Why clients stay with a bad attorney

April 5, 2013 by
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Ever wonder why clients stay with a bad attorney? Because human beings are creatures of habit. They’ll stay with the same dry cleaner, mechanic, or attorney, even if they aren’t thrilled with the service, because it’s too much work to find a new one. Plus, the next one might be even worse.

So things might be bad but until they get bad enough, they stay.

But sometimes it doesn’t take much to go from bad to bad enough. How many clients are just one unreturned phone call away from leaving?

How about your clients? You may think everything is fine but is it?

You need to know.

Survey your clients. Take a poll. Talk to them privately. Do whatever you have to do to find out how they really feel because if your clients don’t love you, you will never be able to build the kind of practice I’m sure you want.

But here’s the thing. Other lawyers’ clients are staying with them because things aren’t bad enough. That’s an opportunity for you.

No, don’t go courting other lawyers’ clients. There’s someone at your state bar with a stick up his ass who’s just waiting for you to do that.

What you can do is write and talk about how important your clients are to you. How you bend over backwards to keep them happy. And how any attorney who doesn’t do the same just doesn’t get it.

Post articles on your web site. Do a video. Develop a talk.

Become an advocate for treating clients with respect and kindness and appreciation. If you do, it won’t be long before you are approached by clients whose lawyers didn’t get it.

Marketing is simple. If you know The Formula.

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Filed Under: Client loyalty, Client relations

How to get lots of five star reviews and social media mentions

March 1, 2013 by
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I found out how my wife’s new dentist is getting so many testimonials and five star reviews. Yesterday, she got an email from the dentist that said:

“Would you please take a minute to let us know about your last experience with our office? You will be able to share this information with your friends via Facebook, or you may choose to keep your identity anonymous to everyone – including us.

Please answer a couple quick questions for us here:”

A link led to a survey page that prompted her to

  1. Rate the service with one to five stars for (a) Staff, (b) Facilities, and (c) Overall Experience
  2. Provide feedback by answering four questions:

1. “Did the staff take the time to listen to you?”
2. “Did the staff take the time to communicate with you?”
3. “Would you recommend our office to friends and family?”
4. “How long after your appointment time did you wait to be seen?”

There is also a box to add comments and another for suggestions.

You can then submit your review to be published anonymously, with your name, or your name and post it on Facebook. You can also keep your review private meaning it is sent to the doctor without any name attached. The patient is also prompted to refer other patients through the web site.

The dentist uses a service that automates this process for him.

So, a few thoughts come to mind:

  1. If you use a service like this (or do it yourself), you’re going to get a lot of reviews and mentions on Facebook. If you deliver great service to your clients, this could bring you a ton of new business through Facebook, through referrals, and by virtue of the positive reviews you will then be able to post on your web site.
  2. If you do this and you don’t deliver great service, you’re going to kill your practice. Of course if you don’t deliver great service, your practice is already dying; this will just speed things up.
  3. If you want to deliver great service so you can survive and prosper and get lots of positive reviews and referrals, set up something like this because it will force you to work hard to deliver great service.
  4. If you’re nervous about what your clients might say, do it in two steps. First, send clients a questionnaire and ask for feedback. Ask for permission to quote them by name, first name only, or anonymously. If they send back positive feedback, contact them again, thank them for taking the time to respond, and ask them to post their review on Facebook (or whatever). If the feedback is less than positive, apologize and ask what you need to do better.

When he was mayor of New York, the late Ed Koch, was famous for walking around town and asking people, “How am I doing?” He heard a lot of criticism and complaints from his constituents, but he also heard a lot of praise.

Your clients will help you grow your practice. All you have to do is ask.

If you want to earn more and work less, get this.

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Filed Under: Client loyalty, Client relations, Marketing legal services, Social media marketing Tagged With:

How to break bad news to a client

February 14, 2013 by
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A lawyer asked for advice on how best to break bad news to your client when a case is lost.

Great Question.

The answer is simple. Man up and tell them. Don’t make excuses, don’t cast blame, and don’t parse words. Tell the truth and tell it point blank.

If it was your fault, admit it, and deal with the consequences.

But here’s the thing: if you manage things right, the bad news shouldn’t devastate the client. Disappoint, sadden, yes, but not unreasonably anger. You shouldn’t need to hang a “Gun Free Zone” sign in your office.

What do I mean when I say “if you manage things right”? I mean that from the time you first take the case and throughout its execution, you should manage the client’s expectations about its outcome.

That means not sugar coating the prospects of winning the case or the potential size of the verdict. In fact, you should do the opposite. Under promise. Project low. Tell them there’s a good chance you won’t win at all.

Yes, they might have second thoughts about having you as their attorney and go somewhere else. Let them go. They’ll be nothing but trouble. You want clients who appreciate your honesty and openness, and who appreciate your hard work in the face of big challenges.

Throughout the case, keep them informed. Let them see the ebb and flow, the positives and negatives. Help them to detach emotionally from the outcome. When something is good, remember to show them the other side. That’s why God invented the phrase, “On the other hand. . .”. When it’s bad, do the same thing. You don’t want to be a Debbie or Dennis Downer.

If you’ve done it right, by the time the case comes to a conclusion, they will be mentally prepared for any outcome. Win or lose, big verdict or not so big. They may not be happy, but they will be prepared.

Need more clients? Better clients? Get The Attorney Marketing Formula and start gettin.

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Filed Under: Client loyalty, Client relations, Law office management, Personal development Tagged With: , , , ,

Make your clients smile by writing THIS on your next billing statement

February 11, 2013 by
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Did you see this story: “Parents’ shock after restaurant bill shows $4 discount for their ‘Well Behaved Kids”.

The kids said “please” and “thank you” and were quiet during the meal.

Imagine that.

Even if the restaurant didn’t get world-wide attention for what they did, do you think the parents of these kids might tell some people about their experience?

I think so, too.

If the restaurant advertised a discount would be given to anyone whose kids are well behaved, the idea would have flopped. “Hey, my kids didn’t start a fire this time, where’s my friggin discount!”

What makes this work is that the discount was given after the fact. Totally unexpected. A happy surprise.

Guess what? You can achieve the same result with your clients.

Find a reason to give them a small discount on their next bill. Maybe they showed up at their first appointment on time. Maybe they were especially brave in the face of fear. Or maybe they did a great job at their deposition.

Find something positive and reward them.

You might even want to zero out something. The client expects to get charged for the letter you sent to their landlord. They open their bill and see a zero balance. Nice. Maybe it is their birthday. Or yours. Or maybe you did it because you like them.

Do you think you might score some points in the good will department? I think so, too.

Do you think you might get some world wide press?

“Client’s shock after attorney’s bill shows $100 discount for their ‘well behaved mother-in-law’.”

Nah, me neither.

Get more clients and increase your income. Click here to learn how.

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Filed Under: Client loyalty, Client relations, Fees and Billing, Law office management Tagged With:

How to turn $100 a month into a steady stream of referrals

February 5, 2013 by
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In his twelve year career selling cars at a Chevrolet dealership, Joe Girard personally sold 13,001 cars. Do the math. That’s 90 cars a month, every month, twelve years in a row.

Holy cow. That’s got to be a world’s record.

Actually, it is. The Guinness Book of World Records says so, giving Joe the title of “The World’s Greatest Salesman.”

How on earth did he do it?

In his book, “How to Sell Anything to Anybody,” Joe tells all. One of his “secrets” was sending everyone who ever bought a car or stopped in for a test drive a monthly greeting card. Each month had a theme. In January, it was New Years. February was President’s Day, March was St. Paddy’s Day, and so on. The cards were colorful and fun, with a funny or charming line or two. Each card was hand signed by Joe.

If you were on his list, every month like clock work you got a card from Joe. If it was your birthday that month, you got a birthday card.

Now that’s not all Joe did, but he says these cards kept his name in front of enough people that in a very short period of time, he was getting a steady stream of referrals. Every day, people would call and people would walk-in and ask for Joe. Eventually, he had to hire assistants to handle all the customers.

Could you do something like that? Of course you could. Would it work today when nobody sends regular mail anymore. It will work even better today because nobody sends regular mail anymore.

Start with $100 a month as your marketing budget. (Yes, you can do more.) Send out 100 cards a month to clients and former clients. (It shouldn’t cost you more than $1 per card, including postage.) Do this every month for the next six months and watch what happens.

Every month you remind people who know, like, and trust you that you’re still around and still thinking about them. And every month, they’re prompted to think of you and, naturally, people they know who might need you.

Eventually, Joe’s customers looked forward to getting his cards each month. One month he was late and he got a bunch of worried calls from folks who thought he might be sick. Talk about a following.

Once you’re convinced that this is working, you can expand it to include your prospects, referral sources, and other “friends of the firm”.

Will you get referrals? Yes. Will you get 90 referrals a month and set a world record? I don’t know, but if you do, have a drink on Joe.

Marketing can help you earn more than you ever thought possible. Go here and find out for yourself.

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Filed Under: Client loyalty, Client relations, Marketing legal services, Referrals Tagged With: , , ,

A simple way to add value to your legal services

February 4, 2013 by
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Our garage door was damaged when it closed on the rear bumper of my car.

We had three companies come out to give us estimates.

The first one said it was damaged beyond repair and explained why. He gave us an estimate to replace everything except the motor for $1129.

The second one agreed. Estimate: $875.

The third one said the door was fine. He said the track was bent and he could fix it. An hour and half later, he’d fixed the track, replaced some brackets, and installed a new weather strip. Total bill: $219.

The door has never been this quiet or run this smoothly. Even when it was first installed. My wife and I keep opening and closing it, marveling at our splendid “new” door.

Oh yeah, my wife sent the guy over to talk to our neighbor about her door. One of the previous estimators had noticed a gap or something and said to tell her she needed to have it serviced. Nope. The guy who got our business said her door was fine.

Imagine that.

Yes it does pay to shop around. And yes you should be leery of what so-called experts tell you, especially when they have something to sell. And yes you should pay attention to what other people say on Yelp and other such sites. The company we hired had dozens of five-star reviews and sterling comments. We’ll be adding ours.

Now, suppose you had this experience with your garage door and the next day a client asks if you could recommend a garage door company. Would you tell him about this one? Of course you would. You’d be doing him a big favor.

You probably know other companies you would recommend to your clients and contacts, as well as CPAs, insurance brokers, and other lawyers. And if your clients call and ask for a referral, you’d be sure to tell them.

But why wait for them to ask?

If you’re looking for a simple way to add value to your legal services, it doesn’t get any simpler than this. Contact your clients and tell them that if they ever need a referral to a garage door company, auto dealer, roofer, or anything else, they should call your office. Tell them you have a list of companies you have used personally or that other clients have used and recommended.

Encourage them to call. “What do you need? I’ll help you find it.”

Your recommendations help your clients save time and money and avoid problems. Do you think they might love you even more and tell all their friends about their wonderful attorney?

Your recommendations also help the vendors and professionals you recommend. Do you think they might be thankful for your referrals and inclined to reciprocate?

What’s that? You don’t know if you have time for all those calls?

Trust me, you want your phone ringing off the hook with people asking for recommendations because every time it does, you plant more seeds that grow into repeat business and referrals.

One more thing. Encourage your business clients and referral sources to do something similar for their clients and prospects. Why? So you can get your name on their list, of course.

Marketing is simple, if you know The Formula.

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Filed Under: Client loyalty, Client relations, Marketing legal services, Referrals, Relationship marketing Tagged With:

Do you charge wealthier clients higher fees for the same work?

December 27, 2012 by
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According to the Wall Street Journal, the Staples website quotes different prices for the same merchandise based on where the user is located when he visits the site. Staples said this is based on how close the visitor’s location is to a competitor’s store and various costs of doing business, but it appears to also be based on the customer’s ability to pay.

In New York, for example, certain products are priced higher in the boroughs of the Bronx, Manhattan, and Staten Island. By contrast, the same items sell in Brooklyn and Queens at a discount. These price differences come despite no more than 20 miles separating any two locations.

In other words, a Manhattan resident would save money on an item simply by driving to Queens and making the purchase there either online or through a mobile device.”

Apparently, this is not an uncommon practice among retailers.

It’s not illegal but is it “fair”? More importantly, is it smart business?

I think it is smart, and also fair. The retailer is entitled to charge whatever the market will bear. It’s called “free enterprise”. Where it gets dicey, however, is when customers learn about these practices and object to them. A retailer may win the pricing battle but lose the loyalty war.

Of course a savvy customer who knows about this practice might play the pricing game, logging onto web sites from different locations, to see which one gives him the lowest price.

Anyway, I got to thinking about this in terms of legal services. Is it smart business for a lawyer to charge different fees to different clients based on their ability to pay? From a business standpoint, I say why not?

If your clients don’t know (and there are no legal or ethical restrictions on doing so), why shouldn’t a lawyer be able to charge what the market will bear? Some attorneys routinely do precisely that. They size up a new client by their clothing or car or occupation and quote a fee commensurate with what they think that client can afford.

I can’t recall ever charging a client a higher fee because I thought he could afford it, but in looking back, had I thought about it, I probably would have. I sometimes charged clients lower fees, either because I wanted to help them out or because they were steady clients and I wanted to reward them for their allegiance. If there’s nothing wrong with this, there should be nothing wrong with charging some clients higher fees. Of course, by definition, charging some clients less means some clients are being charged more.

What do you think? Is there anything wrong with charging some clients more than others? Have you ever done it? Please share your thoughts in the comments.

Getting ready for the new year? The Attorney Marketing Formula will show you what to do to make it a great year.

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Filed Under: Client loyalty, Client relations, Fees and Billing, Law office management Tagged With: , ,

How to piss off your clients

December 13, 2012 by
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We had a repairman to the house to fix our dryer. It’s a family owned company and we’ve used them before.

The repairman diagnosed the problem and said he had to order some parts. It would be a couple of days. No problem.

Then, out of the blue he asked my wife what kind of car she drives. Weird question. She told him. He asked her where she gets it washed. Weirder, right?

It turns out his kid’s school was holding a car wash as a fund raiser. He asked my wife if she would help out and buy a ticket. It’s only ten dollars. And then he stood there waiting for her to answer.

Awkward.

My wife said she felt like she was being pressured and she didn’t like it. She got the feeling that if she didn’t buy a ticket, the guy would mess up the repair or find something else that was wrong so he could jack up the price.

Why on earth would you do this to a client? Make someone uncomfortable like that. Feel guilty if they said no. It might be okay to hand out a flier, but to stand there staring at a client, waiting for them to buy is really bad form.

I don’t know how many tickets he sold that day but it wasn’t worth it. People are funny when it comes to money. I’m sure his employer got more than a few complaints.

When your kid’s school is having a fund raiser (bake sale, magazine sale, girl scout cookies, etc.), don’t strong arm your clients. Most people won’t complain. They just won’t return.

Need help with your marketing? Here you go.

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Filed Under: Client loyalty, Client relations Tagged With:

Marketing is easier when you use leverage

November 26, 2012 by
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As I mentioned last week, this Wednesday, at 2 pm PT, I’m being interviewed and you’re invited. Among other things, I’ll be talking about my latest marketing course, The Attorney Marketing Formula.

One of the themes throughout The Attorney Marketing Formula is leverage–getting bigger results out of the same effort. A simple example of leverage in marketing a law practice is the use of forms and checklists. You invest time to memorialize a process and then use that process over and over again, saving you lots of time, reducing errors, and impressing the hell out of your clients who see how remarkably well organized you are.

Another example of leverage is focusing on your current and former clients as a source of repeat business and referrals in preference to other ways of seeking new clients. There are much lower costs associated with marketing to people who already know, like, and trust you, and much better results. Even if someone can’t hire you again right now, and doesn’t know anyone they can refer, there are other ways they can help you. They can send traffic to your web site through social media, for example, or forward your email to their friends and colleagues.

A marketing joint venture with professionals and business owners to get exposure to their lists is another form of leverage. If you’re a small business attorney, for example, you could get together with an accountant, a tax lawyer, a commercial insurance broker, and a financial planner. Each of you contributes a report, article, audio, or video, and the four of you send (or offer) this collection to your lists. Or, you can put together a bundle of services for the small business owner, with discounts and/or free services from each of you, and offer this bundle to your lists.

Anyway, I hope you’ll join us on Wednesday and bring your questions. I’m looking forward to speaking with you!

Save an extra $10 on The Attorney Marketing Formula through 5 pm PT tonight, November 26th. Use discount code “thankful”.

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Filed Under: Client loyalty, Law office management, Leverage, Marketing legal services, News, Productivity Tagged With:

What your veterinarian can teach you about marketing legal services

November 13, 2012 by
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A couple of weeks ago, our cat had a thorn stuck in his paw and was limping. We took Seamus to a new vet, someone we’ve never visited before. She removed the thorn and gave us antibiotics for the infection. She called a few days later (personally) to ask how Seamus was doing. (He’s fine.)

Did the vet call to protect herself against possible liability? I’m sure that’s part of it. Would she have called if we had come in for a check-up and nothing was wrong? I don’t know. What I do know is that getting that call meant a lot to us.

When your clients leave your office, do you call to find out if they’re okay? You should.

See how they’re doing. See if they have any questions. See if there’s anything else you can do for them. And while you’re at it, thank them again for choosing you as their attorney.

Do this yourself if possible. At the very least, have someone from your office call. It only takes a minute and yes, you can leave a voice mail.

If you want to convert a first time client to a lifetime client, you need to get the little things right. In a professional practice, the little things are the big things.

Marketing legal services is simple, if you know The Formula.

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