A simple marketing plan

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It’s got to be simple or you won’t do it, right? At least not consistently. You can always do more if you want to, but if you’re pressed for time or don’t want to do anything else, this plan can deliver meaningful results. 

And I promise, you can do this. No matter how busy you are.

There are only 3 things you need to do:

ONE: CONTACT 2 PEOPLE A DAY

Again, you can do more but it’s better to contact 2 people a day, every day, than what you can, when you can, because when you do it daily, it becomes a habit, you get better at it, and your results compound. 

You can contact them by phone, text, mail, email, or a combination thereof. Or, if you roll that way, you can talk to them in person. 

Who do you contact? Your choice:

  • Existing clients
  • Former clients
  • Prospective clients
  • Business or professional contacts

In short, anyone who has or could hire you, provide referrals, or send traffic to your website. 

What do you say to them? That depends on who they are and how you know them (and how well). Some examples to ponder:

  • Welcome aboard (new clients, new subscribers, new seminar attendees)
  • Nice meeting you
  • How can I help you? (What do they need or want, besides legal services?)
  • Thank you (for hiring me, for your referral, for your review, etc.)
  • Just following up (with prospects, clients, and others you’ve talked to or communicated with, after a meeting, conversation, or consultation)
  • Here’s something I thought you might want to know (article, website, news story, a report, gossip)
  • Just checking in (see how they’re doing, say hello, find out about their family, client, business, etc.)

Okay, so that’s part one. Easy to do, but extremely effective. Try it for 30 days and you might be pleasantly surprised. 

TWO: A WEEKLY EMAIL

Send an email to everyone you know and keep them informed about the law, their market or industry, your new blog post or article, someone else’s blog post or article, or anything else you think will benefit or interest them. 

You don’t have to call it a newsletter. It doesn’t have to be long. It doesn’t have to be brilliant. You don’t have to sell anything or promote anything. But provide a link to a page where they can learn more about you and your services or event.

Tell them something, remind them to do something, warn them about something, share something, or tell them what you’re doing they might want to know. 

If weekly is too much, send it monthly. But send them something as often as you can.

Because no matter what you send, every time you show up in their inbox, you remind them that you’re still around and can help them and the people they know. 

THREE: 10 PAGES/30 MINUTES A DAY

You are your business, and your business is you. To become more successful, work on yourself as much or more than you work on your business. 

Read 10 pages of a good book. Listen to audiobooks or podcasts for 30 minutes. Watch videos, take classes, or talk to people who can teach you something you need to know. 

You can read about marketing, business, writing, speaking, negotiating, productivity, and the tools and resources for making what you do easier or better. You can also read about leadership, managing or working with people, history, creativity, and anything that inspires you.  

Professional development is important; personal development arguably more so.

Bonus tip: Take some of what you learn and put it in your weekly email. 

Okay, that’s it. A simple plan. Commit to doing these 3 things consistently. It may be (nearly) all the marketing you need to do.

For a more comprehensive marketing plan, get this

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Why should I believe you?

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You’ve been practicing for thirty years? Handled thousands of cases? Have a billion dollars in settlements and verdicts? 

Impressive. But so what? Maybe you got that way by cheating your clients. You’re a lawyer and I’m scared. Just because you tell me you’re good and will help me doesn’t mean I’m ready to believe you. 

What’s that? You have reviews? Testimonials? Things other people say about the good things you did for them? Or for their clients? 

In their own words, not yours. Their stories, with enough details to convince me they’re telling the truth?

Much better. But hold on. I see other lawyers who also have good reviews. Maybe y’all only post the good ones and pay off the bad ones. 

The struggle is real. 

Hold the phone. I just remembered my friend hired you once and asked him about you. He said you did a great job for him. 

I know him. And trust him. Sign me up. 

Yes, there are other ways to get people to trust you. But these are the best. These are the ones you should focus on getting and deploying.

Number one, referrals from clients and from other professionals (whose clients have hired you). 

Number two, reviews and testimonials from your clients and endorsements from lawyers and other professionals who know you and your reputation.

Number three, articles (by you or about you) in prestigious publications, awards you’ve received from prestigious organizations, and presentations you’ve given at prestigious events.

If you say it, they can doubt it. If other people say it, it’s probably true. If someone they know and trust says it, it must be true. 

How to get referrals from other lawyers

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How to get new clients to pay you more

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Actually, you can do this with existing clients, too. Anyone who is about to hire you or authorize you to do some work. Before you hand them the retainer or ask for the go ahead, ask them one more thing:

“Do you want fries with that?”

That simple question sells more fast food and it can sell more legal services. 

It’s called an upsell, and it’s an effective way to get clients to hire you to do more than they originally contemplated. 

It’s good for them, because they get something else they need but might have postponed. It’s good for you because you get paid more, but also because it’s one less thing to ask them about later. 

It works because the client is in “buying mode”. They’ve already decided to hire you for something and thus are more likely to hire you for something else. 

Instead of asking if they “also” want your additional service or add-on (your fries) you can ask if they want to upgrade their entire “purchase.” If you offer a basic service and a deluxe version, explain why they should consider the upgrade—the additional protection they get, the convenience of not coming back for more later, and, if (if you want), that they will save money by buying the package instead of getting all of your services separately. 

You could instead position the extra services or addons as a free bonus for electing your deluxe package.

Another option for you is to “cross-sell” instead of “upsell”. Bundle your other unrelated services, or the services of another lawyer in your firm, and give the client reasons to get everything at the same time.

Upsells and cross-sells are simple ways to get clients to pay you more (and be happy about it). 

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Always be closing? 

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Sales people are taught to continually look for opportunities to close the deal and that these can occur at any time. When a prospective customer or client says something about price or fees, for example, this is often one of those opportunities, because it usually means they have decided they (probably) do need or want the product or service and are thinking about how they can get it.

So, generally speaking, “Always be Closing” is good advice. But there is such a thing as trying to close too soon. 

When you talk to a prospective client for the first time, handing them a retainer agreement and a pen may be the right thing to do, or it might blow up in your face if they see it as being too presumptive or aggressive. 

Which is why sales experts tell you to not only look for opportunities to close but to see if you can create them.

You do that by using “trial closes” or questions designed to elicit responses that are consistent with someone who is ready to buy. “Are you leaning towards (Package A) or (Package B)?” is one example. 

When the prospect looks they are ready, go for the close. If they don’t, don’t push it. Don’t close before they’re ready. 

But we see marketers do this all the time. 

You see ads with a call to action that says, “Call today for an appointment”. That might be the right way to go, but what if the prospect is just starting to research their problem and isn’t ready to consider hiring an attorney? If the choice is between “Call for an appointment” or nothing, guess which one they’re going to choose? 

On the other hand, doing nothing might be best for you, too. If you’re doing lead generation advertising, you might only want leads of people who are ready to talk to or hire an attorney. 

But what about people who are ready to make an appointment? Shouldn’t you encourage them to do that? 

Maybe. Or maybe you should give them a choice: “Call for an appointment or to learn more. . .”

What should you do?

Should you close for the appointment? Tell them to sign up or your webinar? Tell them to call to ask questions or to download your report? Visit your website to learn more about the law or to learn about you and how you can help them? 

Lots of options.

I can’t tell you the right approach and neither can your marketing or advertising team. The only way to know for sure is to try several approaches and see works best. 

One offer may get lots of leads, but very few new clients. Another offer might bring in relatively few leads, but result in enough new clients to be very profitable. Another offer might lose money on your promotion but bring in a few clients who have lots of work for you after the initial case or engagement.

You “test” one offer against others. And let the numbers tell you what works best. And it works the same way with closing. When a prospective client looks like they’re ready to sign up, close them. If they aren’t ready, they will let you know.

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Why clients hire you

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Sure, they need help with a legal issue, but they have other options. Why do they choose YOU instead of any other lawyer?

Good to know that, isn’t it? 

NB: Make sure you ask (survey) every new client about this.

Did they choose you because you have, or they believe you have, more experience? A better track record? Or because you specialize in the very thing they need or want?

Maybe they trust you (more) because they’ve met you or were referred to you by someone they trust. Maybe they read some favorable reviews or testimonials. Or maybe they saw something you wrote, or that was written about you, in a publication they respect.

Or they heard you speak and were impressed at how smart (and good looking) you are. 

Do you provide extra services that other lawyers don’t (or don’t mention)? More reasonable fees? Payment plans?

Could it be something as simple as convenience? Your office is close to them or you make house calls? Or they’ve used your services before and it was just easier to use you again? 

Maybe they hired you because, unlike other attorneys they’ve spoken to, you followed up with them after the initial consultation or conversation. Maybe they’ve been getting your newsletter for a long time and feel like they know, like, and trust you.

Lots of reasons. Pay attention. Your clients will tell you why they choose you, so you can keep doing those things. 

NB 2.0: When someone doesn’t choose you, that is, they consulted you or considered you but hired someone else, it’s even more important to know why.

Often, the reason someone chooses you, or doesn’t, isn’t because of how many boxes you ticked (or didn’t). It comes down to a feeling. 

They liked you or felt good about you. There’s something about you that tipped the balance in your favor. Something you said or they read about you that made them feel like you were the one.

Simon Sinek, in his famous TED talk, said, “People don’t buy what you do, they by why you do it”. 

So, no matter what else you tell them about yourself and your services, make sure you also tell them why you do what you do. 

The Attorney Marketing Formula

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The simplest (and best) way to improve your marketing results

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We had some work done on our house recently. We researched contractors, read reviews, got a couple of bids, and then choose the contractor we preferred. 

The bid we chose was thousands of dollars higher. Why did we choose it? There were a few reasons, but one thing the winning bidder did, more than anything, made the difference.

After they sent their bid, they followed up. The other company didn’t. 

One company “hit and ran”. And never contacted us again. Like a lot of lawyers do when they say, “They know where to find us if they’re interested”. 

The other company, the one we chose, called to confirm that we received their proposal, asked if we had any questions (we did), and gave us additional information about the job that convinced us they were the better choice.

And that, my friend, is the simplest and best way to improve your marketing results.

You can do okay in a business (or profession) by getting in front of more prospective clients. But if you want to do more than okay, one conversation or appointment or bid isn’t enough.

The fortune is in the followup. 

Follow up by phone. And email. And text. And phone again. And email again. And continue to follow up until you get the job (case) or they tell you to stop. 

Give them more information. Remind them about what they said they wanted and show them again how you can help them get it. 

The more you follow up, the more the prospective client sees that not only can you help them, you want to help them. 

No, that isn’t bad posture on your part. It doesn’t make you look desperate, any more than the athlete who asks for the ball. 

It’s a sign of confidence, not weakness. 

Following up shows prospective clients that you’ve done “this” before—you are a professional and work hard at what you do. Just like you’ll work hard for them. 

People find that attractive. And will choose you instead of the competition who might cost less but aren’t as diligent. 

We did. And we’re glad we did. 

One more thing.

When you find out that the prospect signed up with another lawyer, or decided not to do anything right now, continue to follow up. Because they might change their mind or need help fixing what the other lawyer messed up. 

You want to be in their mailbox when that happens. 

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All you can do is all you can do 

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You hear about what other lawyers are doing for marketing and you realize you can’t do what they do. Or you don’t want to. 

That’s okay. You don’t have to do what they do. Or as much or as often. 

Just do something. 

You can’t write a weekly blog? Don’t even try. Post 5 or 10 articles on your website, to show visitors you know something about your practice area and give them some insights about what you can do to help them. 

It’s better than doing nothing. Better than what a lot of attorneys do (which is nothing). And it could bring some clients to your door.

You hate networking with a passion? Forget about it. You’re not going to get anywhere, forcing yourself to go places you don’t want to be and shake hands with people you don’t want to talk to.

But maybe you’re open to meeting someone once in a while for coffee. Coffee is good. No pressure. No agenda. And it might lead to something good.

You know nothing about social media and you don’t want to? Cross it off your list. But maybe before you do that, you choose a platform or two, set up an account and post your contact information, in case someone goes looking for you. 

Someone might. And call or message you. 

You don’t have to be “all in” on any kind of marketing (except the kind where you take good care of your clients). Many a successful practice is built that way. 

Do what you can do, but do something. If you hate it, stop doing it and do something else. 

And don’t worry about what anyone else is doing. But don’t ignore them completely. They might show you something you can do, and you might choose to do it. 

Do what you can do, but only if you want to. Because doing things you don’t want to do isn’t a recipe for success.  

All you can do is all you can do, but it is often enough.

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Ad Nauseum

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Why do I tell you things I’ve told you before? While will I tell you again?

And why should you do the same with your subscribers, followers, clients, and prospects?

Because people don’t always hear us the first time. They might not get our email, or read it. They might read it but not believe they need to do anything, now or ever. They may have other things on their mind and can’t deal with anything else.

Maybe they see the need but don’t have the money. Maybe they need to get someone else’s okay. Or maybe the problem isn’t that bad and they think they can live with it or it will resolve by itself.

And then, things change. The problem worsens. The threats increase. Their desire grows. Or they finally have more time to take care of something you’ve been telling about but had forgotten until you mention it again.

You’ve heard me talk about the value of having a newsletter so many times, I’m sure you could write that message yourself. But you haven’t started a newsletter (or improved the one you have) because you were busy as hell last year and didn’t see the need. Or have the time to do it.

But this year, business has slowed, and you realize that it’s time.

Sometimes, people hear your message, need what you offer, have the money, but still hesitate. Then they hear the same message or advice from someone else. Or they hear about someone who did what you’re telling them to and were very glad they did.

And, let’s not forget that every day, new people find you, join your list, and hear your message for the first time. Some people call you and make an appointment immediately. Others might not do that for years.  

Stay in their mailbox or feed, keep reminding them, and when they’re ready, they’ll give you a holler. 

People are ready when they’re ready, not before. 

How to use a newsletter to build your practice

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3 a day

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Marketing your law practice doesn’t require you to do big, difficult, or time-consuming things. At least not all the time. As I regularly note, you can accomplish a lot in just 15 minutes a day.

The key is to do it consistently. 

Schedule 15 minutes in your calendar every workday for marketing. It is arguably the most important appointment of your day. 

During those 15 minutes, you can do anything related to growing or improving your practice. If this is a new habit, however, I suggest you decide in advance what you will do. 

One way to do that is to pick a number. I suggest the number 3. 3 calls, 3 emails, 3 pages. That’s easy, isn’t it?

Here are some examples of what you could do:

  • Comment on 3 social media posts by people you know or would like to know
  • Call 3 old clients and say hello
  • Email 3 professionals in your target market—invite them to (something), ask them a question, share something you have in common
  • Collect 3 business cards
  • Like, comment, or share 3 videos of people in your target market (as a precursor to connecting with them)
  • Contact 3 people in your existing referral network and ask how/what they’re doing
  • Follow-up with 3 prospective clients you’ve spoken with
  • Send 3 thank-you notes, birthday cards, or holiday cards

3 calls or comments or emails today, another 3 tomorrow. Or mix and match, one comment, one call, one email.

Over time, you’ll connect or re-connect with a lot of people. Some will want more information, some will want to speak to you about their situation, some will see how you can help one of their clients or friends.

You could also use your 15 minutes to

  • Brainstorm 3 ideas for an article, blog post, or presentation
  • Write 3 pages (or paragraphs) for your new lead magnet, report, or book
  • Find 3 keywords to add to one of your ad campaigns
  • Find 3 groups that need guest speakers at their event
  • Find 3 blogs in your target market that accept guest posts
  • Find 3 podcasts or channels that interview lawyers

It’s just 3. It’s just 15 minutes. But it might be all the marketing you need to do. 

Marketing is easy when you know The Formula

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Talk it into existence

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There’s something to be said for being the “strong silent type” and letting your work speak for itself. There’s also something to be said for talking about what you do and how you help people. 

Because people who need your help want to know what you can do to help them.

That doesn’t mean you should talk about yourself all the time. We all know people who do that and wish they would stop. It does mean finding ways to communicate the benefits you offer without talking about them directly. At least not all the time.

An effective way to do that is to collect and use testimonials and reviews from satisfied clients, and endorsements from lawyers and other influential people who know you and your work. 

Let others do (most of) the talking for you.

You can also share success stories about the cases and clients you’ve helped. Not to brag, but to illustrate what you do in the context of real cases and clients. 

Success stories are implied testimonials.

You can also use this strategy to get more referrals. 

How? 

It’s simple. When you talk about a case you’re handling, or have done in the past, simply mention that the case was referred to you (by a client with a similar case, or by another lawyer, etc.) 

This tells people that others think enough of you and your work that they tell others about you. It suggests that you have experience helping people with the same or similar issue.

You get more referrals not by asking because you are “referrable.” 

What else can you do to talk it (referrals) into existence? When you sign up a new client, give them some extra business cards (reports, brochures, etc.), and say, “I’m giving you a few extras in case you talk to someone who needs my help”. 

That’s it.

You plant the seed that they might speak to someone who needs your help and equip them to tell them about you.

How to get more referrals from your clients

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