The Attorney Marketing Center--Earn More. Work Less

Taking inventory

February 14, 2022 by David M. Ward

We’re told to focus on the process, not the results, that if we continue doing the work, the results will take care of themselves. And that’s true. The more you do, the better you get, and, over time, your results compound and you grow.

But like any journey, it makes sense to stop and assess your progress along the way.

Check your numbers. Count the beans. See what you have so that you’ll know what’s working–and what isn’t.

Once a month or so, take inventory. Record your numbers:

New cases
New subscribers
Referrals from clients
Referrals from professional contacts
Leads/calls/inquiries
Percentage of leads closed
Consultations
Testimonials/positive reviews

Ask yourself what’s working and what needs to be improved.

Also track the activities that generated those numbers:

Blog posts/articles/videos/podcasts published
Seminars/live presentations
Guest appearances/interviews
Networking events attended
Ad spend/letters mailed
Conversion ratios
Etc.

Ask yourself what’s working and what needs to be improved.

Also take inventory of the people in your professional life:

Calls/emails to clients/former clients
Calls/emails to professional contacts
Calls/emails to prospective referral sources/bloggers, etc.
Follow-ups with prospective clients
Etc.

Don’t overcomplicate your marketing. But don’t ignore the numbers.

Track what you did this month, so next month you can do more of what’s working and less of what isn’t.

The easiest way to stay in touch with clients and prospects is email

Filed Under: Marketing legal services Tagged With: marketing metrics

What do clients want from you?

February 11, 2022 by David M. Ward

You probably talk to your clients and prospects, to find out what they like about your services (and customer service) and what they think needs to be improved.

If you don’t, you should.

But you might not get helpful or honest answers, either because the client is uncomfortable talking to you about the subject or they don’t know how to articulate it.

You can encourage your clients to post a review, or, as I suggest, wait for a client to say something positive or thank you or provide a referral and ask those clients to leave a review (and let you quote them in a testimonial), because you know they’re happy and their review is more likely to be positive.

But you also want to know when clients are unhappy so you can do something about it before things get worse.

You can keep your eyes and ears open for clues and then talk to them, but by the time you notice there’s a problem, it might be too late.

That’s why you should regularly send clients a survey, and allow them to describe their experience with your office. But if you want them to respond more often, and respond candidly, you should give them the option to do it anonymously.

Yes, you would like to know who is or isn’t happy, and the issue, but isn’t it better to know what clients like or don’t like even if you don’t know who they are?

One more thing.

Clients are funny, and by funny, I don’t mean amusing. I mean strange. Weird, unpredictable, with seemingly random likes and dislikes and preferences. You certainly can’t please everyone, and you shouldn’t try.

But you should look for patterns.

If a significant percentage of clients (and prospects) don’t like something, such as being kept waiting for their appointment for more than 10 minutes, or being kept on hold for more than 30 seconds when they call, you need to know that.

You might not know there is an issue or realize that you’re doing it.

Unfortunately, you may not get enough survey responses to show you a pattern.

What you can you do?

You can go online and look at reviews of other lawyers, to see what their clients complain about, and also what they like, because the odds are your clients do (or would) feel the same way about you.

Study the competition. Learn their “best practices”. Avoid their mistakes.

Filed Under: Client relations

You don’t own me

February 10, 2022 by David M. Ward

Everybody wants something from you. Your clients, subscribers, colleagues, and friends want you to give them something or do something.

Do it if you want to. But only if you want to.

Do what fits your agenda and schedule. Design your practice to fit your life, not the other way around.

Serve your clients, give them what they want, but only if that’s what you want.

Service doesn’t require subservience.

If someone doesn’t want to do business with you because they don’t like what you’re doing, or they don’t like you, they don’t have to do business with you. There are plenty of others who will. Plenty of others who will love what you do and how you do it, and will love the authentic you.

Or they won’t, but they’ll hire you anyway.

And that’s the point. You can be yourself and not only survive, but thrive.

That goes for your marketing, too.

If you don’t want to network, don’t. If you don’t want to be on camera, don’t. If you don’t want to write a newsletter or blog or hang out on social media, don’t.

Don’t change what you do or how you do it unless you want to.

But. . . try things before you make up your mind.

Do things you don’t think you’ll like and make sure. Make a video, show up at an event and introduce yourself to someone, write something and publish it. You might find, as many do, that something you thought you would hate turns out to be your favorite thing.

That includes people.

Work with a client who isn’t your favorite. They might change. Or you might.

Or you might decide you like their money more than you dislike their personality.

The road to success has many twists and turns.

Filed Under: success

When you don’t feel like writing anything, do this

February 9, 2022 by David M. Ward

What do you do when you don’t feel like writing anything on your blog or in your newsletter?

Most people will tell you to suck it up and write it anyway, because you made a commitment to your subscribers or followers and they’re expecting to hear from you, and because you don’t want to break the chain.

“Figure it out,“ they tell you. So you scramble to find an idea and force yourself to get it done.

And all is right with the world.

But sometimes, you just can’t. You’re fresh out of ideas, you’re ill or recovering from surgery, you’re slammed with work, or you’re having a sad and need a day off.

Take it. Take the day off.

It’s your blog. Your newsletter. Your channel. The world won’t end if you miss a day.

If you don’t feel like writing or have nothing to say, say nothing. That’s why God created sick days and snow days and bad hair days. If you need some personal time, take it.

Or. . . go to Plan B.

Plan B is to write a very short post. Instead of hundreds of words, you write a paragraph or two.

Yes, you can.

Seth Godin does it. So do many others. Why not you?

Something else. If you still can’t think of anything to say, go ahead and post something someone else said.

You can do that, too.

A passage from a book or article. A pithy quote. Or an intriguing question you saw that’s got you thinking.

Note to self: set up a file and start collecting this kind of stuff.

If you don’t feel well, you can post this “as is” and go back to bed.

But you might find, as I often do, that a short passage or quote you dig out of your notes gets your juices flowing and you find yourself writing a “regular-sized” post.

Many of my posts start that way. I grab something I found interesting and see what I have to say about it.

In fact, that’s how I wrote this post.

Email Marketing for Attorneys

Filed Under: Email, Newsletters, Writing

Catastrophizing

February 8, 2022 by David M. Ward

The end of the world is not nigh. The worst-case scenario isn’t a done deal. We’re not all on death’s door.

No matter how bad things (sometimes) appear, there’s plenty to appreciate, plenty to be hopeful about, and plenty we can do to make things even better.

When I see people saying otherwise, I tell myself, “they don’t understand” and hope that changes soon. I say the same thing when I see people ignoring reality, refusing to do their homework, and turning a blind eye to common sense.

Be careful what you read and who you listen to. Use discernment. Many people are mistaken. Many have an agenda. And many are so beaten down they’ve given up. Or just want to complain.

There may be plenty to complain about, but complaining isn’t going to help.

Refusing to submit to oppression helps. Standing up for the aggrieved helps. Offering a warm embrace to those who need it helps.

But what helps more than anything is being positive.

Let others see we’re not losing our minds, our principles, or our souls. We love life and our fellow man. And we’re excited about the future.

They may call us naïve or foolish. We’ll just smile and say, “they don’t understand” and hope that changes soon.

Filed Under: Inspiration

My services are for everyone!

February 7, 2022 by David M. Ward

Lawyers, hear me. While it’s true that you can perform your services for anyone with certain legal problems, if you target your marketing to “everyone,” you’re making a mistake.

Not everyone will hear your message, let alone relate to it. Not everyone will be ready, willing, and able to hire you. Not everyone will be able to provide you with repeat business and referrals, which you should know by now are the sine qua non of a successful practice.

When you target everyone, you target no one.

Instead of targeting everyone, define and market to the clients you define as ideal.

You’ll get more clients and better clients when you do.

You may not want to narrow the field, because you don’t want to miss out on someone who might hire you or refer you. But if you’re willing to let go of people who aren’t your ideal, you’ll more than make up for any lost business from the people who are.

Because the narrower you define your target market and ideal client, the easier and more effective (and profitable) your marketing will be.

You’ll get more clients with less effort. You’ll spend less time and less money to find them (actually, have them find you), deliver your message, and convert them into clients.

Those clients will also pay you more because they know you are the one everyone in their niche is hiring and talking about.

More good news.

Targeting an ideal client (instead of “everyone”) doesn’t mean you can’t or won’t reach others. You will. Other people will hear about you and make their way to your door.

Take their money. Tolerate clients who aren’t in your target market.

But don’t target them.

Spend your time and money and tailor your marketing message to a laser-focused ideal client.

Who is your ideal client? That’s what you have to figure out.

To start, ask yourself, “Who is NOT my ideal client?”

I’ll help you start your list:

People who don’t live or work in a jurisdiction where I am licensed
People who don’t hire lawyers
People who don’t have/won’t spend money to hire a lawyer
People who are hard to work with, e.g., they’ve previously hired and fired (or been fired by) several lawyers on the same matter
People who aren’t married (if you’re a divorce lawyer); yes, they might get married some day, and they might have referrals for you, but we’re looking for your “ideal” client

And go from there. (And yes, “people” includes businesses.)

You can define your ideal client by age, industry or profession, and many other factors.

And you should.

The more specific you are, the more likely you’ll be to be sought after and hired by clients who are a great match for you.

To learn how to choose a target market and ideal client for your practice, pick up a copy of The Attorney Marketing Formula.

Filed Under: Marketing legal services Tagged With: ideal client, Niche marketing, target market

The journey is what you make of it

February 4, 2022 by David M. Ward

When I was in school, I made the mistake of telling my parents my goal to become rich by the time I was 30. They told me that was crazy.

“You have to put in your dues,“ they said. “Things don’t work that fast,” they said. “Turn off the TV and finish your homework, “they said.

“Don’t rain on my parade,” I said, or would have if I had been as sharp as I thought I was.

They wanted me to stop dreaming and do what everyone else does. Work hard, endure the pain, and in twenty or thirty years, if I was lucky, I might get there.

That’s the message they grew up with and the message they wanted me to learn.

But I didn’t want to hear that. Twenty or thirty years of pain? That didn’t work for me.

My law school torts professor told us it would take five years after we pass the bar before we could expect to see success.

I didn’t want to hear that either, although I liked his number better.

But the issue isn’t how long it takes. It’s the idea that success requires suffering.

I reject that idea. I did then and I do now.

Yes, growth can be uncomfortable. We’re doing difficult things, making mistakes, and regularly getting out of our comfort zone. But that doesn’t mean we have to suffer and hate what we’re doing.

It comes down to your attitude, which is driven by your beliefs.

If you believe success requires years of pain and suffering and sacrifice, that’s probably what you’ll find.

But you can choose a different belief.

You can believe that while there will be a certain amount of problems and discomfort, you can enjoy the journey on your way to success.

When you hit a snag, when you are uncomfortable, you can choose to endure it and suffer your way through it, or, as they teach new recruits in the military, you can “embrace the suck”.

See the difficulties for what they make of you. Because they are not only inevitable on your journey, they are how you reach your destination.

No matter how long it takes.

Filed Under: success

Choosing your topic

February 3, 2022 by David M. Ward

“What should I write about?” asks many an attorney.

“That’s simple,” comes the answer. “Write what you know.“

Here’s the thing. What’s obvious and basic to you is obscure and complicated to your readers. They don’t know what you know. If they did, they wouldn’t be reading you or hiring you.

Write about something that’s obvious to you, because it’s not obvious to them.

Unless you’re writing to other lawyers, of course.

In which case, write about the kinds of things you would talk to them about if you were speaking to them. Shop talk—strategy, interesting cases, new laws, or your thoughts about something that might interest them because it interests you.

But if you’re writing to lay people, however sophisticated and intelligent they may be, you don’t need to give it much thought. Write about something you know well, something you could rattle off the top of your head in less time than it takes to ask, “What should I write about?”

You know this stuff, remember?

It might help to imagine you’re writing to a specific client, teaching him something about the law, procedure, or process. Or telling him about an interesting case you had (or heard about), explaining what happened and why it could be important to him.

You could give him a peek behind the curtain and show him what you do when you meet with a new client. What do you ask? What do you tell him? Do you fill out any forms? What’s on them? What do you do with the information?

Do you explain “what happens next?” Give him a quick rundown now so he can see what it will be like to work with you.

It doesn’t really matter what you write because your reader doesn’t know any of this and you know everything. He will see you as the expert and the solution to his problem, so make sure you also tell him what to do to get started.

How to write a newsletter that brings in business

Filed Under: Blogging, Newsletters, Writing

Mono-maniac on a mission

February 2, 2022 by David M. Ward

Several years ago, I was in a business and worked with a guy who put in long hours and worked harder than just about everyone else in that business.

No “work-life” balance for him.

He was asked why he worked so hard. He answered, “Because building this business requires a lot of pain and sacrifice and I want to get it over with.”

And he did. In a few years, he accomplished what most people never come close to accomplishing.

Another friend did the same thing. He described himself as “a mono-maniac on a mission.”

Both of my friends started their business by taking massive action. And kept at it until their business was big enough and had enough momentum that they didn’t have to work as hard.

They had the knowledge, the people, the systems, the skills, and the reputation. They had ironed out the kinks and found ways to get the most out of what they had.

True, their first few years required sacrifices. You can’t have it all when you’re a mono-maniac on a mission. When you’re building quickly, as they did, everything else besides the business is a distraction.

A few years later, they had enough money coming in they could take their foot off the gas a bit and build out other areas of their life.

We’re taught that having work-life balance is important. Don’t work too many hours, take time to smell the roses, and if you don’t, your health and relationships might suffer.

Because we’ve been taught that most people don’t take all-out massive action. They build their business or practice pedantically, over decades, not a few years.

They go for a stroll instead of a sprint.

Am I advocating one way or the other? Not necessarily. Just pointing out that you have options.

All-out massive action might not be a good fit for you. It might lead to burnout, loss of friends, health challenges, and ignoring things that are important to you.

But if you’re the right person, and you’re willing to live an unbalanced life for a few years, you might achieve the kind of success most people only dream of.

And do it early enough that you can enjoy the fruits of your labor for the rest of your life.

How to build your practice quickly

Filed Under: success Tagged With: momentum

Daily commitments for growing your practice

February 1, 2022 by David M. Ward

If marketing is important to you, you might want to create a list of core activities you are committed to doing every day. 3 is a good number. If you get your 3 done for the day, it’s a good day.

Daily is better than weekly because when you do it every day, it’s easier to form a habit.

Now, here’s the key: make them small. Because if they’re not, you won’t have time to do them (or want to do them) and that defeats the purpose.

Put pen to paper and brainstorm small tasks you could do every workday to grow your practice. Keep them general, at least for now, until you see the value of being more specific.

For example, your list might look like this:

Something to get more traffic and grow my list
Work on my current marketing project
Reach out to a client or contact

Traffic and growing your list might mean leaving a comment on an authority blog or submitting a query for a guest post. You might ask your current subscribers or social media contacts to forward your article or the link to your site to someone who might need that information.

Working on your current marketing project might be continuing to write your book, create your presentation, or outline a new podcast episode. You might work on a new lead magnet, a new ad, or updates to your website.

Reaching out to a client or contact could be as simple as sending an email, asking how they are doing or what they’re working on.

It’s not the size of the activity, it’s that you do something every day.

A minute or two, a call or two, a page or two. But every day. Make them a part of your daily routine and see where they take you.

How to use email to do most of your marketing

Filed Under: Marketing legal services, Marketing Plan