My dad was a successful lawyer. You might not have known that if you were in his office and saw the piles of papers and files on top of his desk, on the credenza behind him, and sometimes on the floor. 

I don’t know how, but he got his work done. The mess wasn’t a problem for him. In fact, I’m pretty sure he liked things the way they were. 

Some people thrive in chaos. Not me. I need to have one thing in front of me at a time or I find it difficult to concentrate. 

In my office, I usually had other files on my desk, but I kept them in a neat stack and worked from the top down. That doesn’t mean my office was tidy. I had my share of clutter and knickknacks. I still do. But there isn’t any Work-in-Progress in my line of sight. Or on the desktop of my laptop which is nearly empty most of the time.

I work off my “today” list which allows me to stay organized and prioritize my tasks. This gives me a sense of control and peace of mind. If I did it any other way, (e.g., my father’s way), it would ruin that sense of control, distract me, and become a source of stress.

Call me crazy, but that’s how I work best. 

If you thrive in chaos, bless you. If you’re like me and would like to have more order and peace of mind in your work, try putting everything out of the way except the one thing you’re working on. (And clean off that damn desktop!. Okay, I must be crazy. I’m getting bothered thinking about YOUR desktop). 

Anyway, give it a try. If you miss the mess, you can always go back to the way things were. Just don’t tell me about it. 

You’ve got a list of prospective clients, right? Email addresses, newsletter subscribers, social media followers, maybe even a snail mail list.

You want to grow your list, right? Get more people reading your words, seeing your offers, responding to your calls to action.

Because the bigger the list, the bigger your client list will eventually become.

Yes or yes?

But the size of your list is only one factor. You can do more with a small list of the right people, who come to you the right way, than you could with a massive list of the wrong people.

Size matters, but not as much as you think.

Anyway, there are many ways to build your list and while some are better than others, there is one method you should always use.

Because it is not only the easiest way to build your list, it is more likely to bring you more new clients than many other methods.

It’s also free and you can start doing it immediately.

What is this magic elixir of which I speak?

It is to use your existing list to tell people about how you can help them.

Tell people they know about your services, your website, your free report, your offer, your event, your course, your newsletter, or anything else of value that might interest the people they know.

How do you get people to do that?

Ask them: “Please share that link with people who might like/want/need. . .”

Yes, there are other ways to get people to share, but asking them to do it is easy and works well.

If you’re not ready to do that, do this:

Continue to produce good content and trust your list to share it organically–because it is good content and they want people to see it.

“That’s a good idea, David. I know a few lawyers who need to see this. . .”

Yeah, like that.

People will forward your email or share your link, because they know people who would benefit from seeing it.

Anyway, enough said. Go forth and multiply your list.

If you want more ways to do that, check out my email marketing course.

What’s the best way to handle objections? The best way is to eliminate them before they occur.

That means providing enough information to prospective clients, on your website, in your presentations, and in your client meetings, so that all of their issues and concerns are addressed and there is nothing left to object to.

Give them the facts. Share the stories. Provide FAQ’s that deal with all the objections you commonly hear.

If money is a common objection, make sure you build the value of what they get. Show them how not hiring you would be more costly and explain the payment options you have available.

Deal with this issue in advance and you will get far fewer objections.

You won’t completely eliminate objections, however. What then?

It depends.

Sometimes, the best way to handle an objection is to repeat it back to the prospective client.

People often say things they don’t really mean or haven’t thought through. When they hear their own words repeated back to them, it causes them to re-evaluate their position. As they respond, they often answer their own objection.

Your conversation might go like this:

CLIENT: “I want to think about it”
YOU: “You want to think about it?”
CLIENT: “Yeah, I need a day or two”
YOU: “A day or two?”
CLIENT: “Well, maybe not that long. I need to see if this is something I want to do.”
YOU: “Something you want to do?”
CLIENT: “Well, I know I need to do this but it’s kinda expensive [the true objection reveals itself]. . .”
YOU: “Expensive?”
CLIENT: “Yeah, it’s a lot of money to me. But like I say, I know I need to do this and I guess I can put it on a credit card, so let’s get this going. . .”.

Sometimes, the best way to an handle an objection is to respond to it directly.

When the client tells you they want to think about it and you know the real objection is probably something else, like money, you might say, “I understand completely. It is a big decision and it is a lot of money. But you have to consider what might happen if you ignore this problem. As we discussed. . .” and go over the issues and possible outcomes again.

If you’re not sure what the real objection is, ask them. “What exactly do you want to think about? Is it the need? Is it the fee?”

Handling objections this way is sometimes referred to as “Feel, Felt, Found.” It is a way to validate the client’s position before you respond to and overcome their objection.

So, if they object to the fee, you might say, “I understand how you FEEL. A lot of my clients tell me they FELT the same way when they were in your position. But once we got started, they told me they FOUND that it was money well spent and they were glad they got this taken care of.”

Sometimes, the best way to handle objections is to ignore them.

You’ve handed the client a retainer agreement and pen and he tells says he wants to think about it.

Instead of saying, “Sure, just let me know,” and having him walk out, you say, “I can get started this afternoon and have everything done for you by next Tuesday. You will finally be able to move forward with your life. Today is the 15th; make sure you write the date here” and point to the blank for the date.

You’ll find that clients typically have the same four or five objections, not hundreds. Think about the last few prospective clients who didn’t retain you. What did they say? How did you respond? How might you have handled it differently?

Come up with two or three ways to handle each common objection and the next time they arise, you’ll be ready.

Want to make the phone ring? Here’s my step-by-step system.

When I was in law school, I helped the girl I was dating with a couple of legal issues. Don’t get excited, I was under the supervision of a practicing lawyer.

That girl and I got married and have lived happily ever after.

I was thinking, what if I had been licensed at the time I helped her with those matters? Today, in many jurisdictions,  I might be in trouble since dating a client is verboten.

Is that prohibition a good thing? 

In my opinion, it isn’t. I can see how dating a client can lead to trouble but that doesn’t mean it always leads to trouble. So on this issue, I am decidedly libertarian: 

Leave us alone, overseers, and trust that we will usually do the right thing. If we don’t, do what you have to do.

On the other hand, while I don’t like “not dating” as a rule, it makes a lot of sense as a recommendation. A strong one, even, complete with examples of all the things that could go wrong.

Here’s another recommendation: don’t treat your clients like personal friends. 

If you hang out with your clients, if you are overly familiar with them or use coarse language in front of them, or you do a host of other things that might be considered undignified and unprofessional in the eyes of your clients, you run the risk of damaging your reputation. 

Be friendly with clients, but maintain a bit of distance. Let down your hair with them occasionally, but don’t ever let them see you drunk.  

We need our clients to respect us and look up to us, something our friends don’t always do. Especially if we’re sleeping with them.

How to get referrals from other lawyers

Experts say that most of the wealthiest, most successful people in the world don’t care about what other people think of them.

Do you?

When a client tells you what they think you better pay attention. You should listen to your accountant’s advice. When the Bar has an opinion about your behavior, you probably shouldn’t ignore it.

But don’t let family or friends or “tradition” tell you how to lead your life.

What’s that? Sometimes you do? Sometimes you avoid doing things because you’re worried about what friends or colleagues or your jerk of an uncle will think?

No bueno.

The best way to get rid of that fear is to do it anyway.

Mark Twain said, “Do what you fear and the death of fear is certain”.

Pick something you’ve avoided doing and take a chance on yourself. Tounges may wag. You might get some dirty looks. But when the walls don’t come crumbling down, you’ll know unless those people pay your bills, keep you out of trouble, or sleep in your bed, what they think is irrelevant.

Here’s what I think about getting referrals

David Cassidy died recently. His daughter, from whom he had been estranged, reported that his last words were, “So much wasted time”.

As Christmas approaches, this might be a good time to reflect on that sentiment.

Call someone you haven’t spoken to in a long time. Renew ties. Make amends. Hug your kids. Tell them you love them.

It’s also a good time to think about the future. What have you been putting off? What’s on your bucket list? What would you regret not doing if you found that your time was up?

I wish you a happy holiday, a Merry Christmas, and a productive new year.