The Wizard of OZ and your law practice

January 28, 2020 by
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In The Wizard of OZ, each of the main characters wanted something. The Scarecrow wanted brains, the Tin man wanted a heart, and the Cowardly Lion wanted courage.

To succeed as lawyers, we need all three.

Of the three, the most important trait for financial success is courage, according to a large study of wealth in America.

You can read it about the study and its conclusions in The Millionaire Next Door by Dr. Thomas Stanley.

Dr. Stanley tells us:

“Courage can be developed. But it cannot be nurtured in an environment that eliminates all risks, all difficulty, all dangers. It takes considerable courage to work in an environment in which one is compensated according to one’s performance. Most affluent people have courage. What evidence supports this statement? Most affluent people in America are either business owners or employees who are paid on an incentive basis.” [emphasis added]

So, are you paid on an incentive basis?

You can be.

Whether you bill by the hour, flat fees, or any other type of fee, look for ways to add incentives–extra fees, bonuses, stock, percentages of the deal–to be paid to you if and when you achieve certain results for the client.

You can also do this in contingency fee cases. A higher percentage or bonus that is triggered when you reach one or more specified thresholds.

You should do this because there are only so many hours in a day and if you want to earn more than the average attorney, this is a good way to do it.

Assuming the client agrees and the state Bar approves.

I know, the idea both excites you and scares you. You have a lot of “what ifs” going through your mind. It may not even be possible in your jurisdiction.

Do yourself a favor and find out.

“Most affluent people have courage,” Dr. Stanley says. How about you?

For more creative billing ideas, get my book

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Filed Under: Fees and Billing

Vaccinating clients and prospects

January 27, 2020 by
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I watched a CLE video on what to do when you have “bad facts”. The evidence is weak, the client is a bad mamma jamma, the witnesses have a history of making things up.

Your case or client has issues; what do you do?

The presenter talked about inoculating the jury by bringing out the negatives of your case yourself because they’ll be better received when they come from you instead of opposing counsel.

The presenter told a story about Domino’s Pizza that took this to an extreme.

They ran a series of ads in displaying negative comments they’d received about their pizza. “The crust is cardboard, the sauce is thin and tasteless, it’s not real cheese,” and so on.

Can you imagine running ads telling the world things like this?

Domino’s did it. And then they said that most companies would never admit things like this, they’d try to cover it up or excuse it, but Domino’s took this seriously and have made dramatic improvements.

They said that the crust, the sauce, the cheese, the whole product is better, and we think you’ll like it. Come try it and see.

Within six months, sales were up 17% company-wide, which is an extraordinary increase for a company of that size.

Domino’s admitted their flaws, fixed them, and won the day.

Which reminds me to remind you to do the same with your practice.

If you’ve been criticized for not doing something other lawyers do, for example, inoculate clients and prospects by admitting this “flaw”.

And then, turn it into a strength.

I don’t handle X, I only handle Y. By specializing (focusing), I’ve been able to develop expertise many other lawyers don’t have. . .

If your competition does a lot of advertising and some prospective clients wonder why they’ve “never heard of you,” explain that you get most of your business by referrals and don’t “need” to advertise.

If clients think your fees are high, make it a selling point: “You can find lawyers who charge less but you get what you pay for. . .”

Inoculate your clients and prospects (and juries) by admitting your flaws before someone else points them out.

Careful, though. If your crust tastes like cardboard, change your recipe before you tell anyone.

Marketing strategies that can help your practice take a quantum leap

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Filed Under: Communication, Copywriting, Marketing legal services, Writing

Decision making 2.0

January 24, 2020 by
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We have so many options today it’s hard to choose. Which project, which task, which app? Which marketing method, which market, which topic for our next article or talk?

Should we recommend settlement or to hold out for more? Should we accept juror number 10 or challenge them? Should we vote for this candidate or that one?

We’re logical creatures and nit-pickers and smarter than the average bear so you’d think we would make good choices.

Too often we don’t.

So, I propose a new way to make decisions. A new standard for choosing what’s best.

And it’s not based on logic or weighing the facts.

This new way to decide is to look at each option and see how we feel about it.

And. . . if it’s not “hell, yes!” then it’s “hell no”.

We choose what excites us. Even if it goes against conventional wisdom or the counsel of our partners, colleagues, or friends.

Because our gut knows best.

If you gut tells you option A is the right choice, that’s what you go with. If you’re excited, you’ll give it everything you’ve got, making success that much more likely.

You’ll also have a lot more fun.

Especially when everyone thinks you’re crazy and you prove them wrong.

So, what do you think about my idea?

Actually, wrong question. How does this idea make you feel?

Are you with me?

Is it a hell yes or a hell no?

NB: if you have to think about it, you’ve already made your decision.

Which marketing method? Here’s what I’d choose

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Filed Under: success

How to get your SECOND client

January 23, 2020 by
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Let’s say you just got your first client.

Congratulations. What’s next?

Where will you get your second client? Or, if you have 100 clients, where will you get your next 100?

Many lawyers go back to doing whatever it is they did to get their first client (or their first 100). Networking, advertising, blogging, speaking, and so on, and that’s fine.

But there’s another way:

Leverage your relationships with your existing and former clients to get more.

Yes, I’m talking about referrals. But not just referrals in the way we usually think of them. And expanded view of the concept of referrals.

You know that some of your clients are willing to send you referrals but don’t have anyone to send you right now.

What else could they do?

They could refer you to (introduce you to) other professionals they know, some of whom might have clients they can refer.

Hold on. Those professionals might not have clients they can refer right now, or be willing to refer them.

What else could they do?

They could introduce you to other professionals they know who might have clients who need your help.

Hold on. What if they don’t know other professionals in your target market or they’re not willing to introduce them to you?

What else could they do?

They could introduce you to bloggers and podcasters and meeting planners and other people who write for, sell to, or advise your target market.

They could share your content or promote your event to their clients and contacts, subscribers, social media connections, and others they know.

Some of those people may need your services. Or know someone who does. Or know someone who knows someone who does.

Building a referral-based practice isn’t just about who you know. It’s also about who they know.

Everyone you know knows hundreds of people you don’t know.

And those people know hundreds of people.

Each person knows an average of 250 people, we are told. If each of those people knows 250 people, that’s 62, 500 people in your extended network.

You can build your practice by tapping into that network.

Where do you begin?

Start with my (currently free) introductory referral marketing course.

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Filed Under: Referral sources, Referrals, Relationship marketing

Watching Netflix all day can actually be productive

January 22, 2020 by
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Laura Mae Martin is Google’s in-house productivity expert and just offered some of the most useful productivity advice I’ve ever heard.

Instead of defining productivity in terms of how much we get done, she says, we should define it as doing what we intended.

“If you spent a day watching Netflix. . . that’s a productive day–if you had intended to watch Netflix,” she said.

If you’re tired and need to take some time to re-charge and do something effortless, that’s a good use of your time. But her point isn’t about respecting our need for rest so much as redefining productivity in terms of intent.

If you intend to do legal work but binge-watch Netflix instead, you’re just procrastinating. That’s also true if you intend to do legal work but you bug out of the office to do some networking, because that’s not what you intended either.

“The secret is “knowing what you want to do, intending to do it, and doing what you wanted to do,” she explained.

When we define productivity in terms of doing what we intend, we become more aware of what we put on our plate, and what we don’t. We think about what we’re doing and why we’re doing it.

Which means we’re more likely to do what’s important, not just what’s next on the list.

At the end of the day, when you look at what you accomplished, ask yourself if you did what you intended. If you did, great. You had a productive day.

If you didn’t, you’ll be more mindful of what you put on your plate tomorrow.

If you intend to get a lot more clients this year, get this

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Filed Under: Productivity

You should read this

January 21, 2020 by
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Some people think we shouldn’t tell people what to do. We should give them the options and let them decide.

Tell them what they “could” do, not what they “should” do.

I understand the sentiment but when someone looks to you for advice, they want you to tell them what to do.

When a client hires you to advise him, you can (and should) present different ways to do it, but then, tell him which option is best. They’re paying for your experience and judgment. They want to know what you recommend.

When you tell them, you’re telling them what they “should” do.

Tell your clients what they should do.

(Yes, I’m telling you what you should do. Not what you might do. You can choose to follow my advice or reject it. But at least you know what I recommend.)

You should also tell your newsletter and blog readers and presentation attendees what to do. With less specificity, of course, because you don’t know the specifics of their situation. But if you have recommendations about what someone should do in a given situation, tell them what to do.

I saw an article this morning about this subject in the context of employers and employees. The article said we should tell our staff what they “could” do, not what they “should” do.

Yes, you want to empower your staff to think for themselves and not come to you with every little issue, but if you want your secretary to call someone or email someone or bring you something, telling them what they could do or might do is just silly.

You’re not going to say, “I’m running late for my 2 O’clock with Mr. Jones. You could call him to re-schedule.”

You’re going to tell your secretary to call.

Be nice about it. Say please and thank you. But tell her.

That’s what you should do.

Questions about what to write in a newsletter? Here are the answers

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Filed Under: Client relations, Communication, Law office management, Newsletters

Choosing the right clients

January 20, 2020 by
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When I was ten years old I went to summer camp for two weeks. Sleeping in cabins, swimming and fishing in the lake, archery practice, softball, campfire songs.

I loved every minute of it.

Our counselor was cool. He didn’t talk down to us or boss us around. He was like an older brother and we could talk to him about anything.

I had so much fun I went back the next year.

But the second year was different.

Same woods and lake, same games and activities, different counselor. And I didn’t get along with him at all.

The details aren’t important. What’s important is that as much as I loved my first year at camp, that’s how much I hated my second year.

Because of the counselor.

The people in our lives make a difference.

If you know people you don’t like, don’t associate with them. Spend time with people who make you feel good.

That includes your clients.

Spend time with clients who appreciate you and support you. Clients you like to be around.

Those clients tend to know people like themselves and can refer them to you. You’ll probably like them, too.

You can’t choose your camp counselor but you can choose your clients. And you should.

How to get more referrals from your clients

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Filed Under: Career satisfaction, Client loyalty

At least they had cookies

January 17, 2020 by
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Last night, I went to a homeowners meeting for our community, to hear about proposed changes to parking rules.

The head of the committee called the meeting to order, read the current rules, brought us up to date, and asked for feedback. Many shared their opinions and grievances. A few lawyers in the crowd thought the existing rule was ambiguous. (It was).

Nothing much was accomplished, but at least they had cookies.

I’m not going to say “most meetings are a waste of time and all of this could have been done digitally”. That may be true but there are times when it’s good to meet with fellow stakeholders in person.

And this was one of them. It was good to hear what my neighbors thought and put faces with names.

But I do have a few thoughts about how the meeting might have been improved.

First, tell folks the agenda, so they know what to expect and can follow along. You want them to understand the big picture before you dive into the minutia, lest they get lost (and doze off).

And, keep things moving.

Let people make their point, thank them, and move on. If you let people ramble, they will. (They did.)

Second, take notes. And let everyone see you do it.

Our speaker had dealt with the parking rules over the last several years and knew them backwards and forwards. He appropriately expressed interest when people offered new ideas or shared their problems, and said he would look into them.

But he didn’t write anything down.

So, would he look into it? Remember it? Was he being honest?

In any meeting, whether group or one-on-one, let people see you take notes. It shows them you heard what they said and care about it (or them).

Finally, tell people what happens next.

Don’t make them guess. Don’t make them ask. Spell it out.

I left our meeting not quite sure what would happen next, or what to do if I wanted to follow up.

Tell them what you’re going to do and/or what you want them to do.

Oh yeah, one more thing. Don’t forget the cookies.

If you want to grow your practice quickly, here’s what you need

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Filed Under: Communication Tagged With:

Need more ideas? Start with this one

January 16, 2020 by
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If you want (need) more ideas–for building your practice or anything else–including ideas for articles and blog posts and other content–you might want to follow author James Altucher’s recommendation.

And that is: Write down 10 ideas a day.

He says that if you do this for 30 days, you’ll not only have a heap of ideas to choose from, you will also train your brain to become an idea finding machine.

You’ll become more creative, seeing ideas everywhere. And you’ll become more prolific because when you have more ideas than you could possibly use, you’ll be able to easily push out new content.

Where do you find these ideas?

Everywhere.

Read blogs and articles for lawyers and by lawyers, in your field and allied fields.

Read things written by and for people in your client’s industry or market.

Read books and watch videos on any subject that interest you.

And write down everything that comes into your head.

Good ideas and bad ideas, and everything in between.

You won’t get usable ideas from everything your read. But you will stimulate your brain to make connections between seemingly disconnected ideas and formulate new ones.

Can you do this for 30 days? Altucher says he does it every day. It’s been a part of his routine for years and allowed him to turn out a plethora of articles and blog posts and best-selling books.

If you’re ready to try this for 30 days, you can start you list with the idea you just read.

One down, only nine to go.

More ways to get ideas for emails and blog posts

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

The case of the florescent green house slippers

January 15, 2020 by
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I needed a new pair of house slippers and ordered a pair online. They arrived, I tried them on but didn’t like the fit. 

Back they went. 

I ordered a different brand and they fit alright but I couldn’t get used to the bright green lining which showed even when my feet were in them.  

You want to relax when you put on your slippers, don’t ya? Not feel like you’re at the circus. 

I sent these back and ordered a third pair. Plain black, inside and out. 

Guess what happened? 

They fit, they look good, they’re comfortable, and I kept them. I’m wearing them now, as a matter of fact. 

You may be wondering why I’m telling you this not-very-interesting and seemingly pointless story. (And why you spent valuable time reading it.)

It is to make a point about stories, and why you should use them liberally in your writing and presentations. 

Yes, you’ve heard this before. You know that stories are more interesting than facts, usually because they have people in them, you know that “facts tell but stories sell,” and you know that stories are a great way to connect emotionally with your reader. 

You also know that stories are a good way to show people what it will be like having you as their attorney. 

Showing instead of telling.

But there’s another reason why stories are effective. 

It’s because human beings are hard-wired to listen to them. 

It’s a survival instinct. When we hear stories, our minds seek to predict what happens next. 

When we sat in caves and heard tribal leaders tell stories of being chased by ferocious creatures and what they did to escape, we learned what to do when we’re chased by ferocious creatures. 

Our brains pay attention to stories to find out what happened. 

So the next time you want to persuade someone to do something,  don’t just tell them the facts, tell a story. 

If a busy professional like you will listen to my boring tale of buying slippers, imagine what your prospective clients will do when you tell them about your client being chased by ferocious opposing counsel and how you saved them from being devoured.

Put stories in your newsletter. Here’s how

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Filed Under: Copywriting, Public Speaking, Writing
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