Why you should teach prospective clients to do it themselves

November 16, 2015 by
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Suppose you are a personal injury attorney. And suppose you write a report showing people how to handle their own property damage (no injury) insurance claim. You tell them what to do and how to do it.

You tell them not to admit fault, teach them how to measure and document their damages, give advice about what to do if it’s a total loss, and equip them to present and negotiate their claim.

You know, stuff you often do for clients and prospects without charge.

Show them how to do it themselves so they don’t ask you to do it for them. Of course you also tell them what to do if they do have injuries. You tell them what an attorney can do to help them maximize their claim and have peace of mind and how hiring an attorney usually pays for itself.

You distribute your report to your clients and prospects and to anyone else who wants a copy. You give it away on your website and hand it out when you’re networking. You contact other lawyers who don’t do personal injury and let them give the report to their clients and contacts.

What will happen? You’ll get a lot of people who are grateful to you for your sound advice. Some will be injured and call you. Some will hold onto your report and call you when they have an injury claim. And some will call you with questions about their property damage claim, even though you showed them what to do and assured them they could do it themselves.

That’s okay. Take their call. Encourage their call. Give them a few minutes of your time. Write a letter or make a call for them, without charge. It’s an investment in their future business.

Think “clients” not “cases”.

If you don’t handle personal injury, you can do something similar in your practice area. Teach people how to file their own simple divorce, quit claim their property to their spouse, or file a fictitious business statement.

Help people do things for themselves and when they have something they can’t do themselves, they’ll call you.

Want more referrals? Quickly? How about 30 Days?

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Filed Under: Marketing legal services, Online Marketing, Referrals, Relationship marketing, Writing

Won’t you be my neighbor?

November 11, 2015 by
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My wife and I have lived in their house for over 20 years. We don’t know most of our neighbors, however, and we like it that way. We like our privacy and, we think, most of our neighbors do, too.

But what’s true for a home isn’t true for a business. At least it shouldn’t be. One of the easiest ways to get more referrals is to get to know your neighbors.

Most of the professionals and businesses near your office have local clients or customers. If you handle consumer or small business matters, they are a natural source of referrals for you, if not potential clients themselves.

Okay, you get this. What can you do to start getting some of that business?

You could mail something to them, and that’s better than nothing, but why not simply knock on their door?

Introduce yourself and ask for their card and perhaps a brochure. What’s your “excuse” for doing that? You don’t need one, but if you think you do you could tell them you were “in the building” (that’s true; you don’t have to tell them why you were in the building), you saw their name on the door or on the building directory and wanted to find out (more about) what they do.

Which is also true.

Give them your card, tell them to have a nice day, and you’re done.

When you get back to your office, send them a one or two sentence email that says, “Great to meet you”. If you feel bold, you might also say you’ll keep them in mind if you have a client or meet someone who might need their products or services. Do not ask them to do the same.

That’s enough for now. Actually, that’s quite a bit. You have a new contact who has a favorable impression of you.  You did comb your hair and wear a clean shirt, right? Great. You’ve opened new doors to endless possibilities.

To get referrals from lawyers and other professionals, use this

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Filed Under: Marketing legal services, Networking, Referrals

The shortest distance between you and new clients

October 28, 2015 by
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How many people in the world know what you do? How many clients, prospects, friends, and colleagues know the kinds of problems you solve and the services you offer?

Whatever the number, whether it’s in the hundreds or the tens of thousands, all of these people can help you build your practice.

If they can’t send you a referral right now, they can send traffic to your website, share your content, and say nice things about you on social media.

The people who know your name are the shortest distance between you and new clients.

Unlike other methods of marketing, you don’t have to do much more than keep your name in front of them.

Yes, you can teach them how to recognize your ideal client. You can provide them with content they can share. You can tell them what to say and what to do to make a referral. But most of the heavy lifting is done by simply being there, in their minds and their mailboxes, when they need your services again (a self-referral) or know someone who needs your help.

It’s so simple, and yet most attorneys don’t do it.

Most attorneys don’t stay in touch with former clients and other people they know. Or they don’t do it enough. They look for new people, in a costly and time-consuming effort to win their business.

It’s so much easier to leverage the networks of the people who already know, like, and trust you.

Build a list. Email is easy. Add a form to your website, connect an autoresponder, and offer visitors an incentive to sign up.

Tell your clients to join the list, or email them manually.

What do you send them? Honestly, it almost doesn’t matter. Send them anything that might interest them or help them in their role as a consumer or business person.

Ideas, tips, opinions. Articles, blog posts, videos. Something you create or something you find online. Send them information, links to resources, photos, and stories. Send them your favorite cookie recipe, a holiday greeting, or a review of the last movie you saw.

Let them see that you’re not just a legal technician, you are a person they might want to know better.

Stay in touch with the people who know you. It’s the shortest distance between you and new clients.

Learn how to build a list and what to send them. Get this

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Filed Under: List building, Marketing legal services, Online Marketing, Referrals

Word of mouth referrals: How to get your clients talking about you

October 19, 2015 by
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How do you get your clients talking about you? The answer is simple. Give them something to talk about.

Most of the positive word of mouth you will receive about you and your services will come from providing your clients with a great client experience. I’m not just talking about the work you do. I’m talking about the way you make your clients feel.

Appreciated. Hopeful. Protected.

The same goes for your prospects and business contacts. They talk about you, too. Their referrals count.

Make people feel so good about themselves and their decision to hire you or associate with you that they feel compelled to tell someone about you.

But don’t stop there.

Make it easy for them to talk about you and send you referrals. Equip them to do a good job of spreading the gospel.

Tell them what to say. Give them “sound bites” they can use to describe you and what you do–the problems you solve, your ideal clients, why you are the best lawyer for the job.

Give them tools they can use to show people why you’re the one to choose:

  • A great website, with lots of helpful content
  • Reports and ebooks and videos they can hand out or share online.
  • Emails they can forward; social media posts they can like and share.
  • A stack of your business cards to hand out when they meet someone who might need your help.

Then, when someone does send you referrals or traffic or mentions you on social, say thank you. send them a thank you note, and if appropriate, thank them publicly, too. Showing appreciation for what they do is the best way to show them you appreciate them, and the best way to get them to do again.

What else?

Ask for referrals. This can be as simple as saying, “Here are some of my cards. When you talk to someone who needs X, please give them a card.” It can be as simple as asking them share your post, forward your email, or allow them to invite people they know to your free webinar.

Finally, stay in touch with them. Let them know when you add something to your website. Share other people’s content you find online. Update them about your interesting new case or client.

Keep your name in front of them, reminding them that you still exist and you’re still helping people solve legal problems.

Getting word of mouth referrals is really that simple. Can you do more? Yes. But if do these things, you probably won’t have to.

Here’s everything you need to get referrals from lawyers and other professionals

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Filed Under: Marketing legal services, Referrals

Stop trying to make everyone like you

October 15, 2015 by
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Believe it or not, some people don’t like me. Okay, maybe it’s not me they don’t like, they don’t like my writing.

They think my ideas “aren’t for them”. My writing style makes them uncomfortable. They don’t think I understand them or can help them.

You know what? I don’t care.

For one thing, I never hear from them. They quietly leave my email list or stop visiting my blog. They’re gone, like a fart in the wind, and will probably never return.

The other reason I don’t care is that they aren’t my target market. I don’t write to them, or for them. If they don’t “grok” me, they probably don’t trust me and my ideas and thus they aren’t going to hire me or recommend me.

If I cared about what they thought and tried to appeal to them, I would have to water down my style or homogenize my ideas. If I did that, I would be doing a disservice to the ones who do like me: my prospects and clients.

So, I ignore them and continue to do my thang. And the more I do that, the more I attract people who like what I say because they know I’m talking to them.

One of the reasons I pound on the idea of targeting niche markets instead of marketing to “everyone” is that it allows you to connect with the people in that niche on a deeper level. By your examples and stories and yes, even your style of writing, they think, “he gets me”. That synergy leads to more clients, more referrals, and more positive word of mouth.

That doesn’t happen when you try to please everyone.

Seth Godin put it this way recently:

When we hold back and dumb down, we are hurting the people who need to hear from us, often in a vain attempt to satisfy a few people who might never choose to actually listen.

It’s quite okay to say, “it’s not for you.”

Write to the people who get you. Ignore the ones who don’t.

Marketing is easier when you know The Formula

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Filed Under: Client loyalty, Communication, Marketing legal services, Presentations, Public Speaking, Referrals, Writing

The one thing you need to do to build a successful law practice

October 7, 2015 by
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Do you remember the Billy Crystal movie, “City Slickers”? There is a scene where Jack Palance’s character, Curly, is about to tell Mitch (Crystal) the secret to life? “There’s just ONE thing,” Curly says, holding up one finger. All eyes are fixed on Palance. What will he say? What is the “one thing”?

Curly never does answer. When I saw the scene, I thought he would say, “That’s what you have to figure out”. That’s your quest. Figure out the one thing and everything else will take care of itself.

I don’t know if that’s what he meant, but it makes me wonder, is there “one thing” for building a successful law practice? One thing that can take a lawyer from where they are to where they want to be?

Yes there is. For most lawyers in private practice, the one thing that would make all the difference is getting more clients.

Getting better clients is important, of course, and should be on every lawyer’s to-do list. But for both short term and long term success, getting more clients is the one thing that changes everything.

More clients means more money. More money allows you to improve your lifestyle. More money means you are able to help more people and leave the world a better place.

Yes or yes?

Okay, so more clients is the main ingredient. With a side dish of better clients. The next question, of course, is what’s the one thing about getting more clients?

You know the answer to that, amigo. It’s marketing. That’s how we get clients, after all.

But marketing is big and scary. There are too many variables. I don’t know what to do. Tell me, is there “one thing” about marketing?

Hold on, now, you want me to sort through everything there is to know about marketing professional services and tell you the “one thing”?

Okay, I will.

It’s referrals. Get referrals right and you may not have to do much of anything else.

Referrals have always been the number one way clients find attorneys and it still is today. The Internet is important, vital even for many types of practice, but it’s number two on the list.

Okay, now we’re getting somewhere. To build a successful law practice, referrals are king. But. . . but. . . what’s the “one thing” about getting referrals?

You ask a lot of questions, Chachi. No worries. That’s what I’m here for.

Anyway, whether it’s referrals from clients, other professionals, or anyone else, the one thing, the Holy Grail about getting referrals is. . . delivering value.

Not just doing good work and treating people with respect. That’s expected. That’s the standard of care. Every lawyer should do that, and most lawyers do. No, if you want to get more referrals and stand out from the crowd, you have to do what most lawyers don’t do.

You have to do more than do your job.

The lawyers who get the most referrals are the lawyers who do things for their clients and contacts that transcend their work and their professional relationships. They help them, unselfishly, without being asked and without expecting anything in return.

Yes, the golden rule.

There, I said it. Call me a sentimental fool, but there you go. Help others, give to others, treat others the way you would like to be treated.

What’s the “one thing” when it comes to the golden rule?

That’s what you have to figure out.

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Filed Under: Client relations, Increase your income, Marketing legal services, Referrals, success

Lawyer to lawyer referrals: don’t ignore this potential gold mine

October 2, 2015 by
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How many lawyers do you know in another state? Probably not many. That means there are a lot of attorneys in other states who also don’t know you and if they don’t know you, they probably won’t send you referrals.

What if there was an easy way to change that?

In the Lawyer to Lawyer Referrals, I said that the simplest way to get more referrals from other lawyers is to get to know more lawyers. Yes, you want to know more lawyers in your local area, but there’s a very good reason for getting to know lawyers in other states: no competition.

If you are in Pittsburgh, PA, an attorney in San Diego, CA might not have a lot of referrals for you, but if you’re the only lawyer he knows in Pittsburgh in your practice area, when he does have a referral, you’ll be the only one on his list.

Me entiendo?

Imagine having an email list of lawyers in other parts of the country, or in other countries, who know who you are and what you do? They hear from you occasionally, getting updates about your interesting new client, your big settlement, or your latest article or blog post. Your name and contact information is continually in front of them.

Of course you also ask them to keep you informed about their practice, because you might have a referral for them, or know someone who does.

Many of your contacts will never pan out, but some will. If there are 100 lawyers on your list, you’re going to get some business.

In fact, make that a goal. 100 lawyers on your list in the next 60 days. (You could do this in two days if you wanted to.)

Lawyers are easy to find. They have websites, they are on social media, they advertise. Find lawyers who represent the kinds of clients you target, contact them and introduce yourself.

You can call first, or email. Calling is better; email is faster.

Tell them you saw their website or ad or read something they wrote. Pay them a compliment or ask them a question. And then tell them that you’d like to know more about what they do because you don’t know any lawyers in their area and you never know when you might have a referral.

Of course they will ask about you and your practice.

It really is that simple.

For more ways to find and approach attorneys, both locally and in far off places, see Lawyer to Lawyer Referrals.

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

Lawyers need an “Easy” button

September 18, 2015 by
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Apple has a new app that makes it easier for Android users to switch to iOS. It allows new users to securely transfer contacts, photos, videos, email accounts, calendars, and so on, and helps them reconstruct their Android app collection on their new iOS device.

That’s smart. Very smart. By making it easier to switch, more people will.

There are probably millions of people who have thought about switching but hesitated because it seems like a major headache to do it. If this app makes it quick and easy to switch, I’m sure many more users will come to the dark side.

I thought, “Lawyers need an app like that.” They need a way to make it easy for clients to sub-out their current attorney and sub-in with them. They should supply them a document that explains their rights to switch lawyers, what to say to their current attorney, their rights to their file, and so on.

Actually, lawyers should make it easy for clients at every stage:

  • A lawyer’s website needs a page or widget that directs first-time visitors to the content that is specific to their interests.
  • Lawyers should have checklists or forms or a kit that makes it easier for new clients to gather up the information they need to bring to their first appointment.
  • The person who answers the phone should have a checklist or script that allows them to zero in on what the caller needs, tell them what they need to know, and transition them to making an appointment.
  • Lawyers should give their clients materials that help them identify prospective clients and refer them.

To grow your practice, make it easier for clients to find you, hire you, work with you, and send you referrals.

This makes it easier to get referrals from other lawyers

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Filed Under: Law office management, Marketing legal services, Referrals

How to create passive income in your law practice

September 15, 2015 by
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I love passive income. You hear me talk about it all the time. Passive income allowed me to retire from the practice of law. Passive income allows me to do what I want with my time because the income comes in whether I work or not.

I enjoy consulting but don’t do much anymore because there’s nothing passive about it. Instead of spending hours each week speaking with lawyers and getting paid once, I’d rather invest my time in creating more passive income.

I built a business years ago that provides me with passive income. It still pays me, month after month, year after year. I also get passive income from my books and courses.

Why earn $500 from consulting when I could spend that time creating a new book or course that pays me $500 per month, every month?

Do it once, get paid over and over again.

Set it and forget it.

Okay, so hurray for me. What about you?

Well, you could create passive income by building a side business like I did (contact me if you want me to show you how), and you could create books and courses or other products that sell over and over again. Or you could invest in income-producing assets.

But maybe none of that is right for you.

Can you use your law practice to build assets that provide you with passive income?

In a way, yes.

Instead of creating intellectual property, you can create relationships.

Find clients who have lots of legal work you can do, instead of one time clients. Find referral sources who can send you new business every month.

You have to spend time nurturing those relationships, and you still have to do the legal work (or supervise the people who do), but once you have a new referral source or client with ongoing work, the work will come to you without you having to do much more.

Not quite true passive income, but close. The next best thing.

Each relationship is an asset that provides cash flow. Each relationship gives you access to everyone in that person’s network.

Robert Kiyosaki said, “The richest people in the world look for and build networks; everyone else looks for work.”

This week, how will you build your network?

How to get more referrals from lawyers

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Filed Under: Increase your income, Leverage, Referral sources, Referrals Tagged With:

Lawyer to Lawyer Referrals–New Referral Marketing Course Launches

August 17, 2015 by
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Do you remember the last time a lawyer sent you a referral? How would you like to have that happen every day?

My new marketing course, Lawyer to Lawyer Referrals: How to Get More Referrals From Lawyers and Other Professionals shows you how to get more referrals from the lawyers you know, and how to get more lawyers to become a new referral source for you.

Of course lawyers are potentially one of your best sources of referrals.

Sure, your clients may be willing to send you referrals. If they don’t know anyone who needs your services right now, however, there’s not much they can do. But lawyers talk to people with legal issues every day of the week. Unless those lawyers handle “everything,” they can’t help everyone.

They can either turn those people away or refer them to other lawyers. Like you.

In fact, many lawyers have the ability to send you a steady stream of referrals, month after month, year after year. If you have a systematic method of showing them how you can help their clients and prospects and business contacts. . .

YOU WILL GET MORE REFERRALS

But it gets better. Not only will you get more referrals from other lawyers, the clients they send you are often better clients than you typically get through other means such as the Internet or advertising.

They’re better because they are pre-screened by the referring lawyer. The lawyer knows if the client is a good match for you and if they can afford to hire you. They can also “sell” the client on you and your abilities, making it less likely that the client will “shop around” and more likely that they will hire you.

The referring lawyer can also provide you with pertinent information about the client and their situation, making it easier for you to relate to those clients and do a better job of showing them how you can help them. As a result, referred clients tend to sign up more quickly and with less effort on your part.

And referred clients are themselves more likely to provide referrals.

Lawyers get referrals from a lot of sources—clients, prospective clients, business contacts, friends, business owners, and other professionals—but one of the best sources of high quality cases or clients are referrals from other lawyers.

In Lawyer to Lawyer Referrals you’ll learn

  • Why some lawyers almost always get more referrals—and how to become one of them
  • The SIMPLEST way to get more referrals from other lawyers (without asking for referrals)
  • A proven system for increasing referrals by up to 1,000%
  • What to say to lawyers who “owe” you referrals
  • How to get referrals from your competition
  • How to use incentives and “referral devices” to get even more referrals
  • How to set up simple joint ventures with other lawyers. Don’t wait for referrals to happen, MAKE them happen
  • What to do about referral fees
  • The ultimate, long term, best way to get other lawyers to send you MOST or ALL of their referrals
  • What to do when you don’t have referrals to send them (i.e., when you can’t reciprocate)
  • How to get referrals as a new lawyer or when starting a new practice
  • A 7-step process for getting all the new referral sources you could ever want

One of the best things about this course is that it allows you to “automate” your referral program with a “referral letter” that does most of the work for you. It’s not as simple as mass mailing letters to other lawyers, but it’s close.

Have you ever had a lawyer tell you they sent you a referral, but you don’t know what he’s talking about because you never heard from the client? Your referral letter will make sure that doesn’t happen.

Lawyer to Lawyer Referrals is the ultimate referral-getting system for any lawyer. It comes with scripts and step-by step instructions and everything else you need to start getting more referrals immediately.

GET MORE REFERRALS IN 15 MINUTES A DAY

You may be wondering if this system will take up a lot of your time.

Nope.

You can get everything set up in a few hours, and then spend as little as 15 minutes a day “working” the system. And you can delegate some or all of the daily activities if you want.

The course comes with a Bonus Quick Start Guide to help you get your referral program set up and working. Then, you can use the system over and over again, to get more referrals from the lawyers you know and to get more lawyers and other professionals on your “team”.

No matter how many referrals you now get in your practice, you are about to learn how to get more. Lawyer to Lawyer Referrals comes in pdf format and is available for immediate download. You can use PayPal or a credit card.

Lawyer to Lawyer Referrals is only $79 $59 for a limited time. Click here to order.

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