“The best thing I did was to stop trying to build my practice”

December 4, 2013 by
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Attorney marketing colleague, Stephen Fairley, had an an interesting comment on one of his recent Facebook posts. I want to share the comment, by attorney Jules Cherie, along with my thoughts on the subject.

Here’s the comment:

“I know that many people will disagree with me, but the best thing I did was to stop trying to build my practice.

I find that just taking four or five personal injury cases per year is the best way to live both professionally and personally. You have more time for your clients and you have more time for yourself. You are always ahead of the defense and they can’t keep up with you. You also have less overhead. The more cases you take the more staff you need to manage them. This creates a mini-bureaucracy and then there is less personal contact with the clients. I like it when the phone DOESN’T ring.

I would also recommend that everybody read The King of Torts by John Grisham and take note of a character in that book by the name of Mooneyham. Contrast his practice to that of the protagonist.”

Here are my thoughts.

MARKETING

I assume Cherie’s new cases are coming in via referrals. If these are from clients, he gets them because he has built a career of serving those clients and earning their trust and gratitude. If they are from attorneys and other non-clients, they are the result of years of building his skills and reputation and relationships with those referral sources.

He isn’t building his practice today (marketing) because he doesn’t need to. He did it over many years. He planted seeds and is now reaping the harvest. Good for him.

BUSINESS MODEL

Knowing what you want, e.g., big(ger) personal injury cases, helps you to know what you don’t want (e.g., everything else). This is good. Specializing is good. Low overhead is good. Having little or no staff to manage and pay is good.

On the other hand, there is no leverage in a business model like this. It’s all about you and what you do. You don’t earn income off of other people’s efforts. If you get sick or want to slow down or retire, your income stops.

PRACTICE AREA

Four or five big(ger) personal injury cases can generate hundreds of thousands of dollars in income. The same is usually not true for divorce or estate planning and many other practice areas. If you earn ten thousand dollars per case or client, you’re going to have a lot of clients or cases to earn six- or multiple six-figures. This may or may not require more overhead and more “marketing”.

You can get big(ger) personal injury cases through advertising and other means, but the biggest and best cases usually come from referrals. To get those referrals you need to be very good at what you do, and many attorneys are not, or if they are, don’t yet have the reputation or connections (pipeline) built to get those referrals.

Although I’m sure Cherie is extremely selective about the cases he takes, he still has risks. Losing even one case, or a judgment or settlement well below expectations, could have a significant impact on his income. He also risks losing whatever costs he might invest in building the case.

On the other side of the risk equation is the fact that one very good case could bring in millions of dollars in fees, more than enough to make up for any loses he might sustain. In addition, there is arguably less risk in handling bigger cases with significant exposure for the defendants and their carriers, and thus potentially greater settlement value, than small(er) cases which are often not worth litigating.

CONCLUSION

Cherie’s practice has many positive aspects. It allows him to focus on doing quality work without the many distractions and burdens associated with running a higher volume practice. As someone who ran a high volume PI practice, I clearly see the appeal. But this business model isn’t for everyone and those who would like to adopt it need to remember that it’s not something that can be accomplished overnight. It takes a long time to build your skills and reputation and make the connections needed to enjoy a small volume referral-only practice. There are no shortcuts.

When I was practicing, I didn’t have time to read fiction. Now that I do, I’ll have to pick up a copy of The King of Torts and learn more about what I was missing.

Leverage is the key to earning more without working more. That’s what The Formula is all about.

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Filed Under: Career satisfaction, Marketing legal services, Referrals Tagged With: , ,

Putting some practice into your law practice

December 3, 2013 by
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A Facebook friend mentioned a recent conversation with a photographer who told him, “You need to practice your craft! Ask any serious musician, actor, actress, vocalist, writer, painter, etc., how often they practice and they will tell you. So often I talk to photographers and ask them the same question and they get a blank look on their face and say, “Practice”?

What about lawyers? Are we not serious professionals? Are we not creative?

We practice law but how many of us practice the practice of law?

Most trial lawyers practice their closing arguments. But how many practice interviewing a hostile witness? How many practice writing a more persuasive brief or settlement package?

Lawyers want more clients but how many practice meeting new people at a networking event? How many practice what they will say to a prospective client who comes in for a consultation?

I’ll admit, in my law practice, I did very little practicing. Over time, I got better at writing and speaking not because I made a conscious effort to do so, not by practicing but by speaking and writing for real clients in real cases. How much better might I have been had I worked on this between clients?

An actor rehearses before he goes on stage. He works on his craft when nobody is watching or in a workshop among his peers. He practices and practices so that he can deliver the best performance. Musicians do the same.

Writers churns out millions of words that are never seen, honing their craft, improving their work product. Painters do studies, dancers rehearse steps, singers do scales.

In law school and in bar review courses we took practice exams, getting ready for the real exam, the one that counts. Why do we stop practicing once we get licensed to practice?

Want ideas for articles, blog posts, and speeches that make the phone ring? Go here.

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Filed Under: Marketing legal services, Personal development, Public Speaking, Writing Tagged With: , ,

The 8-Part Recipe to Get Referrals from Shared Office Space

November 26, 2013 by
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If you rent or sublet shared office space with other professionals, hands down, the easiest source of referrals for your law practice is from your officemates.

Most lawyers view office space as a necessary expense. While this sentiment may be true, it’s short-sighted.

An attorney’s office space should be viewed the same way as an associate; in theory, the income it generates should exceed its cost. And just as your junior associate has a billable hour requirement, your office space should be held to the same standard.

You should generate 1x to 2x your rent in in referrals from officemates every year.

Whether you share office space with lawyers in your own firm or other professionals in a shared office space, you should be receiving at least one to two times your rent in referrals, per year, from officemates.

Clearly not enough to make a practice, but it will take one of your biggest fixed expenses and turn it into a powerful revenue source. For a solo attorney or small law firm, the additional revenue could pay for another marketing campaign, an assistant’s salary or a much needed vacation.

Building referral relationships with officemates takes very little time.

Cultivating referral relationships with officemates takes very little effort or time – a precious commodity in in the legal business. Think about it. You’ll see your officemates every day anyway. This is the easiest networking you will ever engage in.

Plus, it’s fun — or at least less distasteful as compared to other kinds of marketing activities.

But the rules of the referral game still apply.

Whether you network for referrals inside the office or out, the rules of the referral game apply: People do business with those they know, like and trust, and it doesn’t hurt if you send a piece of business before expecting one in return.

But unlike networking outside the office, in a shared workspace, you can build strong relationships as you go about your regular workday.

Use these 8 simple steps to consistently get referrals from officemates.

Here are 8 simple tips that, if done consistently, will generate more referrals from your officemates:

  1. Do the walk-around. Once a day in either the morning or evening, do a walk around the office and say hello to your neighbors. If they’re not busy ask them a few questions about their family, weekend plans or something important to them that is unrelated to business.
  2. Be a good listener. Nobody likes a blowhard, but everyone loves to talk about themselves. Be a good listener and you’ll get the reputation for being a gracious conversationalist without having to say much. It’s a great technique for those of us who are not particularly outgoing. What your officemates tell you about themselves will be topics for future conversations, and will help accelerate the development of your relationship.
  3. Keep them wanting more. If you’ve done a stop-in to a colleagues’ office, hit the eject button early in the conversation. If you are a constant presence in your neighbor’s doorway and you regularly overstay your welcome, you’ll start to find that your neighbors’ doors may be closed. Always leave them wanting more. You’ll be able to develop trust that your visits will be fun and/or productive and won’t waste their time.
  4. Get out of the office together. Have your assistant coordinate a lunch (or do it yourself) once every couple of weeks with one or two of your neighbors. At lunch, try to keep the conversation about things other than business, because it’s likely to end up there all on its own.
  5. Market THEIR business too. While you are out of the office marketing, keep your ears open for business opportunities that you can direct to one of your neighbors. When you give something of value to someone else, it’s human nature to want to reciprocate. This is even more so when you see the ‘giver’ every day in the office. The favor will always be returned.
  6. Be helpful. Offer to cover for your neighbors while they are on vacation or if they are out sick. Even if your neighbor doesn’t need your help, the offer alone will add value to your relationship.
  7. Be generous. Every few months, buy a few pizzas and a six-pack and host an informal happy hour for your neighbors. Do it in the conference room after work hours. It will give you all a chance to blow off some steam without being too formal.
  8. Seek their advice. Ask a neighbor a question about a legal issue you are grappling with. People love to be helpful, and lawyers in particular like to appear knowledgeable. Be appreciative of the advice and see your relationship grow.

The exchange of referrals is merely a natural extension of our personal relationships – without which, the referrals won’t likely happen. As with any good referral relationship, a personal connection must come first.

In the legal profession, long days are part of the job and attorneys spend many waking hours with their office colleagues. In some weeks, you may see your officemates more than you see your spouse or children.

Taking time to get to know the people you share office space with makes work life that much more enjoyable – an investment that will return more than just referral income.
__________________
Stephen Furnari is a corporate attorney and the founder of Law Firm Suites, an executive suite for law firms based in New York City whose attorney clientele exchange $2.5 million in client referrals each year. Mr. Furnari is the author of How to Convert Office Rent into Referral Revenue, the ultimate eBook guide to maximizing referrals in shared law office space. Stephen has been featured in the ABA Journal, Entrepreneur, New York Daily News and Crain’s New York. Follow Stephen on Twitter.

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Filed Under: Guest Posts, Marketing legal services, Referral sources, Referrals

Some perspective on marketing legal services

November 25, 2013 by
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You often hear me say, “marketing is everything we do to get and keep good clients”.

Everything.

In terms of time, it’s mostly the little things we do every day. It’s the way we greet our clients and make them feel welcome. The emails and letters we send to former clients to stay in touch and remember them during the holidays. The articles and blog posts we publish to educate people about the law.

Marketing is also bigger things. Creating a new seminar or ad campaign. Scoping out and joining a new networking group. Recording new videos for your website.

And everything in between.

Most of the little things take little or no time to learn or apply. They are a natural extension of your values and personality, not the application of technique. Treating people with respect is part of who you are, not something you learn in a book.

Creating content for your website requires some time, but not an inordinate amount, given that it’s mostly writing things down you already know and do.

Bigger projects require more time and resources, it’s true, but you don’t do them every day. You outline a new presentation, create the slides or handouts, rehearse, and you’re done. Maybe it took you a week or two, but now you have a new marketing tool in your arsenal you can use over and over again.

Bigger projects can serve you long term. Getting involved in a new networking group, for example, takes extra effort initially, and may take months to bear fruit. But that group could eventually become a major source of new business (and friendships) for you, and last for decades.

Do something marketing related every day. 15 minutes is good. Reach out to a few former clients or other professionals with a note or email and watch what happens. Once a month or so, work on a bigger project. A 30 Day Referral Blitz, for example.

Whenever possible, invest your time and resources in creating things with a “long tail,” like new relationships, new content for your website, and new ways to grow your email list.

Marketing legal services doesn’t have to be daunting. If it is, you’re not doing it right. Sure, there are new things to learn and new things to do, but mostly, its about attitude.

If you’re struggling in your practice, start by examining your attitude towards marketing. If you don’t like marketing, if it’s something you force yourself to do, you will continue to struggle. If there are things you like and things you don’t, great–do more of the things you enjoy and are good at.

Marketing is a lot like lawyering. It takes place mostly in your head.

The Attorney Marketing Formula comes with a marketing plan.

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

How to avoid procrastination when writing

November 22, 2013 by
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Do you have a procrastination pad? That’s what one writer calls a pad of paper you keep on your desk, onto which you jot down anything that you need to do or remember that occurs to you while you’re doing something else. It allows you to record the note and immediately get back to what you were doing.

Okay, not brilliant. But not a bad idea, either. Because you always have this pad within reach, you don’t have to go scrambling for a legal pad or scratch paper. And because it is dedicated to recording tasks to be done, not data to be filed, you can periodically input your list into your regular task management system.

Of course you can also set up a digital equivalent on your computer. Keep a text file open and minimized, and no matter what else you may be working on, you’re just a click away your electronic procrastination pad.

Or, you can do what I do. I have Evernote running at all times (I’m writing this now in a new note) and when I get an idea, I type it into a new note in my default notebook (my “InBox”). On my iPhone, I open Drafts and either type or speak-to-text the idea and send it to my Evernote Inbox.

When I’m writing, I often get ideas I want to record. Something I need to research, for example. I know if I stop writing to do the research, I’ll lose momentum and perhaps get lost down the rabbit hole that is the Internet. To avoid procrastination when writing, I make a note of what I need to know or do, and keep writing. I could record this elsewhere, but I find it best to write it within the text I’m working on.

Wherever I find myself stopping, I write a note to myself, within the sentence or paragraph. I put the note [in brackets] or preface it with my initials, “dw:”, to identify it as something I need to do. This allows me to keep writing, which is especially important for a first draft.

Once I’m done with the piece or section, I go back and find all of my “notes to self”. When I do the research later, I don’t have to remember where to insert it, I just go back to my note.

In addition to notes about research, I also make notes about passages that don’t sound right (i.e., “re-do this”), that need elaboration (i.e., “expand this”), or that might belong somewhere else (i.e., “put in chapter 2?”)

By separating the writing from the research, editing, and thinking, I procrastinate less and write quicker and better first drafts.

For more on how I use Evernote for research and writing, check out my ebook

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

Advertising for attorneys who don’t advertise

November 21, 2013 by
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It’s raining and there was a collision in front of my house this morning. Naturally, I grabbed some business cards and ran outside. Just kidding. I don’t do that anymore. Just kidding. I just put on my tee-shirt that says, “Auto accident lawyer” in big print and asked if everyone was okay. Just kidding. I don’t own that shirt anymore.

Yikes, I just remembered, when I passed the bar someone gave me a tee-shirt that said “Da Lawya” on it. For realz.

Anyway, it’s good to let people know what you do for a living. The more people who know, the more chances there are that someone will want to hire you or refer someone they know.

So let’s talk about attorney advertising.

Not the usual kind of advertising. Not the kind you may not like or may be forbidden from doing. Something different. Easy. And free.

There are two steps:

Step one: Contact two people today you don’t know, either online or in person, and ask them what they do for a living.

Step two: Repeat step one daily.

That’s it. Approach two people a day, introduce yourself, and ask what they do. They’ll answer. Then, they’ll ask you what you do. You tell them. Done.

After that, who knows. Someone might need you right away, but it doesn’t matter. There are lots of things you can do to continue the conversation and build a relationship.

So maybe that’s not really advertising, it’s networking. Whatever. It works. And it’s easy. And you don’t need a tee-shirt.

Marketing is everything we do to get and keep good clients. Start here.

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Filed Under: Advertising, Business cards, Marketing legal services, Marketing Plan, Networking, Social media marketing Tagged With: ,

The best way to start something new

November 20, 2013 by
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They say the best way to start anything new, a new habit or way of doing something, is slowly. You try it, learn from the experience, and do it again. You get better, over time.

Starting slowly helps you avoid embarrassing yourself or getting hurt. If you haven’t exercised in years, for example, you start by walking, you don’t sign up for a marathon.

Starting slowly means the pain often associated with new habits or initiatives will be tolerable. You’ll be able to stick with it until you are stronger and better.

If you put a frog in a pan of water and turn on a low heat, the water will eventually come to a boil. The frog won’t feel the gradual increase in temperature and will stay in the pan and literally boil to death. If you toss the frog into the pan after the water is already boiling, however, he will immediately jump out.

The other camp says there are some things where it’s best to just jump in. If you start too small or too slowly, you’ll never gain any momentum. You’ll give up before you see any results.

Who is right? Should you start slowly or dive right in?

The answer is, there is no answer. It depends.

What are the risks and what are the rewards? If you jump in and mess up, would anyone know? Could anyone else get hurt? If you start slowly and run out of steam, what might you be giving up?

What are the costs? Could you save a lot of time or money by starting big? Or would it cost less if you do it slowly?

How good are you? If you have a skill set that bodes well for your success, you might be able to take the leap. If you’ve never done anything like this before, starting slowly is probably the way to go.

How are you wired? Are you the cautious, one step at a time kinda guy or gal, or a thrill seeker?

My take? Unless you have good cause to do otherwise, most new things should probably be started slowly. If you get the urge to jump into the deep end of the pool, sleep on it for a day or two, and then do what I do: ask your wife what she thinks you should do.

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Filed Under: Personal development Tagged With: , ,

5 simple steps for improving productivity

November 19, 2013 by
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I’m going to give you a simple checklist for improving productivity. To use it, first make a list of everything you do in your work day. Do this over the course of a week so you don’t leave anything out.

Include everything: seeing clients, paperwork, calls, meetings, administrative. Include your commute and errands. Also include things you do during work hours that aren’t work related (e.g., playing games on your phone, coffee breaks, watching videos, etc.)

Once you have your list, go through every item. Look at the checklist and make notes. For best results, go through the list several times.

CHECKLIST FOR IMPROVING PRODUCTIVITY

1. Eliminate. Ruthlessly purge anything that is unnecessary or does not contribute enough value to continue doing. Peter Drucker wisely said, “There is nothing less productive than to make more efficient what should not be done at all.”

2. Delegate. Just because something must be done doesn’t mean you are the one who must do it. Assign these tasks someone in house or outsource them, so that you can do, “only those things that only you can do.”

3. Do it less. What could you do less frequently? If you do something daily, could you do it once a week? Once a month? What can you consolidate with other tasks? For example, can you do some of your reading or dictation during your commute?

4. Do it faster. What could you do in shorter chunks of time? If you routinely take an hour to do something, find ways to do it in 30 or 45 minutes. How? Eliminate or delegate parts, use forms and checklists, improve your skills, or get help (i.e., do it with a partner).

5. Do it later. Are you doing anything during prime time you could do after hours? What can you do when your energy is lower? Which tasks are routine or low priority and don’t require your full attention?

Improving productivity means improving effectiveness (doing the right things) and efficiency (doing things right). 80% of your improvement will come from steps 1 and 2 which focus on effectiveness. Eliminating and delegating things that don’t need to be done or could be done by someone else frees you up to do more high value tasks. The remaining steps will help you become more efficient at everything else.

The Attorney Marketing Formula shows you how to earn more by working smarter, not harder.

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Filed Under: Increase your income, Law office management, Personal development, Productivity, Time Management Tagged With: , , ,

How to handle negative reviews and comments

November 18, 2013 by
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I just read a post on the subject of dealing with negative comments on sites like Yelp and social media. The author says, in a nutshell, that if the statement is factually untrue, and you can prove it, you can ask the site to remove it. If it is an opinion, the author says to, “add a comment to the post explaining your rational [sic] in a non-hostile way and how you plan on addressing the situation.”

I disagree. I would not respond to negative reviews in a public forum. Doing so only invites more negative comments, from the original poster or from others who side with him or see the need to defend him.

An opinion is an opinion. If they didn’t like something, they didn’t like it. Right or wrong, it’s their opinion. Any efforts to defend or explain yourself will only make you look bad. As much as it might hurt, it’s almost always best to ignore these comments, at least publicly.

If you can identify the client who made the post, reach out to them privately. See if you can resolve the issue. Apologize, make amends, offer satisfaction. Do what you can to win back the client, or at least make them see that their public comment was too harsh and retract or amend it.

The author recommends encouraging visitors to the site or thread to contact you privately by email, so you can respond to questions or comments. I’m not sure that’s a good idea. You want people to communicate with you, of course, and that includes negative comments. But if you “make an appearance” on the forum or in the thread to extend this invitation, you leave readers wondering why you didn’t respond to the negative comment(s).

The better way to handle this is before it occurs. Make sure your clients and others who engage with you and your staff are openly and repeatedly encouraged to contact you if they have any questions or concerns. Let them know that if they are unhappy about anything, you want to hear about it. Set up mechanisms that make it easy for people to contact you, even anonymously. And remind them to do so. When people know they can blow off steam directly to you, they may be a little less likely to do it publicly.

One thing the author of this post and I agree on, if you do have negative comments, ask some of your happy clients to post positive comments. If you have enough positive comments, you can effectively bury the negative ones. People are smart. If you have twenty positive comments and one that is critical, most people will put things in context.

I know many attorneys resist getting involved with social media and review sites like Yelp because they don’t want to invite negative comments. But these will occur, if they occur, regardless of your involvement. The better course of action is to be proactive. Set up accounts and invite your clients to share their views. I suspect most will be positive. If an unhappy individual comes along, perhaps even the losing party in an acrimonious case, there will be no need for you to defend yourself, your other clients will do it for you.

I’d love to hear your thoughts on how to handle negative reviews. What do you do, or plan to do, about negative comments?

Make the Phone Ring is my course on Internet marketing for attorneys. Check it out here.

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Filed Under: Communication, Marketing legal services, Online Marketing, Social media, Social media marketing Tagged With: , ,

How much do you know about your prospective clients?

November 15, 2013 by
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You’ll notice that in the headline to this post (or email subject if you are reading it as an email), I use the term “prospective clients” and not “prospects.” That’s because lawyers don’t use the word prospects. Prospects are for sales people. Lawyers have clients and everyone else is a prospective client.

Minor difference? Perhaps. But it’s important to show people you understand them and that starts with speaking the same language.

This morning, I received an email inviting me to join a group. The group describes itself as “An exchange where businesses source legal services.” Some of the benefits of the group:

“Free online project management tools allow you to collaborate with your customer, create project schedules, upload files and receive feedback effortlessly. [company] handles all payment and invoicing on your behalf.”

I don’t really understand what they do and I’m not really interested in learning more. Their email told me everything I needed to know: they don’t know the first thing about lawyers.

If they did, they wouldn’t say things like “collaborate with your customer”. They’re clients, bub, and we don’t collaborate with them. When we get hired, we don’t call them projects. Before I even consider uploading files, I’ve got a million questions you’ll have to answer, and even then, I’d have to think about it. And, thanks for the offer, but we like to take care of the invoicing and money ourselves.

So, from concept to terminology, I knew I wasn’t going to waste any time looking into this.

In marketing legal services, you really need to know your patient.

The Attorney Marketing Formula is for attorneys (and by an attorney). See it here.

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Filed Under: Communication, Marketing legal services, Writing
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