The Attorney Marketing Center--Earn More. Work Less

Lose it or use it

June 21, 2022 by David M. Ward

Yesterday, I threw down about what to do to get your clients to fall in love with you. But there are also things you might need to stop doing.

Things you need to “lose,“ because if you don’t, you might use them and drive clients away instead of bringing them closer.

Periodically, we all need to do some self-reflection, to see if we have any habits or ways of conducting ourself that might be due for an overhaul.

Things like:

A bad temper
Arrogance
Being overly aggressive
Impatience
Bluntness
Negative attitude
Over-sharing
Talking about politics or religion
Lack of seriousness (when necessary)
Talking too much about yourself
Being a poor listener

And so much more.

For me, it’s my sense of humor. Sometimes, I come off as insensitive or just plain goofy.

Hey, not everyone appreciates genius.

But here’s the thing. A weakness can also be a strength.

Sometimes my sense of humor bombs. Sometimes it is a great ice-breaker. People love it when you make them laugh.

The other day, at the doctor’s office, I was a big hit. The nurse laughed her head off and told me I was funny.

“Looks aren’t everything,” I said.

Hey, I don’t ever want to lose my habit of “trying” to be funny. It comes in handy in writing, speaking, and networking.

But I do need to watch what I say, when, and to whom, and edit myself before I do something that gets me into trouble.

Nah, that would be no fun. There are nurses out there who need me.

Filed Under: Client relations, Networking

Do your clients love you this much?

June 20, 2022 by David M. Ward

Years ago, I was sitting with a client, looking at her auto insurance policy, and I noticed a few things I thought she should change to improve her coverage and reduce the cost. As I recall, she and her family were paying nearly $4000 per year, which is a lot today but was crazy expensive then.

I also told her she should shop around and get some quotes from other companies because she was paying top dollar with her company. I had just written a book on the subject and told her that by shopping around, she might get the same coverage and cut her premiums by one-third or even more.

She thanked me for my advice, but said she wasn’t going to change anything. She and her husband had been with their agent for several years and trusted him completely. He took good care of them when they had a claim and she would never think of leaving him, even if she could save $1000 or more per year.

Clearly, they loved this guy. What was his secret? And what can you do to inspire this kind of undying loyalty with your clients?

In my view, it had nothing to do with the “work” he did for them and everything to do with him.

He made his clients feel appreciated and well taken care of.

And yes, that’s enough.

Your clients might be pleased with the work you do for them, and think your fees are reasonable, but c’mon, they can get good legal work and reasonable fees from your competition.

But there’s only one you.

Build relationships with your clients and you’ll never want for clients.

Pay attention to the little things you do for them—the way you greet them, the way you remember their birthday, their dog’s name, and that their daughter does Irish dancing or plays goalie on her soccer team—that’s the stuff people appreciate and remember.

When you make your clients fall in love with you (not your work), they’ll never leave you, even when other lawyers offer to do the same work for less.

Marketing is simple when you know “The Formula”

Filed Under: Client loyalty

Forget about it

June 17, 2022 by David M. Ward

Contrary to popular advice, you don’t need to write down all of your ideas. In fact, it might be better if you don’t.

David Allen says, “Your mind is for having ideas, not holding them.” He says we should record our ideas in a “trusted system” so we don’t use conscious energy thinking about them, but we won’t “forget” them.

And we all do that, don’t we?

But there’s an argument that says we’re wasting our time.

The theory is, if you can’t remember an idea, it’s not the right idea for you. So instead of writing down your idea, forget about it. Turn it over to God or the universe or your subconscious mind.

If you never recall the idea, it probably wasn’t worth the grey matter it was written on.

The best ideas either stick with you or come back to you. In fact, when an idea is right, and the timing is right, you won’t be able to stop thinking about it.

As Victor Hugo put it, “Nothing else in the world… not all the armies… is so powerful as an idea whose time has come.”

Besides, when was the last time you checked your repository of ideas and actually used one?

It happens. But the best ideas don’t need you to find them, they find you.

You know that idea you can’t stop thinking about? Oh, you might get busy for a while and think about other things, but then suddenly, you remember it—and get excited.

Yeah, that idea. That’s the one you should run with.

Ideas come and go. But some ideas hang on. Your job is to listen. And when you can’t let go of an idea, wrap your arms around it and hold it close.

Until then, forget about it.

Filed Under: Productivity, success

Murder your darlings

June 16, 2022 by David M. Ward

Relax, it’s a literary metaphor, suggesting that when you edit your writing you cut out some of your best passages, your ‘darlings,‘ to leave room for the even better ones.

Make your writing lean by removing the fat.

That’s good advice for everything we do. A romantic version of the Pareto Principle (aka, The 80/20 Rule)—prioritizing the “precious few” over the “trivial many”.

If you’re like me, things often take longer than they need to. Projects that might be completed in a weekend are still in the planning stages weeks or months down the road.

Sometimes, it is our inner perfectionist bedeviling us. Yeah, we should murder him, too.

But it might simply be we have too much on our plate.

The simple solution—do less.

When doing research, focus on the key cases and arguments. Give yourself two hours to distill the essentials, not two weeks to categorize the entire library.

With tasks and projects, choose a few (at a time) and put the rest on the back burner.

Use fewer tools or systems to do the job and don’t get seduced by productivity porn.

When we have fewer options, fewer things going on in our life, we can focus on the precious few and do them well.

We can accomplish more and have plenty of time to attend our darlings’ funeral.

If you only use one marketing strategy, make it this

Filed Under: Productivity, Writing Tagged With: 80/20 principle, pareto principle

Stop talking and sign me up

June 15, 2022 by David M. Ward

You’re sitting with a prospective client, discussing their situation. You describe the options, risks, and benefits of each solution and answer their questions. You can tell they’re interested, but when it comes time to do the paperwork, they tell you they want to think about it.

What went wrong?

It could be a lot of things. But sometimes, it’s because you kept talking.

They were interested and ready to go, but instead of handing them a pen and showing them where to sign, you kept giving them more information. You gave them more to think about and they got confused or frightened and backed away.

It happens. We have an obligation to make sure they know everything they need to know so they can make an informed decision.. And we don’t want to pressure them.

But when the client is ready, we have to STFU and hand them a pen.

Yesterday, my wife and I went to a phone store to get some information about one of their plans. We walked out with a new plan and two new phones.

In part, because the salesman knew when to stop talking.

At one point, he told us about the cameras in the different models. When I told him this wasn’t important to us, he stopped talking about them. When he told us about the extended care option and I shook my head, he moved on.

He didn’t push. He didn’t tell us what he wanted us to know, he listened and told us what we wanted to know. And when we were ready, he handed us a pen. (A stylus, actually).

The client tells you what you need to know and what you need to say to make the sale. We just have to listen.

Sometimes, that’s hard to do for people who earn their living explaining and persuading, but that’s the challenge.

Get it right and we get a new client. Get it wrong and they say they want to think about it.

Here’s the formula for building a successful practice

Filed Under: Closing the sale

Why do you do what you do?

June 14, 2022 by David M. Ward

You’re building your career. Putting in the hours, doing the work, learning and creating and fighting the good fight.

Why do you do it?

Please don’t say “money”. Sure, money is important but only insofar as it allows you to do something you couldn’t do, or do as well, without it.

You want to earn a certain amount so that. . . (fill in the blank with something important).

For some, money means independence. No longer having to answer to someone who doesn’t appreciate what they do. For others, money means being able to move to a safer neighborhood to raise their kids. Some want to take care of aging or ill parents. Some want to help their church. Some want to change the world.

The money is a means to an end, and it’s important to know that end because that’s what drives you.

We all tend to focus on “how” but “why” is much more important.

You can learn everything there is to learn about how to be a good lawyer, how to bring in more clients, or how to increase your income. But if your “why” isn’t strong enough. . . you might not use what you learn.

It’s all about your “why”.

When your kid needs life-saving surgery and your insurance doesn’t cover it, you get up early, work late, get out of your comfort zone, and never make excuses. You’ll do whatever it takes to pay for that surgery.

You probably won’t if you just want a nicer car or a bigger house.

Be honest. Where are you right now, career-wise? Are you hitting your goals? Are you doing the activities you said you would do when you created those goals?

If you’re not, it’s probably not because you don’t know “how”. It’s because you don’t have a strong enough “why”.

So I’ll ask you again, why do you do what you do?

Filed Under: Inspiration

The easiest way to sell legal services

June 13, 2022 by David M. Ward

It’s funny, you’re in the persuasion business, but you don’t like persuading people to hire you.

You can “sell” a jury on finding for your client, negotiate a better deal for them, or write an article advocating for a social cause, but you are reluctant to use your persuasive abilities to get anyone to choose you as their attorney.

Seems like a waste of talent, doesn’t it?

But I get it. You don’t want to look like you’re bragging or desperate for work. You think it’s better for clients to choose you because someone else said you have a lot of experience, keep your promises, and deliver great results.

And you would be right to think this.

It is better to have someone else say those things. Because if you say it, people can doubt it; if someone else says it, it must be true.

Praise from third parties is the best and easiest way to sell your services.

What could be easier than getting some good reviews and quoting them or linking to them?

What could be easier than getting testimonials from satisfied clients along with permission to share them?

What could be easier than quoting other attorneys who speak about your good character, work ethic, and track record?

The answer is “nothing”.

Nothing is easier. Or better.

So, if you’re not doing this already, make it a priority to collect and use the positive things people say about you. Post them on your website, put them in your brochures and marketing materials, put them in your bio, and let other people sing your praises.

These aren’t difficult to get. But people are busy, so you need to prompt them.

When a client sends you an email thanking you for (something), tell them you appreciate their saying so and ask for permission to quote them. Disguise their name if need be, but showcase their words.

Send new clients a survey at the end of the case and ask them how you did. If they thought you were the bees’ knees, yep, ask to quote them. Or ask them to post a review online.

The next time you get a referral from a fellow professional, thank them and ask them why they chose you. When they say nice things about you, ask if you may quote them in your marketing.

If you already do this, do it more. Build a portfolio of praise from clients and professionals and put it front and center.

When you do, you should notice two things happening.

First, you should see more clients and business contacts willing to provide testimonials and positive reviews. It’s the bandwagon effect. The more praise you get, the more people want to jump on board.

Second, you should see a higher percentage of prospective clients signing up. When they see how much your clients like you and the work you did for them, they will be more likely to see you as the best option for them.

Because, while most attorneys have happy clients, they don’t have clients who are happy enough to put it in writing.

The Attorney Marketing Formula: it’s a formula, so you know it works

Filed Under: Closing the sale, Marketing legal services

Survival mode

June 10, 2022 by David M. Ward

What’s the minimum you need to earn to keep your practice going? To cover your basic overhead and take home enough to keep the home fires burning?

What’s the minimum you need to cover your “nut”?

Once you have a number, figure out what you have to do to earn that. The activities you need to do to be reasonably assured that you will continue to stay afloat.

Doing this will allow you to identify the activities that are important to your practice right now. What’s essential and what isn’t.

You might realize that if you continue to work with your current crop of cases or clients, you will generate enough work now and, via repeat business and referrals, enough work to keep you going for the foreseeable future.

Cool.

On the other hand, you might realize that while you’re okay right now, you’re not replacing cases or clients fast enough to sustain revenue and continue growing, and you need to do something about that.

Or you might realize that some of your practice areas, services or marketing strategies aren’t bringing in enough revue, at least compared to other things you do. You might see value in jettisoning them or changing them and freeing up resources that are better used doing something else.

Once you have a clear picture of your current reality, take stock of other options. Everything else you could do to create growth and build your future.

Doing this exercise will help you get clear about where you are, where you want to be in the next few years, and what you need to do to get there.

This will help you plan your future

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

Not many lawyers own their niche

June 9, 2022 by David M. Ward

Wouldn’t it be nice to be the top dog in your niche? The lawyer clients listen to and want to hire above all others?

If you do, you should set your sights on doing something most lawyers never do.

Most lawyers are content with positioning themselves as an expert in their field. But every lawyer is an “expert,“ aren’t they?

The trouble is, people follow leaders, not experts. If you want to dominate your field, you need to lead your field.

How do you do that?

You do things leaders do. You speak and write and serve on boards and panels. You teach other lawyers (CLE) and are on a first name basis with influential people in your field and in your market.

And you build a reputation that attracts lots of referrals from lawyers and other professionals who know your name even if you don’t know theirs.

You should be working towards this, but it might take a minute. If you want to shortcut the process and be seen as a leader before the twilight of your career, there is something else you can do.

You can engage with your market and get them to know your name and what you can do to help them.

Email isn’t the only way to do that, but it is the simplest. It makes it easy to connect with prospective clients and professionals in your niche, and do it often.

When you are frequently “in the minds and mailboxes” of the people in your market, they get to know you and see you as a leader. Maybe ‘the’ leader.

Most lawyers are afraid to do this. They don’t email often because they don’t want to annoy their list or get spam complaints, or they’re afraid they’ll run out of things to say.

But those are just excuses.

You may say there are many lawyers at the top of their field who don’t communicate regularly with their market, and that’s true. But what did they do to get there? And how long did it take?

If you don’t have some of the advantages they had, or you don’t want to take as long as they did, start thinking about how you can get in front of your market as often as possible to establish your leadership immediately.

Email Marketing for Attorneys makes it easy

Filed Under: Communication, Email, Newsletters

Don’t show your clients how the sausage is made

June 8, 2022 by David M. Ward

The law is complicated. Your clients hire you because they believe you can wade through that complexity and do things for them they can’t do for themselves.

Most lawyers are adept at making things more complicated than they need to be. And they make a lot of money doing that. But the lawyers who are adept at simplifying things do even better.

Your clients are busy. They’re scared or confused or have other things on their mind. They want to know that you will take care of them. Get the job done. They don’t want to know everything about how you do what you do.

Just like you don’t want to know how your car works, you just want to know that it does.

So, simplify things for them. Explain only as much as they need to know, and no more (unless they ask).

That goes for your bill, too.

Explain what you did, clearly and thoroughly, but keep it simple. Itemize your bill, but don’t bludgeon them with details.

They’re paying you to deliver a delicious sausage sandwich. Tell them the ingredients, but don’t show them how the sausage is made.

How to write a bill that gets paid

Filed Under: Client relations, Communication, Fees and Billing