How to qualify prospective clients in four seconds or less

September 19, 2013 by
Share

Would you like to know if someone is a candidate for your services within four seconds of meeting them?

I just read about a financial advisor who built a very successful business doing that. He cold called investors, introduced himself, and asked a simple question: “Are you looking for a new financial advisor?”

He didn’t ask if they were interested in getting information about a hot stock. He didn’t invite them to a seminar. He was looking for people who wanted a new advisor and that’s what he asked.

They either were or they were not. If they said yes or maybe, he moved forward. If not, he moved on.

Hold the phone, I’m not suggesting you cold call. Or that you ask people you just met a qualifying question. “Hi, I’m Joe. Are you looking for a divorce lawyer?”

But I am asking you to put on your thinking cap and come up a good qualifying question for your services.

There are many ways to phrase the question:

  • Are you looking for. . .?
  • Do you need. . .?
  • Which of these works best for you. . .?
  • Do you have this problem?
  • Have you ever. . .?
  • Why are you. . .?
  • Are you ready to. . .?

You might put the question on the home page of your website, front and center, to let visitors know they’ve come to the right place. You might not ask until someone has had a chance to read something, get their questions answered, and get a sense for who you are.

You might ask in conversation. Or hand over a brochure or report that asks for you.

On the other hand, you may never vocalize the question or put it in writing. The question may be no more than sub-text. But there it will be, guiding you and qualifying your reader or listener.

Crafting this question will help you define your “ideal client”. What is their problem? Where are they in the process? What other solutions have they considered or tried? It will help you qualify prospective clients, possibly in four seconds or less.

So, what would you ask someone to find out if they are a prospect for your services?

Do you want help describing your ideal client? Get this.

Share
Filed Under: Copywriting, Marketing legal services, Networking, Online Marketing, Presentations, Public Speaking, SEO Tagged With: , ,

The art of the handshake: how not to be creepy

August 23, 2013 by
Share

“The probing handshake is where the other person probes you with their index finger pressed against the inside of your wrist.” Sounds creepy and, according to this article on “The Art of the Handshake,” it’s not something you ever want to do (or have done to you).

We’ve all been the victim of bad handshakes. My favorite is when the other person doesn’t look you in eye. Ladies, I’m sure you know what I mean.

I wrote before about Bill Clinton’s hand shake. I said, “He doesn’t just clasp your right hand in his, he also touches your arm with his left hand. During the conversation, as he makes a point, he might reach out again to touch your arm or put his hand on your shoulder.” This is the right way to do it, according to the author, who says we should never use the more familiar, “Politician’s Handshake”:

“That is where you use two hands to cover or cup the other person’s hands. No one likes it, it is too personal, and you have to earn the right to do it. Politicians do it thinking you will like them more – you won’t. If you feel you need to touch more, shake the hand normally and with the other touch the forearm.”

Apparently, Hillary doesn’t have Bill’s touch. The author quotes an executive who said, “I shook hands with Hilary Clinton: two-handed and clammy.”

I used to have an office administrator who had an incredibly limp handshake. I couldn’t stand it. It was like shaking hands with a corpse. Actually, no. A corpse would be stiff. Of course being the he-man that I am, I had to squeeze his hand to show him how it should be done. Apparently, I was an ignorant and ill-mannered boob:

“If you are meeting with a person who gives a very weak handshake, perhaps that is their custom. Don’t grimace and don’t make a face, match their handshake with equal pressure and give thanks you have an opportunity to demonstrate that you have social intelligence and good manners.”

It could have been worse. When Bill Gates was introduced to the president of South Korea on a recent trip, he kept his left hand in his pocket. That’s rude in any country, but especially so in South Korea. But hey, at least he didn’t stare at her chest.

Need a marketing plan? Get this.

Share
Filed Under: Communication, Image, Networking, Personal development Tagged With: , ,

3 ways to leverage every case or client to get your next case or client

July 15, 2013 by
Share

Get a client. Do the work. Look for the next client.

That’s what you do, isn’t it? It’s always been that way. It always will be that way. It’s the circle of life.

Hakuna matata.

You can’t change the process. But you might make it more fruitful. Before you move from one case or client to the next, take a few minutes to reflect on how you can leverage that case or client to expand, enhance, or streamline your practice.

Here are three ways to do that:

TALK ABOUT IT

No matter how routine or boring, there’s always something you can talk about. It could be as simple as saying, “I have a new client who. . .” or, “I just finished a case where. . .” and then sharing a detail or two about your client’s background, industry, occupation, demographic, or niche, as well as their issue and what you did for them.

Talk about your cases and clients in conversations with clients, prospects, and professional contacts. It gives you ways to start a conversation or validate a point being made by someone else. It gives you ways to illustrate points in your presentations. And it allows you to remind people about what you do and for whom you do it without talking about yourself.

WRITE ABOUT IT

Every case and client is a story. It has a beginning, a middle, and an end. You should be telling those stories in your blog, newsletter, and articles.

If it’s a great story, feature it. If it’s routine, mention it in connection with other mentions about other cases or clients, e.g., “my last three clients.”

Use these stories to illustrate points in your reports or marketing documents. Or use them as prompts when you don’t know what to write about.

At the end of every case, make a few notes and put them in an idea file. You won’t write about every one but you never know which one might provide you with exactly the idea you need.

THINK ABOUT IT

At the conclusion of every matter, take five minutes and ask yourself two questions:

  1. What did I do well?
  2. What can I do better?

By answering these questions, you will almost always find ways to improve your work, your client relations, or your marketing.

There’s one more thing you can do at the end of every case.

Send thank you notes.

To your clients, to expert witnesses, to opposing counsel. Thank them for putting their faith in you, for their help, for their professionalism.

Every case or client presents an opportunity to connect further with someone and set the stage for a deeper relationship. Thank you notes will bring you repeat business, referrals, and a reputation for being someone worth knowing.

Marketing is everything we do to get and keep good clients. Here’s The Formula.

Share
Filed Under: Client relations, Communication, Law office management, Marketing legal services, Networking, Presentations, Thank you letters, Writing Tagged With:

Yep, size does matter

May 28, 2013 by
Share

We used to say, “you can judge the success of a man by the size of his Rolodex.” Of course today we would say, “you can judge the success of a person by the size of his or her list”.

It’s true. The more people you know, the more conduits you have to clients, referrals, introductions, and information. As the currently running ATT commercial says, “more is better”.

However, while the size of your list is important, even more important is the quality of that list.

You may do pro bono work at a legal clinic and know 1000 indigent people. From a networking standpoint, the five people you know on the clinic’s board are probably more valuable to you.

Who you know is more important than how many.

A small list of high quality contacts will almost always beat a much bigger list of weaker contacts.

What is a high quality contact? Someone who needs your services, has the authority to hire you and the ability to pay is a high quality contact. So is someone who is influential in your target market. They might not need your services themselves but if they can refer a lot of people who do (or who know people who do) they are a high quality contact.

But there is another equally important factor: your relationship with the people on that list.

You may know a lot of people who have the ability to hire you or the ability to refer clients to you but if they don’t yet know you well enough to hire you or send you referrals, their value to you is limited.

It’s not just who you know, it’s who knows you.

So you want a list of high quality contacts, people with the ability to hire you or refer lots of others and who know, like, and trust you enough to do so. Where do you find them?

You find them on your list of low quality and average quality contacts. Quantity leads to quality. The bigger your list of low quality and average quality contacts, the bigger will be your list of high quality contacts.

The man or woman with a big Rolodex or email list has lots of high quality contacts but they also have lots of low quality contacts.

So yes, size still does matter.

Want to grow your list online? Click here to learn how.

Share
Filed Under: Leverage, List building, Networking, Online Marketing, Referrals, Relationship marketing

Marketing your law practice one hour a week

May 9, 2013 by
Share

If you only have one hour a week for marketing your law practice, I would spend that time on the phone. Here’s how I would break it down:

  • Twenty minutes speaking to clients and former clients. I would call new clients to say thank you (in addition to sending them a thank you card) and current and former clients to see how they are doing. These people put food on your table and are your best source of new business. Speaking to them “off the clock” is a highly leveraged marketing activity.
  • Twenty minutes speaking to referral sources. I would call other professionals I work with, thank them for their recent referrals, look for ways I can do something to help them, and brainstorm ways we can work together to our mutual benefit.
  • Twenty minutes reaching out to other professionals. I would call people I don’t know, to introduce myself, find out what they do, and see if there is a way we could can work together to our mutual benefit.

A law practice is a people business. We talk to people to strengthen our relationships and cultivate new ones. If you can’t meet people face to face, the phone is the next best thing.

In some ways, the phone is even better than face to face because there is no travel time. So, with only one hour a week, I would smile and dial.

Of course if I had two hours a week for marketing, I would use the second hour to have lunch or coffee with people I know and people I want to know.

This shows you how to set up marketing joint ventures with other professionals. 

Share
Filed Under: Client loyalty, Client relations, Leverage, Marketing legal services, Marketing Plan, Networking, Referral sources, Referrals, Relationship marketing Tagged With:

How does a new attorney get clients?

May 1, 2013 by
Share

Yes, how does a new attorney get clients? I remember when I was opening my practice this was something I desperately wanted to know. Unfortunately, I couldn’t find a good answer.

I was told that I should do the following:

  1. Send engraved announcements to everyone you know announcing your new practice
  2. Pass out business cards to everyone you meet
  3. Join groups where you can network and pass out cards to everyone you meet
  4. And, that was about it.

There was no Internet in those days. Yellow pages advertising was too expensive. Besides, I’d have to wait months for the book to come out and I needed business immediately.

I didn’t send out announcements, but I did tell everyone that I had opened my own practice. That brought in exactly zero business. I didn’t do any networking. I was 23 years old and looked it, and I didn’t think anyone would take me seriously. Hey, I didn’t take me seriously.

What I did do (on the phone and in classified ads in a bar journal) was contact other attorneys and let them know I was available for (a) appearances and (b) overflow work. And that actually worked. It gave me some breathing room until I could figure out how to get some clients of my own.

If you’re a new attorney today, opening your own practice, I suggest you do the same. It’s a great way to generate immediate income and get some hands on experience.

But the first thing you should do is set up a website.

Not a page in an online directory or a free website, but your own site. A domain name you own and a site that you host. You don’t need anything fancy. You don’t have to spend a lot of money. You can either do it yourself–if I can learn, you can learn–or pay someone $100 to set up the site for you. Monthly costs are less than $10.

Add lots of content to your site, to show people what you know and how you can help them. Educate people about the law and procedure. Show them what they need to know. Answer their questions, show them their options, and help them understand what to do.

Yes, you should also tell them about the services you offer. But fill your website primarily with information prospective clients want to know about their legal problems and the available solutions . Give them enough information and they will see that you can deliver those solutions.

Make sure your content has appropriate keywords so clients can find you via search. And make sure your site has social media sharing enabled so visitors to your site can share your content with their friends and contacts.

As you gain experience, update your site with additional content–articles, blog posts, reports, checklists–and stories of how you have helped your clients solve problems.

Start building a list. Not everyone who visits your site is ready to hire you. Capture their email address so you can stay in touch with them, notify them when you post new content, and remind them that you are still available to help them or people they know.

When you meet someone who might be a prospective client or referral source, send them to your website so they can learn about what you do.

What’s next? Well, that depends on you. You can continue to build your practice primarily online. You can join networking groups and do public speaking. You can create a free seminar or webinar and “allow” other professionals and centers of influence to invite their clients.

But here’s the thing. Your best source of new clients is referrals from existing and former clients. So, as soon as you have a few clients who are happy with your work, you should leverage those relationships to generate new business.

You can ask for referrals directly but you have another option: ask your clients to refer people to your website and the great content you have available.

How does a new attorney get clients? The same way an old attorney gets clients. Plus appearances and overflow.

The Attorney Marketing Formula. How attorneys get clients.

Share
Filed Under: Advertising, Business cards, Client loyalty, Marketing legal services, Marketing Plan, Networking, Online Marketing, Referrals, SEO, Social media marketing Tagged With: , , , , ,

What to do when you forget someone’s name

March 5, 2013 by
Share

I once had a friend who had an almost uncanny ability to remember people’s names. It allowed him to build a large network of contacts and a very successful business.

We did a lot of networking together so I got to watch him in action. Like the rest of us, he would often forget the name of someone he had just been introduced to, but soon thereafter, he was introducing his new contact, by name, to others in the room. How did he do it? He did it by getting his ego out of the way and simply asking his new contact to “tell me your name again,” sometimes two or three times before he had it.

Most of us are too embarrassed to admit we forgot a person’s name so we skirt around it. Not my friend. He felt it was vital to know and use people’s names and he was willing to do whatever it took to accomplish that.

Time and time again I’d watch him ask people to repeat their name. Even with people he supposedly knew for a long time. Sometimes he’d tell them he had a poor memory and if they say their name again it will help him remember. He was genuine and easy going about it. I think most of them appreciated that he cared enough to ask.

My ego is too fragile, I’m afraid. I’d rather rely on tricks. I’ll give you my favorite: only network where everyone wears a name tag.

How about you? What do you do to remember names? What do you do when you forget?

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

Share
Filed Under: Marketing legal services, Networking, Personal development, Relationship marketing Tagged With: ,

What to say when someone asks, “What’s new?”

February 21, 2013 by
Share

How do you typically answer when someone asks you, “What’s new?”

One expert says that answering, “Nothing much,” squanders an opportunity to promote your practice. She says, “Highlight recent successes or certain aspects of your practice.”

What do I think? I think that most people don’t really care about what’s new in your world, they’re just being polite.

They really don’t want to hear about how great you are doing, unless it benefits them. “I just settled a multi-million dollar case,” would be great news to share if you are talking to your spouse or partner. Nobody else cares.

Most people aren’t listening, anyway. They’re thinking about themselves. Their problems. Their unfinished business. If they have good news, they’re thinking about that and waiting for you to stop talking so they can tell you about it.

Yeah, maybe that’s a bit cynical. But no less true.

If you do have some good news, it’s okay to share it. But be brief. If they don’t pick up on it and ask for details, move on.

If they do pick up on it and ask questions, the odds are they’re still being polite. Don’t fall into the trap of telling them all about it. Turn the conversation back to them.

Let the other guy do most of the talking. Ask about his work or what he’s doing for fun. Ask him, “What’s new with you?”

If you don’t have good news to share, please don’t tell them about your problems. Yes, they might be happy to hear that your life is actually worse than theirs, but you can forget about them hiring you.

“What’s new?” “Nothing much. How about you?”

Works for me.

Want more clients? Click here.

Share
Filed Under: Marketing legal services, Networking Tagged With: , ,

The hidden cost of social media marketing

February 13, 2013 by
Share

Social media marketing isn’t free. You pay with your time.

It takes time to

  • Read incoming tweets, stories, posts, and mentions
  • Reply and/or re-post incoming tweets, stories, posts, and mentions
  • Create or find content to share
  • Create and update your profiles and pages
  • Stay up to date with all the new tools and techniques
  • Try out new apps to manage all of the above
  • Read posts like this one. . .

Whether you do this yourself or you hire others to do it for you, there is a cost to social media marketing.

I’m not saying it’s not worth it. It could very much be worth it. If you spend $1500 a month (your time or someone else’s) and bring in $10,000 a month in new business, that’s a good thing.

But that’s a big “if”.

I don’t think most people get this kind of return on their investment.

If you’re not making a profit on your investment in social media, or you don’t “do” social media marketing because you don’t believe it will be worth it (and you don’t want to spend the time to find out), I have a suggestion.

Keep your social media profiles up to date. Promote your web site content to your social media connections so they can push it to THEIR social media connections. But instead of trying to interact with hundreds or thousands of fans, followers, and connections, instead of “one” (you) to “many,” use social media as a tool for marketing “one to one”.

Use it to find one person who targets the same market you do. Another professional, a business owner or executive, a consultant, a blogger. Someone who would be a good fit.

Learn about them. Approach them. And begin the process of networking with them, the old fashioned way. In case you’ve forgotten, that means talking to them and meeting them for coffee.

Find out what you can do for them and they for you. Networking. One to one.

Marketing is simple. If it wasn’t, you wouldn’t do it. Here’s proof.

Share
Filed Under: Marketing legal services, Networking, Referral sources, Referrals, Social media, Social media marketing, Time Management Tagged With: ,

Why Bill Clinton wants to touch you

January 7, 2013 by
Share

Have you ever watched how Bill Clinton shakes hands. He doesn’t just clasp your right hand in his, he also touches your arm with his left hand. During the conversation, as he makes a point, he might reach out again to touch your arm or put his hand on your shoulder.

Clinton’s use of nonsexual touching is, arguably, one of the reasons people seem to like him so much. (No comments about his alleged use of other kinds of touching, however.)

According to psychologists, touch “can influence behavior, increase the chances of compliance, make the person doing the touching seem more attractive and friendly, and can even you help make a sale.”

Tests have shown that when touched, people are more likely to comply with requests, more likely to provide help, and more likely to buy. And touching more than once seems to increase these results.

Indiscriminate touching, however, could backfire. In a school or work place setting, any kind of touching could be misinterpreted. In some cultures, touching is generally less welcome than in others. And some individuals don’t like to be touched under any circumstances.

By and large, the rewards are probably worth the risks. Just use common sense when meeting someone new. A pat on the arm or the shoulder is probably safe. A lingering full body hug, probably not a good idea, even for Bill Clinton. Especially for Bill Clinton.

Earn more in 2013. Click here to learn more.

Share
Filed Under: Communication, Networking Tagged With: , , , , , ,
« Previous Page
Next Page »