Law office management Archives - Page 10 of 43 - The Attorney Marketing Center

How to get great testimonials from your clients

July 30, 2020 by David M. Ward

There’s nothing better than getting a letter or email from a satisfied client, telling you how happy they are with what you’ve done for them, praising you and thanking you for your help.

It really makes your day, doesn’t it?

Testimonials also make your marketing much more effective.

The trouble is, you don’t get them very often.

Your clients may be happy, and willing to provide a testimonial or a positive review. They just don’t take the time to do it.

One solution is to send all of your clients a survey at the end of each case. The feedback you get can be turned into testimonials.

How? Provide a check box at the end of the survey where the client authorizes you to use their words (with or without their full name) on your website or elsewhere in your marketing.

When you receive the completed survey, contact the client, thank them, and send them an edited version you’d like to use. Don’t change their thoughts, just the presentation, and tell them to feel free to add or change anything.

Another option, when you speak to a client at the end of the matter, ask them if they’re happy with the way things worked out. If they are, write down what they tell you and ask them if you can use what they’ve said in your marketing.

Simple, huh?

The best testimonials address 3 subjects:

1) Before they hired you.

What was going on in their life that prompted them to seek you out. Problems, frustrations, results they wanted but weren’t getting.

2) During the case.

What was it like working with you? Did you explain everything? Keep them informed? Make them feel appreciated? Protected? Did you bill fairly and promptly?

3) After the case.

What changed about their situation? Was the problem resolved? Did they get the results they sought? Would they hire you again and/or refer others to you?

Your survey should prompt them to talk about these things, and ask them to be as specific as possible. You can also delve deeper when you speak to them.

But, if they only address one of these areas–if they’re thrilled with the way you kept them informed, for example–take the win. And then go get some more.

When a client is happy, they want you (and others) to know it. They’re willing to provide you with a testimonial. They just need a little nudge.

Ready to take a Quantum Leap in your marketing?

Filed Under: Law office management, Marketing legal services Tagged With: reviews, testimonials

Hate your law practice? Here are 7 ways to fix that

July 22, 2020 by David M. Ward

Contrary to popular belief, you don’t have to love what you do to be successful. You just can’t hate it.

If you hate what you do, every day is a burden. Not only does your work suffer, so does every other aspect of your life because our work is a big part of who we are.

If you’ve got the law practice blues, you don’t have to sit and suffer. You do have options:

(1) Increase your income

Yesterday’s post was about this very subject. No, money isn’t everything, but when you have enough of it, things tend to look a lot brighter.

When I started practicing, every month was a struggle to pay rent. I was in survival mode and really didn’t like what I was doing.

Everything changed when I finally started earning a good income and could focus on growth instead of survival.

(2) Reduce your work hours

Once I had money coming in regularly, I started looking for ways to work smarter, not harder. Eventually, I went from working 6 days a week to 3 days a week (about 5 hours per day).

I had a lot more time and energy to focus on marketing and growing my practice, and time for family and fun.

One thing I did was to document every aspect of my work process and create forms and checklists for everything. This allowed me to work more quickly and efficiently.

I also hired more help and delegated as much of the work as possible.

Other options: taking a partner, outsourcing, or associating with a firm.

(3) Change your practice areas

I started with a general practice but couldn’t keep up with everything. The day I decided to specialize and eliminate everything that wasn’t in my wheelhouse, was the day I was liberated.

I enjoyed the work I was doing and referred out everything else. Specializing attracted more clients and allowed me to get “good” in my field.

(4) Change your clients

You may like the work itself but if you don’t like your clients, “fire” them and replace them.

Choose a different target market. Re-define your ideal client. And get some people you enjoy working with. It can make a world of difference.

(5) Change your business model

Practicing law and running a law practice can be overwhelming. If you can’t keep up with everything, consider remodeling your practice.

Join a firm or merge with another firm. Hire more people or hire fewer. Go out on your own or go in-house.

There are other ways to use that sheepskin.

(6) Do something on the side

Start a side business. Invest. Write, paint, play music.

Do something you love and let your practice finance it.

When you find fulfillment after hours, you might see your practice in a more favorable light.

(7) Get out

If you’re still not happy, change your career. Start a business. Get a sales job. Write, consult, teach.

I know, you invested years building your legal career. Being a lawyer is part of your identity.

It may be hard to give that up, but if hate practicing, do yourself a favor and move on.

If you’d like to talk to someone who has done most of the above, hit me up and let’s talk.

Filed Under: Career satisfaction, Law office management, Marketing legal services, success

Ready to reinvent yourself?

June 1, 2020 by David M. Ward

According to a 2013 Harvard study, 80% of businesses are using a business model that is at least partially obsolete. They continue to use it because that’s what they’re used to.

How about you?

Have you followed the same methods and models for building and running your practice since day one? More importantly, will you continue to do so as we come out of our caves and get back to a regular schedule?

Will it be business as usual or will you make any changes?

To some extent, change is inevitable. We live in a different world today than we did a few months ago. Clients have different expectations and priorities. We have to at least be willing to meet them halfway.

But this is more than putting hand sanitizer in your waiting room. Maybe a lot more.

It might be about letting go of some practice areas, or taking on new ones. You might target new markets, change how you go about marketing, or dramatically reduce your overhead.

You might create strategic alliances with other lawyers or firms, take on new partners, or split up and going your own way.

And you might change your fee structure and billing practices.

That doesn’t mean “going small” necessarily. It might mean “going big”. You might raise your fees and let go of small cases and low-end clients.

I don’t know what’s right for you and your practice. I just know you have to consider all of your options.

And be prepared to get out of your comfort zone.

On the other hand, you may decide not to make any significant changes. You may reinvent yourself into the same person you always were.

Which is okay, too.

Just remember that while you may look the same and offer the same services from the same office, in some respects you will be a different person.

As will we all.

Whatever you do, take your clients and their referrals with you

Filed Under: Career satisfaction, Law office management, success

4 reasons you should read what other lawyers write

May 14, 2020 by David M. Ward

Lawyers are writers and you should make time to read them.

Read their blogs, subscribe to their newsletters, follow them on social.

See what they’re saying and what they’re doing. Here are four good reasons:

Law/legal news. Keep up with the law in your field and allied fields. Cases you need to read, proposed legislation, rules you need to know, emerging trends, etc.
Content ideas. Get ideas for your own articles and posts. Agree or disagree with them, offer your own examples, slant, predictions, etc.
Marketing and practice management ideas. Learn what your colleagues are doing to get clients and manage their practice. What marketing methods do they use? Which productivity methods do they use? Which vendors do they use?
Networking opportunities. Find lawyers with whom you can conduct strategic alliances, e.g., cross-referring, writing for each other’s blogs, interviewing each other, creating an event together, promoting each other’s content.

My challenge: Before the end of the day, find one lawyer in your field and one lawyer in an allied field; spend 30 minutes reading their blog (and taking notes), (b) follow them on social, and (c) sign up for their newsletter.

You’ll thank me later.

Build your practice with an email newsletter

Filed Under: Law office management, Marketing legal services

File this for later

May 13, 2020 by David M. Ward

Work may be slow right now but the day will come when you’ve got too much to handle and you’ll want to get some help. When you do, this might come in handy.

It’s about delegation.

I know, you have a love/hate relationship with the concept.

You love that it can free up your time to do your most important work and that you can make money on the difference between what you pay an employee or outside contractor and the fees you receive from the client.

You hate dealing with people who are slow or who make mistakes, and the time and money you have to spend to supervise them and to fix their messes.

But you’re smart, and realize that while you may be able to do things better yourself, you’ll never get rich if you do it all yourself.

Anyway, when you’re ready to take the plunge (again), take a deep breath, say to yourself, “This is a good thing,” and keep these 5 tips handy:

Choose the right person for the job. Make sure the OP has the necessary skills or is capable of learning them under your tutelage. (Yes, easier said than done but it has to be done.)
Provide complete instructions. Assume nothing, tell them everything. Give them step-by-step instructions and examples of what you’re looking for; record videos to show them the process.
Define success. Tell them the outcomes you expect from them once the task is completed. Give them numbers to hit, results you want to see, and deadlines for getting it done.
Have them explain it to you. Once you’ve given them instructions, ask them to tell you if anything is unclear and then have them explain to you what they understand you want them to do.
Schedule check-ins. Don’t wait until they’re finished, do a daily or weekly or other regular check-in, to evaluate their progress, answer questions, provide supplemental information, and make sure they’re on course.

A few bonus tips.

Don’t go cheap. It winds up costing you more in the end.
Start with admin work. Get to know the new hire, see how they do, before giving them anything mission-critical.
Notify your E and O carrier. Because stuff happens.

Okay, one more.

If you want to earn a lot more and work a lot less, follow Master Cylinder’s (that’s me) rule: “Delegate everything, except those things that ONLY you can do.”

Get a marketing assistant and teach them this

Filed Under: Law office management, success Tagged With: delegation

I’ve got good news and bad news

April 30, 2020 by David M. Ward

Have you ever asked a client, “Which do you want first, the good news or the bad news?”

You might want to stop asking.

It turns out it’s better to give the bad news first and finish with the good news. According to research, people remember an experience more favorably when you finish the conversation on a positive note.

Psychologically, we prefer experiences that improve over time.

So, give clients the bad news first.

It works the same for you.

When you have to deliver bad news to a client, schedule them early in the day. That way, your day will end on a positive note.

Get the hard stuff out of the way so you can end the day on a high note.

I love it when a plan comes together.

How to get referrals without asking for referrals

Filed Under: Client relations, Communication, Law office management, Productivity

Your post-pandemic plan

April 13, 2020 by David M. Ward

Soon. That’s when the world will return to a semblance of order. The fear and restrictions holding us hostage will subside, the economy will recover, and we will carry on.

But there will be changes.

Changes to what we do and how we do them. So, I suggest the need for a plan.

To create your plan, start by asking yourself a series of questions, to help you think about what you need to do.

Some questions to help you get started:

Your office and staff

What do you need to do to make the office germ-free and help clients and staff feel safe? What procedures will you follow? What supplies will you keep in stock?
Will you let (require) any employees to continue working from home? How will you equip them? How will you supervise them?
What will you do to accommodate clients who still aren’t comfortable coming to your office?
What will you do to bring on new employees, or let go of existing ones? What will you outsource?
Will you change any of your billing and collection practices?
What expenses will you cut?
What changes to your office/employee manual will you make?

Your marketing

How will you lesson dependence on face-to-face meetings?
What changes will you make to your warm market marketing systems (Newsletter, client appreciation, referrals, etc.)?
What changes will you make to your cold market marketing efforts (advertising, social media, websites, networking, speaking, etc.)?
What changes to your marketing budget do you need to consider?
Which practice areas do you want to ramp up? What new practice areas will you add? Which practice areas will you curtail or phase out?
Will you run any kind of promotions to celebrate the re-opening of your office?

You should also ask questions and create a plan for your personal life.

As you consider your options, you should also consider that the world, and your practice, won’t return to business as usual overnight. It will likely be many months before we’re fully up to speed and there will no doubt be permanent changes.

So, be prepared to regularly update your plan with new questions and new answers.

Whatever you do, don’t fret about anything. Yes, the world has changed but the fundamentals have not.

And good things are on the horizon.

Filed Under: Law office management, Marketing Plan, success

Overwhelmed?

March 30, 2020 by David M. Ward

I’m not talking about the recent news, I’m talking about your practice.

Too much work to do, too much to read, too many projects in your pipeline that never get off the ground.

Every day, you get 50 emails about marketing and managing your practice, on top of emails relating to client work and emails from someone trying to sell you something.

You don’t want to miss something important. But sorting the wheat from the chaff takes mental energy. . . and time.

I get it. It’s daunting.

But you’re running a business with a lot of moving parts, people, and important issues, and details matter. So, in addition to the work, you have to stay on top of everything else.

Sometimes, a lot gets pushed to the side, or to the future. Sometimes, the work doesn’t get done on time. Sometimes, you finish the day exhausted.

And the emails continues to pile up.

Here’s the thing.

The lawyers who earn top dollar have as much work as you do and get just as much email as you do, but they don’t get overwhelmed.

Because they work LESS than most lawyers.

They’re able to do that because they’ve set up their practice so they only focus on the most important tasks.

The tasks that move the needle.

The tasks that bring in more clients and better clients and let them continually grow their income.

If you’d like to find out how to do it

Go here

Filed Under: Law office management, Marketing legal services, success

Oh goody, another time management rule

March 25, 2020 by David M. Ward

Just when you thought you had things the way you want them, along comes another rule for managing your time.

This one is called “The 60-30-10 Rule”.

Basically, you allocate 60% of your time to “high value” activities, 30% to low-value tasks related to your goals and responsibilities, and 10% to other activities that support the first two categories.

High-value activities (60%) are those that advance your most important goals and long-term vision. These are your highest priorities and “MITs” (most important tasks).

In my view, high-value activities include client work, marketing and practice development, and personal development. It would also include projects that are important to you and your future.

Low-value activities (30%) may be necessary, urgent even, but aren’t necessarily important. They would include administrative and management tasks you have to do to keep your practice running.

The third category (10%) supports the first two categories and includes things like organizing and prioritizing your work, scheduling, planning your day or week, and doing a weekly review.

You can change the percentage of any of these categories to suit your responsibilities and style of working. You might go with 70% high-value activities, for example, by delegating more low-value (management) activities, and/or by reducing the third category from 10% to 5%.

What’s important about a system like this isn’t the actual percentages as much as it encourages you to think about what’s important so you can allocate more time to it.

And, if you track your time, it also allows you to see when you’re losing focus.

Do you use a rule like this to allocate your time?

If you’re ready to take a quantum leap in your practice. . .

Filed Under: Law office management, Productivity

Email ping-pong

February 25, 2020 by David M. Ward

We all play it. We go back and forth, forth and back, acknowledging each other’s latest email, letting the other party know their message was received and read and will be acted upon, adding thanks and emoji, and. . . it often wastes a lot of time.

It’s even worse when there are multiple people on the list.

Sometimes, you want a reply so you have a record that your message was received.

But often, you don’t.

How do you let people know they don’t need to reply?

The simplest way is to do that is to end your email with, “NO NEED TO REPLY”.

Four little words that could save you (and the other party) a lot of time.

Some people may perceive this as a statement that you’re not interested in their opinion or point of view, however, so you may want to soften it a bit by saying, “. . .no reply is necessary, I just wanted to keep you informed”.

For people you correspond with regularly, another way to handle this is to add a “short code” to the email subject line.

Examples:

NNTR: “No need to reply”

NRN: “No reply needed”

NRR: “No reply requested”
FYI-NNTR: “For your information; no need to reply”

NNTO: “No need to open”–when all the information they need is in the subject line, not in the body of the email. For example, APPOINTMENT THURSDAY AT 2PM CONFIRMED. NNTO.

When you DO want a reply, you could add PLEASE REPLY or PLEASE RSVP to the subject line, to call attention to the need for a response.

Whatever code(s) you use, make sure people know what they mean. You might add an explanation or “key” to the footer of your email template to do that.

How do you tell people you want–or don’t want–a reply?

Filed Under: Communication, Email, Law office management