Grow your law practice incrementally

May 27, 2016 by
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A journey of a thousand miles may begin with a single step but you can’t stop after just one. Whatever you’re doing now to market your practice, no matter how successful it is, you should always be looking for what’s next.

You don’t need to find The Holy Grail of marketing. Little things can bring in new business and if you do those little things regularly, those little things can add up to big results.

So here’s the plan:

Once a week, find one small way to extend your existing marketing.

Find one new business contact who can tell his clients about you.

Find one new place to run your existing ad.

Find one new keyword to optimize your online content.

Find one new website where you can submit a guest post.

Find one new social media platform where you can post your existing content.

But don’t stop there. Once a month, find one new marketing technique that you’re not doing and start doing it.

If you don’t do public speaking or webinars, for example, maybe it’s time to start. If you don’t have a blog, start working on one. If you have a website, consider setting up another. If you don’t advertise, look at how you might.

To sum up: Once a week, take what’s working and find one new way to extend and expand it. Once a month, find a new way to get your marketing message heard.

Once a year? Take a vacation, bub. You deserve it and now you can afford a nice one.

Do you know the formula for marketing legal services?

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Filed Under: Marketing legal services, Marketing Plan

What would it take for your clients to say bye-bye?

May 26, 2016 by
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What would it take for your current crop of clients to leave you? What would make them say “enough” and hire another attorney?

Ponder on this for a bit. How might you offend them? What promises would you have to break? To what level would your standard of care have to fall?

It’s good to know these things so you don’t do them. And so you can work on strengthening what you do in each of those areas.

One area to consider are your fees. If you’re doing things right, fees aren’t the most important consideration for most clients. In surveys I’ve seen it’s number four on the list of factors for hiring an attorney, after things like “keeping them informed/availability” and other service-related issues.

If fees aren’t the number one factor, you have to ask yourself how much more you could charge before clients start to leave.

Could you safely raise your fees by 20% without losing clients? How about 30%? Could you double your fees, or triple them?

If you increased your fees and lost some clients, what percentage would be tolerable? Consider the added income you would bring in from the clients who didn’t leave and from new clients who signed up at the higher level?

When it comes to fees, surely even the most loyal client has a breaking point, right?

Maybe not.

I mentioned in a prior post a conversation I had with an attorney who was spending thousands of dollars a year on auto insurance for the family’s three cars. I asked her if they had shopped other carriers to see how much they might save. She immediately told me that she would never do that.

They like their agent and have been with him for years. He provides them with good service and they would never consider going anywhere else.

“What if you could save $2000 a year?” I asked her, and pointed out that this was entirely possible.

“No,” she said, they wouldn’t switch. They’d had other agents before and were disappointed with them, so they really appreciate (and are loyal to) their current one.

It didn’t matter that they might be grossly over-paying for something they might never use. It didn’t matter that if they did file a claim, the agent has little or nothing to do with whether or not that claim is paid, or how much.

Most people, myself included, look at auto insurance as a commodity. There are lots of places you can buy it. A few phone calls or online applications might allow you to save as much as two-thirds for the same coverage.

But this didn’t matter to her.

Granted, auto insurance isn’t purely a commodity. There is a service aspect to it. But how much is that worth?

Apparently, more than some people think.

Now, if this is true for auto insurance might it also be true of legal services? Something that isn’t a commodity (or shouldn’t be)?

I say yes. Which means that if you do a good job for your clients, you might be able to safely charge significantly more than you do now.

Especially if your clients have had other attorneys and were disappointed with them.

Fees, billing, and collection made simple

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Filed Under: Client loyalty, Fees and Billing

Have you done an expense audit lately?

May 25, 2016 by
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When was the last time you looked at the expense side of your bookkeeping ledger, looking for ways to reduce the cost of doing business?

Every dollar you don’t spend on overhead is a dollar in your pocket. Cutting expenses by just $100 a month increases the value of your practice by $12,000 (assuming a 10% cap rate).

Once or twice a year, schedule time to examine your expenses and ruthlessly cut the fat.

Ask yourself, “Do I really need __________?” and get rid of anything you can live without. Once you’ve done that, go back through the list and ask, “How can I reduce this expense?”

What could you eliminate? What could you negotiate? What could you replace with something that costs less?

Ask your bank what you can do to cut or eliminate fees. Look at what other banks charge and use that as leverage to negotiate with your bank or switch your accounts to the bank with lower fees.

Look at your library costs. Do you really need everything on the list or could you make do with less?

Look at your insurance expenses. Can you increase your deductibles, eliminate coverage, or take advantage of discounts? Get quotes from other carriers. You may be shocked at how much you can save by switching.

Examine your equipment costs (copier, fax machine, scanner, computers, etc.) Would it be cheaper to buy instead of lease? Would it pay to replace some equipment with something that uses lower-cost consumables?

Look at everything–couriers, interpreters, stenographers, medical records reproduction, shredding, storage, investigators. Look at the cost of apps and online services, memberships, and service contracts. Look at your office rent and utilities. Look at your advertising, websites, and other Internet expenses.

Office supplies: do you really need the most expensive legal pads?

Meals and entertainment: are you getting business out of those lunches with prospective clients and referral sources? Could you find another restaurant that doesn’t charge as much? Could you meet for coffee instead of lunch?

How might you reduce expenses for employees, virtual assistants, and freelancers?

Examine the checks you’ve written and the purchases on your credit cards. Ask your accountant to look at your expenses and tell you where you are spending more than other lawyers or professionals. Reward your employees who find viable ways to reduce overhead.

Don’t obsess over expenses but don’t ignore them either. Look at everything, so you know how much you’re spending, and on what. And when you’re done, grab your personal ledgers and have a go at them.

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Filed Under: Increase your income, Law office management

Do you keep a reading list?

May 24, 2016 by
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I download Kindle books nearly every day. Some for research, some for fun, and some on subjects I later ask myself, “What were you thinking?”

What can I tell you, I like books.

Most of these books were free but I also buy a fair number. Right now, there are 4663 books in my account, and that doesn’t include the ones I’ve read and deleted.

Is that a library in your pocket or are you happy to see me?

Sometimes I go to read a book only to discover I’ve already read it. Many of these are books that offered no value and I tell myself I need to delete them. But that requires logging into my account and finding the book through the search mechanism and doing that one at a time is not a good use of my time.

So, I’ve started keeping a text file on my desktop: “Kindle books to delete”. When the list has five or ten titles on it, I log in and do the deed. I hope that one day Amazon gives us another way to delete a book (not just remove it from the device we’re using to read it). Until then, my system will have to do.

Now, what about books we’d like to read? A reading list of books we’ve heard good things about but haven’t had time to buy or look into?

For that, Amazon gives us an easy solution: wish lists. We can use them to identify products we’re interested in, including books. I use a wish list as my reading list.

But that’s too simple for many people. This morning I saw an article about the many ways people keep their reading lists. Some use a text file, some use a spreadsheet, and some use apps like Trello or Evernote. And there are many other options.

The article describes how some people organize their lists, update them, and add notes and other meta data. Too complicated, if you ask me. How much time do these folks spend organizing their lists?

I feel the same way about to-do lists.

Some people spend more time making and organizing lists than they do getting things done (or read).

When I hear about a book I want to read, I either buy it or put it on my Amazon wishlist to consider at a later time.

As Sgt. Rick Hunter (Fred Dryer) on the 80’s detective show “Hunter” used to say, “Works for me”.

How I use Evernote to organize my work

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Filed Under: Productivity Tagged With: , , ,

Why taking breaks may be killing your productivity

May 23, 2016 by
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Everyone takes breaks. You can’t work non-stop for hours on end, you need to clear your mind and renew your energy every so often, don’t you?

Maybe not.

If you’re doing something you don’t want to do, something you have to force yourself to do, taking a break is a viable way to get through the task. That’s the idea behind the “take a break every 20 to 45 minutes” concept. It’s why we use mechanisms like the Pomodoro Technique (setting a timer and working for 25 minutes, for example, followed by a five-minute break) before going back at it.

These techniques and recommendations came about after studies showed that most people lose their ability to focus on a task after 30 minutes. But these studies were based on assigned tasks where the subjects were asked to do something they didn’t particularly want to do.

It’s different when you’re doing something you love.

When you enjoy what you’re doing, you tend to get lost in it and time passes quickly. You get into a state of flow and are able to reach incredible levels of productivity and creativity.

When you’re in a state of flow, why destroy it by taking a break?

It can take as much as 20 minutes to regain focus after a five-minute break. If you take breaks at regular intervals, you may be killing your productivity.

You might think you need breaks to renew your energy but the flow state provides its own energy. When you’re in that state, you might work for several hours without stopping and not feel the least bit fatigued. Gamers often go all day in front of their computers and sometimes have to be pulled away from it by a concerned loved one.

So here’s the thing. If you’re doing something you really don’t want to do you probably won’t get into a flow state and taking scheduled breaks can help you get you through the work. But if you enjoy the work at hand, don’t stop doing it because you’ve been at it for a set period of time. Keep going until you are no longer in flow or the task (segment) is done.

Knowing this means you should probably build some flexibility into your work schedule and allow uninterrupted time for tasks and projects you look forward to doing. Work, not games, okay?

Here’s how to get more referrals from lawyers and other professionals

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Filed Under: Productivity Tagged With:

Most of your lawyer friends don’t want to hear this

May 20, 2016 by
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Would you be willing to ignore thousands of prospective clients in exchange for an audience of hundreds of prospective “ideal” clients?

Yes? Good. You understand marketing.

You know that in a vast, undifferentiated mass market, you need to focus.

You know it’s foolish and expensive to try to appeal to everyone. And it’s smart and profitable to craft a finely-tailored message to a select group of prospective clients whom you have identified as ideal for you and your practice.

You know that “law” is not a specialty. You know that your ideal client prefers (and will seek out and pay more for) the lawyer who specializes. You also know that they favor the lawyer who specializes in their niche, industry, or demographic group.

You know they want to work with a lawyer who understands them and has experience with clients like them. Your ideal client doesn’t want a lawyer who does everything, for anyone. They want you.

Of course you also know that marketing is much easier when you focus on niche markets. You know your expenses are less, your results are bigger and come sooner, your clients pay more and argue less, and you get lots of word of mouth referrals.

That’s what makes ideal clients ideal.

But your lawyer friends don’t want to hear this. They’re afraid that if they focus, they’ll lose business. So they pretend it’s not true and continue to waive a giant flag that says “call us, we’re lawyers” and wonder why they can’t compete with lawyers who focus.

No, your lawyer friends don’t get this, but that’s okay. You do. And you can get rich while they stubbornly compete with thousands of new lawyers who enter their market each year and fight with them for clients who are anything but ideal.

Do them a solid. Tell them what I’ve told you and taught you. Send them to me and let me enlighten them. Most won’t listen. But hey, you can still be friends.

Here’s how to focus so you can earn more and work less

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Filed Under: Marketing legal services

7 out of 10 lawyers agree

May 19, 2016 by
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Remember that toothpaste commercial from years ago claiming that, “7 out of 10 dentists agree. . .”? What if I told you the real number was “8 out of 10”? Why on earth would they low-ball it?

Actually, I don’t know what the real numbers were. They might have been “8 out of 10,” “9 out of 10,” or nearly “10 out of 10,” but they would have been smart to use a lower number.

Because “7 out of 10” is more believable than “9 out of 10”.

“7 out of 10” has verisimilitude. The appearance of truth. Which is a critical element in sales and persuasion. Because if your prospective client, reader, judge or jury, doesn’t believe your assertion or promise, it doesn’t matter that it is true.

As long as there are no legal or ethical reasons why you shouldn’t do it, it’s better to understate the truth.

I guess you could call this “reverse exaggeration”.

Anyway, remember this for your presentations, negotiations, advertising, motions, and anything else where you want to persuade someone to do something. If the real numbers or facts stretch credulity, lie (in a positive way) to tell them something they will believe.

Add qualifiers if you must. Say, “More than. . .” or “Better than. . .” before your statement, to cover your behind and let your conscious be clear. But as long as what you say is true, it doesn’t matter that it’s not completely accurate.

Okay? Make sense? Good stuff.

Now before I let you go, you’re probably wondering what it is that 7 out of 10 lawyers agree on?

You probably think I’m going to say “nothing”. Lawyers are a bunch of cantankerous, argumentative, pugnacious souls, genetically incapable of agreeing on anything.

But this isn’t true. In fact, it’s just the opposite.

Most lawyers, more than 7 out of 10 I am sure, agree about nearly everything. No, not when it comes to arguing a client’s case or negotiating their lease. We do the job we’re paid to do. I’m talking about things like marketing and image, the things that allow us to stand out from other lawyers so that clients will choose us instead of them.

When it comes to marketing, most lawyers look the same.

You could take their ads, marketing documents, presentations, and the like, put another lawyer’s name on it, and no one would be the wiser.

The reasons aren’t important. What’s important is that because 7 out of 10 (or is it 8 out of 10?) lawyers conform and follow the same (narrow) practice-building and career-building path, most lawyers never get past “average”.

Average activities, average results, average income, average lifestyle.

If you want to stand out from other lawyers and have more clients choose you, if you want to have a better than average lifestyle, you need to be one of the 3 who isn’t like the other 7.

Let everyone else do what everyone else does. You be one of the few who doesn’t.

To be different, start here

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Filed Under: Image, Increase your income, Marketing legal services, success

I like big checks and I can not lie

May 18, 2016 by
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I like big checks. The bigger the better. Yeah, I admit it. Big checks really make my day.

Wire transfers, direct deposits, and piles of cash also make my heart sing. If it spends, I like it. That’s just how I roll.

I like big checks and I can not lie. You other lawyers can’t deny, that when a client walks in and pays big money it’s exciting–a thing of beauty to behold.

Yeah, I like big checks, because big checks let me pay big bills and buy big things and watch my bank account grow.

Nothing wrong with that. It’s natural. So if you have a big check I want to talk to ya.

But you know what? I also like little checks. Because little checks can pay little bills and lots of little checks can pay lots of little bills.

It’s a beautiful thing.

And clients with little checks can come back and I’m always happy to see them. Sometimes they come back with big checks, and you know I like that. Sometimes they send you their friends with little checks, and big checks, too.

It’s all good.

So yeah, I like big checks but if you’ve got a small check, I like that, too.

Client got check.

C’mon, you know you want more referrals

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Filed Under: Increase your income, Referrals

Faster than a speeding retainer

May 17, 2016 by
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When a prospective client visits your website and fills out a “contact me” form or emails you directly, you do know that you’re not the only attorney they’re contacting, right? Because you know this, I know that you have a strict policy in your office for contacting said inquiries as quickly as possible.

But how quick is quick?

According to the Harvard Business Review, companies that follow-up within an hour of receiving an online query from a potential customer are almost 7 times as likely to qualify that lead than companies that contact prospects only an hour later.

“Qualifying a lead” means talking to a decision-maker to find out if they are a good match for you. Do they have a problem you can help them with, are they willing to make an appointment right now, and can they afford to hire you, for example. Qualifying prospective clients quickly is a key to signing up more of them.

By the way, HBR also noted that companies that waited a day before following-up were 60 times less likely to qualify a lead than companies that did it within the hour. I’m just saying.

Consumers today are impatient to the extreme. They want answers and solutions immediately and will seldom wait for a vendor or professional to get back to them. You may be the best lawyer for the job but repeatedly lose cases or clients to lawyers who are a little faster.

By the way, everything I just said about email applies equally to phone calls. Inquiries from prospective new clients who leave a phone message should be called immediately, even if it is to have someone tell them that you’re unavailable and schedule a time when you can talk.

So raise your right hand and solemnly swear that from this day forward you will respond to prospective clients who contact you at the speed of light. Make sure someone in your office monitors your voicemail and email inbox and replies in 60 minutes or less. If prospects call or email after hours, your phone message or email auto-reply should indicate when you will contact them, and (unless it is an emergency) that should almost always be the first thing the next day.

Marketing is easy when you know what to do

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Filed Under: Law office management, Marketing legal services

Why you should spy on other lawyers

May 16, 2016 by
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If I ask you to name a lawyer you admire whom would that be? Maybe you admire their lawyering skills or their marketing acumen or the way they run their office. Maybe you know them and are impressed with their interpersonal skills.

Write down the names of lawyers you would like to emulate and then set up a file for each. Add notes about what you see them doing. Study their website. Search for articles about them and add them to your file. Find their ads or marketing documents and add those, too.

Study them so you can get ideas and inspiration and model their behavior.

What do they do differently from other lawyers, including yourself? What do they do that other lawyers don’t?

Study attorneys in your practice area and in other practice areas. Study some attorneys for their marketing prowess, and others for their speaking or writing or courtroom skills.

Find attorneys who are good at marketing online and digest their websites and blogs. How are they organized? What kind of content do they write? How often do they post? Study their headlines, bullet points, and calls to action. Do they publish a newsletter? Subscribe to it and see what they send to their list.

Study their social media platforms. Observe how often the post and how they engage with their connections.

You might study another set of lawyers about how they manage their practice. Study their fees and billing and payment options. Study their office hours and parking policy.

If you admire attorneys for their speaking and writing abilities, read what they write, find where they are speaking and show up to listen. To study trial lawyers, you might reach out to them, compliment them, and find out if you can attend their next trial.

As you do this, no doubt you’ll get a lot of ideas. You’ll also find inspiration as you realize that you can do what they do. Don’t accept everything as gospel, however. They may be successful not because of what they do but in spite of it.

The biggest benefit of this exercise is that you may find out how much you’re doing that is as good or better than what they do.

You’ll be inspired to keep doing it, and someday, other lawyers will study you.

Marketing is easier when you know the formula

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Filed Under: Law office management, Leverage, Marketing legal services Tagged With:
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