Marketing legal services Archives - Page 90 of 134

How to use your new client intake sheet to get more referrals

September 18, 2014 by David M. Ward

There’s a very simple way to get more referrals from your clients. It will also help you build your newsletter list and meet more referral sources.

All you have to do is add two things to your client intake sheet.

The first addition is a prompt for the client to list people they know who might like to receive your newsletter, special report, video series, or anything else you offer, such as a free consultation.

You or your staff point out this section to them and explain how this helps their friends solve a problem or understand their options. Tell them there is no cost or obligation or pressure of any kind.

Also tell them what you will do if they provide names, i.e., send these people a letter and mention the client’s name (or omit it if they prefer). If they don’t want to give you names, you will instead give them copies of your report or a certificate they can give to their friends to redeem for a free consultation, report, etc.

The client gives you names and you contact those people, or you give the client something to give to those people and let them take the next step. Either way works.

Even if the client does nothing on day one, you will have planted a seed that may eventually result in referrals and subscribers. You can prompt them again by sending them a letter with a blank form they can fill out, or a link to secure web page form. As the case progresses, they may be more comfortable opening up their address book.

The second addition to your intake sheet are prompts to supply the names of other professionals they know. Who are their insurance agents? Do they have a CPA or tax preparer? Do they know any other lawyers? Do they have a financial planner, stock broker, or real estate broker?

Explain to the client that you will introduce yourself to these other professionals. If there is a logical connection with the work you’re doing for the client, explain this. For example, if you’re an estate planner, it makes sense to coordinate with their financial planner or tax professional.

If not, tell the client that you do this for marketing purposes. By meeting other professionals your clients know and recommend, it helps your practice grow. It also helps you meet other good professionals you can recommend to your clients, so it helps these other professionals, too.

Provide a check box for the client to indicate it’s okay for you to mention their name, or not.

Contact these other professionals, tell them you have a mutual client, and you’d like to find out more about what they do and see how you might be able to work together.

Clients will send you referrals without being asked, but if you ask, they’ll send you more.

Learn the formula for marketing legal services. Go here now

Filed Under: Law office management, Leverage, List building, Marketing legal services, Newsletters, Referral sources, Referrals, Relationship marketing Tagged With: client intake sheet, new-clients

Successful attorneys do what unsuccessful attorneys aren’t willing to do

September 9, 2014 by David M. Ward

In an interview, billionaire John Paul DeJoria (Paul Michell hair products, Patron tequila) was asked about the difference between successful people and unsuccessful people. He said something you may have heard before: â€œSuccessful people do all the things that unsuccessful people donâ€™t want to do.â€

When DeJoria was a young man working in a dry cleaning shop, thisÂ meant doingÂ things he was not hired to do like sweeping floors or cleaning shelves. His employer noticed his initiative and gave him a raise.

What about attorneys? What is it that unsuccessful attorneys are unwilling to do?

Or, putting it another way, what is it that successful attorneys are more willing to do, or do more often?

Of course the answer is different for everyone. You may do things in your practice that other attorneys would never consider. You may look at something the attorney down the hall does and shake your head.

We each become successful in our own way. But we must ask ourselves what we might accomplish if we were willing to do things we have not been willing to do before.

Like what? You tell me.

Make a list of things you don’t or won’t do. You can add the reasons if you want. Here are some suggestions:

Advertise (I might lose money, it is undignified, it is unethical, it is not permitted)
Go out at night/take time away from my family (networking)
Do any marketing/sell (I shouldn’t have to, it’s not professional, I don’t have time)
Hire employees (Cost, compliance, risk, headaches)
Delegate (Risk, easier to do it myself, nobody can do it as well)
Take work home with me
Adopt new technology (Time, I’m old fashioned, the cloud is risky, cost)
Engage on social media (Many reasons)
Start a new practice area (I shouldn’t have to, learning curve, competition)
Open an office (Cost, I like working from home)
Work from home (I like to be around people, clients need to see me in an office)
Open a second office (Cost, risk, time)
Commute more than thirty minutes (Time, cost, stress, health concerns)
Move to another city
Work longer hours
Read outside of my field (Time, not interested, not needed)
Take a certain type of case or client
Operate in an ethical gray area

Next, go through your list and look for things you might be willing to re-consider. Think about someÂ attorneys you admire. Are they doing any of these things? Perhaps you could ask them how they manage it. Did they have to force themselves to start? Do they do it today even though they dislike it? How has doing thisÂ helped them reach a new level in their practice?

You might find something you’re willing to doÂ that you previously rejected. You might find yourself excited about something you have only done halfheartedly before. And yes, you might find that your unwillingness to do something isÂ justified; you’re now convinced you won’t do it.

At leastÂ now you know.

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

What to do when people ask you for free advice

September 8, 2014 by David M. Ward

Do people ever ask you for free advice? Of course they do. So, what do you do about it?

Do you tell them to make an appointment? Give them the speech about “all a lawyer has to sell is his time and advice”? Or do you answer their question and hope you’re not wasting your time?

I have another suggestion. In fact, if you agree with my suggestion, you will no longer dread calls or emails asking legal questions or seeking free advice, you will encourage them.

The next time someone asks for your advice, don’t answer them over the phone or in an email. Write your answer and turn it into a blog post or newsletter article.

Quote the question but omit anything that might identify the questioner. Answer the question by explaining the law and procedure. Describe the options and the criteria for making the best choice. Provide advice in “if/then” terms.

Send a copy or a link to the inquirer and tell them you hope it helps. Tell them to contact you if they would like to talk to you about their specific case or matter or they wish to proceed further. Tell them you would be happy to quote a fee for this work or consultation.

Your post provides the questioner with guidance about what to do. It shows them that if they choose to take the matter further, you have the requisite experience and knowledge to help them. They’re happy because they got some information and advice from an expert. They understand that if they want more from you, they will have to pay for it.

You get a prospective client who is now one step closer to becoming an actual client. If they contact you again, they will almost certainly hire you and pay you.

You also get content for your website or blog that demonstrates your expertise, your thoroughness, and your willingness to help people. That content helps website visitors understand their legal issue and sells them on you and your ability to help them. If you get inquiries about similar issues, you can point people to your “library” of previous answers. That library of content will also attract visitors through search engines and social sharing.

Don’t merely answer questions, leverage those questions to create traffic, build your reputation, build your list, and pre-sell clients on hiring you.

For more on how to create online content, see this.

Filed Under: Blogging, Client relations, Communication, Leverage, List building, Marketing legal services, Newsletters, Online Marketing, Web traffic

Networking by intent, not default

August 22, 2014 by David M. Ward

If you do any networking, either in person or online, you know that most of the new business you get through networking comes from a small percentage of the people with whom you network.

Wouldn’t it be great to know in advance who they are? Wouldn’t you like to know who will refer business, hire you, or promote you so you could focus your efforts on them?

Unfortunately, I can’t tell you how to do that. But I can tell you how to increase the odds in your favor.

Instead of going to networking events and talking to whoever shows up, or adding and following people online who pop up in your dashboard, figure out who you would like to network with and then find ways to meet them.

Who are the centers of influence in your community or in your target market? Who are the players, the market makers, the ones who know everyone? Who could send you lots of business, give you advice, or introduce you to people you need to know?

Once you have answered that question, reach out to them. They may not give you the time of day, but if they do and you can build a relationship with them, it could allow you to take giant leaps in building your practice.

How do you reach out to them? You find someone they know and approach them first. Then, ask for an introduction.

Or just pick up the phone and call. You’re not some joker off the street. You have credentials. Smart people (the kind you want to meet) know that lawyers can be valuable contacts. They want to meet us as much as we want to meet them.

You’ll often find that the higher up the scale you go, the more approachable people are. It may take some time and you may have to go through other people first, but with a little effort you can meet just about anyone.

Of course that’s when the real work begins. Once you meet these people, you need to bring value to them. This too will take time, and effort, but you’ve already decided that it’s worth it.

Do you know the formula for building a successful law practice?Â

Filed Under: Marketing legal services, Networking

How to beat the competition in marketing a law practice

August 21, 2014 by David M. Ward

If you want to build an average law firm, find out what other lawyers are doing and do the same thing. Target the cases and clients they target, network where they network, and make your website look like their website.

If you’re lucky, you will get average results. Why lucky? Because they got there first and will always be one step ahead of you. But in time, you may achieve parity with them. And hey, compared to digging ditches, being an average lawyer is not too shabby.

What’s that? You don’t want to be average? You want more? You want better?

Okay then. You need to be a little different.

Not radically different or spectacularly better. A little different. A little better.

Take your website for example.

AverageÂ lawyers have a piss poor website. There’s very little helpful information on it. No articles that help visitors understand their legal situation and options. What’s there is often poorly written. The articles aren’t optimized for search engines and the sites have no social media integration, so few people ever find the sites or share the content.

Good news for you. You can stand out from the average lawyer by posting some well written, helpful content on your site and making it easy for people to find it and share it. Not hundreds of articles. Ten will do. That’s all you need to stand out.

You can do the same thing with other aspects of your marketing. If other lawyers hang out at the chamber of commerce, go somewhere else. Network where they don’t. Don’t go head to head with them. Remember, you don’t want to be average, you want to be better.

How about client relations? The average lawyer does an average job of communicating with their clients. You can be better by contacting clients more often, explaining things more thoroughly, and injecting more of your personality into the mix.

How about billing? Now there’s a common sore spot for attorneys and clients alike. When average attorneys lose clients, it’s often over a billing issue. Can you be better than average by adopting better billing practices? Yes you can. In fact, I wrote a book about it.

I find that the average lawyer doesn’t want to be different. They don’t want to stand out. That’s where you have your biggest advantage.

You’re not afraid to study marketing and try new things. You dare to be different. You want to stand out.

And that’s why I’m putting my money on you over your competition.

Marketing a law practice online: click here

Filed Under: Legal industry, Marketing legal services, Online Marketing

Social Media Myths Busted (and other lessons for lawyers)

August 14, 2014 by David M. Ward

I’ve been accused of being down on social media. It’s true that I don’t use it much, but I do use it. I realize it’s a big deal and it’s not going to go away. I also know that many people who read me and connect with me use social media extensively to provide value to their readers and followers and it makes sense for me to make it easier to do so.

I also understand that social media (done right) isn’t about advertising or selling, it’s about networking. I may not let on that I get the difference, but I do. It is a great tool for finding and reaching out to people in your niche, many of whom you would never meet at in-person networking events.

Apparently, a lot of people don’t get or don’t like social media. So when I saw a new book that promises to reveal the truth about social media and how Luddites like me can use it to increase our bottom line, I grabbed a copy.

In Social Media Myths Busted: The Small Business Guide to Online Revenue, social media expert Laura Rubinstein reveals the truth about common social media myths such as “It takes too much time,” “It’s not relevant to me,” and “You have to be an extrovert to be successful”.

After this, I might read, Social Media is Bullshit.

Whatever your take on using social media in your practice, there’s something else to be learned from Rubinstein’s book. Two lessons, actually, that can be used in marketing even if you never use social media.

The first lesson is about how she wrote the book. Although she is an expert on social media, Rubinstein interviewed 30 business owners and social media experts and got their take on the subject. Those interviews are distilled into the book. She was able to cobble together a book imbued with the knowledge and credibility of the interviewees, no doubt making the book better and easier to write.

Interviews allow you to write a book or any kind of content more quickly and easily. If you interviewÂ subject matter experts, their knowledge and experience will add depth to your content. If they aren’t experts, clients for example, their stories can provide context and human interest.

There’s another lesson from crowd sourcing content the way Rubinstein did it, and it’s a big one.

The thirty people she interviewed are all named in the book. They not only get the author’s stamp of approval, they also get exposure to thousands of people who read her book. Do you think these thirty experts might proudly promote this book to their lists and through their social media channels?

You bet your ass they will.

Tens of thousands of people who are interested in social media will hear about this book and want to see what their favorite guru says about social media. Result: Rubinstein is selling a ton of books.

She’s killing it. Bringing in cash, traffic to her web site, and opening doors to new marketing opportunities.

You don’t have to write a book to accomplish this. Interview some experts and post it on your blog. Feature them and their wisdom and they will send traffic to your site.

Where do you find these experts? How about social media?

More ways to create content, build traffic and get more clients, with or without social media: Click here.

Filed Under: Blogging, Leverage, List building, Marketing legal services, Newsletters, Online Marketing, Social media, Social media marketing, Web traffic, Writing Tagged With: content marketing, Social Media Myths Busted

Is your marketing message like a horror movie? I hope so.

August 13, 2014 by David M. Ward

Suppose you went to a horror movie and it was 90 minutes of non-stop slashing and killing. No plot, no character development, no suspense. You see the bad guy in action from start to finish. You know what’s going to happen next (more blood and guts) and you don’t care.

Bad script.

A good script plays with your emotions. It makes you think something might happen to someone you care about, but you’re not sure what it is or when it will happen. It tells a story, so that you can feel what the characters feel and get scared right along with them. There is a rhythm to the film, with highs and lows and twists and turns which keeps the story moving towards a satisfying ending.

You need to tell a similar story in your marketing.

Let’s say you handle divorce and you have an email list. Prospective clients subscribe because they are interested in learning more about divorce and haven’t made up their mind about what to do. So, you start emailing. What do you say?

Many lawyers send their list an endless message depicting the client’s pain (bad marriage) and the ultimate solution (divorce). Every email is basically the same.

PAIN. PROBLEM. (HIRE ME). PAIN. MORE PAIN. MORE PROBLEMS. ONGOING PAIN. (WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR?) PAIN. PAIN. PAIN. . .

Bad movie. Your audience is more than likely to walk out (un-subscribe).

Nobody wants to listen to a non stop recitation of painful thoughts, any more than they want to watch 90 minutes of evisceration. Give your readers a dose of pain and problems, but then give them some relief before you go at it again.

Tell them about the problem and the solution you offer. Then, talk about something else. Tell them about one of your clients–what they went through and how they came out okay. After that, tell them another client story with a happy ending. Ah, just when they are feeling good and forgetting about their pain, boom, you remind them again about what might happen if they don’t take action.

The problems is still there. It’s not going away. They need to do something.

Next message, you might talk about alternative solutions. Mediation, counseling, marriage encounter.

Options. Relief. Something else that might work. Give them information, ideas, links.

Then, maybe something completely off topic. Talk about the wind chimes on your patio and how relaxing it is to watch the sunset and listen to the chimes after a hard day at work. Your list sees that you are a real person with problems and stress in your life, just like them.

Then you might talk about wills and trusts. This might not be one of your practice areas but everyone needs to know something about this, including people thinking about divorce. Give them a few tips. Refer them to a good estate planning lawyer you know.

Next up, more pain. They thought you had forgotten about that. They were trying to forget about it, but there you are, reminding them again. And you’re right. The problem isn’t going to go away by itself. They have to do something.

You mention that you have a questionnaire on your website that might help them put their situation into perspective. They fill it out. They see that you offer to speak with them, no charge or obligation, to answer their questions and tell them more about their options. They’ve been hearing from you for awhile. They trust you. They call.

Marketing is like dating. You don’t clobber the girl with a club and drag her to your cave. You court her. You let her know something about you and what you have to offer. You give her time to get to know you. You back off and let things develop naturally.

When she’s ready, she’ll let you know.

Learn how to build an email list and use it to get clients. Get this.

Filed Under: Closing the sale, Copywriting, Email, Marketing legal services, Newsletters

Finding the sweet spot in marketing legal services

August 12, 2014 by David M. Ward

If we draw a diagram of the marketing legal services universe we would see three sectors. The first sector is comprised of lawyers who do very little marketing or no marketing. This includes the ones who proclaim that they are professionals, not sales people, and “shouldn’t have to” do any marketing.

Of course every lawyer does marketing, whether they know it or not. Remember, marketing includes all of the little things we do to make our client’s experience with us a net positive. But the lawyers in this sector don’t do much more to build their practice.

The next sector, the smallest of the three, are those attorneys who understand the importance of marketing and who do it big. They study marketing, they have staff, they have a budget, and they are put a lot of energy into growing their practice.

The third sector, and the largest, is where everyone else resides.

If you’re in the first sector, be warned. You’re playing with fire. A practice that isn’t growing is dying, and if you’re not making a conscious effort to market your services, it is only a matter of time before you’re in trouble.

If you’re in the second sector, congratulations. The rest of us admire you. But that doesn’t mean we all want to do what you do. We know that marketing is vital to our success, and we do it, but most of us don’t do it with the same intensity you do.

Are you surprised that I include myself in this sector? When I was practicing, I got good at marketing because I wanted to eat and pay my bills, not because I loved marketing or was driven to build the biggest practice in town. I had other things I wanted to do in my life outside of my legal career, and I did them.

You can build a successful career without being “all in” with respect to marketing. In fact, if you are passionate about what you do as a lawyer and you’re good at your work, you don’t have to do a lot of marketing.

But you have to do some.

Find a few things you enjoy doing and have time to do, and do them. Don’t worry about everything else.

Need a marketing plan? Get this.

Filed Under: Marketing legal services, Marketing Plan

Every lawyer needs to be able to tell these 5 stories

August 8, 2014 by David M. Ward

When speaking to prospective clients, an audience, interviewers, or professional contacts, you need to be able to tell them about you and what you offer in a way that is interesting and memorable. They should be able to see and understand the people behind the brochure or the web page.

Here are 5 stories you should be prepared to tell that make that possible:

1. Why us

What you do for your clients, the benefits you offer, the kinds of clients you work with, and why someone should hire you instead of other lawyers.

2. Your/your firm’s mission

The big picture about the work you do, your vision for the future.

3. Your personal story

Stories about your past, personal interests, family. The person, not the lawyer, although you can add why you became a lawyer.

4. Client stories

Success stories about people who hired you and received positive results. Have one or two for each practice area/problem and niche market.

5. Partner and/or staff stories

Be prepared to talk about other people in your firm. Clients like to know something about other people who might work with them.

A list of credentials and accomplishments has its place, but to be more effective, talk about people: yourself, your staff, and your clients. Tell stories that show who you are and how you make a difference. Because facts tell, but stories sell.

Filed Under: Communication, Image, Marketing legal services, Networking, Public Speaking Tagged With: stories