This is not your father’s law practice

February 17, 2014 by
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Every few weeks, a real estate agent in my area sends me oversized postcards describing her listings. The other day, she mailed me a calendar for the fridge. I’d had enough. I wrote to her and told her, “Take me off your list! UNSUBSCRIBE!”

The nerve of some people.

Okay, that never happened. I told my wife I was going to do it, thinking I would at least get a charity laugh, but she’s endured my warped sense of humor for 34 years and this was probably too much to ask.

But it did make me think about how the world has changed since I first opened my law practice, or my father did before me.

Before email, if you wanted to communicate with prospective clients (real estate or law), you could put something in the mail. It worked before and it still works today. In fact, it works better today because so few do it anymore (and because nobody accuses you of spam when you do.)

You may have never done any direct mail, but if you want to bring in new business, this is a viable choice for many attorneys.

Advertising works.

If you don’t want to do direct mail, there are alternatives. Display ads, ezine ads, pay-per-click ads, classified ads, and more, can drive traffic to your website and clients to your office.

If you don’t want to advertise your services, you could advertise a book or report or audio. You could advertise a charity or cause you believe in and include your firm’s name (and web link) as sponsor.

Writing articles, blogging, social media, speaking, networking–they’re all forms of advertising. You may not write a check when you do them, but you’re doing something to get your name in front of people who can hire you or refer others. When you write to former clients, you’re reminding them that you’re still available to help them and the people they know. Yep, advertising.

A PI attorney in Georgia, Jamie Casino, ran a local two-minute TV spot during the Super Bowl. Perhaps you saw it. It’s received over five million views on Youtube. We can debate whether the ad is ethical or in bad taste, or whether he did it as a stunt or truly believes in his message, but one thing is certain: the ad and the buzz it has created will put more than a few shekels in Mr. Casino’s pockets.

I’m not saying that if you advertise, you should look to this as a model. I’m saying, it’s a tough market for attorneys today and if you’ve never thought about advertising before, perhaps you should. Even if all you do is mail out some calendars.

Don’t want to do paid advertising? Here are the best alternatives.

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Filed Under: Advertising, Legal industry, Marketing legal services, Publicity Tagged With:

Social media marketing for lawyers: the truth shall set you free

February 13, 2014 by
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Uh oh, Facebook changed security settings again. Twitter has a new design. LinkedIn has a group you haven’t joined.

Does all the fuss and bother about social media drive you nuts? Me too.

You’ve got to update your page (again), you’ve got to hire a team, you’ve got to buy this tool and that course and have a master plan.

No, you don’t. You don’t have to do anything on social media if you don’t want to. So relax. Don’t buy all the hype. Or any software, courses, or services.

Let’s think this through.

There are three things you can do with social media: Network with prospective (existing, former) clients, Network with prospective (existing, former) referral sources, and advertising.

ADVERTISING

Let’s start with the easiest one: advertising. Either you do it or you don’t. If you don’t do it, move on. Nothing to see here. If you do advertise, or want to, hire a firm to design ads, make media buys, and manage your campaigns. Educate yourself, as time permits, so you know how to work with the pros. Nuff said.

NETWORKING WITH CLIENTS

If you have a consumer oriented practice, the odds are you’re not inclined to network with prospective clients. And let’s face it, most clients don’t want to network with you. Attorneys are, in their minds, a necessary evil, not bff’s. When and if they need us, they will either go to a search engine or ask their contacts for recommendations or referrals.

If you have a business oriented practice, networking with prospective clients is more likely to bear fruit. In this case, you would add prospective clients in your target market, promote their business interests, and share your content with them. This may or may not be worth the effort on your part. Your call.

If it’s all too much for you, if you’re worried about the implications of networking with your best client’s competition, or you simply don’t want to spend your valuable time online, don’t. The marketing gods absolve you. There are lots of other ways to bring in business.

NETWORKING WITH REFERRAL SOURCES

If you’re going to do anything with social media, this is your best bet. You can use social media to find professionals and other centers of influence (e.g., bloggers, etc.), and approach them, the same way you would offline.

But you don’t need much on your end to do this. A simple profile, so they can check you out. Go find their profile and start a conversation.

No matter what you decide to do with social media, make sure you have accounts with the major platforms so you can push out links to your content and so visitors to your website can share that content with their connections. But that’s a one time thing. Set it and forget it.

Social media marketing for lawyers can either be a big pain in the briefcase or something you never think about. If it’s the latter, if it’s not part of your marketing in a major way, just think about all the time you’ll save skipping over the countless daily articles and blog posts reminding you about the latest and greatest “must do’s” you’re not doing.

Internet marketing for attorneys that won’t drive you nuts: click here.

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Filed Under: Marketing legal services, Online Marketing, Social media, Social media marketing

Marketing is boring. Let’s take the day off.

February 12, 2014 by
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There are days when I don’t feel like reading or writing about marketing, let alone doing it. I get bored. I’m sure you do, too. So, I’m not going to think about marketing today, and you shouldn’t either.

Let’s play hooky.

So today, when you speak to a client, do not, under any circumstances, ask them anything personal. Don’t ask about their health or their son’s soccer game or anything like that. That would be marketing and you’re not doing that today.

If the phone rings and another lawyer wants to know if you handle a certain type of matter, answer his question, but make sure you don’t ask him anything about his practice or what kinds of clients he’s looking for. C’mon now, that would be marketing and today, that’s a no no.

If you’re sending out bills today, just send them “as is”. Don’t thank the client for their last payment or for keeping their account current. Marketing, remember?

And, if you have any new clients today, do not, under any circumstances, make an effort to see them on time, offer them coffee or water, or tell your secretary or assistant not to interrupt you during the meeting. Not on your day off, yo.

Now, don’t you feel better, knowing you don’t have to do any marketing today and you can concentrate on nothing but legal work?

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

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Filed Under: Client relations, Marketing legal services

How to get maximum bang for your marketing buck

February 11, 2014 by
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I talk a lot about the value of doing a few minutes of marketing activity every day rather than several hours once in awhile. I do that because if you’re like me (and I know you are), if you don’t do something every day you probably won’t do it at all.

(I find it easier to write a daily blog post than the monthly print newsletter I used to write because my daily scribblings are now part of my regular routine.)

But if you want to get maximum returns for your marketing efforts, think in terms of marketing campaigns.

Here’s what I mean.

Instead of writing a blog post this week, doing a speaking engagement next week, and a video the week after that, do it all in the same week. Don’t run one ad per month over the next year, run 12 spots this week. Instead of setting up a table at a networking event (if that’s something you are inclined to do), do the table, run an ad in the newsletter, get yourself booked to speak, and invite three centers of influence who belong to that group to lunch–in the same week.

Pile up the activity in a short period of time. And use one thing (e.g., your ad) to promote another (e.g., your talk).

In this way, prospective clients and referral sources will see and hear you “everywhere”. You will appear to be more prominent and in demand. More people will notice you, remember you, and want to associate with you.

If I told you that this week I’ll be the guest on three different podcasts and have two articles and a new book coming out, even if you don’t hear the podcasts or see the articles or book, I will have made an impression on you. You’re thinking, “he’s busy, he’s in demand, I should probably listen to him.” I would not have made that impression if that activity were spaced out over the next year.

But here’s the thing. With a whirlwind week like that, I might not do much else for several months and you won’t notice. The impression that I’m busy will remain.

Do something every day that could be called marketing. Release it to the world in waves.

Have you done a 30 Day Referral Blitz? 

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Filed Under: Image, Marketing legal services, Marketing Plan Tagged With: ,

Rainmaking 101: The two things you need to be successful

February 10, 2014 by
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Last week, I got an email from an attorney who gets it. I wanted to share it with you to illustrate the two things you need to be successful in marketing. See if you can read between the lines and deduce the “two things”:

Dear David:

I have written you before thanking for the daily dose of encouragement, tips, etc. Thank you again!

I think I have purchased every one of your materials and have implemented your strategies. I am in my 7th month as a “solo.” Through networking, utilizing your suggestions, I was able to land a huge client last week. Prior to that, I brought in several smaller clients that amounted to the same net income as that one client. Also, my website is generating traffic and things are looking up on that end, as well. Your tips/hints/etc. work.

With your help, I am transforming myself into a rainmaker. I have been approached by a seasoned practitioner to move forward with him in his practice. Together we would be able to hunt down bigger animals. We are currently revamping his website and billing system. Hopefully in the next 6-8 months we will be in an even better financial position.

I can’t say it has been all rainbows and sunshine – you know that as well as any other who has gone through the gauntlet.

Please excuse my short rant. I just got excited about rainmaking and wanted to share with you.

Yours,
Vasko Alexander

So, what do you think? It should be pretty obvious that the first of the two things is “action”. Mr. Alexander didn’t just think about it or talk about it, he did it.

For starters, he actually read my stuff. I have people on my list who get my emails but never (or rarely) read them. Or, they buy my courses but never “crack” them open. I’m sorry, you can’t bring in business through osmosis. You can’t “grok” the information, you actually have to read and internalize it.

Then, he actually tried things. Lots of them. Some worked, some didn’t. Some worked well, some not as much. But he is taking action and getting results. One day at a time.

What made him take action where many others don’t? And, what made him keep going when he hit a bump in the road?

Attitude. He has a positive attitude about the process. He believes in what he’s doing and knows that if he takes action and keeps an open mind, he will eventually get where he wants to go.

Some people have a positive mental attitude. Some have a positively mental attitude.

Attitude is the second of the two things and it precedes action. If you have a positive attitude, you’ll take action and figure out a way to make it work. If you don’t, you won’t.

NEGATIVE ATTITUDE

  • It won’t work
  • It won’t work for me
  • It will take too up too much time
  • It’s too hard
  • It’s taking too long
  • I shouldn’t have to do that
  • I don’t want to do any marketing
  • I already knew that (but you aren’t doing it)

POSITIVE ATTITUDE

  • I’ll start and learn as I go along
  • I’ll do my best
  • It’s worth it
  • I’ll try lots of ideas and see what works best for me
  • I’ll find something I like and I’m good at
  • If it’s worked for others, it can work for me
  • I know I have to put in time and effort to get results, and I will
  • I’m not expecting big things to happen overnight
  • I’ll make the time

Napoleon Hill said, “Remember, the thoughts you think and the statements you make regarding yourself determine your mental attitude. If you have a worthwhile objective, find the one reason why you can achieve it rather than hundreds of reasons why you can’t.”

Some say, “What if it doesn’t work?” Mr. Alexander said, “What if does?”

Rainmaking is easier when you know The Formula

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Filed Under: Inspiration, Marketing legal services, Personal development Tagged With: , , ,

How to get more search engine traffic

February 6, 2014 by
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Would you like to get more search engine traffic from prospective clients who are looking for a lawyer who does what you do? I thought you might. Okay, let’s write a blog post together and make that happen.

The title of your post is, “What to ask a _______ lawyer”. (Fill in the blank with words that describe one of your practice areas.)

Why this title? Because every day, prospective clients type the following words into a search engine: “What to ask a ________ lawyer?”

Are you with me? You’re going to write a post that uses the exact keywords that your prospective clients are searching for. Put those keywords in your title and again in the body of your post.

Later, you can write variations on this original post with similar keywords they may use in their query, i.e., “What questions to ask. . .,” “What do I need to know about. . .,” “What information should I find out about. . .”, and so on.

Now, write five to ten questions prospective clients should ask a lawyer in your field. Start by jotting down the questions prospective clients typically ask you. Add some questions they don’t ask, but should.

Here are some ideas to help you get started:

Background/experience: Years in practice, practice areas, certification/specialty, awards, jury verdicts, etc.

Doing business: Fees/payment plans, free consultation, satisfaction guarantee, etc.

Procedural: How long, what happens first, what happens after that, what if X happens?

Law/advice: Why do I need to do X? or  When would you recommend x instead of y?

Why you: Why should I hire you instead of any other lawyer in your field? or What do you do/offer that other attorneys don’t do/offer?

Personal/philosophy: What do you like best about your practice?or Why do you do what you do?

Once you have the questions, answer them. Obviously, you should have a good answer to these questions yourself.

Many, if not all of these questions, should already be answered on your website, on a FAQ page, your “About” page, and in articles or posts. Then, in this new post, link to those other pages or posts so the reader can get more information.

And, that’s all there is to it.

Now, when someone searches for “What to ask a _______ lawyer?” in your market, there’s a good chance your post will come up at or near the top of the search results. When the reader clicks through and reads your post, they’re going to find exactly what they have been searching for and see that you have some really good answers to those questions.

Targeted traffic made simple.

Want more ways to get more search engine traffic? Click here.

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Filed Under: Blogging, Marketing legal services, Online Marketing, Web traffic Tagged With: , ,

Quick and painless blogging for lawyers

February 4, 2014 by
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One of the reasons lawyers often cite for not writing a blog is that it takes too much time. But it doesn’t have to.

This morning, I was reading, 12 Most Tedious Blogging Tasks You Can Outsource, and thought, “great topic for lawyers.” But as I went through the list of tasks, I thought, “I don’t do that”. In fact, I don’t do many of the things on the list, and the ones I do take me very little time.

Here’s the list of tasks, and what I do:

  1. Editing. I do my own. If I’m unsure about something, I run it by my wife.
  2. Finding photos. I used to add photos but I rarely do now, primarily because it takes too much time to find the right one and make sure I have the right to use it.
  3. Resizing and retitling photos. See above.
  4. Formatting. This takes seconds. I paste my text into the WordPress composition window, add bold or bullets or numbering, and done.
  5. Writing social media updates to promote the post. I paste the url of the post into Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and Google+. If my title is well written, that’s usually enough. I could do more here, I admit, but social media isn’t a major focus for me, so I don’t.
  6. Posting multiple updates once the post is live. I don’t do this either, but if I did, I’d automate it, as the author suggests.
  7. Social media mentions for anyone referenced in the post. If I want to reach out to someone I’ve written about, I’ll send them an email, and this doesn’t happen too often.
  8. Monitoring blog comments. I don’t get a lot of comments (lawyers are busy, yo), so not a problem. If I did, and it took too much time, I would consider outsourcing this. Or, just turn off comments.
  9. Monitoring social media activity. Again, I don’t do much with social media, so I don’t have much to monitor.
  10. Handling guest contributions. To date, I have one guest post on my blog. If I was doing this regularly, I would turn this over to an assistant.
  11. Managing audio and video files and slideshows. Nope.
  12. Writing. I like to write and make time for it. If I was still practicing, I would probably post once or twice a week, instead of daily as I do now. If I still didn’t have enough time, I’d have an assistant help with ideas, research, rough drafts, editing, polishing, and so on.

Blogging for lawyers doesn’t have to be tedious, time consuming, or painful. For one thing, as I wrote in a previous post, having a blog doesn’t make you a blogger.

I see writing a blog as, (a) a strategy for generating traffic, mostly from search engines, and build my list, and (b) a way to show website visitors what I know and what I can do to help them. This doesn’t (have to) take a lot of time. You could write a weekly blog post in an hour or less.

I don’t do much with social media. Many experts say that blogging and social media are inexorably intertwined. That may be true for (some? most?) bloggers but not for me. If you’re not writing a blog because you don’t have time for social media, or don’t like social media, you could do what I do. Or you could get some help.

I wrote a course on getting traffic (and clients) online. Click here.

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Filed Under: Blogging, Marketing legal services, Online Marketing, Social media, Social media marketing, Writing

Trust me, I’m a lawyer

January 29, 2014 by
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We all know that if people don’t trust you, they won’t hire you. And trust is not automatic. You have to earn it. 

Many people will give you the benefit of the doubt, at first, especially if you were referred to them. But their trust can be lost in a heartbeat.

My wife used a referral service she likes to have some roofers come out for an inspection. First one, great. On time, friendly, plain spoken. He showed her photos of some minor issues that need work and gave her an estimate. She liked what he said and he’s in the running.

Yesterday, the second one showed up (from the same referral service), but there was a problem. He couldn’t get up on the roof. It seems he had a short, fold-up ladder, which he transported in the trunk of his car, and it wouldn’t reach. When my wife asked why he didn’t bring a longer ladder, he explained that he would need to drive a truck and the gas would be too expensive.

Done. My wife instantly knew this guy wouldn’t get the job.

He said he could send someone with the truck later in the week. Right, after waiting for this guy to show up and experiencing his bewildering lack of preparedness, my wife will happily sit around waiting for one of his guys to show up. Guess again.

“I don’t trust him,” she told me. And I don’t blame her.

So now, he’s not getting the job and he’ll get a bad review on the referral service website.

Booyah.

Prospective clients aren’t looking for a reason to hire you so much as they are looking for a reason to disqualify you. And it doesn’t take much. If you are unprepared, if you squawk about your costs of doing business (build the gas money into your fees, bub), if you do anything that says “unprofessional,” that’s it. You’re off the list.

Anything can knock you out of the running. Someone doesn’t like your photo on your website because you look mean, or there is no photo on your website so they can’t look at your eyes, or you didn’t call them back right away, or you yawned on the phone and sounded like you didn’t care.

Anything.

Am I saying you have to meet certain minimum standards to even be in the running? Yes. Getting the basics right only gets you in the game. If you want to get the job, you have to do even more.

Yes, it’s hard. You have to be ever vigilant and pay attention to detail. When you are in a service business or a profession, it’s not just the quality of your work, it’s about the entire client experience.

But hey, you’re lucky. At least you don’t have to schlep a ladder.

Want more referrals? Get The 30 Day Referral Blitz

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

Help me if you can I’m feeling down

January 27, 2014 by
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Actually, I’m fine. Just singin me some Beatles and thinking about how difficult it is for folks to ask for help. It’s an ego thing. We don’t want to appear weak. So we don’t ask, and when help is offered, we often turn it down.

But people want to help. It makes them feel good. I know this because I know how good it feels when I help others.

So we should ask each other for help more often. It’s good for them and good for you.

You can get just about anything you want just by asking. You can ask your clients for all kinds of help. You can ask the readers of your newsletter, personal friends, professional contacts, anyone, including strangers.

What do you want? Whatever it is, someone can help you get it.

  • referrals
  • information
  • advice
  • introductions
  • copies (forms, letters, checklists)
  • recommendations (products, software, books)
  • time (as a volunteer)
  • testimonials
  • someone to talk to
  • donations (to your cause)
  • write a guest post or allow you to write one
  • invite you to their next networking event
  • speak at their event
  • pass out your cards, reports
  • feedback
  • mentoring
  • Likes, Re-tweets, and Shares
  • a ride to the airport

Just about anything.

Time out. Take a break. Sing along with me and the Fab Four:

When I was younger,
So much younger than today
I never needed anybody’s
Help in any way
But now those days are gone
I’m not so self assured
Now I find, I’ve changed my mind
I’ve opened up the door

Help me if you can,
I’m feeling down
And I do, appreciate you being round
Help me get my feet back on the ground
Won’t you please, please help me

And now my life has changed
In oh so many ways
My independence seems to vanish in the haze
But every now and then
I feel so insecure
I know that I just need you
Like I’ve never done before

Okay, you may need some help asking for help. You’re out of practice. You haven’t asked for help since you needed Mom to tie your shoes. How do you get started?

First, make a list of what you want. Big things, little things, and everything in between. What could you ask for? Write down as many things as you can think of that would make your life better.

Next, write down the names of people you know who could help you get the things on your list. Match people with tasks suited to their interests, strengths, and resources. (Later, when you get better at asking, you can ask strangers.)

Then, choose something, contact someone and ask for help. Be direct. Tell them why you’re asking them.

Compliment them if possible. Tell them you value their feedback or insights, or value them as a friend or client and know you can count on them.

Start with something small, and easy. Something that’s hard to turn down. Have them read something you wrote, for example, and tell you what you think. Or ask them to recommend a good movie. Be specific. “Would you introduce me to your life insurance agent?” is better than “Would you introduce me to some professionals?”

You start small to get used to asking. Get over your resistance and see that people are willing to help. See how good it feels when they say yes.

Later, you’ll graduate to bigger things. Eventually, you’ll get good at asking. And you’ll be amazed at how much people are willing to do.

You may also surprise yourself at how much you have to give others. When people do for you, you will feel obliged to do something for them. When you do, you’ll feel good about that. You’ll want to do more. The more you do, the more others will want to do for you.

And so it goes. Help begets help.

If you’re having trouble asking, start by offering. Call someone, find out what they need and help them get it.

Years ago, I read, “The Aladdin Factor: How to Ask For and Get What You Want in Every Area of Your Life” a book by Jack Canfield and Mark Victor Hansen, the team that brought you “Chicken Soup for the Soul” and its progeny. If you’re interested in this topic and you like inspiring stories about people who experienced amazing changes in their lives by asking for help, you should pick up a copy.

Okay, now I’m going to ask you a favor. If you like this post, would you forward it to someone you care about? Thank you. I knew I could count on you. Now, what can I do for you?

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Filed Under: Client loyalty, Client relations, Communication, Inspiration, Marketing legal services, Personal development, Relationship marketing Tagged With: ,

Attorney marketing plan: 15 minutes a day or two hour a week?

January 21, 2014 by
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If you’ve been reading my blog for any length of time you’ve heard me repeatedly say that marketing doesn’t need to take a lot of time. “Just 15 minutes a day is all you need, just make sure you do it every day.”

Why every day?

  • So that it becomes a habit. Because if you instead block out two hours every Friday for marketing and you miss a week, you’ll fall behind and may have trouble getting back in the groove
  • Because doing something every day programs your subconscious mind to to find ideas when you’re doing other things
  • Because marketing should be an integral part of running your practice and something you enjoy doing, not a chore you have to force yourself to do once a week
  • Because the little things we do every day, a quick phone call or email, for example, are not only effective because they involve reaching out to people, they are also efficient, compared to big blocks of time which often involve a lot of waste
  • Because marketing ideas and opportunities present themselves daily, via people you meet, things you read, and ideas that pop into your mind, and if you don’t use them in the moment, they will pass you by

There are times when a big block of time for marketing can be useful, especially when you are working with a team. Planning and developing a new advertising or social media campaign or meeting with a web developer are examples. Of course some things like networking or delivering a seminar require a block of time.

You could also utilize blocks of time to get ahead of the marketing curve. With a little preparation, you could create a month’s worth of weekly blog posts in a single two hour writing session.

Investing 15 minutes a day (weekdays) for marketing is 5.5 hours a month, certainly not to much to ask of even the busiest attorney, especially considering the immense return on that investment. Could you add two more hours to that once a month for bigger projects? Do you need to?

How much time do you spend on marketing? Do you have a fixed schedule?

Need an attorney marketing plan? Get The Attorney Marketing Formula.

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Filed Under: Law office management, Marketing legal services, Marketing Plan, Productivity, Time Management
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