Marketing legal services Archives - Page 89 of 134

Stop writing blog posts and articles and do this instead

October 27, 2014 by David M. Ward

Instead of writing blog posts and articles and emailing them (or a link thereto) to your email list, I suggest you consider doing the opposite: write emails first and then post them onÂ your blog.

Why?

Because an email is faster and easier to write. You can write one in a few minutes. And because emails get more engagement and a higher response to whatever it is you’re asking your subscribers to do.

Emails are short. They are personal, natural, and direct. They simulate you talking to your ideal client.

Blog posts and articles tend to be longer and more formal, or so we tend to make them. They take more thought, more research, more writing. There’s a natural tendency to delay and defer writing something so “important.”

If you want to write more easily and more often, write more emails. If you want to have more engagement with your list, if you want to get your readersÂ to respond Â (call, write, fill out a form, sign up for your webinar, promote your event, etc.) in greater numbers, writeÂ more emails.

Post some or all of those emails to your blog, with graphics and links if you want. Or not. Your blog can continue to provide lengthier content and serve as link bait and proof of your legal prowess. But do that in addition to, not in place of sending more emails.

How to write blog posts and emails, and make the phone ring

Filed Under: Blogging, Communication, Email, Marketing legal services, Newsletters, Online Marketing, Writing

Why didn’t the client hire you?

October 20, 2014 by David M. Ward

You’ve met with a prospective client. You’ve given them a free consultation or done the dog-and-pony show. It’s decision time for them and unfortunately, the decision is “no”. You didn’t get the job.

You need to find out why.

Ask them why they chose someone else.

In your presentation or conversation, did you forget to say something they wanted to hear?

Did they think you don’t have enough experience? The right experience? What would have made a difference?

Did they see a bad review online or talk to someone who said negative things about you?

Were they unable to afford your fee? Would they have said yes if you offered a payment plan or accepted credit cards?

Were they expecting you to be more solicitous and comforting? Did you do something during the consultation they didn’t like (e.g., taking calls, checking texts, not making eye contact)?

Was it your website, or lack thereof? Were you lacking in content that proved you are good at what you do and have helped others?

Or was everything “okay” but other lawyers looked better or offered more? Clients have been known to hire the lawyer who offers free parking over the equally qualified one who doesn’t.

You need to know. If you made a mistake, if you don’t offer something clients want, if your bedside manner needs improvement, you’ll want to fix that so it doesn’t happen again.

So ask: why didn’t we get the job?

But here’s the thing. When they DO hire you, you should also ask why. What are you doing right? Why did they choose you instead of others?

FixingÂ your mistakes and neutralizing your weaknesses are important, but it’s even more important to maximize your strengths.

If new clients consistently tell you they like all the great content on your website, for example, that it helped them see the depth of your knowledge and experience and get a sense of what it would be like to work with you, you’ll want to do more of the same. If they chose you because of a referral from another professional, you’ll want to thank that person, reciprocate, and find more like them.

Clients will tell you why they did or did not hire you and their feedback is invaluable. But you won’t get that feedback unless you ask.

Turn your website into a client magnet. Here’s how.

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

The three quickest ways to get new clients

October 17, 2014 by David M. Ward

You want (need?) new clients and you want them fast. You want them today. Next week at the latest.

I understand and I can help.

Here are three quickest ways to get new clients:

1. Referrals

Not only can you get clientsÂ quickly throughÂ referrals, thoseÂ clients tend to be better clients. Because they trust the person making the referral, they are more likely to hire you, more likely to follow your instructions, and less likely to complain or argue about fees. They are also more likely to refer other clients.

The simplestÂ way to get referrals is to ask for them. Contact your clients and former clients and professional contacts and social media contacts and ask for referrals. You can do this in an email, letter, post, or phone call. Say, “Who do you know. . .[who fits the description of your ideal client/might have a specific legal need]. Ask them to have these peopleÂ call your office to scheduleÂ a free consultation or visit a page on your web site to learn all about how you can help them.

Instead of asking for referrals directly, you can ask indirectly. You do this by offering a copy of your free report, ebook, planning guide, checklist, coupon, or other goody, and telling your contactsÂ they can forward your email or share you post with anyone they know who might want one. Give them a download link to make it easy. For step-by-step instructions, get The 30 Day Referral Blitz.

You’ll get referrals, build your email list (which will lead to more new clients and more referrals), and self-referrals, i.e., people who hear about your request or offer and contact you with their own legal matter.

2. Advertising

If you get it right, advertising is an incredibly quick way to bring in new business. You can place an ad today and have new clients calling within minutes.

The key is to test different headlines, offers, and media/lists, until you find a combination that works. When you do, repeat those ads, and run them more often and in more media.

You can offer your services directly, or offer a free consultation or other incentive for new clients. You can also offer your free report, planning guide, etc. Which leads me to the third method of getting clients quickly.

3. Special offer to your list

If you don’t have a list, you need to build one immediately. Include prospects, friends of the firm, people who have attended a seminar, newsletter subscribers, former clients, and other people in your target market. People who know who you are and what you do.

If you have a list, you know you can make things happen with the click of a button.

Send your list an email and remind your subscribers about what you do. Some of them need your services right now and will contact you. Others will know people who need your services and refer them.

Spice up your email with a time-sensitive special offer, something that gets the maybes off the fence. Your special offer could be a bonus service for new clients who come in this week, a one-time discount for new clients, something extra for returning clients, or you can get creative. For example, you could enter all new clients into a drawing for free tickets to the World Series or dinner for two at a good restaurant.

You wanted quick, you got quick. Go forth and slayÂ ye some new clients.

Create a referral blitz in your practice with this

Filed Under: Advertising, List building, Marketing legal services, Newsletters, Online Marketing, Referrals, Social media, Web traffic

More on lawyers testing a “mimimally viable product”

October 16, 2014 by David M. Ward

In response to yesterday’s post about expanding your practice by offering a “minimally viable product” (service) to test the waters, I heard from two lawyers who disagree. Their comments and my responses follow.

The first lawyer I heard from added this comment to the post itself:

Not very good advice here, and would possibly lead one down a path to malpractice, test a â€œminimally viable serviceâ€? really?

The â€œstart up worldâ€ is not analogous to the practice of law

Could offering a service you’re not competent to handle lead to malpractice? Of course. If you’re not at least minimally competent to handle this new service, don’t offer it. I never suggested otherwise.

If you’re thinking of offering estate planning services, for example, you wouldn’t start by offering to form offshore trusts if you’ve never done that before. You would start with simple wills, powers of attorney, and health care directives, assuming you know where to find the forms, how to fill them out, and what questions to ask to determine if the client needs anything else.

The operative word in the term “minimally viable service” is “viable”. It means the product or service does what it’s supposed to do. It may not have all the bells and whistles or options, but it solves the client’s problem.

This is the second comment, received in a tweet from Richard W. Smith:

“David – enjoy your posts, but disagree with this approach: “Make it as attractive as possible, and price it as low as possible”

He didn’t elaborate, but I’m guessing he doesn’t have an issue with making your service and offer as attractive as possible, he disagrees with the idea of pricing it as low as possible.

If we were talking about offering your regular services, I would agree. I’m the last person to suggest wholesale discounting or competing on “price”. In fact, I believe and have often said most lawyers don’t charge enough. But things are different when you’re testing.

When you’re testing a new service, you want to know if there is a market for it. Your goal isn’t to maximize revenue or profit, it is to see if you can get anyone to buy. So you offer a minimally viable service at an attractive price point. If your test works, if you get clients or opt-ins or inquiries, you then add to the offer (more features, more options), raise the price, and put more time and money into marketing.

If you don’t get “sales,” or you decide you don’t want to handle that new practice area after all, you close the door and move onto other things.

I should have added that in testing the new service, you shouldn’t price it so low as to cheapen what you are offering. Test a new service (or market) by asking for a fee that is low enough that your “price” isn’t the reason prospective clients don’t hire you, but not so low that they think something is wrong with you or the service.

Filed Under: Fees and Billing, Increase your income, Marketing legal services

Grow your law practice by adding new services

October 15, 2014 by David M. Ward

So you want to grow your law practice and you’ve got an idea for a new service. Do you work out all the kinks and then offer it to the world? If you’re like most lawyers (i.e., perfectionists, slightly paranoid, risk-adverse), there’s a good chance you’ll neverÂ launch that puppy.

Instead, consider borrowing a concept from the start-up world. The idea is to create a “minimally viable product” (service) and offer it not to everyone but to a segment of your target market. Do it quickly and see if anyone wants it before you spend a lot of time or money.

Make it as attractive as possible, and price it as low as possible, but don’t polish it until it’s all shinny and near perfect. Get something out there, flawed though it may be, and see if it sells.

If it does sell, improve the service and put more effort into marketing it. If it doesn’t sell, if it’s what they call in the real estate investment world a “don’t wanter,” move on.

Don’t waste time working on something until you know people want it. It doesn’t have to be great. Good enough is good enough for testing purposes.

If you’re concerned about offeringÂ a service that’s not yet up to your usual standards, test it outside of your primary market. Put up some Google ads or Facebook ads and see if you get some traffic and opt-ins before investing your time learning the ins and outs of the new service. Or, partner up with another attorney who offers that service. If you get some “sales,” you can turn those clients over to them while you brush up on your knowledge and skills.

You can also use this concept to test marketing strategies for your existing services. Write a report in a day or two (instead of weeks) and put it out there to see who “buys” it (signs up for your list or inquires about your services). If you get decent results, go back and expand and improve the report and offer it in more places. If it doesn’t work, pull it and try something else.

What new service could you start testing?

Filed Under: Increase your income, Marketing legal services Tagged With: Testing

You can have everything in life you want if you do this

October 8, 2014 by David M. Ward

Zig Ziglar famously said,”You can have everything in life you want, if you will just help enough other people get what they want.”

It sounds like good advice, and it is. Help enough clients get what they want and they will make you rich.

But helping clients solve legal problems is only the tip of the iceberg. Your clients have wants and needs well beyond what your services can do. Help them get what they want in other aspects of their life and you will be rewarded with a multiple of what they pay you in legal fees.

One time clients will become lifetime clients. They will return again and again and refer other clients. They will promote your events and your newsletter, send traffic to your website, share your content on social media, and help you build your list. They will give you testimonials and sing your praises to anyone who asks.

What can you do for your clients beyond your legal services? Well, what do they need? What are their personal and professional goals? What problems do they need resolved?

Do they want to refinance their mortgage? Perhaps you can introduce them to someone who can help. Do they want to expand their business? Recommend a book or share your experiences in building your practice.

When it comes to helping people, little things can mean as much as big things. Start by making a list of different ways you can help. What do you know how to do? Who do you know that you can recommend?

Can you help someone set up a blog? Make a video? Write an article? Do you have speaking or networking tips you can share? Can you help someone get a better deal on a new car? Find a trustworthy housekeeper, baby sitter, or building contractor? Recommend places to stay in a foreign country?

Keep adding to your list and look at it often. It will help you see how valuable you are and remind you to ask your clients about “what else” they need beyond your legal services.

Of course you can also help prospects and professional contacts and personal friends. And you should. The more people you help, the more people there are who want to help you.

Where do you find the time for all this non-billable work? Think of it as marketing time. Marketing is helping, after all. And remember, it might be non-billable time, but it’s anything but non-paying.

Filed Under: Client loyalty, Client relations, Marketing legal services, Relationship marketing Tagged With: zig ziglar

Marketing your legal services as if your life depended on it

October 7, 2014 by David M. Ward

Many lawyers tell me they’re doing the best they can to bring in new business. But they’re not. Not even close.

How about you?

Be honest. Are you serious about marketing or is it something you do here and there? Do you do it every day or do you wait until you’re in a slump?

Okay, let’s play “what if”. C’mon, it’ll be fun.

What if you had to bring in ten new clients by the end of this month or. . . you would die? Literally. If you don’t have ten new clients signed up by the close of business at month’s end, terrorists will behead you.

For realz.

If this was true, what would you do? Would your attitude towards marketing your legal services be different? How much time would you spend on marketing? How much money?

The clock is ticking. What would you do?

What are you not doing that you would start doing immediately?

What would you do more? What would you improve?

Would you drain the kids’ college funds and run a bunch of ads, even if you’ve never advertised before? Would you get your ass out the door and get to some networking events? Would you personally call every former client you’ve ever had to see if they have any work or referrals?

If your life depended on it, what (exactly) would you do?

If you’ve ever told yourself you’re doing the bestÂ you can to bring in new clients, now you know the truth. If you’ve been honest with yourself, you know you could do more.

Now you have to make a decision. Business as usual, or something different? Your life might not depend on it, but your future sure does.

For a simple marketing plan that really works, get The Formula

Filed Under: Increase your income, Marketing legal services, Marketing Plan, Personal development

Marketing a law firm like a strip club

October 3, 2014 by David M. Ward

One of the biggest challenges in marketing a law firmÂ is getting prospective clients to see how you are different or better than other lawyers who do what you do.

It takes a lot of thought and wordsmithery to come up with the right benefit statement. I don’t have any shortcuts to offer, but I can give you a place to start.

Imagine that instead of an office you work from a retail store in a big shopping mall. All of the other attorneys in town also have stores at the mall. The lawyer next door? He offer the same services you do. The lawyer across the hall? The same.

In fact, the entire mall is filled with your competitors. The shoppers in the mall are your prospective clients. They came to the mall looking for a lawyer to hire and they walk through the mall trying to decide which one to choose.

Will it be you? Or the guy down the hall?

You don’t want to leave it to chance, do you? You want to get them into your store.

What will you do? What will you put in your store window? What signs will you put up to entice them to stop?

Hold on. We know it’s only a matter of time before one of the other lawyers starts standing at the entrance to his store calling out things to passing shoppers. Yeah, like those guys who stand on the street in front of strip clubs encouraging passers-by to come to see their show.

You’re not going to let them get all the business, are you? Hell no. You’re going to stand outside your store, too. Whatcha going to say?

Before you know it, all of the lawyers in the mall will beÂ standing outside their store hawking their wares. It’s going to get extremely noisy in that mall. You’ll need to be really clever if you want clients to choose you.

Yes, this is a picture of a nightmare. But it’s also a decent analogy for the real world. You don’t stand outside a store shouting at passing clients, (at least I hope you don’t) but you do something similar on the Internet, in ads, and at networking events.

Use this exercise to brainstorm ideas for headlines you can use to get the attention of prospective clients who are scanning lawyers’ ads, web pages, or listings in a directory.

What couldÂ you say to get their attention? What could you offer? How can you stand out from the crowd?

Here’s a hint: Your name or your firm’s name is not a good headline. It’s not going to get anyone to come into your store. Nobody but your mama cares about your name.

The good news is that all of those ads and web pages your competitors use with their firm name as the headline make things much easier for you. You can say almost anything else and get more clients than they do.

Write a headline that promises benefits. What do you do for your clients that other lawyers don’t do (or don’t say they do)? What makes you unique or better? Why should they come into your store?

The Attorney Marketing Formula helps you choose a benefit statement for your practice. Go here.

Filed Under: Copywriting, Marketing legal services Tagged With: benefit statement, differentiation, headlines, Unique Selling Proposition, USP

What kind of attorney are you?

September 29, 2014 by David M. Ward

When you hand someone your business card and tell them you’re an attorney, what do they typically say to you? They ask, “What kind of attorney are you?” or “What kind of law do you practice?”

They can’t tell from the word “attorney” and most attorneys don’t identify their practice areas on on their card.

If you simply answer the question and state your practice area(s), you’re missing out on a big opportunity. Instead, you should say something like this:

“I handle [whatever you handle]. I also know a lot of attorneys who handle other matters, and many other professionals and business owners in town. If you ever need a referral to anyone, for any reason, please give me a call, okay?”

You can modify this to suit your practice and the people you’re speaking to. If you know a lot of financial planners, for example, and you’re speaking to people you think might benefit from financial planning, you can add “financial planners” to the list of professionals you know.

So what does this accomplish? It gets the person to see you as a resource and a nice guy or gal. Not just someone with a service to sell, but someone who can and will help them. All they have to do is ask.

It also suggests that you are very good at what you do. If you know lots of professionals, then lots of professionals know you. That speaks to your success and reputation.

Finally, it gives them a reason to hold onto your card. And, because you added the word “okay?” to the end of your statement, whether or not they verbalize a response, it makes it a little more likely that they will call you when they need a referral.

It’s a simple way to make a good first impression, and it gets more people calling. When they do, not only will you have a new contact who is grateful for your help, the professionals you refer them to will also be grateful and primed to reciprocate.

There are other things you can do when you meet a new contact, especially if you think they may be a prospective client, but this is something you can and should do with everyone. When people need help, you want them to think of you and remember that they have your card.

By the way, when someone asks me what kind of lawyer I am, the first thing I usually say is, “A good one”. I do it with a little smirk and it gets a laugh or a smile and suggests that I’m not overly serious or full of myself as many lawyers are thought to be. I follow that with my “real” answer.

Marketing legal services is easier when you know The Formula.

Filed Under: Business cards, Communication, Marketing legal services, Networking, Referral sources, Referrals, Relationship marketing

A recipe for better clients and bigger income

September 23, 2014 by David M. Ward

The other night my wife and I watched “Jiro Dreams of Sushi,” a documentary about “Sukiyabashi Jiro,” a famed sushi restaurant in Japan and it’s master chef and owner, Jiro Ono. Actually, she watched it while I dozed, but I caught enough of it to realize a few things.

First, if the reaction of the restaurant’s patrons is any indication, I probably should try sushi one of these days. His customers practically swooned as they consumed their meal, and this in a country that eats lots of sushi.

The second thing I realized is that Mr. Ono is earning a small fortune. The bill for a meal starts at 30,000 yen, which is around $300, and you have to make a reservation a month in advance. That’s for locals. Customers fly in from all over the world and book a year in advance.

What’s the reason for his success? He charges premium prices for a premium meal. He uses only the best fish, which is laboriously prepared and presented. The result is an amazing culinary experience, earningÂ Mr. Ono’s restaurant a coveted “Three Stars” in the Michelin guide.

And it’s a little hole in the wall.

Clean as a whistle, but no atmosphere. Just ten seats. You sit at a counter, Mr. Ono serves you and watches you eat, gauging your reaction. No dilly dallying, mind you. He serves, you eat, and you’re done. “No soup for you!”.

Actually, there is no soup. Or noodles or appetizers. Just sushi.

Anyway, the point is that if you want to have better clients who fly in from all over the world to hire you and pay you higher fees and tell everyone they know about you, you can, if you offer a premium service. Find something you do and make it the best of it’s kind.

You will attract the best clients, the ones who value quality and are willing to pay for it. By charging premium fees, you need fewer clients. But you will have just as many hours available each day and can devote more time to each client. This will allow you to deliver remarkable service that generates repeat business and referrals.

You’ll have it easier than Mr. Ono, however, because he has discerning customers who instantly know that his work product is the best they’ve ever tasted.

Filed Under: Client loyalty, Fees and Billing, Increase your income, Marketing legal services Tagged With: Sukiyabashi Jiro, sushi