The Attorney Marketing Center--Earn More. Work Less

Come with me if you want to live

March 16, 2023 by David M. Ward

You want your clients and contacts to see you as someone they can count on when they are in trouble, need help or information. Legal advice or anything else—business advice, referrals or introductions. Whatever they need, you want them to contact you first, so you can help them or help them find someone who can.

Why would you want to do something that seems so time consuming and may not lead to legal work?

Because it might indeed lead to legal work, but you won’t know that if they don’t contact you.

And while it might not lead directly to legal work, it might provide give you someone you can refer to another lawyer and that lawyer might then reciprocate and send you a referral.

Helping your clients and contacts this way might also lead to goodwill, which eventually leads to legal work, e.g., traffic to your site, growing your list, filling seats at your event, or other things that bring you more leads or business contacts.

And hey, what’s the alternative? People ask for something and you turn them away?

Bad karma. And bad business.

For starters, make sure you tell your clients, prospects, and business contacts to call you about any legal matter, because “I know a lot of lawyers in other practice areas.” (If you don’t, this is your chance to go meet some.)

If you have the ability to refer 5 or 10 clients a month to other attorneys, even if it’s just to get some questions answered, do you think that might bring you some referrals from those attorneys?

If it takes up too much of your time (it won’t), you can stop doing it. But you won’t want to. Because the more you help people, the more people will help you.

Prove me wrong. Try it for 60 days and see what happens.

Once you see good things happening, teach your clients and contacts to call you if they need anything else—an accountant, a real estate or insurance broker, a financial advisor, a vendor or business, or. . . anything.

You want people to call you first because it’s good karma and good for business.

Filed Under: Networking, Referrals

Goals 2.0

March 15, 2023 by David M. Ward

I don’t set goals anymore. I found that I rarely hit them and it was discouraging. My goals were big and exciting, but not always believable. And clearly not achievable.

I lowered my goals to a level I believed was attainable. But they weren’t exciting. “Why bother?”

So I gave up on setting goals. And I’m much happier.

Instead of goals, I focus on a general direction, e.g., the growth of my business, but without a specific target, such as income or profit.

Writer Srinivas Rao says:

“When you set your sights on a target, you limit yourself to one possible future. You’re trying to control and predict something that is out of your control and unpredictable. Choosing a Direction Instead of a Destination opens you up to more than one future. And the future you end up with could be better than what you set your sights on. A direction expands what’s possible in your life. A destination limits it.”

But that’s not the end of the story.

While I no longer set “results-oriented” goals—dollars, outcomes, etc.—I do set “activity goals”. Things I will do to help me move in the direction I want to go.

What do those look like?

How many calls or emails I will send, how many words or pages I will write, how many dollars I will invest, how much time I will spend on a project.

Because these are completely within my control. And can help me achieve results even better than my expectations.

Filed Under: Goal Setting

Speaking of mistakes. . .

March 14, 2023 by David M. Ward

I’m subscribed to an email list and every time this company writes to me, they make the same mistake. They change the name of the “sender”.

One week it’s Mary, the next week Sally and Melinda, people I don’t know. The only way to tell that the email is from the company I know is to open it.

Why make people do that? Why take the chance of confusing people, getting people to delete the email unopened, or sent to spam.

Not good. And completely unnecessary.

If you’re smart, and I know you are, you put your name in the sender field, not your firm’s name, not your administrator’s name, your name—first and last—because the email is from you.

You want people to recognize your name and read your email because it is from you. Even if the subject doesn’t promise a benefit or make them curious.

Even if it’s click-bait-y or goofy like many of mine.

Your email isn’t just a conveyer of information and offers. It is also a means by which to build relationships with people who can hire you or refer you.

Which they will do if they know it is you who is writing to them.

Email Marketing for Attorneys

Filed Under: Email, Newsletters

Quick, grab this headline for your next blog post

March 13, 2023 by David M. Ward

It’s called “fear of loss” and it’s powerful. More powerful than the desire for gain. People want to protect what’s already theirs, their money, for example, and will take action to do that, more than they’re willing to take action to get more of it.

Watch what’s happening in the financial markets right now to see “fear of loss” in action.

So, when you write a blog post or article, do a presentation, run an ad, or create any message to prospective clients, et al., and you can point out what your reader or listener might lose if they DON’T hire you, accept your offer, follow your advice, etc., you would do well to mention that.

Sure, tell people what they can get if they hire you, talk to you, etc. and what they might lose if they don’t.

Which leads to the headline I promised to give you in my headline.

A headline that gets your prospective clients’ attention and motivates them to read your article, which is what a headline is supposed to do.

The headline: 7 Mistakes to Avoid When Hiring a [type/specialty] Lawyer

Because anyone who is looking for a lawyer who does what you do, surely doesn’t want to make those mistakes.

You could spice this up with words like “deadly” or “costly” or “exceedingly painful” to amplify the word “mistakes” and give it even more emotional firepower. Depends on your market, the tone of your article, and your style.

But “mistakes” will often be all you need, particularly if your headline is seen by someone who is decidedly afraid of making a mistake.

Once your reader reads your article, they find out what those mistakes are (and how to avoid them). They also learn what could happen if they do nothing.

And their fear of loss motivates them to take the next step, i.e., respond to your call to action.

In your article, make sure you explain why these are mistakes. This gives you the opportunity to show them you know what you’re doing and differentiate yourself from the crowd. You might tell them about one or more of your clients who made that mistake prior to finding and hiring you, and how you helped them out of that mess.

How to use a blog to make your phone ring

Filed Under: Communication, Copywriting

Consider the context

March 10, 2023 by David M. Ward

Every time you send an email, talk to someone, conduct a presentation, or otherwise seek to persuade someone to do something, you can’t deliver your message and expect everyone who hears or reads it to hear the same message.

Because they won’t.

It depends on the context. Your reader or listener’s prior experience, their needs and wants, their perception of you, and other factors make a difference.

Especially the actual words you say and when you say them.

The latter is based on a phenomenon known as “the framing effect” which says that people’s perceptions and decisions are influenced by how and when the information is presented to them.

A product may be more appealing, for example, if the price is framed as a discount rather than the regular price. Your client may see an offer to settle his claim as more acceptable if it is made after a series of lower offers.

Consider the context in which the other person will receive your message. And modify your message to suit that context.

Some people won’t decide without hearing more information. Others might be overwhelmed and shut down if you give them more.

How do you know what to do?

You have to know your client (prospect, opposition, etc.) Which is why it is better to target niche markets.

And you need to pay attention. Because the other person’s response to your message will often tell you everything you need to know.

Filed Under: Communication

Slow down to speed up

March 9, 2023 by David M. Ward

Yesterday, I talked about the advantages of following a non-linear workflow, that is, working when and how your body and brain tell you is right instead of slavishly following the calendar.

Among other things, this means taking breaks when you feel you need them, and not feeling guilty because you’re doing that “too often”.

Taking breaks also gives you the opportunity to evaluate what you’re doing, and how you’re doing it, and make improvements. You’ll be able to see things you might not have seen because you’ve been too busy doing the work.

If you continually run from one project or case to the next one, your practice or business is running you instead of the other way around.

You want to go faster and grow bigger, but you can’t do that if you’re constantly running. You need breaks so you can evaluate what you’re doing, make improvements, or change course.

Maybe you need to do something different on that project, or put it aside in favor of another. Maybe you need to let go of doing everything yourself and get some help so you can free up some time and energy for projects that are more in line with your goals and purpose.

Periodically slow down (or stop). Go through your projects, your cases, your client list, and your plans. Stand down for a day or a week and figure out what you can do better or instead.

When you get back to work, you’ll be able to go faster.

Success isn’t just about doing the work to the best of your ability. It’s also about doing the work that best serves your future. Sometimes, you need to back away and figure out what that means.

Filed Under: Law office management, Productivity, success

How was your day?

March 8, 2023 by David M. Ward

I didn’t do much work yesterday. I meditated, wrote a blog post, took a walk, helped my wife set up a cabinet, watched a couple of videos (and took notes), read a few pages in a book, and not much else.

Because I didn’t feel like doing anything else.

Some call this being lazy. You won’t get anything done if you don’t do the work, whether you feel like it or not. Breaks are for after work, weekends, and vacations, not when you feel like it. Get more sleep if you need more energy. Stop goofing off.

Conventional “wisdom”.

But not everyone agrees.

Some describe this as an effective way to structure your time. It’s “nonlinear,” meaning flexible and in sync with what your body and brain tell you. If you’re getting things done, it doesn’t matter how or when you do them.

9 to 5 is for suckers.

According to one study, people with the highest “brain health scores,” which include memory, focus, sleep, mood, productivity, and creativity, are those who follow a flexible schedule.

Yes, I know this isn’t conducive to trial work or being available to see clients when clients need to be seen, but even the busiest of lawyers can work around those limitations, at least some of the time.

And they should. Because, according to the study, not only is this better for your brain, it’s a better predictor of overall happiness.

And I’ll take happiness any day of the week.

Filed Under: Career satisfaction, Productivity, success

Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman

March 7, 2023 by David M. Ward

Wouldn’t it be great if the first time you talked to a prospective client about your services they said, “Where do I sign up?”

It would, but they don’t.

They usually want more information. Maybe a lot more. And they want you to explain things in enough detail that they not only understand it, they see that your solution is their best solution.

Because they don’t want to make a mistake.

They will have questions. As you answer those questions, they’ll often think of more.

Getting them from not knowing to knowing, and from knowing to doing (hiring you) is a process, and it usually takes time.

The prospective client needs you to explain things again, in different want, so they can understand everything.

And, no matter how good you are at explaining, not everyone “gets” it as quickly as others. Especially with something complicated (like the law) and scary (like the law) and expensive (like the law).

When you’re sitting with the prospect, you can take your time explaining things properly, ask questions to make sure they understand, show them the paperwork, read their body language, and answer all of their questions. You can take as long as they need.

And you no doubt do all that. But it’s a different story when you’re communicating with them online.

Putting up more FAQ’s, videos, and other information can help. But sometimes, all that information overwhelms or confused them, leading them to conclude they’re not ready to do anything.

What can you do?

The answer isn’t to wait until their problem gets worse and they’re in enough pain to finally call. The answer is to stay in touch with them, via email.

Send more information. Send them the same information stated in different ways. Send them more examples, use cases, and stories about others who had what they have and found relief by hiring you, or found relief by speaking with you (and then hiring you).

Don’t do this once or twice. Do it over and over again, for as long as it takes, because you don’t know when (or if) they will be ready.

Let your newsletter do the heavy lifting. Until they’re ready for you to get on your white horse and save the day.

Email marketing for attorneys

Filed Under: Closing the sale, Communication, Newsletters

A strange way to make people like you

March 6, 2023 by David M. Ward

This is going to sound weird. It’s a psychological concept named after Ben Franklin, who used it to get a rival legislator and powerful political enemy to put aside his ill will towards Franklin.

His foe didn’t like Ben and had been making negative speeches about him. Ben was determined to win him over. But instead of offering to give something to his rival, or do something for him to show him he was a good guy, Ben did the opposite. He asked the man to do something for him.

Yep, he asked his enemy for a favor.

He knew the man owned a rare book, and Ben asked if he would loan it to him. When he returned the book, Ben thanked him profusely and found that his old enemy became his friend.

Ben had triggered what we now know as cognitive dissonance.

Our brains find it difficult to hold two contradictory beliefs at the same time. To resolve this conflict, we tend to alter one of our beliefs.

His rival didn’t like Franklin, which contrasted with his belief that you don’t do favors for people you don’t like, something he had just done. To resolve this conflict, he was forced to back away from his negative feelings towards Franklin, and that’s how these enemies became friends.

Today, it’s called The Ben Franklin Effect and you can use it to win friends and influence people.

If you want someone to like you, get them to do you a favor.

Filed Under: Networking, Personal development Tagged With: negotiating

Mom likes you better

March 3, 2023 by David M. Ward

Some of your clients like you more than others. And because they do, they’re willing to do things for you that other clients won’t.

They’re willing to provide a review or testimonial, and it will be a good one. They’re willing to fill out your survey, share your content, tell their friends about your upcoming event, send traffic to your website, and. . . send you referrals. Maybe lots of referrals. And introductions, too. And wit

Without being asked.

Your best clients give you more legal work, sure, but they also do other things that help you build your list and your practice.

And they should be treated accordingly.

Give your best clients extra time and attention. Invite them to your “inner circle”. Give them bonuses, promote their business or cause, and give them personal time.

Start by making a list of 10 to 30 of your “best of the best” clients. Keep that list in front of you, to remind you to give them extra attention. Once a week or so, call or write, send them an article, or just say hello.

See how they’re doing, and what they need or want. And find ways to help them get it.

And we’re not talking about legal issues, necessarily. Maybe they need customers; you might do a profile of their business in your newsletter. Maybe they have a personal issue you have had some experience with and can offer advice. Maybe they have a child who is sick or injured and they need to hear someone tell them it will be okay.

Talk to them, ask about them, and look for opportunities to help them, console them, support them, promote them, or inspire them.

Yes, that takes time. What about the rest of your clients?

Reserve 80% of your “client time” for your best clients and do it one-on-one. Allocate 20% of your client time for the rest of your clients, and give them time primarily “as a group” e.g., via your newsletter, and automate and/or delegate most of that time.

Treat your best clients the way they deserve. Your practice will thank you.

The Attorney Marketing Formula

Filed Under: Client loyalty, Client relations