Why the average lawyer earns average income (and why you don’t have to)

March 1, 2012 by
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In yesterday’s post I made the point that most clients don’t price shop, that price isn’t at the top of their list of hiring criteria. A lawyer posted on Facebook that he sees price shopping all the time, the result of the commoditization of legal services.

Who’s right? We both are.

If the services you sell are just like everyone else’s, you have a commodity and if a client can buy it from someone else for less, they often will. In the age of the Internet, it’s easy to find dozens of lawyers who offer the same services. If the attorneys advertise their fees, as many who offer commodities do, it’s even easier to compare prices. When all the client has to go on is price, price becomes important.

At the same time surveys consistently tell us that price is not the number one criteria among clients. It’s not irrelevant, they are just more concerned with issues of trust and quality.

So, we have a dichotomy. Clients say price isn’t the number one factor in choosing a lawyer and yet many clients do compare prices. How do you reconcile these two statements? More importantly, how do you avoid the price shoppers?

There are two ways. The first is to not offer what everyone else is offering so there can be no comparison. When every other attorney is offering apples, you offer oranges.

Package and promote your services so that they are different from what other lawyers offer. The average lawyer offers a commodity, you don’t. You offer something different and better.

If you handle consumer bankruptcy, for example, look for ways to add value and scope to your services and offer a comprehensive bundle of benefits that goes beyond the core services you now offer. This might include loan modification, tax lien negotiation, foreclosure defense, and credit repair. You might offer these additional services yourself or partner with other professionals who do. If not a complete service, at least offer information and advice so the client can get the solutions they need.

Don’t just treat the disease, cure the patient!

Put on your thinking cap and get your creative juices flowing. But don’t start with your services, start with your clients and the problem they want to solve. What caused the problem? What do they need to do to fix it? How can they avoid having this problem in the future? What other problems do they have? What problems have they had in the past or are likely to have in the future?

The answers to these questions will allow you to create a unique bundle of services that distinguish you from other lawyers and allow you to charge more than they do.

If you offer what everyone else does, as the average lawyer does, you will continue to see price shoppers, and in today’s economy especially, downward pressure on your fees. If you offer what nobody else does, or if you promote your services in ways that nobody else does, you will be (or appear to be) unique. You can sell your oranges for more than average attorneys sell their apples.

The second way to avoid price shoppers is by getting referrals. Referred clients come to you pre-sold. Somebody they trust already checked you out, took the risk of hiring you, and gave you a passing grade. If the referred client does go looking at what other lawyers are charging, they still won’t know if those lawyers are any good. And they know they will have to “answer” to the friend who refers them if they decide to go somewhere else.

If you combine the two strategies, packing your services in unique ways and getting most of your business from referrals, your income will be anything but average.

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Filed Under: Attorneys fees, Fees and Billing, Increase your income, Marketing legal services Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

How much should you charge for your legal services?

February 29, 2012 by
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Most lawyer’s fees are too low. They don’t want to scare off any clients so they quote a rate they think is in the ballpark of what other lawyers charge. As a result, they charge less than they could.

You’re not like other lawyers. You’re different. Better. You offer more and you can charge more. At least I hope you feel that way and can back it up (or are working to get there).

Charging what other lawyers charge isn’t a good strategy anyway because most clients don’t price shop. Price is not at the top of their list of criteria. Trust, responsiveness, availability, and added service are all far more important. And clients who are aware of what other lawyers charge will still hire you if you charge more, but only if you’re worth it. So be worth it.

Okay, so you’re worth more and you raise your fees. You may get some resistance. That’s to be expected. In fact, if you don’t get any resistance you’re probably still not charging enough.

If you owned an apartment building and had zero vacancies for an extended period of time, barring other problems, you would know that your rents are too low. If you raise the rents and your vacancies get too high, your profits will suffer. And so you adjust your rents until you find the right balance. There’s a sweet spot for apartment vacancy rates, probably in the 3-10% range depending on location and other market factors. Smart apartment owners continually adjust their rents to stay in that range and maximize their profits. You need to do something similar.

If you raise your fees and lose some clients that’s okay too, so long as you replace them with clients who are willing to pay the higher fees. The hard part is losing clients before the higher-paying clients show up. Be bold. Take a chance. Make room for some new, higher-paying clients. You’re worth it, remember?

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How to get a lot more clients without doing ANY additional marketing

February 13, 2012 by
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Most people who visit your web site, hear you speak, or read your article, don’t call you. And if they don’t call, they aren’t going to hire you.

What’s worse, they’ll never return to your web site or re-read your article. At least you have to assume that because that’s almost always the way it is.

Unless you have a lead capture mechanism in place (and you should), this is a squandered opportunity, a loss for both you and the prospective client.

The good news is that for everyone who does call, there may be three or five or ten people who almost called. They liked what they saw but for one reason or another, they didn’t take the plunge. If they aren’t ready or they don’t have any money, there’s not much you can do. There is one reason prospective clients come close to calling but don’t you can do something about. And if you do, it could bring in a boatload of new clients.

Many people don’t call lawyers simply because they’re intimidated. Let’s face it, attorneys are usually not known for being warm and fuzzy. But while a tough exterior may be a useful quality in an advocate, it can damage our ability to connect with prospective clients.

Fortunately, there is an easy solution.

Your web site or other marketing communication needs to reach out to the reader or visitor, invite them to connect, and make them feel comfortable about doing so.

One way to do that is to feature testimonials from your clients, who speak about how great it was to work with you, how you were kind and helpful and took a personal interest in their case. They can say how they felt scared before they called and thought they were going to get a sales pitch or be told they had to come into the office before they could get any information. Instead, you talked to them on the phone and answered a lot of their questions and there was no pressure at all.

Another way to make people feel comfortable about contacting you is to describe the process. Tell them what happens first, who they will speak to when they call, what will be discussed, what happens next, and so on, so that people can get a picture in their mind’s eye of what it will be like when they call.

Yet another way to reach out to people is to simply tell them directly that you will be happy to speak to them via phone or via email, that you will answer any questions they may have, with no cost or obligation.

No pressure. No intimidation. Call or email, the door is open.

There are other things you can do to make people feel comfortable about contacting you. Reduce or eliminate the “disclaimer” language so prevalent on lawyers’ web sites and emails. Photos of you and your staff are good. Use head shots and also some informal shots of you with clients or you outside the office. Personal information helps. Talk about your kids, sports you enjoy, or your volunteer work. On your web site, consider adding a video of you speaking and welcoming visitors, telling them what they will find on the site, and inviting them to contact you by phone or email.

Show people you are a regular person and you want to speak with them and more people will call.

—

Want more great marketing ideas? Check out The Quantum Leap Marketing System for Attorneys

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Filed Under: Communication, Increase your income, Marketing legal services Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

The problem with most consumer law practices

January 25, 2012 by
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Most consumer oriented law practices have a big problem. Lawyers who practice family law, bankruptcy, criminal defense, estate planning, personal injury, real estate, and other areas, have a preponderance of “one time” clients. Once the initial case or engagement is completed, the attorney gets no additional revenue, or at best, very little.

The problem is worsening. It costs more to bring in a new client today, and overhead and manpower expenses to service those clients are also higher. But clients aren’t willing to pay more, and they don’t have to. With more lawyers competing for the same clients, clients have more options.

I just spoke to an attorney who is spending $13,000 a month on yellow pages. The good news is that her ads bring in a lot of new clients. The bad news is that she loses money on every one.

The solution to this problem is for attorneys to develop their “back end”–services and other profitable initiatives they can offer their clients after the initial engagement.

In any business, most of the profits are made on the back end. There is a cost to acquire a new customer, and while it is hoped that this can be done at a profit, it’s not required. So long as the business can make enough profit after the initial sale, if the back end is big enough, most businesses are willing to lose money on the front end.

How can an attorney develop a back end?

Some attorneys are branching out into new practice areas. So the bankruptcy lawyer who sees a downturn in new clients starts offering family law or estate planning services. The problem with this is that it makes it much harder to get referrals from family law and estate planning attorneys with whom you are now competing. It’s also more difficult to market a general practice than a specialized one.

Instead of taking on new practice areas, here are two things an attorney can do to develop a back end:

  1. Expand and systematize referrals. Focus on getting more referrals, better referrals, and more frequent referrals from your clients. In this way, each client you bring in on the front end represents more profits on the back end. If you spend $1000 to bring in a new client who pays you $1000 on the front end, but you earn an average of $3000 from their back-end referrals, you can afford to bring in as many “break even” clients as possible. You can even lose money on the front end.
  2. Market the services of other lawyers to your clients. Instead of you taking on a new practice area, associate with other attorneys who are specialists in those areas and offer their services to your clients in return for a share of the fees (if ethically permissible) or in exchange for marketing your services to their clients. (You aren’t limited to working with other attorneys; you can also market the services of other professionals and businesses.)

A key number every attorney must know is the “lifetime value” of a new client. This includes the value of their repeat business, their referrals, and other revenue derived as a result of having them on your list. Take some time to determine this number and then work on increasing it.

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Filed Under: Advertising, Attorneys fees, Fees and Billing, Increase your income, Marketing legal services, Specializing Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

The problem with free consultations (and my offer to you)

January 18, 2012 by
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People prefer to hire lawyers they know, like, and trust. One of the best ways to get prospects to know, like, and trust you is to give them a sample of what you do.

To some extent, that’s what you do when you provide free information. Blog posts, reports, articles, seminars, and so on, give prospective clients an insight into what you have done for others, suggesting that you can do the same for them. They can see you know what you’re doing and get a sense for what it would be like to work with you. Through your words, they come to know, like, and trust you, bringing them one step closer to hiring you.

And yet, of all the people who read or listen to your information, only a small percentage actually take it upon themselves to call and book an appointment. There’s too big of a gap between “reader” and “client”. One way to bridge that gap is by offering a free consultation.

Free consultations allow you to initiate a personal relationship with a prospect and provide them with “customized” information. It’s one thing to provide generic information in your practice area, quite another to interpret that information in the context of a prospect’s particular problem. Prospects who read your information may like what you say and the stories you share but this will never take the place of actually speaking with you.

Done right, free consultations can bring in a lot of business. The problem with free consultations, especially in practice areas where they are common, is that they are usually not done right.

“Free” is one of the most powerful words in the dictionary, but just because something is free doesn’t mean anyone will want it. Many prospects today, seeing that most attorneys in your field offer free consultations, don’t see the value in yours. In fact, many prospects see no value in a consultation, believing it is just an excuse to get them into your office so you can do a sales pitch for your services. Unfortunately, for many attorneys, that’s exactly what it is.

One solution is to include a detailed description of everything the prospect gets as part of the free consultation. Tell them what they will learn, what you will explain, what you will do for them, and what you will give them (e.g., reports, checklists, case evaluation, issue summary, etc.).

Also tell them how they will benefit. Yes, you evaluate their situation and explain their options, but so what? What does that mean to them? It means they will be able to make better decisions about what to do, making it more likely that they will resolve their problem or achieve their objective. It means they will save time or money. It means they will be one step closer to eliminating their anxiety and worry and sleepless nights.

In other words, you can’t simply say the magic words “free consultation” and expect people to come running. You have to “sell” it.

Let me give you an example with my own services.

Starting today, until further notice, I’m offering free consultations for my consulting and coaching services. These will be on a first come, first served basis since I can only do so many of these and I expect to get a lot of response.

During our consultation we’ll talk about where you are and where you would like to be in your career. I’ll ask questions and I will give you my advice. I won’t mince words. I’ll tell you straight out what I think you should do. As a result, you’ll know exactly what to do to bring in more clients, increase your income, or otherwise improve your current situation.

In addition, you’ll be able to ask me questions. You can ask about marketing, cash flow, productivity, goals, or anything else that’s on your mind.

As you know, I’m not somebody who simply read a few marketing books and set up a web site. I practiced law for more than twenty years and learned (the hard way) what it takes to bring in good, paying clients. I know what works and what doesn’t, what works quickly and what doesn’t, because I’ve tried it all. I’ve been in your shoes. I know what it’s like to struggle to make rent. I know what it’s like to question whether you made the right choice of career or specialty or market. I also know what it’s like when the business is coming in faster than you can handle.

I have seventeen years experience consulting with attorneys and helping them to get more clients and increase their income. But then if you’re a regular reader of this blog, you know most of this. That’s why you read it.

These consultations are free and there is no obligation to you whatsoever. Sure, I hope that after the consultation you will want to hire me or buy something from me, but that’s not important. What’s important is that I give you so much value during our consultation, so many ideas for taking your practice to a much higher level, that you can’t wait to get started. I know that if I deliver that to you, we’ll do business some day.

Because I expect to get a lot of response to this offer, I must limit these consultations to 15 minutes. Therefore, after we schedule your consultation, please email me as much information as possible about your current situation. Tell me your problems, obstacles, questions and objectives, so that when we talk, we can get right to the solutions.

Fair enough?

If you’re interested in setting up a consultation, please email info[at]attorneymarketing.com and put “consultation 15” in the subject. Give me three dates and times when you will be available for 15 minutes and the best telephone number to reach you. (I’m in California, so mind the time zone.) I’ll email back and we’ll confirm the date and time.

I look forward to helping you make 2012 your best year ever.

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Filed Under: Career satisfaction, Coaching, Increase your income, Marketing legal services, Marketing Plan, success Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

My Wish for You in 2012: A Plan for Building Your Law Practice

December 12, 2011 by
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business development plan for attorney lawyerAre you hoping things will get better in 2012? A lot of people are, but unfortunately, “hope is not a strategy“.

If you want things to get better, you need to make them better. But how?

Don’t start with technique, start with strategy–a plan. What do you want to happen, and why? What will do you do to make it happen? Is this really something you want to do?

Too often, people grab hold of a technique they hear about and run with it. They spend time and money doing the requisite activities, without considering why they are doing it. They install an expensive motor on their row boat hoping it will get them to their destination faster, but they never look at a map.

Techniques are important. Using the right tools for the job, execution, timing–can make a big difference in your results. But without the right strategy, the latest techniques won’t help you to get where you want to go.

What are you good at and enjoy? Writing? Speaking? Networking? Technology? Make it the core of your business building strategy.

Your strategy doesn’t have to be elaborate. In fact, the simpler it is the better. But simple is not synonymous with small. Your plan should inspire you to accomplish big things. After all, the goal isn’t merely to survive, it is to thrive, and you cannot do that by dabbling.

I’ve seen great practices built by using only one or two techniques. Once you know where you want to go and you have a plan to get there, you don’t need dozens of techniques.

Without the right strategy, no technique is good enough, no matter how much it costs or how hard you work at it. With the right strategy, almost any technique will do.

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Filed Under: Career satisfaction, Goal Setting, Increase your income, Marketing legal services, Marketing Plan, success Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

How to get more clients from cases you don’t handle

December 8, 2011 by
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shield laws for bloggersI’m sure you read the story about the blogger in a defamation case who got hit with a $2.5 million judgment because, the judge said, she is not a journalist and was not protected by the state’s shield laws.

Interesting story. Important subject.

You read the story but did you make any money with it?

Attorneys can easily leverage a story like this to get more media attention, more traffic to their web site, more prospects, more referral sources, and more clients. And I’m not talking about the attorneys who handled the case itself, I’m talking about you.

Interested? Here’s all you have to do.

First, write a two or three page report summarizing defamation laws in your jurisdiction. You don’t have to practice in this area to do this, Uncle Google will help you, or you can ask an attorney friend who does (and tell him about this idea so he can do it, too).

In your report, mention the case about the blogger. Offer your opinion. Include a few citations, maybe a few resources.

Now, go back to Uncle Google and ask him to give you a list of bloggers in your target market(s) who are in your state or province.

Next, contact these bloggers (a personal email will do) and tell them you wrote a report for bloggers about how they can protect themselves against lawsuits like the one in the news. Offer to send it to them, free of charge. Tell them they are welcome to send it other bloggers they know and care about. (If you know the blogger, you could just send them the report in your first email).

In one day, you can get your report into the hands of dozens of people who every day write and influence the people you are targeting for your services. You have provided value to the blogger on a personal level, and asked nothing in return.

Where can this lead? Interviews, hosted webinars for their readers, guest posts, referrals, introductions, you name it.

It doesn’t matter if you don’t practice tort law. If you do, that’s an added benefit, but the point of this effort isn’t to show these bloggers you can help them in this particular area of the law, it’s to meet them.

Now, what else could you do with your report? Here are a few ideas:

  • Send it to local media with a cover letter letting them know you are available for interviews.
  • Call or email your clients and contacts: Who do you know in (your area) who writes a blog? Tell them you have a report that can help them.
  • Offer it through social media; post a video on youtube, opining on the story and linking to your report; offer it via forums, chat groups, listserves, and other areas where bloggers and people who know bloggers congregate.
  • Contact local blogger groups, business groups (anyone who has a blog), and offer a lunch talk.
  • Write about it on your blog or in your newsletter.
  • Take out ads and offer the report, as a “public service”.
  • Send it to lawyers in your practice area in states or provinces where you don’t practice. Tell them what you’re doing with the report in your area, invite them to do the same in theirs. (If you have to ask how this could help you, forget about this idea.)
  • Do a presentation at your bar group’s next function on how you used a news story to market your services.

You get the idea.

Oh, and you don’t need a news story to do this, you can write about anything that affects people in your target market or they people who influence them.

It’s about providing value in a leveraged way. It’s simple and it works. And if your report goes viral, it could help you take a quantum leap in the growth of your practice.

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Filed Under: Advertising, Blogging, Increase your income, Leverage, List building, Marketing legal services, Networking, News, Online Marketing, Publicity, Referrals, Relationship marketing, Social media marketing Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

“It’s the cases I don’t take that make me money”

November 18, 2011 by
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“Besides the noble art of getting things done, there is the noble art of leaving things undone. The wisdom of life consists in the elimination of nonessentials.” -Lin Yutang, writer and translator (1895-1976)

Last night, I spoke at an event. One of the topics I talked about was “The 80/20 principle,” aka, “The Pareto Principle,” the idea that a large percentage of our results come from a small percentage of our activities.

Afterwards, I was chatting with a man who works for a bankruptcy attorney. He liked my talk and was telling me about their practice and how busy they were. He quoted something his employer said, but I wasn’t sure I’d heard him correctly so I asked him to repeat it:

“It’s the cases I don’t take that make me money”.

He explained that the attorney was very selective about the cases he accepts. A lot of business comes knocking on his door, but he turns down a large percentage. He turns down the lower-end of the spectrum of clients, the ones who don’t have enough for a retainer, who need installments, price shoppers, etc., in favor of those who can pay his higher than average fees.

A lot of attorneys will take the lower-end clients, figuring that whatever they pay will contribute to overhead. But this attorney understands that those clients would actually cost him money, and not just in the literal sense of “not paying,” but because they would take up a disproportionate amount of time and energy.

And, he doesn’t have the extra overhead he would have if he accepted the lower end clients.

By eliminating as much as eighty percent of the possible client pool, he is able to run a lean and profitable practice. I’m sure he also makes it home for dinner.

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Filed Under: Attorneys fees, Career satisfaction, Fees and Billing, Increase your income, Productivity Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Do you have too many clients?

November 8, 2011 by
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Attorneys with too many clients to serveMost attorneys say they want to get more clients but if they’re not ready for more clients, it can actually cost them.

If you can’t serve your clients, they aren’t going to stay. You must have the staff and other resources in place to do the legal work and support functions or new clients will leave as quickly as they came.

What about “one time” clients? You’re going to handle their divorce or bankruptcy or injury claim, do their estate plan or handle their closing, and you’ll probably never see them again. Can you have too many of them?

Yes. These clients may not themselves return but if you treat them well, they can and will send you referrals. If you don’t, not only will they not send you new business, they’ll tell everyone they know that you are sloppy or slow and did not do a good job for them.

Taking on too many clients is especially a problem for firms that grow quickly. Legal services do not scale in the same way selling widgets does. We are in a personal service business and we need people to provide that service. It takes time to find the right people, hire and train them. Unbridled growth can cause serious financial problems, inordinate stress, and an increased risk of malpractice for the firm that is unprepared.

Rapid law firm growth is not uncommon. A dramatic upsurge in “intakes” can occur for a variety of reasons. Every firm needs to have a plan in place now, before that growth occurs.

If your practice tripled in the next 90 days, where will you go to find the personnel, the technology, and the other resources you need to accommodate that growth?

Will you partner with another firm? Turn away the smaller business to handle the bigger cases or clients? Will you hire a head hunting firm or consultant?

Start thinking about these things right now, and not just because you need to be prepared. Think about these things because in doing so, you will send a message to your subconscious mind that you are ready for and expecting that growth. You will then start seeing things you need to see and attracting the information and the contacts you need to make that growth a reality.

Too many clients? A nice problem when you’re ready for it.

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Filed Under: Client relations, Increase your income, Law office management, Marketing Plan, Productivity Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Can pro bono legal work help you grow your law practice? Yes it can.

November 1, 2011 by
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marketing legal services with pro bono workWhen I opened my own office shortly after law school, I had an abundance of free time and a lack of clients or experience. Once or twice a week, I volunteered the day at a legal clinic for women. The clients had mostly domestic violence and other family law issues. When I began, I knew very little about family law but I quickly learned. I was able to use those skills in my private practice.

Last week was “pro bono” week. This article presents the “Top 5 Reasons to Do Pro Bono Work“. I’m sure I can lay claim to all five. The article misses a reason, however. My pro bono work helped me to build my practice.

The clinic I worked at allowed us to offer our paid services to the clients. Granted, most of them had little or no money, but I did get some paying work. And little or nothing was definitely better than nothing. It allowed my nascent practice to stay afloat, which allowed me to continue to volunteer.

I also got some referrals from those clients. Yes, most of them were in the same financial shape as the clients who referred them, but not all of them.

I was also able to network with the administrators of the clinic, their benefactors, and the other attorneys who volunteered. I met people who introduced me to others and as my network grew, so did my practice.

I’m not ashamed to admit that growing my practice was one of the reasons I volunteered at the legal clinic. I don’t think any of the hundreds of clients I saw for free or almost free would have any objections.

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Filed Under: Attorneys fees, Career satisfaction, Image, Increase your income, Marketing legal services, Networking, Referrals Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
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