I wish I knew this before I opened my law practice

May 30, 2012 by
Share

In high school and college I did some entry level work during the summers. I was a stock clerk at a department store, delivered flowers, that sort of thing. In law school, I worked as a law clerk.

By the time I graduated law school, the sum total of my work experience was. . . nothing to write home about.

I opened my own law office about a year after graduating and passing the bar exam. I had very little experience as a lawyer, no clients, and no money. Most importantly, my network of contacts was almost non-existent.

As you can imagine, my first few years of practice were very difficult. If I had known what it would take to start a practice and make a go of it, I might have done things differently.

Yes, I knew it would be rough. But I naively thought I would make up for what I lacked with hard work and determination. Like Mary Richards, Mary Tyler Moore’s character on the 1970’s TV show, I had spunk.

Unfortunately, spunk doesn’t buy groceries.

Anyway, things would undoubtedly have been different if I’d had a network of contacts before I opened my office. When you have relationships with the right people, you can leverage those relationships to get clients, leads, introductions, and advice. You can hit the ground running in a new practice. You’re not starting completely from scratch when you can tap into other people’s established networks.

The lesson is this: build your network before you need it. Or as Harvey MacKay puts it, “Dig Your Well Before You’re Thirsty.”

It’s more difficult to build a network when you need it. “Hello, I’d like to introduce myself and ask you if you can send me some business.” And yet, it can be done. If you approach them the right way, and you approach enough of them, strangers will help you. But it’s much easier to get that help from people who already know, like, and trust you.

If you’re thinking about opening your own practice, build your network before you make the move. You don’t need a huge network–a few well-connected individuals is all you need to start. They can lead you to others.

First, identify by category the types of people you would like to know. Then, look for ways to find and meet people in those categories.

If you have already opened your own practice, it’s never too late to start building your network.

The best day to plant a tree is 100 years ago. The second best day is today.

Share
Filed Under: Marketing legal services, Networking, Referral sources, Relationship marketing Tagged With: , , , , , ,

How to use CLE to get new clients and new referral sources

May 18, 2012 by
Share

When it comes to continuing legal education (the mandatory kind), there are two types of attorneys:

  1. Those who take the classes only because they need the credits (98%), and
  2. Everyone else.

C’mon, be honest. If you weren’t required to do so, would you have signed up for most of the CLE classes you’ve taken over the years? How about if they were free?

Me neither.

But this is not a post about how ridiculous it is to compel professionals to do what the realities of a competitive marketplace already do. No, this is a post about how to make money with CLE.

Want to know how?

Okay, there’s a very simple way to leverage the time you spend taking CLE to grow your law practice. That’s the good news. The bad news is that you have to listen to the presenters and you have to take notes. No playing games while the audio is playing. And no multi-tasking, either. You actually have to pay attention.

Yeah, I know, I’m not doing a very good job of convincing you that this is a good thing, but it is.

So you take notes of the CLE programs you take and when you’re done, you write a one page summary of each class or each segment. Kinda like a brief. Actually, you can put it into any format you want: a summary, FAQ’s, case studies–whatever floats your boat. You can even record an audio if you want.

You with me?

The next thing you do is distribute your summaries to people who might like to see them. You can send them to people you know or you can contact people you don’t know and offer to send them. Or any combination thereof.

To whom do you send them (or offer to send them)?

  • Your competition. You lose nothing by giving this information to other lawyers in your practice area(s). They still have to take the class if they want the credit but your gesture of good will is certain to be appreciated and remembered. They next time you need a favor, some information or advice, you’ll have a ready made list of people willing to help you out. And the next time they have a conflict of interest on a case or otherwise have to refer out a matter, you might just be on their short list.
  • Other non-competitive attorneys. This is where you can really score some points. Take that tax class you just completed and slant your summary for attorneys who don’t practice tax law but need to know something about it. Summarize the changes in SSD for PI lawyers. You get the idea. By delivering value to attorneys in other practice areas, you position yourself as an expert in your area and someone worth knowing. If nothing else, your summaries give you a great excuse to contact potential referral sources and initiate a relationship.
  • Other professionals/referral sources. Financial planners, real estate, insurance, CPA’s–other professionals need to stay informed about the legal issues that affect what they do. Your summaries can spare them the time and trouble of wading through a mountain of information they don’t need and will undoubtedly earn their appreciation.
  • Prospects/clients. Obviously, you need to make the information suitable for lay people and you’ll probably want to avoid mentioning where you got it, but educating your clients and prospects about the legal issues they face and the available solutions (that you can provide, of course) is always a good strategy.

There are other ways to use your CLE notes. You can turn them into articles and blog posts, reports and ebooks, talking points for a speech or seminar, and hey, you can even use it in your actual, honest-to-goodness legal work. Imagine that.

As you can see, with a little creativity you can leverage the time you spend taking CLE classes (and writing summaries thereof) to create some simple tools you can use to grow your practice.

Now, for extra credit, here’s something else you can do: send your summaries to the author or presenter of the CLE class. They may not have any use for it but they will be pleased that someone actually paid attention and took notes. You now have a new contact, a well-regarded attorney who might just know some people you would like to meet and who might be willing to make those introductions.

And hey, they might even give you the hook up so you can submit your own CLE program. If you do, let me know how many credits I can get. I need 36 units and I’m way behind.

Share
Filed Under: Continuing Legal Education, Marketing legal services, Referral sources, Referrals Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

How to get new referral sources over the phone

April 24, 2012 by
Share

I talked to an attorney the other day about a class action he was thinking of filing on behalf of himself and similarly aggrieved attorneys. (I’m not at liberty to disclose the subject matter.) He wanted to know the best way to find other attorneys who might want to join him.

We talked about ads in his bar journal and on Facebook or other PPC. And then I suggested my favorite marketing method: picking up the phone and calling.

It should be easy to get other attorneys on the phone to see if they have had the same experience he’s had. He could find potential class members and also get feedback on his case. If an attorney wasn’t interested in joining, perhaps they could refer him to someone else.

But there’s another benefit to cold calling attorneys: making new networking contacts.

“So tell me about your practice. . .” is guaranteed to get attorneys talking. Naturally, they will also ask you to tell them about yours. Just like that, you have a new contact. You have opened the door to follow-up conversations that might lead to referrals, intorductions, or information.

It’s all good.

Calling about a potential class action on behalf of attorneys will certainly arouse curiosity and get other attorneys to take your call. But there are other ways to get attorneys to take your call. You can conduct a “sixty second survey” for an article you’re writing, offer them a free copy of your new report, or invite them to join your new LinkedIn group. Or, you can simply call to introduce yourself and offer to buy them a cup of coffee.

Like most forms of marketing, you can make a lot of progress by doing a little bit every day. If networking with other attorneys works for your practice, call three attorneys every day and see what happens. In a month, you will have reached out to sixty new contacts. If just one sees you as worthy of referrals, at the end of the year you’ll have 12 new referral sources.

And yes, you can do the same thing with other professionals, executives, and business owners.

Marketing is simple. Call someone and see for yourself.

Share
Filed Under: Marketing legal services, Networking, Referral sources, Relationship marketing Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , ,

You’ve got more prospects than you think. Make sure you’re not ignoring them.

February 21, 2012 by
Share

Do you know who your prospects are? Someone who can hire you, right? Well, yes and no.

Sometimes there’s another decision maker. A spouse, a partner, a supervisor. How about the son or daughter of an elderly client. Maybe the family attorney. Or a trustee.

If someone needs to “sign off” on hiring you, they are as much a prospect as the person who would be your actual client. You should identify these people, network with them, and court them. Market to them the same way you would market to the actual client.

In fact, anyone who can refer clients to you should be placed in this category. You need to market to prospective referral sources just as much as prospective clients. Perhaps more since a good referral source can send you a lot of business while the son or daughter of an elder law client probably cannot.

Start by determining categories of prospective referral sources for your practice areas and niche markets. Go beyond the obvious choices–other attorneys, CPAs, insurance agents, and financial planners. Who else influences your actual client? But don’t stop there. Who influences those people? If you are an bankruptcy attorney and you want to network with real estate professionals, for example, you might want to start by networking with someone who teaches continuing education courses to real estate agents.

Once you have identified some categories of prospective referral sources for your practice, the next step is to identify candidates. Who works in those categories? Add these people to your ever-growing list of prospects.

You’ve got more prospects than you think.

Share
Filed Under: Marketing legal services, Referral sources, Referrals

Attorney Marketing 101: Networking with the Right People

October 20, 2011 by
Share

For many lawyers, networking is a great source of new business. Referrals are given, ideas are exchanged, doors are opened.

Most attorneys network by default. The local Chamber of Commerce advertises a mixer, a friend invites them to a Rotary breakfast or their local bar association announces their annual meeting, and that’s where they go. But these groups may not be the best choice.

When they don’t get a lot of business from one networking group many attorneys join a second group. Before you know it, some attorneys attend so many networking events each month they have no time for anything else. And because they aren’t networking with the right people, they still aren’t getting good results.

The right people, the ones you want to meet and network with, are those who are likely to know and influence a significant number of your ideal clients. No matter what your networking skills might be, your odds of success are much better when you network with groups comprised of a high concentration of these individuals.

Where do you find these groups? First, define your “ideal referral source”.

Start by looking at the referrals you received over the last twelve months. Who sent those referrals? What is their profession or background? What industry are they in? What other demographic factors stand out?

Look for patterns. If you see you got twenty-six referrals from real estate brokers last year, it probably makes sense to put real estate brokers on your list.

Then, put on your thinking cap and brainstorm other categories of prospective referral sources. Who sells to or advises your ideal clients? Who might have a big list of your ideal clients or influence in your target market?

Make a list of five to ten categories of promising referral sources. Depending on your practice area and local market, two or three categories may be enough (and all you can handle).

If you’re a plaintiff’s personal injury attorney, your list of categories may include obvious choices like insurance agents and brokers and physicians. It may include some less obvious choices, however, such as high school principals or pastors.

If you’re a consumer bankruptcy attorney, obvious choices might be real estate and mortgage brokers, accountants, and hairdressers.

Consider also including categories of people who influence your ideal referral sources. For example, if you want to network with financial planners, networking with accountants or non-competitive attorneys who represent financial planners would make sense.

Once you have defined your ideal referral sources, the next step is to find out where they congregate.

There are directories and web sites that list countless associations, networking groups, and referral groups (groups that meet specifically for the purpose of exchanging referrals). An hour or two will allow you to make a list of “candidate” groups. Note where they meet and when, and other pertinent information, e.g., how many members, requirements to join, do they allow outside speakers, etc.

A simpler way is to ask your existing referral sources what groups they belong to. Not only can this shortcut your research time, your contact will probably invite you to attend a meeting as his or her guest.

Having a friend on the inside, someone who can introduce you to the right people and provide information about committees, speakers, and group dynamics is invaluable.

If you don’t know people in the right categories, or the people you know don’t do any networking, you can ask people you know for a referral to someone who does. Call and introduce yourself, mention your mutual friend, and tell them you’re looking for a networking group you could attend. I’m sure they will have recommendations.

You’ll still need to attend a few meetings to see if a group is a good fit. The good news is that once you find a group that is, you may not need to find a second.

When it comes to networking, most attorneys are “a mile wide and an inch deep”. The most successful networkers focus their time and effort in a limited number of groups of “the right people”.

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

Attorney Marketing 101: The psychology of referrals

October 19, 2011 by
Share

The psychology of referrals--lawyer marketingThere are two kinds of referral sources: those who can refer and those who will.

If you’ve done a good job for your clients, most are probably willing to give you referrals. That doesn’t mean they will. If they don’t know people who need your services, they can’t refer them.

Others — professionals, business owners, centers of influence — who are able to refer you a lot of business, often don’t.

Understanding why people do or do not give referrals can help you get more of them.

So why do people provide referrals? Your clients are willing to send referrals for several reasons:

First, your clients want to help their friends and colleagues to the benefit of your services. They can save their friends the time they might have spent looking for an attorney, and help them avoid the risk of getting an incompetent one or getting overcharged. Their friends appreciate this help; your client’s status is elevated. Being able to help their friends makes them feel important.

Second, when their friend retains you and is also satisfied with your work, it validates your referring client’s decision to hire you in the first place. Any doubts they may have had about their experience with you are removed.

The third reason your clients are willing to give you referrals is that they want to help you. However, clients don’t always know that you want their referrals. You need to tell them. Or, they understand that you want referrals but they just don’t think about it. You need to remind them.

If you’re not getting referrals from your clients, or you’re not getting as many as you would like, there are only two reasons: either you don’t deserve them or you’re not asking for them.

Now, how about non-clients, professionals, business owners, centers of influence–why might they give you referrals?

For some, it is the expectation of quid pro quo. They give you referrals and you give them referrals, or so they hope.

Others will refer their clients and contacts to you for the same reason your clients do: to help their clients avoid the risk and effort of finding an attorney on their own. In helping their clients this way, they add value to their relationships and their status is also elevated. And yes, some also feel good about helping you, too.

When a professional is able to refer business but is unwilling to do so, it may be because they don’t yet know, like, and trust you. It takes time for your relationship to develop. Eventually, they may turn out to be a big source of new business.

Many prospective referral sources don’t send you business because they don’t have it to give. They have a relationship with another attorney to whom they refer and they don’t have enough referrals for both of you. Unless their regular attorney has a conflict of interest, is unavailable, or doesn’t handle a given matter, your prospective referral source may be willing to refer, but not able.

In time, that may change. When the other attorney retires, dies or screws up, you could be next in line.

If you’re dealing with a prospective referral source who cannot reciprocate, there are other ways they can help you. By the same token, there are other ways you can help them when you can’t reciprocate.

Some people who can give referrals simply won’t. They may see it as risky–what if you screw up and make them look bad? Others just can’t be bothered.

Don’t dwell on the reasons why people won’t refer. If some clients won’t do it, it doesn’t matter; most will. With non-client referral sources, the numbers are reversed. Most won’t refer and this doesn’t matter. You only need a few who do.

Share
Filed Under: Client relations, Referral sources, Referrals, Relationship marketing Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Is social media a fad?

September 3, 2009 by
Share

[mc src=”http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sIFYPQjYhv8″ type=”youtube”]The social media revolution[/mc]

Share
Filed Under: List building, Networking, Online Marketing, Referral sources Tagged With: , ,

The quickest way to bring in clients

June 4, 2008 by
Share

Q: How do I bring in quality clients fast? I think the best way to bring in a steady stream of [type of] clients is to find a good referral source. What should I do?

A: Referrals are the BEST source of quality clients, but they are usually not the FASTEST. It takes time to build relationships, earn trust, develop a reputation.

If you can compensate those sources (i.e., referral fees to other attorneys, if permissible), or work out other kinds of alliances (paid advertising, cross-promotions) where the source has a more immediate incentive for working with you, then you could get some quick business.

Of course your clients are the first place to look. They should be willing to refer, but they may not be able.

Generally speaking, nothing is faster than advertising (except publicity, but you have limited control with that). Cost is obviously an issue. You could try writing for targeted publications and speaking and networking at targeted events. You’ll get access to the right markets, at no cost, plus the unspoken endorsement of the meeting holder or publication, and if you get your message in front of the right people, you will get clients.

Remember that you are always marketing to at least two separate markets: prospective clients and prospective referral sources. One is not necessarily better than another, nor faster.

Q: How do I know if I’m targeting the right market?

A: A market is only as good as your ability to communicate with it. Do prospects have an organization you can join? Meetings you can speak at? Publications you can write for or advertise in? Can you find centers of influence in that market with whom you can network?

Most lawyers look at their services first and then look for people who need those services. Better is to find a market with a need, then look for ways you can satisfy that need.

Start with professionals and business contacts you already know. What markets do they serve? What unresolved needs do those markets have? Find the market first, then work backwards.

You’ll have greater success giving people what they WANT, which may or may not be what they NEED. Find out what people want and then look for ways to help them get it.

Share
Filed Under: Advertising, Networking, Publicity, Referral sources, Referrals, Relationship marketing Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , ,

Direct mail to lawyers, seeking referrals. Good or bad idea?

February 20, 2008 by
Share

I received a letter from a probate lawyer who is seeking referrals from large PI/Med Mal firms who need guidance in wrongful death and minors’ compromise cases. He and his partners had compiled a list of law firms and written a letter they intended to “mass mail”. The letter introduced the probate firm, described their capabilities, and requested referrals. He asked for my opinion of this strategy and letter.

I liked the idea of targeting specific kinds of cases from specific firms, (assuming they had reason to believe those firms didn’t have in-house capability to handle those matters), but I didn’t think their plan to mass mail letters would be effective.

One-shot mailings like this are unlikely to generate any business. About the only chance you have is to reach someone at precisely the time when he or she has a case they need help with and they don’t have anyone else to refer it to. While that could happen, it makes more sense to begin to build relationships with lawyers (anyone) who DON’T need your services at the moment and do what you can to be the one they think of when they do.

Marketing, especially referral marketing, is a process, not an event.

Here are some of my additional comments and suggestions:

** If you’re going to contact a cold list, you need to do something to get a response so that you can continue to stay in touch with them and win their trust, over time. I’d recommend offering to send a “Free Report” that educates them on the issues they need to be aware of so that (a) they can do a better job for their clients and (b) be better able to avoid malpractice. This will be a benefit to them and position you as an expert. You can also offer a free phone review of their case. If the list is short enough, you could SEND the report and make a second offer to get them to respond (so you can stay in touch). The second offer could be a second report, a checklist, a form, or anything else.

** I’d suggest that you find people you already KNOW who can refer you to the people on your list, OR to people who may know them, OR to people who may know people who know them. Then, you can contact these lawyers with the name of a mutual contact. Much more effective.

** I’d also consider working towards having a colleague (in this case., another med mal lawyer) write (sign off on) a letter in which they endorse your services to their fellow practitioners. They’ve used you, they recommend you, they trust you, etc. This is the strongest kind of letter you can send.

** Letters do a have a place, but, I’d prefer to see you call. You want to build relationships with these potential referral sources, and to do that, you need to talk to them.

Find a reason, and call. The reason could be because you want to interview them for an article, you’re doing a survey for your newsletter or blog, to invite them to your free seminar, to offer them a copy of your new report or a subscription to your newsletter. It could even be to simply introduce yourself and find out more about what they do.

You’ll hit it off with some of them and follow up with coffee or lunch. You only need a few good ones to start, then you can leverage those relationships to gain introductions and endorsements to others.

Share
Filed Under: Advertising, Communication, Marketing legal services, Referral sources, Referrals, Relationship marketing Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Free advice that can make you millions

October 10, 2007 by
Share

One of the best ways to get from where you are to where you want to go is getting help from someone who has done what you want to do. Make a list of areas you would like help with or areas where you would like to grow. Three key areas for lawyers in private practice would be

  • Substantive practice areas
  • Marketing
  • Administration/management

Specific areas you might want to key on might be

  • Technology/internet
  • Employee relations
  • Taxes/record keeping
  • Risk management/insurance
  • Retirement planning/investments

And so on.

Of course you can always hire experts to consult and advise you in these areas, and you might. But why not find lawyers (or other professionals) who have had success in these areas and ask them to be your mentor?

Mentors help you see what’s possible by serving as a role model. They can keep you from going off course by providing feedback about your ideas. And they can open doors for you to opportunities, introductions to vendors, prospective clients and referral sources. The right mentors can spare you years of hardship and, literally, make you rich.

Once you have identified a list of areas you would like to be mentored in, start asking everyone you know for recommendations and referrals to experts in those areas. “Who do you know who is a great networker?” “Do you know any lawyers who know a lot about web sites?” “Who is the best construction litigation attorney you know?”

Next, make a list of specific points you’d like to cover in your first conversation, such as why you’d like them to mentor you and what kind of help you might be looking for.

Successful people like to share what they have learned. Properly approached, you’ll find any number of individuals willing to share a few minutes of their time with you each month.

Here’s an approach you can take:

“Hello, Mr. Jones, my name is Robert Lawyer. We haven’t met and I know you’re a busy man, so I’ll be brief. I’m a sole practictioner in the area of estate planning. I know you’ve built a very successful estate practice over the last twenty-five years. I’ve been practicing for four years now and I’m ready to take things to a higher level and I would appreciate it if you would consider being my mentor. All that would mean is spending ten minutes with me on the phone once a month, so I could ask you a few questions. I’d really appreciate it. Would you be open to that?”

Be prepared to give your mentors something in return. At the very least, give them feedback on how their advice has worked out for you. Look for information and resources that can benefit them and share it with them.

Eventually, find others whom you can mentor. There’s no better way to pay tribute to your mentors than to follow in their footsteps.

Share
Filed Under: Law office management, Marketing legal services, Mentors & Coaches, Networking, Productivity, Referral sources Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
« Previous Page
Next Page »