The quickest way to bring in clients

June 4, 2008 by
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Q: How do I bring in quality clients fast? I think the best way to bring in a steady stream of [type of] clients is to find a good referral source. What should I do?

A: Referrals are the BEST source of quality clients, but they are usually not the FASTEST. It takes time to build relationships, earn trust, develop a reputation.

If you can compensate those sources (i.e., referral fees to other attorneys, if permissible), or work out other kinds of alliances (paid advertising, cross-promotions) where the source has a more immediate incentive for working with you, then you could get some quick business.

Of course your clients are the first place to look. They should be willing to refer, but they may not be able.

Generally speaking, nothing is faster than advertising (except publicity, but you have limited control with that). Cost is obviously an issue. You could try writing for targeted publications and speaking and networking at targeted events. You’ll get access to the right markets, at no cost, plus the unspoken endorsement of the meeting holder or publication, and if you get your message in front of the right people, you will get clients.

Remember that you are always marketing to at least two separate markets: prospective clients and prospective referral sources. One is not necessarily better than another, nor faster.

Q: How do I know if I’m targeting the right market?

A: A market is only as good as your ability to communicate with it. Do prospects have an organization you can join? Meetings you can speak at? Publications you can write for or advertise in? Can you find centers of influence in that market with whom you can network?

Most lawyers look at their services first and then look for people who need those services. Better is to find a market with a need, then look for ways you can satisfy that need.

Start with professionals and business contacts you already know. What markets do they serve? What unresolved needs do those markets have? Find the market first, then work backwards.

You’ll have greater success giving people what they WANT, which may or may not be what they NEED. Find out what people want and then look for ways to help them get it.

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Filed Under: Advertising, Networking, Publicity, Referral sources, Referrals, Relationship marketing Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , ,

A good slogan (tagline) can be worth its weight in gold

March 11, 2008 by
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Most slogans I hear fail to accomplish their purpose: to communicate a cogent, benefit-rich, memorable marketing message. Although attorneys usually don’t use slogans, the ones I’ve heard have almost always been bad. An attorney in Los Angeles has a slogan that works, however. Miles Berman, the self-proclaimed “Top Gun Dui” attorney, uses the following slogan as the tagline for his frequent radio commercials: “Because friends don’t let friends plead guilty.”

Why does this work? First, it plays on the familiar public service slogan used to promote the use of a designated driver, “Because friends don’t let friends drive drunk”. Berman’s version is tied to something that has been drilled into our heads by millions of dollars in public service advertising, and is thus familiar. In addition to being familiar, it’s relevant. Both slogans deal with different aspects of the same issue. And because it is familiar and relevant, it is memorable, the ideal of any slogan. Finally, the slogan does what few slogans ever do, it promises a benefit. In telling the listener not to plead guilty, it suggests that there are alternative solutions, and all they have to do to get them is to call the “Top Gun Dui Defense” attorney. Very effective.

Eric Swartz is a consultant who bills himself as “The Tagline Guru.” His web site presents the benefits of a good tagline and advice on how to create one. He also has a list of “The 100 Most Influential Taglines Since 1948.” I remember most of these, and you will, too. Good examples of taglines that have created household brands.

You don’t need a tagline, but if you use one, use one that works.

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Filed Under: Advertising, Communication, Copywriting, Marketing legal services Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Two-headed client gets whiplash reading lawyer’s retainer agreement!

February 25, 2008 by
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Gary Halbert was one of the greatest copywriters of all time. He wrote some of the most successful headlines, ads, and sales letters in the history of direct marketing, earning millions for himself, and billions for his clients. The headline that brought you to this page is my homage to his talent (how can you NOT read this?), based on a fake headline he wrote for one of this clients.

Halbert, who passed away last year, believed that in advertising, the headline is everything. I agree. An ad with a bad headline but brilliant copy will never be read. A mediocre ad with a GREAT headline, however, will pull far greater response simply because more people are reading it. 

Headlines are not just in ads. The title of your article or report is a headline. Same for your brochure. The title of your seminar is a headline. So is the opening line in your presentation. The “re” in your letter is a headline. And the “P.S.”

What goes at the top of your web page? That’s a headline. What’s the first thing you say when you call a potential referral source to introduce yourself? Yep, a headline.

Halbert, who styled himself, “The Prince of Print,” sometimes spent 80% of his time on a piece crafting the right headline. When you get the headline right, everything else seems to fall into place. Get it wrong, and nothing you do thereafter seems to work.

My love for copy writing began when I subscribed to The Gary Halbert Letter in the late 1980’s. I read and re-read every word he wrote. He was also the inspiration for the sales copy I wrote to promote Referral Magic marketing program and my own newsletter, The Attorney Marketing Letter. Copywriting is the highest paid skill in marketing, but I consider it essential for any kind of marketing, and that includes marketing professional services.

Copywriting can be learned. I used to write like a lawyer but I trained myself to write copy that sells. It is a skill that has earned me millions. One of the best investments you can make in your career is in studying and applying the lessons of the great masters of copywriting. There is, of course, no better place to start than by reading the back issues of Halbert’s newsletter. Fortunately, all of them are posted online at the web site that survives him, TheGaryHalbertLetter.com. I encourage you to spend some time reading through this treasure chest of brilliant lessons in copywriting. But I have to warn you: Don’t start unless you have several hours available, because once you start reading Gary Halbert, you won’t be able to stop.

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Filed Under: Advertising, Communication, Copywriting, Marketing legal services, Writing Tagged With:

Direct mail to lawyers, seeking referrals. Good or bad idea?

February 20, 2008 by
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I received a letter from a probate lawyer who is seeking referrals from large PI/Med Mal firms who need guidance in wrongful death and minors’ compromise cases. He and his partners had compiled a list of law firms and written a letter they intended to “mass mail”. The letter introduced the probate firm, described their capabilities, and requested referrals. He asked for my opinion of this strategy and letter.

I liked the idea of targeting specific kinds of cases from specific firms, (assuming they had reason to believe those firms didn’t have in-house capability to handle those matters), but I didn’t think their plan to mass mail letters would be effective.

One-shot mailings like this are unlikely to generate any business. About the only chance you have is to reach someone at precisely the time when he or she has a case they need help with and they don’t have anyone else to refer it to. While that could happen, it makes more sense to begin to build relationships with lawyers (anyone) who DON’T need your services at the moment and do what you can to be the one they think of when they do.

Marketing, especially referral marketing, is a process, not an event.

Here are some of my additional comments and suggestions:

** If you’re going to contact a cold list, you need to do something to get a response so that you can continue to stay in touch with them and win their trust, over time. I’d recommend offering to send a “Free Report” that educates them on the issues they need to be aware of so that (a) they can do a better job for their clients and (b) be better able to avoid malpractice. This will be a benefit to them and position you as an expert. You can also offer a free phone review of their case. If the list is short enough, you could SEND the report and make a second offer to get them to respond (so you can stay in touch). The second offer could be a second report, a checklist, a form, or anything else.

** I’d suggest that you find people you already KNOW who can refer you to the people on your list, OR to people who may know them, OR to people who may know people who know them. Then, you can contact these lawyers with the name of a mutual contact. Much more effective.

** I’d also consider working towards having a colleague (in this case., another med mal lawyer) write (sign off on) a letter in which they endorse your services to their fellow practitioners. They’ve used you, they recommend you, they trust you, etc. This is the strongest kind of letter you can send.

** Letters do a have a place, but, I’d prefer to see you call. You want to build relationships with these potential referral sources, and to do that, you need to talk to them.

Find a reason, and call. The reason could be because you want to interview them for an article, you’re doing a survey for your newsletter or blog, to invite them to your free seminar, to offer them a copy of your new report or a subscription to your newsletter. It could even be to simply introduce yourself and find out more about what they do.

You’ll hit it off with some of them and follow up with coffee or lunch. You only need a few good ones to start, then you can leverage those relationships to gain introductions and endorsements to others.

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Filed Under: Advertising, Communication, Marketing legal services, Referral sources, Referrals, Relationship marketing Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

How to choose a good domain name

January 14, 2008 by
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I’m not an expert on this, but choosing a domain name for your web site is a deceptively important subject and I’ll share some of my thoughts with you:

  • Shorter is better, but longer names aren’t strictly off limits. HowToIncorporateInKansas.com (not a real domain) is long, but not hard to remember.
  • Use your name, if it’s available. It’s often easier to remember a person’s name than a descriptive name.
  • Also use a descriptive name for marketing purposes. If you’re looking for an estate planning attorney in San Antonio, you might click on SanAntonioEstatePlanning.com whereas you probably wouldn’t click on JohnJones.com without some descriptive text next to it. You can use both URLs; point one name at the other.
  • Do whatever you can to get the.com version. If it’s not available, try another name. Use your initial, put the word “law” in it, or your state or city. For competitive purposes, you might also want to buy the other common variations (net, org, biz, info).
  • Avoid hyphens, abbreviations (your city or state might be okay), and numbers (i.e., “4” for “for”).
  • Choose a name that people can remember and spell. You will be giving out the name on the telephone, from the podium, etc.
  • If your web site is hosted at http://yourname.typepad.com, get your own domain and point it. Better yet, get your own hosting.
  • If you intend to advertise (offline, Adwords, etc.) you will want lots of descriptive domain names. You can set up separate lead capture pages, or point each name at different pages on your main web site. Get names for each practice area, each target market, at least.
  • Use key words in your domain names.
  • If people commonly misspell those words, consider buying the common misspellings, too.

You can buy domain names for under $10/year. I buy mine at http://homepagedomains.com

For more on what makes a good (and bad) domain name, and a lot of fun, check out http://goodurlbadurl.com/

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Filed Under: Advertising, Online Marketing Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Even more free software for marketing online (thru Xmas only)

December 12, 2007 by
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Does AdWords make AdSense for lawyers?

If you take some time to learn what you’re doing with Adwords, you can economically drive targeted traffic to your web site. The campaigns I’ve run have only been on Google searches, however, mainly because I didn’t want to take the time to find appropriate web sites for my (Adsense) ads to appear.

I just downloaded a new piece of software that makes that easy, and it’s free until Christmas Day. I’ve just started playing with it and like what I see. If you use Adwords, or think you might any time soon, check it out. Here’s the page with a demo video and download link: http://portalfeeder.com/adsensefinder.php

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Filed Under: Advertising, Online Marketing, Technology, Web traffic

Should lawyers offer a money back guarantee?

September 18, 2007 by
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"Ridiculous!" "Unethical!" "Stupid!"

Or is it?

Marketing is about cutting through the clutter and standing out from the crowd. It’s about making a big promise and then backing it up. It’s about removing the risk from your client and absorbing it yourself. Isn’t that what contingency fees do?

Money back guarantees work. They are a powerful, proven marketing technique, and you should consider them.

Will you get stung? Maybe. Sometimes. What if that happens, say, once every twenty times you offer it but you get five times more business because of it? What if you lose some but you are so darn popular, you can charge twenty percent more than your competition?

What about ethics? Well, that’s something you have to verify with the powers that be in your jurisdiction, but don’t confuse a guarantee of fees with a guarantee of outcome. There was a discussion about this on Jamie Spencer’s blog about a week ago and there is a big difference. The key is not outcome, it’s client satisfaction. "Your money back if you’re not delighted."

Scary, isn’t it? That’s what makes it so powerful.

Marketing studies prove that most people won’t take advantage of you and, of course, there are ways to limit your exposure. C’mon, you’re a lawyer–that’s what you do. But I challenge you to err on the side of trusting your clients. Those same marketing studies prove that the longer and more expansive the money back guarantee, the more profitable the overall results.

If you’re all intrigued by this idea, but (a) you’re not sure if it will work, or (b) you’re afraid it might backfire, "test" it. Find a small market segment that you can reach with a limited marketing communication, a small mailing, a classified ad, offering it at the close of a free seminar, and see what happens. If you like the results, you can test the idea with larger segments.

Is this idea for everyone? No. But some lawyers will make a fortune with it. In fact. . . I guarantee it.

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Filed Under: Advertising, Increase your income Tagged With: , , , ,

Three simple ways to improve almost any ad

September 11, 2007 by
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I cut out this one-inch ad out of a local newspaper:

<<<<<<<<<< BEGIN AD >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

LOST MONEY IN
STOCK MARKET?

Securities Arbitration
SMITH LAW OFFICE
(555) 555-5555

Misrepresentation, Churning
Unauthorized Trading, Suitability

<<<<<<<<<<< END OF AD >>>>>>>>>>>>>

Not a bad ad. The headline works. It asks a question, which engages the passing reader and identifies them as appropriate prospects.

The ad tells the reader what service is available (securities arbitration for misrepresentation, churning, etc.)

And there’s a phone number the reader can call.

I’m sure this lawyer is getting some business from this ad.

But could he be getting more business? Only testing will provide a definitive answer, but I think he could.

There are three things I would test:

1. PROMISE A BENEFIT

Arbitration is a feature, not a benefit. By itself, it means little of value to the client. What do you get as a result of the arbitration? That’s the benefit, and stating it in the ad should improve response, possibly dramatically.

It may be obvious to you and me that the benefit is that the client could get their lost investment back without the expense of a trial, but in copywriting, nothing is obvious–everything should be spelled out. Might they get their investment back with interest? Even better.

2. MAKE AN OFFER

Offering a free consultation will dramatically increase response to this ad.

Many people won’t call if they think they will be charged to talk to you, and they won’t bother to find out, so if you offer free consultations, say this in the ad.

If you don’t offer a free consultation, other offers (e.g., a "free report") will also increase response.

2. TELL THE READER WHAT TO DO

Studies show that if you tell the reader what to do, more will do it. Tell them to call and more will call.

While you’re at it, I would also tell them "when" to call (e.g., "now," "today," or during stated business hours), and who to ask for. I’d also remind them "why" (e.g., "to schedule an appointment for your free consultation.")

Promise a benefit, make an offer, and tell them what to do–three keys to improving almost any ad.

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Filed Under: Advertising, Copywriting Tagged With: ,

The key to success in advertising

September 10, 2007 by
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"Which publication should I advertise in? What size should the ad be? How frequently should I run it?

"What should my headline be? Which service should I offer? Should I mention my fees? Offer a discount? A free consultation?

"Should I do "lead generation" advertising, or go for the immediate ‘sale’? How many times should I follow up with an inquiry? How often?"

These are VERY good questions!

The answers are found through "testing."

Testing is the process of trying different variables and recording the results. It means, for example, trying four different versions of an ad, each with a different headline, and tracking how many sales or inquiries come in from each.

Some headlines outpull others by as much as 3,000%. Testing might allow you to bring in that much additional business with NO additional expense.

The key to success in advertising is constant testing. You try something, see if it works, then try different variables against the original (called the "control") to see if you can improve response.

What kinds of things should you test?

The single most important thing to test in ANY kind of marketing, but especially in advertising and direct mail, is "the list". WHO sees your message is will affect response more than any other variable.

If you are offering estate planning services, for example, a list of 50-year old men with a wife, kids, and a home, will undoubtedly pull better than a list of college students. That’s obvious, of course, but there is much profit to be had in testing more subtle variables.

For instance, in marketing those same estate planning services, will a list that includes men with three children outpull a list of men with just one? If so, you could get more bang for your marketing buck by using the better-pulling list.

In marketing my Referral Magic course to lawyers, for many years, I did a lot of print advertising in bar publications. Some publications produced a greater number of inquires than others, and some "converted" a higher percentage of those inquiries into sales. I tracked both numbers, and because I did, I knew which publications to stay in, which ones to drop, which ones produced the most gross profit, and which ones the highest net.

Some publications always did well, and I stayed in them for a long time. Others never did well, and were dropped. Still others produced a good response, then petered out to the point where it was no longer profitable to advertise in them.

Because I kept accurate records (the key to testing) I had this information at my fingertips and knew what to do.

Next to the list, the most important thing to test is your headline. It can make a HUGE difference in response.

Headlines are not just in ads, however. Your report or article title is a headline. Same for your brochure. The title of your seminar is a headline. The opening line in a presentation is, too. The "re" in your letter is a headline. And so is the "P.S."

What goes at the top of your web page? That’s a headline. So is the "subject" in your email. What’s the first thing you say when you call a potential referral source to introduce yourself? Yep, a headline.

Advertising legend David Ogilvy (Ogilvy & Mather) said that the headline is 80% of the effectiveness of an ad. Think about it. An ad with a bad headline but brilliant copy won’t get read; readers never get past the headline. But a mediocre ad with a GREAT headline gets read many times more often. More people reading the ad means higher response.

After the list and the headline, the next thing I would test is the offer. You can’t possibly know which offer will result in the greatest number of replies. Want to try a discount? Well, it may increase response, it may have no affect on response, or it may DECREASE response.

Wouldn’t you want to know?

There are many other things you can test, but these three are the most important in any ad.

If you want to pull in more business, reduce expenses, and increase your bottom line, test!

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Filed Under: Advertising Tagged With: , , ,
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