The Attorney Marketing Center--Earn More. Work Less

3 stories you need to know (and use)

July 31, 2023 by David M. Ward

Marketing legal services is more effective when you use stories to show people what you do and the benefits your clients get when they hire you to do it. Stories provide context and help people understand and appreciate what you can do for them.

Your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to write (or have written) a few stories you can use in your marketing materials, presentations, and conversations.

And then use them.

Start with these 3 types of stories:

Your story
Your firm’s story
Client success stories

Your story is often the basis for the “about” page on your website, statistically the most read page by visitors of all stripes. It might include the reasons you went to law school or opened your own practice, people or events in your life that influence you, what you appreciate about your work, what you do during a typical day, and, of course, how you help your clients.

Your firm’s story, even if you are a sole practitioner, might talk about the firm’s mission, capabilities (practice areas, accomplishments, awards), reputation, charitable work, and the types of clients and industries you serve.

Client success stories are like testimonials but written in the third person. You describe clients who came to you with a problem or objective, the pain or secondary problems this caused, what you did to help them, and how they were better off as a result. If possible, quote the words of your clients describing their situation and praising you for helping them.

Write at least one client success story for each of your practice areas or services. Choose clients with different backgrounds or in different industries. You want prospective clients to recognize themselves or their situation and appreciate that you can help them, too.

These are the basics. They show people what you do, for whom, why, and how well.

And while first-party success stories, e.g., testimonials, reviews, and letters of endorsement from other professionals, are often more persuasive, you get to write these success stories and can have as many of them as you have clients.

Client success stories are some of the most powerful marketing tools you can use because they are about people and emotions, pain and relief, and are more effective than abstract facts and lists of features.

Facts tell but stories sell.

Filed Under: Marketing legal services Tagged With: Marketing tools

A short course in getting your emails opened

July 28, 2023 by David M. Ward

Whether you’re writing to clients or business contacts, a newsletter or a solo email, or any other email to anyone, getting your message opened is your first and more important task.

Because if they don’t open it, they won’t read it and if they don’t open and read it, they won’t learn anything or do anything.

Before you write your next email, ask yourself, “What can I do to get the people I send this to open it?”

My advice:

For starters, send that email to people who know you (or at least know your name), preferably people who like and trust you. They’ll open the email simply because they recognize your name. Job one complete.

Failing that, or in addition to that (because just because someone knows, likes, and trust you doesn’t mean they will open everything you send them), make your subject line show them the email is relevant to them.

To them personally, their group or their business, or something that interests them. Because if it does none of that, why should they bother?

Still, even if it is relevant, many people will pass it up, unless you do something else to compel them to click. The simplest way to do that is to say something in the subject that makes them curious.

Curious to see what “this” is all about, what’s next, or what they need to know.

Our brains hate unanswered questions. Make them curious enough to open your email, to find the answer to a question you pose, or they think about as soon as they see your subject.

You want them to feel a little tug of discomfort at the thought that they’ll miss out on something they need or want to know, but won’t find out unless they open your message.

Curiosity isn’t the only way to get clicks, but it is one of the best. It’s why ‘click bait’ is so effective, even when said bait borders on the ridiculous.

How to build your practice with email

Filed Under: Email

Your best marketing investment

July 27, 2023 by David M. Ward

Your clients can fire you at any time and for any reason. And they might. Today could be the day they say Sayonara. And tell everyone they know that you’re a bum.

You need to be on your toes. Never take your clients for granted. Follow up like crazy. Give them the benefit of the doubt.

Not just to protect yourself, but because client retention is the key to long-term success.

Getting new clients is profitable. Keeping clients is far more profitable because it creates equity in your future.

It starts with how you think about marketing in general, and clients in particular. Think “clients,” not “cases”. “Relationships” not “transactions”.

Cases are a one-time thing. Clients are for life. At least that’s how you should look at them and why you should continue to invest in your client relationships.

You began investing when you attracted them, helped them believe in a better future, and worked hard to deliver. In return, they gave you their trust, and as long as you don’t do anything to lose it, will reward you with repeat business, referrals, introductions, and positive reviews.

As a result, you won’t have to scramble to find clients, spend a fortune on ads, or do things you don’t want to do.

When you invest in your clients, you invest in your future.

Filed Under: Career satisfaction, Client loyalty, Client relations

How to get more (and better) reviews

July 26, 2023 by David M. Ward

One of the most powerful tools you can use in your marketing is third-party validation of your work. You get more clients and better clients when other clients describe their positive experience with you.

It is (marketing) law.

But your clients are busy and don’t provide reviews or testimonials as often as they could, or as often you’d like. What can you do?

One of the simplest things you can do is survey your clients, to find out what they like about you and your services (and also what they don’t like because you need to know that, too).

Then, when a client fills out a survey and says nice things about you, thank them and ask if they would post their words on a review site you tell them about, or let you use their words as a testimonial.

Tell them they can do that anonymously if they prefer, i.e., initials or first name/last initial only. Yes, full names are better, but a review with initials only is better than no review.

Tell them how much you appreciate their providing a review, and how much other people will benefit by seeing it.

Get them to commit to doing it, help them if they need help, and thank them again.

What do I mean by “if they need help”? I mean, if they struggle to put their story into words, or what they write isn’t as clear or specific or interesting as you’d like, rewrite their review for them.

Don’t change anything material. Clean it up, flesh it out, and make it easier to read. You’re saving them time and making them look good. You should find that most clients appreciate that help.

You can do the same thing when a client thanks you or pays you a compliment over the phone or in person. Write down what they say, clean it up a bit, and send it to them, along with a request to post it or let you use it in your marketing materials.

Simple and effective.

What else can you do?

Every new client, in their “new client kit,” should get a list of review sites you recommend, along with a sampling of reviews you’ve received from other clients. Not only will this help them feel good about their decision to hire you, it will also make it easier and more likely to get reviews from them later.

Finally, always send a thank you note. Tell the client (again) how much you appreciate their kind words and how it helps other clients find the help they need. If the client was referred to you, send a copy of their review, along with a thank you note, to the referring party.

Showing them they made a good decision to refer their client or friend to you makes it more likely they will refer again.

The Attorney Marketing Formula

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

It’s easy and well-worth doing

July 25, 2023 by David M. Ward

We’re talking about “edification”—the art of making other people look good by saying nice things about them.

When you introduce someone to a client or friend, or introduce a speaker to an audience, and edify them, the other person or the audience sees them as more valuable, worth listening to, knowing, or hiring.

And when you edify someone, your kind words and the graciousness with which you deliver them also make you look good.

It doesn’t have to be exhaustive. You can simply mention a few of the speaker’s or other person’s accomplishments. Tell them about their book, their business or practice. Tell them about an award they received or a notable victory they obtained, or quote what others have said about them, e.g., testimonials or reviews.

What do they do that helps people? What is their mission? What is something about them you admire?

You don’t have to exaggerate. Just say something laudatory and true.

If you don’t know them, you need to learn something about them you can use when you introduce them. Read their bio or their “about” page, or simply ask them what they would like you to mention when you introduce them.

Of course, the best edification occurs when you’re able to relate your personal experience with that person, or what your clients, business contacts, or friends have told you about their experience with them. If you refer a client to another lawyer, for example, tell them what that lawyer has done for you or for your other clients.

In short, tell other people why they should listen to the person, watch their training or presentation, sign up for their newsletter, buy their products, or hire them.

One more thing.

You should also equip your clients and contacts to edify you.

Give them information they can use when they introduce you or refer people to you. Even better, give them the kind of experience as their lawyer or friend that makes them want to tell everyone about you.

Filed Under: Communication, Networking, Public Speaking, Referrals

Are you giving clients too many options?

July 24, 2023 by David M. Ward

Have you ever heard the expression, “A confused mind says ‘no’?” Research confirms it—when we have too many choices, we often choose nothing.

A confused mind says ‘no’ because it is confused.

When you give people too many options, you make their decision more difficult. In your marketing, therefore, rule number one should be to make things simple for clients and prospects, and that usually means giving them fewer options.

Do you have an ad that describes all of your services? Do you feature all of your practice areas in your content? Clients might be impressed by your capabilities, but they’re usually looking for the solution to one problem. Too many options or offers, especially when most of them are not currently relevant, make decisions more challenging, which is why people tend to say no.

This is also true with content creation. If you give people too many articles or blog posts to read, videos to watch, or events to attend, it is more likely they will choose “none”.

This doesn’t mean you should eliminate other options. It means featuring or leading with the best, the most relevant, the most likely to become a gateway to your other content or services.

Post everything on your website, but make the visitor dig for it if they want it. Or send it to them later in your email sequence.

But just as offering too many options can lead to confusion and fewer “sales,” offering only one option can do the same. If the prospective client sees they can hire you for service X and service X doesn’t tick all the boxes for them, they have no other choice but to say “no”.

Which is why it might be better to give them two options instead of “hire me or don’t”.

When I created my first marketing course, I thought about offering several packages but eventually settled for just two: Basic and Deluxe. Instead of “yes” or “no,” the choice became this package or that one and it resulted in more sales.

If you want more people to read your content, sign up for your list, or choose you as their lawyer, don’t give them too many options, or too few.

Filed Under: Advertising, Content creation, Copywriting, Increase your income, Marketing legal services

The power of one

July 21, 2023 by David M. Ward

Every one of your clients can send you at least one referral, or introduce you to someone who can. Some clients will send you a lot of referrals. Some won’t send you any. But if you get an average of just one referral from every client during their “leftime” as your client, you’ll never run out of new clients.

Each client will “replace” themself.

It’s the power of one.

And it should be one of your goals.

Sounds simple, doesn’t it? Easy math. But how do you make this happen?

Start by reminding yourself that every client knows people who have, or one day will have, a legal situation you can help them with. Everyone knows people they can refer.

They also know other influential people they can introduce to you and those people have clients or customers or personal contacts they can refer.

Everyone knows one or more insurance agents or brokers, CPAs, real estate brokers, or other lawyers. They know business owners and executives, pastors, and other centers of influence in their industry or local market.

And each of these folks can refer clients to you even if your original client can’t.

Your clients can also refer people with legal situations you don’t handle. You do commercial bankruptcy, for example, and they know someone with a tax problem or who needs a divorce. If they refer that person to you, you can refer this would-be client to another lawyer you know, which can lead to that other lawyer reciprocating and sending you business they don’t handle.

Referrals can come from anywhere. And people can always lead you to other people.

Referral marketing isn’t just about the people you know, it’s about who they know.

When you have a new client or prospect or business contact, find out who they know. You should have a form for that. With prompts to ask about their professional contacts, colleagues, and others in their industry or market.

If every client or prospect gives you the name of their insurance broker or real estate agent, for example, you can contact them and (with permission), tell them you have a mutual client. That’s the first step towards getting referrals from them, and being introduced to their circle of contacts..

Everyone you know can send you (at least) one referral, or lead you to someone who can.

It’s the power of one.

How to get more referrals from your clients

Filed Under: Referrals, Relationship marketing

You only need 3 lists

July 20, 2023 by David M. Ward

We like our lists, our task apps, and our systems. We like planning and managing our days. But many of us overcomplicate things, often spending more time managing our lists than doing the tasks on those lists. And being stressed as we perpetually look for the perfect system.

I was reminded of that recently when I saw a post on social crediting Marc Andreessen’s way of managing his very busy days. Andreessen puts his tasks into just 3 categories:

NOW
NEXT
LATER

And I think he puts them on a single page.

We can quibble about the meaning of “now”. For some of us, that means “immediately,” as soon as we finish making the list. For others, it might mean “today”. Others might include tasks intended to be done over the next few days.

For me, “now” means “today”. I like to look at the list, see what’s on tap for the day, and not have to think about anything else until it’s time to look at tomorrow. I also put those tasks in the order I intend to do them.

“Next” surely means tasks to do after you complete the tasks on your first list. That might mean later today, later in the week, or as soon as you can. It might include scheduled tasks, projects to review, single tasks, or routines that need to be done, well, routinely.

“Now” and “Next” are pretty clear. It’s “Later” that can cause problems, especially if it becomes a dumping ground for everything you want to do after you do the tasks on the first two lists.

An endless “Later” list isn’t helpful. The best solution is to impose a cutoff. “Later” might mean “next week” or “later this month” for example.

What do you do with everything else? Things you want to do next month, next quarter, next year, or “someday”?

Schedule them.

Put these in your app or on your calendar to either “do” or “review” on a future day. That’s what I do, and it keeps me (reasonably) sane.

The point of having just 3 lists is to keep things simple, because if it’s simple, you’ll do it.

Each day, look at your “now” list or today’s list and get to work. When you finish the tasks on that list, you can start on “next” (if you have the time and energy), or put those tasks on your list for tomorrow and go have some fun.

What do you do to keep your task lists manageable?

Filed Under: Productivity, Time Management

How clients happen

July 19, 2023 by David M. Ward

When a new clients signs up, a sale has taken place. There’s no other word for it. Information was delivered, questions were answered, and a decision was made.

But while a sale occurred, it doesn’t mean the attorney “sold” them.

In fact, it was the client who sold themselves. And that began before they ever spoke to the attorney.

Your website and marketing materials do most of your selling for you. They show prospective clients why they need legal help and why they should choose you. When you speak with them, you guide them from the general to the specifics of their case or situation, and the client then sells themself on getting started (or not).

Sometimes, the client needs a little nudge. There are simple techniques to help you do that and they are worth learning. One example is the “alternative close,” where you ask the client if they’re considering one of your services or the other, or to get started this week or next.

Two choices, either of which are good for them and good for you.

Think of this as a focusing technique because it gets the prospect to focus on what they want to do.

But it is their decision. You’re just there to help them make it.

Filed Under: Closing the sale

It’s an investment, not an expense

July 18, 2023 by David M. Ward

Yesterday, I talked about following up with prospects and clients before, during, and after the case or engagement. Most lawyers get it. But many lawyers don’t do it because it takes a lot of time.

I say it’s worth the time because it helps you get new business, keep clients from leaving, and generate positive reviews that can multiply that effect.

But (surprise) lawyers are busy. Even if they want to do it, it’s too easy to let it slide.

I mentioned having an assistant do it. Have them make the calls, send the emails, and otherwise manage follow up and other marketing activities for you. Yes, there is a cost, just as there is a cost to you if you handle this function yourself. If you take an employee away from their other work, that work might fall through cracks and cause problems.

I say it’s worth the risk because the benefits outweigh that cost. Especially if you have a reasonable volume of cases or clients.

Think about it. Do the math. If you hire someone part time and pay them $4000 per month, and they’re able to save one case or client per month or get one client to return, your costs would be covered, wouldn’t they? And if that assistant is able to stimulate clients to provide more reviews and more referrals, and this generates two additional cases (or saves) per month, you would double your investment.

Over time, these numbers would compound.

You know I’m a big proponent of making referrals a primary marketing method for most attorneys. If you’ve read me for a while, you also know that you can stimulate referrals without explicitly talking to clients about the subject. But, let’s face it, talking to clients about referrals is a powerful way to get more of them. A lot more.

If that’s not something you want to do, have your marketing assistant do it for you.

I built my practice primarily with referral marketing. A key to making that happen was delegating as much as possible to assistants.

It was an investment, not an expense. And it paid off in spades.

How to talk to clients about referrals

Filed Under: Client loyalty, Client relations, Closing the sale, Increase your income, Law office management, Referrals