Marketing legal services Archives - Page 114 of 135

Marketing legal services at the XMAS dinner table

December 20, 2012 by David M. Ward

Ah, Christmas dinner with the family. A time to celebrate the holidays and enjoy a good meal. You’ll find out who got engaged, who got divorced, who had a baby, and who has passed. You’ll eat way too much and fall asleep on the sofa. You’ll laugh at your brother’s ridiculous sweater, and pretend to laugh at your Uncle’s bad jokes.

You’ll wait for just the right moment and then, you’ll hand out your business cards. “In case you run into someone who needs a lawyer,” you’ll say.

Clever, huh? Leverage the family dinner to get some new clients. Hey, why not–it’s family. You can ask the family to pass out your cards, right?

No. They already hate you because you make so much money and think you’re so smart. Okay, maybe they don’t hate you, but you still shouldn’t pass out cards. Not because it’s “bad form” at the Christmas dinner but because it’s “bad marketing”. It’s not going to get you any business.

Your family already knows what you do. They have your phone number. If they run into someone who might need you, they’ll tell them. Besides, they still have the cards you gave them last Christmas.

So what’s better? What should you do at the family dinner?

Nothing. Relax. Enjoy the evening. Have fun.

Your best marketing tool isn’t your card, it’s you. The fun, likable, overeating, asleep on the sofa you.

Get The Attorney Marketing Formula and plan your after-holiday marketing

Filed Under: Business cards, Marketing legal services, Networking Tagged With: httpwww-attorneymarketing-com20121220marketing-legal-services-at-the-xmas-dinner-tableutm_sourcefeedburner

Christmas cards are for wimps

December 19, 2012 by David M. Ward

When was the last time you wrote your clients?

No, I don’t mean sending a Christmas card, the same one you send to all your clients. I mean a real letter. With real words, not a holiday sentiment written by someone else.

A letter from you (not your firm), not to promote anything, or remind them to update their Will or do their fourth quarter Minutes. Just to say hello. Or to send them an article you thought they might like.

I know, you’ll get back to me on that.

Not long ago, this might have been a big project. Expensive, too. You don’t have that excuse today. Email makes it simple, and virtually free.

If you don’t have an email list for your clients, you need to. Make this your numero uno marketing project. At the top of your list. With a gold star and three exclamation points!!!

Because if you don’t, you won’t write your clients, at least not as often as you should. And if you do, you will have a mechanism for “fundamentally transforming” your practice. English translation: make a boat load of money.

An email list, and regular contact with it, to your clients, prospects, and professional contacts, is critical today. You want repeat business? Stay in touch with your list. You want referrals? Stay in touch with your list. You want traffic to your web site? Stay in touch with your list. All you need is a few minutes to write something and then click a button to send.

That’s the easy part. The hard part? Wanting to do it. See, I know you want the business. What I don’t know is if you believe me when I tell you that this is one of the best ways to get it.

If you’re afraid they don’t want to hear from you, you’ve got to get over that. Send them something interesting, valuable, or inspiring, and they will be glad you wrote and look forward to your next message. Stay in touch with them and when they need your services or know someone who does, they won’t go to a search engine to find a lawyer, they’ll go to their email inbox and find your number.

Lawyers are complicated. Marketing is simple.

Filed Under: Client relations, Email, List building, Marketing legal services Tagged With: christmas cards

Do you have long term goals? That’s your problem

December 18, 2012 by David M. Ward

A wealthy business friend of mine does a lot of speaking to other business owners. They come seeking to learn how they can reach the levels of success he has attained. On the subject of marketing, he usually asks the audience, “How many of you have long term goals?” Hands are proudly raised. “That’s your problem. You’re thinking about long term when you should be thinking about today.”

He tells them the only thing that matters is how many times your company’s story is told today. How many people hear about what you have to offer. What can you do today, right now, this afternoon, to get your story told?

Of course tomorrow you’ll do the same thing. That’s how a big business is built–one day at a time.

My friend will acknowledge the need for planning beyond “today” but he says too many people spend all their time planning and not enough time doing. “You don’t have to read your car’s manual to know how to make it go,” he says.

My friend says success is about mastering the fundamentals. He coaches junior football and says, “We teach those kids how to pass, punt, block, and tackle. You get good at those four skills. That’s how you win games.”

Building a successful business or law practice works the same way. You learn the fundamentals and practice them. You get good at a few things.

You don’t have to know everything about marketing or bookkeeping. You don’t need to have the latest technology. And you don’t have to read the manual.

Unless, of course, it’s mine.

Filed Under: Law office management, Marketing legal services, success

Please retweet this!

December 5, 2012 by David M. Ward

A fundamental precept in marketing is that you get a higher response when you tell people what to do. Tell them to buy, tell them to sign up, tell them to call, and more people will.

The infographic below, about The Art of Getting Retweets, has some interesting stats about the best days and times to tweet, optimal tweet length, and the use of urls and hashtags for maximum retweetability. It also offers compelling statistics that support the efficacy of telling (asking) people what to do:

“Please retweet” has a 51% retweet rate followed by “PleaseRT” which has a 39% retweet rate. Using neither of the two yields only a 12% retweet rate.

Courtesy of: Quick Sprout

Frequency of asking for a retweet must be a factor. Someone who constantly asks for a retweet, like the boy who cried wolf, probably doesn’t get a lot of retweets. It is the rarity of this request that undoubtedly gets people’s attention and compliance.

Although it is not stated in the infographic, it is also well known that a higher response occurs when you also tell people why they should do what you ask. This may be due to associated scarcity and fear of loss implied in a statement like, “Buy now before our prices go up,” but there’s evidence that that’s not the only reason.

I read about one psychological study involving a long queue at a copy machine in a college library. A female “student,” holding a sheet of paper, asks the person at the front of the line if she can cut in. When she gives them a reason for needing to cut in line, she gets a significantly higher percentage of the subjects to agree. What was remarkable about the study is that it didn’t matter what reason the student gave for asking to cut in line. Even when the “reason” was as empty as, “. . .because I need to make a copy. . .,” she got a higher response.

So telling people what to do and giving them a reason, no matter how weak that reason may be, will increase response.

Put this in your notes because you should should have this in your notes.

(Did you?)

Buy The Attorney Marketing Formula. Excellent reason: You’ll get more clients and increase your income.

Filed Under: Communication, Copywriting, Marketing legal services, Writing Tagged With: retweets, tell prospects what to do, Twitter

Why every attorney needs to have a global presence

December 3, 2012 by David M. Ward

You only practice in one state or province or country. You can’t do legal work outside of your jurisdiction. So why should you pay attention to anything elsewhere? Because we live in a global society.

Every day, people move into and out of your city. New arrivals in your city will need an attorney. Some research attorneys before they move. If someone in Los Angeles is being transferred to New York where you practice, they might find you online long before they arrive in town.

Others will ask their attorney, CPA or other professional (in LA) if they know any lawyers in New York. If you have a relationship with those professionals, there’s a good chance that you’ll get the nod. But even if you don’t have a relationship, many professionals will go online to find an attorney in another city to whom they can refer their client.

It happens all the time, even when nobody is moving. People ask people if they know an attorney in LA or NY or Houston or Miami, because their aunt or cousin or business partner has asked them and they thought you might be able to help.

When you send referrals to attorneys in other parts of the country, or other countries, those attorneys will be inclined to send their referrals to you. The same is true of other professionals and businesses.

A law practice is a local business but from a marketing perspective, it is also a global business.

No matter where you practice, you need a strong online presence. You never know when someone in a country you’ve never heard of might be looking for an attorney in your town.

You also need to reach out to professionals and businesses in other parts of the world so that when a client or professional contact asks you if you know a real estate agent, insurance broker, CPA, or lawyer in another city you can give them a referral.

The more referrals you give, the more you will eventually get. But where do you start?

Well, you could pick a city and pick a profession and ask your contacts if they know someone in xyz who does abc, or you could go online and find someone yourself. Then, when someone asks for a referral to someone in xyz who does abc, you’ll have someone. But this is too slow. I suggest you do things in reverse.

Start by announcing to your clients and contacts that you have connections throughout the country–in law, real estate, banking, insurance, and businesses of all kinds. Encourage them to come to you when they need a referral or know someone who does.

When someone asks for a referral, go find someone. The urgency of having someone who needs that referral will force you to find someone fast. But now, instead of merely introducing yourself and saying you hope the two of you can do some business together some day, you’ll actually have someone ready to refer.

It’s called “working smarter” for a reason.

Want to know more ways to work with other professionals and get more referrals? Get The Attorney Marketing Formula and find out.

Filed Under: Leverage, List building, Marketing legal services, Networking, Online Marketing

Marketing takes up too much time? I wrote this post in 15 minutes

November 29, 2012 by David M. Ward

In the interview yesterday, (replay), I said that if you (the viewer) got nothing else out of my comments, I hope you are inspired to commit 15 minutes a day to marketing. Even if all you do is sit and think, or write down ideas, or read some articles. I said that if you do that, eventually you will pick up the phone and make some calls or write something that could be considered marketing-related. Like a blog post, article, or email.

You can do a lot in 15 minutes.

I wrote this post in 15 minutes. Sure, most of my posts take longer but I have the time. You might not. That’s okay. Short posts are fine.

How do you write a blog post in 15 minutes? You start with an idea and write it down. In this case, “writing a blog post in 15 minutes”. You open up something to write in. I write my posts in Evernote. And you begin writing. Put down your thoughts. Share a couple of tips or resources. Give your opinion on something related to your area of expertise.

Three or four paragraphs and you’re done. I’m at 200 words at this point. My posts are usually in the 300 to 500 word length. Length isn’t critical, as long as you have said what you need to say.

Then, edit. Make sure the thoughts flow. Not hard, really (pauses for a sip of coffee, reads. . .). Looks pretty good. Time to publish. Copy and paste into WordPress. Add some tags and hyperlinks and I’m done for the day. Elapsed time: 14 minutes.Â And what do you know, this post is now just over 300 words.

If you missed the interview yesterday, you can watch the replay here. It was about an hour so you might have to watch over the next four days. If you don’t have time, just order The Attorney Marketing FormulaÂ and call it a day.

Filed Under: Law office management, Marketing legal services, Productivity, Time Management Tagged With: attorney-marketing-blog, Spreecast

In marketing, WHEN someone reads your message may be more important than what it says

November 28, 2012 by David M. Ward

It’s true. Timing is everything. To wit:

Two days ago, a business owner found out his biggest distributor is 120 days delinquent. If they don’t pay him, the business owner may not be able to pay his suppliers. He’s upset and wants to know what he can do to collect on the account. He is a prospect for your services.

He sees your ad and plans to call you. But first, he places a call to the distributor and talks to the accounts payable clerk. She assures him that they were having a temporary cash flow issue. This has been resolved and payment in full will be mailed in a few days. The two companies have done business for many years and the business owner is satisfied. He calms down. He doesn’t call you. He is no longer a prospect.

Yesterday, the business owner talks to a mutual friend who tells him he’s having the same problem with the distributor. In fact, he hasn’t been paid in over six months and has turned the account over to an attorney. Now our business owner is nervous. He can’t take any chances. He must take action. He is a very motivated prospect.

Just before he calls you, the owner of the other company calls him, apologizes, and tells him not to worry. He was indeed having a cash flow issue but he has just been approved for a loan and will have the funds within ten days. He promises to clear up his account. Our business owner is relieved. He didn’t want to take action against his biggest client. Ten days is acceptable. He doesn’t need a lawyer.

This morning, the business owner finds out that the distributor has just been indicted for fraud. He has been accused of running a Ponzi scheme for the last several years. He has stolen millions. Nobody is going to be paid, at least not without a fight. The business owner is desperate. He needs your help. Can he messenger over a check?

Timing truly is everything. Someone may be a prospect this morning, ready to write you a big check, and not interested this afternoon when his problem seems to be resolved.

Suppose our business story took place over a period of months, not days. And suppose our business owner saw your ad once, three months ago, when he didn’t need you, but didn’t see your ad today when he was ready to hire you?

This is why you continue to advertise, to mail, to network, to write. This is why you continually stay in touch with your list, reminding them that you are still there, still ready to help. Not once but over and over again. Not today but forever.

You never know when a prospect’s “buying window” will open or how long it will stay open. Keep your message in front of them. Stay in their minds and in their mailboxes because when their window opens, you want to be the one they see.

I’m being interviewed today. Join us (free) at 2pm PT and bring your attorney marketing questions.

Filed Under: Marketing legal services

The problem with multiple streams of income

November 27, 2012 by David M. Ward

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.Â 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.Â 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, getÂ The Attorney Marketing Formula.

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

Marketing is easier when you use leverage

November 26, 2012 by David M. Ward

As I mentioned last week, this Wednesday, at 2 pm PT, I’m being interviewedÂ 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”.

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