David M. Ward – Page 184

Is asking your clients for help a sign of weakness?

October 9, 2017 by David M. Ward

Some attorneys believe that asking their clients (and others) for help is a sign of weakness. They think that any help a client might give them–referrals, sharing their content, liking their videos, posting a review–should and will happen organically, with no prompting from them.

In truth, while some clients will help you on their own, most won’t. Not because they don’t want to but because they don’t know what to do or they’re busy and forget to do it.

Your clients want to send you referrals. They want to help you and they want to help their friends. If you don’t tell your clients who would make a good referral for you and show them the best way to facilitate the referral, you make it harder for them to do. So their friend might wind up with another attorney who doesn’t do a good job or charges them more.

By not asking for help, you’re hurting your clients and the people they care about.

Your clients want other people to know you did a good job for them. Other people who are looking for an attorney depend on reviews by people who have hired you in the past. If you don’t ask your clients to leave a review, they might think you don’t care about reviews and not leave one. You’re denying them the satisfaction of helping others find you.

You think asking for help shows weakness when in truth it is a sign of strength and confidence. It shows people that you know don’t live in an ivory tower, you live in the real world and depend on others for your success. It is a sign of humility and respect for your clients and for yourself.

When you understand this, you realize that asking for help is no more a sign of weakness than asking a client to pay your bill.

How to make it easier for your clients to send you referrals

Filed Under: Client relations

How to get more positive reviews

October 6, 2017 by David M. Ward

You obviously know that positive reviews and testimonials are some of your most powerful marketing assets. If you’re not actively soliciting and using these in your practice, you’re missing the boat.

If you’re on the boat and you want to get more (and better) reviews, I’m going to show you how.

STEP ONE

Gather up a handful of your best reviews and testimonials. (If you’re lacking in this department, I’ll show you what to do.)

STEP TWO

Take three or four of your best reviews and send them to all new clients, along with a letter that says something like this:

“My practice depends on keeping our clients not just satisfied but delighted. That’s what I’m working to achieve. Enclosed are a few reviews I’ve received from clients that show me that I’m doing things right.

I’m proud of reviews like these and I will do my best to provide you with the same high level of service and satisfaction as expressed by these clients. That’s my promise to you.

At the end of the case, if you feel I’ve delivered on that promise, I hope you will also leave me a great review.”

STEP THREE

At the end of the case, when you survey your clients, include a letter reminding them of your promise and your hope that if they believed you delivered on that promise, they would be inclined to leave you a good review.

Enclose a few additional positive reviews and give them a link to your review profile or a page where you’d like them to post their review.

And that’s it. This should bring you more reviews and better reviews, because you planted the idea thatÂ reviews are normal, expected, and appreciated, gave them examples of great reviews, and at the end of the case, reminded them to leave one.

Now, what do you do if you don’t have great reviews to show your clients?

That’s simple. Write them yourself.

Write the reviews you’d like to receive from your clients. Include all the accolades you’d love to see, and more importantly, prospective clients need to see to convince themselves that you’re the one.

Send these to new clients as examples of good reviews.

Tell them you wrote the reviews yourself because although you have positive reviews (if you do), they are brief and you hope that by sending these examples to your new clients, when the time comes, they will find it easier to write a more detailed review.

Tell them you promise to work hard and keep them happy and that if you deliver on that promise, you hope they will feel compelled to write a review of that caliber.

Live up to that standard and it won’t be long before you’ll have some amazing real reviews to show your clients.

Make your website great again

The secret to my success

October 5, 2017 by David M. Ward

Want to know the secret to my success?Â The secret is simple. I do a few things well.

That’s it. A few things. The “precious few” in 80/20 parlance, that deliver the majority of my results.

I run three businesses. In each business, there are only a few things I focus on to keep the wheels turning. Well, actually, one business is nearly 100% passive income and requires almost none of my time anymore. The other two businesses are flexible enough that I can work at them when (and if) I choose. So for me, at this stage of my life, my precious few are “writing, learning, and marketing.”

How about you?

If you run a law practice, your precious few probably include, “marketing, management, personal development, and work product”. Am I right?

[Sidebar: Don’t be one of those lawyers who foolishly boasts that they don’t do any marketing. Everything you do is marketing.

Every time you speak to a client you’re showing them why they should remain your client and refer their friends. Every time you give someone your card or mention your website you’re inviting them to learn more about you do. Every time you talk to a prospective client or fellow professional you’re showing them why they should do business with you. It’s all marketing. All of it.

Okay, back on the record.]

Let’s start with “areas of focus”. You run a law practice, you have a personal life. That’s two. You might also do charitable work, be active in your church, or have a hobby or outside interest that’s important to you.

What are your precious few areas of focus?

Next, for each area of focus, think about the precious few things you focus on (or need to).

For your practice, what are the precious few things you do for marketing?

You may focus on a few types of clients, niche markets, or practice areas. Your strategies might include client referrals, professional referrals, and driving traffic to your website. If you advertise, your precious few might include a group of niche publications, keywords, or offers that deliver the majority of your results. You might create content, build a social media following, or speak or network in the “real world”.

What are they? What are precious few in your marketing?

For work product, you might derive most of your income from a certain type of case or client or a certain type of work. What are your precious few?

For management, you might focus on new client intake procedures (although that’s also marketing), billing, and document management. You might focus on hiring the best people, training, or building culture. What are your precious few?

For personal development, you might work on building a new habit, improving a particular skill, or acquiring a certain type of knowledge. What do you focus on? What are your precious few?

In the end, success comes from doing a few simple things. It can’t be any other way. You can’t do 100 things and expect to do them all well. You can’t focus on 100 things you can only focus on a few.

I built my practice with referrals. It was one of my precious few.

Filed Under: Law office management, Marketing legal services, Personal development, success Tagged With: 8020, areas of focus, focus

What breed of dog does your client own?

October 4, 2017 by David M. Ward

What’s the name of the last client you spoke to? How well do you know them?

Are they married? What’s their spouse’s name?

Do they have kids? How old are they?

What part of town do they live in? Do they play any sports? Do you know the name of their accountant, tax preparer, and insurance agent? How about the name of their dog?

I know it’s difficult to build a personal relationship with all of your clients but how about some of them?

Or are you the type who does the work and that’s the end of it?

No communication, no relationship, nothing from you. If they contact you again, fine. Otherwise, you don’t have time for them.

Please say that’s not true. Please say you make an effort to get to know at least some of your clients and that you make it a habit to stay in touch with all of them.

If you don’t, it’s not too late to start. Reach out at least one client this week and have a conversation with them. Take a few minutes to find out something about their personal life. Write it down so you’ll remember it. Verify their email address so you can stay in touch.

Every client you do this with represents potential growth for your practice. Even if they never hire you again, they can send referrals, introduce you to other professionals, share your content, promote your events, and send traffic to your website. Oh yeah, they can also write a positive review about you, including how much they appreciate that you stay in touch with them after the work was done.

Before you spend another hour attending a networking event and talking to strangers, how about networking with the people who already know, like, and trust you?

Start here

Filed Under: Client loyalty, Client relations, Marketing legal services

Working three hours a day

October 3, 2017 by David M. Ward

I saw a blog post this morning citing a study about productivity in the UK. The study found that most people (in the study at least) are productive just under three hours a day.

True or not, it got me thinking. What would happen if we intentionally chose to work no more than three hours? Hey, in comparison to a four-hour work week, three hours a day is positively Draconian.

Is it possible? If it were, how would it change your life? Your health? Your happiness?

If you work for someone, your first thought might be that you would get canned if you only showed up three hours a day. Fair enough. So suppose (for now) that you showed up for eight hours or whatever you’re contracted for, got all your work done in three hours and nobody knew what you did the rest of the day?

If you work for yourself, imagine getting your work done in three hours, after which you could go home.

I know, sounds crazy, but what if it’s not?

Assuming arguendo that it is possible, what would you have to do to make it so?

Humor me. Think about it. You might ultimately conclude that it’s not possible but what if by thinking about it and making some changes you could cut an hour a day off your schedule?

Could you use an extra five (or six) hours a week to do something else?

Today, I don’t have answers for you. Just questions, to get you thinking. What would you have to do to make this happen?

What could you cut out? What could you consolidate? What could you delegate? And what could you do more quickly if you had better skills, equipment, or experience?

Think! Plant the idea in your subconscious and let it go to work for you. Let it find some ways for you to get your work done in less time.

I know, some people reading this are thinking, “It won’t matter. If I get my work done in three hours, I’ll spend the rest of the day doing more work.”

Lawyers. You can’t argue with them. Or take away their hourly billing.

Leverage is the key to earning more and working less. Here’s the formula

Filed Under: Productivity

Live, from your office. . .

October 2, 2017 by David M. Ward

The other day I recommended not relying solely on live presentations but to record them so they can go to work for you 24/7.

It’s leverage. Do it once, use it over and over again.

But don’t stop doing live presentations.

I don’t just mean “live and in person”. I mean live online. Podcasts, hangouts, chats, webinars, and so on, that are presented in real time. There’s magic in something done live.

When you promote a recorded video, it’s harder to create a sense of urgency. You can say, “This will only be available until. . .” but you then lose the ability to get eyeballs on an ongoing basis. If you leave it up all the time, many people say, “I’ll catch it later,” but we all know that later often never comes.

When you do it live, however, you can promote it as a special event because it is special. You can say, or more likely imply “Never before and never again,” has this been done, creating an even bigger sense of urgency.

When it’s live, you can say, “Join me” or “Ask me anything” and thus provide more value and build a closer relationship with your followers. Or you can promote it by saying you’re presenting some new or timely information that shouldn’t be missed.

One of the biggest draws of a live event is that nobody knows what will happen. What will be said, what will be asked, what information will be shared for the first time? And let’s face it, one reason people watch live events is that they know it could be a train wreck and they want to see that.

One way to make your live events have more train-wreck potential is to have someone else speak with you. If you have a co-presenter, a panel discussion, you interview someone or have someone interview you, the likelihood of something noteworthy or cringeworthy happening is even greater. (You’ll also get the other speakers’ followers to tune in.)

Do some live events and watch your subscriber numbers and engagement soar. Of course, you should also record these events so you can use them again or make them available 24/7. But you might not want to mention that you’re recording it when you promote it for the first time.

Let your website do the heavy lifting: Marketing online for attorneys

Filed Under: Blogging, Leverage, List building, Marketing legal services, Online Marketing, Presentations, Seminars and webinars

If I could save time in a bottle

September 29, 2017 by David M. Ward

If I could save time in a bottle. . . I’d sell it. I mean, who wouldn’t want to buy more time? More time with your family. More time for hobbies or worthy causes, more time get more work done.

How much would like to buy?

Unfortunately, I can’t sell you any time. But I can show you how to get it for yourself.

The first way to get more time is to steal it. Steal it from what you’re currently doing by taking on fewer tasks and projects or fewer cases and clients, and focusing on a smaller number of more valuable matters. Delegate less valuable work to others.

The second way to get more time is toÂ get your work done more quickly. You can do that by improving your skills and knowledge, learning new skills and methods, using better tools, and developing better habits and workflows. Delegating work to others will also help.

The third way to get more time is to specialize in your practice areas and in the clients you target. This will allow you to charge higher fees and attract more clients (and better clients) who prefer attorneys who specialize.

The fourth way to steal time is through marketing, which will allow you to bring in bigger cases and clients, and allow you to hire more help.

Even better, instead of “one and done” marketing activities, do things that can bring in new business with little or no additional effort. Instead of only doing live presentations or seminars, for example, record them so they can go to work for you 24/7. Instead of networking to find clients, network to find more referral sources.

All of these will give you more time and more income. I know, because this is what I did to build my practice when I was struggling.

Work on fewer more valuable things, become more efficient, specialize, and get better at marketing. That’s how I was able to earn more and work less, and that’s how you can, too.

How I did it: the formula

Filed Under: Leverage, Marketing legal services, Productivity, Specializing

What’s your shtick?

September 28, 2017 by David M. Ward

I just downloaded an appÂ that provides a collection of “sleep sounds,” that is, recordings you can listen to when you want to rest or fall asleep. There are many of these types of apps available. I’ve tried more than a few.

But this one is different.

It’s the only app I know of that doesn’t come with all of the audios in the initial download. You choose the ones you want and download them separately. Any sound you don’t like can easily be deleted.

I like this because it means I don’t have to fill up my phone with gigabytes of sounds I’ll probably never use. I can choose a few I like and forget the rest.

Most of the app’s reviewers agree. Choice is good. Smaller downloads are good.

But some disagree. They hate having to download each audio one at a time. “It takes too long!” they moan.

So yeah, you can’t please everyone. And you know what? You shouldn’t try.

Suppose the app developer listened to the cries of the customers who don’t like the “choose your own” feature? They would wind up with an app like all the others that use an “all or nothing” approach. They would find it difficult to stand out from their competition. And the would alienate those of us who like being able to choose.

“Choose the ones you want” is this companies shtick. Their thing. Their Unique Selling Proposition. And it works. They knowingly give up trying to please the “I want it all” crowd and from a marketing perspective, this is the right thing to do.

And guess what? Lawyers should do the same thing.

Stop trying to please everyone. Stop offering “all things to all people”. Be different. Carve out a niche. Choose a segment of the market and show the folks why you’re their guy or gal. Promote your differences to prospective clients who like those differences. And let go of everyone else.

Need help choosing your shtick? Here it is

Filed Under: Marketing legal services Tagged With: Niche marketing

I wanted to change the world

September 27, 2017 by David M. Ward

You can’t look at the world today without wondering, “How did things get this bad”. Everywhere you turn you see evil and hatred, bad people and bad ideas. You want things to change. You want the world to change. What can you do?

When we are young and foolish, we think we can change the world. We soon learn that the world is big and we have very little power to change it. Eventually, we give up and get on with our lives, hoping someone else will lead the charge.

This isn’t a new phenomenon. Wanting to change the world has been around for a very long time. In 1100 A.D., an unknown monk penned this poem:

I Wanted To Change The World

When I was a young man, I wanted to change the world.

I found it was difficult to change the world, so I tried to change my nation.

When I found I couldn’t change the nation, I began to focus on my town. I couldn’t change the town and as an older man, I tried to change my family.

Now, as an old man, I realize the only thing I can change is myself, and suddenly I realize that if long ago I had changed myself, I could have made an impact on my family. My family and I could have made an impact on our town. Their impact could have changed the nation and I could indeed have changed the world.

Change yourself and you can change the world.

Filed Under: Personal development

Most new things don’t work and that’s good

September 26, 2017 by David M. Ward

You tried something new but it didn’t work. You wasted time and wasted money. You’re disappointed. Embarrassed. Hesitant to try the next idea that comes along. You’d rather go back to doing what you know works instead of taking chances on something that might not.

Can we talk?

Most new ideas don’t work the first time you try them. Many things never work. That’sÂ good because if most things you tried worked right out of the box, it would mean you’re playing it safe, doing what’s easy and familiar and not taking enough risks.

No risks, no growth. No pain, no gain.

That doesn’t mean you should be reckless or jump into things with doing your homework. It means trying lots of new things and not worrying about the results. It means hoping for the best but expecting the worst and when the worst happens, learning from it and trying again or moving on to the next idea.

Think about it. What was the last new thing you tried that didn’t work? Maybe you sent an email to your clients, hoping to get some repeat business or referrals, but nothing happened.

Why? Figure it out. Review the email and see what you might have missed. Show it to someone who knows marketing. Ask a few clients for feedback.

Then, try a different approach. A different subject line. A different offer. You might find the right combination and open a treasure chest of new business.

If the email had worked the first time, you might have continued to use it “as is” and never found something that worked much better.

Try lots of new things and keep track of what works and what doesn’t. If most new things fail or get poor results, smile. You’re on the right track.

Marketing is easier when you know the formula

Filed Under: success