Clients, not cases

June 13, 2024 by
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There’s a singer I like and I watch a lot of reaction videos of her. On one video, a reactor who is his himself a singer, instantly fell in love with her and not just because of her voice and performance. 

Among other traits, her humility impressed him. Even though she did her own version of a classic song, she showed respect for the original and the person who sang it.

“It’s not about her,” he said. “It’s about the song.” 

Which made me think about the practice of law. Most lawyers see a new client in terms of the legal work—the case, the problem, the risks, and the solution. They focus on the work. Instead, they should focus on the client.

Of course, the work is important. But the client is more important. They are a person (or an entity composed of people) who need us to comfort them and guide them, to make them feel good about what we’re doing for them, and thus, good about themselves.

We can build a relationship with the client, which allows us to do a better job for them. And the client may have other work for us, either now or in the future, and a lifetime of business or personal contacts they can introduce to us, and will because of that relationship.

Think clients, not cases.

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Filed Under: Client relations, success

You don’t have to be good if you do this

June 12, 2024 by
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We want to be good at our work, but it’s not a prerequisite. We all start somewhere and often that means starting badly. I sure did. Maybe you did, too.

We had to be good enough to do the work, but not necessarily “So good they can’t ignore you” as Cal Newport says. 

That’s the goal, but for most of us, not where we start.

Where do we start? What is it that allows us to survive long enough to become good? 

Being prolific. 

Handle enough small cases, draft enough simple documents, meet enough people, write enough articles, do enough presentations, run enough ads, post enough posts, and eventually, we not only pay our bills, we get good. 

So good, they can’t ignore us. 

How do we become prolific? By showing up every day, creating value for one or more clients and doing something to market our practice. 

That’s it. We don’t have to do anything special. We don’t have to land the big case or client.. We just have to show up and do the work, and the next day, do it again. 

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Filed Under: success

You need another project

June 11, 2024 by
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If I looked at your planner or task app, I would no doubt see several projects you’re working on, or are about to do. That’s good. When you finish one project, or run out of steam and don’t want to work on it right now, you have other projects you can work without delay. 

That’s how you stay productive and get things done. 

At the risk of overwhelming you, I’m going to suggest you add one more project to your list. 

Not another regular project related to your work or personal “Areas”. Something different.  

It might be a side business, an investment, a social or political venture, or a hobby. Something fun and exciting to work on when you’re not doing what you usually do.

Maybe you’ll finally write the novel you’ve dreamed about, or do something else creative. Maybe you’ll start an online business that brings in extra income or (finally) allows you to retire. 

Your new project or initiative will give you something exciting to look forward to, and work on when you want to. No pressure. No guilt about taking time away from your usual work or obligations. 

And there’s the thing. Even if your new project or venture doesn’t go anywhere, even if you fall flat on your face or abandon it in a few weeks, you will have learned some new things, been able to forget about the news or your problems, and restarted your dream machine. 

We all need to tilt at windmills from time to time. It keeps us sane. And sometimes, leads to great adventures. 

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Filed Under: Increase your income, Inspiration, Just for fun

Lion or cow?

June 10, 2024 by
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I saw a post that said, “Creative people shouldn’t work Monday through Friday, 9 to 5, moving slowly, like a cow who grazes throughout the day. 

Instead, they should work like a lion: 

  • Sit
  • Wait for prey
  • Sprint
  • Eat
  • Rest 
  • Repeat

So, naturally, I thought about attorneys and marketing. 

Here’s how I see things: 

Unless we’re new, we should focus primarily on our warm market, e.g., our existing clients and contacts, and rely mostly on repeat business and referrals. When you’ve been around long enough and built a sizeable client base, you might never have to do anything else. 

But when we’re new, or hungry, or want to be the King of the Jungle, we go into the cold market and bring in some fresh meat. 

There’s a time to run and catch new clients and a time to do our work and let the clients catch us. 

How to get more referrals

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Filed Under: Marketing legal services, Referrals

My 3 favorite sources of ideas for blog posts and articles

June 6, 2024 by
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My goal is to write something people need to or want to read, aka “quality and value,” and do it quickly so I can get on with the day. 

If that works for you, consider using one of these 3 sources of ideas:

(1) Respond to questions (from readers, subscribers, clients, etc.) 

Don’t underestimate the value of simply answering questions about your area of expertise. You have plenty of information and relevant examples from your practice to write about, and if one person is asking about a subject, you know others want to know the same thing. 

Check your email, questions and comments posted on social, and you might have enough ideas to last for months.

(2) Write what other lawyers (bloggers, experts, etc.) are writing about. 

I get a lot of ideas this way. It’s easy to adapt a business consultant’s article about marketing or customer relations or productivity, for example, to something appropriate for my market (that means you). 

When you’re fresh out of ideas, these articles are a good place to refill your tank.

I might use some of their ideas and add my own, or none of their ideas except the basic concept that caught my attention. I’ll change the headline, add my own irreverent style, and have an article or post that is completely different from the original.  

(3) Write about something you saw, or that happened in your work or personal life. 

Yes, you should write about your latest case or one you heard about from a colleague. But don’t ignore your personal experiences, which can be a fertile source of material.

For example, you might take your kid to a doctor’s appointment and be asked to supply information you know they don’t need and shouldn’t ask. You could write about HIPAA, or use that experience as the lead to an article about how you go out of the way in your practice to protect your clients’ privacy and rights. 

Or, you might be out shopping and hear someone accuse someone of hate speech. In the US, you might use that to explain the meaning of free speech and the US Constitution.

Do you live in a city with potholes gone wild? You might write about what to do if your reader sustains property damage or bodily injury by driving over one.

Ideas are everywhere. If you pay attention, you will never run out. 

More ideas for content

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Filed Under: Content creation, Newsletters, Writing

What kind of work do you do? 

June 5, 2024 by
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Lawyers typically answer that question by talking about their practice area or services. “I’m an estate planning attorney,” for example. It may be accurate, but from a marketing standpoint, it’s not the best response. 

Yes, you want to tell people what kind of work you do, but you also want them to know what that means to them (and people they know).  

So, make sure to them the benefits your clients get when they hire you. 

For example, “I help people protect their assets from the tax collector,” or, “I show high-income individuals how to use legal strategies to improve their financial future,” are ways to do that. Follow that with, “I’m an estate planning attorney.” 

Alternatively, you could state your practice area or job description first, “I’m an estate planning attorney,” and follow that with the benefits you offer. 

You can also add something about the types of clients you represent, problems or services you focus on, or other specifics, to give the listener more information and help them see that you are a good match for them. But that might be too much information at first blush and you might want to wait until they ask questions or otherwise show interest in your initial response. 

Tell them what you do; but also tell them how you can help them or the people they know. 

For more, check out my book, How to Sell Your Legal Services in 15 Seconds or Less

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Filed Under: Marketing legal services

Niche your content

June 4, 2024 by
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It’s tempting to write articles and create videos (et al.) that appeal to a broad swath of your market. Anyone who has or wants to prevent a given problem, for example. And that’s exactly what most content creates do. 

But not all. I just saw an attorney’s article that’s targeted to people who “getting married”.

People who are getting married is a niche market, and it’s different from “People who are already married,” “People who are thinking about getting divorced,” “People who want to protect their assets from their spouse,” and many other niches. 

It prompted me to remind you to niche your content. 

Because specifics sell more than generalities. 

If you handle plaintiff’s personal injury, for example, you might target your next article to people injured in an auto collision and focus on the first (and most important) things to do. You might target your content towards people with a child injured on school property, to people who are looking for an attorney who handles claims against governmental entities, or people who are looking for a NEW attorney. 

Targeting your content to specific niches is a smart way to bring in more business. 

A post targeted to people with a child injured on school property, for example, will appeal to a different niche than a post targeted to people who sustained soft tissue injuries in an auto collision. Each will get more relevant “hits” from searches, more prospective clients reading the article, and more inquires from prospective clients who want to talk to about their case.

Because specifics sell more than generalities. 

Okay, but if you target your article to one niche and someone who sees it is in a different niche, won’t you lose their business? If your content is too specific, might you lose as much business as you gain?

Maybe. Or maybe you’ll more than make up for what you lose by attracting clients who feel that your article is speaking to them and want you to be their attorney.

And hey, there’s nothing stopping you from writing other articles for other niches. (And you should).

Years ago, when your only option was to buy (expensive) advertising in a print publication, you had to pick your target audience more carefully. Today, in the digital age, you can create content for a wide variety of niches and prospective clients who find that content not by reading a newspaper but primarily through keyword searches or social sharing. 

Resist the temptation to write content targeting “everyone” and write for specific niches. 

Because specifics sell more than generalities.

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Filed Under: Content creation, Marketing legal services Tagged With:

This is not true. Especially for attorneys.

June 3, 2024 by
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A question was asked on social about “unknown truths” everyone should know. An “expert” supplied several examples, including this one: 

“People don’t care about your hard work. They just care about the end result.” 

But that’s not always true.

If an attorney settles a case for a client for $300,000 and bills the client $10,000, the client may be thrilled if they were expecting to pay a lot more. But what if the attorney tells the client it only took him ten minutes to get that settlement? (Because he’s smart, experienced, had inside information, plays golf with opposing counsel…) 

Is the client just as happy? 

Maybe. Maybe not. 

The client got a great outcome but might have a problem being charged the equivalent of $60,000 an hour. 

Because most clients equate value with effort.

They might care mostly about the end result but they want to see that you worked hard for them, argued for them, put in a lot of time, prepared a lot of documents, nearly got eaten before you slayed the dragon, and otherwise “earned” your fee. 

They don’t want to hear that you made one phone call. 

It’s like going to a movie. You may like the happy ending but you like it more because there was a lot of conflict leading up to it.  

Am I saying that practicing law is like making movies? 

Yes, actually, I am. Both have a beginning, a middle, and an end. And both involve an emotional journey. 

You want your clients to enjoy the movie. So, figure out a way to take them on an emotional journey. 

You might explain everything that could have gone wrong, even though it didn’t. You might talk to them about the many things you’ve done in the past that contributed to your ability to settle their case so quickly. 

My vote? Don’t tell them you settled so quickly.

You’re the hero of the movie. Don’t spoil it for them.

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Filed Under: Client relations

You don’t have to

May 31, 2024 by
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When a client won’t commit to hiring you or doing something you recommend, when they can’t decide, stall, or tell you they “have to think about it,” one of the simplest and most effective strategies you can use to get them to change their mind (and say yes) is to agree with them. 

If you’ve given them the whys and wherefores, made it plain that they need what you offer, instead of pushing them or warning them, let it go. Tell them they don’t have to. 

Because they don’t. Or at least they believe they don’t have to, which is why they have resisted.

When you say “you don’t have to,” however, or something akin to that, e.g., “You can wait” or “It’s up to you,” you’re giving back to them control of their fate.

When you do that, the decision, and the consequences thereof, is back in their hands. Sure, it always was in their hands, but seeing you “give up” and give them “permission” to do what they (they) think they want to do, often leads them to reject that option and decide to do what you previously urged them to do. 

Because it’s their idea now, not yours.

It’s called a “take away” and it’s an effective way to get people to see what they’re saying and change their mind. 

When you take away the idea of signing up with you, they want to. Because people want what they can’t have. 

They had something (the benefits of what you told them you would do for them), you took it away by agreeing that they don’t have to do it, and now, when it’s their choice, their “fear of loss” kicks in and they want it. 

There’s a similar effect when clients see a lot of other clients in your waiting room, attesting that you have something valuable to offer and if they don’t sign up, they may not get it.

This works especially well with a client who is resisting in part because they don’t like being sold. They resist because they think you just want to “get the sale”. When you don’t push,, their resistance lessons, they see that you really want to help them and they wake up. 

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Filed Under: Closing the sale

How do I know I can trust you? 

May 29, 2024 by
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Your clients trust you. That’s why they continue to hire you and refer others to you. You’ve shown them they can rely on you to do what you said you would do, and do it well.  

Now, what if you could earn the same kind of trust with prospective clients (and others)? What if people trusted you before they ever meet you?

You can. And should. 

Getting good reviews is a great place to start. So is focusing on referrals. But there’s something else you can do to build trust. You can use your “content” (newsletter, blog, seminars, articles, videos, podcasts, books and reports, etc.) to show people you are someone they can trust. You do that when:

  • You publish your content on a regular schedule, and on time
  • You provide great information and ideas; no fluff or filler, no click-bait
  • You explain things thoroughly, don’t talk down to anyone, don’t assume your readers know (anything) but also don’t assume they know nothing
  • You’re friendly but professional; you share personal stories but don’t over-share; you edify your staff and colleagues and other members of the Bar and community
  • You tell them what you do and how you can help them, and why they need it, and encourage them to act, but you aren’t pushy

In other words, you treat them the way clients wanted to be treated.  

Your readers and followers, prospective clients and professional contacts, are watching and judging you. They want to know what it would be like to be your client, or refer their client or friend to you. They want to see they can trust you, and this is a good way to show them. 

You don’t have to provide extraordinary quality or be prolific. You just have to show them you do what you say you will do and do it well.

When they see they can trust you, even before they meet you, they are much more likely to hire you and tell others about you.

Email Marketing for Attorneys

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Filed Under: Content creation, Marketing legal services Tagged With:
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