Client relations Archives - Page 25 of 40 - The Attorney Marketing Center

Tazing clients for fun and profit

March 9, 2015 by David M. Ward

Let’s face it, you’re boring. Predictable. Normal. And forgettable. Just like most lawyers.

Yes, people trust you, because they see you as a reliable and stable professional, but that strength, from a marketing standpoint, canÂ also be a weakness.

You don’t want to look and sound like every other lawyer. You want to stand out.

Where’s the flair? The panache? The spark of originality?

Actor and comedian Jonah Hill said, “It’s always better to shock people and change people’s expectations than to give them exactly what they think you can do.”

And he’s right.

That doesn’t mean you should be reckless. Or weird. Just a little different. Maybe not always, but at least once in awhile.

Do something people would never expect you to do. Something small, but significant.

Surprise your clients with a gift. Invite them to your first stand up comedy gig. Write a poem and post it on your website.

Pass out a box of Good N’ Plenty with your business card. Come up with a memorable slogan.

Show your fun side. Be unpredictable. A little shocking.

You want people to notice you and remember you and talk about you, so give them something to talk about.

Of course you want to be known more for your legal talents than your whimsy. But before you can dazzle anyone with your brilliance, you have to get their attention.

So, how will you shock your clients today?

Filed Under: Client relations, Legal industry, Marketing legal services

If John Wooden managed your law practice

January 22, 2015 by David M. Ward

Basketball coaching legend John Wooden was known as a perfectionist. He believed that planning and preparation and attention to detail were the keys to winning. He expected the best from his teams and usually got it.

In his long career, Wooden proved that his methods worked. He left a legacy unmatched in the field of sports and we can learn a lot by studying his methods and his life.

But how much of what he teaches can we use to buildÂ a law practice? Can we demand as much from ourselves and our staff as Wooden demanded from his teams?

Let’s think about that in the context ofÂ the first client interview.

I suspect that Wooden would have us regularly drill on the questions we ask and the things we say, continually improving how we sound, our body language, and our timing. He would have us study the client intake form to the point where we could recite it in our sleep. He would have us practice everything several times a day.

Every minute would be scripted, every detail drilled to perfection.Â He would evaluate us not just on whether or not the client signed up but on how many referrals we got before they left the office.

Is that the standard we should seek?

Not in my book.

I’m not saying we can’t learn by paying attention to detail. We can, and we can use what we learn to sign up more clients and get more referrals. But I don’t believe we need toÂ work that hard to get every detail right.

According to the 80/20 rule or The Pareto Principle, in anything we do, only a few things make a difference; most things don’t. If we get the few things right, we don’t need to obsess over everything else.

Let’s say that body language is one of the few things that make a big difference. (I believe it is). If we make eye contact, smile appropriately, and otherwise show the client that we are listening to them and sincerely care about helping them, we’re more than half-way home.

But this doesn’t mean we need to drill on every word we say, where we place our hands, or how we time our gestures. If you truly care about the people in your office, none of that is necessary. If you don’t, none of that will help.

With most things we do, good enough is good enough. Get the important things right, the 20% that delivers 80% of your results, and you won’t need to sweat the small stuff.

Wooden wouldÂ probably disagreeÂ . He said,Â â€œIf you donâ€™t have time to do it right, when will you have time to do it over?â€

Yes, but what if you don’t need to do it at all?

Want to sign up more clients? Get this

Filed Under: Client relations, Law office management, Marketing legal services, Salesmanship Tagged With: 80/20 principle, 80/20 rule, pareto principle

The foundation of all attorney marketing

January 5, 2015 by David M. Ward

The foundation of all attorney marketing is value. The more value you deliver to your target market, the more successful you will become.

When you deliver more value, you get more clients, and better clients, and you’re able to charge higher fees. You get more referrals and fewer complaints. You build a base of loyal fans who are not only willing to help you, they go out of their way to do it.

Value starts with your services, of course, but it’s not just the excellence with which your perform those services. It is a function of everything under the umbrella of “client relations”.

It is the little things you do for your clients that improve their entire experience with you. It’s the way you show them that you care about them as individuals and not just names on a file. It’s how you make them feel about themselves and their decision to put their trust in you.

Maya Angelou said it best when she said, “I’ve learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.”

Value doesn’t stop with clients. You also deliver value to your prospects, referral sources, and others who work in, advise, or sell to your target market. Give them more value, make them feel good about knowing you,Â and they will remember you when they need your services or know someone who does.

You can deliver value to your prospective clients and referral sources through content-rich websites, videos, podcasts, articles, books, and speaking engagements that educate and empower them and help them make better decisions. You can deliver value through free consultations and free seminars, or paid seminars, books and courses.

The foundation of all attorney marketing is value. Find out what your market wants and deliver it to them. Over and over again. Surprise and delight them by giving them more than anyone else in the market, and you will own that market.

Marketing is easier when you know The Formula.

Filed Under: Client loyalty, Client relations, Increase your income, success

Bah, humbug, period, paragraph.

December 17, 2014 by David M. Ward

Tis the season to be jolly. Or not.

The last two weeks of the year is either a time of joy and celebration, or a time of stress and regret. You either want this time to last forever, or you can’t wait for it to be over.

If you love this time of year, Mazel Tov. Savor every moment. Give thanks for your blessings. Enjoy the big meal. Save me a hunk of pie.

If this isn’t your favorite time of year, or even if it is, recognize that lots of people are stressed out right now. They have too much to do. They may be spending money they don’t have. They may be worried about their future.

You can help.

You can be a ray of sunshine in their lives and make them glad they know you.

Ask yourself, “how can I make this a better time for my clients?

You might send them a funny video, like last year’s Christmas Jammies.

How about taking $100 off of their bill and telling them to have a nice dinner on you?

Or maybe give them a call, yes a phone call, and tell them how much you appreciate them.

Surprise and delight them. Show them you care.

If your clients are happy right now, hearing from you is going to make them even happier. If they’re having a rough time right now, your message or gift could be just what they need to realize that everything is going to be okay.

But here’s the thing. When you make other people’s lives better, you make yours better, too.

Filed Under: Client relations, Inspiration Tagged With: holiday season, holidays

How to write a blog post in ten seconds

December 5, 2014 by David M. Ward

Every day, I quickly go through my blog feeds. I delete most of the articles, skim one or two, and save the rest to Instapaper to read later. I often use these saved articles as blog post ideas.

This morning, I opened an article which had an intriguing quote as the headline. It said, “Be the type of person you want to meet“.

I expected to find some advice on personal development. Or networking. Or how to “mirror and match” the people you meet.

But that was the entire article. Just the quote. Nothing else, not even the name of who said it.

Can you really use a single sentence as the entirety of a blog post? Or an email to your client list?

Why not?

If the quote inspires you or makes you think, if it’s something you’d like to share with your readers or subscribers, if you’re pressed for time and all you can come up with this week is a one sentence quote, then that’s what you should do.

Nobody will report you to the blog police.

The whole idea of staying in touch with your list is that they hear from you on a regular basis. You want to be “in their minds and their mailboxes” when they are ready to hire you or have a referral.

Sometimes you write substantive posts. Sometimes you share a story. Sometimes you promote something. And sometimes, you share a link, a photo or infographic, or a quote.

Of course if you’re like me, you’ll be forced to add something. Lawyers are windy, don’t you know. So you’ll add a comment or two about why you like the quote or whatever else you’re sharing. And sometimes, you’ll find that you’ve written 300 words. Like I found I just did in this post.

For more on how to write a blog postÂ (or how to start a blog or newsletter), get this.

Filed Under: Blogging, Client relations, Email, Newsletters, Relationship marketing

Thank you for reading this

October 29, 2014 by David M. Ward

I don’t know about you but I get annoyed with people who don’t say thank you. As a kid, the importance of saying please and thank you was drilled into my head. Today, I wouldn’t dream of forgetting my manners.

I expect others to be equally polite and appreciative. When they aren’t, I notice.

Saying thank you isn’t just good manners. It’s also good for business, and for our personal relationships.

When you say thank you, you make the other person feel appreciated. As a result, they are more likely to like you because you made them feel better about themselves.

Saying thank you also makes it more likely that someone will continue doing whatever it is they did to earn your appreciation. When someone sends you a referral, for example, telling them thank you, and meaning it, makes it more likely that they will send more referrals.

Saying thank you also makes you look good. Good manners suggest good upbringing. It makes you appear considerate, mature, and trustworthy.

Saying thank you is especially powerful when you do it for someone who was simply doing their job. If I hire you and pay you, we’ve had a fair exchange. Still, I will go out of my way to say thank you for a job well done.

Finally, saying thank you makes you feel good about yourself. When you put a smile on someone’s face and tell them you recognize what they did and appreciate it, it doesn’t get any better than that.

So thank you for reading this. I appreciate it. (I really do.)

Filed Under: Client relations, Personal development, Thank you letters Tagged With: thank you

Who’s your favorite client?

October 28, 2014 by David M. Ward

Quick question: who’s your favorite client?

You know who I mean. The one who pays you big money and hires you more often. The one who sends you lots of referrals, promotes your website, and shares your social media posts. The one who follows your advice and never causes problems.

Bottom line, if you could clone him, you would be one happy camper.

So who is it? What is his or her name?

(I’m going to call him Jim.)

What’s that? You have more than one Jim? Good stuff. You can do this with each of them (and trust me, you’ll want to).

Okay, remember waaaay back where you said you would be happy if you could clone Jim? Let’s see if we can do something like that.

Get Jim on the phone, or you can do this the next time he’s in the office. Tell him he’s one of your favorite clients, that you enjoy working with him and you want to ask him a few questions so you can do a better job for him and your other clients.

Then, interview Jim.

Start off with a few easy questions about his work and family and what he likes to do for fun.

Next, unless you already know, ask him how he went about finding you. Did he find your website? What did he search for? Was he referred? By whom? Did he see an ad, come to a seminar, or meet you at an event?

Then, ask him what he liked best about the work you did for him and how you and your staff treated him.

Write this stuff down. It’s golden.

Once Jim has said some nice things about you, ask him, “What could we do better?”

Next on the list, ask him for the names of a few other professionals he works with and recommends. What does he like best about them? Will he introduce you to them (or would it be okay if you use their name)?

Finally, ask Jim what you can do for him outside of your legal services. What does he need or want? Does he have a problem? Can you send him more business? Help him find a new vendor or employee? Write a college recommendation letter for his oldest? Buy his youngest’sÂ girl scout cookies?

Okay, what have you learned?

You’ve learned how people like your favorite client are finding you. Now you can do more of what’s working and attract more clients like Jim.

You’ve learned what you’re doing well and what you need to improve. This helps you fix anything that needs fixing and do more of what makes you great.

You’ve learned the names of other professionals you can reach out to. You can meet them and start a referral relationship and you also have a high quality professional you can recommend to your other clients.

Finally, you’ve learned what you can do to help Jim. You’ve got something you can do that will make your great relationship with him even better.

Oh yeah, one more thing. When you asked Jim what he liked about you and how you helped him, you can use the nice things he said about you as a testimonial.

After the interview, send Jim a thank you note. Tell him how much you appreciate his help. Maybe enclose a gift card or send a fruit basket.

After that, make sure you continue to let Jim know how important he is to you. Call him, just to say hello. Send him articles he might find helpful or interesting. Give him freebies from time to time. And make sure he hears from you around the holidays, his birthday, and his anniversary.

If you want more clients like Jim, focus on Jim because what we focus on grows.

To learn how to create a profile of your ideal client, get the formula

Filed Under: Client relations, Law office management, Marketing legal services, Thank you letters Tagged With: ideal client

Why didn’t the client hire you?

October 20, 2014 by David M. Ward

You’ve met with a prospective client. You’ve given them a free consultation or done the dog-and-pony show. It’s decision time for them and unfortunately, the decision is “no”. You didn’t get the job.

You need to find out why.

Ask them why they chose someone else.

In your presentation or conversation, did you forget to say something they wanted to hear?

Did they think you don’t have enough experience? The right experience? What would have made a difference?

Did they see a bad review online or talk to someone who said negative things about you?

Were they unable to afford your fee? Would they have said yes if you offered a payment plan or accepted credit cards?

Were they expecting you to be more solicitous and comforting? Did you do something during the consultation they didn’t like (e.g., taking calls, checking texts, not making eye contact)?

Was it your website, or lack thereof? Were you lacking in content that proved you are good at what you do and have helped others?

Or was everything “okay” but other lawyers looked better or offered more? Clients have been known to hire the lawyer who offers free parking over the equally qualified one who doesn’t.

You need to know. If you made a mistake, if you don’t offer something clients want, if your bedside manner needs improvement, you’ll want to fix that so it doesn’t happen again.

So ask: why didn’t we get the job?

But here’s the thing. When they DO hire you, you should also ask why. What are you doing right? Why did they choose you instead of others?

FixingÂ your mistakes and neutralizing your weaknesses are important, but it’s even more important to maximize your strengths.

If new clients consistently tell you they like all the great content on your website, for example, that it helped them see the depth of your knowledge and experience and get a sense of what it would be like to work with you, you’ll want to do more of the same. If they chose you because of a referral from another professional, you’ll want to thank that person, reciprocate, and find more like them.

Clients will tell you why they did or did not hire you and their feedback is invaluable. But you won’t get that feedback unless you ask.

Turn your website into a client magnet. Here’s how.

Filed Under: Client relations, Closing the sale, Marketing legal services

You can have everything in life you want if you do this

October 8, 2014 by David M. Ward

Zig Ziglar famously said,”You can have everything in life you want, if you will just help enough other people get what they want.”

It sounds like good advice, and it is. Help enough clients get what they want and they will make you rich.

But helping clients solve legal problems is only the tip of the iceberg. Your clients have wants and needs well beyond what your services can do. Help them get what they want in other aspects of their life and you will be rewarded with a multiple of what they pay you in legal fees.

One time clients will become lifetime clients. They will return again and again and refer other clients. They will promote your events and your newsletter, send traffic to your website, share your content on social media, and help you build your list. They will give you testimonials and sing your praises to anyone who asks.

What can you do for your clients beyond your legal services? Well, what do they need? What are their personal and professional goals? What problems do they need resolved?

Do they want to refinance their mortgage? Perhaps you can introduce them to someone who can help. Do they want to expand their business? Recommend a book or share your experiences in building your practice.

When it comes to helping people, little things can mean as much as big things. Start by making a list of different ways you can help. What do you know how to do? Who do you know that you can recommend?

Can you help someone set up a blog? Make a video? Write an article? Do you have speaking or networking tips you can share? Can you help someone get a better deal on a new car? Find a trustworthy housekeeper, baby sitter, or building contractor? Recommend places to stay in a foreign country?

Keep adding to your list and look at it often. It will help you see how valuable you are and remind you to ask your clients about “what else” they need beyond your legal services.

Of course you can also help prospects and professional contacts and personal friends. And you should. The more people you help, the more people there are who want to help you.

Where do you find the time for all this non-billable work? Think of it as marketing time. Marketing is helping, after all. And remember, it might be non-billable time, but it’s anything but non-paying.

Filed Under: Client loyalty, Client relations, Marketing legal services, Relationship marketing Tagged With: zig ziglar