Are you planning to make any changes this year? Before you do. . .

January 16, 2013 by
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So this year I’m planning to make some changes. How about you?

I’m looking at things that didn’t work well and eliminating them or looking for ways to make them better. I’ll get more information, ask for help, or try things a different way.

But I’m not going to spend a lot of time on that. No sir. Instead, I’m going to look at the things that did work and do more of them.

You should, too.

For example, if last year you got a lot of referrals from a letter you sent to your clients, maybe you should think about sending them another letter. If you got a lot of sign-ups for your newsletter when you added a couple of videos to your web site, you should probably think about adding more videos. Or, if you met some good new referral sources on LinkedIn but none on Facebook, it sounds like LinkedIn is where you should spend your time.

Most people focus on fixing what’s wrong. They work on their weaknesses. The smarter, more leveraged strategy is to work on your strengths.

Don’t ignore your weaknesses. But don’t spend a lot of time on them.

Homework:

Take a few minutes and write down three things that worked well in your practice last year. Then, look for ways to do them again or do them bigger or better or more often.

Find the spark in your practice and pour gasoline on it.

Have you read The Attorney Marketing Formula? Click here to find out what you’re missing

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Filed Under: Increase your income, Law office management, Leverage, Marketing legal services, Marketing Plan, Productivity Tagged With: ,

Private Coaching For Lawyers (New Year Special)

January 3, 2013 by
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Would you like some help getting the new year off to a good start? If so, I have a special offer for you.

It’s a private strategy session with me. You and I, on the phone, discussing your practice, your goals, and your marketing.

What will talk about? Well, what do you need help with most?

  • Your web site or blog (or how to start one)?
  • Choosing the right market(s)?
  • Setting goals? Clarifying priorities?
  • Networking, advertising, social media, speaking?
  • Building your list? Getting more traffic?
  • Getting more referrals?

During the call we will review what you are doing now, where you want to be this time next year, and how you are going to get there.

You can ask me anything. And if you don’t know what to ask, I’ll ask you questions and give you my advice.

Here’s the deal. . .

These sessions are normally $500 each.

As a special for the start of 2013, I’m offering a very limited number of “New Year strategy sessions” for the discounted price of $250 per session.

I’m limiting the number because (a) I expect there to be a boatload of interest right after the new year, and (b) I have many thousands of subscribers and limited time.

If you want to grab a slot, here’s what to do:

  1. Book your private strategy session by clicking here
  2. Email me with your contact information and let me know you paid to lock in a slot for one of these sessions.

I’ll email you back to confirm and to set up our call.

I look forward to helping you make 2013 your best year ever.

If you want to learn how to create a marketing plan that really works, click here.

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Filed Under: Goal Setting, Increase your income, Marketing legal services, Marketing Plan, News Tagged With:

How I made an extra fifty-two cents in 2012

December 31, 2012 by
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Yee-ha!

Amazon just notified me that I earned fifty-two cents when someone purchased something through my affiliate link. Big deal you say? You’re darn right it’s a big deal! Passive income is a very big deal.

I don’t get much from Amazon. That’s okay. I get thousands in passive income every month from other sources. It all averages out to a very sizable “extra” income.

I’m not a big affiliate marketer. You don’t see tons of links to affiliate products in my blog posts or emails. That’s because I’m very picky about what I recommend. It’s usually something I personally use.

All you need are a few high quality products or services (and a good list) and you can earn a decent extra income this way. Even six-figures.

Why am I telling you this? Because as you contemplate your plans and goals for 2013, one of the things you should be thinking about is how you can generate income from sources other than your legal services. You might create your own products. Or offer services outside of your core practice areas. Partner up with someone and offer their products or services. Or start your own business.

The simplest way to get started is to look at the products and services you have used in the past and could recommend to your list. If you think they’re good, why wouldn’t you recommend them to your clients, prospects and professional contacts? Regardless of whether they have an affiliate program or not.

I have an affiliate program for some of my products. I haven’t promoted it because I wanted to add more products first, which I will be doing shortly, but you can sign up now and promote The Attorney Marketing Formula and my Evernote ebook. Here’s the page to get more info on my affiliate program and instructions on how to sign up.

If you like my stuff, I will pay you to recommend it to your attorney friends. Post a link on your blog, mention it in your newsletter, or post a review on one of your linkedin or facebook groups.

Anyway, over the next few days, give some thought as to how you might add additional sources of income in the coming year. I’ll have more ideas to share in future posts.

By the way, The Attorney Marketing Formula comes with a free bonus module, “How to create a marketing plan that really works”. It will help you plan for 2013.

I wish you a very happy, and very prosperous New Year.

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Filed Under: Increase your income Tagged With: , ,

The problem with multiple streams of income

November 27, 2012 by
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Smart people often counsel us to diversify our investments. “Don’t put all your eggs in one basket,” they say. From an investment standpoint they’re probably right. If all your money is in gold or oil futures or a single stock and the market turns south, your losses could be catastrophic. But diversification has a dangerous side.

If you are building a law practice, buying a restaurant or another business that requires your time and mental energy is usually not a good idea. Buy (or start) another business only after your practice is at a point where you can devote some time to the business. Donald Trump made several fortunes in real estate before he branched out into other businesses. Donald Sterling made a bundle as a personal injury attorney before he turned to real estate and only years later to buying sports franchises.

Most people who try to build two businesses simultaneously usually fail to achieve great success in either. Perhaps that’s why Mark Twain said, “Put all of your eggs in one basket and then watch that basket.”

Yes, I started my attorney marketing business while I was still practicing. It was the kind of business that only required a few hours a week at first, to see if I could make a go of it. Once I did, I began shutting down my practice as I ramped up the new business. After a couple of years, the marketing business was running smoothly. I had competent staff who were taking care of the day-to-day operations and the demands on my time were minimal. At that point, I started another business. Again, just a few hours a week at first.

Today, I own two successful businesses. I would never have been successful in my practice or businesses had I tried to build them at the same time.

Okay, you get this. You wouldn’t lose focus and try to build two businesses simultaneously. But a lot of attorneys do exactly that and they don’t even know it.

When you try to build a family law practice, for example, and you also handle personal injury, you’re building two businesses simultaneously. Each practice area is different. Each has it’s own rhythm and culture. Referral sources are different. The judges are different. Marketing is different.

Some practice areas compliment each other. Many don’t. Put all your eggs in one basket and let the world know that you have the finest eggs available.

If you want help in choosing the right basket, get The Attorney Marketing Formula.

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

Would you hire you?

November 16, 2012 by
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If I was interviewing you for a job working for my law firm, one thing I would evaluate is your attitude. What would I see in you?

Is it:

  1. “I’ll try.” Hmm, not too promising. It’s better than, “I won’t try,” but not much. Was this your attitude when you enrolled in law school? How about when you got married? Sorry, I’m looking for someone with a stronger commitment to success.
  2. “I’ll do my best.” Ah, much better. But what if your best isn’t good enough? Will you put your ego aside and ask for help? Will you work hard to improve your skills? Will you make your best even better?
  3. “I’ll do whatever it takes.” Now that’s the attitude I’m looking for. It tells me you’ll work hard, stay late and come in early. You’ll do what is expected of you and a lot more. You won’t let obstacles get in your way, you’ll overcome them. I can count on you to do the job and stick around for the long haul. If you’re willing to do whatever it takes, I’m willing to invest in you.

When someone’s attitude says they’ll try, what they’re really saying is that if they don’t like it, or it’s too hard, or they find something they like better, they’re going to quit. Yes, that could be true of anyone, but when you start out with that attitude, it does not bode well for your future. Why should I choose you when someone else has a much better attitude?

An employer–or a spouse, law partner, or business partner–is looking for commitment. They’re looking for someone who will do, “whatever it takes” to make their relationship a success.

So, take a look in the mirror. What is your attitude towards your legal career? Are you willing to do whatever it takes to be successful?

Would you hire you?

If you’re willing to do whatever it takes to make your practice a success, you need The Attorney Marketing Formula.

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Filed Under: Increase your income, Personal development, success Tagged With:

If you do this, you won’t have to join “Underearners Anonymous”

November 7, 2012 by
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I heard from an attorney recently who said his business is off. When I asked him why he thought that was, he referred me to a page on the “Underearners Anonymous” website that lists 12 “Symptoms of Underearning”. He claimed he had all 12.

I don’t think that’s really true and I don’t think he believes it, either. He’s blowing off steam. I know he’s been very successful in the past and his current situation is undoubtedly a temporary slump. But he is correct in looking inward for answers because even in a bad economy, many attorneys are thriving.

In today’s post, I want to talk about one of these 12 systems because I see it a lot. I’ll cover a second symptom in tomorrow’s post.

Number 7 on the list is “Undervaluing and Under-pricing’ — We undervalue our abilities and services and fear asking for increases in compensation or for what the market will bear.” I’ve done hundreds of consultations with attorneys and I can tell you that “undervaluing and under-pricing” is very common.

Charging less than you could is an obvious cause of lower income and it’s an easy fix: Raise your fees. But that’s easier said than done for the attorney who undervalues his or her services. If you don’t believe you’re worth more than you currently charge, you must first reconcile that belief with the truth.

Do your homework. Find out what other attorneys with similar experience charge. If most charge more than you do, you can assume that you can safely set your fees higher, and get it. And if you can get more, then you are worth more. Yes or yes?

What if you’re not worth more than what you currently charge? Well, then you’re not undervaluing yourself, you’re undervaluing your potential.

If you’re not worth more, charging more isn’t a good idea. You can get away with it for awhile but you will be found out, eventually. Instead, you need to increase your value. When you are worth more, you can charge more.

What about the attorney who knows he is worth more and still doesn’t raise his fees? These attorneys (and there are a lot of them) are afraid that if they raise their fees their clients will leave. And this is not without justification. Some clients will leave. A lot may leave, in fact, but losing clients is not the only thing to consider.

If you increase your fees you may lose some clients. But you can replace them with other clients who pay you more. The additional revenue from these new, better-paying clients, will offset the loss of revenue from clients who leave. Eventually, when you’ve replaced enough of the clients who leave, you’ll be earning a lot more than you do now.

You’ll probably want to increase your fees in phases. Start with new clients. They only know what you tell them and you won’t tell them about what you used to charge. As you get more new clients at higher fees, you can begin to raise fees for existing and former clients.

By the way, I said earlier that you should look at what other attorneys charge, to find proof that you can safely charge more than you do now. But be careful. What other attorneys charge doesn’t preclude you from charging more than they do, so don’t let it. But many attorneys do.

Many attorneys are afraid that if they charge more than other attorneys in their market, they won’t get hired. Well, there’s truth in that, too. If you charge more, some clients won’t hire you. But guess what? There are enough who will. And those are the clients you really want.

Set your fees high, my friend, and then do everything you can do to justify those higher fees. Give more value than other attorneys give and you’ll earn more than other attorneys earn.

If your clients say things like, “Yeah, she charges more, but she’s worth every penny,” then you know you’re doing it right.

If you want to learn how you can be worth more so you can charge more, you need The Attorney Marketing Formula.

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Filed Under: Attorneys fees, Client loyalty, Fees and Billing, Increase your income Tagged With: , ,

Yes, you do have time for marketing

November 6, 2012 by
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One of the most common reasons lawyers give for not marketing (or not marketing enough) is that they don’t have the time. Of course I don’t agree with that. There’s always time. You can make substantial progress in marketing your practice in as little as 15 minutes a day. I don’t care how busy you are, you can “find” 15 minutes a day.

You know this is true. And you also know that marketing is important to your success. So if you ever find yourself saying, “I don’t have the time,” you know that’s just an excuse. The real real reason is that you don’t know what to do, or, you don’t want to do it. So you tell yourself you don’t have the time.

If this sounds at all familiar to you, I have a suggestion. A place to begin.

Put 15 minutes on your calendar each work day. Call it “marketing time”. Make it an appointment, with yourself. Tell your secretary that you are busy at that time and not to book anything else for you. If a client calls and wants to talk to you during that time or come in to see you, you have to say no. You’ll talk to them 15 minutes later. You already have an appointment at that time. It’s your most important appointment of the day, and you can’t miss it.

Will you do that? Will you commit to a 15 minute appointment every day? Good. You’re on your way.

Now, what do you do during that time? If you don’t know, I suggest you start out by reading this and other marketing blogs. Just read. Take some notes. Write down ideas.

You will probably find a lot of things you don’t want to do. But you will also find some things you do want to do. Do this for a couple of weeks and you will have plenty of ideas you’ll be itching to try.

Once you try them, and once you see some results coming in, you won’t have to “force” yourself to keep your 15 minute appointment. In fact, marketing time may become your favorite appointment of the day.

One of the six key strategies in The Attorney Marketing Formula is leveraging time to get more results from less effort. You can read all about it on this page.

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Filed Under: Increase your income, Marketing legal services, Marketing Plan, Productivity, Time Management

Why good attorneys achieve mediocre results

October 29, 2012 by
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An expert, addressing a group of lawyers starting their own practice, offered this advice:

“Your goal, if you expect to have lots of happy clients and turn a sweet profit, is efficiency. That means creating systems, for instance, that eliminate double and triple entry of information—client information, case information, conflicts information—and looking for systems that save you time and reduce paper and administrivia [sic].”

I agree that efficiency is important. You should use systems and tools that eliminate redundancy and waste and allow you to maximize your time and effort. I credit much of my success to developing these systems and using the right tools. But while efficiency is important, effectiveness is far more so.

Efficiency means “doing things right”. Effectiveness means “doing the right things”. The difference is crucial.

You can be inefficient (i.e., sloppy, slow, distracted, riddled with mistakes, etc.) and amazingly successful in your career, if you are doing the right things. I know people who waste a lot of time and money and don’t get a lot of things done but are at the top of their field because they get the important things done.

I know others who are very efficient but achieve no better than mediocre results in their careers because they are efficient at the wrong things.

It’s far more important to choose the right practice area, for example, than to have the latest software. You’ll earn more by focusing on marketing instead of accounting. Your amazing library isn’t nearly as valuable as your amazing client relations practices.

Many attorneys achieve mediocre results because they major in minor things. They master the details but forget the big picture. They’re climbing the ladder of success, only to find that the ladder is leaning against the wrong wall.

Yes, you want to be good at what you do. Just make sure that you’re doing the right things.

If you want to be effective AND efficient, get The Attorney Marketing Formula.

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Filed Under: Increase your income, Law office management, Productivity, Time Management Tagged With: ,

Another lesson from Apple: how to get clients to pay higher legal fees

October 25, 2012 by
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Yesterday, I wrote about Apple’s pricing strategy with the new iPad Mini. Instead of competing with other tablets for the low end of the tablet market, they’re letting other companies duke it out while they target the more profitable high end. The same is true for their entire product line.

Apple fans are willing to pay more for Apple products (and stand in line to get them) because they believe it’s worth it. They believe they get more value for their dollar.

Style is certainly one aspect. So is functionality. But more than anything, I think what appeals to Apple users is ease of use.

Apple’s slogan, “It just works,” is arguably responsible for converting legions of PC users, frustrated with complicated, buggy, and virus prone machines to the Apple brand. True or not, the impression Apple’s marketing team has created is that with Apple products you won’t have continual crashes or blue screens, and you won’t have to take a class to learn how to use it. You just turn it on and it works.

And that’s exactly what Apple’s customers want.

Well guess what? That’s what your clients want, too. At least the clients you should be targeting. They want to know that when they hire you, you’ll get the job done.

They don’t want complications. They don’t want to know the boring details. They want the peace of mind of knowing that when they hire you, they’ll be in good hands. If you can give this to them, they’ll pay you more than what other attorneys charge.

Now I know many attorneys will cynically argue that their clients are very price conscious and won’t pay a penny more if another attorney will do it for less. And that’s true–THEIR clients are price conscious and won’t pay a penny more. But that’s not true of all clients.

Didn’t the PC world say the same thing about Apple when their prices first became known? “Why would anyone pay double for something just because it’s nicer looking?”

The answer was, and still is, because “it just works.”

You can follow in Apple’s footsteps. Target the higher end of the market for your services. Show them that when they hire you, everything is taken care of for them. They won’t have to worry about getting a bill filled with surprises, or an attorney who doesn’t explain things or return their phone calls. Show them that “you just work” and they’ll pay you more. Because it’s worth it to them.

Learn how to earn more than you ever thought possible. Get The Attorney Marketing Formula.

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Filed Under: Attorneys fees, Fees and Billing, Image, Increase your income, Marketing legal services Tagged With: , , , ,

What Apple’s new iPad Mini can teach lawyers about pricing legal services

October 24, 2012 by
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So everyone is buzzing about Apple’s new iPad Mini. Comments abound about the features, or lack thereof, but the number one topic of discussion is price.

Many predicted (hoped?) Apple would price the Mini in line with what Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and Google are pricing their tablets, in the neighborhood of $199-$249. They said that in so doing, Apple would crush the competition and own the small tablet market. Instead, the lowest priced Mini is offered at $329.

Many observers are questioning Apple’s strategy. How can they compete with tablets priced so much lower?

The answer is they’re not even trying.

Avi Greengart, research director for consumer devices at Current Analysis, told The Verge, “I think what Apple has done here is create a new category of premium small tablet.” The writer Greengart spoke to summed up Apple’s strategy thusly: “[I]t appears Apple is simply opting out of the low end of the market altogether, much like it’s done with personal computers.”

Greengart continues: “I don’t think this puts Amazon, Barnes & Noble, or Google out of business, but it means that those three — and anyone else entering that market segment — are all competing against each other for the budget consumer.” [emphasis added]

Apple is letting everyone else compete for the low end of the market while it offers a premium product to the smaller but more profitable segment of the market that is willing to pay a premium price.

This is exactly what lawyers should do.

Most lawyers offer the same services at the same prices to the same prospects. Everyone looks the same and says the same things. Nobody stands out. Everyone is average. And so the average lawyer gets average results from their marketing and earns only average income.

The better strategy is to offer higher quality services to those who are willing to pay for them.

Marketing is easier because you have something better to offer. Marketing is less expensive because you’re not trying to deliver your message to everyone. Other lawyers can’t compete with you because they don’t offer what you offer. And your income is higher because your clients are paying more.

You may not have Apple’s resources or “sex appeal” but you can follow the same strategy they do. Let other lawyers fight over the masses while you offer a better “product” to a smaller, more profitable segment of the market.

Most lawyers will never do this. They won’t offer premium services and, frankly, don’t even know what that means. That makes it so much easier for you.

How does Apple compete with Google? It doesn’t. How do you compete with other attorneys? You don’t.

The Attorney Marketing Formula shows you how to offer premium services and get premium fees.

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Filed Under: Fees and Billing, Image, Increase your income, Law office management, Marketing legal services Tagged With: , , , ,
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