The Attorney Marketing Center--Earn More. Work Less

Why you should zig when everyone else zags

February 28, 2018 by David M. Ward

You really don’t want to stand out, do you? You’ve heard the reasoning behind it and you get it, but if you have a choice, you’d rather blend in with all the other guys and gals who do this legal thing.

You want to be left alone to do your work. You don’t want people to pay attention to all your typos and blemishes and weird ideas.

And yet, you must.Â You must put yourself “out there”. You must take the risk.

If you don’t give people reasons to notice you, remember you, and hire you (instead of any other lawyer), you shouldn’t be surprised when nobody does.

So, baby steps. Start with something easy. It almost doesn’t matter what it is so long as its different from what most lawyers do.

I’ll give you one. Email. When every other lawyer (and other professional) sends fancy newsletters, with pretty pictures, stylish formatting and modern layouts, do the opposite.

Plain text.

Go on, I dare you. It is a very simple way to stand out.

Plain, ugly, mono-type. The plainer the better. Like I do. Your newsletter won’t look like everyone else’s. It won’t look like something you bought from a company. It won’t look like a commercial product.

It will look like an email. Which is why it will stand out. And why it gets read.

Make your email look like a personal communication, not an ad. It’s an easy way to stand out and build a relationship with the people on your list.

You do know how to write an email, don’t you? You just put your lips together and. . . okay, nevermind. We’ll talk about that another time.

Need ideas for your newsletter? Get them here

Filed Under: Communication, Email, Image

You are what you appear to be

February 27, 2018 by David M. Ward

Marketing maven Dan Kennedy talks about something he calls the “full parking lot phenomenon”. He says nobody wants to buy from a store, eat at a restaurant, or hire a lawyer with an empty parking lot.

It’s true.

If your parking lot or office waiting room is empty, if you don’t appear to have many clients, people get nervous.

They want to buy from successful merchants. They want to hire successful attorneys. You need to do whatever you can to create and maintain that image.

If you have lots of clients, talk about the work you’re doing for them–in your newsletter or on your blog, and in your conversations. Yep, tell war stories (but make them quick.)

If you are just starting out, talk about work you did for the firm you worked for prior to opening your office. If you’re going through a bad spell and you aren’t flush with clients, talk about the clients you do have or the ones you’ve had in the past. Nobody needs to know how long ago it was.

Book appointments back to back so that clients see other clients in your waiting room.

Talk about things busy lawyers doâ€“your speaking engagements, writing, and networking. Let the world know that you are “in demand”.

Perception is everything. If you look successful, clients will assume that you are successful.

Does that mean that you should continually upgrade your image as you grow? New office, furniture, clothing, and car?

To some extent, yes.

If your clients (or the clients you wish to attract) expect their attorney to fit a certain image or profile, you should probably accommodate them. I know, we’ve all seen some very successful (and wealthy) attorneys who wear old clothes and drive old cars, but not everyone can get away with that.

Keep up appearances but don’t go overboard. You don’t want clients thinking you charge more than you’re worth because you are addicted to wearing $4000 suits.

You don’t need an expensive website. Here’s what you do need

Filed Under: Image, Law office management

When comparing yourself to others can be a good thing

February 26, 2018 by David M. Ward

Everyone says we shouldn’t compare ourselves to others. No, they’re not talking about situations where you are decidedly better or more accomplished, they’re talking about situations where someone is eating your lunch.

I usually avoid doing this. But sometimes, I can’t.

I just finished a book by a young man who works full time at a corporate management job, goes to law school at night, and, in his spare time, writes novels.

He turns out a new novel every few weeks.

And, he does it, he says, in one pass. One draft and off to the editor. Oh, and he doesn’t use an outline.

Much of his writing is done in small snippets of time. While waiting for his wife at the mall he’ll push out a few hundred words, for example, on his phone. Typing with his thumbs. Something else I can’t do.

Color me impressed. Or maybe depressed, if I compare my output to his.

So yeah, comparing yourself to others can put a dent in your ego. But only if you let it.

Instead of comparing ourselves to others, and feeling bad, what if we get inspired by others and learn from them?

They can teach us what’s possible. And while we may not be able to do what they do, we may learn some new tactics or approaches.

When I read how this guy writes a book-length manuscript in a single draft I thought there’s no way I could do that. But then I thought, “But maybe I could limit myself to three or four drafts, which is way better than the unlimited re-writes I currently allow myself.

I don’t know if it will work for me but at least I’m thinking about it. Something I wouldn’t have done had I not read and been inspired by this man’s story.

Want to know how to get the professionals in your building to send you referrals? Here’s how

Filed Under: Personal development

What are you waiting for?

February 23, 2018 by David M. Ward

You want to start a project. Write a book. Leave your firm and start out on your own.

Why haven’t you? What are you waiting for?Â Information? Inspiration? The right time?

Whatever it is that’s holding you back, it’s killing your dreams and stifling your momentum.

You don’t need more information. Or confidence. Or time. You don’t need buy-in from anyone. The time will never be right, so stop waiting and do it now. Take the first step.

Book the room. Announce your plan on social media. Burn your ships. Do something to affirm that you’re doing this and don’t look back.

I remember opening my first law office. I wasn’t ready. But I knew it was something I had to do so I did it. Signed a lease. Bought some furniture. And told everyone I was open for business.

You probably know that I had a rough time of it. But I made it. You will too.

Whatever you’re doing, once you start, you find ways to make things work. One foot in front of another and before you know it, you have arrived.

Take a chance on your idea. Trust that things will work out.

What if they don’t? What if you leap and the net doesn’t appear?

You might get hurt. But you will survive. You will have learned things you didn’t know before, and through that knowledge and experience, you will grow. You’ll know people you didn’t know before and some of them will help you with whatever comes next.

On the other hand, you may be a stunning success. Everything may work out far better than you ever thought possible. Your project or venture may lead to glorious achievements and position you for even better things down the road.

No matter what happens, you’ll have an adventure. A story for your grandkids.

Don’t wait until the time is right or you feel ready. Start now. You’ll be glad you did.

When was the last time you did a Referral Blitz?

Filed Under: Inspiration

Getting clarity on a project or goal

February 22, 2018 by David M. Ward

Whenever you have a big project, decision, or goal, and you’re not sure what to do or do next, here’s something that might help.Â It’s something I did when I was studying for the Bar exam.

I took all of my outlines and reams of notes and reduced them down to a single page. On one page (of paper), I had a summary of the entire subject. Notes, keywords, lists, definitions, examples.

Most of it was greatly abbreviated, of course, but I knew the material well enough that a single keyword was all I needed to remember a concept or case. By putting everything on one page, drawing arrows to indicate relationships or causality, and underscoring and highlighting for emphasis, I had a clear picture of what I needed to know and remember.

The process of distilling everything down to a single page helped me to understand the essence of the subject. I discovered what was most important and how everything related to everything else.

Try this for your next trial or big project. Try it when need to decide what to do next. Gather up all of your notes, ideas, resources, and research. Write down your questions, doubts, obstacles, and opportunities. Put everything in one big pile. Then, work your way through that pile and reduce it down to one page.

If you start with 100 pages, go through those pages and consolidate notes, eliminate marginal ideas, and re-write your words. Sift and sort and distill those 100 pages down to 20 or 30. Go through those pages and reduce it to 10. From 10 pages, you might get it down to three. Then, from three pages to one.

That one page summary of your project or idea may not tell you everything you need to know. But the process of creating it will.

How to get your website to bring you new clients

Filed Under: Personal development, Productivity

Some attorneys are their own worst enemy

February 21, 2018 by David M. Ward

You’ve heard me say it before: to build a successful practice, with lots of repeat business and referrals, you should focus on clients, not cases.

Don’t look at what a single matter is worth to you. Look at what the client can bring you over their lifetime or the lifetime of their business.

The initial case might be small. You might earn a negligible fee. Sometimes, you might not earn anything. But if you focus on treating every client like they are worth a fortune to you, eventually, some of them will be.

The guy who has a fender bender today could have a catastrophic injury next year. The small startup that can barely afford to talk to you today could become your biggest client in a couple of years.

And every one of them can send you referrals, send traffic to your website, say nice things about you on social media, and tell their friends or contacts about your upcoming event.

Clearly, this doesn’t mean you can give every client the same amount of attention. Your best clients should get more of your personal time. See them, talk to them on the phone, build a relationship with them that goes beyond the work.

The rest of your clients should be nurtured with email, letters, and calls from your staff.

Whatever you do, don’t be like some attorneys who believe that doing a good job for their clients is all they have to do. They don’t understand that clients come back not just because you did a good job but because of how you made them feel.

How to get clients to sendÂ referrals

Filed Under: Client loyalty, Client relations, success

Massive action for the win

February 20, 2018 by David M. Ward

I’m very analytical. I like to think about things before I do them. A lot.

Weigh my options, research, ferret out the risks. This is a strength; it has prevented me from making some costly mistakes.

But it is also a weakness.

It is a weakness because being analytical has stopped from doing things that might have been a brilliant success if I had allowed myself to do them.

In fact, some of my biggest successes occurred when I ignored my fears and “what ifs?” and forged ahead.

I wasn’t reckless. I considered what I would have to invest in the project and what I might lose if things didn’t work out. But I didn’t let that stop me.

Once I committed to starting, the key was taking massive action. By doing that, I was able to make enough progress so that when my fear kicked in or logic told me I was making a mistake I had enough evidence to prove otherwise.

I had people interested in hearing more. I had some sales or some clients. I had some work product in hand. I could see that things were happening and it didn’t make sense to quit.

The hard part, of course, is getting started. You do that blindly, not knowing anything about what is about to happen.

So, how do you do it?

You look at other things you’ve done that have worked out and have faith in yourself that you can do this, too. And you look at what others have done with a similar idea, knowing that if they can do it, you can, too.

Mostly, you don’t think a lot about what you are about to do, you just lace up your track shoes and run. You do that because you have a burning desire to do something or achieve something or prove something and you’re just crazy enough to believe that you can.

Take massive action. Do as much as you can as fast as you can and don’t think too much about what you’re doing. Later, when you know your idea works, you can sit down and analyze what you’ve done.

The simplest way to get more referrals

Filed Under: Inspiration, Personal development, success

What do you say to yourself when bad things happen?

February 19, 2018 by David M. Ward

You have a setback. A problem. A challenge. You start a business and it goes bust. A job doesn’t work out. You take a big case, invest time and money, and lose.

Bad things are inevitable. The question is, what do you say to yourself when they happen?

Do you say something negative–“What’s wrong with me?” or “Why did I mess up again?”

Tim Ferriss suggests we eliminate negative self-talk by using a technique he learned from Tony Robbins. We should re-frame the question or statement to something positive by asking, “Where is the gift in this?”

Every failure can teach us something useful or lead us to something better. We need to condition ourselves to expect that.

Ferriss told the story about launching one of this books under the Amazon publishing label only to have major bookstores, distributors, and other outlets refuse to carry it because it was under the Amazon label. He fell into a funk and for the next couple of years starting questioning himself.

It was that fallow period that led him to start his podcast, which, he says, has brought him far more exposure and opportunities.

So now, when bad things happen, he looks for the gift. More often than not, he finds it.

If you need more clients, here’s how to get them

Filed Under: Personal development Tagged With: Tim Ferriss, Tony Robbins

Do your goals scare you?

February 16, 2018 by David M. Ward

You have a goal. A big one, I hope. My question is, “Does it scare you?”

Some say our goals shouldn’t be stressful. When we think about them and work towards them, we should be filled with pleasant thoughts. If our goal doesn’t do that, they say, we should choose a different goal.

But is this true?

I say any goal worth having should be scary. If it isn’t, it means we’re playing it safe. We should choose goals that make us a bit anxious. After all, anxiety and excitement are two sides of the same coin.

On the other hand, we shouldn’t choose a goal that is so big it scares us to even think about it. We tend to dismiss those kinds of goals as impossible pipe dreams.

Take a look at your big goal. What benefits will you obtain if you hit it? How will you be better off? That’s what’s at stake for you and the idea of attaining this should make your heart beat a little faster.

Also, think about how you will you feel if you don’t reach your goal. Take a moment to explore the sadness and disappointment this would cause.

Ultimately, there should be a balance between the two. Just enough at stake on the upside to keep you excited and motivated every day, and just enough at risk to remind you why it is so important.

Filed Under: Goal Setting

Why you need to offer more than one option

February 15, 2018 by David M. Ward

Your prospective client balks at signing up for your $15,000 “Standard” package. What do you do?

Show him why he needs it and why it is a good value?
Show him your $9,000 “Basic” package?
Show him your $22,000 “Deluxe” package?
Show him the door because you don’t have any other packages?

Some say that you should “drop down” to the lower priced package because it will appear more affordable next to the more expensive option you first showed him. Others say that if you do that, the prospect will be more likely to see the lesser-priced option as inferior and “buy” nothing.

They say that instead of moving down in price, you should move up.

Moving up in price, that is, from your $15,000 package to your $22,000 package will get the prospect thinking in terms of value instead of price, they say. If money is truly a factor for him, your $15,000 package may now seem more attractive.

My thoughts:

Clients are always concerned about price but they are more concerned about making a mistake. If they can afford it, they would rather pay more and make the right decision.
It’s not just the price that’s important, it is the perceived value. A more expensive option that includes a lot of “nice to have but not essential” elements is different than a package of “critically important” elements, which is different than a package of “important but can wait” elements.
What you should do depends on what you’re offering and what other options the client has, i.e., other lawyers, waiting. Try both strategies (higher then lower, and lower then higher) and see which one works best.
If the client still can’t decide and is ready to walk, having an undisclosed third option ($9,000/Basic) might allow you to save the sale.
In some circumstances, it might be best to offer all three options to the client right from the beginning.

How’s that for a lawyer-like answer?

One thing is certain: not having at least one other option should never be an option. Always have something else to offer a would-be client because showing them the door isn’t a good option for either of you.

You’ll get more clients signing up when they are referrals

Filed Under: Attorneys fees, Closing the sale, Fees and Billing