Lion or cow?

June 10, 2024 by
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I saw a post that said, “Creative people shouldn’t work Monday through Friday, 9 to 5, moving slowly, like a cow who grazes throughout the day. 

Instead, they should work like a lion: 

  • Sit
  • Wait for prey
  • Sprint
  • Eat
  • Rest 
  • Repeat

So, naturally, I thought about attorneys and marketing. 

Here’s how I see things: 

Unless we’re new, we should focus primarily on our warm market, e.g., our existing clients and contacts, and rely mostly on repeat business and referrals. When you’ve been around long enough and built a sizeable client base, you might never have to do anything else. 

But when we’re new, or hungry, or want to be the King of the Jungle, we go into the cold market and bring in some fresh meat. 

There’s a time to run and catch new clients and a time to do our work and let the clients catch us. 

How to get more referrals

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Filed Under: Marketing legal services, Referrals

What kind of work do you do? 

June 5, 2024 by
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Lawyers typically answer that question by talking about their practice area or services. “I’m an estate planning attorney,” for example. It may be accurate, but from a marketing standpoint, it’s not the best response. 

Yes, you want to tell people what kind of work you do, but you also want them to know what that means to them (and people they know).  

So, make sure to them the benefits your clients get when they hire you. 

For example, “I help people protect their assets from the tax collector,” or, “I show high-income individuals how to use legal strategies to improve their financial future,” are ways to do that. Follow that with, “I’m an estate planning attorney.” 

Alternatively, you could state your practice area or job description first, “I’m an estate planning attorney,” and follow that with the benefits you offer. 

You can also add something about the types of clients you represent, problems or services you focus on, or other specifics, to give the listener more information and help them see that you are a good match for them. But that might be too much information at first blush and you might want to wait until they ask questions or otherwise show interest in your initial response. 

Tell them what you do; but also tell them how you can help them or the people they know. 

For more, check out my book, How to Sell Your Legal Services in 15 Seconds or Less

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Filed Under: Marketing legal services

Niche your content

June 4, 2024 by
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It’s tempting to write articles and create videos (et al.) that appeal to a broad swath of your market. Anyone who has or wants to prevent a given problem, for example. And that’s exactly what most content creates do. 

But not all. I just saw an attorney’s article that’s targeted to people who “getting married”.

People who are getting married is a niche market, and it’s different from “People who are already married,” “People who are thinking about getting divorced,” “People who want to protect their assets from their spouse,” and many other niches. 

It prompted me to remind you to niche your content. 

Because specifics sell more than generalities. 

If you handle plaintiff’s personal injury, for example, you might target your next article to people injured in an auto collision and focus on the first (and most important) things to do. You might target your content towards people with a child injured on school property, to people who are looking for an attorney who handles claims against governmental entities, or people who are looking for a NEW attorney. 

Targeting your content to specific niches is a smart way to bring in more business. 

A post targeted to people with a child injured on school property, for example, will appeal to a different niche than a post targeted to people who sustained soft tissue injuries in an auto collision. Each will get more relevant “hits” from searches, more prospective clients reading the article, and more inquires from prospective clients who want to talk to about their case.

Because specifics sell more than generalities. 

Okay, but if you target your article to one niche and someone who sees it is in a different niche, won’t you lose their business? If your content is too specific, might you lose as much business as you gain?

Maybe. Or maybe you’ll more than make up for what you lose by attracting clients who feel that your article is speaking to them and want you to be their attorney.

And hey, there’s nothing stopping you from writing other articles for other niches. (And you should).

Years ago, when your only option was to buy (expensive) advertising in a print publication, you had to pick your target audience more carefully. Today, in the digital age, you can create content for a wide variety of niches and prospective clients who find that content not by reading a newspaper but primarily through keyword searches or social sharing. 

Resist the temptation to write content targeting “everyone” and write for specific niches. 

Because specifics sell more than generalities.

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Filed Under: Content creation, Marketing legal services Tagged With:

How do I know I can trust you? 

May 29, 2024 by
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Your clients trust you. That’s why they continue to hire you and refer others to you. You’ve shown them they can rely on you to do what you said you would do, and do it well.  

Now, what if you could earn the same kind of trust with prospective clients (and others)? What if people trusted you before they ever meet you?

You can. And should. 

Getting good reviews is a great place to start. So is focusing on referrals. But there’s something else you can do to build trust. You can use your “content” (newsletter, blog, seminars, articles, videos, podcasts, books and reports, etc.) to show people you are someone they can trust. You do that when:

  • You publish your content on a regular schedule, and on time
  • You provide great information and ideas; no fluff or filler, no click-bait
  • You explain things thoroughly, don’t talk down to anyone, don’t assume your readers know (anything) but also don’t assume they know nothing
  • You’re friendly but professional; you share personal stories but don’t over-share; you edify your staff and colleagues and other members of the Bar and community
  • You tell them what you do and how you can help them, and why they need it, and encourage them to act, but you aren’t pushy

In other words, you treat them the way clients wanted to be treated.  

Your readers and followers, prospective clients and professional contacts, are watching and judging you. They want to know what it would be like to be your client, or refer their client or friend to you. They want to see they can trust you, and this is a good way to show them. 

You don’t have to provide extraordinary quality or be prolific. You just have to show them you do what you say you will do and do it well.

When they see they can trust you, even before they meet you, they are much more likely to hire you and tell others about you.

Email Marketing for Attorneys

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Filed Under: Content creation, Marketing legal services Tagged With:

Marketing fundamentals for attorneys

May 23, 2024 by
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There are lots of ways to market legal services but (news flash) you don’t have to do all of them. A few basics are all you need to build a successful practice and if I were you, that’s what I would focus on.

You can do more, but wouldn’t it be nice if you didn’t have to? 

Okay, what are the fundamentals I’m talking about? 

  1. Repeat business. Serve your clients well, make sure they know about all the services and benefits you offer, and stay in touch with them before, during, and after their current case or matter. 
  2. Referrals. Teach your clients and professional contacts how they benefit when they refer others to you and the easiest and best way(s) to do that. You can ask for referrals, but it’s usually easier (for you) to mention that a case or client you’re talking about (in your newsletter, for example) was referred to you and how much you appreciate your client or colleague for doing that. 
  3. Third party validation. Make sure your clients, prospects, and professional contacts see the benefits other clients got by hiring you. Gather reviews, testimonials, endorsements, and success stories, and feature them in all of your marketing content.  
  4. Build relationships. All of your clients and professional contacts should hear from you regularly, via your newsletter, holiday message, or personal email. Spend personal time (in person or on the phone) with your best clients, referral sources, and closest professional contacts. 
  5. Lead generation, not branding. If you do any advertising, direct mail, networking, writing, speaking, blogging, or any other marketing to the “cold market,” i.e., people you don’t know), don’t make it “one shot”—capture their email, stay in touch with them, tell them more about what you do and how you can help them (and people they know), and never stop doing that. 

The key to building a successful practice is maximizing the lifetime value of your clients, and these fundamentals are how you do that. 

The Attorney Marketing Formula

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Filed Under: List building, Marketing legal services, Marketing Plan

Beyond FAQs

May 22, 2024 by
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The FAQs page on your website gets a lot of views because prospective clients want information about the law and about your services. They use your answers to those questions, and how you answer them, to decide to continue reading and take the next step towards hiring you. 

Bottom line, FAQs (and your well-thought out answers) are good for business. 

Some say you shouldn’t tell them too much because the more you tell them, the more questions you answer, the less likely they are to contact you (or hire you) because you’ve already given them the answers they seek.

And the more likely it is they’ll find something they don’t like and cross you off their list. 

And never tell them how to “do it themself”. Answer some things they say, not everything, or they won’t need you.

I say it’s just the opposite. The more you tell them, the more you sell them.

The more value you give them, the more likely they are to see the value of working with you. “If she gives away this much free information, she must have much more information (and help) available for paying clients.”

You sell legal services; you’re not in the information selling business. So give them lots of information. As you educate them, you show them the scope and depth of your knowledge and experience, and upir generosity in giving away all that information. They’ll still need to (and want to) talk to you (and hire you) for advice and help with their specific situation. 

One way to do this is to add “SAQs” to your FAQs. Questions they should ask but usually don’t.

Not only will they get more information they need to know, you’ll prompt them to identify other issues and questions they didn’t know they need to ask. And thus, identify more reasons they need to hire you.

As Steve Jobs said, “People don’t know what they want until you show it to them.” Clients don’t know what to ask until you until you tell them. So tell them. 

Do that and you won’t need to tell them why you’re better. They’ll know.

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Filed Under: Content creation, Marketing legal services, Online Marketing Tagged With:

Reverse marketing

May 21, 2024 by
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When I opened my practice, I looked at my skill set and experience, choose services to offer, and went looking for clients who needed those services. 

That’s how most lawyers (and businesses) do it. It’s also why they struggle. 

It’s much easier and more effective to do things in reverse. 

What I should have done (and eventually did) is to first choose the clients and market I wanted to serve, and only then choose services to offer them. It’s more efficient that way and much more likely to be successful. 

For one thing, you don’t have to hold yourself out to “everyone” and let “everyone” decide if what you do is right for them. Knowing what types of clients and markets you want to work with, you can (and should) tailor your marketing to the specific needs and wants of those clients and markets. 

Do you want to work with small businesses and professionals, big businesses, or consumers? Which industry, market, or niche? 

Do you want to work with clients who want premium service and will pay more to get it, or clients who want low cost, no frills services?

Do you want to work with clients who have lots of legal needs or clients with fewer but bigger matters? 

Figure this out first and then figure out what to offer them and how to package and promote it. 

You’ll have a lot less marketing overhead, a lot less competition, and a much higher “closing” ratio. You’ll also attract more word-of-mouth and referrals and build a much more lucrative practice. 

Use your existing “best” clients and markets and create a profile. Based on that, create content for your website, blog, or social channels, and marketing documents and offers, with examples, stories, and industry-specific language that will resonate with the people in that market.  

You’ll attract clients that are a good fit for you, and “weed out” clients who aren’t.  

You’ll also attract more referral sources and opportunities (speaking, networking, writing, joint ventures) who see you as a good fit for them and/or their clients. 

Market in reverse. Life will be good.

How to choose your ideal client and target market

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Filed Under: Marketing legal services, Marketing Plan

The 80/20 of attorney marketing

May 14, 2024 by
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How’s your marketing? Let me guess—some things you do work better than others, some don’t work at all, some strategies you enjoy, some you won’t touch with a ten-foot pole. 

The Pareto Principle, aka The 80/20 Rule, can help. 

The idea is to examine all of your options, do more of what works, and eliminate or do less of everything else. 

The Pareto Principle says that in any endeavor, “a minority of inputs or actions tens to yield the majority of outputs or results” and that minority is often around 20%. If you use 10 marketing strategies in your practice, you’re likely to find that just 2 of those strategies bring you most of your new clients, repeat business, leads, referrals, etc.

And if it’s not 20%, it’s probably close to it. 

It’s not just the strategies you use, however. For referrals, you might find that 20% of your referral sources, whether clients or professional contacts, provide you with 80% of your total referrals. Knowing that allows you to give those referral sources more attention and increase your referrals.

If you use paid advertising, you might find that 80% of your leads or inquires come from just 20% of your keywords or publications. You can significantly improve your results by spending more dollars on your best performing publications or keywords and less on the rest. 

The actual numbers aren’t critical. What’s important is that you examine your activities and your results, focus your time and dollars on the “precious few” activities that deliver the majority of your results, and ignore or do less of the “trivial many” that don’t. 

So, you have to look at your numbers. But don’t be ruled by them. 

If you’re good at something, speaking or writing for example, and you enjoy doing those things, do more of them, even if they don’t (yet) deliver big results. 

Why? Because the most important and valuable part of marketing isn’t the specifics of what you do, or how you do them, it’s that you do something. 

Anything that qualifies as marketing is good. Especially in a profession where resistance to marketing is so pronounced. 

Doing any marketing is the “20% that delivers 80% of your results”.

Because it will lead to new ideas, relationships, and opportunities that would otherwise never materialize.

Do something you enjoy. Eventually, the numbers will come. 

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Filed Under: Marketing legal services Tagged With: ,

The quickest way to generate additional income for your practice

May 6, 2024 by
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The quickest way to increase your revenue is to sell new services to your existing clients. It’s easier and faster and more profitable than finding new clients for your existing services. 

Your existing clients know and trust you. They hired you once and will hire you again. And you can communicate with (sell to) them at no cost. 

Start getting excited. 

Hold on. What if you don’t have another service to offer? 

Could you re-configure your existing services to create a “premium” version? Something worth more that can justify a higher fee? 

(Start working on that.)

How about optional add-ons or extra services to add to your current services? Perhaps an annual consultation package advising clients about taxes or investments, for example. You might team up with other professionals who specialize in those areas. 

Could you develop a smaller version of your standard services, without all the trimmings, to appeal to clients who don’t need (or can’t afford) your standard package? How about branching out to different niche markets with specialized services for those markets, or by appealing to different languages and cultural features?

Could you develop a consumer “division” of your business firm? Could you start a small business division for consumer clients who are interested in starting or buying a business?  

And, if you don’t want to develop a new service, or change any of your existing offers, there are always referrals—to and from other lawyers and businesses who may be able to reciprocate.  

Your clients have lives and interests beyond the services they hire you to perform. Find out what else they need or want and figure out a way to help them get it. 

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Filed Under: Increase your income, Law office management, Marketing legal services

Go deep with fewer people

April 25, 2024 by
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You don’t have to go to networking events, do seminars, write a newsletter or blog, advertise, or “chat” on social media. It can be beneficial if you do, but you don’t have to. As long as you regularly connect with the key people you know or want to know—your best clients, top referral sources, most promising business contacts.  

The plan is simple. Make a list of 5-25 connections who fit that description and call or email them once a month. 

What do you say? Anything. Because anything you say can make a difference. But here are some suggestions: 

  • “What’s new with you?” What’s new in their business, what are they working on, what’s the latest in their personal life? 
  • Congratulate them on something they’ve done (personal or business). 
  • Comment about news you read about their company, industry or market. 
  • How can I help? (Referrals, introductions, advice, information).
  • Compliment their new venture, campaign, website, product, or service.
  • Invite them to coffee or lunch; invite them to play golf. 
  • Invite them to accompany you to your next networking event.
  • Volunteer for their committee.
  • Offer to do a private seminar for their business.
  • Contribute to their favorite charity or promote their favorite cause.
  • Interview them (or let them interview you).
  • Send articles, videos, books that may interest them.
  • Ask, “What are you reading?” Get the book, share your thoughts.
  • Introduce them to your other business contacts.
  • Help their kids (get into college, support their team, buy their Girl Scout cookies). 

If you can’t think of anything else, just call and say hello.

Keep in touch with your most valuable business contacts. Help them, build relationships with them, be a friend. Inevitably, they will help you. 

The Attorney Marketing Formula

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Filed Under: Marketing legal services, Marketing Plan
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