The problem with multiple streams of income

November 27, 2012 by
Share

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.

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

Marketing is easier when you use leverage

November 26, 2012 by
Share

As I mentioned last week, this Wednesday, at 2 pm PT, I’m being interviewed and you’re invited. Among other things, I’ll be talking about my latest marketing course, The Attorney Marketing Formula.

One of the themes throughout The Attorney Marketing Formula is leverage–getting bigger results out of the same effort. A simple example of leverage in marketing a law practice is the use of forms and checklists. You invest time to memorialize a process and then use that process over and over again, saving you lots of time, reducing errors, and impressing the hell out of your clients who see how remarkably well organized you are.

Another example of leverage is focusing on your current and former clients as a source of repeat business and referrals in preference to other ways of seeking new clients. There are much lower costs associated with marketing to people who already know, like, and trust you, and much better results. Even if someone can’t hire you again right now, and doesn’t know anyone they can refer, there are other ways they can help you. They can send traffic to your web site through social media, for example, or forward your email to their friends and colleagues.

A marketing joint venture with professionals and business owners to get exposure to their lists is another form of leverage. If you’re a small business attorney, for example, you could get together with an accountant, a tax lawyer, a commercial insurance broker, and a financial planner. Each of you contributes a report, article, audio, or video, and the four of you send (or offer) this collection to your lists. Or, you can put together a bundle of services for the small business owner, with discounts and/or free services from each of you, and offer this bundle to your lists.

Anyway, I hope you’ll join us on Wednesday and bring your questions. I’m looking forward to speaking with you!

Save an extra $10 on The Attorney Marketing Formula through 5 pm PT tonight, November 26th. Use discount code “thankful”.

Share
Filed Under: Client loyalty, Law office management, Leverage, Marketing legal services, News, Productivity Tagged With:

Get your attorney marketing questions answered next week (video interview)

November 21, 2012 by
Share

Next week, I will be interviewed by attorney Mitch Jackson on his Spreecast channel. The subject: The Attorney Marketing Formula, the course that teaches you how to earn more than you ever thought possible.

Please join us at 2 pm Pacific time on Wednesday, November 28. The event is free and open to everyone. Bring your marketing questions and I’ll answer them live on video. Or, if you can’t make it, send me your questions in advance. The show will be recorded and you can watch later.

Register here, or just bookmark the link to watch the replay.

If you don’t yet have a copy of The Attorney Marketing Formula, you can save an extra $10 through the Thanksgiving weekend. Use discount code “thankful” (without quotes). This promotion runs through Monday, November 26, 2012 at 5:00 pm Pacific.

I appreciate you and look forward to seeing you next week. If you celebrate Thanksgiving, I hope you have something special planned.

The Attorney Marketing Formula is way better than a 40-inch TV. Save an extra $10 with discount code “thankful”.

Share
Filed Under: Marketing legal services, News Tagged With: , , ,

What percentage of your income do you re-invest in your law practice?

November 20, 2012 by
Share

I started my law practice with a few thousand dollars for rent, furniture, stationery, and a typewriter. It was a drop in the bucket compared to what I spent over the years to grow and expand that practice.

Like any business, I took a percentage of net income and re-invested it. A bigger office, more employees, marketing. How about you? How much do you re-invest in your practice, and in what are you investing?

  • CLE
  • Law library, form files
  • Technology, equipment, furnishings
  • Employees/outsourced help
  • Employee training
  • Human Resources
  • Web site/blog
  • Marketing/Client Relations
  • Advertising
  • Personal development/training
  • Risk management/insurance/compliance
  • Office management/HR
  • Bookkeeping, billing, accounting, collections
  • Investments/retirement planning

A law practice is a business. If you don’t re-invest in your business to stimulate and support its growth, your business will decay and eventually die.

Some of these categories are more important than others, and deserve a bigger investment of your time and money. One of these categories, however, is much more important than the others.

Which category do you think I would say is number one?

Nope, marketing is second. Number one is personal development. If you get that right, you will understand the vital role that marketing plays, you will commit to making it a priority, and you will get better results. You’ll also do a better job of handling all of the other categories.

Growing your practice starts with growing yourself.

If you’re ready to make marketing a priority, you need to master the six key strategies in The Attorney Marketing Formula.

Share
Filed Under: Law office management, Marketing legal services, Personal development

All lawyers market their services, although some don’t realize it

November 19, 2012 by
Share

I got an email from an attorney who wanted to hire someone to do all of her marketing for her. She said she’s “not good at marketing and not interested in it.” She doesn’t realize it but she’s already engaged in marketing. Every lawyer is.

Every time you say thank you to a client or referral source, you’re marketing.

Every time you hand someone you business card and ask for theirs, you’re marketing.

Every time you have a meal with someone, you’re marketing.

You may be doing it poorly, or getting poor results, but it’s marketing nevertheless.

Marketing is defined as, “everything you do to get and keep clients”. Key word–“everything”. All of the little things you say and do, the warmth of your handshake, the sincerity of your smile. It all counts.

You do yourself an injustice when you conclude that marketing is something you can hand off to someone else.

You can hire people to assist you. They can do most of the behind the scenes work. They can advise you, create your ads, run your blog, and promote your seminars. They can set up meetings with people on your behalf.

But you have to be at those meetings.

Building a law practice means building relationships and that’s not something that can be delegated.

If this is an anathema to you, if you are terminally shy or you just don’t like people, you’ll be a lot happier finding a partner who is good at what you don’t enjoy. Let him or her be the face of the firm, while you do what you’re good at.

But guess what? You’ll still be marketing.

Every time you say thank you to a client, you’re marketing. Every time you give someone your card and ask for theirs, or have a meal with someone, you’re marketing.

You can’t escape. Everything means everything.

If you want to improve your marketing, you should read (and apply) The Attorney Marketing Formula. 

Share
Filed Under: Law office management, Marketing legal services Tagged With: , , ,

Corporations don’t hire lawyers, people do

November 15, 2012 by
Share

I was asked for marketing advice for a law firm whose clients are, “. . .legal entities, not individuals.” My response was that the process is essentially the same.

When your prospective client is a business entity you may have to do presentations and fill out RFP’s, and there are probably more decision makers and a longer time line, but in the end, it’s still people talking to people.

You find out what they want and show them how you can help them. You earn their trust, answer their questions, and prove that you can deliver. It’s more formal, but it’s still people with problems talking to people who offer solutions.

Yes, there are other differences but they are minor and you should not get hung up on them. Stay focused on courting the individuals who make hiring decisions, and the people who advise them. Corporations don’t hire lawyers, people do.

The Attorney Marketing Formula works no matter who your clients are. Find out more here.

Share
Filed Under: Marketing legal services

What your veterinarian can teach you about marketing legal services

November 13, 2012 by
Share

A couple of weeks ago, our cat had a thorn stuck in his paw and was limping. We took Seamus to a new vet, someone we’ve never visited before. She removed the thorn and gave us antibiotics for the infection. She called a few days later (personally) to ask how Seamus was doing. (He’s fine.)

Did the vet call to protect herself against possible liability? I’m sure that’s part of it. Would she have called if we had come in for a check-up and nothing was wrong? I don’t know. What I do know is that getting that call meant a lot to us.

When your clients leave your office, do you call to find out if they’re okay? You should.

See how they’re doing. See if they have any questions. See if there’s anything else you can do for them. And while you’re at it, thank them again for choosing you as their attorney.

Do this yourself if possible. At the very least, have someone from your office call. It only takes a minute and yes, you can leave a voice mail.

If you want to convert a first time client to a lifetime client, you need to get the little things right. In a professional practice, the little things are the big things.

Marketing legal services is simple, if you know The Formula.

Share
Filed Under: Client loyalty, Client relations, Law office management, Marketing legal services Tagged With:

Yes, you do have time for marketing

November 6, 2012 by
Share

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.

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

The most important part of a live presentation

October 31, 2012 by
Share

Last night I did a one hour presentation. At the end, I was introduced to a young man who had been in the audience. The gentleman who introduced him told me what the young man liked best about the presentation: my suit.

Not my content. Not my delivery. Not my jokes. My suit.

I didn’t know if I should take this as a compliment or an insult. Didn’t he like what I said? After all, he was there for information, not a floor show.

Granted, it was a nice suit and I was wearing a very spiffy red tie, but what about what I said? Did I. . . blow it?

Not at all. He was persuaded by what I said and wanted to take the next step. He just liked my suit.

I thought about this and realized that while content is important, it’s not the only thing you have to get right in a presentation. People look at your appearance. They notice the lighting and sound quality, the music, even the coffee. All of the little things are important and you have to get them right.

A month from now, if this young man thinks about last night he’ll probably remember my suit. Not my name or anything I said. My suit and my snazzy tie. That’s the image he’ll remember. Someone else might remember a song they liked, the hostess’ smile, or a story I told that evoked a pleasant memory.

People rarely remember what you said. And that’s okay. What you say isn’t the most important part of the presentation. The most important part of a presentation, what people remember long after it’s done, is not what you said, it’s how they felt when you were saying it.

When you give your next presentation, whatever the objective–a verdict, a new client, or a response that says “tell me more”–don’t rely solely on your content, however logical and persuasive it might be. You have to get all the little things right, too. Do what you can to make people feel good about you, about what you’re saying, and especially, about themselves. Use humor if you can. Tell stories. Make sure the coffee is good. And wear a nice suit.

The Attorney Marketing Formula really works. More clients, more income. Hey, it’s a formula.

Share
Filed Under: Communication, Marketing legal services, Presentations

Undecideds win close elections and build law practices

October 30, 2012 by
Share

In a close election it is undecided voters who carry the candidate or cause to victory. One of the biggest blocks of undecideds are “low information” voters–people who ordinarily don’t pay much attention to politics until a few weeks before the election.

Another block of undecideds are supporters of third party candidates who, at the last minute, realize their candidate doesn’t have a chance to win and are open to choosing another candidate.

In most consumer-based law practices, prospective clients are “low information voters”. Unless and until something occurs in their life (divorce, accident, arrest, lawsuit, etc.), they won’t pay much attention to anything you might say. They don’t have a problem (that they are aware of) and they aren’t in the market for an attorney.

In a business oriented law practice, prospective clients are often “third party supporters”–they have an attorney they are reasonably happy with and aren’t looking to switch, at least for now.

In either case, your prospective clients aren’t interested in what you can do for them. They won’t notice your ads or ask their friends for a referral. There’s no impending event that forces them to pay attention.

But eventually there will be. Your objective is to be there when that occurs.

Your strategy is to put mechanisms in place that allow you to be found and recommended when prospective clients are finally in the market for an attorney. Depending on your practice area, target market, and personal preferences, this might include:

  • A strong Internet presence–blogs, search engine optimization, social media connections
  • Referral strategies–equipping your clients and professional contacts with information they can disseminate
  • Search-based advertising–classifieds, PPC, directory ads
  • Networking–meeting those who are in the market and the people who can refer them

Position yourself to be found when prospective clients realize they have a problem and go looking for a solution. This is usually more profitable than targeting “pre-need” prospects–people who don’t yet have a problem or aren’t ready to do something about it.

However, you may also want to target pre-need prospects who have a problem but don’t fully understand the risks or their options. Estate planning seminars, for example, can be effective at persuading “no need” and “vaguely aware of a need” prospects into becoming paying clients.

The best plan is to target all three types of prospects. Focus primarily on those who are looking now, but don’t ignore those who will be looking later.

The Attorney Marketing Formula shows you six key marketing strategies for getting more clients and increasing your income.

Share
Filed Under: Marketing legal services, Marketing Plan Tagged With: , , ,
« Previous Page
Next Page »