Are you too good at your job?

October 16, 2015 by
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Your clients want you to solve their problems. The quicker you can do that, the better, right?

Maybe not.

If you’re too good at your work, if you finish too quickly and display an apparent lack of effort, your clients may not appreciate your superior ability and may object to the amount you charge.

Psychologist Dan Ariely tells a story about a locksmith who told him that as he got better at his job, his customers didn’t value what he was able to do.

“He was tipped better when he was an apprentice and it took him longer to pick a lock,” he said. “Now that it takes him only a moment, his customers complain that he is overcharging and they don’t tip him.”

“What this reveals is that consumers don’t value goods and services solely by their utility, benefit from the service, but also a sense of fairness relating to how much effort was exerted,” Ariely explains.

So what should you do if you’re too good at your job?

Perform some magic. A little slight of hand.

Don’t let clients know that you did the work without breaking a sweat. If you can prepare a document in 30 minutes, because you have the forms and because you’ve done it 100 times before, consider holding onto it for a few days before sending it to the client. Let them think that you worked and re-worked the document to get it just right.

Caveat number one: Don’t lie. It’s okay if they think you took three days to do it, but don’t tell them you did. Also, if you bill by the hour, obviously you shouldn’t bill for more time than you actually took. (Yet another argument in favor of jettisoning the billable hour.)

Caveat number two: Don’t overdo it. Many clients do see a benefit to your ability to get the work done quickly. In fact, quick turnaround might be a marketing point of differentiation for you. So don’t drag things out.

The best course of action is to manage your clients’ expectations. Under-promise so you can over-deliver. If you can do it in 30 minutes, promise to deliver it in a week. Then, deliver it in three or four days.

Marketing legal services is easier when you have a plan

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Filed Under: Attorneys fees, Fees and Billing, Image, Law office management, Marketing legal services, Salesmanship

Everyone is an entrepreneur. Including you.

October 8, 2015 by
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It doesn’t matter whether you’re employed or self-employed, you are an entrepreneur.

Deal with it.

You are an entrepreneur because every day, you take risks with your career. You may get fired today. Your partnership may break up. Your biggest client may leave you.

You are in sales, too. You sell your services (and yourself) to an employer or to individual clients. Every day, you sell or re-sell yourself on getting and staying hired.

But every day you also have the opportunity for gain. You may get a raise. You may get a big case. You may start to embrace marketing and double your income.

Risk and reward. The yin and yang of the entrepreneur. The only question is, how much risk are you willing to take?

You do know that a job doesn’t mean safety or security? In fact, it means just the opposite. You don’t control your fate. Others do. Just ask people who lost their job two years ago and are still unemployed.

Starting your own practice or business isn’t risk free, of course, but if you fail, you will at least have a skill set that allows you to start over.

In fact, the very act of failing makes you more likely to succeed the next time. The greatest risks are often borne by those who have never failed.

Venture capitalist Ben Narasin says that he sometimes funds startups run by people who have never failed at anything. He says,

Sometimes these prove to be the founders most likely to fail. They’re likely to fail exactly because they are afraid of doing so. They’re so used to winning, so used to the orderly, structured, achievable goals… conquerable by brain power and effort alone, that they are ill-prepared for the entirely messy reality of entrepreneurship.

Being an entrepreneur is messy. You might fail. But that’s not necessarily a bad thing.

Building a law practice is easier when you know The Formula

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Filed Under: Career satisfaction, Salesmanship, success

Will you REALLY fight for me?

September 9, 2015 by
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A personal injury lawyer used to (still does?) run TV ads which ended with him pointing at the viewer and saying, “I’ll fight for you!”

But will he?

It depends.

Is it a good case? Are there enough damages? Does the other party have insurance?

If he were being honest, when asked if he would fight for the client, he would say, “We’ll see”.

“We’ll see” is a lawyer-like answer. But it won’t get the client to call.

Clients want more commitment. They do want you to fight for them. They don’t necessarily expect that you will win every time, or bring in a massive settlement, but they expect you to try.

“We’ll see” doesn’t cut it, so although you might be thinking it, don’t say that to a client.

Most lawyers recognize that their clients expect (and their oath demands) that they provide “best efforts” and they will tell the client something along the lines of, “I’ll do my best”.

That’s much better, but what if their best isn’t good enough? What if they don’t have enough experience? What if the case needs resources they don’t have? What if. . .

Your clients don’t want to hear that you’ll do your best, they want to hear that you’ll do “whatever it takes”. And that’s the message you should convey in your marketing.

This is also true for non-litigation matters. Clients want to know that you’ll do whatever it takes to help them achieve a good outcome. If you’re negotiating a contact, or drafting documents for them, they want to hear that you’ll do whatever it takes to protect them, deliver value, and make them happy.

“I’ll do my best” isn’t good enough. Tell them you’ll do “whatever it takes”.

If you want to earn more, make sure you have The Attorney Marketing Formula

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Filed Under: Advertising, Client relations, Closing the sale, Communication, Marketing legal services, Salesmanship, Writing

Email marketing done wrong

August 10, 2015 by
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I got an email this morning, from a guy in Russia. The subject, “Let’s do business”. The message:

I’m running a digital marketing agency focusing on local businesses that need help getting leads using PPC and Facebook ads.

One of the niches we’re definitely interested in are attorneys and you seem like an expert on this topic.

I’m not sure what kind of marketing services you provide to your clients but it would be good to have a quick talk and and see if we can bring more value to your customers by working together on some projects.

I won’t want to bore you with excessive details. . . get back to me if you’re interested in general. . .

You don’t know what kind of services I offer? Why not? You want to work with me on some projects? Yeah, I think I’ll pass. But I’ll use your email as an example of email marketing done wrong, thank you.

I don’t want to talk to this guy. I don’t know him and he obviously doesn’t know me. But even if he said something brilliant and I wanted to learn more, it’s waay too soon to talk.

So no thanks. Delete. Bye.

What could he have done differently?

For starters, how about personalizing the email? Show me you’ve actually read something I wrote or at least know what kinds of services I offer.

Then. . . let’s see. . .

How about mentioning the name of someone I know who referred you to me? That would get my attention.

Or how about mentioning the name of someone in my field you’re working with whose name would impress me and show me you’ve got some credentials?

How about friending me on social media, first? Like and share my posts, engage me, talk to me about something we have in common. When you email me, then, you can mention that we’re connected and remind me that we already have a “relationship” before you take the next step.

How about offering me something I might be interested in? A free report, a tip sheet, a checklist, a video, for example, that shows me how to make more money, save time, get more leads, or something else that interests me, related to what you do?

How about offering me a free trial of your product or service, so I can see if it’s something I want to use or recommend to my clients?

How about at least giving me your website, so I can learn something about you and how you can help me?

Get my attention, first. Show me you have something beneficial to offer to me or my clients. Earn my trust, before asking me to talk.

Attorneys can use cold emails in their marketing. But don’t just blast them out and hope for the best. Don’t “spray and pray”. Learn something about the prospective client or referral source, meet them where they are, take them by the hand and walk them towards where you want them to go.

They’ll come, but at their pace, not yours.

Marketing online? Here’s what you need

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Filed Under: Closing the sale, Email, List building, Marketing legal services, Salesmanship, Social media

Using email in your marketing

June 19, 2015 by
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I spoke with an insurance broker yesterday who is using email in his marketing. He was about to send an email to prospects he had spoken to who had asked him to “send some information”. He wanted my feedback about the email he had composed.

He started reading to me but I stopped him after the first sentence because it sounded like he was selling something, which of course he was.

He had cold called local businesses, seeking to make appointments to show his wares. I told him that when someone tells you to send some information, it usually means they don’t want to see what you have to offer, they want to get rid of you and this, they believe, is a polite way to do that. I suggested he consider a policy of not sending information (in this context).

A better alternative is to “drop by” the business and introduce yourself to the owner. It turns out that this is his usual method of operation.

And then I put on my metaphor hat and described the posture anyone in sales should adopt, and that includes lawyers. We sell too, you know.

I said, “You don’t want to be seen as the “sales person” who comes into the store or office through the front door and sits in the waiting room waiting for an audience with the decision maker. You want to position yourself as a colleague, a fellow business owner, who comes in the back door and doesn’t have to wait because he and the owner are on a first name basis.”

Anyway, when he read his email to me, I stopped him because it was just like every other sales letter business people receive every day and it’s not going to be read or do anything to help him get an appointment.

I told him that if you look and sound like a sales person, your email will get put in the “B” pile, with all the bills and spam and advertising messages, to be read later, or more probably, not at all. You want to be in the “A” pile, which is comprised of email from people you know. The “A” pile gets read.

“If you want to send information via email,” I said, “I would write one or two lines and say something like, ‘here’s the info I promised, Joe,” and provide a link to it on your website”. In other words, keep it short and sweet, like you do when you send information to a friend or business acquaintance.”

That will stand out more than anything you could say in a sales letter.

In order to close more business, you have to get more people looking at what you have to offer. In order to do that, you have to stand out from the crowd. The best way to do that is to go in the back door.

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Filed Under: Copywriting, Email, Salesmanship

Do you get nervous when quoting fees?

May 29, 2015 by
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You’ve met with the prospective client, diagnosed their situation, and told them what you can do to help. You’ve got your retainer agreement ready and it’s time to quote a fee.

How do you feel at that very moment?

If you’re like many attorneys, you’re nervous. You’re afraid they will say no or try to haggle. They’ll balk at signing up and you won’t know what to do next.

Maybe they sign up, maybe they don’t, but the next time you quote a fee, you’ll remember that feeling and your apprehension will grow.

It doesn’t get better over time, it gets worse. It gets worse because deep inside you may believe that your fees really are too high and you telegraph that to the client.

What’s the solution?

Reduce your fees. Lower them until that uneasy feeling goes away and you feel that you are offering them a great deal.

Hey, if YOU believe your fees are too high, they’re too high.

Think about it. If you truly believe that what you are proposing to do for the client is worth more than what you’re asking them to pay, if you truly believe that you deliver immense value and the client would foolish to turn you down, you would have no trouble looking the client in the eye and telling them that. No nerves, no doubts, no hesitation.

Okay, okay, you want to know if there is another solution.

Sure. Instead of lowering your fees, increase the value of your services.

Look at what other lawyers do and do more. Provide better service, bonuses, guarantees, payments options, and other tangible and intangible deliverables that make the totality of what you do worth more to the client.

When quoting fees, you’ll be able to tell the client the advantages of hiring you. You’re worth more so you can charge more.

What’s that? You believe your fees are fair? You’re nervous because you think the client won’t understand.

Ah, but they will understand. You just have to do a better job of selling your services.

Don’t just show them the “features” of what they get–the documents, the process, the work product–show them the “benefits”. Show them how they will be better off as a result of hiring you. Show them how they will save money, increase their profits, protect their business or family, minimize risk, or achieve peace of mind.

Features are what you do. Benefits are what they get as a result of your doing it.

Don’t hold back. Tell them what could happen if they don’t fix the problem. Give them both barrels, right between the eyes.

Tell stories about other people who tried to fix that problem themselves, hired the wrong attorney, or waited too long, and suffered the consequences. And then tell them success stories of clients you’ve helped get the benefits you offer.

Give them a vivid picture of how things could be if they hire you, and how they might be if they don’t.

Sales is about the transference of belief. If you believe in the value of what you do, and you transfer that belief to your prospective clients, you’ll sign up more of them and never get nervous quoting fees.

For more about using features and benefits to sell your services, get The Formula

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Filed Under: Attorneys fees, Closing the sale, Dealing with stress, Salesmanship Tagged With: ,

If John Wooden managed your law practice

January 22, 2015 by
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Basketball coaching legend John Wooden was known as a perfectionist. He believed that planning and preparation and attention to detail were the keys to winning. He expected the best from his teams and usually got it.

In his long career, Wooden proved that his methods worked. He left a legacy unmatched in the field of sports and we can learn a lot by studying his methods and his life.

But how much of what he teaches can we use to build a law practice? Can we demand as much from ourselves and our staff as Wooden demanded from his teams?

Let’s think about that in the context of the first client interview.

I suspect that Wooden would have us regularly drill on the questions we ask and the things we say, continually improving how we sound, our body language, and our timing. He would have us study the client intake form to the point where we could recite it in our sleep. He would have us practice everything several times a day.

Every minute would be scripted, every detail drilled to perfection. He would evaluate us not just on whether or not the client signed up but on how many referrals we got before they left the office.

Is that the standard we should seek?

Not in my book.

I’m not saying we can’t learn by paying attention to detail. We can, and we can use what we learn to sign up more clients and get more referrals. But I don’t believe we need to work that hard to get every detail right.

According to the 80/20 rule or The Pareto Principle, in anything we do, only a few things make a difference; most things don’t. If we get the few things right, we don’t need to obsess over everything else.

Let’s say that body language is one of the few things that make a big difference. (I believe it is). If we make eye contact, smile appropriately, and otherwise show the client that we are listening to them and sincerely care about helping them, we’re more than half-way home.

But this doesn’t mean we need to drill on every word we say, where we place our hands, or how we time our gestures. If you truly care about the people in your office, none of that is necessary. If you don’t, none of that will help.

With most things we do, good enough is good enough. Get the important things right, the 20% that delivers 80% of your results, and you won’t need to sweat the small stuff.

Wooden would probably disagree . He said, “If you don’t have time to do it right, when will you have time to do it over?”

Yes, but what if you don’t need to do it at all?

Want to sign up more clients? Get this

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Filed Under: Client relations, Law office management, Marketing legal services, Salesmanship Tagged With: , ,

How much selling should a lawyer do?

January 14, 2015 by
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How much selling should you do in your letters and emails and blog posts?

More than you think.

The people on your list, your readers and subscribers, your friends and followers, need your help. If they’re not getting that help, if they don’t hire you, they will continue to have those problems and needs.

Your job isn’t to wait until someone taps you on the shoulder and asks you to get to work. It is to reach out to them and persuade them to hire you, or at least take the next step in that direction. If you don’t do that, you’re doing them a disservice.

Educate your prospects about the law and procedure and their options, but don’t merely deliver information. Sell them on why they need to hire you to get the solutions and benefits they want.

Pound your drum with warnings about what could happen if they don’t hire you, or if they wait too long. Share horror stories about people with the same issues who failed to act. Make your prospects feel what it was like for those people, and imagine what it will be like if they follow the same course.

Do everything in your power to convince people to hire you. Pull out the big guns. Don’t leave them to suffer their problems and pain when you can help them get relief.

Don’t be all thunder and brimstone, however. They’ll tune out. Mix things up. Share success stories. Back off the main message and talk about something else. But never stop reminding people about their problems and how you can help them.

And don’t leave it up to them to figure out what to do next. Tell them to hire you, or tell them to call with questions, schedule a consultation, fill out a form, or read more about the issue.

How much selling should you do? More than you think.

If you want to get more clients and increase your income, get this.

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Filed Under: Blogging, Communication, Copywriting, Email, Marketing legal services, Newsletters, Salesmanship

Selling legal services without breaking a sweat

January 6, 2015 by
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I once had a secretary who asked me for a raise. I thought I paid her well but I told her that I would consider paying her more if she would first show me that she was worth more. I knew she capable of a lot more and was only doing enough to keep her job.

She countered. She said that if I wanted her to do more, I had to pay her more. First.

She used to work for the government, so I know why she didn’t get it. In the real world, if you want to earn more, show your employer that you are worth more. If you do, you may not even have to ask for a raise.

The same goes for lawyers in private practice. Show your clients and target market that you are worth more to them, and then you can easily raise your rates.

I talked about this yesterday. I said that the foundation of marketing and building a successful law practice is delivering value to your clients and target market. The more value you give, the more clients, repeat business, referrals, and other benefits you get, and that includes being able to charge higher fees.

Give more value, FIRST.

One of the benefits of doing this is that it practically eliminates the need to do any selling. The value you deliver does the selling for you.

Something as simple as posting high quality information on your website tells your market what they need to know about you and how you can help them. Through this information, and the client stories you tell to illustrate your points, people can see that you have knowledge, experience, and a work ethic that they want in an attorney.

Prospects get to know and trust you through your content. They sell themselves on hiring you. Referral sources see how much you know and how much you do for your clients and they know that their referrals will be in good hands.

How else can you deliver value to your market?

By providing referrals, making introductions, and promoting their business or practice.

By sharing their content with your lists and contacts.

By helping their causes through donations and volunteering your time.

When you deliver enough value to your market, you don’t need to sell your services. You need do little more than mention them.

They already know and trust you. They already know you’re good at what you do. If they need your help, or know someone who does, they’re not going to go anywhere else.

Selling legal services is easier when you know the formula

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Filed Under: Increase your income, Marketing legal services, Relationship marketing, Salesmanship Tagged With: ,

Why you should stop selling your legal services

December 9, 2014 by
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If you’re selling your legal services, you’ve got to stop. Nobody wants to buy them. Nobody wants your work product.

What they want are the benefits your services provide. Money, freedom, safety, peace of mind. That’s what clients want and pay for.

So when you talk to prospective clients about your services, they really don’t care that much. Those are just details. Your services are merely the tools you use to create and deliver benefits.

I’m not saying that your services, skills, and experience are unimportant. Not at all. But to the client, nothing is more important than what you can do to improve their life.

We sell hope. We sell the promise of a better future.

When a client is in trouble, when they are scared or confused, when they want something but don’t know how they can possibly get it, you need to give them hope.

It’s the most precious thing you sell.

How to sell the benefits your services provide: The Attorney Marketing Formula

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Filed Under: Marketing legal services, Salesmanship Tagged With: ,
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