Is your wicked past hurting your career?

June 27, 2016 by
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Last night my wife and I watched the 1955 version of “To Catch a Thief” starring Cary Grant and Grace Kelly and directed by Alfred Hitchcock. It’s an enjoyable diversion, even if just for the scenic French landscapes and beaches.

Grant is a reformed jewel thief, John Robie, who was in his day known as “The Cat”. He has paid for his crimes and is trying to live a quiet retirement but when a series of high-profile jewel heists occur, the police and the townspeople believe that “The Cat” is up to his old tricks.

Grant seeks to prove his innocence and redeem his name by using his skills and knowledge to catch the real thief in the act.

The central theme of the film is the fragility of reputation. It’s hard to build, easy to lose, and next to impossible to regain.

Our reputations are what people know about us, or think they know, and what they say or do as a result. Jeff Bezos was speaking about reputation when he said, “Your brand is what other people say about you when you’re not in the room.”

What, pray tell, are your clients saying about you?

You have spent years building your reputation. It is your most valuable asset. I hope you have been equally diligent about protecting it.

We must all watch what we say and what we do. We must continually listen to what the town’s people are saying about us. I think you know that. Lawyers are by nature cautious and closed mouth about things that don’t need to be said. I think this is one reason why so many lawyers are loathe to use social media.

That doesn’t mean we can merely let our work speak for us. Clients hire lawyers they know, like, and trust, and you have to make some effort to get them to do this.

So yeah, there are risks and we have to take them. Fortunately, building your reputation doesn’t require the elimination of all risks, only the intelligent management of them.

So be smart. Don’t don’t steal any jewels. Or piss off the wrong people.

And remember what the watch commander on the police drama, “Hill Street Blues,” always said at the end of each briefing: “Let’s be careful out there”.

Get clients to know, like, and trust you. Here’s the formula

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Being the best at what you do isn’t good enough

June 3, 2016 by
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Being good at what you do isn’t good enough. Even being “the best” isn’t good enough, according to the late Jerry Garcia who once said, “You don’t merely want to be considered the best at what you do. You want to be perceived as the only one who does what you do”.

The only one who does what you do. That’s your mission.

Tough assignment? Not really. The key word is “perceived”. It’s how the world sees you, not necessarily how you really are. It’s marketing, plain and simple. Packaging. Positioning.

On the other hand, maybe it’s not so difficult to literally be “the only one who does what you do”. You are a unique human being, after all. Others may have a similar set of skills. They may offer the same services and deliver the same benefits.

But they aren’t you.

Your task, then, is to take what you do and express it through the prism of your persona. Incorporate the unique essence of who you are into what you do.

Remember, clients buy “you” before they buy your services. Show them who you are and you will have no competition because there is no one like you.

The formula for creating your “unique selling proposition”

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Filed Under: Image, Marketing legal services

7 out of 10 lawyers agree

May 19, 2016 by
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Remember that toothpaste commercial from years ago claiming that, “7 out of 10 dentists agree. . .”? What if I told you the real number was “8 out of 10”? Why on earth would they low-ball it?

Actually, I don’t know what the real numbers were. They might have been “8 out of 10,” “9 out of 10,” or nearly “10 out of 10,” but they would have been smart to use a lower number.

Because “7 out of 10” is more believable than “9 out of 10”.

“7 out of 10” has verisimilitude. The appearance of truth. Which is a critical element in sales and persuasion. Because if your prospective client, reader, judge or jury, doesn’t believe your assertion or promise, it doesn’t matter that it is true.

As long as there are no legal or ethical reasons why you shouldn’t do it, it’s better to understate the truth.

I guess you could call this “reverse exaggeration”.

Anyway, remember this for your presentations, negotiations, advertising, motions, and anything else where you want to persuade someone to do something. If the real numbers or facts stretch credulity, lie (in a positive way) to tell them something they will believe.

Add qualifiers if you must. Say, “More than. . .” or “Better than. . .” before your statement, to cover your behind and let your conscious be clear. But as long as what you say is true, it doesn’t matter that it’s not completely accurate.

Okay? Make sense? Good stuff.

Now before I let you go, you’re probably wondering what it is that 7 out of 10 lawyers agree on?

You probably think I’m going to say “nothing”. Lawyers are a bunch of cantankerous, argumentative, pugnacious souls, genetically incapable of agreeing on anything.

But this isn’t true. In fact, it’s just the opposite.

Most lawyers, more than 7 out of 10 I am sure, agree about nearly everything. No, not when it comes to arguing a client’s case or negotiating their lease. We do the job we’re paid to do. I’m talking about things like marketing and image, the things that allow us to stand out from other lawyers so that clients will choose us instead of them.

When it comes to marketing, most lawyers look the same.

You could take their ads, marketing documents, presentations, and the like, put another lawyer’s name on it, and no one would be the wiser.

The reasons aren’t important. What’s important is that because 7 out of 10 (or is it 8 out of 10?) lawyers conform and follow the same (narrow) practice-building and career-building path, most lawyers never get past “average”.

Average activities, average results, average income, average lifestyle.

If you want to stand out from other lawyers and have more clients choose you, if you want to have a better than average lifestyle, you need to be one of the 3 who isn’t like the other 7.

Let everyone else do what everyone else does. You be one of the few who doesn’t.

To be different, start here

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Filed Under: Image, Increase your income, Marketing legal services, success

Who are you? Who who who who?

April 20, 2016 by
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I used to talk about how clients use the yellow pages to choose an attorney. I said it was often a matter of chance because the client would open the book and see page after page of listings, most of which looked and said the same thing.

In fact, most of the ads were interchangeable. Take the name and contact information from one attorney’s page and swap it for another attorney’s page and nobody would be the wiser.

And that’s true today when it comes to websites. Or TV ads, brochures, articles and blog posts, and everything else most attorneys put out into the world.

It’s all the same. Most attorneys in a given practice area offer the same services and make the same promises and nobody stands out. Clients might as well close their eyes and point to the first page or listing or article they see. At least that’s how they feel about it because there are scant reasons provided for choosing one attorney over the others.

You need to give people those reasons.

Tell them why you’re different and better and why they should choose you instead of your competition.

But there’s something else you should do. If you want to stand out you need to show people not just what you do but who you are.

People want to know if you’re someone they will like and trust. They want to know what it would be like to work with you.

Because people buy YOU before they buy your services.

So talk about yourself. On your website, blog, newsletter, in interviews and ads, talk about your background, family, and hobbies. Show them what you look like and sound like. Mention your favorite sports team, and your favorite type of restaurant.

Share your views on popular topics in your niche market or community. Tell them your philosophies for building your practice, your exercise habits, or your favorite productivity apps.

Talk about what you did for a living before law school, or what you studied in school. Do you play a sport? Are you a big Star Wars fan or do you prefer Star Trek?

Don’t firehose them. A photo or two, a paragraph or three, is all you need.

Show them who you are because who you are is unique, even if what you do is not.

More on how to stand out–here and here

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Filed Under: Image, Marketing legal services

You’ve got to be a little abnormal

March 11, 2016 by
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In Mel Brooks’ Young Frankenstein, Dr. Frankenstein asks Igor whose brain he gave him, which brain he had just transplanted into a very large and very agitated Gorilla.

Dr. Frankenstein: Whose brain was it?
Igor: Abby someone
Dr. Frankenstein: Abby someone. Abby who?
Igor: Abby. . . Normal

I’ll bet that’s how some people think lawyers are created.

Okay, no. Most lawyers are normal. Ridiculously normal. Bland and boring normal. And generally, that’s a good thing.

Society doesn’t want weird lawyers or crazy lawyers. We don’t want overly flamboyant lawyers or lawyers who say or do things that make us want to run and hide.

We may embrace the crazy in our celebrities, but not in our professionals.

And yet, a little bit of Abby Normal is a good thing in a lawyer.

It’s true.

If you don’t have something that makes you stand out, well then, you won’t stand out. And standing out is critical because if you don’t stand out, you don’t get chosen.

George Bernard Shaw said, “The reasonable man adapts himself to the world; the unreasonable persists in trying to adapt the world to himself. Therefore, all progress depends on the unreasonable man.”

(Maybe we need to re-think this “reasonable man” thingy.)

Anyway, if you want to stand out, be unreasonable about some things. Not big things. Little things, like wearing bow ties, taking up an unusual hobby, or publicly advocating a controversial cause.

Find something that makes people see you as different. And then make the world adapt to you.

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Filed Under: Image

What word or phrase defines you?

January 29, 2016 by
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The US Navy says its core values are “Honor. Courage. Commitment”. It is what they stand for, their ethical compass. It is also a promise, to themselves and to the country they protect.

What’s yours?

What is the one word or short phrase that defines you in the context of your career or practice?

What’s your thing?

Mine is “referrals”. When an attorney wants to know my core marketing philosophy, it is that every law practice should be built on a foundation of referrals.

When you hear my name, I want you to think “referrals”. That’s how I built my practice and if I could only teach you one marketing method, referrals would be it.

How about you? When I hear your name, what do you want me to think? What is the word or phrase that defines you and your core beliefs?

It might have something to do with your practice area, target market, or your reputation. It might relate to your biggest passion, a personality trait, your mission or long term goal.

Picture your word or phrase as a banner above the front door to your office or at the top of your website. What does it say? Write down the first thing you thought of.

Whatever it is, you don’t need to make it public. You may at some point, but this isn’t an exercise in creating an advertising slogan or marketing message. It is a way for you to go inside yourself and find your core.

Later, you might use it to create a slogan or commercial message. For now, emblazon it only on the insides of your eye lids–for your eyes only.

Look at it often and ask yourself how it makes you feel? Does it make you proud? Content? Excited? Does it feel like the right choice for you?

If it feels good, live with it for awhile. Eventually, but only if you want to, you can use it to fashion something for your clients and prospects.

My website banner says, “Earn More. Work Less.” That’s my promise. The benefits I offer.

It’s the “what”. Referrals are the “how”.

When you’re ready, this will help you create your marketing message

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Filed Under: Image, Marketing legal services, Marketing Plan, Referrals

Have you pissed someone off today?

January 27, 2016 by
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Yesterday’s email was about the seemingly uncontroversial topic of dressing like a lawyer. I heard from several lawyers who shared their thoughts.

Some cheered my message and deplored the way some lawyers dress today. An entertainment lawyer friend had mixed feelings about the subject. One lawyer told me he wears a pony tail and does just fine.

Another said, “Perhaps you should set aside your fatuous fashion jihad for a moment and review the fundamentals of grammar, to wit: The plural of “client” is “clients,” not “client’s.”

Fatuous fashion jihad? Hmmm. . . Something tells me he’s upset about something. Call it a hunch.

And does he really think I don’t know how to pluralize “client”? Me thinks not. That’s his anger talking.

Apparently, he strongly disagrees with my opinion that lawyers should “wear the uniform” and “look like a lawyer”. He didn’t say why. He didn’t share his preferred sartorial style, nor offer any reasons why everyone else should accept it.

But I like that he spoke up. I like that he disagrees with my old fashioned take on the subject. In fact, I wish I heard from more people who were pissed off at me.

Look, if you’re not not upsetting some people, if everyone agrees with everything you write, you’re going to put people to sleep. Lawyers tend to be especially boring and bland in their writing.

We need to stir things up.

Conflict keeps people watching TV shows and it keeps people reading your writing. So court some controversy. Push the envelope. Say things that make people go “huh?”

You’ll stand out, be read and remembered, and build a following of people who like your style. They’ll share your content, buy your products and services, and recommend you to their friends.

Of course you will also get people who think you’re an ass-hat, say you’ve gone too far or you’re too vulgar for their taste, and they will un-subscribe.

Good. You don’t want them. They’re not your fans and will probably never hire you or recommend you. They need to go. Give up their seat so you can fill it with others who like what you say, or at least like that you’re not afraid to say it.

For more on email and marketing online, go here

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Filed Under: Blogging, Communication, Email, Image, Marketing legal services, Newsletters, Online Marketing, Writing

You don’t dress like a lawyer–does it matter?

January 26, 2016 by
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So Mark Zuckerberg wears the same t-shirts and hoodies every day. Same color, too. He says it’s easier that way because he doesn’t have to take any time deciding what to wear. I admire his efficiency but why not wear a blue suit, white shirt, and red necktie every day?

Why dress like a teenager who doesn’t care about how he looks or what people think? Why not hire someone to choose his clothing for him?

Because he’s a billionaire and he can do whatever he wants. Because he owns the stock and nobody refuses to do business with him. And because he’s in tech, not law.

Yeah, he’s in an industry where dressing casually and being quirky is cool and dressing in traditional business attire isn’t. If you’re a billionaire you can do the same thing. Otherwise, you probably need to dress like a lawyer.

Your client’s expect you to “look the part”. If you don’t, if you vary from their image of what a lawyer is “supposed” to look like, they get nervous and may doubt you and your abilities. I’m not saying it’s right, but that’s the way it is.

So men, you need the suit and tie. Women need to wear appropriate business attire.

Lawyers shouldn’t have tattoos showing. Men shouldn’t wear earrings. Or long hair. Or purple hair. Women can wear earrings and have long hair but not purple hair.

What if you handle entertainment law? That’s different isn’t it? Maybe. You can probably get away with dressing casually but you won’t be laughed at if you dress like a lawyer. (I wonder what Zuckerberg’s lawyers wear?)

Yes there are exceptions. An office in Beverly Hills is different than an office in Omaha. Seeing a long time client on a Saturday is different than meeting a prospective client on Monday morning.

But you get my point. Optics are important.

We see politicians on the campaign trail today and many of the men remove their neckties and wear blue jeans. I’m sure it’s because they want to look like a regular guy. That’s okay if they’re at a picnic or riding a tractor; otherwise, I think they need to look the part they are auditioning for (even if they’re not a lawyer).

Yes, I know it’s not the 1950s. And yes, I’m old fashioned. But so are voters. And clients. And judges. And other lawyers who might not send you referrals if you wear gray t-shirts and hoodies every day.

Get more referrals from lawyers and other professionals. Here’s how

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Filed Under: Client relations, Image, Legal industry, Referrals

When is it okay to ask your client to wait?

November 19, 2015 by
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I hate waiting. It’s an issue with me. When I have an appointment with a doctor at 1pm, I expect to be seen at 1pm.

That’s the time of my appointment. Don’t make me wait.

Show me some respect. I’m paying your rent and putting braces on your kid’s teeth. I have my own clients to see. I blocked out time to see you.

If my appointment is at 1:00, don’t see me at 1:30 or even 1:05.

Don’t make me wait.

When a doctor or other professional doesn’t see me on time, I’m up at the desk asking why. I let them know I’m busy and can’t wait. I’ve been known to threaten to send the doctor a bill for my waiting time. I’ve been know to leave and get another doctor.

As I said, I hate to wait.

I’ve been doing some conference calls this week. As usual, some of the participants get on the call after the scheduled time. I don’t wait for them. If we’re scheduled to start at 5pm, that’s when I start.

Why should I make the people who show up on time wait for the ones who don’t?

When you start on time, you show people that you are organized and disciplined and professional. It shows that you keep your promises and tells people that they can count on you.

Don’t be late. Don’t make people wait.

Some say being late makes you appear more important. Nah, it just makes you rude.

Something else. When a client is in the office with you and your get a call, I know you know better than to take that call. I know you instruct your staff that unless it is an emergency, when you have a client in the office you are not to be disturbed.

Please say you do that. Please say you know it’s rude to take calls when a client is in the office.

Okay, good.

But how about when you’re on the phone with a client? Have you ever said to a client, “Can you hold on for a minute?” so you can take another call? Even if it is to tell the new caller that you’ll call them back?

Maybe that doesn’t rise to the level of rudeness but if you think about it from the client’s perspective, it tells them that other people are more important than they are.

Even though it’s just for a minute. Even though they said it was okay.

Marketing legal services like a pro

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Filed Under: Client loyalty, Client relations, Image, Law office management, Marketing legal services

Are you too good at your job?

October 16, 2015 by
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Your clients want you to solve their problems. The quicker you can do that, the better, right?

Maybe not.

If you’re too good at your work, if you finish too quickly and display an apparent lack of effort, your clients may not appreciate your superior ability and may object to the amount you charge.

Psychologist Dan Ariely tells a story about a locksmith who told him that as he got better at his job, his customers didn’t value what he was able to do.

“He was tipped better when he was an apprentice and it took him longer to pick a lock,” he said. “Now that it takes him only a moment, his customers complain that he is overcharging and they don’t tip him.”

“What this reveals is that consumers don’t value goods and services solely by their utility, benefit from the service, but also a sense of fairness relating to how much effort was exerted,” Ariely explains.

So what should you do if you’re too good at your job?

Perform some magic. A little slight of hand.

Don’t let clients know that you did the work without breaking a sweat. If you can prepare a document in 30 minutes, because you have the forms and because you’ve done it 100 times before, consider holding onto it for a few days before sending it to the client. Let them think that you worked and re-worked the document to get it just right.

Caveat number one: Don’t lie. It’s okay if they think you took three days to do it, but don’t tell them you did. Also, if you bill by the hour, obviously you shouldn’t bill for more time than you actually took. (Yet another argument in favor of jettisoning the billable hour.)

Caveat number two: Don’t overdo it. Many clients do see a benefit to your ability to get the work done quickly. In fact, quick turnaround might be a marketing point of differentiation for you. So don’t drag things out.

The best course of action is to manage your clients’ expectations. Under-promise so you can over-deliver. If you can do it in 30 minutes, promise to deliver it in a week. Then, deliver it in three or four days.

Marketing legal services is easier when you have a plan

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Filed Under: Attorneys fees, Fees and Billing, Image, Law office management, Marketing legal services, Salesmanship
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