David M. Ward, Author at The Attorney Marketing Center

Goals are a bitch

October 13, 2015 by David M. Ward

Goals can beÂ a demanding and unforgiving bitch. You do what you’re told, or rather what you said you would do, or there’s hell to pay.

Who needs that?

Yes, you want what you want, and yes, you’re willing to do the work to get it, but who needs an overseer? Who needs the pressure of “do or not do” when you might only want to try?

I write down my goals, but more and more I focus on something else. Something that helps me reach my goals without making my life miserable along the way.

Instead of focusing on the goal, I focus on the process. Instead of focusing on the results, I focus on the activity.

After all, it’s the activities that bring the results.

But to do the activities long enough (and get good at them) you have to find peace with the process. Or else you won’t stick with it. Or if you do, you might get the results but come to hate what you’re doing and burn out or get ulcers or ruinÂ your marriage.

You can’t say, “Once I get what I want, I’ll be happy”. It doesn’t work that way. You have to be happy, first.

Author James Clear said,

“. . .if you look at the people who are consistently achieving their goals, you start to realize that it’s not the events or the results that make them different. It’s their commitment to the process. They fall in love with the daily practice, not the individual event. . . If you want to become significantly better at anything, you have to fall in love with the process of doing it. . . Fall in love with boredom. Fall in love with repetition and practice. Fall in love with the process of what you do and let the results take care of themselves.”

And they will take care of themselves. Or they won’t, but you’ll be happy nevertheless because you’re doing something you love.

Use this to create a simple plan (i.e., one that you will do)

Filed Under: Career satisfaction, Goal Setting, Personal development, success

How do you know you’re making the right decision?

October 12, 2015 by David M. Ward

Sometimes I get ideas and they work right from jump street. Everything falls into place and the finished project looks very much like what I envisioned when I first got the idea.

But that’s the exception, not the rule.

Usually, my first idea turns out very differently than I imagined. Once I start working on it, I realize that I’ve missed things or that the entire idea is defective.

I’m working on a new book and I’ve been struggling with how to slant it. There are two completely different markets I could write for and I didn’t know which to choose. (For the record, attorneys are one of them).

I thought about it and decided to write the book so that both markets could benefit from it. Problem solved. But it wasn’t. As I thought about it some more, I realized that one market was a much better choice than the other.

Then I thought, why not write two books? The two markets are different but I could easily take the material and adapt it for both.

I noodled about the problem for a few days but couldn’t decide. Back and forth I went, but nothing felt like the right choice.

Finally, I made (another) decision. I would write the book for the non-attorney market since that was the more logical choice.

Well, you can probably guess what happened. After a good night’s sleep, out of nowhere, another idea came to me. Strangely, this idea focuses on a completely different angle and market than what I had been considering. Even stranger, and better, is that the book can appeal toÂ both of the two original markets and another completely different market that might be even better.

Weird, huh? But cool.

How do I know it’s the right decision? I just do. It feels right. When I think about it, I feel lighter, like a burden has been lifted. I can’t wait to work on it. Also, it feels like this book will be easier to write, that it will flow quickly and naturally because I’m not trying to make it do something, I’m letting it do what it wants to do.

Like I said, weird.

If you’ve ever struggled with making the right decision, the answer isn’t to try to think your way through it. The answer is to relax and let it go. Get away from the subject for a while and let your subconscious mind work on it.

In your heart and your gut, the right answer exists. Give it time and allow it to bubble to the surface. When it does, it will let you know that it has arrived.

Filed Under: Personal development, Productivity, success Tagged With: decision making

My secret obsession

October 9, 2015 by David M. Ward

I’ve got a confession. I am obsessed with something right now and I can’t seem to let it go.

Every day, lately, I have been indulging my obsession. Watching videos, mostly. No, nothing kinky. I am obsessed with high-end voice dictation recorders. Especially the top-of-the-line units from Olympus and Philips.

See, I’d been thinking about buying a digital audio recorder, for notes and to dictate books and blog posts. I found that there is an entire universe of audio recording options–for recording music, for recording lectures and meetings and interviews, and for dictation.

Great. If you want to keep me busy, just give me lots of options.

Anyway, I studied what was available, and learned more about audio recording than I will ever need to know. I had dismissed the high-end units, because they are expensive ($500 and up) and have a lot of features I don’t need. But then I saw that they have a feature I really want and can’t get from (most) of the more modestly priced units.

The high-end recorders have a sliding switch on the side of the unit that allows you to use your thumb to rewind and fast forward, which means you don’t have to take the recorder away from your mouth when you are dictating. In addition, they allow you to “record over” and/or “insert” dictation anywhere in the audio file.

You can make corrections on the fly. Just like you can on many (most?) desktop dictation machines and microphones. Just like the one I used to own.

Without these functions, when you make a mistake or want to add something, you have to just keep recording.

Now, you may be thinking I’m a nutter for obsessing over this, but it’s important to me. Maybe because I cut my teeth on dictation and I know what a difference in productivity this capability delivers. Or maybe you’re thinking, yes, this makes sense, why don’t you just go ahead and pick up one of those high-end units and stop annoying me.

But here’s the thing. I realized that I don’t need to buy anything, I have an app on my iPhone that does what I want.

The app is called “Dictate + Connect” (formerly “Dictamus”) and it is heralded by legions of lawyers and other professionals. I’ve had it for years but used it only sporadically because I haven’t been dictating. Now that I’m using Dragon NaturallySpeaking for transcription, I can use the app when I’m away from my desk.

Dictate + ConnectÂ allows you to record over and insert into existing recordings. It also allows you to select a section of your recording and delete it or move it elsewhere. I can edit my dicatation on my phone before I send it to my desktop to be transcribed.

The app does everything I need it to do. I can live with the absence of a side switch. I’ve ordered a new headset microphone so I can hold the iPhone in my hand and work the controls while I continue to dictate.

So, I had the solution in my pocket all along. If youÂ share my obsession, or you want to have another option available for notes and dictation, check it out in the app store (iOS and Android). You can download a free version with full capability but limited recording length and try it out.

Okay, that is all. I’ve got some dictation to do. And maybe a video or two to watch.

Filed Under: Productivity, Technology, Writing

Everyone is an entrepreneur. Including you.

October 8, 2015 by David M. Ward

It doesn’t matter whether you’re employed or self-employed, you are an entrepreneur.

Deal with it.

You are an entrepreneur because every day, you take risks with your career. You may get fired today. Your partnership may break up. Your biggest client may leave you.

You are in sales, too. You sell your services (and yourself) to an employer or to individual clients. Every day, you sell or re-sell yourself on getting and staying hired.

But every day you also have the opportunity for gain. You may get a raise. You may get a big case. You may start to embrace marketing and double your income.

Risk and reward. The yin and yang of the entrepreneur. The only question is, how much risk are you willing to take?

You do know that a job doesn’t mean safety or security? In fact, it means just the opposite. You don’t control your fate. Others do. Just ask people who lost their job two years ago and are still unemployed.

Starting your own practice or business isn’t risk free, of course, but if you fail, you will at least have a skill set that allows you to start over.

In fact, the very act of failing makes you more likely to succeed the next time. The greatest risks are often borne by those who have never failed.

Venture capitalist Ben Narasin says that he sometimes funds startups run by people who have never failed at anything. He says,

Sometimes these prove to be the founders most likely to fail. They’re likely to fail exactly because they are afraid of doing so. They’re so used to winning, so used to the orderly, structured, achievableÂ goals… conquerable by brain power and effort alone, that they are ill-prepared for the entirely messy reality of entrepreneurship.

Being an entrepreneur is messy. You might fail. But that’s not necessarily a bad thing.

Building a law practice is easier when you know The Formula

Filed Under: Career satisfaction, Salesmanship, success

The one thing you need to do to build a successful law practice

October 7, 2015 by David M. Ward

Do you remember the Billy Crystal movie, “City Slickers”? There is a scene where Jack Palance’s character, Curly, is about to tell Mitch (Crystal) the secret to life? “There’s just ONE thing,” Curly says, holding up one finger. All eyes are fixed on Palance. What will he say? What is the “one thing”?

Curly never does answer. When I saw the scene, I thought he would say, “That’s what you have to figure out”. That’s your quest. Figure out the one thing and everything else will take care of itself.

I don’t know if that’s what he meant, but it makes me wonder, is there “one thing” for building a successful law practice? One thing that can take a lawyer from where they are to where they want to be?

Yes there is. For most lawyers in private practice, the one thing that would make all the difference is getting more clients.

Getting better clients is important, of course, and should be on every lawyer’s to-do list. But for both short term and long term success, getting more clients is the one thing that changes everything.

More clients means more money. More money allows you to improve your lifestyle. More money means you are able to help more people and leave the world a better place.

Yes or yes?

Okay, so more clients is the main ingredient. With a side dish of better clients. The next question, of course, is what’s the one thing about getting more clients?

You know the answer to that, amigo. It’s marketing. That’s how we get clients, after all.

But marketing is big and scary. There are too many variables. I don’t know what to do. Tell me, is there “one thing” about marketing?

Hold on, now, you want me to sort through everything there is to know about marketing professional services and tell you the “one thing”?

Okay, I will.

It’s referrals. Get referrals right and you may not have to do much of anything else.

Referrals have always been the number one way clients find attorneys and it still is today. The Internet is important, vital even for many types of practice, but it’s number two on the list.

Okay, now we’re getting somewhere. To build a successful law practice, referrals are king. But. . . but. . . what’s the “one thing” about getting referrals?

You ask a lot of questions, Chachi. No worries. That’s what I’m here for.

Anyway, whether it’s referrals from clients, other professionals, or anyone else, the one thing, the Holy Grail about getting referrals is. . . delivering value.

Not just doing good work and treating people with respect. That’s expected. That’s the standard of care. Every lawyer should do that, and most lawyers do. No, if you want to get more referrals and stand out from the crowd, you have to do what most lawyers don’t do.

You have to do more than do your job.

The lawyers who get the most referrals are the lawyers who do things for their clients and contacts that transcend their work and their professional relationships. They help them, unselfishly, without being asked and without expecting anything in return.

Yes, the golden rule.

There, I said it. Call me a sentimental fool, but there you go. Help others, give to others, treat others the way you would like to be treated.

What’s the “one thing” when it comes to the golden rule?

That’s what you have to figure out.

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

Put away your shotgun and get out your rifle

October 6, 2015 by David M. Ward

I foundÂ a book yesterday which purported to be about marketing for attorneys. I didn’t buy it.

I didn’t buy it because the author isn’t an attorney, nor is she a marketing expert, for attorneys or anyone else. According to her bio, she’s a freelance writer. Nothing against freelance writers, but given the choice, attorneys prefer to learn from an attorney whoÂ built a successful practice, a marketing consultant for attorneys, orÂ ideally, from someone who is both.

Someone like me, for example.

Because of my background and experience, attorneys prefer to buy my books and courses instead of those written by people with generalized marketing experience, or no marketing experience. They’ll pay more, too, because I’m worth more. At least to them.

We speak the same language. We understand each other. You don’t have to explain your situation, I’ve know it, either because I’ve lived it or because I’ve helped others in that situation.

By contrast, the aforesaid writer doesn’t have that connection. In her book description, she reveals that failing when she says, “. . . in your attorney business,” instead of in your firm or practice.

Nuff said.

This is why I preach to you about niche marketing. Your task in marketing your services is to show prospective clients, and the people who can refer them, that you are the best lawyer for the job. The simplest way to do that is to show them that you are the closest match to what they need and want, by virtue of your experience in helping other clients like them.

If a real estate investor is looking for an estate planning attorney and learns that you do estate planning exclusively and represent hundreds of real estate investors, he is more likely to choose you instead of another lawyer,Â and more likely to pay your well-deserved higher fee.

The key to attracting high-value clients is focus. Stop trying to be all things to all people. Put away your marketing shotgun and get out your marketing rifle.

How to get focused and attract your ideal clients

Filed Under: Marketing legal services Tagged With: Niche marketing

My take on gun control

October 5, 2015 by David M. Ward

I have a very strong opinion on the gun control issue. I’d like to share it with you but I would be a fool if I did.Â I write about marketing, not politics or policy. Telling you my opinion on an emotionally charged issue like gun control might satisfy my need to express myself, but from a marketing standpoint it would be a mistake.

I might lose half of my readers who disagree with me. If I represented a special interest group or had a talk show or forumÂ of some sort where “taking sides” was part of the deal, fine. But I don’t, so why unnecessarily alienate people who might hire me?

As a friend of mine colorfully advises, “Don’t shit on your money”.

And that’s my advice to you.

There is a way to talk about issues like gun control, climate change, abortion, and the likeÂ without stabbing yourself in the back. You do that by writing about those issuesÂ as though you were writing a Bar exam essay.

Present both sides of the issue–the legal arguments and the body of law–in an unbiased manner. The facts and arguments on one side, and then the other.Â Leave out the conclusion altogether, or couch it in terms of “if/then”.

State the facts and keep your opinion to yourself.

Your clients and prospects, readers and listeners, will appreciate you for educating them about both sides of the issue and for giving them credit for making up their own mind. You have presented a valuable service to them, and haven’t pushed anyone away.

I know, it’s hard to keep mum about what we think, especially when we have strongly held opinions about important issues. But we just can’t go there.

When I see what some people post on Facebook, I have to bite my tongue and watch cat videos to calm down. But I don’t comment. I also don’t like political posts I agree with. I don’t letÂ anyone know my opinion.

Lately, however, I’ve taken to un-following people who reveal their foolishnessÂ through their posts. I’m not their client or prospect, so it doesn’t matter, but if I were, their opinions might cost them a small fortune.

What to write on your website or blog

Filed Under: Blogging, Image, Networking, Newsletters, Online Marketing, Public Speaking, Social media, Writing

Lawyer to lawyer referrals: don’t ignore this potential gold mine

October 2, 2015 by David M. Ward

How many lawyers do you know in another state? Probably not many. That means there are a lot of attorneys in other states who also don’t know you and if they don’t know you, they probably won’t send you referrals.

What if there was an easy way to change that?

In the Lawyer to Lawyer Referrals, I said that the simplest way to get more referrals from other lawyers is to get to know more lawyers. Yes, you want to know more lawyers in your local area, but there’s a very good reason for getting to know lawyers in other states: no competition.

If you are in Pittsburgh, PA, an attorney in San Diego, CA might not have a lot of referrals for you, but if you’re the only lawyer he knows in PittsburghÂ in your practice area, when he does have a referral, you’ll be the only one on his list.

Me entiendo?

Imagine having an email list of lawyers in other parts of the country, or in other countries, who know who you are and what you do? They hear from you occasionally, gettingÂ updates about your interesting new client, your big settlement, or your latest article or blog post. Your name and contact information is continually in front of them.

Of course you also ask them to keep you informed about their practice, because you might have a referral for them, or know someone who does.

Many of your contacts will never pan out, but some will. If there are 100 lawyers on your list, you’re going to get some business.

In fact, make that a goal. 100 lawyers on your list in the next 60 days. (You could do this in two days if you wanted to.)

Lawyers are easy to find. They have websites, they are on social media, they advertise. Find lawyers who represent the kinds of clients you target, contact them and introduce yourself.

You can call first, or email. Calling is better; email is faster.

Tell them you saw their website or ad or read something they wrote. Pay them a compliment or ask them a question. And then tell them that you’d like to know more about what they do because you don’t know any lawyers in their area and you never know when you might have a referral.

Of course they will ask about you and your practice.

It really is that simple.

For more ways to find and approach attorneys, both locally and in far off places, see Lawyer to Lawyer Referrals.

Filed Under: Marketing legal services, Networking, Referral sources, Referrals

What, are you chicken?

October 1, 2015 by David M. Ward

What are you afraid of? Public speaking? Writing and putting yourself out into the world for all to see? Are you afraid to network and meet strangers? How about asking for referrals?

I’m calling you out. Issuing a dare for you to do the thing that scares you. Because the thing that scares you might just be the best thing you could do.

Yes, there are risks. You might fail. You might be embarrassed. You might do something stupid and lose a client or a friend. But you might also find that the thing you dare to do opens up vast new opportunities for you and catapults you to an amazing level of success.

Back to the Future is about to celebrate its 30th anniversary. If you recall, Marty McFly didn’t like anyone calling him chicken. He did things, on a dare, and it got him into trouble, but it also took him on a grandÂ adventure. He was the hero of that adventure because he dared.

Yesterday, I had an email conversation with an attorney who has started a network marketing business. He told me that he was hesitant to show his professional contacts what he was doing. He’s read my network marketing books so he knows that I understand. When I started my business, I felt the same resistance he is feeling.

Whether it’s practicing law or building a business or doing anything that takes us out of our comfort zone, there are many things we can do to help lessen our fears, or bypass them. One of the best is to get a workout partner to hold us accountable to doing the activities we need to do to reach our stated goals.

I told the lawyer that eventually, he would experience a breakthrough, and that right now, he should focus on doing whatever he can do to get started. I know that once I did that in my business, my fears quickly proved to be unfounded and I was on my way to success.

Whatever it is you fear, just do it. Get started. Trick yourself if you have to, get drunk if you have to, take someone to hold your hand if you have to, but do it. Take the leap and build your wings on the way down.

He might not find a breakthrough, of course. He might let his fears get the better of him. Like so many, he might find himself in the “I wish I had” club, instead of the “I’m glad I did” club. But if he never starts, he’ll never know.

I broke through my resistance because I was at a point in my life where I was tired of working all the time and realized I had to do something about it. I wanted the benefits of time freedom and retirement income and the associated lifestyle that goes with it and my desire was stronger than my fears.

In other words, I felt the fear and did it anyway. And I’m glad I did.

Filed Under: Inspiration, Personal development, success Tagged With: network marketing

Write for your clients, not your prospects

September 30, 2015 by David M. Ward

A question posed on a marketing blogÂ caught my attention: “How might your attitude to writing your newsletter or blog improve if you saw every reader as a client?”

It’s a great question.

You know your clients, and care about them, and so when you write to them or for them, you communicate at a deeper, more informed level than you do when you’re writingÂ to strangers. You understand your client’s business. You know their family. You know what they like and how they think, what they need and what they want.

You have a relationship with them and when you write to them, you are more relaxed, more open, and more genuine.

Why not be that way with everyone?

When you write a blog post or article, when you speak before a group, when you meet people while networking, think about them as though they already are your clients. You may know nothing about them (yet) but by showing them that you care about them and want to help them, when you generously share your knowledge and advice, when you have a conversation with them instead of talking at them, they will come to know you and trust you.

Some of them will become actual clients. This is a great way to accelerate that process.

Website? Blog? Newsletter? Here’s what to do and how to do it

Filed Under: Blogging, Communication, Presentations, Seminars and webinars, Writing