The Attorney Marketing Center--Earn More. Work Less

The yin and yang of multiple streams of income

April 3, 2017 by David M. Ward

Multiple streams of income sounds appealing, doesn’t it? If one source of income is lagging, it’s nice to know you have others. If one source takes off, you might be able to reduce or eliminate sources that require too much time or overhead.

But it’s difficult enough to build one business (practice), let alone simultaneously build two. We only have so many hours in a day, so much energy and enthusiasm, and so much capital. That’s why Mark Twain said, “Put all of your eggs in one basket and watch that basket”.

Another consideration is that if you start another business, you might frighten or confuse your clients. They may think you are struggling in your practice and wonder why. They may question your ability to continue serving them.

Nevertheless, at some point in our careers, we are all tempted by the notion of creating multiple streams of income. Before yielding to that temptation, here are some things to consider:

Unless you’re looking for an exit strategy, don’t even think of starting another business until you are secure in your main business. Make sure your practice is well established and successful and you have experienced staff in place to take care of most of the work while you explore your new venture.
Before looking outside your practice, look for ways to generate new sources of income inside of your practice. You might start new practice areas (by hiring new attorneys or outsourcing), offer the services of other professionals or businesses via joint ventures or as an affiliate, or produce books and courses or consult with other lawyers who want to learn your systems and methods.
Opening a second office for your practice will be easier to set up and run than any other new business. There’s also much less risk because you are duplicating what you know works.
Since most traditional businesses require a lot of time and/or capital, consider buying a franchise or starting a network marketing business. By leveraging the company’s existing systems, infrastructure, and tools, you won’t have to create them from scratch. You can also run your new business part time.
Consider buying a business instead of starting one. An existing business with a proven track record and an established management team and customer base will (theoretically) allow you to turn a profit sooner and with less risk.
If you have capital but not a lot of time, consider investing in an established business that is run by others, or in rental property.
If you want to start a business from scratch, you’ll be better off doing something law-related where you can use your knowledge, reputation, and contacts to get your business up and running more quickly.
Favor passive income businesses or investments. Get a business up and running and producing passive income, so you can then (a) start another business, (b), spend more time in your practice, or (c) retire.

It is definitely possible to create multiple streams of income. I’ve done it and so have many others. My advice? Be careful, be patient, and be open to learning and doing things you have never done before.

If you’re interested in starting a network marketing business, check out myÂ books

Fake news, fake reviews–does anyone really care?

March 31, 2017 by David M. Ward

I know you’re honest and only speak (and publish) the truth. You don’t fudge numbers, embellish facts, or exaggerate results.

At least not intentionally.

But guess what? All of your efforts to tell the whole truth and nothing but the truth may be for naught if the truth you tell doesn’t appear to be true.

There’s even a word for it: verisimilitude, meaning “the appearance of truth”. When it comes to marketing, appearance is everything.

I’ve seen a lot of new books lately, by unknown authors, that have 40 four- or five-star reviews within a few days of publication. It doesn’t take a genius to see that these reviews are predominately fake, written by paid reviewers who haven’t read the book.

But even if every one of these reviews were real and honestly earned, many would doubt their veracity because there are too many, too fast and because they seem too good to be true.

Lesson: don’t fear negative reviews. If you’re getting mostly positive reviews for your practice (or books), the occasional less-than-positive review actually helps you because it makes the sum of your reviews more believable.

Lesson: look at your presentations and written materials with the eye of a prospective client. If something looks too good to be true, you need to do something about it. If you’re reporting great results in a case, for example, explain why and how you got those results (and that they aren’t typical).

In the short term, fake reviews can work. Just like fake news, they’ll fool enough people to get some short term results. In the long run, however, the truth–or the lack of verisimilitude–catches up with them.

How to write content that brings in more clients

Filed Under: Communication, Copywriting, Writing Tagged With: verisimilitude

It’s not just the money

March 30, 2017 by David M. Ward

You’re looking at two possible new clients. Client A doesn’t have a lot of work for you but you like him and the work. You think his business will grow and that this will lead to more work for you down the road.

Client B has lots of work for you right now. The work is dry and unfulfilling. Plus, the client is an asshat and you’re convinced he’ll be a thorn in your side.

You want the money offered by Client B but if you take him, you won’t have time for Client A. How do you decide what to do?

You consider all of the factors, weigh the pros and cons, and seek advice from people you respect. Then, you get very still and listen to what your gut tells you.

Because your gut is nearly always right.

There I go again, advising big-brained, logic-oriented professionals to get all woo-woo with their feelings. But in the end, that’s what we all must do when we’re faced with a dilemma or we have a big decision to make.

When logic told me not to lease a much bigger office because I didn’t have the income to justify it, I went with my heart, not my head, and in a few months, I was earning enough to not only handle the rent but to hire more staff to fill the new office.

The same thing happened when I switched from a general practice to a specialty practice and turned away business that didn’t fit. I was scared to death, but within a few months, I had plenty of business.

Even when I made mistakes and hadÂ to change direction, things eventually worked out, often better than the original plan would have provided.

I once closed my office to pursue a business venture but the business failed. Two years later, I re-opened my law practice and started over from scratch. It was incredibly difficult but it eventually led me to start two new businesses which helped me earn more than I ever did in my practice.

I can point to other situations where logic said “no” but my gut said “go for it” and everything worked out. If you think about your past, I’m sure you can do the same.

I’m not suggesting you ignore reality or dispense with logic. Consider your current situation, your responsibilities, your strengths, and all of the possible outcomes. Consider them, but don’t depend on them. Ask your gut what it has to say. You might be very glad you did.

How to make sure your clients know how to refer

Filed Under: Career satisfaction, Personal development

Is marketing a necessary evil?

March 29, 2017 by David M. Ward

If you look at marketing as a necessary evil, something you have to do but really don’t want to,Â you’ll never get as much out of it as you could.

What if marketing was something you actually enjoyed and were good at? What if it was fun?

Do you think you would do more of it? Do you think you would get better results?

The trick is to find some aspect of marketing that you don’t hate, or don’t hate as much, perhaps something you actually enjoy. Focus on that and don’t worry about the rest.

Start by visualizing yourself writing, speaking, and meeting people, since these are at the core of professional marketing.Â Imagine yourself at your keyboard. Imagine yourself speaking on the phone or in front of a group. See yourself meeting people, shaking hands, handing out your card.

Don’t worry about what you’ll say or write or do. Just think about the basic activity itself. Keep going untilÂ you find somethingÂ that feels better than the alternatives.

When I run through the list I see myself writing. It feels natural to me. Something I’m good at and enjoy.

No surprise, most of my marketing involves writing. Email in particular. I do other things, of course, but if I could only do one thing, I would write emails.

If I found that writing emails was no longer working for me, I would write something else because “writing” is the essence of what I enjoy.

How about you? Do you like writing? Speaking? Meeting people?

Once you know that, the next step is to do it.

Start with something easy. Write an email to your former clients and say hello. Call your referral sources and tell them you’re just checking in. Find a new networking group and go.

Then, do it again.

You’ll get better at it. You’ll get better results. You’ll hate it less or enjoy it more. And you’ll continue to do it until it is a natural part of your routine.

Or you’ll fall back and do something else, but something that reflects the essence of the activity.

You may no longer have time to do self-hosted seminars, for example, but because you like speaking you’ll do webinars, teleconferences, or luncheons.

Marketing can be fun if you find some aspect of it you enjoy and you don’t worry about anything else.

Marketing is easier when you have a plan

Filed Under: Marketing legal services

What to do when you don’t have time for marketing

March 28, 2017 by David M. Ward

Okay, you get it. You know you need to do more marketing. But you don’t have a lot of time.

Two things.

First, there is a lot you can do to market your legal services that don’t require a lot of time. Go back and read my blog posts and see.

Second, if you have more money than time, consider advertising. You don’t have to advertise your services directly. You can advertise and give away (or sell) information (books, reports, videos, etc.) and let those “sell” your services.

Hokay. What if you don’t want to advertise or you aren’t allowed to by your bar association or firm?

I would invest in an assistant (or VAs) or outside consultants/freelancers to help you:

Add more/better content to your website so you can get more visitors from search engines
Start an email newsletter so you can stay in touch with visitors who aren’t ready to hire you immediately
Set up landing pages focused on specific keywords/offers, to increase your opt-in rate
Improve web copy to get more visitors to opt-in to your newsletter and call to make an appointment
Add additional websites, with content for specific practice areas and/or target markets
Create books, reports, videos, and other content to sell or giveaway
Keep your website(s) updated with fresh content
Reach out to prospective referral sources and centers of influence in your niche, for interviews, guest posts, and cross-promotions
Get you interviewed on blogs, podcasts, video channels; book you for speaking engagements
Manage follow-ups with prospective clients, networking contacts
Stay in touch with former clients
Write articles, blog posts, presentations, guest posts (your assistants research, outline, write first drafts, edit, publish)
Set up and manage social media marketing campaigns, if you swing that way

You should also allocate funds for:

Books, courses, training (for you and staff) on marketing, sales, client relations, and productivity
Software to manage communications with clients, prospects, referral sources, bloggers, etc.
A bigger office (or second office) and additional staff to handle all of the new business you’re bringing in

What do you do if you don’t have time OR money for marketing? You advertise. Many publications offer credit so you can bring in some paying clients before you have to pay for the ads.

Or you do what many of us didÂ when we were starting out (or struggling): anything you can think of to bring in some business, so you never have that problem again.

Start your marketing with the right formula

Filed Under: Marketing legal services, Marketing Plan

How to slash your workday in half

March 27, 2017 by David M. Ward

What if you could get all of your work done in four hours a day instead of eight (or ten?)

Crazy, right?

Maybe not. Alex Soojung-Kim Pang, author of Rest: Why You Get More Done When You Work Less,Â provides evidence to support the idea that working less makesÂ you more productive.

I know that when I had an epiphany in my career, I was able to cut my work week from fifty hours to just fifteen. I showed up at the office three days a week, worked five hours, and got everything done.

As amazing as that sounds, what was even more amazing was that my income went up dramatically.

Was it because fewer hours forced me to get better at prioritizing? Was it because I didn’t have time to waste so I didn’t waste any? Was it because I “let go” of my need to do everything myself and got better at delegating? Was it because coming in late and leaving early allowed me to miss traffic, which meant I had less stress and more energy? Was it because I had more time to read and better myself, and more time for marketing?

Yeah, it was all of those things.

If you are self-employed and would like to work less and earn more, I encourage you to try it. Don’t reject the idea because it is counter-intuitive or goes against a lifetime of experience. If working fewer hours worked for me, why couldn’t it work for you?

Give it a month. If it doesn’t work you can change back. But maybe you won’t want to. Maybe you will realize that you really can get your work done in less time. Maybe your life will never be the same.

You can go “cold turkey” and tell your staff your new schedule, or you can ease into it. Start by working a half day on Friday, for example, and go from there.

C’mon, you know you want to do it. You just need to give yourself permission. Ask yourself, “What would I have to do to make this work?” Gnaw on that for awhile and let your subconscious mind come up with the plan.

What will you do with all that free time?

One key to earning more and working less: moreÂ referrals

Filed Under: Productivity

What are you willing to do to be successful?

March 24, 2017 by David M. Ward

You want to build a successful law practice. You want to make money, help people, and do things that matter. The question is, how bad do you want it?

Are you going through the motions in your work, waiting to see how things turn out? That’s not much, is it?

Are you working as hard as you can, doing your absolute best to achieve the success you desire? That’s good, but what if your “best” isn’t good enough?

Or, are you “all in,” willing to do “whatever it takes” (legally, ethically) to reach the summit? That’s what some lawyers are willing to do. Are you?

Your knowledge, experience, talent, and effort are important. So is a burning desire. But, as Vince Lombardi said, “Most people fail, not because of lack of desire, but because of lack of commitment.”

Are you committed? Are willing to do whatever it takes? If not, why not, and is there another career path that might be better for you?

A successful practice requires successful marketing plan

Filed Under: Career satisfaction, Personal development

How to make your work less boring

March 23, 2017 by David M. Ward

When we were kids, every day was an adventure. We had fun doing things we saw on TV, read about in books, or could conjure up in our imaginations. One thing we never imagined, however, was doing the same thing for the rest of our lives.

And then we went to law school.

We settled into a career that demands focus. We do the same things every day, getting better at our jobs, but for many lawyers, that job eventually becomes boring.

If you find yourself bored with your work, here are three things you can do:

Delegate the boring parts

Some parts of the job are more interesting than others. By getting others to do most of the routine, boring work, you’ll free yourself up to do the more stimulating and challenging work.

Work less/do other things

Delegating and outsourcing will free up time. You can free up even more time by using strategies and tools that streamline your workflow and make more efficient.

You can use some of the time you free up to pursue outside interests: hobbies, a side business, charitable work, or anything else that excites you.

Your work may still be boring but you’ll have enough other things going on in your life to keep you stimulated and fulfilled.

Find fulfillment in the work itself

Ultimately, the best way to avoid boredom is to find fulfillment in the work itself.Â One of the best ways to do that is to continually take your practice into new markets where you will learn new things and meet new people.

In addition, challenge yourself to continually acquire new skills and improve your existing ones.

Finally, make sure you continually set new goals that force you to stretch and grow.

Not only are these strategies good for business, you will never be bored because every day will be a new adventure.

One of the best ways to earn more and work less is to get more referrals

Filed Under: Personal development, Productivity

Weeding out the riffraff

March 22, 2017 by David M. Ward

I heard a radio spot the other night by an ad agency describing how they helped a client company increase their sales dramatically, and inviting listeners to consider hiring them for their business. At the end of the spot, the announcer said, “…starting at just $9,000 a week…” and then gave the phone number to call.

My first thought was, “What kind of small business (which are the bulk of the advertisers on that station) have that kind of an ad budget?”

The answer, of course, is small businesses that are making a lot of money. And there are a lot more than people realize.

Plus, if you have a successful ad campaign, as new sales are made, you re-invest the initial week’s $9,000 ad buy over and over again. You can thus do a half-million dollars of annual advertising with a fraction of that much to start.

Anyway, next question: why did the ad agency announce the minimum investment an advertiser would have to spend to hire them? Because if they didn’t, they would talk to a lot of people who think they can get started with $1000 or $1500.

If you get a lot of calls from prospective clients who can’t afford you and don’t hire you, you should consider doing something similar.

In your ads, on your website, in your presentations, or when anyone asks, tell people what it takes to hire you. No, not your fees precisely. The minimum retainer or your smallest “package,” so they know whether or not they are in the ballpark.

There are times when you may want to keep things a little fuzzy, however. Some clients might get sticker shock when they first hear “how much” but have the money and pay it, once they consider the alternatives.

Another way to weed out prospective clients who are too small or otherwise “not right” for you is to spell out who you’re looking for in terms of revenue, number of employees, locations, or other factors that relate to size and ability to pay.

You can also do this with consumer-oriented practices. If you do estate planning or asset protection, you could promote your services to people with assets in excess of a certain amount. If you handle family law, you might promote your services to clients with a child custody dispute.

You can also target wealthier clients by running ads in publications for investors, direct mail to people who own larger homes, or by networking with accountants, financial planners, and insurance brokers who have the clientele you want to attract.

If you want bigger clients, stop promoting your services to “anyone” and start promoting them to bigger clients.

Here’s how to get bigger referralsÂ (and more of them)

Filed Under: Advertising, Marketing legal services

Don’t wish it was easier, wish you were better

March 21, 2017 by David M. Ward

Jim Rohn famously said, “Don’t wish it was easier, wish you were better.” I don’t think he was speaking to lawyers musing about the challenges of building a law practice in a highly competitive field or market, but he might as well have been.

If you’re in a seemingly oversaturated market, wondering if you should get out because there are too many lawyers who do what you do, take my advice: don’t. At least not until you consider why your field or market is so crowded.

The reason there is lots of competition in a given market is not a mystery. It’s because there are a lot of paying clients in it. Lawyers are making money in that market, which means you can, too.

Compare that to a market or practice area with very little competition. You might strike gold in a market like that but the market is unproven and it is more likely that you’ll go broke. (If there’s enough business in the market, you would see other lawyers in it.)

So rejoice that you are in a market with lots of competition. There are clients to be had and money to be made.

How do you stand out? How do you compete with all those lawyers trolling for clients in the same pond?

You know the answer. Marketing. Do a better job of it than your competition and the business will come to you instead of them.

Fortunately, that’s not hard to do. Most lawyers don’t know much about marketing and those who do often do it poorly. If you know what you’re doing, they’re easy to beat.

What if they have millions to spend on advertising and you don’t?

No problem. You have other ways to bring in clients. And those clients will be more profitable because you don’t have a big advertising budget (and the associated overhead) to cover. Your clients will often be better clients, too, because the kinds of advertising done by the big firms tends to attract the lower tiers of cases and clients.

Anyway, you know I’m preaching the truth.Â You also know that you don’t have to be aÂ marketing genius to win the battle for new clients. You only need to be better thanÂ other lawyers who don’t know what you know and can’t be bothered to find out.

Start here

Filed Under: Marketing legal services Tagged With: competition, jim rohn