The Attorney Marketing Center--Earn More. Work Less

3 a day

May 22, 2023 by David M. Ward

Marketing your law practice doesn’t require you to do big, difficult, or time-consuming things. At least not all the time. As I regularly note, you can accomplish a lot in just 15 minutes a day.

The key is to do it consistently.

Schedule 15 minutes in your calendar every workday for marketing. It is arguably the most important appointment of your day.

During those 15 minutes, you can do anything related to growing or improving your practice. If this is a new habit, however, I suggest you decide in advance what you will do.

One way to do that is to pick a number. I suggest the number 3. 3 calls, 3 emails, 3 pages. That’s easy, isn’t it?

Here are some examples of what you could do:

Comment on 3 social media posts by people you know or would like to know
Call 3 old clients and say hello
Email 3 professionals in your target market—invite them to (something), ask them a question, share something you have in common
Collect 3 business cards
Like, comment, or share 3 videos of people in your target market (as a precursor to connecting with them)
Contact 3 people in your existing referral network and ask how/what they’re doing
Follow-up with 3 prospective clients you’ve spoken with
Send 3 thank-you notes, birthday cards, or holiday cards

3 calls or comments or emails today, another 3 tomorrow. Or mix and match, one comment, one call, one email.

Over time, you’ll connect or re-connect with a lot of people. Some will want more information, some will want to speak to you about their situation, some will see how you can help one of their clients or friends.

You could also use your 15 minutes to

Brainstorm 3 ideas for an article, blog post, or presentation
Write 3 pages (or paragraphs) for your new lead magnet, report, or book
Find 3 keywords to add to one of your ad campaigns
Find 3 groups that need guest speakers at their event
Find 3 blogs in your target market that accept guest posts
Find 3 podcasts or channels that interview lawyers

It’s just 3. It’s just 15 minutes. But it might be all the marketing you need to do.

Marketing is easy when you know The Formula

Filed Under: Marketing legal services, Marketing Plan

Sign here

May 19, 2023 by David M. Ward

It’s the moment of truth. You’ve talked to the prospective client, told them what you can do to help them, answered their questions, and quoted a fee. Will they become your next new client?

One way to find out: hand them your retainer agreement and a pen (or your tablet and a stylus) and tell them where to put their signature.

And say nothing.

Actually, I like to give them authorizations and other documents to sign first, to get them in the habit of signing. Then the retainer.

But there’s something you can say to them before you hand them the paperwork to find out if they’re ready (or you have more work to do).

Ask them, “Are you ready to get started?”

If they’re aren’t, if they need more information or have a reason they’re not ready, you want them to tell you. It’s called an objection, and when you get one, you know what you need to say or do to get them to move forward.

Another option, instead of asking if they’re ready, assume they are (and make them tell you they’re not). One way to do that is to ask, “Would you like me to get things started today or the first of next week?”

Either way, it means they want you to go ahead. But they still may ask more questions or offer more objections.

Answer these, keep asking about getting started, and eventually, you’ll get a yes or a no.

What if it’s a no?

Don’t push, negotiate, or try to scare them. That’s bad posture and isn’t going to help.

Instead, you simply say, “okay,” and ask, “Do you mind if I stay in touch?”

That’s good posture.

Keep your name in their mailbox and when they’re ready, they’ll let you know.

Email marketing for attorneys

Filed Under: Closing the sale

What does your desktop look like?

May 18, 2023 by David M. Ward

My dad was a successful lawyer. You might not have known that if you were in his office and saw the piles of papers and files on top of his desk, on the credenza behind him, and sometimes on the floor.

I don’t know how, but he got his work done. The mess wasn’t a problem for him. In fact, I’m pretty sure he liked things the way they were.

Some people thrive in chaos. Not me. I need to have one thing in front of me at a time or I find it difficult to concentrate.

In my office, I usually had other files on my desk, but I kept them in a neat stack and worked from the top down. That doesn’t mean my office was tidy. I had my share of clutter and knickknacks. I still do. But there isn’t any Work-in-Progress in my line of sight. Or on the desktop of my laptop which is nearly empty most of the time.

I work off my “today” list which allows me to stay organized and prioritize my tasks. This gives me a sense of control and peace of mind. If I did it any other way, (e.g., my father’s way), it would ruin that sense of control, distract me, and become a source of stress.

Call me crazy, but that’s how I work best.

If you thrive in chaos, bless you. If you’re like me and would like to have more order and peace of mind in your work, try putting everything out of the way except the one thing you’re working on. (And clean off that damn desktop!. Okay, I must be crazy. I’m getting bothered thinking about YOUR desktop).

Anyway, give it a try. If you miss the mess, you can always go back to the way things were. Just don’t tell me about it.

Filed Under: Uncategorized

FOMO

May 17, 2023 by David M. Ward

When we want someone to do something we usually tell them what they will get if they do. We tell the prospective client the benefits for hiring us, the visitor to our website what our newsletter will help them learn and be able to do, and this is often enough to get them to take the next step.

But there is something that is often more persuasive than telling people the benefits they get for doing what we’re asking them to do.

More powerful than telling people what they gain if they do something–telling them what they lose if they don’t.

We tell the prospective client what might happen if they don’t have a lawyer protecting them from the insurance company, or they don’t choose us as that attorney. We tell the client what might happen if they don’t settle, or what might happen if they do.

We invoke their innate “fear of loss” (or Fear of Missing Out) and it often seals the deal.

Because humans fear losing something already in their possession.

Fear of loss is often much more motivating than the desire for gain and you should use it in your marketing and in working with your clients.

When you do, don’t limit your message to the big things they might lose (or gain). Sometimes, it’s the little things that close the deal.

For example, some prospective clients might choose your firm instead of another not because you’re demonstrably the best choice but because the picture of what it’s like working with you appeals to them.

They like your personality, the way you write your articles, the causes you’ve talked about, or even the great Christmas parties you throw.

And they don’t want to miss out on that.

Make sure you show prospective clients the whole package that is you. Because if you don’t, they might not see the one thing that tips the balance in your favor.

And hire someone else.

Filed Under: Closing the sale, Communication, Copywriting

Daily planning

May 16, 2023 by David M. Ward

As I’ve often mentioned, I plan my day the night before it begins, primarily because I like being able to start the day by getting to work.

But I don’t get to work until I review the plan I made the night before. Just a minute or two, to double check everything.

I might remember something I didn’t put on the list. Something important might have shown up in my email I need to address. My wife might remind me about something we need to do. Or I might realize I’m not ready to do something because I need to talk to someone, research something, or do something first.

Plans change, after all.

But there’s something else. Sometimes, I wake up, look at the list and realize that I’ve over-committed for the day. I overestimated how much I could accomplish and something has to go. Or there’s something on the list I don’t feel like doing that day. Unless there is a compelling reason why I must do it, I push it to another day. It’s my schedule, after all.

It’s good to be king.

Finally, once I’ve amended the list, I put things in the order in which I plan to do them.

And then I get to work.

Those two minutes in the morning make for a much more productive day.

Filed Under: Productivity

Front loading

May 15, 2023 by David M. Ward

Top athletes don’t train at the same level of intensity throughout the day. They front load their workouts, doing the heaviest parts earlier in the day, when they have the most energy.

They also front load their week, doing the most strenuous workouts Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday, for example, and leaving the rest of the week for less intense parts of their training.

This allows them to build muscle, speed, and endurance while getting sufficient rest so they can go at it again.

We can work the same thing in our work.

The idea is simple. You start your day or week (or project) doing the most important tasks. This allows you to get started when you have more energy, so that if the rest of the day or the week you don’t work with the same intensity, or you work on tasks that are less important, you still make progress.

This doesn’t mean you need to start with the most disagreeable or difficult tasks, a la, Eat That Frog. Just start with your MITs, your “most important tasks”.

You don’t need to do them as soon as you roll out of bed. But when you’re ready to start your workday or a new week, you’re starting a new project or diving into a work-in-progress, do the most important tasks or steps first.

When you structure your time this way, you make progress even if you don’t do that much with the rest of the day or the week.

If you’re working on a new presentation, do the outline and first draft early in the day or week. Do the second draft, editing, and creating visuals later.

Many people do things just the opposite. They start their day doing easy tasks, to tick them off their list and make room to work on the important things. The problem with working this way is that we often run out of time and/or energy before getting to the important things.

Front load your time by prioritizing the most important things on your list and doing them first.

Make that your SOP and, who knows, you might find that a four-day work week is your new reality.

Filed Under: Productivity

Talk it into existence

May 12, 2023 by David M. Ward

There’s something to be said for being the “strong silent type” and letting your work speak for itself. There’s also something to be said for talking about what you do and how you help people.

Because people who need your help want to know what you can do to help them.

That doesn’t mean you should talk about yourself all the time. We all know people who do that and wish they would stop. It does mean finding ways to communicate the benefits you offer without talking about them directly. At least not all the time.

An effective way to do that is to collect and use testimonials and reviews from satisfied clients, and endorsements from lawyers and other influential people who know you and your work.

Let others do (most of) the talking for you.

You can also share success stories about the cases and clients you’ve helped. Not to brag, but to illustrate what you do in the context of real cases and clients.

Success stories are implied testimonials.

You can also use this strategy to get more referrals.

How?

It’s simple. When you talk about a case you’re handling, or have done in the past, simply mention that the case was referred to you (by a client with a similar case, or by another lawyer, etc.)

This tells people that others think enough of you and your work that they tell others about you. It suggests that you have experience helping people with the same or similar issue.

You get more referrals not by asking because you are “referrable.”

What else can you do to talk it (referrals) into existence? When you sign up a new client, give them some extra business cards (reports, brochures, etc.), and say, “I’m giving you a few extras in case you talk to someone who needs my help”.

That’s it.

You plant the seed that they might speak to someone who needs your help and equip them to tell them about you.

How to get more referrals from your clients

Filed Under: Marketing legal services, Referrals

Legal marketing made eas(ier)

May 11, 2023 by David M. Ward

Would it be okay if I showed you how to make marketing your practice easier? How to get the same (or better) results with less effort? So you don’t overwork yourself or hate what you’re doing and stop doing it?

I’ll take that as a yes.

Okay, grab a pen. Here are 3 things to do to make your life easier and your practice more profitable.

(1) Don’t do everything.

There are a lot of marketing strategies you could use but you’ll drive yourself crazy (and get poor results) if you try to do them all.

Choose no more than two or three primary strategies and focus on those. Learn all you can about them, get good at them, and make the most of them. They may be all you (ever) need.

Me? I chose referrals. Later, I added advertising. Later still, I started a blog and a newsletter.

Fewer strategies are easier and usually lead to better results. The same goes for the tools you use to implement those strategies.

(2) Don’t do everything yourself

Delegation is your friend. Let your staff do as much as possible and/or outsource.

Me? I only did things that only I could do. I saved time and got better results because I didn’t do things I wasn’t good at or didn’t enjoy.

(3) Look for additional opportunities that are low-effort/high-impact

There are other things you can do in addition to your primary strategies that have the potential to bring in new clients, new business contacts, and opportunities you might not otherwise discover.

For example, speaking and networking might not be something you regularly do, but if you are invited by a client or business contact to speak at or attend an event in your target market, or as a guest on a podcast in that market, go for it. Go flap your gums and shake a few hands.

Something else that is relatively low-effort but high-impact is writing a book. (Low effort because you can get help). Publishing a book is a great way to build your reputation, generate leads, and make your other marketing strategies more effective.

The key word is ‘leverage’. Things you can do that are easy, don’t take a lot of time, and have the potential to deliver excellent results.

The other keyword is ‘focus’. Do a few things and do them well. (But, never say never to other ideas.)

The Attorney Marketing Formula

Filed Under: Marketing Plan

“There are always things to do. Most of them are pointless.”

May 9, 2023 by David M. Ward

I didn’t catch the name of the book but someone I follow said she read this (actually, heard it on an audiobook), and it stopped her in her tracks. Pointless? Most things?

If that’s true, the world has some ‘splainin to do.

Actually, I agree with the statement. I wouldn’t use the word ‘pointless’, but most of what we do is trivial, at least compared to the most important things we do.

Or could do.

Signing up a new client, settling a big case, launching a newsletter or website—these are important. They put food on the table, pay our rent, and help us move forward towards achieving our goals.

We can’t say that about most of the things we do.

I’m not saying we shouldn’t do them. Some things just have to be done and we’re the ones who have to do them. So they’re not pointless. Just not our ‘most important tasks’.

And we should, we must, prioritize our most important tasks, if we are to get where we want to go.

Okay. You probably know your most important tasks. They’re already a priority for you. It’s everything else that’s not so clear.

Writing that demand letter is a priority. Is editing it again (and again) a priority or is ‘good enough’ good enough?

Unfortunately, we spend a lot of time in that gray area. And a lot of time doing things that aren’t worth doing.

If we can identify these less valuable (pointless?) tasks, and eliminate them, do them less often, or do them more quickly, we could multiply our effectiveness.

(Yes, this is the 80/20 Principle).

Here’s a thought about how to do that:

Assume that everything on your list is ‘pointless’. Unnecessary. Or not worth the time or energy it takes to do. And make every task ‘prove’ to you otherwise.

Challenge everything and ruthlessly cut anything that doesn’t pass the test.

And, when you’re ready to add a new task (or step) to your list, make “no” or “not now” your default.

Filed Under: Productivity Tagged With: 80/20 principle, pareto principle