How to invoke the law of reciprocity to get more clients and more referrals

April 23, 2013 by
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A couple of weeks ago, my wife and I had a termite inspection. Just routine. It had been awhile and it was time. We got the all clear once again, and once again there was no charge for the inspection.

However, we now have a pest control maintenance contract with this company and told our previous company adios.

We had been with the other company for 15 years and we were satisfied with their work. They showed up when they were supposed to and were reasonably polite. They always called the day before, to remind us they were coming and to ask if there were any problems they needed to address.

So why did we switch?

No, it wasn’t price. Our previous company had never raised their rates and the new company actually charged a bit more (but was willing to match the first company).

Actually, there were two reasons.

The first reason we switched is that while we were satisfied with our first company, we were only satisfied. They didn’t do anything to tip the scale from satisfied to delighted.

Of course we didn’t realize what was missing until we had the new company come out. They were more organized. And cleaner. And more thorough. The man who came out was articulate and patiently explained everything. You could tell he wasn’t just doing his job, he really enjoyed what he did.

The first company was competent. The second company made us feel like they cared about having our business.

The second reason we switched? We’d had this company out twice and it was the same guy both times. Both times, there was no charge. And so when he offered the maintenance contract, the law of reciprocity kicked in and we took it.

The law of reciprocity says that when you give someone something, they have a psychological compulsion to reciprocate. Buy someone lunch, for example, and the next time you go out together they’ll pick up the check. It’s not politeness or friendship. It’s the law of reciprocity.

If you doubt this, the next time someone you know says good morning to you, don’t say anything in return. That awkward feeling you have is the law of reciprocity.

So, did we hire the new company out of guilt? In a way, yes. We had two free inspections and had never given them anything in return. We might have reciprocated by sending them referrals, but we liked what we saw and hired them.

When you offer a free consultation, your prospective client feels like they owe you. So, unless you give them a reason not to, they will be inclined to hire you. If they can’t or don’t need to hire you, they will be primed to send you referrals.

The same goes for anything you do for others. Send a lawyer friend a referral and they will probably send one to you. Give your newsletter subscribers helpful information and they will tell their friends to visit your website. Help a neighbor set up their new computer and they’ll be looking for ways they can return the favor.

The “Golden Rule” says, “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.” Now you know how it works.

The Attorney Marketing Formula shows you how to earn more than you ever thought possible.

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Filed Under: Client relations, Closing the sale, Marketing legal services, Personal development, Referrals Tagged With:

What’s wrong with this attorney’s newspaper ad?

April 22, 2013 by
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An attorney’s newspaper ad just appeared in our local paper. Take a look and tell me what you think.

Here’s the ad:

Law Offices of
ATTORNEY’S NAME

7 lines of information about the attorney’s (30 years) civil and criminal trial experience and his recent move to our area.

“For more information regarding the law in your specific case, please contact my office for a free consultation by phone or at my office.”

Law Offices of
ATTORNEY’S NAME
ADDRESS
ADDRESS
TELEPHONE and FACSIMILE
E-Mail

The ad includes the attorney’s head shot.

So, what do you think? What’s good? What’s bad? What’s missing?

Let’s start with the good.

He does present an OFFER (Free Consultation) and a CALL TO ACTION (“Call my office”).

That’s good.

He could improve his offer by telling the reader the benefits of the consultation (i.e., “Find out your rights and options, so you know what to do. . . get all your questions answered,” and so on). He should also let them know that there is no cost (yes, even though it is a “Free Consultation,” tell them again) and no obligation.

He could improve the call to action by writing his phone number BIG AND BOLD in the same sentence. “Call my office at [phone]. . .”. Even though it is spelled out below in his contact information. Don’t make people look for it.

He mentions his experience and that’s good. Including his photo is also good for this type of ad.

Now, what about the bad.

There are two things missing from this ad and they are big. Really big.

First, the headline. Or rather, the lack thereof.

You can’t use your name for a headline. Well, you can, but it’s a mistake. Why? Because unless you are famous and your name is something that people will recognize and be drawn to, your ad isn’t going to catch anyone’s attention.

Nobody cares about you. They’re busy and have their own problems and lives to lead. They’re not going to notice your ad.

Okay, some people will notice it. The ones who read the paper cover to cover every week will probably glimpse at the ad because it’s new. But most people won’t. More importantly, most of the people who need a lawyer won’t. And if they don’t notice the ad, they won’t read it and if they don’t read it, they’re not going to call.

What should be in the headline? Well, the attorney does civil and criminal litigation, so how about something that speaks to people who have been sued or arrested and don’t know what to do.

Like this:

Sued? Arrested? Find out your legal rights and options–FREE!

Okay, not brilliant, but can you see how this identifies the people this attorney is targeting? And promises a benefit?

If you’ve been sued or arrested and you’re turning pages in this newspaper, a headline like this is going to flag you down. It says, “Hey, you there with the big hairy legal problem, here’s something good for you.”

Because your lawsuit or arrest is very much on your mind right now, you stop turning pages and look at the ad.

The headline did it’s job. It got your attention and promised a benefit. So now you read the first line of the body copy. If that grabs you and promises a benefit, you keep reading. Then you see the offer for a free consultation and you might call.

Without a headline, it doesn’t matter how compelling the body copy or how great the offer because nobody will see them because they never stopped to read the ad.

Your ad is only as good as your headline.

Okay, what else is missing? Take another look and see if you can spot it.

Of course. No website.

Not having a website is unacceptable today. Guaranteed disqualification in the eyes of many prospective clients. Why? Because all they have to go on is a few self-serving words in an ad. No proof. No details. No reason to trust.

There’s no helpful information that might begin to answer their questions. The only way to get more information is to call.

If you are the only attorney in town, they would have no choice. But you’re not. A quick visit to Uncle Google or Auntie Bing reveals that there are hundreds of attorneys who do what you do, right here in my area code. And they have websites. I can go read all about my problem and their solutions, and find out things I want to know before I call.

So, prospects see your ad without a website and either (a) cross you off the list because you are a dinosaur, or (b) go online to search your name and, finding nothing, cross you off the list.

In other words, the only ones who might call are fellow dinosaurs, a species that is quickly dying out.

Actually, there are two additional clues in the ad that this attorney is living in a different century. They are both in his contact info.

The first is the word “Facsimile”. Go ask your 25 year old neighbor if he even knows what that word means.

The second is the attorney’s email address, which I didn’t include. It’s hisnamelaw@netscape.net. Yes, Netscape. Didn’t they help Al Gore start the Internet?

Obviously, the attorney doesn’t realize how antiquated this makes him look. Somebody should send him a telegram and let him know.

Marketing for 21st century attorneys. Click here to upgrade.

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Filed Under: Advertising, Communication, Copywriting, Marketing legal services, Online Marketing, Technology Tagged With: ,

I’m sorry, I don’t have time for time management

April 19, 2013 by
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So you’ve got a big list of things you need to do. You need to decide what to do first and how much time to give it. That way, you can better manage your time.

It’s called prioritizing: figuring out what’s most valuable and important and doing that first (or most).

Got it.

But how do you decide what is most important? Do you “gut feel” it? Or do you use some kind of system where you examine each task, one by one, and give it a grade of some sort, where A is more important than B, which is more important than C?

Harvard Business Review (via Lifehack) recommends the latter:

Break down activities you do into three categories: invest, neutral, or optimize. “Investment” pursuits are areas where more time and a higher quality of work lead to an exponential payoff, such as strategic planning. Aim for A-level work here. In “neutral” activities, more time spent doesn’t necessarily mean a significantly higher return. Attending project meetings is a good example. You don’t need to excel; a B is fine. “Optimize” duties are those where additional time leads to no added value and keeps you from doing other, more valuable activities. The faster you get these tasks done, the better.

Okay, let’s try it.

Today, I have two “most important tasks” (“MITs”) to get done. One is this blog post. The other is to finish writing the last section of the new course I’m working on.

If I follow the Harvard approach, today’s blog post would probably be in the category of Neutral, meaning it’s probably not worth putting in (a lot) more time to make it even better than it already is.

Finishing the course would probably fall into the Investment category because a paid product is judged at a higher standard and because there is a much higher payoff to me than a single blog post.

But here’s the thing. I already knew this. I already knew the relative importance of these two tasks, without spending any time thinking about it or assigning a label. How did I know? I just did.

But here’s the other thing. I need to do both of them today, albeit for different reasons. The blog post needs to get done because I have committed to doing a blog post every week day. The other project needs to get done because, well, I want to get it done and I decided that today would be the day.

I chose my MITs for the day by instinct or whatever you want to call it, and I didn’t have to spend time analyzing and labeling.

The third category is “Optimize,” which basically means “not very important so get them done quickly”. Sure, I’ve got a bunch of those, too. I probably won’t do most of them today and that’s okay. They’re not that important. But when I’m done with this post and done with the course (or done for the day in case I don’t finish), I may do one or two of these less important tasks. Or I may not. Hey, it’s Friday.

My point is that sometimes, the things we do in the name of time management take up more time than they’re worth. Analyzing, labeling, sorting, deciding–sometimes, we spend so much time working the system (and playing with apps), we don’t have time to get anything done.

If what you’re doing now isn’t working, you should explore and tinker and find something that does. But if your system is working, don’t change it.

Even if that system is nothing more than trusting your gut.

I use Evernote to manage my tasks and projects. See my Evernote for Lawyers ebook here.

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Filed Under: Productivity, Time Management Tagged With: , , ,

Choosing the right color for your website

April 18, 2013 by
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As soon as I saw this infographic on The Psychology of Color in Marketing, I sent the link to the graphic artist who did the cover for the course I have coming out shortly. I told him, “I think we made the right choice”.

You can tell me if you agree when I release it in a couple of weeks.

Anyway, I’m saving the infographic (into Evernote, of course), because it has some very interesting statistics and factoids about color, things I would never had known.

Yes, I knew that restaurants like to use red because it is thought to stimulate appetitive and red is also used to stimulate urgency (think “Red Tag Sale”), but I didn’t know much else.

If you’re planning to update your website or other graphic, consider the psychological effect of different colors before you make your final decision. Of course you could go a neutral palate like I have on my site, shades of gray and white, but I don’t know what it means psychologically. Maybe I’ll drop a line to Apple and see what they can tell me.

Marketing is easy. When you know The Formula.

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

4 reasons you should run a contest or drawing

April 17, 2013 by
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You don’t see too many attorneys running contests. That’s one reason why you should. You don’t want to be like every other attorney, do you? I’ll answer for you: no you don’t.

You want to stand out. Be different.

No, a contest or drawing doesn’t demonstrate fundamental differences that prove your superior abilities or experience. But anything you can do to look different in a positive way is a good thing.

Besides, contests are fun and everyone likes to have fun.

Here are four reasons you should consider running a contest or drawing:

  1. It’s news. It gives you a great excuse to connect or reconnect with clients and prospects in a fun and positive way. You could see some repeat business and referrals as a result.
  2. It gets people engaged. They have to do something to enter the drawing or contest. That makes them more likely to do something else you ask them to do, like promoting your webinar or forwarding your new report.
  3. It makes you more likable. People like people who are positive and like to have fun. Attorneys are known for being stodgy and serious. Not you!
  4. Results. If the contest requires participants to Like or Tweet your page, for example, your traffic and email list will grow. But even if Liking or Tweeting isn’t required, many will tell their friends and followers about your contest and encourage them to enter, especially when you tell them to “invite your friends”.

If you’re thinking a contest is unprofessional or inappropriate for your market, think again. There’s always a way to do it in an acceptable (and ethical) way. If you’re still not sure, do a tie in with a charity or cause you support. For example, ask participants to Like or Tweet on behalf of your local dog shelter or blood drive. Or, “anyone who donates $5 or more (send your receipt to me) will get a free (one of your services)”.

The easiest way get started is to use a template. Pay attention to the contests and drawings you encounter online and in your email. You’re bound to find one or two you can adapt to create your own.

Marketing is easy. Start here.

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Filed Under: List building, Marketing legal services, Social media marketing, Web traffic Tagged With:

I know you are but what am I?

April 16, 2013 by
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What do you do when someone posts a negative review on Yelp?

When an unhappy client goes on a rant about what a terrible attorney you are, should you respond? When someone publicly criticizes you, says you’re dumb ass, or greedy, or the Devil’s spawn because you defend child molesters.

What do you do?

Do you defend yourself? Fight back? Send them a horse’s head?

The best thing to do about negative comments is to ignore them. There’s nothing to be gained by getting into a pissing match. Even stupid people are entitled to their opinion.

You’re not going to change the mind of the opinion holder, and if you try to explain or defend yourself in public, you’ll only make yourself look worse.

If the negative comment is on your blog or on your Facebook wall, you should respond. It would look weird if you didn’t. But don’t respond in kind, just point out the facts. Your friends and followers will probably come to your defense and neutralize the negative comment, maybe even smother it.

But if someone posts a negative review about you on Yelp or another public forum, or they give your book a one star review on amazon.com, ignore it.

Let it go. Pour yourself a stiff one.

I see lawyers who are afraid to dive into social media or do anything online because they are afraid of what unhappy clients might say about them.

That’s operating out of fear. Maybe guilt.

Life (and the practice of law) isn’t about the complete avoidance of risk. It’s about the intelligent management of it. If you are alive (or open for business) there will always be risks.

You may have some unhappy clients, and they may share their unhappiness publicly, but. . .

they may not.

Are you going to forgo all of the benefits of being on the Internet because of what one or two Bozos might say about you?

How about all of the other clients who think you’re great? You’re going to get good comments, too.

A lot of people are saying negative things about Dell right now. They get tons of negative reviews. But people still buy their products.

Now if someone is posting untruths about you and not just their opinion, if someone is defaming you, that’s different. You may have to do something. A letter from your lawyer, perhaps. Or a horse’s head.

I say you “may” have to do something because sometimes, it really is better to ignore things like this. Yes, even when they are untrue and causing harm. Life is too short to get all worked up about everything.

Probably the smartest thing to do is to stop reading your reviews. The bad ones will only upset you and the good ones, well, you’re an attorney. You don’t need an even bigger ego.

Marketing for smart attorneys. The Attorney Marketing Formula.

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Filed Under: Blogging, Client loyalty, Image, Online Marketing, Personal development, Social media Tagged With:

Marketing legal services like a trial lawyer: show them the evidence

April 15, 2013 by
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Marketing legal services is like conducting a trial. No matter how charming and eloquent you are, you’re not going to win the case or the client unless you show people the evidence. But you can’t just throw the evidence at them all at once. First, you need to lay a foundation.

If your prospective clients aren’t convinced they need an attorney, for example, you’re probably wasting your time showing them why you are the best choice. Start by educating them about the benefits of hiring an attorney and the risks of doing things yourself, before you show them your bona fides.

The Wall Street Journal’s recent article, When it Helps to Have a Lawyer, references a 25 year study that shows that trademark applicants represented by attorneys are 50% more likely to get their application approved than those who try to do it themselves. Solid evidence in favor of hiring an attorney. The kind of evidence that IP attorneys should be pointing to and writing about.

No matter what your practice area, you should be utilizing studies and surveys and other evidence that proves the need for and value of what you do. Quantify the benefits of hiring an attorney. Show people that doing it themselves is ultimately more expensive, more risky, or less effective. Personal injury attorneys, for example, can point to studies showing that clients tend to net more after legal fees.

SIDE BAR: If you have a choice, it’s almost always better to target prospective clients who already know they need an attorney and are trying to decide which one. You don’t have to convince them to spend money, only why they should spend it on you.

Of course you should also present evidence that shows the client why he should choose you. You probably can’t prove you get higher settlements or verdicts but you can show him you’ve tried more cases or represented more clients than most.

Testimonials are very persuasive (if you are permitted to use them). So are endorsements by other lawyers and centers of influence in your target market or community. Speaking and publishing credits, awards and honors, number of years in practice, prestigious employers (or clients), all serve as credible evidence of your abilities.

If you aren’t already collecting evidence to prove why clients need a lawyer and why they should choose you, start now. Open a file and call it, “Why you should hire me.” Start collecting evidence you can use in your marketing. The next time someone asks, “Why you?” you’ll be ready to show them.

Want more ways to show clients why they should choose you? Get this.

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Filed Under: Closing the sale, Marketing legal services, Presentations, Salesmanship

Pick two: Good. Cheap. Fast.

April 12, 2013 by
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With any task or project, you have to consider the results you want, how long it will take to produce those results, and any costs. You almost always wind up with good outcomes with two of these three factors and not so good with the third.

You can vacation in Italy (good) this weekend (fast) but it won’t be cheap. You can lose weight quickly and cheaply by fasting for a week but it won’t be good (healthy).

If you have a document to prepare you can do it yourself (good, cheap), but if you’re busy, it probably won’t get done quickly. You can hire someone to do it and they might do a good job and do it quickly but it could be expensive. Or, you could hire someone that’s fast and cheap but not very good.

It’s all about choices. Good. Cheap. Fast. Pick two.

So, let’s see how this works with marketing professional services:

  • Blogging: Good, Cheap, (but not Fast)
  • Advertising: Good, Fast, (but not Cheap)
  • Networking: Good, Cheap, (but not Fast)
  • Speaking: Good, Cheap, (but not Fast)
  • Articles: Good, Cheap, (but not Fast)
  • Social media: Good, Cheap, (but not Fast)
  • Cold calling: Good, Cheap, Fast (but not a good idea)

Conclusions? Advertising can produce good results quickly so if you have more time than money and advertising is appropriate for your practice, you might include it in your marketing mix. Everything else is relatively inexpensive but good results usually take time.

Of course if you do it yourself (i.e., networking) you have to consider your time as an expense. It might not cost a lot of dollars, but if it takes up too much time relative to the results, it’s expensive.

Also, “good” is a relative term. You might get good clients from a given activity, but not a lot of them. Or, you might get a lot of clients but if they can’t or won’t pay what you charge, that’s probably not a good result.

It’s funny, the one thing lawyers don’t (can’t, won’t) do, cold calling, can actually produce good results quickly and cheaply. Fortunately, there’s something similar that you can do and it works even better: warm calling.

Call your clients and former clients and say hello. Fast, cheap, good results, almost guaranteed.

Marketing is everything you do to get and keep good clients. Click here for the formula.

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Filed Under: Marketing legal services, Marketing Plan, Productivity, Time Management

Don’t let your reason why become your excuse not to

April 11, 2013 by
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You say that one of the reasons you want to increase your income is to have more free time. Time for family, hobbies, travel, fun.

Those things are important to you but you’re always working and don’t have enough time.

More free time is the “reason why” you want to earn more.

But then I hear you say you don’t have time for marketing. You’re too busy.

Do you see the problem here? You want time (your why) because you don’t have time (always working) so you use the fact that you don’t have time as your excuse for not marketing, even though marketing is what will eventually give you more free time.

It is a riddle wrapped in a mystery inside an enigma.

You’re letting your reason why become your excuse not to.

“But I have to do the work,” you say. You can’t slow down. It’s a Catch 22.

You could hire someone to do some of the work.

“I can’t afford to hire anyone,” you say.

Okay, now you’re being difficult.

You hire someone so you can work less so you can have more time for marketing so you can earn more so you can have more free time.

Try saying that ten times really fast.

It’s called leverage. Working smart. Treating your practice like a business.

You can’t wait for more free time to appear before you start marketing. You must start marketing to create more free time.

You can make money or you can make excuses, but you can’t make both.

I can teach you how to leverage your time. Click here.

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

How do you find out why they didn’t hire you?

April 10, 2013 by
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In yesterday’s post, How often should I call a prospective client? I said you should follow up with a prospective client after a free consultation, but not call them because calling is bad posture. In response, I got an email from an attorney who said, “If you don’t call them how will you find out why they didn’t hire you?”

It’s a good question.

If they don’t call you within a suitable period to give you the go ahead on their case or matter, you can send them a form letter seeking feedback about your office’s “customer service”. Were you well treated, Did we answer all of your questions, that sort of thing. Then, ask if they plan to go ahead with their case or matter and if not, why not. You might provide multiple choice answers for them to tick off, and room for additional comments.

Send this with a cover letter about how you are constantly seeking to improve your services to your clients and you would greatly appreciate it if they would fill out the survey and return it in the envelope provided. You might offer to send them a free report or a $10 Starbuck’s gift card to say thank you.

Anyway, this should give you some feedback on what you’re doing right and what you need to improve. But there’s an even better way to find out why someone doesn’t hire you: ask them while they are still in the office.

 

Before you hand them a retainer agreement and pen, ask if they see the need for your services and how it will help them. If they do, ask if they are ready to get started. (There are other ways to close). If they aren’t ready, politely ask why.

If they need to discuss it with someone, that’s your cue that the next time you set an appointment, you need to find out if you are speaking to the decision maker and if not, make sure they come, too.

If they are reticent to share their reasons, there’s a good chance it’s money: they don’t have it or they think you’re too expensive. If they don’t have it, you can remind them that you take credit cards or have a payment plan. If they think you’re too expensive, you need to do a better job of building the value of what you do before they see you (i.e., on your web site) and during the consultation.

By the way, “I want to think about it,” almost always means they have another objection. Ask them what they want to think about: Is it the need? Is it the fee? Is there something else that’s holding you back?

The best time to get feedback is when they are in the office, feeling a little guilty for turning you down.

Do you have The Attorney Marketing Formula? If you want to get more clients, you should. Click here.

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Filed Under: Attorneys fees, Client relations, Closing the sale, Law office management, Salesmanship
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