The Attorney Marketing Center--Earn More. Work Less

Only you can prevent forest fires

March 20, 2017 by David M. Ward

We all have problems. Most problems are small and easy to fix. Some problems are potentially crippling and need to be addressed immediately.

An audit, a state bar complaint, a lawsuit, or an unhappy client threatening to leave, for example, are problems that should be at the top of our list of priorities because there’s so much at stake. Even if they have a happy ending, they are distracting and worrisome.

You need to fix these problems, or at least get them under control, sooner rather than later.

Okay, you get this. And you do it. You don’t ignore serious problems, you deal with them. When you see fire, you grab the extinguisher and put it out.

The question is, what are you doing to prevent those fires?

Do you have procedures in place to evaluate vulnerabilities in your practice? Do you use checklists to open and close files? Do you have redundant systems for calendaring critical dates and backing up client data?

Do you schedule time to update your software, library, and forms?

Do you regularly review all of your systems and procedures to make sure they still work?

Just because you haven’t had any major problems recently doesn’t mean you won’t. You need to prepare for every contingency and vigilantly keep watch.

You probably do a good job of doing this on behalf of your clients, but if you’re like many lawyers, you may be a little sloppy when it comes to your own interests.Â It might make sense to get another set of eyes on your operation to help you stay on track.

Have your accountant and insurance agents do an annual review. Ask an attorney friend to review your office procedure manual in return for your reviewingÂ theirs. Hire a practice management consultant to look at your operation and give you a report.

Because the easiest fires to put out are the ones that never start.

When was the last time you reviewed your marketing plan?

Filed Under: Law office management Tagged With: annual review

Some clients are more valuable than others

March 17, 2017 by David M. Ward

Have you ever considered starting a loyalty program for your practice? That’s where you reward certain clients with a discount, a free service, or some other benefit, to thank them for their loyalty and to give them an incentive to continue.

This won’t work for every practice area. But you could use it for PI, real estate closings, and for many business matters. Don’t immigration lawyers offer a “family discount”? Don’t estate planners offer a better deal on A/B trusts?

But you have to be careful. You don’t want to position yourself as a “discount lawyer” or be seen promoting a “frequent suer club,” after all.

One way to handle this is to only tell clients after the fact. At the end of a case or matter, tell the client about your policy so they know if they hire you again, (perhaps within the next six or 12 months), they’ll get some kind of a benefit. Or, wait until they come back with a second matter and tell them then.

You can also surprise them when you send your bill. The client expects to pay $3000 and gets a bill for $2500, for example, with a footnote or a handwritten note in the margin explaining why.

The point is that some clients have more business to give you and it makes sense to court them. A loyalty program is one way to do that.

How to use your invoice as a marketing tool

Filed Under: Client relations Tagged With: loyalty program

Attorneys should be paid by the word

March 16, 2017 by David M. Ward

Many attorneys tell me they don’t write a newsletter or a blog because they don’t have anything to say.

I cry foul.

Have you ever spoken to an attorney?

Give them a minute and they’ll talk non-stop about their latest case, complain endlessly about a client who drives them crazy, or tell you all about a jerk attorney who makes their life miserable.

They’ll brag about a big case they just settled or a prestigious client they just signed up. They’ll opine about the law in their field or about an appellate case that is about to be heard.

If they’ve been ill or injured, they’ll share all the gory details. If they bought a new snowmobile or boat, they’ll go on and on about their new toy. If they just came back from Italy, they’ll tell you why you need to go.

Blah blah blah–it’s almost like they’re getting paid by the word.

No, attorneys have lots to say, about a lot of subjects. Fortunately, we can use our verbal alacrity to write a newsletter.

The trick is to have something to say that your clients and prospects want to hear.

Here are some ways to find out what that is:

Go through your email inbox and see what they’re asking you
Send them an email and ask them to submit questions; invite them to do the same thing on social media
Visit sites like Quora where people ask questions and lawyers answer them
Visit other lawyers’ blogs and see what they write about
Visit other lawyers’ blogs and social media profiles and look at comments and questions posted by readers and followers

You can supplement this by writing about things like what you like about being a lawyer, and what gives you pause. You can educate your readers about the law and procedure in your practice areas. You can share news about their industry or local market.

You can write profiles of your business clients. You can interview other professionals who work in your niche market. You can comment on articles and posts written by others who write about topics similar to your own, agreeing or disagreeing with them, and sharing your experience with the same subject.

You can also share a smattering of personal information about yourself, your hobbies and outside interests, movies you like, restaurants and books and software you recommend. Your readers want to know about you, the person, not just you, the lawyer.

There is no shortage of subjects you can write about that your clients and prospects would like to know.

If you ever feel that you’ve run out of things to say, you can repost what you’ve written before.Â You can do that because you will always have new people joining your list who haven’t read anything you wrote in the past. And because the people who have read your previous posts won’t remember most of the details. And because your prior opinions, experiences, and observations may have changed.

I don’t buy the “nothing to say” argument and you shouldn’t, either. Pretend you are getting paid by the word and I’ll bet you never run out of things to say.

How to build your practice with a blog and/or newsletter

Filed Under: Blogging, Newsletters, Writing

How to help clients find you

March 15, 2017 by David M. Ward

Yesterday, I said your marketing should be focused mostly (or exclusively) on attracting people who are already looking for an attorney, or looking for information about their problem and the available solutions.

How do you do this? How do you help prospective clients find you so you don’t have to find them?

Here are five simple and effective ways to do that:

Set up one or more websites with search-engine friendly content. When someone looks for an attorney, or looks for information, they find your site. When they visit, they see content that helps them understand their situation and their options, and learn how you can help them. If they’re not ready to hire you, they should be encouraged to sign up for your email list to get more information (which allows you to stay in touch with them).
Create free or paid content–books, reports, videos, audios, etc.–that provide solutions and demonstrate your expertise. Distribute paid content via bookstores. Distribute free content viaÂ other people’s newsletters and blogs and via social sharing.
Make yourself available for interviews and/or to write guest posts on websites frequented by your ideal client.
Advertise your services and/or your free or paid content in your local or niche markets.
Build a small army of clients and professionals and other “friends of the firm” who know how to recognize your ideal client, how you can help them, and the best way to refer them.

To learn how to create a website that attracts prospective clients, get this. To learn how to get more referrals from your clients, get this. To learn how to get more referrals from lawyers and other professionals, get this.

Filed Under: Marketing legal services, Marketing Plan

Marketing is good. Smart marketing is better

March 14, 2017 by David M. Ward

You’re not like most attorneys. You understand the importance of marketing your practice and you’re doing something about it.

Many attorneys don’t get this. They think that if they do a good job for their clients more clients will come and they don’t haveÂ to do anything else.

Good work does bring in clients. No question. But why settle when you can bring in so many more?

I think many attorneys who eschew marketing don’t realize how much marketing they really do. Every time they speak or write an article or show up at an event and talk to people, every time they send a note thanking their clients and contacts for their business and their referrals, every time they call a client or a professional contact and ask about their business or family, all of this is marketing.

If you’re doing it, why not do it to the best of your ability?

Why not continually assess what you’re doing and the results you’re getting and make an effort to improve those results?

And why not at least consider adding some new strategies and techniques to your routine?

Okay. I’m not trying to convince anyone they need to market their legal services. I’m really not. That would not be good marketing on my part. It would not be a good use of my time.

It’s much more effective and profitable (and enjoyable) to target people who already understand this and are looking for ways to improve what they’re doing.

People like you.

In your marketing, you should do the same.

Spend less time (or no time) trying to convince people they need to hire an attorney and more time (or all of your time) targeting people who already know this and are looking for an attorney.

Don’t worry about people who need an attorney but don’t believe itÂ or don’t want to spend the money (or don’t have the money) or aren’t in enough pain to lookÂ for solutions.

Marketing is one thing. Smart marketing is something else.

Start here

Filed Under: Marketing legal services

Adventures in bright shiny object land

March 13, 2017 by David M. Ward

My wife and I were at IKEA a few days ago, buying an ottoman for a side chair in my home office. While we were there, I fell in love with a desk by the name of Fredde.

I wasn’t shopping for a desk but Fredde called out to me and he was awesome looking. I wrote down his name and when we got home I went to the IKEA site and looked at measurements and photos and imagined how Fredde would look in place of the folding table I now use.

Oh yeah, I’m getting this desk.

I watched several set-up videos, seeing how others have configured their Fredde desk. It seems to be popular with gamers, ostensibly because it allows you to keep everything you need close at hand. It is tall and works well in smaller spaces.

But I don’t have a small space and I’m not a gamer. I asked myself if the desk would help me be more productive. The answer was, probably not.

There are a couple of features that might help, like a cut out in the front that would allow me to get closer to the monitor, but to be honest, the main reason I like the desk is that it is incredibly cool.

What did I do? I watched more videos, of course. Videos about desks, chairs, and office layouts. That led to videos about ergonomics–chair position, monitor height, keyboard best practices, and so on.

Crazy? Probably. But that’s how I roll.

After watching all of those videos, I realized that I already have everything I need. My current setup isn’t cool but it is functional. It’s also spacious and uncluttered and gives me a sense of order.

So now I’m thinking I don’t need Fredde.

On the other hand, there’s nothing wrong with getting something just because you want it, right? Yeah, that’s what I thought.

How many referrals did you get last week? Here’s how to get more

Filed Under: Productivity Tagged With: bright shiny object, office desk

You don’t have time to do it? That’s why you must do it

March 10, 2017 by David M. Ward

Go through your task and project lists and zero in on the ideas you have tagged “someday/maybe” or otherwise designated as “low priority”. As you look at these ideas again, you’ll realize that many of them will never see the light of day, nor should they. They were passing notions that don’t merit a second look.

But some of your ideas are awesome.

Some of your ideas could transform your life and take you to new heights or in new directions. You know the ideas I’m talking about. They’re the ones that give you a rush when you think about them.

You’ve put them on a “someday” list because, you’ve told yourself, you don’t have time for them right now.

Unfortunately, while you’re waiting for “someday,” many of your best ideas will rot away in the recesses of your software or on the tear-stained pages of your journal. Let’s face it, given the current state of your busyness, the most likely fate for most of these ideas is an ignominious death.

So, here’s a thought. Since these projects have a potentially huge payoff, how about putting some of them at the top of your list?

You tell yourself you can’t. You have other things to do, bills to pay, deadlines, responsibilities. You love these ideas but you have to be practical.

But that’s not the real reason.Â The real reason you don’t put these life-changing projects at the top of your list is that they scare the poop out of you.

You might screw up and your dream will go up in smoke. Or you might get it right and your life will change in profound, and profoundly frightening ways.

WellÂ buckaroo, my advice to you, and to myself because I’m guilty of this too, is to realize that “someday” may never come and you might never have another time (or a better time) to find out what might be.

Therefore, choose one of these projects and do it anyway.

Pretend you do have the time and get started.

If you feel yourself resisting, suck it up and do somethingÂ (anything) related to that project. . . for five minutes.

Because you can’t tell yourself you don’t have five minutes.

Write a few notes, organize some materials, set up a new project folder.

There. You’ve started. It feels good, doesn’t it? You’re all tingly inside.

Tomorrow, do another five minutes. Or ten. Or an hour, once you get excited and start to taste the future.

Here’s a project that could take your practice to another level

Filed Under: Inspiration, Productivity

When clients are afraid to refer

March 9, 2017 by David M. Ward

A subscriber says, “Sometimes it feels as if clients don’t want to refer, because they want to keep you to themselves.”

He suggests that it might be “concern about either conflicts of interest (â€œIf I refer my contacts, and later have a dispute. . .â€) OR, out of concerns about the lawyer getting too busy, too expensive, etc.”

On the first point, about (business) clients who hesitate to refer because the party they refer might later come after them for something and they won’t be able to hire you to defend them, I have a couple of thoughts.

First, it sounds like we’re talking about former clients because if they’re current clients, the conflict of interest laws help them. If they refer a vendor or party who later sues them, those parties probably won’t be able to hire you for that purpose.

And I would point that out.

Besides, if the client has a good relationship with their vendors or partners, why wouldn’t they want to help them?

Helping them is good for business.

“If you can help your vendors and partners stay out of trouble and save money by referring them to a great lawyer, you’ll be able to do more business with them.”

And then there is the gratitude factor. Help out your contacts and when you need something, they’ll help you.

If a client is still concerned about this, you might give them the option of paying you a (nominal) monthly retainer to remain an active client.

Now, I was going to say I don’t think most lawyers need to worry about this issue because I don’t think most clients aren’t concerned about it.Â And then I rememberedÂ that the attorney who posed this question works in the entertainment field and we all know those people aren’t normal.

It’s an industry that thrives on “knowing people” and referrals are an important part of that. But when it comes to lawyers, I can see how some peopleÂ would get possessive and maybe even a bit paranoid about losing “their” lawyer.

If you have clients like that, I’m not sure what you can tell them. Maybe talk to them about referring people they know who don’t pose a potential threat to them. Someone they don’t do business with, or someone in another industry. Hey, maybe their grandma needs a lawyer.

As to the second point, that clients hesitate to refer business to you out of concerns that you might get too busy for them, or too successful and expensive, I have to say this does happen. It’s much ado about nothing, but clients are weird and some of them think this way.

I’d address this head on and tell them they have nothing to worry about. You might say, “You know, some clients I talk to about referrals have the silly notion that if they send me a lot of clientsÂ I might get too busy for them. I want you to know that won’t happen; here’s why. . .”

Explain that the busier you get, the more support staff you’re able to hire, which frees up more of your time to work directly with clients.

“Ironically, the busier I get, the more time I’ll be able to devote to you,” you can say, and it is true. More staff, and more staff to supervise them.

You should also point out that the more referrals you get, the less you need to spend on other time-consuming and expensive marketing methods. That means you’ll not only have more time for them, you’ll be able to hold down the fees you charge them. “You wouldn’t mind paying me less, would you?”

Show them that their referrals help you to do a better job for your clients. Especially the clients who send you lots of referrals.

How to talk to clients about referrals

Filed Under: Referrals

What do you do when your clients can’t afford you?

March 8, 2017 by David M. Ward

I saw a story that said that half of American adults can’t afford to write a $500 check, which is why they finance purchases like a new phone. If this is true, what does that mean for the attorney who wants to sell them his or her services?

Should they cut their fees?

No. They shouldn’t do that. That’s a recipe guaranteed to leave a bitter taste in their mouth.

What then?

Should they accept credit cards and offer payment plans?

Should they break up their services into smaller packages that more people can afford?

Should they target businesses instead of consumers?

Or should focus their marketing efforts on the half of the market that can write a check and not worry about the ones who can’t?

The answer is, they should consider all of the above. They are all reasonable strategies.

What they shouldn’t do is ignore everything and do nothing. They should research their target markets, look at what other lawyers are doing, and try new things, and they should continue trying new things until they find the right combination.

And then they should look for ways to improve their results, and never stop looking.

There are more than enough clients out there who can make you rich many times over. They need you, they can afford you, and they will hire you. But only if they can find you and your message is the one they want to hear.

Being a good attorney isn’t enough. Your reputation will only carry you so far. You run a business and your business needs marketing to survive and thrive.

Start with this

Filed Under: Marketing legal services

Did your daddy take your T-bird away?

March 7, 2017 by David M. Ward

When was the last time you had some fun in your practice? If you can’t remember, you should probably do something about that.

Your employees need to have some fun. Your clients, too. And God knows you need some. Perhaps now more than ever.Â No matter how serious your work is, there’s always room for Jello.

How, you ask? Maybe there should be a CLE class on the subject. Something like, “The last laugh: humor and the death penalty”. Okay, maybe not.

C’mon, you can do this. Summon your inner child and let him or her, zie or zer, help you to remember what it was like when fun wasn’t a four letter word.

You might come up with things like:

Adult coloring books in your waiting room
Weekly pizza parties in the conference room
Picnics and barbecues for clients and staff
Christmas and Halloween parties
Casual dress day and themed dress days
Bobble heads on your desk
Recipes, quotes, puzzles, and humor in your newsletter
Take your employees to the baseball park on opening day
Contests and drawings with silly prizes
An espresso machine in the lunch room

Surprises are fun. Send clients a bill with an unannounced discount. Give them a small gift. Invite them to dinner, just because.

It doesn’t take much to lighten the mood in your practice, help your clients forget their troubles for a few minutes and make your practice a fun place to work.

Referrals are fun. Here’s how to get moreÂ

Filed Under: Law office management