I hear my mother’s voice and smile

March 15, 2019 by
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I found this quotation today:

“My mother is a big believer in being responsible for your own happiness. She always talked about finding joy in small moments and insisted that we stop and take in the beauty of an ordinary day. When I stop the car to make my kids really see a sunset, I hear my mother’s voice and smile.”

Jennifer Garner said that. Thank you, Jennifer. It’s a good reminder to stop and smell the roses. And that’s just what I’m going to do.

It’s rained a lot here lately and there are flowers blooming everywhere. I’ve been indoors for too long. Time for an outing. Time to (literally) smell the roses. Time to spend some time with my wife and appreciate our blessings. 

The forecast is for clear skies. I’m looking forward to the sunset. 

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Filed Under: Inspiration

My, what a big niche you have

March 14, 2019 by
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Recently, I wrote about an interview I read with the founder of a web design studio who spoke about the value of niche marketing. She said what I’ve seen saying since day one.

In response to my post, I heard from an attorney asking for clarification.

“What is considered a niche?” he asked. “Is a practice area enough of a niche? For example, PI? Or do you need to the dog bit attorney or the brain injury attorney, etc?”

I said, “PI is a practice area. Brain injuries MIGHT be a niche. Brain injuries suffered by highly-compensated executives is definitely a niche.”

He came back: “Well, I should be pleased that last year, I started the move from a general practice to a PI practice. I think it will be a great move in the long run.”

I did the same thing early in my practice and it was indeed a great move for me. I told him to, “Niche it down. PI for Hispanic small business, owners, for example. The smaller you get, the easier it is to market.”

He said he was doing that. He focuses on a certain type of tradesperson, mostly from a certain state in Mexico.

Now that’s niching it down.

I don’t know how lucrative his niche will be but that’s not the point. The point is that it is a niche that he can easily dominate and, having done so, leverage his contacts in the niche to build his name in others.

If you want to get big, start by going small.

This will help you choose your niche

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Filed Under: Marketing legal services Tagged With:

Reducing decision fatigue

March 13, 2019 by
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I forget where I read it but it makes sense: we can only make so many decisions in a day before our brains reach “decision fatigue” and the quality of our decisions diminishes.

The upshot is that we should do our best to make important decisions earlier in the day.

We can also reduce decision fatigue by finding ways to make fewer decisions.

One way is by develop more routines.

I’m sure you’ve heard the idea of wearing the same color t-shirt every day. Once you’ve chosen your color and brand, you don’t have to think about it again.

Once you’ve figured out the best route to different courthouses, write it down and you won’t have to think about it again.

Another way to reduce decisions (and speed up your work) is to create checklists for everything.

Checklists for opening and closing a file, conducting a client interview, reviewing and summarizing a deposition transcript,  in case of emergency, and so on.

Templates and boilerplate for writing letters and emails or responding to FAQs also help. So do lists of resources you frequently access or recommend (links, cites, references, forms, notes, etc.)

Start by paying attention to all of the decisions you make today. You’ll probably be surprised at how many there are and how much time you spend making them.

Then, look for ways to eliminate small decisions so you’ll have more time for the big ones.

If you have “referral fatigue,” here is the answer

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Filed Under: Law office management, Productivity

Winging it

March 12, 2019 by
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We’re told that before we start a project (or a career) we need a plan and we need to know what we’re doing. Otherwise, we’re being reckless and inviting failure.

Sure. Only that doesn’t work for all of us, at least not all the time.

How many times have you just fallen into something, with no plan or reason to believe you will succeed? You took a leap and built your wings on the way down.

That’s how I started my practice, my brother.

I rented an office, bought some furniture, a typewriter and some supplies, and opened my door for business.

I didn’t know how to build a practice, or run a practice. I knew slightly more than jack squat about practicing law. I had no clients, no money, no clue.

If I had been a patient in the ICU, you would have said I was terminal.

But the patient lived.

So, here’s the thing.

Whatever you’re contemplating, be it project or career, plan if you must but don’t beat yourself if you feel like winging it.

I met my wife without a plan. Built businesses without a plan. Wrote books and courses without a plan. And started a law practice (twice) without a plan.

You know what? If I had forced myself to create a plan before I started the things I’ve done, I’m not sure I would have started most of them.

Oh yeah, what you just read? No plan.

Want more referrals? I wrote the plan for you

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Filed Under: success

Spray and pray

March 11, 2019 by
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According to Wikipedia, “Spray and pray is a derisive term for firing an automatic firearm towards an enemy in long bursts, without making an effort to line up each shot or burst of shots. This is especially prevalent amongst those without benefit of proper training.”

The term is also used in marketing: “. . .an approach to communication, where mass emails, broadcasts or leaflets are dispersed in hopes that everyone in the intended audience has received the message”.

It’s inefficient. And too often, ineffective. You hope your message reaches people who fit the profile of your ideal client,  and while you may find some people who need your help, the odds that they will be an ideal client are slim.

The better approach and one I drone on about incessantly is to select a smaller group–a sub-segment of the larger market (a niche) and fire your bullets at them.

If your ideal client is a business owner who has certain needs and/or attributes, for example, you focus your time and dollars on getting your message in front of them.

But there’s another approach that might work better.

Instead of targeting groups, you target individuals.

Make a list of influential people in your target market and market to them.

Instead of networking at the Chamber of Commerce, for example, you identify 5 or 10 influential people in your target market’s industry or area and find ways to meet them.

Go see them speak and introduce yourself. Go find someone who knows them and see if they can introduce you. 

It takes longer, but what might happen to your practice when you are on a first-name basis with the top dogs in your niche market’s industry?

You don’t need a large network, you need an influential one. You find them with a rifle, not a machine gun.

How to determine your ideal client and target market

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Filed Under: Marketing legal services Tagged With: ,

What’s the hardest part of getting more clients?

March 8, 2019 by
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I saw this question posted on a Q & A forum: “What’s the hardest part of getting fit?”

A trainer responded: “The hardest part of getting fit is doing it right now“.

He said that you build any habit by starting and the best time to do that is immediately.

Gotta say, I agree.

Waiting for the right time to start, telling yourself you need to get some other things done first, these are just excuses. Ways to procrastinate and avoid doing what you know you have to do.

If you want to get more clients, or better clients, or earn more income, or otherwise improve your bottom line, get on with it. Now.

Unless that’s not what you really want.

Maybe what you really want is to tell yourself (or someone else) that you’re “working on it”. A lot of people say they want to write a book when what they really want is to have written a book. Or they want to be able to say that they’re working on one.

Just keeping it real.

What’s on your “Later” or “Someday” lists that you should be working on right now? What do you keep moving from “Next” to “Soon”?

The hardest part of getting more clients is starting to get more clients. If that’s what you really want, I suggest you do it today.

This will help

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Filed Under: Inspiration, Marketing legal services

Start by asking a different question

March 7, 2019 by
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How do I get more traffic to my website? More social media followers? More butts in seats at my events? More subscribers to my newsletter? More people booking an appointment?

Those are all good questions. Questions you may want to ask and answer at some point. But asking them first might not get you what you really want. 

Getting more clients is one thing but maybe what you really want are better clients (i.e., with more work, able to pay higher fees, etc.), or bigger cases. Maybe what you really want is a way to increase your income.

Start by asking how you can get those things. It might lead you in a very different direction.

Asking “How can I increase my income?”, for example, might lead you to do things you previously hadn’t considered. 

You may realize that you can increase your income by moving your office to a better location (or opening a second one) or hiring more staff. You may decide to set up a new website, start advertising, or write a book.

Asking “How can I get better clients?” might compel you to find a different target market, network with professionals and influential people in that market, or create a different presentation for the decision makers in that market.

Start with the big picture. The end result. The outcome you really want. Ask yourself how to get that.

You may not need more clients. You may need fewer clients who can write bigger checks. You might not need more traffic to your website. You might need a new website. 

Ask a different question and allow yourself to discover how to get what you really want. 

This will help you figure out what you really want

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Filed Under: Marketing legal services, Marketing Plan

Are you coddling your clients?

March 6, 2019 by
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Saw an article about raising mentally strong kids. The upshot: “Science says stop telling them ‘everything will be OK'”. Let them make mistakes and feel uncomfortable. That’s how they learn and grow. 

Overly protective parents aren’t doing their kids any favors. Neither are overly protective attorneys. 

Telling clients everything will be OK when we really don’t know this to be true sets them up to be disappointed and to mistrust us.

No, we don’t want them to worry unnecessarily. And yes, they pay us to do most of the worrying for them. But most clients, I think, want us to respect them enough to be candid with them.

Let them see what’s going on–the risks, the problems, the possible outcome. Don’t try to downplay the fees.

Our clients are adults. We should assume they can handle the truth.

We don’t need to bludgeon them with the truth, however. We should be measured when we present our evaluation of the case, gentle when we deliver bad news.

Like children, clients look to us for emotional clues. If we are calm in the face of trouble, they are more likely to be the same.

Bottom line: tell them everything and don’t let them see you sweat.

I built my practice with client referrals

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Filed Under: Client relations

I’m good, but don’t take my word for it

March 5, 2019 by
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You love getting positive reviews, don’t you? They’re worth their weight in Gold-Pressed Latinum. Same goes for testimonials.

Reviews and testimonials from clients, and endorsements (from other professionals, industry experts, and so on), are some of the most valuable tools you can use for marketing your practice.

If you get them, use them. Let your clients tell prospects how wonderful you are.

The easy way to get more reviews and testimonials is to ask clients to fill out a survey or evaluation form at end of the case. Allow room to “talk” about how they were treated, what they like about the results you got for them, and so on.

You’ll get something you can use.

What’s that? Your state or country or firm won’t let you use testimonials in your marketing?

Sounds like you better move.

No? Okay, don’t fret. You can use something that’s almost as good: success stories.

Write a story about a case or matter. Describe the problem, issues, and obstacles that were presented to you, what you did for the client and the outcome. 

“Recently, a client called me about [problem]. [Add details–costs, pain, obstacles–legal and factual–and, describe the client’s pain and/or frustration.]”

Describe what you did for the client and how happy they were as a result.

Simple.

Okay, sure, if you have to add “results not typical” or other crap you’re required to add, do it.

And then use the hell out of that story.

Prospective clients want to know what you do. They want to hear what it will be like to work with you. They want to know that you know what you’re doing and a success story is much better than you “telling” them that you do.

Success stories should be a staple in your marketing. Write one today and start using it tomorrow.

Next week, you can write a client horror story. You know, about that client who didn’t follow your advice and made things worse.

Good marketing starts with good ideas

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

Playing with matches

March 4, 2019 by
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Like many boys of my youth, I liked playing with matches. Especially, kitchen matches. I saw adults light them and thought they looked cool. 

I didn’t do anything stupid. I’d light them and blow them out until I got bored and did something else.

Unfortunately, many of the adults I saw lighting matches used them to light a cigar, a pipe, or a cigarette. Sure enough, years later, at various times of my early life, I smoked a pipe, cigars, and cigarettes.

That was a long time ago and I’ve long since quit (although I wouldn’t mind a cigar once in a while).

Anyway, while kids learn many of our bad habits by mimicking adults, we also learn good habits.

As a law clerk and a new attorney, I watched experienced lawyers (the adults) in the office and learned from them.

I listened to how they spoke to other lawyers, how they interacted with their secretaries, how they greeted clients and escorted them to their inner office.

I soaked it all up.

Later, with my own cases, I paid attention to what my opposition said and did, and sought advice from lawyers I knew about strategy or where to go to get some answers.

I learned how to be a lawyer, in part, by being around other lawyers.

I’m sure you did, too.

Unfortunately (for me), when I started practicing, lawyers didn’t do a lot of marketing. Some speaking or networking, sending out holiday cards, and not much else. Nothing I could see or mimic.

So I had to learn it all on my own.

Today, competition demands that lawyers make marketing a priority. Fortunately, there are many more options.

So, if you’re just starting out, or you’re looking to up your game, one of the best things you can do is to find lawyers who are good at marketing and learn from them.

Spend time with them, ask questions, ask for help. Watch and listen and mimic the things they do that work.

Just make sure they don’t smoke. 

Marketing legal services starts here

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Filed Under: Marketing legal services
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