How to get people talking about you and your law practice

May 15, 2012 by
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One of the best ways to help people understand what you do is to tell stories about the clients and cases you’ve handled in the past. All of your marketing documents and messages should be peppered with client stories for reasons I’ve written about before.

But if you want people to talk about you and remember you and send business to you, there’s one more story you need to tell: your story.

People are fascinated by lawyers. Yes, they criticize us and make jokes about us, but at the same time, they love to watch TV dramas and read novels featuring attorneys.

Of course we know that the real world of practicing law is not anything like that depicted on TV. By and large, what we do is boring.

Nevertheless, your clients and prospects and social media fans and followers believe you lead a fascinating life. They would love to peek behind the curtain to see what you do.

Don’t tell them. Remember, what you do is boring.

But who you are is not.

Tell them your story. What drives you? What gets you out of bed in the morning, ready to slay dragons and save princesses? Why do you do what you do?

Share your passion for your work and insights into who you are. What fascinated you when you were growing up? Who influenced you? What experiences made you the person you are today?

Share your feelings and beliefs, desires and dreams, and even your fears. Let people see that you are a real person, just like them.

Real stories, of course, have a dramatic arc. There is controversy, disagreement, hardship, struggle. Our hero (that’s you) wants something, but there are obstacles in the way. The dragon doesn’t roll over and die, you have to slay him.

Find the dramatic story of your life and tell it. It’s what makes you unique and memorable. It’s what will help you stand out in the crowd.

Your story will attract people and get them talking about you and sending you business. And hey, if your story is good enough, one day we might see it on TV.

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Filed Under: Client loyalty, Communication, Copywriting, Image, Marketing legal services, Public Speaking, Writing Tagged With: , , , , , ,

The best way to open and close your emails and letters

May 11, 2012 by
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“Dear Reader:”

Doesn’t make you feel all warm and fuzzy, does it?

“Dear Friend,”

A little better. And note that a comma is less formal than a colon.

“Dear George,”

Much better. Speaking to an individual. Nothing sweeter than the sound of one’s own name. But “Dear” is a bit old fashioned in an email.

“George,”

Arguably the best way to open an email. Much better than “Hey!” although it’s okay to use something like that for informal messages with people you know really well. Of course if you know the recipient really well, you could skip the salutation altogether and just get right to the message. Perfectly acceptable in email today.

What if you’re mailing to a big list of people? A lot of cc’s or bcc’s or your email newsletter?

Of course you must consider to whom you are writing and the context of the message. You don’t want to be unprofessional, but email is generally considered a less formal medium so a less formal greeting is almost always appropriate. If you don’t know which salutation to use, consider omitting it. You’ll probably be just fine.

What about signing off? “Very truly yours,” or “Regards”? “Sincerely,” or “All the best,”?

I usually sign my emails with “All the best,” followed by just my first name. Friendly, personal, informal. Or I just put my name with no close. With people I email to a lot, I often put my initials (just to be different) or no close at all.

Your emails should be a natural extension of who you are, but also reflect the context of your relationship with the recipient. Use whatever feels right to you, but lean towards informal. Formal messages put distance between you and the reader, and you generally want to bring them closer.

Snail mail is more formal than email, of course, but a personal salutation and warm closing will go a long way towards reaching out and connecting with your reader. “Dear Mr. Jones,” or “Dear Joe,” is much better than, “Dear Client:”.

If you’re sending something to opposing counsel and you want to be businesslike and maintain posture (and a little distance), you’ll probably continue using whatever you use now. With clients and prospects and colleagues, anyone with whom you have or want to have a closer relationship, a less formal and warmer approach is warranted.

Finding the right salutations and closings begins with greater awareness. Over the next few days, take a few minutes to review the emails and letters you send and receive. What do others do? How do they make you feel? What do you do and what affect do you think they have on your readers?

Chances are you won’t make many changes with letters and emails sent to counsel or insurance carriers, nor do you really need to. But there’s probably a lot you can do with letters to clients and friends.

What salutations and closings do you use in your emails and letters? Have you considered any alternatives?

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Filed Under: Client relations, Communication, Email, Newsletters, Writing Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Build a more profitable law practice by relaxing and doing less

May 9, 2012 by
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Yesterday, I spoke with an attorney who is on the verge of burnout. I could hear it in his voice. After thirty years of practice, he’s struggling to attract clients, he’s stressed out and he doesn’t know what to do.

He tells me he’s competent and people like him when they meet him. “Put me in front of someone and they’ll sign up,” he said. He doesn’t do a lot of networking and admits he doesn’t get in front of enough people.

He has a web site and a blog for each of his five practice areas. He’s spent considerable time and money creating content for his blogs and optimizing them for search engines. Unfortunately, the clients who have contacted him through his site have had little money or were looking for free advice.

Within a couple of minutes, I could see his problem and told him what I thought. I could do that because his “ailment” is so common. Like many attorneys, he’s spread too thin and trying to do too much.

I told him he needed to slow down and get focused. Choose one practice area, the one he likes and is best at, and stick with it. His background is in business law. He doesn’t like doing divorces but that’s the kinds of clients his web site seems to be attracting so he added that to his repertoire. While you can’t ignore what the market wants, you are never a slave to it.

I also told him to specialize in the kinds of clients he represents. Some clients are better than others. They have more money and more legal work, the kind you enjoy doing, and you should concentrate on attracting them. Choose an industry or market niche where you have some knowledge and experience and own it. Everything is easier when you do.

His blogs have a lot of content but I suspect it is content created for search engines more than for real people. When you write for SEO purposes you often wind up with content that is mechanically correct but lifeless. When your content is organic, coming from your experiences with real clients, you attract similar clients who resonate with your message.

The process I recommended was one of subtraction: getting rid of most of what he was doing and starting over with a clean slate. Most of his good clients had come through referrals and that’s where they will continue to come from, once he stops trying so hard.

Marketing professional services should be a natural outgrowth of who you are. It starts with knowing what you want and giving yourself permission to have it, choosing your clients instead of letting them choose you.

Relax, do less, but do what you are, not what an SEO expert says you should be.

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Filed Under: Blogging, Career satisfaction, Communication, Dealing with stress, Marketing legal services, Online Marketing, Specializing, Web traffic Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

How to be more persuasive in your writing and speaking

May 2, 2012 by
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When I was in law school I helped a friend with her divorce. I prepared the Petition (yes, under supervision) and served it.

In those days, even though there were no children or real property and the matter was uncontested, she had to appear in court. I went with her to the hearing in downtown Los Angeles and we waited in the hallway for the courtroom to open.

I’d never seen my friend so nervous. She had never been in a courtroom and was afraid she wouldn’t know what to say. I told her this was a very simple case, the judge would ask a few basic questions and everything would be over in a few minutes. I kept talking, trying to calm her down, but nothing seemed to work. She was visibly shaking and barely able to speak.

Finally, I said, “Oh, here comes the judge.” I was looking over her shoulder behind her. She turned to look. Coming towards us was a shabbily dressed old man with dirty, unruly hair and an unshaven face. It was not the judge of course but a homeless man and the sight of him shuffling down the hall made her laugh.

A good laugh was exactly what the doctor ordered. My friend was able to get through the hearing and soon, we were on our way home.

In the car, she thanked me for helping her and especially for helping her to calm down enough to get through the hearing. It meant a lot to her that I cared enough to do that. We are still very good friends today, more than thirty years later.

So, why did I tell you this story? I could have simply made the point that your clients want to know you care about them and really do appreciate the little things you say or do.

Telling you that story was a better way to make that point, don’t you think?

I talk a lot about using stories in your writing and presentations. You’ve often heard me say, “facts tell but stories sell” and I’ve explained why:

  • Stories have people in them and the reader or listener can relate to them and their experiences.
  • Stories have a dramatic theme; people want to know, “what happened next?”
  • Stories have verisimilitude; they “show” instead of “tell,” and are often more persuasive than a logical argument
  • Stories appeal to human emotion. When you make people feel something, you connect with them on a deeper level.
  • People remember stories long after the facts are forgotten.

As you read my story, I hope you were you able to see my friend and me in that hallway and you could relate to the experience of trying to comfort a nervous client. If you could, then my story did double duty–it made the point about showing clients you care and it showed you why you need to put more stories in your writing and presentations.

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Filed Under: Blogging, Client loyalty, Client relations, Communication, Copywriting, Marketing legal services, Presentations, Public Speaking, Salesmanship, Writing Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

How to get fence sitters to pull the trigger

May 1, 2012 by
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Yesterday, I talked about using a special offer to get prospects on your list to hire you instead of another attorney. But what if they’re not ready to hire an attorney? How can you persuade them to do so?

Send them to school.

In your blog posts, newsletter, seminars, and private conversations, you must educate people about why they need an attorney, and why it should be you.

If they don’t know they have a problem, they’re certainly not going to do anything to resolve it. If they aren’t aware of the seriousness of the problem and the potential consequences, they still may not do anything. And if they don’t know the options that are available, they may think they don’t have any.

Your job is to continually make them aware of these problems and your solutions. But you can’t simply tell them, you have to show them, by telling them stories

My eighth grade history teacher made history come alive by telling stories about the people who lived it. Hearing about George Washington’s life, his struggles and victories, we not only learned about that period in our nation’s history, we were affected by it. We not only understood what it was like, we felt it.

If your prospects don’t feel something, if you simply deliver a steady stream of facts, they will eventually tune out. The facts are boring. Talk about people.

Pepper your messages with stories about people who are similar to your prospects. Give them a face and a name if possible. Describe their background. Talk about their problem and the pain it caused them. Or about the opportunity you helped them take advantage of. And then, talk about how this relief from pain or pleasure from gain. . . made them FEEL.

Because if you want your reader to do something (i.e., hire you), you have to transfer to them the feelings of other people who were in the same boat.

If you are allowed to use testimonials, do so. But a well told story can achieve almost the same effect.

But wait. You’re not done. In addition to stories of relief from pain or achievement of gain, you need to tell stories about people who didn’t take action, or took the wrong action. They did nothing, and lost. Or they delayed and missed out. Or they hired the wrong lawyer and wound up worse than when they started.

Success stories and tales of disaster. You need both.

And yet they still may do nothing. Why? Because. . . they don’t want to.

In “The Seven Reasons Prospective Clients Don’t Hire an Attorney,” I said that of all the reasons people don’t hire an attorney the most difficult to overcome (and the most frustrating) is, “No Want.”

If they don’t want it, they don’t want it. Why is that? I really don’t know. And as the late Jim Rohn used to say, “I wouldn’t enroll in that class.”

Keep them on your list. Continue to educate them. Keep telling them stories. One day, they may see the light. Maybe when someone they know encounters the very issue you’ve been warning them about. It’s like people who won’t do any exercise or quit smoking until their brother or best friend drops dead of a heart attack. That’s a story they can’t ignore.

In the mean time, don’t worry about it. Focus on the “easy to get” clients.

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Filed Under: Closing the sale, Communication, Copywriting, Marketing legal services, Writing Tagged With: ,

An easy way to improve your marketing results

April 25, 2012 by
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I’ve got good news and bad news about your marketing. Which would you like first?

The bad news? Okay. Here it is:

Most of what you write in your marketing–articles, letters, blog posts, emails–will never be read by the recipient. Even worse, most of the people who do read it won’t take action. They won’t call you for an appointment, Like your page or forward your email.

Most of the writing you do for marketing purposes is wasted effort.

The good news is that this is easy to change.

You can get more people to read what you write and do what you want by getting better at writing, or, more specifically, copywriting–writing that is designed to get a response.

You can subscribe to blogs that focus on copywriting. Learn a tip every day and start using it. There are many books and courses, too. (In the legal realm, check out my own, Lawyers’ Marketing Toolkit).

You can study good copy. The books and courses will supply you with examples, and point out what makes them good and what needs to be improved. You can also find good copy online and in your mailbox. When you read something that gets you to take action, save it and study it.

You can re-write good copy. Take proven sales copy and re-write, ideally by hand, to get a sense for the rhythm of the words and the “staging” of the information.

And you can practice. Write and re-write your letters and articles, constantly seeking to improve them. Over time, you will get better.

Pay particular attention to your headline, opening, offer, and call to action.

The headline (email subject, report title, etc.) is critical. It must capture the attention of the reader and make them curious to read more. If you don’t accomplish this, it won’t matter how effective the rest of your message might be, or how enticing your offer is–nobody will see it.

The title of this post is a good example. It promises a benefit I believe you want: an easy way to improve the results of your marketing. It made you curious to read the post or the email, as you are doing that right now.

Once you get the reader’s attention with your headline, your opening must continue the job. I did that by promising you “good news and bad news”. This is one of many effective openings.

I spoke with an attorney this morning about a sales letter he is preparing to send to his estate planning clients. He wants to get them to come in for a review. I suggested a “bad news/good news” opening and that’s what he’s going with. It works.

I also suggested the following formula for the body of his letter:

  1. Problem (The bad news–what could be wrong with their estate plan or the execution thereof).
  2. Agitate (What could happen as a result. Tell stories about clients who thought everything was okay but found out otherwise. What happened to them? What did it cost?)
  3. Solution (The good news–it’s not difficult or expensive to fix the most common problems you see. An amendment or two, an extra step, a few instructions to carry out.)
  4. Benefits (What they get or avoid as a result of this solution. Peace of mind, security, savings, etc.)
  5. Call to action (Tell them what to do get the solution and benefits. Call for an appointment, send in a form, go to a web page.)

Copywriting can be learned and it’s well worth the effort. Not only can it improve your marketing results, it can help you become a better lawyer. Copywriting is “salesmanship,” something you can use anywhere else you need to persuade people to act.

I used to “write like a lawyer” and taught myself how to write to sell. It is a skill that has earned me a fortune.

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Filed Under: Communication, Copywriting, Marketing legal services, Writing Tagged With: , , , ,

Success in legal marketing is yours for the asking

April 23, 2012 by
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Marketing your services is so much easier when other people help you. And help you they will. All you have to do is ask.

So ask.

Ask for referrals. Ask for introductions. Ask for advice from other attorneys. Ask your clients for information about your target market. Ask people to Like your Facebook page. Ask people to forward your newsletters and recommend your seminars. Ask clients what you can do to better to serve them and ask prospects how you can win their business.

Ask and ye shall receive. Seek and ye shall find.

Often, attorneys have trouble asking for help for themselves. They have no problem asking a judge or jury for relief for their client but when it comes to asking people to help them, they get uncomfortable. Their ego gets in the way. They think it makes them look weak. But the opposite is true. Asking for help is not a sign of weakness, it’s a sign of confidence and strength.

And people want to help you. It makes them feel good to do it. It makes them feel appreciated and important. You flatter them when you ask.

Don’t you feel good doing favors for others? You know you do. You like being asked and you like being able to help. It feels good when someone says, “thank you”. So look at asking for help as an opportunity to make others feel good.

Now, I want you to do me a favor. I want you to ask someone for help today and let me know what happens. It will make me feel good to know that my advice worked for you. So will you do me that favor? Thank you, I appreciate your help.

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Filed Under: Client loyalty, Client relations, Communication, Marketing legal services, Personal development, Relationship marketing Tagged With: , , , , ,

My political views finally revealed (not)

April 17, 2012 by
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When I first got stated on Facebook, one of my “friends” posted an incendiary political comment on my wall. In response, friends with opposing viewpoints took him on. Back and forth they went, telling each other in heated tones who was right. Others joined in. Soon, a full blown flame war was taking place.

It was great theater.

I let the two sides go at each other for while and I stayed out of it. No way was I going to get involved in that mess.

And then it really got ugly.

The original poster starting insulting people. Despite repeated requests by the majority to curtail the invective and stick to the issues, he continued his name calling. The more he was asked to tone things down, the worse he got. I had no choice but to remove him as a friend.

Even though this was an extreme situation, it reinforced the notion that discussing politics in public is not a good idea. Unless you are certain that everyone in “the room” is of a like mind, you’re just asking for trouble.

If you’re a professional or in business, your political views should not be posted on social media. Why risk alienating half of your friends and followers? Even when the discourse is civil, political postings provide an insight into your thoughts that can drive a wedge between people who might otherwise get along just fine.

I have political views. Not a day goes by that I don’t feel like posting my opinion about one thing or another, or re-posting what someone else has said.

I’d be nuts to do it.

So I bite my tongue. And save it for a private conversation.

It’s called being in business.

I have many friends on the other side of political aisle. We like each other. We do business together. We can talk about almost anything.  But not politics. We don’t go there.

In business, you can’t go there.

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Filed Under: Communication, Personal development, Social media Tagged With: , , , ,

LinkedIn: The number one social media platform for attorneys

April 16, 2012 by
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I’ve said before that if you’re new to social media you should start with Twitter. Reason: you only need to fill out one paragraph of information to set up your account. Your profile on LinkedIn, by contrast, requires more effort.

LinkedIn is important for attorneys because it serves as a sort of online CV. In fact, many professionals link to their LinkedIn profile precisely for that purpose. Your profile helps prospects and other professionals quickly assess what you have done for others and thereby see what you can do for them.

As LinkedIn develops, it is also becoming a platform for meeting and engaging others. Their forums are a great way to find and connect with other lawyers, as well as prospective clients and referral sources (or employers).

And LinkedIn is all about business. Unlike Facebook, you won’t have to wade through photos of your friend’s kids or cats, or listen to updates about their most recent meals. In fact, one writer is predicting that LinkedIn will survive Facebook precisely because it is dull and business-like.

But while LinkedIn may be considered dull, your profile need not be. You aren’t limited to posting only the facts about where you have been and what you have done. You can add personality to your profile, and well you should.

As much as your capabilities, people want to know about you, the person. Give them a sense of what it would be like speaking with you and working with you:

What motivates you to do what you do? What kind of movie or book character do you identify with? What is your mission?

If you don’t yet have a LinkedIn profile, don’t let the volume of information requested, or its importance, stop you from getting started. Fill in the basics today. You can add more tomorrow. You can use this brief tutorial on optimizing your LinkedIn profile as a starting point.

A lawyer’s bio is the most important part of his or her social media profile and web site. Use it to tell people your story, not just the facts. Facts tell but stories sell.

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Filed Under: Communication, Image, Networking, Social media, Social media marketing Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
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