Sometimes, the best way to handle a problem is to ignore it

March 11, 2015 by
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You’ve got a problem and you’re searching for a solution. Or you know what to do but don’t have time to do it.

Fear not. Sometimes, the best way to handle a problem is to ignore it.

The problem may go away by itself. Or turn out to cause damages that are relatively minor. Or manageable. Or covered by insurance.

It’s all relative, isn’t it?

Some problems are big and hairy. Others, not so much.

Before you start looking for solutions to a problem, make sure the problem is something that truly needs fixing.

Here are some questions to ask yourself:

  • Why is this a problem?
  • What are the benefits of fixing the problem?
  • What’s the worst that can happen if I don’t fix it?
  • If the worst case scenario occurs, can I afford the consequences?
  • What are the costs of fixing the problem?
  • Can I ignore the problem for now and fix it later?
  • Can I fix part of the problem now and fix the rest later (or ignore the rest)?
  • Can I delegate some or all of work needed to fix the problem?

You may find that the problem isn’t as bad as you thought. You may conclude that your time is better spent fixing a different problem, or tackling an opportunity that promises bigger benefits.

You don’t have to fix every problem. Sometimes, the best way to handle a problem is to ignore it.

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Filed Under: Leverage, Personal development, Productivity, Time Management Tagged With:

The biggest mistake lawyers make with online marketing

March 10, 2015 by
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Last week I referenced an article about “lethal mistakes” lawyers make with their online marketing. I agreed with some of the mistakes, disagreed with some, and was mystified by the absence of others.

I asked what you thought was missing, and by your responses, you showed me that you are paying attention.

Your list of mistakes included things like

  • The absence of fresh content
  • Too much about “the firm” and not enough about the client/visitor and his problems
  •  No call to action (telling visitors what to do)
  • Too impersonal, formal, unapproachable

Correctamundo.

You get it.

Why weren’t these in the article?

I don’t know.

Anyway, before I reveal to you the number one lethal mistake lawyers make with their website, I want to mention another article about lawyers’ websites that provided some alarming, but not surprising, statistics:

According to this article

  • Nearly 40% of small law firms don’t have websites
  • 70% don’t have a call to action on their home page
  • 97% of law firm websites fail to deliver any kind of personalized content
  • Only 35% have been updated in the last three years
  • 68% don’t have an email address on their home page [see my comments below]
  • 27% don’t have a phone number on their home page
  • Only one-third are optimized for mobile devices

The last issue is especially noteworthy in view of Google’s recent announcement about penalizing sites that aren’t mobile friendly.

The article also said that “only 14% of law firms send a triggered email to a visitor who submits a form online”. That number is skewed, I am sure, because most law firm sites don’t even have a form that allows visitors to email them.

Your site needs a contact form, so visitors who aren’t ready to call you can communicate with you by email. Posting your email is good, but using a form is better. It makes it easier for visitors to contact you, and that means more will (and that’s a good thing, yo.). A form can also reduce spam and allow you to direct visitors to supply information you will need when you reply.

That form should send an automated reply so people will immediately know “message received” and what will happen next. Without this, visitors are likely to keep looking.

Okay, now for the biggest mistake.

Your emails to me mentioned it. So you know it’s important. I’m not sure if you realize how important, however.

The biggest mistake is not having a form for visitors to subscribe to your email list or newsletter.

You need a form and you need to tell people to subscribe. Tell them on every page. And give them reasons why they should. Tell them how they will benefit by filling out your form. What will they get, learn, or avoid?

Why is it so important to get people to subscribe? Because most people who visit your website for the first time

(a) aren’t ready to hire you,
(b) aren’t ready to contact you to ask questions or schedule an appointment, and
(c) aren’t likely to return to your website.

First time visitors are gathering information, about the law and procedure and their options, and about lawyers who can help them.

News flash: yours isn’t the only website they visit.

If you don’t capture their name and email on the first visit, and use that to stay in touch with them, the odds are you will never hear from them again.

Which means you’re losing business. A lot more than you may realize.

When visitors subscribe to your email list, you can continue to send them information, remind them about the solutions you offer, and show them why they should choose you instead of any other lawyer. You can continue to sell yourself and your services.

Six days, six weeks, or six months from now, you can continue having that conversation and convert more people into paying clients.

Even if they’re not ready to hire you, even if they never hire you, they can send you referrals and traffic and promote your events and share your content and help you build your email list further.

But none of that will occur if you don’t know who they are.

Without a list, you can’t stay in touch with visitors, earn their trust, seek their feedback, ask for their testimonials, invite them to your seminars, tell them about updates to your site, or do anything else to build a relationship with them.

And that’s why building a list is numero uno.

Your website’s content is critically important. But if that’s all you focus on, you’re asking your site to do too much.

You could take away my blog, my social media accounts, remove any mention of me from search engines, and cancel anything else I do to promote my products and services, and I would survive because I would still have my list.

Building a list is the most important thing a lawyer can do to market their practice, and most lawyers don’t do it.

Learn how to build your list and market your practice online.

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Filed Under: Email, Legal industry, List building, Marketing legal services, Online Marketing, Web traffic

Tazing clients for fun and profit

March 9, 2015 by
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Let’s face it, you’re boring. Predictable. Normal. And forgettable. Just like most lawyers.

Yes, people trust you, because they see you as a reliable and stable professional, but that strength, from a marketing standpoint, can also be a weakness.

You don’t want to look and sound like every other lawyer. You want to stand out.

Where’s the flair? The panache? The spark of originality?

Actor and comedian Jonah Hill said, “It’s always better to shock people and change people’s expectations than to give them exactly what they think you can do.”

And he’s right.

That doesn’t mean you should be reckless. Or weird. Just a little different. Maybe not always, but at least once in awhile.

Do something people would never expect you to do. Something small, but significant.

Surprise your clients with a gift. Invite them to your first stand up comedy gig. Write a poem and post it on your website.

Pass out a box of Good N’ Plenty with your business card. Come up with a memorable slogan.

Show your fun side. Be unpredictable. A little shocking.

You want people to notice you and remember you and talk about you, so give them something to talk about.

Of course you want to be known more for your legal talents than your whimsy. But before you can dazzle anyone with your brilliance, you have to get their attention.

So, how will you shock your clients today?

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Filed Under: Client relations, Legal industry, Marketing legal services

Internet marketing for lawyers: Is your website leaking?

March 6, 2015 by
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I just read an article that made my head hurt.

While I agree with some of the author’s “mistakes” in, “7 Lethal Internet Marketing Mistakes Law Firms Make”, I’m wondering where on earth he dug up the others. I’m also chaffing about why he didn’t include some of the truly lethal (and oh-so-common) mistakes.

Here are his “7 mistakes” and my comments.

1. Not having an online presence

Yep.

No question about it, this is a lethal mistake and many lawyers make it. If prospective clients can’t find you online, you’re loosing a boatload of business.

Many more lawyers do have an online presence, but it is ineffective. They have a website, it just doesn’t do what it’s supposed to do. (If you have studied, Make the Phone Ring you know the 9 keys to an effective website.)

2. Advertising your fees on your website

I agree with this, too. It’s a mistake.

You can give people a general idea of what to expect (e.g., minimum fee, range) but make them call before you quote a specific fee.

3. Letting Membership in ABA lapse

Huh?

The author says (a) it’s important to network at ABA functions and (b) your membership looks good on social media.

Networking is good, and ABA functions may be a good place to do it, but there are many other options.

Does ABA membership look good on your website? It doesn’t look bad but most people really don’t care. The ones who know anything about the ABA know that any lawyer can join.

4. Ignoring Pro Bono work

Uhhh. . .

Pro Bono work is certainly a good thing, and mentioning it publicly may make you look good, but not mentioning it (or doing it) is nowhere near lethal.

5. Not understanding keywords and SEO

Yes and no.

You should have a basic understanding of the concepts, but you don’t need more than that. Read a few articles on the subject, and you’ll know what to do.

6. Not dressing professionally in photos

Absolutely.

Clients, referral sources, writers, et. al., expect to you see you looking like a lawyer. You can ALSO include some casual photos, e.g., you at the firm picnic, however.

7. Not having video on your website

Not lethal. Not even a mistake.

Video is nice but hardly necessary. Done wrong, you look cheesy. Done right, I don’t think it makes that much difference. (The author recommends hiring a professional crew to videotape you and make you look good.)

Now, what’s wrong with this picture? What’s missing from this list of mistakes? What’s more important for marketing online than belonging to the ABA?

If you’ve been reading my posts for any length of time, I think you can come up with a few ideas.

Post your answer as a comment to this blog post (or reply to this email) and tell me what you would include.

Yesterday, I was interviewed about marketing professional services. It wasn’t specifically about Internet marketing, but I was asked, “What’s the most important thing lawyers can do with online marketing?”

What do you think I said?

No, it’s not on the list of “7 Mistakes”.

It’s something I talk about a lot. It’s also something most lawyers, even ones with a decent website, don’t do.

More to follow. . .

Internet marketing for lawyers: How to Make the Phone Ring

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Filed Under: Marketing legal services, Online Marketing

Marketing legal services is like driving in the dark without headlights

March 5, 2015 by
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The hard part of marketing legal services isn’t the work. The work is easy, and you can do it in as little as 15 minutes a day.

No, the hard part is not knowing if what you are doing will actually bring in business.

If you knew that making the calls, writing the emails and articles, and networking with prospective clients and referrals sources, for example, would eventually pay off, you’d keep doing them, wouldn’t you?

Sure. But you don’t know. You’re driving blind.

Marketing legal services is like driving in the dark without headlights. You can’t see where you are and you can’t see where you’re going. You have to trust that you’re on the right road and that you will eventually get to your destination.

How do you keep going for six months or a year without meaningful results? How do you trust that what you’re doing will actually work?

You start by doing your homework.

You don’t merely jump on the marketing idea of the day and hope for the best. You find successful lawyers in your field and model them. You read their blogs or books or courses, or you spend time with them, and learn all you can about what they did to build their practice.

If it worked for another lawyer in your field or market, it can work for you.  It might not work as well for you. It may take you longer. But you know that if you do what they did, you will eventually get to the promised land.

Continue studying other lawyers, and also other professionals and business owners. Continue to read marketing books. Immerse yourself in knowledge. Jim Rohn said, “If you want to be successful, study success.”

Be prepared to tweak and refine your activities. But don’t stop what you’re doing because you don’t see any results or you think you’ve found something better. The odds are that the people you study achieved their success by mastering the basics. Follow their lead. Master the mundane. You can add new ideas later.

One more analogy?

Marketing legal services is like making popcorn. You add the kernels to the oil and put it on the stove, but nothing happens right away. You leave it alone and eventually hear the pop of the first kernel. Then, more popping, faster and faster, and before you know it, the pot is overflowing.

The same thing happens with marketing. Nothing, nothing, nothing, then something, and eventually, boom!

Once you have a plan, keep at it. Work your plan every day. Don’t stop and start.

You won’t get a big bowl of popcorn if you take the pot off the stove every other minute. You won’t get a big bowl of clients, either.

For a simple marketing plan that really works, get this

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

Work smarter by working backwards

March 4, 2015 by
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Yesterday, I talked about networking and used it as a paradigm for creating a simple marketing plan. You plan, you do, you review.

Today, I return to the subject of networking and ask the question that may be on your mind: “How do I find the best networking groups for me?”

There are lots of ways to find them but the simplest, and arguably the best path to discovery, is to find out where your existing clients and contacts network and go there.

If you represent business clients, find out where they go to meet other people in their industry. If they don’t network (much), ask them to introduce you to professionals they know and ask them where they network.

For consumer clients, ask your existing referral sources where they network.

Keep in mind that some people don’t think of what they do as networking per se. They belong to groups–charity, hobby (e.g., golf club), social, community, etc.–and spend time at those groups’ functions, where they regularly meet new people. These non-business groups can also be a fruitful source of new business for you.

You can also turn to your clients and contacts for help with other kinds of marketing. If you want to know where to submit articles or guest posts, or a good place to advertise, ask your clients and contacts what they read or listen to.

Questions like these should be a fixture on your new client intake sheet. Find out who your new clients know, what they read, who influences them, and where they spend their time. Ask the same kinds of questions (eventually) of your new professionals contacts.

Want more clients like your best clients? Talk to them. Work smarter by working backwards.

Lawyers are complicated. Marketing is simple. More here. . .

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Filed Under: Leverage, Marketing legal services, Marketing Plan, Networking

Plan. Do. Review.

March 3, 2015 by
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I want to bring in more business.

Okay, what’s you’re plan?

I’m thinking of joining a networking group and meeting some prospective clients and/or referral sources.

Sounds good; which one(s) will you join?

I’ve narrowed down my choices to three groups. I’m going to visit all three before I make up my mind.

Makes sense. What else?

I’m looking at their websites to see what goes on at their meetings and what kinds of people attend. I’m learning as much as I can about their leaders and process, and writing down questions.

Nice. Doing your homework. Then what?

When I go to the first meeting, I’ll introduce myself to the leaders and ask my questions. Then I’ll try to meet other members, find out what they do, and see what they can tell me about the group. I’ll be looking for people who might be a good match for me, both in terms of practice area or business and personality.

Very good plan, my friend. Once you decide which group to join, what then?

Then I’ll start going to meetings and introducing myself to more people. I’ll exchange contact information and ask lots of questions about what they do, what kinds of clients or customers they target, and how I might be able to help them. I’ll take notes and see if I have any clients I can refer. I’ll look for other ways to help them, such as introducing them to other people in my network, offering advice, or recommending resources.

I’ll spend time with the people I meet and start building relationships. I’ll connect with them on social media, share their content and promote their causes. I’ll subscribe to their newsletters and blogs and go through their websites to learn more about them and what they do.

At some point, they will ask me about what I do. I’ll tell them about the problems I solve, the services I offer, my target market, and my ideal client.

I’ll also be on the lookout for people who are open to a joint venture. They may want to share my report with their clients and subscribers. They may have something I can share with mine. If they write a blog, I’ll suggest that we can do guest posts for each other.

That’s all I have in mind for now. I’m sure I’ll have more ideas after I meet some people and get to know them.

I know networking takes time and I’m prepared to invest that time. I might start out with ten new contacts and eventually narrow that down to one or two good ones. One or two good contacts could lead me to a lot of new business.

Sounds like a plan. A good one. Simple, flexible, a place to start. Which is all a plan needs to do.

Plan. Do. Review.

For a simple plan that really works, get The Formula.

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Filed Under: Marketing legal services, Marketing Plan, Networking

The problem with being self-employed

February 27, 2015 by
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Being the boss is a double-edged sword. I love being the master of my destiny but sometimes the weight of responsibility wears on me.

You too? Do you ever get anxious thinking about how many people depend on you or how much work remains to be done?

You’re not just cranking out widgets, after all. You do important things, with important consequences. Every day you make decisions that affect the lives of other people. You can’t let your guard down. You have to keep your eye on everything, and everyone.

It can be difficult doing our best work when we have so many other things to think about.

Yes, that’s the gig we signed up for and most of the time, it’s worth it. But if you’re like me, it gets to you sometimes.

Sometimes I think, “Wouldn’t it be great if someone would tell me what to do today so I could do the work and go home?”

I remember when I didn’t have clients of my own and did appearances for other lawyers. I enjoyed just showing up and doing the work. Argue the motion, take the depo, do the arbitration. I didn’t have to worry about anything but the assignment. When it was done, I went home.

When I started getting my own clients, I had responsibilities, overhead, employees, and things got very complicated. I grew into the role, of course, and would never work for anyone, but sometimes I look back fondly at the time when I could just do the work.

If you ever find yourself overwhelmed with the burdens of running a law practice, wishing you could just show up and be a lawyer, I have a suggestion.

Go get yo’self two hats.

First thing in the morning, or at the end of your day, put on your “boss” hat and make a list of assignments for your “employee”. Map out the day, and include contingencies in case something comes up that requires the bosses attention.

Then, take off the boss hat, put on your employee hat, and get to work.

When the first assignment is done, look at the list your boss gave you and do the next assignment. When all the work is done, take a break, put your boss hat back on and make a new list.

Well, that’s it for me today. The boss told me I could home.

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Filed Under: Career satisfaction, Dealing with stress, Law office management, Productivity

Email marketing for attorneys done right

February 26, 2015 by
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I read an article for real estate agents about ten ways email marketing beats social media. It’s a good article and I agree with all of it. I was going to tell you that it makes no difference whether you’re selling legal services or houses, email reigns supreme.

I even had a favorite “reason”–number 9 on the list: “Email is more intimate”. I was going to talk about how email allows you to have a simulated conversation with people, which helps you build a relationship with them, so that, over time, they come to know, like, and trust you, even before they’ve ever spoken to you.

But I’m not going to do that. Not today, anyway.

Instead of trying to convince you to make email your number one marketing tool, instead of beating the drum about how you are losing clients and money and making your life so much more difficult by not having an email list, I’m going to assume that you’re on board and talk about the right way to use it.

I see a fair amount of lawyers’ email newsletters, mostly because many of my readers think it’s okay to add me as a subscriber to their email list (it’s not). What I see, in my humble but accurate opinion, isn’t getting the job done.

For starters, just because it’s called a newsletter doesn’t mean it should look like a newsletter. Newsletters tend to be boring and self-serving, one small step removed from advertising. They “look” commercial–with stock photos and html layouts and links that say, “click here to finish this article”.

One glance at these and the reader knows that this email is probably not very important and doesn’t have much to say that is of interest to them. They know it’s probably all about the lawyer and not about them. The lawyer’s “exciting news” about how they are expanding or how they won a big case is exciting to the lawyer, but nobody else.

Most newsletters go unread because readers have come to know there’s nothing in them that interests them. There is some value to having subscribers see your name in their mailbox, reminding them of your existence, but it is so much better if they open and read your emails, appreciate them, and look forward to them.

So, for starters, your newsletter shouldn’t look like adverting or anything commercial.

It should look like a letter.

A letter (email) with some news or helpful, relevant information. Something readers care about, something that makes their life better, something worth reading.

It should also read like a letter, from a real person. Not from a committee or “the firm”. Not “canned” articles purchased from a newsletter company.

It should be written in “me to you” format, just like you would write a real letter to a real person. It should look like you sat down and penned a personal message to an individual. Because while you may be sending this same email to hundreds or thousands of people, each person who reads it is an individual.

Write to one person, not to “everyone”. Talk to that one person, as though he or she was sitting with you in your office or talking to you over the phone.

If you do it right, when your subscriber sees your email show up in his or her email, he should get a little excited. “I wonder what [you] will share with me today?”

Kinda like what you’re reading right now.

I share information I hope you find interesting and helpful. I tell stories from my days of practicing and stories about my life today, to add color and interest to that information. Sometimes I’m serious and preachy, sometimes I’m funny, but I’m never boring or irrelevant.

Yes, most of my emails are cut and paste jobs of my blog posts, but my blog posts are usually written like emails.

Many subscribers tell me they read my emails every day and look forward to them. Some tell me they are the highlight of their day.

That’s what I’m going for. A relationship. Intimacy. Transparency.

So, if you aren’t using email to build your practice, you need to. I’ll pound on that again at another time. If you are using email, but you believe social media is more important, go read the article. And if you understand why email is supreme and you want to get better results using it, take my words to heart.

Kill the fancy newsletter, write letters to the people on your list, and tell them something they want to hear.

Learn more about email marketing for attorneys. Go here

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Filed Under: Communication, Email, Marketing legal services, Newsletters, Social media

Fake lawyers stealing your name and reputation

February 25, 2015 by
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In the “oh my, that’s not good” department comes this report about fake lawyers who put up websites pretending to be real lawyers. They copy the real lawyers’ names, photos, bios, and other information, but change the contact information.

Presumably, the goal is to bring in clients and steal their money, or set up fraudulent cases and rip off insurance companies with “you” as the attorney.

Don’t laugh. It happened to me.

This was many years ago, in the dark days before the Internet. I got a call from a fraud investigator who wanted to talk to me about one of my cases. I didn’t recognize the name of the client, however, and had never had an office at the address on the letter of representation.

How long had this been going on? How many other clients had this impostor represented in my name?

The fake lawyer was quickly caught and shut down and that was the end of the situation, but it was still very unsettling.

What I could to prevent this from happening again, I asked myself. I couldn’t come up with anything. But (as far as I know) it never happened again.

Today, where you can set up a website in ten minutes and get it indexed in search engines within hours, what’s to keep bad guys from impersonating you?

Nothing.

They may not get away with it, but that doesn’t mean they won’t try.

How can you protect yourself? I don’t have a good answer, other than constant vigilance, i.e., regularly searching your name and your firm’s name to see what’s out there, something you should probably be doing anyway.

And, just in case, you might want to ask your errors and omissions carrier and bar association about  your exposure if it does happen.

If it does happen to you, take a look at how the fake lawyers are marketing you. If they’re good at it, you might want to steal some of their ideas.

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Filed Under: Law office management, Legal industry
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