How much would you pay for a list of 10,000 prospective clients?

January 6, 2016 by
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How much would you pay for a list of 10,000 prospective clients for your services? You get their name and email address and permission to contact them as often as you want.

You can send them information about your services and share success stories about how you have helped other people with similar issues. You can invite them to your webinar or seminar, offer them a free consultation, or make them a special offer on one of your services.

Of course not everyone on the list will hire you. But those who don’t may know people who need your help and you will probably get a fair number of referrals.

I promise you, this isn’t a spam list. Every single person on the list has given permission to be on that list and to have you contact them. They’re also not just a bunch of random names; these people are interested in some aspect of what you do.

Therefore, when you email the people on this list, the odds are they will know who you are and read what you write.

So, how much would you pay for this list?

Would you pay $10,000? That would actually be a pretty good deal. Some experts say that a list like this is worth $1 per name per month. So if your average client pays you an average fee of $10,000, to cover your costs, all you need is one client from this list in an entire year.

But. . . if this list pays you $1 per name per month, that would be $120,000 in fees over the course of a year.

You might do less. You might do more. It will depend on your average fee, how you go about “closing” clients when they contact you, how often you email them, what you say when you do, and lot of other factors.

Anyway, I’ve got good news and bad news. The bad news is that this list I’ve spoken of doesn’t exist. You can’t buy it or rent it anywhere, for any price. The good news, however, is that you can create a list like this yourself.

You can advertise, drive traffic to a landing page, and get people to opt into your list. You can create content on your web site that attracts search traffic and social sharing and accomplish the same thing. You can promote your website when you speak, when you network, when you write and publish articles and guest posts and whatever else you do to promote your practice.

And, you’re not limited to just 10,000 names. You can build a list as big as you want.

How about some more good news? You might find yourself earning $120,000 per year with a much smaller list. One thousand names might do it, if it’s the right one thousand names and you know how to market to them.

Do you want to know how to build a list of prospective clients? It’s easier than you think and I’ll show you what to do. Start with this.

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Filed Under: Email, List building, Marketing legal services, Online Marketing

Cheap legal services are too expensive

January 5, 2016 by
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I don’t buy a lot of clothing but when I do I favor quality over quantity. One reasonably expensive suit not only looks better than its cheap counterpart, it lasts longer, too. The same goes for dress shirts and shoes.

An article I read this morning agrees with me. It says that cheap clothes ultimately cost more and recommends buying quality instead.

The same can be said for cheap legal services.

You don’t want people to hire you because you’re cheaper than the other guys. You want them to say, “He costs a bit more but he’s worth every penny.” And you want them to know why.

You want people to understand the risks of hiring an attorney solely because they charge less and the benefits of hiring a high quality albeit more expensive alternative.

Like you.

Most people have a difficult time discerning this difference so it is important that you educate them. Help them to understand that cheap legal services are usually too expensive.

On the other hand, the smart play in marketing your services isn’t to target the masses and educate them about this difference. It is to target that segment of the market who already know this and are willing to pay more to get more.

Target the top 20% of your market and show them a lawyer who costs more and is “worth every penny”. Most attorneys don’t do that. They target the bottom 80% of the market and while they might not overtly compete on “price,” it’s obvious that being competitive on fees is baked into their essence.

You don’t need to be the most expensive lawyer in town, but you should at least be in the top one-third. And make sure you’re worth it.

How to write an invoice clients want to pay: click here

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

Do no harm: The easiest way to increase law firm profits

December 22, 2015 by
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[I’m taking it easy this week and re-publishing this post from 2012.]

In medicine, The Hippocratic Oath includes the Latin phrase, Primum non nocere, meaning, “First, do no harm.” Attorneys need a similar pledge, not just to protect our clients, but to protect our bottom line.

According to a study from The George Washington University (ppt–not worth downloading, IMHO), the cost of a dissatisfied customer is staggering:

  • The average business does not hear from 96% of unhappy customers
  • For every complaint received, there are 24 people with unvoiced problems; six are serious
  • 90% who are dissatisfied with the service won’t return
  • The average customer with a complaint will tell 9-10 people; 13% will tell more than 20 people

Other studies confirm numbers like these. The bottom line: losing one client could cost you a lot more than you earn from one new client.

Therefore, the easiest (and smartest) way to increase your profits is to stop losing clients.

There is some good news from the study:

  • Of those who complain, 50-70% will do business with you again if the complaint is resolved. 95% will return if it is resolved quickly

Therefore, you must encourage your clients to let you know when they aren’t happy so you can fix the problem quickly and can take steps to make sure the problem won’t occur with other clients.

Remember, most unhappy clients don’t complain. They just leave–and tell others that you are a Bozo.

Here’s how you can solicit this extremely valuable feedback from your clients:

  • Include feedback forms in your “New Client Kit”
  • Post surveys on your web site
  • Tell clients (repeatedly) that if they ever have an issue of any kind, you want them to call you personally (and give them your cell phone number or direct line)
  • Put a “Suggestion Box” link on your web site. Allow people to contribute (or complain) anonymously. Promote this box via your newsletter and blog
  • Put stories in your newsletter about suggestions you received and implemented.
  • Interview clients at the end of the case. Ask them, (1) What did we do well? and (2) What could we do better?
  • Thank everyone for their ideas and feedback, publicly if possible

In other words, if you want feedback, create an environment where feedback is encouraged, appreciated, and most of all, acted upon.

Often, perhaps most of the time, unhappy clients aren’t unhappy because the attorney did something wrong, they are unhappy because of poor communication:

  • Something wasn’t explained properly.
  • The attorney didn’t keep the client informed.
  • The client’s phone calls weren’t returned.

If you ever drop the ball in any of these areas, don’t worry, these are easy to fix. If any of your clients were unhappy with their previous attorney for any of these reasons, celebrate. This is a tremendous opportunity for you to convert them into raving fans.

The best way to maintain law firm profits: marketing

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

Marketing online by profiling your clients

December 21, 2015 by
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Dollar Shave Club has a unique approach to marketing. On their website, they feature the businesses of their customers and the stories behind them. They recently featured a coffee roaster, for example. According the folks at Small Business Trends:

“Each article comes complete with an interview that gives a glimpse into the personality of that person’s brand. Rather than sum it up, they go to the source, which gives a more truthful glimpse into the companies they are featuring. The people that run and care about the business are those who get to speak about it and that’s not so common anymore.”

Customers can fill out a form on the site describing themselves and their business. “If the submission catches the editor’s eyes, a rep may reach out with some more questions.”

If you represent businesses of any kind, you could do the same thing. Profiling and promoting your clients’ businesses will benefit you in several ways:

First, it makes you look good. Instead of saying nice things about yourself, you’re saying nice things about your clients.

Second, your client gets more exposure and more business, thanks to you. They might reciprocate and tell their customers all about you and your practice. Also, as their business grows, they will probably have more legal work for you. More referrals, too.

Third, no doubt your featured clients will tell everyone they know about their profile on your site. You’ll get more traffic, more subscribers and followers, and more clients.

Fourth, this is an easy way to create interesting content for your blog.

Finally, you might get other websites talking about your innovative approach to marketing. Like mine.

If you have a consumer practice, undoubtedly some of your clients own or run a business. Or they are connected to a charity or cause-oriented group. Find the ones who have an interesting story to tell and help them tell it.

You can also interview your professional contacts and feature their business or practice. You may not be able to send a lot of referrals to an accountant you know; promoting his practice this way might bring him lots of new clients.

Marketing online for attorneys made simple

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Filed Under: Blogging, Client relations, Marketing legal services, Online Marketing, Web traffic, Writing

Cats don’t like change and neither do your clients

December 17, 2015 by
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When there’s a stranger in our house you’ll usually find my cat hiding under the bed. If we were to re-arrange the furniture, I’m sure it would have the same effect.

Change makes cats uncomfortable. It’s different and scary. They prefer things the way they are.

To some extent your clients are the same way.

You know this is true. Imagine going to Amazon.com to shop your usual categories and one day all of the pages and links are different. You’d be confused and uncomfortable and wonder what’s going on. You might feel a little betrayed.

Why did they do that? Where’s the link? I don’t have time to figure this out! What else did they change that I don’t know about? What’s next?

I know you understand this. Lawyers tend to dislike change even more than their clients. But change is inevitable and more often than not leads to good things.

So don’t avoid change, just be judicious about implementing it. And think about it from your client’s point of view.

Consider what your client’s might be thinking and feeling when you:

  • Assign a different lawyer or staff member to their case,
  • Increase your fees,
  • Change billing methods,
  • Change the schedule/due dates,
  • Re-do your website,
  • Introduce new reports or forms you send them, or
  • Move your office.

Make changes as smooth as possible for your clients, and also for your staff who will be implementing these changes and explaining things to nervous or confused clients. Do your best to

  • Keep change to a minimum. Not too much, not too often.
  • Keep your promises. Grandfather in existing clients, if need be.
  • Give plenty of warning. Don’t spring things on them at the last minute. Let them process and prepare.
  • Explain why you made the change, and how the client will be better off.
  • Offer extra help: people they can talk to, pages they can read, longer hours during a transition.

Follow these guidelines, use common sense, and see things the way your clients see them. Your clients may not universally applaud these changes, but in time, they will accept them. Even my cat eventually comes out from under the bed.

Marketing is everything we do to get and keep good clients. This will help

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

How to quote your fee and get more clients to say yes

December 16, 2015 by
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Here’s an interesting tidbit about how to quote your fee.

According to an article on pricing strategies, researchers have found that “prices” that contained more syllables were perceived by consumers as drastically higher than their fewer-syllable counterparts. Their findings were published in the Journal of Consumer Psychology:

When these pricing structures were shown to subjects:

* $1,499.00
* $1,499
* $1499

… the top two prices seemed far higher to consumers than the third price. This effect occurs because of the way one would express the number verbally: “One thousand four hundred and ninety-nine,” for the comma versions versus “fourteen ninety-nine” for the unpunctuated version. This effect even occurs when the number is evaluated internally, or not spoken aloud.

I know that when I hear prices or fees quoted verbally in a commercial or presentation, I listen to how that fee sounds and think about whether there’s a better way to say it. “Two-hundred and ninety-nine dollars” sounds like a lot more than “two ninety nine”.

I do my best to use this in my marketing, but there was this one time when it caused a bit of confusion.

My secretary was on the phone with an attorney who wanted to know the cost for a product we were offering. Per my counsel, she told him “one-ninety-five” based on a price of $195.  Sure enough, a week later, we got a check in the mail in the amount of $1.95.

So be careful. Especially with lawyers.

The least you need to know about fees, billing, and collection

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Filed Under: Attorneys fees, Communication, Copywriting, Marketing legal services, Salesmanship

How much time do you spend on income producing activities?

December 15, 2015 by
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What percentage of your day is spent on income producing activities? Before you answer, I must point out that it’s not just work product or billable hours that produce income.

Income producing activities include time spent on personal development. Better skills, better habits, increased productivity, and the like, can do far more to increase your value to your clients than hard work or longer hours.

Take writing for example. Spending 30 minutes a day to improve your writing skills can make you a more effective advocate. It could bring you more victories, bigger settlements, and better deals.

Improved writing skills can also bring you more clients. Your articles, blog posts, newsletters, and other content can do a better job of demonstrating your knowledge, abilities, and experience. It can also give prospective clients and the people who refer them a better sense of who you are and what it would be like to work with you.

Becoming a better writer can also lead to more effective seminars, videos, and presentations. More people will be persuaded by your message and more people will become your client.

You’ll also get faster at writing and be able to produce more content. More content means more traffic to your website and more readers for your articles, reports and books.

Obviously, marketing is also an income producing activity. Get better at networking, for example, and you can bring in more clients and better clients, and open doors to other opportunities to build your practice.

Investing 30 minutes a day to improve your writing or marketing skills may “cost” you $150 per day that you might earn from client work but, over time, your return on that investment could be huge.

Chaw on this for awhile before you answer, “How much time do you spend on income producing activities?”

And remember, the highest paid attorneys work hard for their clients but they also work hard on themselves.

Marketing is easier when you have a plan

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Filed Under: Marketing legal services, Personal development, success, Writing

What’s the best way to market your legal services?

December 14, 2015 by
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So, you want to know the best way to market your legal services? Read on, my friend, and all will be revealed.

But first, we need to talk about the two kinds of markets to whom you are marketing. The first is your “warm market”. This consists of people you know. Your clients, former clients, friends, business contacts, and other people who, to some degree, already know, like, and trust you.

Generally speaking, your warm market will hire you or recommend you without your having to “sell” them. They’re already sold on you.

They know what you do. They know your reputation. They’ve seen you in action or heard about your successes with clients they’ve referred to you in the past.

How do you market to your warm market? Basically, all you need to do is stay in touch with them. Keep your name and contact information in front of them, reminding them that you’re still in business and can still help them and the people they know.

Make sure they know about “what else” you do (your other services), and send them information about why they (or people they know) would need those services. Occasionally share some success stories about other clients you’ve helped.

The easiest way to stay in touch with your warm market is email. Stay in their minds and their mailboxes until they’re ready to hire you (again) or send you referrals.

Email is also best because it is a personal communication and gives you maximum control over the process. But you can also keep your name in front of your warm market via advertising, speaking and networking at their events, writing for their trade journals and blogs, and other means.

Am I saying that all you have to do with your warm market is stay in touch with them? Yes. Pretty much. You don’t have to do much more, although doing more is usually a good idea.

Consider reaching out to your warm market and helping them in their business and personal lives. Build a relationship with them, especially the ones who bring you the most business.

There are other things you can do, but if all you do is stay in touch with your warm market, you will probably get the lion’s share of their business.

(Note, prospective clients are often not warm market. You’ll want to send them more information, share more stories, make special offers, and do other things to encourage them to hire you or take the next step. Again, the easiest way to do that is email.)

Okay, let’s talk about the cold market. These are people you don’t know.

Most attorneys spend too much time and energy marketing to people in the cold market rather than focusing on their warm market. Remember, people in the cold market have to be found and they have to be sold. This is more difficult and expensive, especially since you are competing with all of the other attorneys who are trying to do the same thing.

There’s nothing wrong with advertising, blogging, social media, SEO, and other methods of attracting prospective clients. Especially if you handle divorce, litigation, criminal defense, personal injury, and other practice areas where “something has to happen” before people even think about looking for an attorney.

But there’s a better way to attract cold market prospects. Much better, because when they do come to you, they really aren’t cold market at all. I’m talking about referrals.

Instead of spending all of your resources finding and wooing cold market prospects, invest in growing your network of lawyers, other professionals and other centers of influence in your niche market or community.

Help them get to know, like, and trust you. Then, when someone they know needs a lawyer who does what you do, you’ll be in line to get their referrals. Those clients won’t have to be sold because someone they respect and trust is vouching for you.

There. Now you know the best way to market your legal services. Class dismissed.

Expand your referral network of lawyers and other professionals with this

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Filed Under: Marketing legal services, Referral sources, Referrals, Relationship marketing

Attorney marketing and making money from people who don’t hire you

December 11, 2015 by
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I know, I know, you’re busy thinking about what you’re going to get your aunt for Christmas, but I’ve got a couple of things you might want to make time for this weekend.

The first is an interview I did with attorney Christopher Small for his podcast, The Art of Lawyering. We talked about the essential elements of attorney marketing, the keys to a good website, referrals, and of course, my story in all it’s sordid details.

Chris asked me some interesting questions. I hope you think I gave equally interesting answers. You can download the mp3 or listen online on this page.

I also recorded a new video for my YouTube channel. The title is, How to Make Money From Clients Who DON’T Hire You. It’s about a simple way attorneys are earning more income in their practice. Simple, but probably not something you would have thought of. I know I hadn’t, until another attorney told me about it.

It’s also about how I was able to retire from practicing law. Yep, the truth is finally revealed.

Here’s the link to the video.

I’m going to do more YouTube videos, so make sure you subscribe to the channel and you’ll be notified whenever new videos are posted.

Peace!

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Filed Under: Marketing legal services Tagged With:

How to get good at marketing legal services

December 10, 2015 by
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Getting good at any skill, including marketing, is by and large a process of learning and doing. The more you learn, the more knowledge you can call upon. The more you do, the more your decisions will be informed by your experiences and the more agile you will be in performing the activities.

You’ll get faster, make fewer mistakes, achieve better results, and eventually earn your boy scout badge.

But it’s not a matter of learning it once and then doing it. Once you do the activities and observe the results, you go back to learning.

You re-read what you read before, but get more out of it because of the context of having done the activities. You read (watch, listen to, etc.) more advanced materials and pick up nuances that would previously been over your head. You talk to experts and learn new systems and methods you can incorporate into your mix.

And then you go back to doing.

Back and forth, learning and doing, learning and doing. Until you are good enough that others look to you as someone who knows what they’re doing.

And that’s where something else comes into play: teaching. When you are able to take your new skill and and help others develop that skill, that’s when you will learn the most.

And you can start doing that sooner than you think.

You may not know everything there is to know but you know more than others. If you want to get really good at marketing legal services, for example, find some lawyers and teach them what you know. Start a newsletter, blog, or Facebook group and invite them to join you.

Then, watch how much better you get at the skills you’re teaching, because the teacher always learns the most.

If you are go through one of my courses tonight to learn it so you can use it in your practice, you may miss things, at least the first time through. If you know you have to teach that course to other lawyers tomorrow, however, you’ll read more intently, take better notes, internalize the information, and be a step closer to mastery.

If you want to get good at any subject, learn it and do it and keep at it until you can teach it.

Start learning about marketing legal services with this

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Filed Under: Marketing legal services, Personal development
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