Marketing legal services

The attitude of a successful lawyer

September 18, 2025 by David M. Ward

You’ve given them the information. Answered their questions. Handled their objections. But the prospective client still decides not to hire you. Is there a way to turn their “no” into a “yes”?

You could tell them more. Give them more reasons they need to do what you recommend, tell them more about what could happen if they don’t, or tell them why they should choose you instead of another lawyer or firm.

But that’s argumentative and makes you look weak. At the very least, it’s unlikely to work.

I suggest a different approach.

Thank the prospect for their time in meeting with you and considering you. Tell them you respect their decision. And if you know they’re going to hire one of your competitors, say something positive about them.

Then, tell the client that if they ever need anything, you’ll be happy to help.

That’s it. Don’t try to convince them to change their mind. Don’t remind them of something you’ve said or ask them to think about it.

Smile, shake their hand, and thank them again for speaking with you.

That’s what a professional does. And it’s this attitude that can win you many more “yesses,” including from clients who originally said “no”, aka, “let me think about it”.

When you adopt this approach, prospects who said no will often second-guess their decision. They wonder if they made a mistake by choosing another firm, and that alone might get them to change their mind.

It also makes it more likely they will come back to you when that other firm messes up or otherwise fails to deliver.

And, if the client doesn’t hire you this time, they might be more likely to hire you for the next matter.

Not only that, your confidence and graciousness will likely bring you more referrals as your market hears good things about you. That includes the lawyers at those “other firms” when they have a conflict and are asked to recommend another lawyer.

This is how you turn a no into a yes.

Take the high road and leave the door open. You’ll likely find more clients showing up at that door.

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Filed Under: Client relations, Closing the sale, Handling objections, Marketing legal services

How to eliminate your competition and dramatically increase your income

September 16, 2025 by David M. Ward

Having no competition would be great, wouldn’t it, but it’s not possible, is it?

Actually, it is. But you may not be willing to do what you have to do to achieve it.

Because it’s not easy.

It would mean doing things and saying things most attorneys don’t do or say. It would mean being different from other attorneys or firms in your market and building your reputation on those differences.

When you do that, you attract clients who come looking for you, hire you, pay what you ask, and tell others about you.

Because you’re the only lawyer who does what you do.

You’re different and offer more value than what other lawyers offer. You’re not average; you’re better.

And everyone is talking about you.

Yes, but what can you do that’s different? What can you offer that nobody else offers?

What value can you deliver that is both unique and desirable?

You might offer flat fees when everyone else charges by the hour. You might promise to deliver your work product in half the time as any other firm. You might offer a satisfaction guarantee.

Maybe you could partner with other professionals or businesses and offer a “one-stop shopping” solution. Or a service that’s far more comprehensive that anything else in your market.

Think. What do clients want? What can you give them that is better than anything else available?

Imagine overhearing people talking about you. What would like them to say about you?

“He’s the only attorney who (fill in the blank)”. “They are the only firm that (fill in the blank).”

What could they say that would have maximum impact and make a comparison with other lawyers impossible?

That’s your challenge. It’s not easy. But it is the solution to eliminating competition and dramatically increasing your income.

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Filed Under: Marketing legal services

The real reason you’re not doing more marketing

September 11, 2025 by David M. Ward

You know you should do more marketing, but you don’t. Why?

It’s not because you don’t know what to do or how to do it. You’re smart; you can learn.

It’s not because you’re not good at it. You can hire people to help you or do most of it for you.

It’s not because you don’t have the time. If you’re bringing in a lot of new business, it’s worth it, and you’ll find the time.

How about this one: you don’t think you should have to? You’re a good lawyer, and good lawyers get all the business they can handle without doing a lot of (or any) marketing. Yeah, well, they might not do some things, but they do others.

No, there’s another reason you might not be doing more marketing.

Fear.

You’re afraid it won’t work and you’ll be embarrassed. Or that other lawyers will look down on you and you’ll be embarrassed. Or your clients will think less of you, and you’ll lose them. Or you don’t want to stand out from the crowd and do things other lawyers don’t do.

Or maybe all of the above.

It’s just fear. And it’s normal. But you don’t have to let it stop you from doing things you know you should. You can use fear to force yourself to do those things.

That’s what I’ve done over the years. I’ve used my fear to motivate myself.

When I was new and broke, I used my fear of failure and poverty to get to work.

When I was doing okay and got comfortable, I used my fear of mediocrity and failing to reach my potential to get myself to work harder.

And when I became successful, got a bigger office and hired more employees, I used my fear of over-extending myself to stay focused and try things I didn’t want to do.

At each stage, I used my fear to motivate myself and took my practice to the next level.

If you’re not doing what you know you know you should (and could), don’t let fear hold you back. Use your fear to pull you forward.

Fear protects us and helps us. We can use it this way. And we should.

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Filed Under: Marketing legal services, Personal development, success

Following up with leads and inquiries

August 12, 2025 by David M. Ward

Wouldn’t it be great if you didn’t have to follow-up with prospective clients, if they found the answers to their questions and booked their own appointments?

But they don’t, do they? You need to tell them what they need to know (even if they don’t ask), tell them what to do to take the next step, and make sure they do it.

You could ‘wing it’ and perhaps you do. But it’s better to use a system.

A follow-up system will help you sign up more clients more quickly and with less effort. You will have fewer questions to answer, fewer objections to overcome, and fewer delays to slow down the process.

A system will help you close a higher percentage of leads and prospects, with less work and overhead and friction. When someone calls or writes, your system tells you precisely what to tell them; you have documents and links ready to send them, and you don’t have to rely on your memory—you follow your checklist.

Professionals don’t wing it; they use a system. I encourage you to create and use your own.

Keep it simple. Start by identifying the first step—what to say, what to do and when.

What will you tell them? What will you offer them? What will you say to get them to take the next step?

Set up a file with forms and templates and answers to FAQs. Make notes about how to handle leads that come in from ads, from referrals, and from visitors to your website. For each type of case or matter, identify language to describe the benefits and value of what you do and pair these with illustrative stories of cases or clients.

Automate subsequent follow-ups via letters or texts or calls. Decide how many follow-ups to make and how often. Account for those prospective clients who need a lot of hand-holding and won’t be ready to hire you for weeks or months, and for others who want to get started immediately.

You don’t have to figure it all out immediately. Just start. Think about your last new case or client—what you said and did, what worked and what didn’t. You’ll figure it out, one step at a time.

Filed Under: Handling objections, Law office management, Marketing legal services

The number one reason your practice isn’t growing (and how to fix it)

August 7, 2025 by David M. Ward

If your practice isn’t growing, there’s a very simple reason. It’s not growing because you’re not growing.

You’re the same lawyer today as you were yesterday. You know more and can probably do more, but you don’t, and you won’t unless you change your philosophies and activities—what you think about and what you do.

Your practice is a reflection of the decisions you have made in the past and the decisions you are making today. To get better results, you have to make better decisions, and to do that, you need better information.

You have to read the books, take the classes, and seek the advice of experts. You have to use different strategies than you usually use, and do them in different ways. You have to take more risks with your marketing, learn from your mistakes, and double down on your successes.

Because marketing is a process, not an event. You have to work at it. And do something most attorneys don’t want to do—stand out.

Most attorneys choose to blend in and be just like most of their competitors. They offer the same types of services, offer similar promises, and charge similar fees. They go out of their way to avoid being different and effectively become invisible.

If you want to be more successful, you can’t do that. You have to stand out.

That means doing things that are different and uniquely valuable. Something your competition doesn’t do.

Most attorneys don’t, which is why most attorneys never enjoy the level of success enjoyed by the few who do.

It’s a profession, yes, but it’s also a business. If you want your business to grow, you need to grow. Or it won’t.

Filed Under: Marketing legal services, Personal development

Why your content isn’t working

August 5, 2025 by David M. Ward

You work hard on your blog or newsletter, recording videos or podcasts, or posting tips on social media. It’s good content, your target market is seeing it, but you’re not getting new clients.

Why?

It’s likely that while your market is seeing your content, they’re not reading or watching it. They’re busy, and you’re asking for too much of their time, so they “save” your article for later and forget about it.

Could it be that simple? Yes. And the solution is just as simple. Create content that’s easier to consume.

Shorter articles and posts. A few hundred words, not a few thousand. Once a week, not 3 times a day. And while you’re at it, make it interesting, not academic. Tell stories, don’t lecture.

There’s a time and place for more comprehensive material, but when most of your material looks like “work,” you’re making it less likely anyone will want to consume it.

And hey, don’t push so hard.

Yes, you’re in the business of selling your services, and your readers and clients need your services and benefit from them. Asking them to call you to discuss their situation and explore their options might be precisely what they need, but if they feel like you’re chasing them, don’t be surprised if they run in the other direction.

That doesn’t mean you should be passive. You’re a professional, an advocate, and not merely in the information delivery business. Tell your readers what they need to know, tell them what to do, and why, and tell them what might happen if they don’t.

And then invite them to contact you to take the next step or learn more.

Content marketing isn’t difficult, but it’s still marketing.

Filed Under: Content creation, Marketing legal services

Marketing legal services requires just 3 things

July 31, 2025 by David M. Ward

At its core, marketing your services is simple. You don’t need to follow a checklist with 27 steps or account for a multitude of elements. You just need to do 3 things.

First, you need to get the attention of the right people. That means identifying and appealing to the self-interest of people who need or want something you can give them.

Target people with a legal problem you can solve or a desire you can fulfill.

Second, you need to stimulate them to take action. That means motivating them to call or click, read something or do something, by telling them the benefits for doing that—what they will get or avoid, how they will be better off—and not leaving this up to them to figure out.

Tell them what to do and why they should do it.

The third step is to get them to take that action immediately. Now, while their need or desire and interest are highest.

You don’t want them to hear another attorney’s message or become distracted by their phone or an appointment. You want them to take action now, not later, because (you must assume), later will never come.

And that’s it. 3 steps. Attention, benefit, urgency.

But as simple as this is, many attorneys’ marketing messages miss one or more of these elements. They don’t tell prospective clients what to do, don’t motivate them to do it, and/or don’t provide enough urgency to do it immediately.

And it cost them a fortune.

But not you. Because you know what to do, and why, and because it is simple, you won’t forget to do it.

Filed Under: Marketing legal services

Your 5-second introduction

July 17, 2025 by David M. Ward

“Hi, I’m Joe. I’m a business attorney here in Small Town.” Within seconds, most people won’t remember what Joe said.

Joe’s introduction is accurate but forgettable. It tells people who he is, not what he does, for whom, or why it matters.

We can do better.

It’s as simple as showing new contacts a picture. Something they can see in their mind’s eye, and immediately appreciate your value—the reason clients hire and trust you.

It doesn’t need to be clever. Five seconds isn’t enough time for cleverness. Not enough time to get into detail or tell any stories. That can come later, if there is more time, or you’re on a stage.

For now, tell them what you do, for whom, and why it matters.

What problems do you solve? What benefits do you deliver? What kind of clients do you help?

That’s all you have time for, but it’s enough. Enough to get your new contact to see your value and remember you. Because if they have or have had the problem you mention, or are close to someone who has, your message, however brief, is going to resonate and stick with them and open the door to hearing more.

Which is all you can hope for in a 5-second introduction.

Filed Under: Marketing legal services, Networking

I thought about you this morning

July 15, 2025 by David M. Ward

I just got back from my daily walk. I usually listen to podcasts when I walk, and today, I listened to the aptly named “Walking is Fitness” podcast, which provides information and inspiration that helps people get started on their fitness journey and make it a habit.

That’s when I thought about you.

No, I didn’t think about your fitness level, or lack thereof. I thought about how a podcast might be a great way for you to get more clients and increase your income.

Hold on. I know I’ve mentioned podcasting before, and as I mention it now, I can hear you say, “I don’t have time for that,” but hear me out. Perhaps you do.

The walking podcast is just ten minutes. The man who does it records it on his phone while he is walking. Ten minutes out in nature, talking about what he does and knows and recommends.

Do you have ten minutes’ worth of information you can share about your work? Could you explain the law, share a war story or two, and encourage listeners to go to your blog or read your article and contact you to talk about their case?

If you don’t have ten minutes’ worth of information, how about 5?

You can script your message and read your script. Or jot down some bullet points and just talk. It really doesn’t matter. What matters is that you have something valuable and helpful to share, and share it. All you need is something to say and an app to record your voice. Add the recording to one of the many free podcasting platforms and post a link on your website and on social media.

Sounds good, you say, but how often do you have to do this? That’s up to you. You can post once or twice a week, once or twice a month, or once in a while.

One more question. Yes, you, in the back…“Most people listen to podcasts while doing other activities, like walking or driving or at the gym. How do you get listeners from your podcast to your website?”

The answer is to give them a reason to visit—more information, a free consultation or another limited-time offer, a helpful form or checklist to download — and a shorter and easier to remember version of the URL to your website.

But don’t worry about all of this, or any of it. As long as people are hearing your message and your name, you’re building awareness for your “brand” that will eventually lead to more traffic, more leads, and more business.

Filed Under: Content creation, Marketing legal services

Repurposing content

July 8, 2025 by David M. Ward

One of the best ways to build your law practice is to create content about your field and what you do to help your clients.

Writing articles and blog posts, posting on social media, recording videos and podcasts, and the like, are a simple and effective way to boost engagement with prospects and clients and professional contacts, establish your authority, generate traffic to your website, build trust, generate more leads, and “close” more of the leads you generate.

If you don’t create much content, no doubt the time required is a major factor.

You can reduce that time, and get a better return on your investment, by reusing or repurposing your content.

You can

Update a previously published blog post with additional thoughts, comments you received (and your replies to those comments), questions you were asked when you posted it (and your answers), additional examples from recent cases, and anything else that adds value to the original post
Expand a short post into a longer version
Convert a post or article for a different niche
Use the post as an outline for a new post for a different practice area
Cut up a long post into smaller posts
Compile several posts into a report and use it as a lead magnet for your newsletter, or for prospects who make an appointment or sign up for your webinar, or as bonus content for your new client welcome package
Add several posts to your email autoresponder for future opt-ins
Translate your articles into other languages
Write additional posts or articles on the same subject but with a different angle
Repost your article on sites like Medium or Quora or Substack

You can also

Convert an article into a blog post or a blog post into an article
Convert an article into a video or podcast episode
Convert the transcript of a presentation or interview into an article or post
Create an autoresponder e-course from a series of posts
Post your LinkedIn post on Facebook or vice versa
Compile articles into an ebook and publish it on Amazon
Use a series of posts as the basis for a webinar
Create an infographic highlighting key points in your article or presentation
Record your speech or presentation and post it on YouTube
Record a video speaking about the subject of your article and embed the video in the original post
Create PowerPoint slides and record yourself doing a summary of your article(s)

Need help? Ask your favorite ai for suggestions for ways to repurpose your content for your existing niche or repurposing it for different niches.

The easiest thing to do? Send it or post it again to your existing list because most of your subscribers didn’t see it six months ago, won’t remember it, or didn’t appreciate your message because they didn’t have the problem you speak about, but now they do.

I’ve used several of these strategies to repurpose and reuse content and recommend them. It’s a great way to get more bang for your content buck.

Filed Under: Content creation, Leverage, List building, Marketing legal services