Blog – Page 266

How to be more creative

June 26, 2014 by David M. Ward

You’re in a rut. Every day you do the same things. The spark is gone. Your creativity machine has become rusty.

What if you played a game where you used your imagination to come up with some fresh ideas?

It’s called, the “What if?” game and it will help you be more creative.

Let’s play.

What if you were marketing used cars instead of legal services. What would you do to get more people to your showroom, sell more cars, or earn more from each car sold?

Well, you might hold a big sale. “An extra $500 off on any car this weekend only”. You might have elephant rides on your lot and encourage people to bring their kids. You might take your sales people on a retreat and have a trainer teach them some new techniques. You might also have that trainer consult with you on how to motivate your sales team with bonuses, trips, and other incentives.

Okay, that was fun. It was nice to think about things you could do if you weren’t constrained by law and propriety. You discovered that you can still be creative.

But so what? You can’t really use any of these ideas.

What if you could? (Yep, still playing. . .)

You’re probably not going to hold a sale, but perhaps you could put together some kind of limited time offer. “Book your appointment this week and get free document updates for life.”

You’re not going to have elephant rides in your building’s parking lot, but how about adding a toy chest and coloring books to your waiting room so clients can keep their kids occupied?

What about that employee retreat and sales trainer idea? You actually could do that. Bring in someone to teach your employees how to work with clients, to keep them happy and stimulate referrals.

If you want to be more creative, look at things from a different perspective. Think about the question or problem as if you were a different person, or under a different set of circumstances. Imagine you had different tools or different skills.

In other words, think like a kid.

Kids don’t settle for the way things are. They use their imaginations. They think about the way things could be. They ask, “What if?”

Filed Under: Inspiration, Personal development, Productivity Tagged With: creative, Creativity, idea generation

A simple daily habit that could change everything

June 25, 2014 by David M. Ward

I read an article that offered suggested daily habits that could help us 5 years from now. One habit stood out, not just because it has marketing implications, but because I think it could bring immediate benefits.

The habit:

Talk to one stranger every day.

Think about the possibilities. The stranger you speak to could be your next client, a marketing joint venture partner, or a source of referrals. Or they might introduce you to someone who fulfills one or more of those roles.

Talking to someone new can give you ideas for articles and posts, for marketing or managing your practice, or for doing something new and exciting.

Practicing the habit of approaching strangers also helps you develop your networking and interpersonal skills.

And it could be a lot of fun.

You could approach people by design–professionals and centers of influence in your target market or local community, for example. Or, you could make it a serendipitous adventure and approach people at random. How about the person immediately behind you in the line at Starbucks?

Strangers represent opportunities, the article notes. True, most opportunities don’t pan out. With many strangers, you won’t get to first base.

But you never know when the next person you meet mightÂ be the one who opens doors to great new adventures. Or, turn out to be a new friend.

Filed Under: Just for fun, Networking, Personal development Tagged With: getting ideas, habits

How well do you know your clients?

June 24, 2014 by David M. Ward

When your clients like you, they tend to stay with you. And give you referrals. And send traffic. And say nice things about you on social media and review sites.

Yes or yes?

So, how do you get your clients to like you? One way is to show them that you like them. People like people who like them.

Yes or yes?

One of the simplest ways to do this is to show them that you remember some personal details about them. Like the names of their spouse and kids. Like their birthdays. Like whether or not they have pets.

When youÂ know your clients well enough toÂ remember these details, you tell them that you think they are important and that you care about them as people, not just bill-paying clients.

I got a call from a lawyer I haven’t spoken to in a couple of years. I asked him about his wife, by name. He didn’t say anything, but I’m sure heÂ noticed.

When you first meet with a new client, or a prospective clients, get them talking about themselves and take notes. Enter this information into your client database, and continue adding this kind of information, over time. The next time you speak with the client, have your database open and use this information during the conversation.

We are in the people business, you and I. We may sell products or services, or our problem-solving abilities, but what we really sell is ourselves.

Want to make your phone ring? ThisÂ shows you what to do.

Filed Under: Client loyalty, Client relations, Referrals, Relationship marketing, Salesmanship

Â My lawyer is better than your lawyer

June 23, 2014 by David M. Ward

Two guys in a corner booth:

GUY NO. ONE: Hey, if you need a lawyer, you should talk to mine. He’s great.

GUY NO TWO:Â I’m really happy with my lawyer. I can’t imagine ever leaving him.

ONE:Â My lawyer has tons of experience. He always gets the work done on time, and always keeps me informed. His bills are are reasonable and easy to understand. And, I like the guy. I trust him and we get along great.

TWO: Well, it sounds like you’ve got a pretty good lawyer. But is that all he does for you?

ONE: What do you mean, is that all he does? What else is there?

TWO: Well, my lawyer does everything you described but he also sends me referrals. I get new business from him just about every month. In fact, I earn enough profit on the business he sends me to pay his entire bill. It’s like getting his services for free. Does your lawyer send you referrals?

ONE: Well, no. But I get my money’s work from him and I’m happy with that.

TWO: I’m glad you’re happy. Oh, my lawyer has also introduced me to some of his buddies–an accountant, a financial planner, and two insurance brokers, and they all send me business. My business has grown 30% in the last six months, just from their referrals. How about your lawyer? Does he endorse you to his professional contacts?

ONE: He sent me a link to an insurance agent’s website once.

TWO:Â I almost forgot, my lawyer represents one of the board members of the International Widget Manufacturers Association. He recommended me as a speaker at their national convention. I can’t tell you how many doors that has opened for me.

ONE:Â Uh, could I get your lawyer’s card?

Clients expect you to do good work and bill fairly. If you want to stand out, you have to do more.

How can you help your business clients beyond your core services? Referrals? Promoting their business to your list and on social media? Introducing them to others who can help them?

How about non-business clients? Could you help them get a better deal on a car, a mortgage, or kitchen remodel? Could you support their favorite cause or charity? Sponsor their kid’s baseball team? Could you teach them how to buy the right insurance coverage?

Do more for your clients than other lawyers do for their clients. Then your clients will tell others, “My lawyer is better than your lawyer.”

How to Earn More Than You Ever Thought Possible. Click here

Filed Under: Marketing legal services

How to get more referrals by getting more referral sources

June 20, 2014 by David M. Ward

Every attorney wants to know how to get more referrals. One way to do that is to get more referral sources. Here’s a simple way to do exactly that:

(1) FIND THEM. Find five people who advise or sell to your target market. Other professionals, business owners, and so on. You can ask existing clients and contacts for recommendations, or just find them on the Internet. Zero in on those who have high-ranking websites, decent content, a large social media following, and a newsletter or email list.

(2) STUDY THEM. Read through their site. Subscribe to their newsletter. Follow them on social media. See who they know (e.g., professionals, clients, centers of influence), what they sell, and how they sell it (sales people, online, seminars, speaking, writing, advertising, videos, affiliates, etc.) You’re especially looking for those who are active marketers.

Read their About page and social media profiles. Find a few articles or posts you like. Follow some links and see who influences them. Look through their blog comments and social streams to see who they influence.

(3) CONTACT THEM. Send an email, introduce yourself, and compliment one or two of their articles, their products or services, or something about how they do their marketing. Mention what you do, but only mention it. If you have mutual contacts, or like or follow the same resources, mention that, too. Don’t subscribe them to your newsletter without their permission.

(4) ENGAGE THEM. Contact them again and propose a guest post on their site, and/or, suggest the same for your site. Send them a link to a resource you found, or something you wrote, that pertains to what they do. Ask them a question about something they do or something they’ve written. Share their posts and tweets on social.

(5) HELP THEM. See who responds. Learn more about them. Look for ways to work with them, promote their business or practice. Send them referrals. Introduce them to others in their niche who can help them. Promote their blog, their business or practice, their product or event on social and to your list. If they are local, invite them for coffee and get to know them better.

Is this a lot of work? You tell me. If one out of five respond favorably, and you do this every month, in six months you will have six new referral sources. If each sends only one new client per month, would that be worth the effort? What if they send three?

Marketing is easy when you knowÂ The Formula

Filed Under: Increase your income, Marketing legal services, Marketing Plan, Referral sources, Referrals

If your three-year old was in charge of marketing your law firm

June 19, 2014 by David M. Ward

It’s been a long time since I had a three-year old in the house, but if I recall, they usually don’t take things at face value, they want to know why.

Why do I need to look both ways before I cross the street? Why do I need to eat my broccoli?

Being asked why all the time can get annoying, but it can also make you think. So, let’s see what your precocious three-year old might help you figure out if they were in charge of marketing your law firm.

Question No. One

CHILD: Why do people hire you?

YOU: Because I help them solve their problems and I’m good at it.

Why? I’m good at it because I’ve helped a lot of other clients with similar problems.

Why? Because I like this area of the law and these types of cases.

Lesson: Do work you enjoy.

Okay, that was easy, Let’s try another.

Question No. Two

CHILD: Where do your clients come from?

YOU: Referrals from other clients, mostly.

Why? Because I do good work and clients like me.

Why? I do good work because I enjoy what I do; clients like me because I give them confidence that I can help them, and because I take a personal interest in them as people.

Why? Because I like people.

Why? I’ve never had a law book or brief tell me thank you.

Lesson: Give people confidence; take a personal interest in them.

Question No. Three

CHILD: Where else do your clients come from?

YOU: My website.

Why? Because people go to search engines looking for information about their problem and my website has lots of information.

Why? I know they want to know the law for their problem, and their options, and they want to know what services I offer and how I work with my clients, so that’s what I put on my website.

Why? Because this information attracts them through search engines and through social sharing, and because if I answer most of their questions on my website, they will be more likely to see how I can help them, and call me instead of another lawyer, and when they do, they are more likely to make an appointment and hire me.

Lesson: Put helpful content on your website.

Okay, you get the idea. Tomorrow, we’ll see what happens when your child asks, “Are we there yet?”

Filed Under: Marketing legal services

The foundation for all abundance

June 18, 2014 by David M. Ward

Eckhart Tolle said, “Acknowledging the good that you already have in your life is the foundation for all abundance.”

Tolle is probably right. It might be The Law of Attraction. I can’t give you a cite, but I’m sure it’s a law somewhere.

It might be religious. Giving thanks to God is a good thing.

It might be a subconscious mind thing, where when we think about good things we instruct our mind to help us get more.

So let’s do it. Let’s acknowledge the good.

Get to a place where you won’t be disturbed, get quiet and think. Think about your life, right now, and note all of the good things. Write things down if you want. Consider the 7 areas of life:

Mental/personal development
Career/business
Financial
Family
Social
Physical
Spiritual

Give it ten minutes. Think about the good in your life: what you have, what you’re working towards, where you’ve been, and where you are going. Note whatever comes into your mind. You don’t have to touch on all 7 areas.

If you notice a negative thought, replace it with something that’s true and feels better. So if you think, “I’m not making the kind of money I want,” replace that with: “I’m earning more than I did before,” or “I’m learning about marketing and on my way to earning more this year.”

Whatever your beliefs about the efficacy of appreciating the good in your life, you can’t deny that thinking about the good feels good. And that is it’s own reward.

I appreciate you. Namaste.

Filed Under: Inspiration, Personal development Tagged With: abundance, Eckhart Tolle, law of attraction

The power of one: getting things done for procrastinators

June 16, 2014 by David M. Ward

Are you a black-and-white kinda guy or gal? I mean, do you have things youâ€™d like to do but havenâ€™t started because youâ€™re not ready to give themÂ your full attention?

You know what I mean. You either do things full force, or not at all. You donâ€™t want to start a newsletter or blog, write a book, or join a networking group because of the perceived immensity of the task or the ongoing commitment.

Youâ€™re a perfectionist. And you aren’t getting things done.

Of course you know that by not doing certain things, you’re losing some great benefits. How many new clients, new cases, and new opportunities are you missing out on by putting off these things?

But what can you do?

Iâ€™ll tell you what you can do. You can stop thinking about the big picture (and avoiding it) and just do â€œone thingâ€ to advance the project.

Instead of writing an entire book, write one page a day.

Instead of becoming a networking ninja, set a goal to meet one new professional this week.

Instead of putting off calling all of your former clients to say hello, make one phone call today.

One is a powerful number. It is the difference between not doing and doing.

You can do one.

One page, one idea, one phone call. Progress, not perfection.

So figure out one thing you can for each of your important projects and do it. One thing a day, one thing a week, one thing a month, or just one thing for now.

If you can do that one thing, even once, you can do it again. Before you know it, the project will be complete or, if itâ€™s an ongoing project, well underway.

Start your marketing plan. Click here for help.

Filed Under: Marketing Plan, Personal development, Productivity Tagged With: avoiding procrastination, getting things done, gtd

The quickest way to grow your law practice

June 13, 2014 by David M. Ward

We’ve been talking about social media marketing lately. If you embrace it, and it’s working for you, I’m all for it. But there are two things you need to know.

First, social mediaÂ may do everything it’s supposed to do for you, i.e., build your list, improve your reputation, bring you leads and clients, but it usually won’t do it quickly. It can take months or years to bring in meaningful results.

Second, you have no control over what happens. Yes, you can see that you’re getting more results on Twitter thanÂ LinkedIn and direct more energy to Twitter (and if that’s what’s happening, you should), but whatever is going to happen on a given platform, or all platforms, is going to happen. You can’t make it do more or do it faster.

The same is true of other marketing techniques lawyers typically use–networking, articles, speaking, blogging, publicity, andÂ referral marketing. They all work, but slowly, and you have very little control.

True, you might get lucky. You might meet and sign a huge client at a networking or speaking event. Your blog post may get noticed and linked to by a major publication, sending you a swarm of traffic. And while these things do happen, they are unpredictable. They may happen next month, five years from now, or never.

One marketing technique is different. It gives you tremendous control. You can try it on a small scale and if works, leverage your results into sequentially bigger results with nearly scientific accuracy.

You can also get results much quicker. In fact, I know of no quicker way to bring in business.

Oh, and there’s another advantage: you don’t need to spend time on this marketing technique. You can just write a check.

By now you may have figured out that I’m talking about paid advertising. But I’m not talking about any kind of advertising, I’m talking about direct response advertising.

Most attorneys who advertise don’t use direct response. They use “general awareness” or “branding” style ads, and they are often a giant cash sinkhole. They might work just enough to keep running them (e.g., yellow pages), but not enough to make a difference in your bottom line.

Plus, there’s almost no control. You can ask new clients, “where did you see our ad?” (and you should), but this doesn’t give you the degree of control I’m talking about.

Direct response advertising is different. You include a response mechanism in the adÂ (call this number, fill out this form) and measure the response. If you get enough response, if the ad is profitable, you run it again. If it continues to pull in sufficient response, you continue to run it, and in more publications or websites.

So, you start with a small, inexpensive ad. If it works you buy more ads, and perhaps bigger ads, and you continue your campaign. If the ad isn’t profitable, you pull it and try something else.

You don’t risk big money unless and until you know you have something that’s working. And then you test some of the variables (e.g., headline, offer, list, copy) to see if you can make it work even better.

Lead generation ads are direct response, and often work better than “one step” advertising (i.e., “Call for an appointment”). In a lead generation ad you offer something other than your services, in order to get peopleÂ to identify themselves to you so you can add them to a list. You might offer a free report, a book, a “planning kit,” a checklist or a set of forms. The quality of your free information “sells” the recipient on hiring you.

Instead of giving away your book or kit, you could sell it. Everyone who buys your book or paid seminar is likely to beÂ an even better prospect for your services, and their purchases help you pay for your advertising and fulfillment.

Advertising isn’t easy. It requires expertise and some money to start. But unless you are precluded from doing so (by your bar or firm), if you want to grow your law practice quickly, I suggest you consider adding direct response advertising to your marketing mix.

Because there’s no faster way to grow your law practice.

If you’re getting started in marketing, start with this.

Filed Under: Advertising, Increase your income, Marketing legal services, Marketing Plan, Social media, Social media marketing Tagged With: direct response advertising