on social media is only one way to bring clients to your tent. It’s not the only way.

I just hired a new accountant and a new dentist. Neither one engaged with me before I hired them, on social media or otherwise. One was a referral, the other was found through search. In both cases, I looked at online reviews posted by other clients and patients. It don’t think the CPA or the dentist engaged with them, either.

Could they bring in even more clients by engaging on social media? I’m sure they could. I know a lot of professionals who bring in a lot of traffic and clients with social media marketing. They chat and share throughout the day, and they love it. They are successful, no doubt, because they love it.

If I were to guess, I would say there are many more professionals who use social media sparingly, like I do, or don’t use it at all. Are we missing out on something big? My friends who bring in a lot of business through social would say absolutely, and urge us to get on the bandwagon. So, should we force ourselves to do something we don’t want to do? If we don’t love it, like they do, should we do it anyway?

No.

Don’t let anyone tell you how you must use social media in your practice, or that you must use it at all.

Filed Under: Marketing legal services, Online Marketing, Social media, Social media marketing

Take your LinkedIn marketing webinar and shove it

March 6, 2014 by David M. Ward

Enough already!

Facebook, Twitter, Google+, LinkedIn, Instagram, Pinterest. . . it never stops. Every day I am inundated with invitations and solicitations to webinars, courses, videos, books, reports, plug-ins, consulting offers. I don’t even have time to read the emails or web pages, let alone watch the videos or read the pdfs, let alone buy anything, let alone implement any of the stuff I bought.

And I’m in the marketing business. How on earth are you supposed to keep up with this stuff and still have time to practice law?

(Do I get an amen?)

Look, I love the Internet. I must love it. I spend all day in front of it. I can’t begin to enumerate the ways it has enhanced my life and I would never want to go back to the days before you could carry the world in your pocket. But there are times when you have to step away, take a breath, and put things in perspective.

You know you cannot ignore Internet marketing (even if it’s not your favorite thing), but you can’t keep up with everything everyone tells you is a “must do”. To maintain your sanity (is that an oxymoron–I’m talking to lawyers, right?) you have to be selective.

You need your own website. Not a page on your firm’s site or on M-H or a legal directory, your own hosted website that you control. Yourname.com

You can put it up yourself (it’s not difficult) or you can hire someone to set it up for you and show you how to update it yourself. I suggest a self-hosted wordpress site (not wordpress.com). You could set this up in about an hour, and that includes watching a couple of youtube videos that show you how.

You need some content that shows visitors what you do and why they should choose you. Add some articles you’ve written, a list of your practice areas, and an “about” page.

And that’s it. You can start with that. This is the most important part.

Now, you have something to show people who want to know about what you do.

Traffic? Don’t worry about it right now. There are lots of ways to get it. You can start by contacting your clients and everyone you know and tell them to “come see my new website!” Okay, you can leave out the exclamation point. They’ll come, they’ll read, they’ll share.

What about social media? What about it? It’ll drive you crazy, if you let it. Don’t let it. Set up accounts with the majors (Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and G+), tell your clients and contacts, and when you post new content on your site, post a link to that content on your accounts.

That’s pretty much all I do, when I’m not deleting emails about the latest Facebook or LinkedIn marketing webinar.

Okay, that’s enough marketing for the day. Get back to work.

Make the Phone Ring is the Internet marketing bible for attorneys. Check it out here.

Filed Under: Marketing legal services, Online Marketing, Social media, Social media marketing

Draft: a simpler way to write, edit, collaborate, and share documents

March 5, 2014 by David M. Ward

After yesterday’s post about a new cloud-based document sharing service, SavvyDox, I remembered that I was a subscriber to an even easier to use service: Draft.

No downloads, a very simple interface, and the ability to see your editor’s draft or comments side-by-side with your original. And, it’s accessible from any browser, so no problems for tablet users. And, you can export documents in a variety of formats, including Word, PDF, and ePub.

One limitation, at present, is that you can only import documents in text or Markdown. So you probably wouldn’t use this to show clients a work in progress. But this a natural for sharing drafts with editors, partners, and administrative staff, who can edit or add comments without modifying your original.

I like being able to see my editor’s changes, in a different color, side-by-side with my original. I can respond with my comments about their suggested edits. In fact, we can go back and forth with multiple versions of the document, until it’s right. This makes Draft a great tool for collaborators.

Draft also has many additionalÂ features for writers, including Hemingway mode, which prevents you from deleting anything, forcing you to bang out a first draft without stopping to edit. And, if you want to hire a professional editor, you can do that through the Draft interface at very reasonable cost.

Draft is “donate-ware” (I think that’s the term). You can use it without cost, but you are asked to support the service by paying $4 a month.

I can see a place for both SavvyDox and Draft in a lawyer’s writing arsenal. SavvyDox is probably more appropriate for business clients with whom you can share formatted documents. Draft is useful for writing and editing the document, which you can then export and email to the client.

Check them out and let me know what you think.

Filed Under: Technology, Writing Tagged With: Draft, Draftin.com