The Attorney Marketing Center--Earn More. Work Less

It’s easy and well-worth doing

July 25, 2023 by David M. Ward

We’re talking about “edification”—the art of making other people look good by saying nice things about them.

When you introduce someone to a client or friend, or introduce a speaker to an audience, and edify them, the other person or the audience sees them as more valuable, worth listening to, knowing, or hiring.

And when you edify someone, your kind words and the graciousness with which you deliver them also make you look good.

It doesn’t have to be exhaustive. You can simply mention a few of the speaker’s or other person’s accomplishments. Tell them about their book, their business or practice. Tell them about an award they received or a notable victory they obtained, or quote what others have said about them, e.g., testimonials or reviews.

What do they do that helps people? What is their mission? What is something about them you admire?

You don’t have to exaggerate. Just say something laudatory and true.

If you don’t know them, you need to learn something about them you can use when you introduce them. Read their bio or their “about” page, or simply ask them what they would like you to mention when you introduce them.

Of course, the best edification occurs when you’re able to relate your personal experience with that person, or what your clients, business contacts, or friends have told you about their experience with them. If you refer a client to another lawyer, for example, tell them what that lawyer has done for you or for your other clients.

In short, tell other people why they should listen to the person, watch their training or presentation, sign up for their newsletter, buy their products, or hire them.

One more thing.

You should also equip your clients and contacts to edify you.

Give them information they can use when they introduce you or refer people to you. Even better, give them the kind of experience as their lawyer or friend that makes them want to tell everyone about you.

Filed Under: Communication, Networking, Public Speaking, Referrals

Are you giving clients too many options?

July 24, 2023 by David M. Ward

Have you ever heard the expression, “A confused mind says ‘no’?” Research confirms it—when we have too many choices, we often choose nothing.

A confused mind says ‘no’ because it is confused.

When you give people too many options, you make their decision more difficult. In your marketing, therefore, rule number one should be to make things simple for clients and prospects, and that usually means giving them fewer options.

Do you have an ad that describes all of your services? Do you feature all of your practice areas in your content? Clients might be impressed by your capabilities, but they’re usually looking for the solution to one problem. Too many options or offers, especially when most of them are not currently relevant, make decisions more challenging, which is why people tend to say no.

This is also true with content creation. If you give people too many articles or blog posts to read, videos to watch, or events to attend, it is more likely they will choose “none”.

This doesn’t mean you should eliminate other options. It means featuring or leading with the best, the most relevant, the most likely to become a gateway to your other content or services.

Post everything on your website, but make the visitor dig for it if they want it. Or send it to them later in your email sequence.

But just as offering too many options can lead to confusion and fewer “sales,” offering only one option can do the same. If the prospective client sees they can hire you for service X and service X doesn’t tick all the boxes for them, they have no other choice but to say “no”.

Which is why it might be better to give them two options instead of “hire me or don’t”.

When I created my first marketing course, I thought about offering several packages but eventually settled for just two: Basic and Deluxe. Instead of “yes” or “no,” the choice became this package or that one and it resulted in more sales.

If you want more people to read your content, sign up for your list, or choose you as their lawyer, don’t give them too many options, or too few.

Filed Under: Advertising, Content creation, Copywriting, Increase your income, Marketing legal services

The power of one

July 21, 2023 by David M. Ward

Every one of your clients can send you at least one referral, or introduce you to someone who can. Some clients will send you a lot of referrals. Some won’t send you any. But if you get an average of just one referral from every client during their “leftime” as your client, you’ll never run out of new clients.

Each client will “replace” themself.

It’s the power of one.

And it should be one of your goals.

Sounds simple, doesn’t it? Easy math. But how do you make this happen?

Start by reminding yourself that every client knows people who have, or one day will have, a legal situation you can help them with. Everyone knows people they can refer.

They also know other influential people they can introduce to you and those people have clients or customers or personal contacts they can refer.

Everyone knows one or more insurance agents or brokers, CPAs, real estate brokers, or other lawyers. They know business owners and executives, pastors, and other centers of influence in their industry or local market.

And each of these folks can refer clients to you even if your original client can’t.

Your clients can also refer people with legal situations you don’t handle. You do commercial bankruptcy, for example, and they know someone with a tax problem or who needs a divorce. If they refer that person to you, you can refer this would-be client to another lawyer you know, which can lead to that other lawyer reciprocating and sending you business they don’t handle.

Referrals can come from anywhere. And people can always lead you to other people.

Referral marketing isn’t just about the people you know, it’s about who they know.

When you have a new client or prospect or business contact, find out who they know. You should have a form for that. With prompts to ask about their professional contacts, colleagues, and others in their industry or market.

If every client or prospect gives you the name of their insurance broker or real estate agent, for example, you can contact them and (with permission), tell them you have a mutual client. That’s the first step towards getting referrals from them, and being introduced to their circle of contacts..

Everyone you know can send you (at least) one referral, or lead you to someone who can.

It’s the power of one.

How to get more referrals from your clients

Filed Under: Referrals, Relationship marketing

You only need 3 lists

July 20, 2023 by David M. Ward

We like our lists, our task apps, and our systems. We like planning and managing our days. But many of us overcomplicate things, often spending more time managing our lists than doing the tasks on those lists. And being stressed as we perpetually look for the perfect system.

I was reminded of that recently when I saw a post on social crediting Marc Andreessen’s way of managing his very busy days. Andreessen puts his tasks into just 3 categories:

NOW
NEXT
LATER

And I think he puts them on a single page.

We can quibble about the meaning of “now”. For some of us, that means “immediately,” as soon as we finish making the list. For others, it might mean “today”. Others might include tasks intended to be done over the next few days.

For me, “now” means “today”. I like to look at the list, see what’s on tap for the day, and not have to think about anything else until it’s time to look at tomorrow. I also put those tasks in the order I intend to do them.

“Next” surely means tasks to do after you complete the tasks on your first list. That might mean later today, later in the week, or as soon as you can. It might include scheduled tasks, projects to review, single tasks, or routines that need to be done, well, routinely.

“Now” and “Next” are pretty clear. It’s “Later” that can cause problems, especially if it becomes a dumping ground for everything you want to do after you do the tasks on the first two lists.

An endless “Later” list isn’t helpful. The best solution is to impose a cutoff. “Later” might mean “next week” or “later this month” for example.

What do you do with everything else? Things you want to do next month, next quarter, next year, or “someday”?

Schedule them.

Put these in your app or on your calendar to either “do” or “review” on a future day. That’s what I do, and it keeps me (reasonably) sane.

The point of having just 3 lists is to keep things simple, because if it’s simple, you’ll do it.

Each day, look at your “now” list or today’s list and get to work. When you finish the tasks on that list, you can start on “next” (if you have the time and energy), or put those tasks on your list for tomorrow and go have some fun.

What do you do to keep your task lists manageable?

Filed Under: Productivity, Time Management

How clients happen

July 19, 2023 by David M. Ward

When a new clients signs up, a sale has taken place. There’s no other word for it. Information was delivered, questions were answered, and a decision was made.

But while a sale occurred, it doesn’t mean the attorney “sold” them.

In fact, it was the client who sold themselves. And that began before they ever spoke to the attorney.

Your website and marketing materials do most of your selling for you. They show prospective clients why they need legal help and why they should choose you. When you speak with them, you guide them from the general to the specifics of their case or situation, and the client then sells themself on getting started (or not).

Sometimes, the client needs a little nudge. There are simple techniques to help you do that and they are worth learning. One example is the “alternative close,” where you ask the client if they’re considering one of your services or the other, or to get started this week or next.

Two choices, either of which are good for them and good for you.

Think of this as a focusing technique because it gets the prospect to focus on what they want to do.

But it is their decision. You’re just there to help them make it.

Filed Under: Closing the sale

It’s an investment, not an expense

July 18, 2023 by David M. Ward

Yesterday, I talked about following up with prospects and clients before, during, and after the case or engagement. Most lawyers get it. But many lawyers don’t do it because it takes a lot of time.

I say it’s worth the time because it helps you get new business, keep clients from leaving, and generate positive reviews that can multiply that effect.

But (surprise) lawyers are busy. Even if they want to do it, it’s too easy to let it slide.

I mentioned having an assistant do it. Have them make the calls, send the emails, and otherwise manage follow up and other marketing activities for you. Yes, there is a cost, just as there is a cost to you if you handle this function yourself. If you take an employee away from their other work, that work might fall through cracks and cause problems.

I say it’s worth the risk because the benefits outweigh that cost. Especially if you have a reasonable volume of cases or clients.

Think about it. Do the math. If you hire someone part time and pay them $4000 per month, and they’re able to save one case or client per month or get one client to return, your costs would be covered, wouldn’t they? And if that assistant is able to stimulate clients to provide more reviews and more referrals, and this generates two additional cases (or saves) per month, you would double your investment.

Over time, these numbers would compound.

You know I’m a big proponent of making referrals a primary marketing method for most attorneys. If you’ve read me for a while, you also know that you can stimulate referrals without explicitly talking to clients about the subject. But, let’s face it, talking to clients about referrals is a powerful way to get more of them. A lot more.

If that’s not something you want to do, have your marketing assistant do it for you.

I built my practice primarily with referral marketing. A key to making that happen was delegating as much as possible to assistants.

It was an investment, not an expense. And it paid off in spades.

How to talk to clients about referrals

Filed Under: Client loyalty, Client relations, Closing the sale, Increase your income, Law office management, Referrals

Unforced errors

July 17, 2023 by David M. Ward

We needed some work done on our house and got a couple of bids. Company number one made a compelling presentation and a reasonable bid (compared to what we expected based on our initial research). Company number two had an even better presentation, and we went with them even though they had a significantly higher bid.

NB: It’s not just about price or fees; you can get more customers or clients by doing a better presentation.

One thing that made the difference is the way the salesperson at company number two followed up with us after his presentation. He called and texted and emailed and showed us he was at the top of his game.

They did the work, and we’re happy with it. The building inspector who came out afterwards told us (without prompting) that the company had done excellent work.

So, we’re happy. But puzzled. We haven’t heard from the salesperson or anyone else at the company since we authorized the job.

Leaves you feeling like a commodity instead of a client. Slam, bam, thank you sucker.

Anyway, not following up with us was a mistake. And not just because there’s a cooling-off period and we could have canceled the job if we got cold feet. Following up after the sale gives the company the opportunity to keep the customer happy and take a step towards creating a “lifetime” customer or client instead of just another entry in the ledger.

We didn’t hear from them after the work was done, either. No calls to see if we’re satisfied or had questions.

And that’s another mistake.

To this day, weeks later, they don’t know if we’re happy. Or have other work we want to talk to them about. Or have a neighbor who might like to talk to them.

Nothing. Not even a note thanking us for our business.

Or a request to provide a review or referrals.

If they had asked for a review, we might have mentioned that the building inspector volunteered that they did a great job. Thorough and tidy. Very reassuring to a prospective customer who sees that review.

But now, because the company didn’t ask, no review.

If this is how they operate on every sale, they’re missing out on a lot of additional business. A cautionary tale for anyone in a service business or profession.

It’s so simple. Call the client after the work is done (or have an assistant do it), see if they have additional questions or concerns, send them some brochures or a referral card they can pass out to people they know, and if they’re happy, ask them to leave a review.

The only thing worse than not doing some simple after-sale follow-up is what company number one did after they emailed us their bid.

They did nothing.

They didn’t follow up to see if we want to go ahead with them, had any questions, or needed help with financing. They didn’t ask if we went with another company and, if so, why.

And now, weeks later, they haven’t followed-up with us to ask if we’re still interested (and hadn’t hired anyone). Or if we went with another company, had problems, and needed to talk to them about fixing it.

Follow-up during the presentation process, after the deal is signed, and after the work is done. Or after the prospect doesn’t sign up.

Never stop following-up. Because tthe fortune is in the follow-up.

Filed Under: Closing the sale, Marketing legal services, Referrals Tagged With: Follow-up, reviews

Build your email list offline

July 14, 2023 by David M. Ward

It’s probably not the best way to get subscribers, but there are a couple of advantages. For one, it’s free. You don’t have to pay for leads or traffic or anything else. Just the paper on which the information about your newsletter (or whatever list you want to build), plus postage if you decide to mail them.

Another advantage is you’re not competing with everyone else who is promoting or advertising their offer online. Thus, your message and offer will be more likely to stand out.

Finally, depending on how and where your offer appears, it will inherit the implied endorsement of the person or place where prospects see it.

For example, when a local business or professional puts your flyer, brochure, or card in their waiting room, it suggests to their customers or clients who see it that they know you and think you’re okay, resulting in more sign-ups than would occur without that implied endorsement.

You can distribute your brochure, report, or flyer in the back of the room where you are speaking or networking, or on the table at trade shows and events in your target market.

To start, put your flyers or brochure or flyer in your own waiting room. You have a captive audience who already know, like, and trust you (or soon will) and are more likely to sign up for your list with no additional prompting from you. You can also give extras to new clients, along with your business cards or regular brochures, and mail them to existing and former clients and business contacts.

One key to making this work is to offer a bonus to anyone who signs up for your newsletter or event. A free report, your ebook, a free consultation, or other bonus often results in a higher rate of response, just as it does online.

Offline isn’t likely to result in a flood of sign-ups compared to what you might see online, because it’s not as easy to scale. But if your flyer or brochure is well written and distributed through the right people, it certainly might.

It also might stimulate immediate inquires about your services from people who see your flyer and want to talk to you about their legal issue. Or referrals from folks who see your offer and pass it along to friends.

How to get more referrals without asking for referrals

Filed Under: List building, Marketing legal services

How to handle difficult clients

July 13, 2023 by David M. Ward

You have ‘em. Clients who nit-pick, micromanage, and demand things that aren’t part of the deal. They’re perfectionists, malcontents, or just a perpetual pain in the backside. What can you do?

Get rid of them.

Well, that’s one option. But there are other things you can try before you show anyone the door. You probably already know everything on this list but, if you’re like me, just because you know something doesn’t mean you’re doing it and a reminder from time to time could be just what you (we) need.

Put it all in writing. The nature and scope of the work, dates, goals, lists of steps, what they need to send you, and your authority with respect to making decisions, should be discussed, clarified, put in writing, and initialed. Because the best way to avoid problems later on is to spell out everything from the start.
Document everything. Every time you speak with the client, write down what was said by each of you (even if you’re not billing for that conversation). You don’t always have to follow-up with a written memo, but it can’t hurt.
Regular updates. You can avoid many issues by giving clients regular, detailed updates about what you’re doing, what happened, and what’s next. Keeping clients informed (and inviting their feedback) is one of the simplest and most effective ways to keep clients happy. And if they’re not happy, bring the issue to a head sooner (when you can fix it) rather than later (when it might be too late).
Listen. Sometimes, clients are having a bad day and take it out on you. Before you respond to a complaint or demand, repeat it back to them. When they hear what they’re saying, they might see the unreasonableness of their concerns and back off. And, if not, they’ll tell you more you can use to fix the problem.
Validate. If they have a legitimate concern, before you respond, tell them you appreciate them for calling this to your attention (because you do; it helps you do a better job for them and your other clients). Also, let them know you take the issue seriously and will do what you can to make improvements.
Give them the benefit of the doubt. Take the blame for small things as a tradeoff for keeping the client happy. If it’s a billing dispute, eat the difference. If it happens again, have a talk with them, make sure both of you are on the same page, and be prepared to modify your retainer agreement and/or your office procedures.
Build a good relationship. The best way to avert issues and amicably resolve them if they occur is to do everything you can to get your clients to like and trust you. When they do, they’ll give you the benefit of the doubt and work with you to fix anything that seems broken.

If you consistently do everything on this list, you should see fewer misunderstandings and complaints. But remember, it’s the complaints you don’t hear that cause clients to leave, or for things to get so bad you have to ask them to leave, so always encourage your clients to tell you what’s on their mind.

Filed Under: Client relations

A simple marketing plan

July 12, 2023 by David M. Ward

It’s got to be simple or you won’t do it, right? At least not consistently. You can always do more if you want to, but if you’re pressed for time or don’t want to do anything else, this plan can deliver meaningful results.

And I promise, you can do this. No matter how busy you are.

There are only 3 things you need to do:

ONE: CONTACT 2 PEOPLE A DAY

Again, you can do more but it’s better to contact 2 people a day, every day, than what you can, when you can, because when you do it daily, it becomes a habit, you get better at it, and your results compound.

You can contact them by phone, text, mail, email, or a combination thereof. Or, if you roll that way, you can talk to them in person.

Who do you contact? Your choice:

Existing clients
Former clients
Prospective clients
Business or professional contacts

In short, anyone who has or could hire you, provide referrals, or send traffic to your website.

What do you say to them? That depends on who they are and how you know them (and how well). Some examples to ponder:

Welcome aboard (new clients, new subscribers, new seminar attendees)
Nice meeting you
How can I help you? (What do they need or want, besides legal services?)
Thank you (for hiring me, for your referral, for your review, etc.)
Just following up (with prospects, clients, and others you’ve talked to or communicated with, after a meeting, conversation, or consultation)
Here’s something I thought you might want to know (article, website, news story, a report, gossip)
Just checking in (see how they’re doing, say hello, find out about their family, client, business, etc.)

Okay, so that’s part one. Easy to do, but extremely effective. Try it for 30 days and you might be pleasantly surprised.

TWO: A WEEKLY EMAIL

Send an email to everyone you know and keep them informed about the law, their market or industry, your new blog post or article, someone else’s blog post or article, or anything else you think will benefit or interest them.

You don’t have to call it a newsletter. It doesn’t have to be long. It doesn’t have to be brilliant. You don’t have to sell anything or promote anything. But provide a link to a page where they can learn more about you and your services or event.

Tell them something, remind them to do something, warn them about something, share something, or tell them what you’re doing they might want to know.

If weekly is too much, send it monthly. But send them something as often as you can.

Because no matter what you send, every time you show up in their inbox, you remind them that you’re still around and can help them and the people they know.

THREE: 10 PAGES/30 MINUTES A DAY

You are your business, and your business is you. To become more successful, work on yourself as much or more than you work on your business.

Read 10 pages of a good book. Listen to audiobooks or podcasts for 30 minutes. Watch videos, take classes, or talk to people who can teach you something you need to know.

You can read about marketing, business, writing, speaking, negotiating, productivity, and the tools and resources for making what you do easier or better. You can also read about leadership, managing or working with people, history, creativity, and anything that inspires you.

Professional development is important; personal development arguably more so.

Bonus tip: Take some of what you learn and put it in your weekly email.

Okay, that’s it. A simple plan. Commit to doing these 3 things consistently. It may be (nearly) all the marketing you need to do.

For a more comprehensive marketing plan, get this

Filed Under: Marketing legal services, Marketing Plan