Blog – Page 236

Will you REALLY fight for me?

September 9, 2015 by David M. Ward

A personal injury lawyer used to (still does?) run TV ads which ended with him pointing at the viewer and saying, “I’ll fight for you!”

But will he?

It depends.

Is it a good case? Are there enough damages? Does the other party have insurance?

If he wereÂ being honest, when asked if he would fight for the client, he would say, “We’ll see”.

“We’ll see” is a lawyer-like answer. But it won’t get the client to call.

Clients want more commitment. They do want you to fight for them.Â They don’t necessarily expect that you will win every time, or bring in a massive settlement, but they expect you to try.

“We’ll see” doesn’t cut it, so although you might be thinking it, don’tÂ say that to a client.

Most lawyers recognize that their clients expect (and their oath demands) that they provideÂ “best efforts” and they will tell the client something along the lines of, “I’ll do my best”.

That’s much better, but what if their best isn’t good enough? What if they don’t have enough experience?Â What if the case needs resources they don’t have? What if. . .

Your clients don’t want to hear that you’ll do your best, they want to hear that you’ll do “whatever it takes”. And that’s the message you should convey in your marketing.

This is alsoÂ true for non-litigation matters. Clients want to know that you’ll do whatever it takes to help them achieve a good outcome. If you’re negotiating a contact, or drafting documents for them, they want to hear that you’ll do whatever it takes to protect them, deliver value, and make them happy.

“I’ll do my best” isn’t good enough. Tell them you’ll do “whatever it takes”.

If you want to earn more, make sure you haveÂ The Attorney Marketing Formula

Filed Under: Advertising, Client relations, Closing the sale, Communication, Marketing legal services, Salesmanship, Writing

Building a successful law practice without marketing

September 8, 2015 by David M. Ward

Is it possible to build a successful law practice without doing any marketing?

The answer is no. It’s not possible, because there’s no such thing as practicing law without marketing.

Everything you do in your practice is marketing. Everything.

You’re either doing a good job of it or you aren’t.

The way you treat your clients is marketing. Treat them well (good marketing) and they will come back to you and send referrals. Treat them poorly and they won’t.

Building a successful law practice takes more than just winning the case or delivering the work product. Not when clients can choose one of your many competitors instead of you. Building a successful law practice means getting a lot of little things right, to make your clients feel appreciated and see the value you deliver, and you either do a good job of that or you don’t.

When someone asks, “What do you do?” the way you answer that question is marketing. Your response either tells them how you can help them or someone they know, and makes them want to know more, or it doesn’t.

Good marketing or bad marketing, but marketing nonetheless.

Do you have a website, social media accounts, or a listing in a legal directory? Do other lawyers ever send you referrals? Have you ever handed out your business card to anyone?

You’re marketing.

You might hate marketing, and refuse to admit that you’re doing it, but doing it you are.

Even if you have a job that doesn’t require you to bring in clients, you’re marketing. Every day you go to work and “sell” your employer on continuing to employ you. Do a great job of marketing and they might give you a raise. Do a bad job of marketing and they might let you go.

Everything you do is marketing.

The question is, how well are you doing it?

No matter how well you are doing it, or how poorly, you can improve your marketing and get better results.

You can also do MORE marketing. There are other ways to attract clients than whatever it is that you’re doing now.

Speaking, networking, writing, advertising–they all work. You can do some of them, or all of them, or you can decide to stick with what you’re doing now and do more of THAT.

So we agree, then, you are marketing. You can improve your marketing and you can do more of it, but you cannot avoid marketing, and you can’t build a successful law practice without it.

Need a marketing plan? Here you goÂ

Filed Under: Increase your income, Law office management, Marketing legal services, Marketing Plan

Two six-month vacations per year

September 4, 2015 by David M. Ward

Hey there. I’ve got something to share with you. But it will have to wait. I’ll be back in an hour. . .

Okay, I’m back.

Where did I go? What did I do? I didn’t go anywhere, and I didn’t do anything. I took the hour off because I wanted to prove a point.

My point is that we can all choose how we spend our time. If we want to take an hour off, we can. If we want to take the rest of the day off, we can. If we want to take Friday’s off, we can.

Who says you can’t? Your boss? Your spouse? Your clients? Your creditors? Okay, so you have obligations. I’m not suggesting you shirk them, just that you don’t have to be enslaved by them.

You have free will.

So the question isn’t, “Why can’t you?” it’s “How can you?” How can you take off Friday afternoons if you want to, and still meet your responsibilities?

Come in a little early? Work a little later on Thursdays? Do some work on the weekends?

Think. There are solutions. You can find them.

Once you’ve mastered taking off Friday afternoons, you can work towards taking off every Friday, if that’s what you want to do.

There are solutions and you can find them.

I know professionals who take off an entire week every month of the year. Why couldn’t you?

I know some who take two months vacation every year (and they’re not European). Are you interested?

I know people who have the ultimate goal of taking two six-month vacations every year. Yes, it’s a joke, but for some people, it’s a very real goal. If you have enough cash or income-generating assets or passive income, it can be done.

Start with the end in mind (the goal) and work backwards. What would I have to have? What would I have to do first?

You may have a tough time right now accepting the idea of taking even an hour off in the middle of the day, but you can. Once you get used to it, you can go for two.

It’s your life and you can live it on your terms.

You may have some ‘splainin to do to the people in your life, and you should probably start small and not announce you’re taking the rest of the year off just yet, but you can (eventually) spend your days on Earth any way you choose.

Filed Under: Career satisfaction, Goal Setting, Leverage, Time Management

How many hours a week do you work?

September 3, 2015 by David M. Ward

If you’re like me, and you are, when someone asks you, “How many hours a week do you work?” you usually say, “It depends”. We say that because we’re lawyers and everything depends.

How many hours we work depends on how oneÂ defines “work”. Do we count being at our workplace as working?

Do we count thinking time? Reading time?Â What about driving time?

I’m guessing that most people who put in a “full” day spend only 25% of that time actually working.Â Show up for eight hours, you do about two hours of work. (Actually, I recall reading that the average person only works 90 minutes a day, but we’re not average, are we?)

And don’t get me started on billable hours.

So when I read about the notion that working more than 40 hours a week makes us less productive, I have to wonder what they mean by work. And while we’re on the subject, what do they mean by “less productive”?

We might get more done in less time working 40 hours a week, but so what? If we’re getting things done after 40 hours, we’re still getting things done.

And maybe we like what we do. Maybe it doesn’t feel like work. Maybe we don’t have hobbies or other things toÂ occupy our time and, given the choice, we would prefer to keep workingÂ instead of resting or playing.

When someone tells us we’re working too hard, we should smile and nod and tell them they’re right, even if we disagree. Hard work never killed anyone, right? Yes, butÂ what doÂ we say when they tell us we’re not working hard enough?

Filed Under: Personal development, Productivity, Time Management

Your doctor doesn’t use an away message so why do you?

September 2, 2015 by David M. Ward

I saw an article this morning about how to write a goodÂ out-of-office email and reminded myself that I’ve never used one. I don’t want to tell anyone that I am in or out of the office. I don’t want a leash.

Why do your clients need to know where you are? And why does it matter if youâ€™re out? Do you need to be “in the office” to receive or reply to an email?

No, you don’t.

“What about when I’m out of town and cannot be “reached” (i.e., on vacation?) I won’t even look at their email for two weeks. Don’t I need to tell them that?”

No. Nobody needs to know where you are, or for how long, or when you might read or reply to their email.

Yes, you do need to be accessible. Clients need to know that when they need help, they can count on you. But that doesnâ€™t mean they should expect a personal reply to every email or phone call. You have staff to do that for you.

In fact, why are you even giving your clients your email? Do you have your doctor’s email? If he provides one at all, it’s for his office, and if you write to him, someone in the office will reply. You don’t know whether your doctor is in the office, at the hospital, or on the golf course. If itâ€™s an emergency, someone will be able to reach him.

And thatâ€™s how it should work for you.

If you are a lone wolf, have one email for your office, another for you in your capacity as a lawyer, and another for personal matters. Don’t give everyone your lawyer email. Give them the official office email, and make sure they know that someone else will be reading it.

Donâ€™t give everyone your cell number, either. Get an answering service who can call you if itâ€™s an emergency, and take messages if it is not.

When I started practicing, in the days before email and cell phones, I had a secretary, an answering service, and a pager. A client could reach my â€œofficeâ€ at midnight if they wanted to, but unless it was a true emergency, nobody called them back until the morning.

I was accessible, but on my terms. I served my clients, but I wasn’t at their beck and call.

Filed Under: Client relations, Communication, Law office management, Time Management Tagged With: away message, out-of-office message, vacation message

What you write isn’t as important as how you write it

September 1, 2015 by David M. Ward

How do you write an original article or blog post? After all, hundreds or thousands of attorneys (and others) are writing about the same things. They talk about the same laws, the same legal system, the same problems and solutions.

The good news is that what you write isn’t nearly as important as how you write it.

Prospective clients don’t read your content because they want to learn the ins and outs of your practice area. They don’t really want to learn about the law, they want to learn about you.

Do they understand you? Do they relate to you? Do they like and trust you?

So, while content is important, style and personality are more so.

Don’t be concerned with delivering the definitive word on your subject. Write something that will make prospective clients see you as someone they would like to work with.

How?

By putting yourself in your writing.

Tell them about clients you’ve helped–what you did, why you did it that way, and what happened. Talk about how you feel about the issues and about your clients. Give them not just the facts, but yourÂ advice.

Don’t hold back, either. Give them the unvarnished truth. Write with passion. Open up your heart and your mind and share what’s inside, and let people see who you are.

And that’s the best news, because there’s only one you.

If you give the same raw material to 100 attorneys and ask them to write an article about that material, most of the articles will be very similar. A few will be unique and show readers why they should choose them as their lawyer.

Only a few because most lawyers don’t understand (or are unwilling to accept) the fundamental truth that clients don’t hire your knowledge or your experience, they hire you.

Marketing online for attorneysÂ made simple

Filed Under: Blogging, Communication, Marketing legal services, Newsletters, Online Marketing, Writing

The best way to increase your income

August 31, 2015 by David M. Ward

My wife is a good shopper. On major purchases especially, she does her homework and makes sure that we always get a good price. She saves money by shopping online as much as possible. She buys fruits and vegetables at one grocery store, and paper goods at another. And she’s pretty good at finding sales when she buys clothes.

But although she is a good shopper, she’s not a great shopper. She doesn’t count pennies, she doesn’t clip coupons, and she doesn’t drive miles out of her way to save a dollar or two.

And that’s good because her time is valuable.

Now, how about you? Are you a good shopper or a great shopper?

I know attorneys who are good at keeping their overhead to a minimum. That’s good, but some attorneys go too far.Â If you want better clients, you have to have a decent office and clothing. It’s part of the deal.

I also know attorneys at the other extreme. They spend money needlessly. Ten dollars here, fifty dollars there, and before you know it, they’re wasting hundreds or thousands of dollars per month.

Every attorney shouldÂ periodically audit theirÂ expenses. Do this for your practice and your home. Look for ways to cut expenses and lower your overhead. It’s the easiest way to increase your income.

Focus mostly on big expenses and recurring expenses. If you buy a new piece of software, it’s okay if you don’t get the best deal in town. But if you’re buying insurance or renting a new office, it obviously makes sense to invest extra time to find or negotiate the lowest cost.

But don’t spend too much time. I don’t want you to save 0 a month when you could use that time and energy to find ways to earn an additional ,000 a month.

Be a good shopper, not a great one.

Earn more without working more. Here’s The Formula.

Filed Under: Increase your income, Law office management

Sell more legal services with better reviews and testimonials

August 28, 2015 by David M. Ward

I got another five star review on one of my Kindle books (on network marketing). It was a greatÂ review:

“Probably the most valuable book on network marketing I have ever read. . . and that is saying a lot.Â If you are in direct sales or network marketing, you will find great benefit in this book. Buy it!Â Now.”

Nice, huh?

Yes. And very much appreciated. But as good as it is, it could have been better.

When a prospective buyer reads a positiveÂ review like this, they will want to know “why?” Why is it so good? How is it different? WhatÂ will I learn? What will this helpÂ me to do? What has it helped you Â to do?

They want specifics.

The same goes for reviews of your legal services.

When a client posts a positive review about you online, or sends you a testimonial, encourage themÂ to provide details. If they say you treated them well, ask them to give an example. If they talkÂ about the great job you did on their case, ask them to explain what they mean.

Did you get them a bigger settlement than they expected? Did you close the case quickly? Did you do something extra for them?

Were you nice to their kids? Did you regularly keepÂ them informed about the progress of their case? If they had questions, did you answer themÂ thoroughly? If you weren’t in when they called, did you call them back within 48 hours?

Specifics.

Specifics help prospective clients see the benefits of hiring you. They also make the review moreÂ believable.

Reviews that recommend you and your services will bring you more clients. Especially when those reviewsÂ explain why they are recommending you.

Want more referrals from other lawyers? Behold. . .

Filed Under: Client relations, Communication, Copywriting, Marketing legal services Tagged With: reviews, testimonials

Free advertising for your legal services

August 26, 2015 by David M. Ward

Great news! I just scored you 50 free 30-second radio spots on a top-rated drive time radioÂ show! You don’t have to pay a dime. (Not really.)

You can run a commercial for your law practice and bring in lots of new clients. It doesn’t matterÂ what kind of practice you have, or if you’ve never advertised and can’t imagine doing so, this is free advertising, so say thank you and use it!Â (I’m just playin, but I have a point.)

There’s just one catch. (My fantasy, my rules.) You have to write the commercial yourself. (Horrors!)

The point of this exercise is to help you better understand what you offer your clients, and why theyÂ should hire you. Work with me, k?

I’ll help you get started. Here are some guidelines for creating your commercial:

1) CALL TO ACTION

Start with what you want the listener to do. Call your office to make an appointment? Call to askÂ questions? Call to request your free report? Go to your website to download your free report? Sign upÂ for your seminar? A combination of the above? Something else?

Start with the end in mind. Writing your commercial will be easier because you knowÂ what you want to accomplish.

2) HEADLINE

What’s the first thing the actor who reads the spot (or you, if you record this yourself) will say toÂ listeners to get their attention? Will they/youÂ promise a benefit? Ask a question? Make a provocativeÂ statement?

Your headline is the most important part of your commercial, so make it great. If you don’t get the listener’s attention and make them want to listen, the rest of your ad won’t matter.

3) COPY

You only have 30 seconds, and yet that’s plenty of time to tell listeners what you want them to knowÂ about you and your services, about your report, or about something else that causes them to take action.

Will you tell a story aboutÂ one of your recent clients? Will you talk about recent or pending changes in the law that will affectÂ them? Will you warm them about something, or promise to help them get something they want and need?

A classic ad formula:

State the problem. What is the listener facing, or what might happen in the future?
Agitate the problem. What will happen if they ignore it, etc. How bad could it get?
Present the solution. Your offer, your services, your report, your seminar, etc.
State the benefits of this solution. What will they learn, gain, stop, prevent, etc?
Tell them what to do to get the solution and benefits. This is your call to action.

Make notes about what to include in your ad. Then, start typing or recording, and don’t stopÂ until you run out of things to say. Pretend you’re talking to a roomful of prospective clients. WhatÂ do you want to tell them?

Now what? Now, throw this away. You’re not a copy writer and I didn’t score you any free advertising.

Okay, don’t throw it away. Hang onto it, so that when you decide you do want to advertise, you’llÂ have a place to start, or something to give to the copy writer you hire. You can also use your notesÂ as fodder for creating other marketing documents.

That’s all for today. Fantasy over. Get back to work.

Filed Under: Advertising, Copywriting, Marketing legal services, Writing