What else can I get you today?

March 27, 2019 by
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One of the simplest ways to increase your revenue is to make sure your clients know about other services offered by you or your firm, aka “cross-selling”.

(What’s that? You don’t offer other services? Have a seat. I’ll get back to you in a minute.)

Cross-selling is good for the client who needs additional services and might not know you offer them, and it’s obviously good for you.

Cross-selling can add decimal points to your bottom line, even if only a small percentage of clients “buy” your other services.

Don’t let the “selling” throw you. Just let your clients (and prospects) know “what else” you do. 

On your website, you can highlight links to pages that describe the other services. You can talk about the services in your newsletter. You can mention other services to the client at the end of the case or engagement.

No pressure. Here’s something else we do, would you like to get some information?

Now, if you only offer one service or group of closely-related services, if you don’t have any other practice areas, if you don’t work in a firm, you’re not out of luck.

Find other lawyers you trust and are willing to recommend and cross-sell their services to your clients and prospects.

If they offer (and you can accept) referral fees, great. If not, see if they are willing to cross-sell your services to their clients.

Make sense? Dollars, too.

More ways to work with other lawyers

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Filed Under: Marketing legal services, Referrals Tagged With:

Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman

March 25, 2019 by
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In the 1970s, Louise Lasser starred in a satirical soap opera, Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman. The name was repeated because Producer Norman Lear and the show’s writers believed that dialog in a soap opera was always said twice. 

Satire notwithstanding, that’s not much of a stretch.

It’s not because soap operas have a lot of time to fill and a set of storylines where not much happens. It’s because repetition is an effective way to build tension.

It’s the same in marketing a product or service. You want to create or recognize tension, and build it, so you can get readers or listeners to buy your product or service to relieve that tension.

So we repeat our marketing messages by running multiple ads or writing multiple articles or doing a series of presentations that deal with the same issues.

Some say it takes seven impressions to get someone to buy. The first time, they don’t notice it. The second time, they may notice it but not really listen. The third time, they listen but may not believe. And so on, until they are persuaded to take the next step.

Accurate or not, there’s value in repeating your message.

If you’re writing a blog post or article, it’s okay if you’ve written about the same subject before. Somebody will be hearing it for the first time; others, are on their fifth or sixth time and need to hear it again.

Besides, you may present the same message but you will probably write it in a different way. Different lead, different examples or stories, different call to action.

So don’t fear repetition, embrace it, embrace it.

Here’s the formula for marketing legal services

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Filed Under: Marketing legal services Tagged With:

You probably think this post is about you

March 20, 2019 by
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Actually, this post is about you. Because you are the most important element in your marketing and career.

Whether you are a sole practitioner or the head honcho in a big firm, your success is predicated on the total package called “you”.

Clients buy you before they buy your services. They are attracted to you, your story, your face, and your message. Yes, they want to know about your experience and your services, but before they take the next step they want to know about you.

Put more “you” in your marketing.

Most lawyers don’t. They push out information, great information and in great quantities, but devoid of context or personality.

It’s not enough.

Clients don’t want a librarian, they want a mentor, a warrior,  a confidant, a friend.

They want to know what you’re like, what you think, and how you work with your clients. They want to hear your voice, telling them that you have the solution to their problem and that everything is going to be okay.

Information is good but will never take the place of “you”.

How to put more “you” in your website

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Filed Under: Marketing legal services

Information isn’t advice

March 19, 2019 by
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There are those who say we should give away lots of information to show prospective clients how much we know and thus, how much we can do. Others say that we shouldn’t give away our knowledge and experience, that’s what we get paid for.

Who’s right?

Should we deliver “massive value” via a plethora of blog posts and articles and free seminars, to demonstrate our skills (and generate leads), or should we play it close to the vest and make people pay to learn what we know?

Content marketing makes a lot of sense. The information we share does attract prospective clients and shows them we know what we’re doing. It’s also an effective way to attract traffic and generate leads.

And, general information isn’t advice. The client still has to hire us to find out what we think about their specific situation. To the extent the information we give them demonstrates the risks they face and the benefits of hiring us, that information makes it more likely that they will do that.

So, score one for free information.

On the other foot (hey, why should my hand get all the glory?), many top lawyers and other professionals do little or no  “content marketing”. They may do some speaking and publish the occasional paper but they build their practice primarily via their reputation and their contacts.

If you need brain surgery, you hire the surgeon that other doctors recommend, not necessarily the one who has the most videos on YouTube.

If you’re tops in your field you may not have to do any content marketing. For most lawyers, however, giving away information is a simple and effective marketing strategy with no discernable downside because we sell our advice and services and solutions, not information.

Your website is made for content marketing

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Filed Under: Marketing legal services Tagged With:

My, what a big niche you have

March 14, 2019 by
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Recently, I wrote about an interview I read with the founder of a web design studio who spoke about the value of niche marketing. She said what I’ve seen saying since day one.

In response to my post, I heard from an attorney asking for clarification.

“What is considered a niche?” he asked. “Is a practice area enough of a niche? For example, PI? Or do you need to the dog bit attorney or the brain injury attorney, etc?”

I said, “PI is a practice area. Brain injuries MIGHT be a niche. Brain injuries suffered by highly-compensated executives is definitely a niche.”

He came back: “Well, I should be pleased that last year, I started the move from a general practice to a PI practice. I think it will be a great move in the long run.”

I did the same thing early in my practice and it was indeed a great move for me. I told him to, “Niche it down. PI for Hispanic small business, owners, for example. The smaller you get, the easier it is to market.”

He said he was doing that. He focuses on a certain type of tradesperson, mostly from a certain state in Mexico.

Now that’s niching it down.

I don’t know how lucrative his niche will be but that’s not the point. The point is that it is a niche that he can easily dominate and, having done so, leverage his contacts in the niche to build his name in others.

If you want to get big, start by going small.

This will help you choose your niche

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Filed Under: Marketing legal services Tagged With:

Spray and pray

March 11, 2019 by
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According to Wikipedia, “Spray and pray is a derisive term for firing an automatic firearm towards an enemy in long bursts, without making an effort to line up each shot or burst of shots. This is especially prevalent amongst those without benefit of proper training.”

The term is also used in marketing: “. . .an approach to communication, where mass emails, broadcasts or leaflets are dispersed in hopes that everyone in the intended audience has received the message”.

It’s inefficient. And too often, ineffective. You hope your message reaches people who fit the profile of your ideal client,  and while you may find some people who need your help, the odds that they will be an ideal client are slim.

The better approach and one I drone on about incessantly is to select a smaller group–a sub-segment of the larger market (a niche) and fire your bullets at them.

If your ideal client is a business owner who has certain needs and/or attributes, for example, you focus your time and dollars on getting your message in front of them.

But there’s another approach that might work better.

Instead of targeting groups, you target individuals.

Make a list of influential people in your target market and market to them.

Instead of networking at the Chamber of Commerce, for example, you identify 5 or 10 influential people in your target market’s industry or area and find ways to meet them.

Go see them speak and introduce yourself. Go find someone who knows them and see if they can introduce you. 

It takes longer, but what might happen to your practice when you are on a first-name basis with the top dogs in your niche market’s industry?

You don’t need a large network, you need an influential one. You find them with a rifle, not a machine gun.

How to determine your ideal client and target market

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Filed Under: Marketing legal services Tagged With: ,

What’s the hardest part of getting more clients?

March 8, 2019 by
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I saw this question posted on a Q & A forum: “What’s the hardest part of getting fit?”

A trainer responded: “The hardest part of getting fit is doing it right now“.

He said that you build any habit by starting and the best time to do that is immediately.

Gotta say, I agree.

Waiting for the right time to start, telling yourself you need to get some other things done first, these are just excuses. Ways to procrastinate and avoid doing what you know you have to do.

If you want to get more clients, or better clients, or earn more income, or otherwise improve your bottom line, get on with it. Now.

Unless that’s not what you really want.

Maybe what you really want is to tell yourself (or someone else) that you’re “working on it”. A lot of people say they want to write a book when what they really want is to have written a book. Or they want to be able to say that they’re working on one.

Just keeping it real.

What’s on your “Later” or “Someday” lists that you should be working on right now? What do you keep moving from “Next” to “Soon”?

The hardest part of getting more clients is starting to get more clients. If that’s what you really want, I suggest you do it today.

This will help

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Filed Under: Inspiration, Marketing legal services

Start by asking a different question

March 7, 2019 by
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How do I get more traffic to my website? More social media followers? More butts in seats at my events? More subscribers to my newsletter? More people booking an appointment?

Those are all good questions. Questions you may want to ask and answer at some point. But asking them first might not get you what you really want. 

Getting more clients is one thing but maybe what you really want are better clients (i.e., with more work, able to pay higher fees, etc.), or bigger cases. Maybe what you really want is a way to increase your income.

Start by asking how you can get those things. It might lead you in a very different direction.

Asking “How can I increase my income?”, for example, might lead you to do things you previously hadn’t considered. 

You may realize that you can increase your income by moving your office to a better location (or opening a second one) or hiring more staff. You may decide to set up a new website, start advertising, or write a book.

Asking “How can I get better clients?” might compel you to find a different target market, network with professionals and influential people in that market, or create a different presentation for the decision makers in that market.

Start with the big picture. The end result. The outcome you really want. Ask yourself how to get that.

You may not need more clients. You may need fewer clients who can write bigger checks. You might not need more traffic to your website. You might need a new website. 

Ask a different question and allow yourself to discover how to get what you really want. 

This will help you figure out what you really want

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Filed Under: Marketing legal services, Marketing Plan

I’m good, but don’t take my word for it

March 5, 2019 by
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You love getting positive reviews, don’t you? They’re worth their weight in Gold-Pressed Latinum. Same goes for testimonials.

Reviews and testimonials from clients, and endorsements (from other professionals, industry experts, and so on), are some of the most valuable tools you can use for marketing your practice.

If you get them, use them. Let your clients tell prospects how wonderful you are.

The easy way to get more reviews and testimonials is to ask clients to fill out a survey or evaluation form at end of the case. Allow room to “talk” about how they were treated, what they like about the results you got for them, and so on.

You’ll get something you can use.

What’s that? Your state or country or firm won’t let you use testimonials in your marketing?

Sounds like you better move.

No? Okay, don’t fret. You can use something that’s almost as good: success stories.

Write a story about a case or matter. Describe the problem, issues, and obstacles that were presented to you, what you did for the client and the outcome. 

“Recently, a client called me about [problem]. [Add details–costs, pain, obstacles–legal and factual–and, describe the client’s pain and/or frustration.]”

Describe what you did for the client and how happy they were as a result.

Simple.

Okay, sure, if you have to add “results not typical” or other crap you’re required to add, do it.

And then use the hell out of that story.

Prospective clients want to know what you do. They want to hear what it will be like to work with you. They want to know that you know what you’re doing and a success story is much better than you “telling” them that you do.

Success stories should be a staple in your marketing. Write one today and start using it tomorrow.

Next week, you can write a client horror story. You know, about that client who didn’t follow your advice and made things worse.

Good marketing starts with good ideas

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

Playing with matches

March 4, 2019 by
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Like many boys of my youth, I liked playing with matches. Especially, kitchen matches. I saw adults light them and thought they looked cool. 

I didn’t do anything stupid. I’d light them and blow them out until I got bored and did something else.

Unfortunately, many of the adults I saw lighting matches used them to light a cigar, a pipe, or a cigarette. Sure enough, years later, at various times of my early life, I smoked a pipe, cigars, and cigarettes.

That was a long time ago and I’ve long since quit (although I wouldn’t mind a cigar once in a while).

Anyway, while kids learn many of our bad habits by mimicking adults, we also learn good habits.

As a law clerk and a new attorney, I watched experienced lawyers (the adults) in the office and learned from them.

I listened to how they spoke to other lawyers, how they interacted with their secretaries, how they greeted clients and escorted them to their inner office.

I soaked it all up.

Later, with my own cases, I paid attention to what my opposition said and did, and sought advice from lawyers I knew about strategy or where to go to get some answers.

I learned how to be a lawyer, in part, by being around other lawyers.

I’m sure you did, too.

Unfortunately (for me), when I started practicing, lawyers didn’t do a lot of marketing. Some speaking or networking, sending out holiday cards, and not much else. Nothing I could see or mimic.

So I had to learn it all on my own.

Today, competition demands that lawyers make marketing a priority. Fortunately, there are many more options.

So, if you’re just starting out, or you’re looking to up your game, one of the best things you can do is to find lawyers who are good at marketing and learn from them.

Spend time with them, ask questions, ask for help. Watch and listen and mimic the things they do that work.

Just make sure they don’t smoke. 

Marketing legal services starts here

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Filed Under: Marketing legal services
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