Referrals – Page 15

Faster than a speeding search engine

January 22, 2016 by David M. Ward

Information. You need it, you want it, and you have it, thanks to the search engine of your choice. But there’s something that’s often better than a search engine. In many cases, it’s faster, too.

I’m talking about experts. People who have the answer to your query on the tip of their tongue. Their real-world experience allows them to instantly provide you with answers, or at least point you in the right direction.

Unlike a search engine, you don’t get 101 links of possible solutions. You don’t get sent down a rabbit hole of never-ending research.

You ask, they answer. Done.

We all need to maintainÂ a list of names and contact information of people who know things, and who know people. A group of folks we can call upon to quickly get information, Â recommendations, and referrals.

I’m not talking about paid experts, although we need them, too. I’m talking about friends and business associates and networking buddies who know things and know people and will help us out without sending us a bill.

If we haveÂ a computer problem, we have someone whoÂ can walk us through the solution, or recommend someone who can fix it for us. If we want to find a CPA on the other side of the country for a client who is moving there, we can tap into our network and get referrals.

An information and referral network can benefitÂ you and your clients and other contacts.

Your network makes you better at your job and helps you bring in business. It also allows you to add value to your relationships with your clients and professional contacts.

Let people know that you know a lot of people in different fields and different parts of the country and when they need information or referrals, they should contact you first.

If you know someone, great. You’re a hero. If you don’t know someone, you can find someone you don’t know and expand your network. Nothing like contacting a professional and telling them you have a client who might need their services.

Your network will make you more powerful than a locomotive and able to leap tall buildings in a single bound.

Build your professional network with this

Filed Under: Client relations, Networking, Referral sources, Referrals, Relationship marketing

What’s the best way to market your legal services?

December 14, 2015 by David M. Ward

So, you want to know the best way to market your legal services? Read on, my friend, and all will be revealed.

But first, we need to talk about the two kinds of markets to whom you are marketing. The first is your “warm market”. This consists of people you know. Your clients, former clients, friends, business contacts, and other people who, to some degree, already know, like, and trust you.

Generally speaking, your warm market will hire you or recommend you without your having to “sell” them. They’re already sold on you.

They know what you do. They know your reputation. They’ve seen you in action or heard about your successes with clients they’ve referred to you in the past.

How do you market to your warm market? Basically, all you need to do is stay in touch with them. Keep your name and contact information in front of them, reminding them that you’re still in business and can still help them and the people they know.

Make sure they know about “what else” you do (your other services), and send them information about why they (or people they know) would need those services. Occasionally share some success stories about other clients you’ve helped.

The easiest way to stay in touch with your warm market isÂ email. Stay in their minds and their mailboxes until they’re ready to hire you (again) or send you referrals.

Email is also best because it is a personal communication and gives you maximum control over the process. But you can also keep your name in front of your warm market via advertising, speaking and networking at their events, writing for their trade journals and blogs, and other means.

Am I saying that all you have to do with your warm market is stay in touch with them?Â Yes. Pretty much.Â You don’t have to do muchÂ more, although doing more is usually a good idea.

Consider reaching out to your warm market and helping them in their business and personal lives. Build a relationship with them, especially the ones who bring you the most business.

There are other things you can do, but if all you do is stay in touch with your warm market, you will probably get the lion’s share of theirÂ business.

(Note, prospective clients are often not warm market. You’ll want to send them more information, share more stories, make special offers, and do other things to encourage them to hire you or take the next step. Again, the easiest way to do that is email.)

Okay, let’s talk about the cold market. These are people you don’t know.

Most attorneys spend too much time and energyÂ marketing to people in the cold market rather than focusing on their warm market. Remember, people in the cold market have to be found and they have to be sold. This is more difficult and expensive,Â especially since you are competing with all of the other attorneys who are trying to do the same thing.

There’s nothing wrong with advertising, blogging, social media, SEO, and other methods of attracting prospective clients. Especially if you handle divorce, litigation, criminal defense, personal injury, and other practice areas where “something has to happen” before peopleÂ even think about looking for an attorney.

But there’s a better way to attract cold market prospects. Much better, because when they do come to you, they really aren’t cold market at all.Â I’m talking about referrals.

Instead of spending all of your resources finding and wooing cold market prospects, invest in growing your network of lawyers, other professionals and other centers of influence in your niche market or community.

Help them get to know, like, and trust you. Then, when someone they know needs a lawyer who does what you do, you’ll be in line to get their referrals. Those clients won’t have to be sold because someone they respect and trust is vouching for you.

There. Now you know the best way to market your legal services. Class dismissed.

Expand your referral network of lawyers and other professionals with this

Filed Under: Marketing legal services, Referral sources, Referrals, Relationship marketing

You need to talk to your clients

November 18, 2015 by David M. Ward

You frequently hear me tell you to “think clients, not cases,” meaning you must consider the lifetime value of your clients and not just the fee fromÂ a single case or engagement. That $1500 fee for a first-time client could lead to $15,000 or $50,000 in fees over the lifetime of the client.

Even if a client never hires you again, cultivating a relationship with them can bring referrals, traffic to your website, sign-ups for your list, attendees at your seminars, and followers on social media, all of which will lead to new business.

Get it? Got it. Good.

So. . . stay in touch with your clients and former clients (an oxymoron).

How? Letters are great, but can get expensive. Email is great but may be overlooked.Â Send letters and emails but don’t ignore your number one tool for building and sustaining relationships: the phone.

You need to talk to your clients, bro. They need to hear your voice.

Yes, people still answer their phone. If they are away, leave a message. They’ll hear your voice and get an injection of your essence. Virtual you is almostÂ as good as the real you.

Here’s my challenge to you: invest six minutes a day calling people. In six minutes, you could talk to one or two clients, or leave five or six messages.

Why 6 minutes? One hourly billing unit. If you bill $300/hr., you’re investing $50/day or $1100 per month (22 work days) to grow your practice. If that brings you one new client per month, will it be worth it? What if it brings two?

What do you say when you call? Did yo mama teach you nothing? Say hello. Ask them how they’re doing. Tell them you were going through your contact list, saw their name, and thought you’d give them a quick call.

Another? Okay, tell them you just posted a new article or blog post or video on your website and thought they might like to see it. Tell them where to find it and tell them to have a nice day.

Easy stuff. Even for a lawyer.

You want it even easier? You’re lazy? Okay, have someone who works for you make the call. Tell the client, “Mr. Jones [that’s you] asked me to give you a quick call to say hello and see how you’re doing.” It’s not your voice the client hears, but you by proxy will do.

Anyway, I can hear what you’re thinking. Yep. You’re thinking this won’t work. It’s ridiculous. Nobody will hire you again or send you referrals just because you called and said hello.

Fair enough. Try it for a week or two. It may not work for you. On the other hand, what if it does?

Marketing online for attorneysÂ is a real thing

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

Why you should teach prospective clients to do it themselves

November 16, 2015 by David M. Ward

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 themÂ 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 yourÂ 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 doÂ 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?

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

Won’t you be my neighbor?

November 11, 2015 by David M. Ward

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 someoneÂ 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. Â You did comb your hair and wear a clean shirt, right? Great. You’ve opened newÂ doors to endless possibilities.

To get referrals from lawyers and other professionals, use this

Filed Under: Marketing legal services, Networking, Referrals

The shortest distance between you and new clients

October 28, 2015 by David M. Ward

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 orÂ 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

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 David M. Ward

How do you get your clients talking about you?Â 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 peopleÂ feel so good about themselves and their decision to hire you or associate with you that they feel compelledÂ 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 whatÂ 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 allowÂ 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.Â 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

Filed Under: Marketing legal services, Referrals

Stop trying to make everyone like you

October 15, 2015 by David M. Ward

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 styleÂ 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 peopleÂ who get you. Ignore the ones who don’t.

Marketing is easier when you know The Formula

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 David M. Ward

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.

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 David M. Ward

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 PittsburghÂ 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, gettingÂ 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.

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