How will you increase your income next month?

July 2, 2014 by
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So next month will be better than this month? You’re going to bring in new business or bigger cases and your income will increase?

How? What’s your plan? What will you do to make that happen? Because these things don’t just happen by themselves.

What will you do this month that will bring in more business or increase your income next month?

Be specific.

What emails or letters will you send? Who will you send them to? What will you ask or offer?

What will you do to build your list? Get more traffic? Get more website visitors to call?

How will you get more referrals from existing clients? Former clients? Prospective clients and other contacts?

What new markets will you target? What services will you offer? What will you say to convince them to trust you and hire you?

How will you get more referral sources? What is their background? Where will you find them? How will you approach them?

What articles or blog posts will you write? Who will you offer a guest post to? Who will you ask to do a guest post for you?

Where will you speak this month? What seminars, webinars, or teleconferences will you conduct? What videos will you post?

How will you increase your social media followers? Stimulate engagement? Provide more value?

How will you get more prospective clients to make an appointment? How will close them? Get them to hire you for bigger engagements?

What will you do to collect money that is owed you? How will modify your billing practices to get more clients to pay on time? What changes will you make to your fee structure?

Will you start advertising? Increase your ad buys? Hire a new copy writer?

What will you do to lower your overhead? What can you do about rent, salaries, or other fixed costs? How can you get better deals on variable expenses?

I’m all for being optimistic. But thinking next month will be better without having a plan to make it better is not the way to run a business. Go through the above questions and write down three things you will do this month. Then, start doing them.

Want some help?

Okay, for a simple marketing plan, get this.

For help with your website and online marketing, get this.

For help with writing and referrals, this is what you need.

And if your billing and collection practices need a shot in the arm, run, don’t walk and get this.

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Filed Under: Increase your income, Marketing legal services, Marketing Plan

Earning the right to ask for help

July 1, 2014 by
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A lot of people ask me for help. They want me to promote their event, link to their site, or donate to their cause. I do what I can, but I can’t help everyone with everything.

But when my friend Mitch Jackson asked for help with his Rotary Club’s fund raiser to end polio, I didn’t hesitate.

I made a donation and then posted this on LinkedIn, Twitter, and Facebook. Anyone who sees my post is invited to donate. I’m asking you to do the same. Just go to http://MonarchBeachRotary.Club. Their goal is to raise $20,000. With our help, I know they can reach it.

Polio has almost been eradicated, but still exists. If you have known someone afflicted with this horrible disease, as I have, you know it’s time to wipe it out once and for all. So please help. Make a donation. Any amount will help. And promote this cause to your contacts.

Now, why did I agree to help Mitch and his cause? Because he’s earned the right to my help. He has supported me and promoted me over the years and this is one small way I can reciprocate.

And that’s the lesson for the day. If you want people to help you, your practice, or your cause, become worthy of their help. The more you do for others, the more you can ask others to do for you.

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Filed Under: Personal development, Relationship marketing Tagged With: , ,

Is it unethical for lawyers to use ghostwritten blog posts?

June 30, 2014 by
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Kevin O’Keefe says that ghostwritten blog posts are unethical for lawyers. Unlike legal briefs or other work a lawyer may have penned by others, blogs are considered a form of advertising. If you say you wrote the piece but you didn’t, you are guilty of misrepresentation.

O’Keefe says that clients rely on blog posts to choose attorneys. “The ghost-written post may be better written, funnier, or just plain different than the attorney’s own work product. Even worse, the post may have a completely different perspective or contain better ideas than what the attorney is capable of.”

Basically, clients might hire you because you made them believe you are a better lawyer than you really are.

I have a question. What if you’re a great writer but a mediocre lawyer? Don’t your blog posts misrepresent your abilities? Should we tell average lawyers who write well to dumb down their writing, lest they entice unsuspecting clients to hire them under false pretenses?

How about lawyers who are better at public speaking than they are in the courtroom. Doesn’t their speaking ability give people a false impression of their lawyering skills?

While we’re at it, should we also charge lawyers with misrepresentation if they wear a hairpiece, makeup, or an expensive suit? Won’t prospective clients think they are better looking (and thus more effective) or more successful than they really are?

Just out of law school? Better not have nice office furniture. Clients may think you have more experience than you do.

Are clients so stupid and helpless that we have to protect them against every possible harm? By attempting to do so, don’t we make it more likely that someone will get hurt because people rely on the government to protect them and stop thinking for themselves?

I realize lawyers are held to a higher standard, but what part of arms length transaction is unclear? When did caveat emptor become bad advice?

Anyway, if people who can take away our licenses say we mustn’t say we wrote blog posts we didn’t write, we probably shouldn’t ignore it.

Are there any loopholes?

Can you use ghostwritten material without any byline? If you add the name of the ghostwriter to the byline will that do the trick? How about a disclaimer that the article wasn’t written by you but is posted with your approval?

I don’t know if any of this will suffice to stave off the wolves, but I have another idea.

See, I don’t recommend using “canned” articles or hiring a ghostwriter to write you blog, but not because they may cause harm. I’m against them because they aren’t very good.

Canned articles are usually generic and simplistic. Lifeless and boring. They don’t reflect the real life experiences or opinions of the attorney, and thus, aren’t effective at connecting with readers or persuading them to choose the lawyer who posts them over anyone else.

All this huffing and puffing about how ghostwritten articles get clients to hire lawyers under false pretenses is much ado about nothing. If anything, they usually do the opposite.

Ironic, isn’t it? You post canned articles, thinking clients will be impressed and choose you, but they yawn and look elsewhere instead.

The system polices itself. Imagine that.

On the other hand, ghostwritten material may still be useful by giving  you a place to start.

Re-write the ghostwritten article. Put it in your own words and add your own examples and stories.

Problem solved. The final piece will be more interesting and engaging than the original, and you can honestly say that you wrote it.

Just make sure it’s not too good, or that your head shot isn’t too flattering. The bar police are watching.

Want to get better at writing blog posts? This is what you need.

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Filed Under: Blogging, Law office management, Legal industry, Newsletters, Online Marketing, Writing Tagged With: , ,

5 critical skills to teach yourself before opening your own law office

June 27, 2014 by
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Reasonable minds may differ, but rarely do they differ so completely.

Exhibit A is this article: 5 critical skills to teach yourself before starting your first business. The skills, along with my comments:

1. Daily routine

I wouldn’t classify this as a skill. More like a habit. Quibbling aside, should this really be number one on the list of “critical” skills to teach yourself “before” starting your first business? Valuable? Yes. Critical? Not really. Could you develop this habit after you start your business? Um, yes you could. But then, reasonable minds may differ.

2. Email management (etiquette, productivity, security)

Okay, you haven’t opened your business, so you’ve got no emails to worry about. Are these skills going to bring in business? Help you get financing? Or do anything else a new business owner needs to survive and thrive? And couldn’t you just read an article or two to learn what you need to know and do?

3. HTML and CSS

Seriously?

I run a business. I know basic HTML (very basic) and nothing about CSS. I certainly didn’t need to learn anything before opening shop. I could make the case that this knowledge is even less important today, in view of WYSIWYG options like WordPress.

4. Marketing and Promotion

Finally, something we can agree on. Sort of. Marketing is a critical skill (a set of critical skills, actually), but you learn marketing mostly by doing it. Reading about it (or taking classes) doesn’t provide real world context.

In the real world, you learn an idea, you try it and see how it works. You adjust, make changes or try something different. You develop your skills by taking to real people. You learn by making mistakes.

In my humble (but accurate) opinion, you will learn more about marketing in a month of running your business than you will  in four years of college.

5. Data Analytics (Google, social media metrics)

Seriously?

Again, helpful, but not critical. And something you can learn as you grow. By the way, I can’t remember the last time I checked my stats. Just sayin.

Okay, what do you think about the author’s choices of critical skills?

What’s that? You want to see my list? Well, I have a different take on the whole subject.

I think that what’s needed before opening a business or a law office aren’t skills so much as values and attributes. Things like guts and persistence, the desire to change the world, a love of problem solving, and a passion for what you’re doing. That, and a big pile of cash, so you have time to learn and make mistakes.

I don’t think there any critical skills needed before opening your own law office. But if you want to be successful, here are 5 critical skills you should develop as soon as you can:

1. Salesmanship

Lawyers sell clients on hiring us, judges and juries on finding for us, and opposing parties on settling with us. There’s probably no more valuable skill for a professional or business owner than the ability to communicate ideas and persuade people to act on them. But like marketing, this is best learned in the act of doing.

2. Writing

If you’re not a good writer, you need to become one. You can read and take classes, (hint: study copy writing) but you have to apply what you learn. Write every day. In a year, you can become a good writer.

3. Networking

Arguably the most valuable marketing skill for professionals.

4. Leadership

Leadership is a skill and it can be learned. And it should be. If you have employees, or intend to, if you want to become a leader in your community or organization, study leadership, and start applying what you learn.

5. Touch typing

In terms of every day productivity, this is the skill that that I would put at the top of the list. And hey, it is something you can learn before opening your own law office.

That’s my list and I’m sticking to it. So there.

The formula for marketing legal services.

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Filed Under: Copywriting, Law office management, Marketing legal services, Networking, Productivity

How to be more creative

June 26, 2014 by
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You’re in a rut. Every day you do the same things. The spark is gone. Your creativity machine has become rusty.

What if you played a game where you used your imagination to come up with some fresh ideas?

It’s called, the “What if?” game and it will help you be more creative.

Let’s play.

What if you were marketing used cars instead of legal services. What would you do to get more people to your showroom, sell more cars, or earn more from each car sold?

Well, you might hold a big sale. “An extra $500 off on any car this weekend only”. You might have elephant rides on your lot and encourage people to bring their kids. You might take your sales people on a retreat and have a trainer teach them some new techniques. You might also have that trainer consult with you on how to motivate your sales team with bonuses, trips, and other incentives.

Okay, that was fun. It was nice to think about things you could do if you weren’t constrained by law and propriety. You discovered that you can still be creative.

But so what? You can’t really use any of these ideas.

What if you could? (Yep, still playing. . .)

You’re probably not going to hold a sale, but perhaps you could put together some kind of limited time offer. “Book your appointment this week and get free document updates for life.”

You’re not going to have elephant rides in your building’s parking lot, but how about adding a toy chest and coloring books to your waiting room so clients can keep their kids occupied?

What about that employee retreat and sales trainer idea? You actually could do that. Bring in someone to teach your employees how to work with clients, to keep them happy and stimulate referrals.

If you want to be more creative, look at things from a different perspective. Think about the question or problem as if you were a different person, or under a different set of circumstances. Imagine you had different tools or different skills.

In other words, think like a kid.

Kids don’t settle for the way things are. They use their imaginations. They think about the way things could be. They ask, “What if?”

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Filed Under: Inspiration, Personal development, Productivity Tagged With: , ,

A simple daily habit that could change everything

June 25, 2014 by
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I read an article that offered suggested daily habits that could help us 5 years from now. One habit stood out, not just because it has marketing implications, but because I think it could bring immediate benefits.

The habit:

Talk to one stranger every day.

Think about the possibilities. The stranger you speak to could be your next client, a marketing joint venture partner, or a source of referrals. Or they might introduce you to someone who fulfills one or more of those roles.

Talking to someone new can give you ideas for articles and posts, for marketing or managing your practice, or for doing something new and exciting.

Practicing the habit of approaching strangers also helps you develop your networking and interpersonal skills.

And it could be a lot of fun.

You could approach people by design–professionals and centers of influence in your target market or local community, for example. Or, you could make it a serendipitous adventure and approach people at random. How about the person immediately behind you in the line at Starbucks?

Strangers represent opportunities, the article notes. True, most opportunities don’t pan out. With many strangers, you won’t get to first base.

But you never know when the next person you meet might be the one who opens doors to great new adventures. Or, turn out to be a new friend.

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Filed Under: Just for fun, Networking, Personal development Tagged With: ,

How well do you know your clients?

June 24, 2014 by
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When your clients like you, they tend to stay with you. And give you referrals. And send traffic. And say nice things about you on social media and review sites.

Yes or yes?

So, how do you get your clients to like you? One way is to show them that you like them. People like people who like them.

Yes or yes?

One of the simplest ways to do this is to show them that you remember some personal details about them. Like the names of their spouse and kids. Like their birthdays. Like whether or not they have pets.

When you know your clients well enough to remember these details, you tell them that you think they are important and that you care about them as people, not just bill-paying clients.

I got a call from a lawyer I haven’t spoken to in a couple of years. I asked him about his wife, by name. He didn’t say anything, but I’m sure he noticed.

When you first meet with a new client, or a prospective clients, get them talking about themselves and take notes. Enter this information into your client database, and continue adding this kind of information, over time. The next time you speak with the client, have your database open and use this information during the conversation.

We are in the people business, you and I. We may sell products or services, or our problem-solving abilities, but what we really sell is ourselves.

Want to make your phone ring? This shows you what to do.

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Filed Under: Client loyalty, Client relations, Referrals, Relationship marketing, Salesmanship

 My lawyer is better than your lawyer

June 23, 2014 by
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Two guys in a corner booth:

GUY NO. ONE: Hey, if you need a lawyer, you should talk to mine. He’s great.

GUY NO TWO: I’m really happy with my lawyer. I can’t imagine ever leaving him.

ONE: My lawyer has tons of experience. He always gets the work done on time, and always keeps me informed. His bills are are reasonable and easy to understand. And, I like the guy. I trust him and we get along great.

TWO: Well, it sounds like you’ve got a pretty good lawyer. But is that all he does for you?

ONE: What do you mean, is that all he does? What else is there?

TWO: Well, my lawyer does everything you described but he also sends me referrals. I get new business from him just about every month. In fact, I earn enough profit on the business he sends me to pay his entire bill. It’s like getting his services for free. Does your lawyer send you referrals?

ONE: Well, no. But I get my money’s work from him and I’m happy with that.

TWO: I’m glad you’re happy. Oh, my lawyer has also introduced me to some of his buddies–an accountant, a financial planner, and two insurance brokers, and they all send me business. My business has grown 30% in the last six months, just from their referrals. How about your lawyer? Does he endorse you to his professional contacts?

ONE: He sent me a link to an insurance agent’s website once.

TWO: I almost forgot, my lawyer represents one of the board members of the International Widget Manufacturers Association. He recommended me as a speaker at their national convention. I can’t tell you how many doors that has opened for me.

ONE: Uh, could I get your lawyer’s card?

Clients expect you to do good work and bill fairly. If you want to stand out, you have to do more.

How can you help your business clients beyond your core services? Referrals? Promoting their business to your list and on social media? Introducing them to others who can help them?

How about non-business clients? Could you help them get a better deal on a car, a mortgage, or kitchen remodel? Could you support their favorite cause or charity? Sponsor their kid’s baseball team? Could you teach them how to buy the right insurance coverage?

Do more for your clients than other lawyers do for their clients. Then your clients will tell others, “My lawyer is better than your lawyer.”

How to Earn More Than You Ever Thought Possible. Click here

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Filed Under: Marketing legal services

How to get more referrals by getting more referral sources

June 20, 2014 by
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Every attorney wants to know how to get more referrals. One way to do that is to get more referral sources. Here’s a simple way to do exactly that:

(1) FIND THEM. Find five people who advise or sell to your target market. Other professionals, business owners, and so on. You can ask existing clients and contacts for recommendations, or just find them on the Internet. Zero in on those who have high-ranking websites, decent content, a large social media following, and a newsletter or email list.

(2) STUDY THEM. Read through their site. Subscribe to their newsletter. Follow them on social media. See who they know (e.g., professionals, clients, centers of influence), what they sell, and how they sell it (sales people, online, seminars, speaking, writing, advertising, videos, affiliates, etc.) You’re especially looking for those who are active marketers.

Read their About page and social media profiles. Find a few articles or posts you like. Follow some links and see who influences them. Look through their blog comments and social streams to see who they influence.

(3) CONTACT THEM. Send an email, introduce yourself, and compliment one or two of their articles, their products or services, or something about how they do their marketing. Mention what you do, but only mention it. If you have mutual contacts, or like or follow the same resources, mention that, too. Don’t subscribe them to your newsletter without their permission.

(4) ENGAGE THEM. Contact them again and propose a guest post on their site, and/or, suggest the same for your site. Send them a link to a resource you found, or something you wrote, that pertains to what they do. Ask them a question about something they do or something they’ve written. Share their posts and tweets on social.

(5) HELP THEM. See who responds. Learn more about them. Look for ways to work with them, promote their business or practice. Send them referrals. Introduce them to others in their niche who can help them. Promote their blog, their business or practice, their product or event on social and to your list. If they are local, invite them for coffee and get to know them better.

Is this a lot of work? You tell me. If one out of five respond favorably, and you do this every month, in six months you will have six new referral sources. If each sends only one new client per month, would that be worth the effort? What if they send three?

Marketing is easy when you know The Formula

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Filed Under: Increase your income, Marketing legal services, Marketing Plan, Referral sources, Referrals

If your three-year old was in charge of marketing your law firm

June 19, 2014 by
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It’s been a long time since I had a three-year old in the house, but if I recall, they usually don’t take things at face value, they want to know why.

Why do I need to look both ways before I cross the street? Why do I need to eat my broccoli?

Being asked why all the time can get annoying, but it can also make you think. So, let’s see what your precocious three-year old might help you figure out if they were in charge of marketing your law firm.

Question No. One

CHILD: Why do people hire you?

YOU: Because I help them solve their problems and I’m good at it.

Why? I’m good at it because I’ve helped a lot of other clients with similar problems.

Why? Because I like this area of the law and these types of cases.

Lesson: Do work you enjoy.

Okay, that was easy, Let’s try another.

Question No. Two

CHILD: Where do your clients come from?

YOU: Referrals from other clients, mostly.

Why? Because I do good work and clients like me.

Why? I do good work because I enjoy what I do; clients like me because I give them confidence that I can help them, and because I take a personal interest in them as people.

Why? Because I like people.

Why? I’ve never had a law book or brief tell me thank you.

Lesson: Give people confidence; take a personal interest in them.

Question No. Three

CHILD: Where else do your clients come from?

YOU: My website.

Why? Because people go to search engines looking for information about their problem and my website has lots of information.

Why? I know they want to know the law for their problem, and their options, and they want to know what services I offer and how I work with my clients, so that’s what I put on my website.

Why? Because this information attracts them through search engines and through social sharing, and because if I answer most of their questions on my website, they will be more likely to see how I can help them, and call me instead of another lawyer, and when they do, they are more likely to make an appointment and hire me.

Lesson: Put helpful content on your website.

Okay, you get the idea. Tomorrow, we’ll see what happens when your child asks, “Are we there yet?”

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Filed Under: Marketing legal services
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