Faster than a speeding retainer

May 17, 2016 by
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When a prospective client visits your website and fills out a “contact me” form or emails you directly, you do know that you’re not the only attorney they’re contacting, right? Because you know this, I know that you have a strict policy in your office for contacting said inquiries as quickly as possible.

But how quick is quick?

According to the Harvard Business Review, companies that follow-up within an hour of receiving an online query from a potential customer are almost 7 times as likely to qualify that lead than companies that contact prospects only an hour later.

“Qualifying a lead” means talking to a decision-maker to find out if they are a good match for you. Do they have a problem you can help them with, are they willing to make an appointment right now, and can they afford to hire you, for example. Qualifying prospective clients quickly is a key to signing up more of them.

By the way, HBR also noted that companies that waited a day before following-up were 60 times less likely to qualify a lead than companies that did it within the hour. I’m just saying.

Consumers today are impatient to the extreme. They want answers and solutions immediately and will seldom wait for a vendor or professional to get back to them. You may be the best lawyer for the job but repeatedly lose cases or clients to lawyers who are a little faster.

By the way, everything I just said about email applies equally to phone calls. Inquiries from prospective new clients who leave a phone message should be called immediately, even if it is to have someone tell them that you’re unavailable and schedule a time when you can talk.

So raise your right hand and solemnly swear that from this day forward you will respond to prospective clients who contact you at the speed of light. Make sure someone in your office monitors your voicemail and email inbox and replies in 60 minutes or less. If prospects call or email after hours, your phone message or email auto-reply should indicate when you will contact them, and (unless it is an emergency) that should almost always be the first thing the next day.

Marketing is easy when you know what to do

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Filed Under: Law office management, Marketing legal services

Why you should spy on other lawyers

May 16, 2016 by
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If I ask you to name a lawyer you admire whom would that be? Maybe you admire their lawyering skills or their marketing acumen or the way they run their office. Maybe you know them and are impressed with their interpersonal skills.

Write down the names of lawyers you would like to emulate and then set up a file for each. Add notes about what you see them doing. Study their website. Search for articles about them and add them to your file. Find their ads or marketing documents and add those, too.

Study them so you can get ideas and inspiration and model their behavior.

What do they do differently from other lawyers, including yourself? What do they do that other lawyers don’t?

Study attorneys in your practice area and in other practice areas. Study some attorneys for their marketing prowess, and others for their speaking or writing or courtroom skills.

Find attorneys who are good at marketing online and digest their websites and blogs. How are they organized? What kind of content do they write? How often do they post? Study their headlines, bullet points, and calls to action. Do they publish a newsletter? Subscribe to it and see what they send to their list.

Study their social media platforms. Observe how often the post and how they engage with their connections.

You might study another set of lawyers about how they manage their practice. Study their fees and billing and payment options. Study their office hours and parking policy.

If you admire attorneys for their speaking and writing abilities, read what they write, find where they are speaking and show up to listen. To study trial lawyers, you might reach out to them, compliment them, and find out if you can attend their next trial.

As you do this, no doubt you’ll get a lot of ideas. You’ll also find inspiration as you realize that you can do what they do. Don’t accept everything as gospel, however. They may be successful not because of what they do but in spite of it.

The biggest benefit of this exercise is that you may find out how much you’re doing that is as good or better than what they do.

You’ll be inspired to keep doing it, and someday, other lawyers will study you.

Marketing is easier when you know the formula

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

Three things playing poker taught me about marketing legal services

May 10, 2016 by
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I played a lot of poker in college. I wasn’t necessarily a great player but I usually won because I got a few things right.

One thing I got good at was bluffing. Poker teaches you that you don’t have to have “the goods” (the best hand) to win the pot, as long as the other players think you do. In a law practice, we call that “faking it” until you make it.

You can get clients and win cases if you sound like you know what you’re doing, even when you don’t. But like poker, you can’t bluff all the time. If you do it too much, you’ll eventually get caught.

Do what you have to do as a new lawyer to get your practice started, but get some help when you’re in over your head. And whatever you do, make sure your clients don’t know how much you don’t know.

Poker also taught me that you don’t have to always win the big pots to win the game. You can do nicely by winning a preponderance of small to medium-size hands and letting the other players fight over the long shots. Some players in our game went hard after the biggest pots and while they sometimes won them, their net for the night was often a big loss.

By contrast, I almost always walked away from the table a winner. I did the same thing in my law career, focusing on small to medium-sized cases. They didn’t bring me many of the biggest pots, but I didn’t have any great losses, either.

The biggest thing poker taught me about marketing is that you don’t have to be a great player, you just have to be better than the other players at the table. Apparently, that’s how I was able to do so well.

In building a law practice, you may have a large number of competitors, but most of them aren’t very good at marketing. You can beat them by getting good at a few key marketing strategies. If you’re a little better at getting referrals, for example, you can become a “top player” in your market.

You can let others spend big on advertising and chase the big prizes while you consistently go home a winner.

The best way to get good at getting referrals

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Filed Under: Marketing legal services

Faster. Better. Cheaper. Pick Two.

May 3, 2016 by
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You’ve probably heard the expression, “Faster, better, cheaper–pick two”. No, it’s not advice for choosing a girlfriend, it comes from project management circles and is sometimes referred to as the “Iron Triangle”.

You can’t have all three benefits, the theory says, so pick the two you want most. You can have something done faster and better but it’s going to cost more. If you want it better and cheaper, it will take more time. You can get it done quickly and inexpensively but it won’t be as good.

This may be true in the engineering and project management world but is it true everywhere? Is it true with respect to legal services?

I say it’s not. I say a lawyer can deliver all three.

You can create good work product quickly. Actually, in my experience, doing the work quickly often produces a better work product. When I write or prepare for a talk, for example, working quickly usually leads to a better first draft.

In fact, lawyers should make “speed” a cornerstone of their proposition. Let your clients know that they can not only count on you to deliver high-quality work, you’ll deliver it expeditiously.

Isn’t that what clients want? Good results delivered quickly?

Quality and speed. That’s two of the three. What about cheap?

Don’t let that word throw you. The more accurate word is “value”. They get more value from you than from other lawyers.

Your services aren’t cheap. You don’t have the lowest fees. You don’t compete on “price”. You’re not a “discount lawyer”. Just the opposite. You are “a bit more expensive, but worth it”.

And that’s where the value comes in.

You deliver high-quality services quickly and your clients get more value from you than from other lawyers.

That’s your promise. That’s your challenge.

Faster. Better. Cheaper (more value). That’s the lawyers’ “Golden Triangle”.

Crafting your marketing plan and message: go here

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Filed Under: Marketing legal services

You stink and nobody should hire you!

May 2, 2016 by
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A recent article highlighted an increase in lawyer advertising among personal injury firms in major markets in response to “a slowdown in legal services and increasing competition”. The latest trend among some advertisers are ads where lawyers attack their rivals.

The thrust of these ads is to point out the shortcomings of other firms in an attempt to scare prospective clients away from them and into the loving arms of the advertiser.

A marketing consultant noted the reason for the growth of this type of ad: “The law-firm category here is just so cluttered,” she says. “They’re all saying the same thing.”

But that’s always been true. Whether it’s a big firm advertising on TV or a solo lawyer with a simple website, lawyers have always had messages that “said the same thing”. But is “going negative” a viable option for differentiating yourself?

I don’t know but since most lawyers probably won’t do it, I’d rather talk about something every lawyer can do.

In The Attorney Marketing Formula, I showed you many ways to differentiate yourself from other lawyers. It’s actually not that difficult to stand out from the crowd and show prospective clients why they should choose you instead of any other lawyer. With a little bit of thought, you can show them why you’re different or better, without saying a word about any other lawyer, negative or otherwise.

One of the simplest ways to do this is to make yourself a part of the marketing message.

You are unique. You have a personality, a background, a story that is uniquely you. When you are the face of your firm, you will get noticed. Clients will choose you because they “know” you, even if what you do is essentially the same as other lawyers.

Put your face and your voice in your TV and radio ads. Put your photo and your words in your print ads. Talk about yourself on your website, on your “About” page and throughout your content. Write in the first person. Make yourself a part of the story.

Let prospective clients see you and get to know you, because it is you that they hire.

If you have partners or work for a firm, it’s no different. Market yourself, not your firm. Remember, nobody hands out your business card to a referral and says, “Call my law firm”. They say, “Call my lawyer,” and then talk about you.

Don’t ignore the firm. The firm’s capabilities, reputation, and resources all help. But at the end of the day, it’s you the client will speak to and hire. So show them who you are before you show them what you do.

More ways to differentiate yourself here

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Filed Under: Advertising, Marketing legal services Tagged With:

We are all self-employed

April 29, 2016 by
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I heard from the lawyer who prompted my first post about the costs of opening your own law office. He said he realizes he will likely always be low man on the totem pole at the firm that employs him and says “we all need to own our own shop”.

He offers this advice to the lawyer I wrote about yesterday who also wants to go out on his own: “View the job as a temporary gig–a placeholder until he gets some of his own clients. [C]lient development comes first. The job–the boss–comes second. That mentality and your advice have made a tremendous difference in my life.”

“Marketing is everything” has always been a plank in my law-practice-building platform and it is as true for employees as it is for the self-employed.

It is also a corollary of my position that we are all self-employed.

You may currently work for a firm but if you have the ability to attract clients, you have the power. You can take your marketing skills and those clients with you to another firm or open your own.

If you work for a firm, think about things from their perspective. They can always hire attorneys to do the legal work and if that’s all you do, no matter how well you do it, they can always replace you. What they can’t replace is your ability to bring in lots of clients and keep them happy.

You either do this or you do not. If you don’t, you shouldn’t expect your employer to pay you more than is required to keep you from quitting.

They’re not going to pay you more because they like you or you’ve been with them a long time. We still live in a capitalist society. There are no unions for lawyers. Your compensation is proportionate to the value you bring to the firm.

If you want to earn more and have other benefits afforded to the partners, you have to do more. If you do, and you still aren’t compensated at the level you deserve, pick up your marbles and go play somewhere else.

Because we are all self-employed.

Marketing is easier when you know The Formula

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Filed Under: Marketing legal services

Suggested marketing budget for lawyers?

April 27, 2016 by
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Yesterday, I talked about the need to establish a marketing budget for your practice. A reader emailed me a link to an article with a similar theme. The author was speaking about technology companies, not law firms, but makes a good point about the vital need to invest in marketing:

“You need to be the best marketer in your marketplace to succeed in today’s Internet world. You need to spend at least 15% of your revenues on marketing and sales, and preferably over 20% of revenues to really grow.

If you do not spend at least 15% of revenues on sales, and more on marketing, then your company will have a very difficult time not just growing, but even surviving.”

This doesn’t mean lawyers must follow the same guidelines. Tech companies and law firms are as different as night and day. While I can’t tell you what percentage of your revenue you should invest in marketing, at least not without knowing your current situation and goals, I can tell you some of the factors I would consider:

  • Your current gross and net income. How much do you have available for marketing after overhead, debt service, and other fixed costs of doing business?
  • Your practice areas, current marketing methods, and budget. What results are you getting? (i.e., traffic, leads, percentage of sign-ups, etc.)
  • Your average fee per case or client. Are they typically one-time clients or clients with ongoing legal needs?
  • The lifetime value of a client. How many times will he return, how much will he spend, how often will he refer?
  • Your target markets. (Niche markets are usually easier and less expensive to reach.)
  • Your ideal client and the costs to attract and court them. (Big companies, for example, might involve more expensive presentations, wining and dining, and a longer time frame. If you advertise, your cost per client is likely to be higher than other marketing methods.)
  • Your competition. How many other lawyers or firms do what you do? What marketing methods do they use? How much do they spend?
  • Your experience, reputation, and USP? How are you different or better? How easy is it to market you?
  • Current marketing resources: in-house talent, size of your email list, websites/blogs, social media following, etc.
  • Your credit worthiness. Can you finance your marketing with a line of credit at favorable rates? If you advertise, note that many publications offer generous credit terms.
  • Your attitude towards marketing. Do you like it? Are you good at it? How aggressive are you?
  • Other offices, practice areas, lawyers in your firm? Can you amortize or share marketing expenses?
  • Your goals. How many? How fast? Do you want high volume or high quality? Where do you want to be in 5 or 10 years?

Lawyers tend to have big margins (i.e., the size of the average fee vs. the cost to deliver the service), which means you can probably justify a bigger investment in marketing than you currently spend. Don’t forget to include the lifetime value of a client in making that calculation.

Depending on your practice areas and primary marketing methods, you might find that you can do just fine with a modest marketing budget. If you get most of your business through referrals, for example, you don’t need to spend 15 or 20% of your gross on marketing. If you want to grow bigger and faster, however, or you’re in an especially competitive market, you just might.

Whatever other marketing you do, you should focus on referrals

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

Thinking is hard but it pays well

April 22, 2016 by
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If you have multiple practice areas or offer a variety of different services, which one or ones do you promote?

Your best sellers? Your weakest? Your most profitable?

Do you lead with a low priced “entry level” service, seeking to create a new client, and then offer additional services through upsells and on the back end? Or do you lay out all of your wares up front and let the client choose?

If you advertise, which service(s) do you feature? Or do you offer information to build your list and talk about specific services only after they subscribe or inquire?

What do you highlight on your website? When you speak or write, what examples do you use? When someone asks you about your work, what do you say?

If you are a family law attorney, handling divorce and adoptions, but you’re not getting much adoption work, do you double your efforts and promote that or do you continue to advertise and promote divorce? Or do you do both?

Even if you have one practice area and offer one service such as plaintiff’s personal injury, you still need to decide where you will focus. Do you list a variety of different injuries, types of torts, or causes of action, or just one?

These are things you need to think about because they are fundamental to your “brand” and to how you conduct your marketing activities and spend your marketing dollars.

They are, of course, also an argument in favor of specializing. It’s a lot easier to make decisions about where to advertise or network or speak when you offer fewer services to a smaller segment of the market.

But I’m not going to bust your chops about that today. I’m just going to remind you to spend some time pondering these things and making some decisions.

You thought I was going to give you the answers? Sorry. No can do. It’s too complicated. There are too many variables. You have to answer these questions yourself.

All I can do is ask the questions and encourage you to explore your options.

I can also point out that the ultimate way to answer these questions is to test and measure your results.

Run ads for two different practice areas or services and see which one brings in the most inquiries or leads, which one converts to the most dollars on the front end, and which one results in more profits long term.

So you advertise your divorce services and your adoption services and see.

Testing allows you to make a decision based on hard evidence. That’s the “science” of marketing.

Of course marketing is also an art. Don’t ignore your instincts or your heart. If you think your market is ready to learn more about adoption, or you’re passionate about the subject, go for it. Even if the numbers don’t add up.

For help sorting things out, get this

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Filed Under: Advertising, Marketing legal services, Marketing Plan, Specializing

Who are you? Who who who who?

April 20, 2016 by
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I used to talk about how clients use the yellow pages to choose an attorney. I said it was often a matter of chance because the client would open the book and see page after page of listings, most of which looked and said the same thing.

In fact, most of the ads were interchangeable. Take the name and contact information from one attorney’s page and swap it for another attorney’s page and nobody would be the wiser.

And that’s true today when it comes to websites. Or TV ads, brochures, articles and blog posts, and everything else most attorneys put out into the world.

It’s all the same. Most attorneys in a given practice area offer the same services and make the same promises and nobody stands out. Clients might as well close their eyes and point to the first page or listing or article they see. At least that’s how they feel about it because there are scant reasons provided for choosing one attorney over the others.

You need to give people those reasons.

Tell them why you’re different and better and why they should choose you instead of your competition.

But there’s something else you should do. If you want to stand out you need to show people not just what you do but who you are.

People want to know if you’re someone they will like and trust. They want to know what it would be like to work with you.

Because people buy YOU before they buy your services.

So talk about yourself. On your website, blog, newsletter, in interviews and ads, talk about your background, family, and hobbies. Show them what you look like and sound like. Mention your favorite sports team, and your favorite type of restaurant.

Share your views on popular topics in your niche market or community. Tell them your philosophies for building your practice, your exercise habits, or your favorite productivity apps.

Talk about what you did for a living before law school, or what you studied in school. Do you play a sport? Are you a big Star Wars fan or do you prefer Star Trek?

Don’t firehose them. A photo or two, a paragraph or three, is all you need.

Show them who you are because who you are is unique, even if what you do is not.

More on how to stand out–here and here

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Filed Under: Image, Marketing legal services

Um, could you be more specific?

April 19, 2016 by
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I got an email today that had a link to an article with this headline: “Don’t make these 5 common legal mistakes”.

Not bad. It makes the reader want to know what those mistakes are so they can see if they’re making them. It appeals to curiosity and promises a benefit. It also invokes fear because if these are common mistakes, there’s a good chance, the reader thinks, that they’re making one of them, and because these are legal mistakes, they could cause serious grief and financial loss.

But while this is a good headline, it’s not good enough. Not today, anyway.

Most consumer and general business publications have this type of article and your reader has lots of other pressing things on his or her mind.

So no click.

The headline isn’t good enough because it’s not specific enough.

Let’s say I’m a good prospect for your practice and you wrote this article. If your headline promised to show me, “5 common mistakes made by California homeowners,” I might lean towards clicking because I am a California homeowner. Your article might earn my attention because it is obviously targeted to me, rather than “everyone”.

But it could be even more specific, and thus almost irresistible. If it promised to reveal “5 common mistakes made by California homeowners when filing their tax returns,” since that’s on my mind right now, I would almost have to read your article.

My point is that most headlines (email subjects, etc.) aren’t specific enough to cut through the morass of messages that come across everyone’s field of vision on a daily basis. Specifics will almost always get you more clicks and eyeballs.

It’s true that the more specific you are, the more you will appeal to a smaller number of possible readers, but that’s the point. The readers you do appeal to will be more likely to respond.

I’d rather have ten people read my article than 100 who thought about it but didn’t. I’d rather have five people who would make a good client for my practice read my article than 50 people who wouldn’t.

So, with all things marketing, as with all things legal, your challenge is to find the sweet spot so you can maximize your results.

You don’t need (or want) to appeal to “everyone”. You want to appeal to your ideal client, and you want him or her to immediately understand that that’s exactly what you’re doing. To do that, you have to be willing to give up everyone else.

This will help you identify your ideal client

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Filed Under: Communication, Copywriting, Marketing legal services, Writing
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