Client relations Archives - The Attorney Marketing Center

The big lie about legal marketing

April 10, 2025 by David M. Ward

If you ask attorneys about marketing, many will tell you, “I don’t have time for marketing”. But this isn’t true. If you tell yourself this, frankly, you’re lying to yourself.

Because you do have the time.

Marketing doesn’t only mean going to networking events, conducting seminars, writing a blog or newsletter, or taking business associates to lunch. There are many things a lawyer does that qualify as marketing that take no time at all.

And you already do them every day.

Here are a few (in no particular order):

How you describe your services
Your fee structure and billing practices
The way you greet new clients at your first meeting
Your appearance (clothing, grooming, demeanor) and office
How long you put callers on hold
Your website (or lack thereof)
Your voicemail greeting
What you say in your letters and emails
Thank-you notes and what you write in them
The holiday cards you send
Your level of energy and enthusiasm for your work
Your retainer agreement
Your new client onboarding process
The confidence you inspire in people who meet you
The way you respond to inquiries via email or phone—what you say, how long you take to reply
The quality of your marketing documents
How often you stay in touch with clients and prospects
The causes and charities you support
The professionalism displayed by your staff
How encouraging you are when delivering bad news
How consistently you meet deadlines
Your sense of humor (or lack thereof)
Your smile (or lack thereof)
Talking about politics or religion with the wrong people or at the wrong time
Letting others do the talking while you do the listening
The stories you share to make your points and/or to comfort or encourage your clients
And the list goes on. And on.

It’s all marketing. Every bit of it.

You’re giving people an image and story about your practice, setting their expectations, and building trust. You’re showing the world what’s important to you and what it’s like to work with you.

That’s marketing. And it doesn’t take any extra time to do it.

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

Managing client expectations to sell more legal services

April 8, 2025 by David M. Ward

Prospective clients often don’t trust lawyers. They may have had a bad experience, friends or business associates may have shared their bad experiences, or decades of TV shows depicting lawyers as liars and cheats might have indoctrinated them.

So they often expect the worst from you.

Among other things, they expect you to be less than transparent about the value of your services and their strengths and limitations. They might expect you to charge top dollar for services they don’t need or could get elsewhere for a lot less.

You want to overcome their doubts and fears and get “the sale,” and make them happy so they hire you again and provide you with great reviews and lots of referrals.

To accomplish this, you should do your best to exceed their expectations. One way to do that is to “down sell” them.

They expect you to tell them they need your “big package,” which costs a lot but is necessary for their protection, yada yada, and they doubt you. When you instead tell them they don’t need that, that they can get most of the benefits they want and need with your “regular” package of services and save a bundle, they are surprised and probably thrilled.

Down selling is a simple and effective way to overcome a would-be client’s fear and skepticism and make them see you as one of the good guys.

You might be inclined to lead with your basic package to get them in the door and then show them your deluxe package or various extras. There are times when this is the right strategy.

But consider down selling instead.

Filed Under: Client loyalty, Client relations, Closing the sale, Increase your income, Salesmanship

Do your clients love you?

March 25, 2025 by David M. Ward

Our yard needs updating and my wife and I got bids from several landscaping contractors. Many had reviews that talked about the contractor’s good work, beautiful designs, and reasonable prices. The one we hired had reviews like this and something else.

The winning contractor’s customers said things like, “He took care of everything,” “We didn’t have to worry about anything,” “We knew we made the right decision.”

Clearly, they weren’t just satisfied customers; they were fans. They didn’t just love his work; they loved him.

That’s what you want from your clients.

When your clients adore you and trust you, when they love you, you get a high percentage of repeat business, referrals, positive word-of-mouth, testimonials, and clients who are easier to work with.

Your practice thrives, and you don’t have to do a lot of marketing or advertising.

How do you make clients fall in love with you? Not just by working hard and delivering great results. Clients pay you well for that, and expect it.

Clients don’t fall in love with you because of what you do for them. They fall in love with you because of how you make them feel.

You make them feel appreciated and safe. They are in good hands and don’t have anything to worry about.

How do you accomplish this?

By how you speak to them, how you reply to their questions, what you send them, and what you do for them beyond your core work.

It’s staying in touch with them, smiling when they come into the room, and remembering the names of their kids.

It’s treating them like a cherished friend or a member of your family and making sure your staff does the same.

It may not be easy, but it’s not complicated. Show your clients you love them and they’ll show you the same.

Filed Under: Client loyalty, Client relations

Clients prefer hiring these attorneys

March 20, 2025 by David M. Ward

It’s a well-known maxim that bears repeating: “People prefer to hire and work with people they know, like, and trust.” That’s true even when those people are attorneys.

Actually, it’s even more true of attorneys because we sell personal services and work closely with our clients. Hard to please clients if they don’t like or trust you.

Now, besides being nice to our clients and delivering excellent outcomes at a reasonable fee, is there anything else we can do to enhance our client relationships?

Yes, and you probably already do it.

You stay in touch with your clients, right? Send them holiday and birthday cards, a newsletter, and let them know when you have a new article or video that can help them?

NB: If you don’t do these things with your clients and contacts, you’re missing out on one of the simplest and most effective ways to grow your practice. Just saying.

What else can you do to make your clients feel appreciated and help them remember that you’re still around?

You can send them a personal note. Not an email, a handwritten note sent in ye olde mail.

Say hello, thank them for their business and referrals, ask about their business or job, mention their spouse or kids, share something you recall about them or their case, and otherwise treat them as someone you care about.

You do care about them, don’t you?

“A personal note, for all my current and former clients? I don’t have time to do that,” you say?

Yes, you do. You can do what attorney Mike Alder does for his clients. I heard that every morning he writes 3 personal notes to clients and pops them in the mail. You can do that.

“It’s not worth the effort,” you say. Tell that to Mike. He’s built an injury and employment firm that has recovered over $3 billion for their clients. Let’s see, one third of a billion is how much?

Yeah, personal notes. And phone calls, too. And being a mensch and treating your clients like you care about them as people, not just clients.

That’s how clients get to know, like, and trust you.

Filed Under: Client loyalty, Client relations, Marketing legal services

The fortune is in the follow-up

January 14, 2025 by David M. Ward

Some attorneys are terrible about returning phone calls and replying to emails.

Don’t be like them.

Clients hate “not knowing” if you received their message and if you (or someone on your behalf) will reply. When they don’t hear from you, it makes it look like you don’t care about them—so why should they care about you? Or continue to hire you.

You should have a standard policy of returning calls and replying to emails within one business day, or to at least confirm receipt of their message and tell them when you will reply.

Be as specific as possible without promising more than you can deliver. Make it a pledge. Put it in writing. Put it on your website. Put it in your “new client” kit.

And apologize if you occasionally mess up.

I’m guessing you already do this to some extent. Your clients know they can count on you, which is one reason they stay with you and refer others to you.

So work on memorializing and improving your follow-up policies. Keep your clients well-fed.

That’s not all. You should also have a policy for replying to prospective clients who contact you.

Ad leads, referrals, website inquiries, networking contacts—timely follow-up is arguably even more critical.

Why? Because you know your existing clients will probably forgive you if you don’t return their calls immediately. You can’t expect the same from prospective clients.

They’ll just call someone else.

So, you need a plan.

What to do when a prospective client calls and has questions. What you will say, what you will send them, what you will do after the initial call or email, and when.

Especially when. Because the clock is ticking.

Map out a series of follow-ups—when you will call again, what you will say, what you will offer.

And when you will follow-up after that.

Don’t leave it up to the prospective clients. It’s up to you to call again, and don’t stop calling, until they hire you or tell you to stop.

Because the fortune, your fortune, is in the follow-up.

Filed Under: Client loyalty, Client relations, Marketing legal services

What to do when you get a bad review

January 7, 2025 by David M. Ward

It happens. A client is unhappy about something you did or didn’t do and posts a negative review. And those reviews can hurt you.

But bad reviews are a fact of life. No matter how good you are and how hard you work to keep your clients happy, you can’t please everyone all of the time.

So, what can you do?

Don’t ignore these reviews. Contact the client immediately. Take responsibility, apologize, promise you’ll fix things, and then fix them. Once you’ve made amends and fixed what needs fixing, ask the client to update their review.
If necessary, and the review platform allows it, consider responding to the review with an explanation. Show readers you care and have made improvements or are in the process of doing that. But be careful. A vindictive client might not let it go. At least prospective clients will see that you made the effort.
Encourage clients to talk to you about their concerns early and often. Let them complain privately instead of waiting to tell the world. Consider scheduling regular phone calls to review “how you’re doing” and learn what you can improve.
Ask your happy clients to leave reviews. Get enough of those and you might “bury” the bad ones.

Finally, learn from your reviews, good and bad. Find out what you’re doing well so you can do more of it, and what you need to change to keep clients better informed and happy.

Client feedback is always important. Negative feedback can be invaluable.

Filed Under: Client loyalty, Client relations, Law office management

How to be the top lawyer in your niche

November 19, 2024 by David M. Ward

The top lawyers are different. Not necessarily smarter or more accomplished, they do things differently.

The key is their mindset about serving their clients better than any other lawyer could or would, and the reputation they develop as a result.

They make a commitment to their clients and to themself to be the best at every aspect of what they do.

Because they do, their clients unfailingly turn to them whenever they need advice or help.

It starts by letting their clients know that they (or someone on their behalf) will be available whenever they call with a question or to discuss a legal matter.

They aren’t just willing to do it, they are eager to do it.

Being the best also means being honest with their clients or prospects about what they can and can’t do for them. If they aren’t the best lawyer for the job, they don’t fake it, they tell the client. If the client insists that they handle the matter anyway, they say no, even if the client is happy to pay for it.

They explain that the client doesn’t need what they’ve asked for, or that they’re not the best lawyer for the job, and suggest a different solution or refer them to another lawyer who can help them.

The best lawyers are also proactive. They rigorously stay in touch with their clients, even when they’re not actively engaged in legal work for them. They go out of their way to

Share useful ideas, information, and resources
Introduce them to prospective clients or customers for their business or practice
Invite them to sporting or entertainment events they know would appeal to them
Educate them about how their legal services work so that the client will be better able to recognize when they need help or advice and be better able to work with them
And they look for ways to spend time with them (off the clock) getting to know them, their families, their customers, and their advisors

It all boils down to this: the most successful lawyers don’t just provide good legal services for their clients, they build strong relationships with them.

As a result, these lawyers never struggle to attract great clients or need to sell them anything. Clients seek them out, stay with them through thick and thin, and go out of their way to refer other clients.

It feels good to be the best, and it pays well.

Filed Under: Client loyalty, Client relations, Image, success

A simple way to start using email marketing

November 12, 2024 by David M. Ward

You know a lot of people who could hire you (or hire you again), share your content, or send you referrals. You have their email address and would like to stay in touch with them, but you don’t want to look like you’re hungry for business. Or you don’t know what to say.

What can you do? Send them a “thank you” email.

Thank them for being your client, colleague, or friend. Don’t ask for anything, just say thanks.

Thanking your clients and contacts can:

Build trust and foster loyalty
Make them feel important
Reduce “buyer remorse”
Remind them you are still available to help them (or someone they know)
Encourage them to think about you and perhaps visit your website or call to ask a question

In other words, saying “thank you” is good for business.

And what could be simpler than thanking people for their patronage or friendship?

Your email should be short, informal, and from you, not your firm.

You can make it more effective by mentioning something about them, their case, their business or family, your last meeting or conversation, or by simply addressing them by their first name.

NB: Mention their first name in the subject line and you should get more “opens”.

If you want, you can do more. You can encourage them to connect with you on social media, for example, ask them about their new product or project, or tell them about your latest article or upcoming event. Or invite them to sign up for your newsletter or subscribe to your blog.

Or you can save these for your next email, and yes, there should be a next email, but you don’t have to think about that right now—for now, sending a thank you email is enough.

Filed Under: Client loyalty, Client relations, Email

Marketing for lawyers who hate marketing

October 23, 2024 by David M. Ward

Q: “Is there anything I can do to bring in more business that doesn’t require a lot of time or money or to doing things I don’t want to do?”

A: “Yes—Stay in touch with people who already know, like, and trust you—clients, former clients, professional and business contacts, and others on your list.”

Note to self: make a list.

Every time people hear from you it reminds them that you’re still alive, still practicing law, still helping people solve legal problems.

They think about you, they think about what they want or need, and you get repeat business and referrals and other opportunities to grow your practice.

You might simply send them a birthday card or holiday card, Or call, say hello and ask how they’re doing. Hearing your name or voice, even on a phone message, can lead to business.

You can also send emails. Choose two people each day and send them an email, an article link, or just say hello. Or send everyone a weekly newsletter.

You can do more but you don’t t have to. Don’t overthink this. Just stay in touch with people who know, like, and trust you and keep doing that.

You may not like marketing but you’ll like the results.

The Attorney Marketing Formula

Filed Under: Client loyalty, Client relations

Make ‘em fall in love with you

October 21, 2024 by David M. Ward

We have a service contract for our heating and air conditioning appliances. The service people are competent, friendly (and clean), their fees are reasonable, and we continue to renew our contract, but if a better option came along, we’re open to jumping ship.

Because they’re good, but we don’t love them.

We had an appointment scheduled for this morning but weren’t sure they would show up. It’s Monday, the appointment was made two weeks ago, but they didn’t confirm with a call or email or text, so we weren’t sure if they would show up today.

We called, and yes, we were on the schedule. Which meant we can go about our day and not wonder if someone would show up.

But we shouldn’t have to call. It’s their business, not ours, and serving customers is and should be their top priority. For our peace of mind and theirs. Just as we want to know they’re coming, don’t they want to know we haven’t forgotten and will be home when they arrive?

In the lawyer-client world, the details are more complicated, but the principles are the same.

Clients want excellent legal work and excellent outcomes but they also want to know that you care enough about what you do and the people for whom you do it to take care of the so-called “little things” that make working with them easier and better.

The kinds of things that make them like and trust you.

That might be as simple as creating a policy manual for your office with systems for staying in touch with your clients.

It might be as simple as studying their industry or market to learn all about their problems, interests and goals, and using what you’ve learned to help them.

It might be as simple as posting information on your website and letting clients know where to find it, or writing a newsletter to send them this information so they don’t have to remember to look.

It might be as simple as making sure you and your staff always greet them with a smile and handshake, make eye contact, and remember them during the holidays.

But whatever it is in your world, make sure you do it. Because your clients want to feel good about their decision to hire you, stay with you, and recommend you.

Our service provider may not do everything we’d like them to do, but they’re making progress. They just called my wife and told her they were on their way.

Filed Under: Client relations