How to increase your income ten-fold

July 21, 2015 by
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What would I have to do to increase my income ten-fold? That’s a question you should ask yourself periodically.

Yesterday, I did a consultation with an immigration lawyer and asked him a similar question. We were talking about his fees and I said, “With your experience and reputation, you could probably triple your fees, right now, and get it, no questions asked. Who’s to say you’re not worth three times what you now charge? What you need to do is figure out how you could increase your fees ten-fold. What would you have to do? How would you have to package your services in order to get that?”

Because he could. Because you can, too. The challenge is to figure out how.

Okay, too much to ask? I’ll ask a different question that might make you more comfortable. “What would you have to do to increase your income ten-fold in the next year?” The answer would entail a combination of increasing fees and getting more clients, yes?

Good stuff.

I heard an interview with an author recently who said his goal was to increase his income ten-fold within the next year. His plan calls for a combination of writing more books and selling more of them (marketing).

Will he reach his goal? I don’t know. But I do know that as a result of thinking this way, he’s bound to increase his income, undoubtedly much more than he would if he didn’t ask “how”.

Ten fold is big. But not impossible. You have to ask questions like this. It’s no fun to ask, “How could I increase my income five percent?” Snore.

So, what would you have to do to increase your income ten-fold? What new services would you offer? What new (higher-priced) markets would you target? What would you have to do to increase your fees? What would you have to do to get more traffic to your website, viewers of your ads, or attendees at your seminars? What would you do to get more referrals?

Think. And maybe you’ll grow rich.

How to increase your income ten-fold: Go here

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Filed Under: Attorneys fees, Goal Setting, Increase your income, Inspiration, Law office management, Marketing legal services

What to write when you don’t know what to write

July 20, 2015 by
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“I don’t know what to write.” “I’ve said it all before.” “What I have to say is boring to most people.” “I’m not a good writer.”

This is what many lawyers tell themselves. These are the reasons they offer for not writing to their clients and prospects.

No articles, no blog, no emails. Or very few and far between.

Have you avoided setting up a newsletter or blog because you don’t think you have anything to say? I’m talking to you.

Yes, time is a factor. But you’re smart enough to know that it’s worth finding 30 minutes a week if it means bringing in several new clients per month.

No, if you’re not writing, it’s probably because you don’t think you have anything to say.

You know what? You might be right. You may not know what to say and you may not be a good writer. But it doesn’t matter. If you don’t know what to write, write anything.

You don’t have to be brilliant. You can write something that’s “just okay”.

Why? Because building a digital relationship with your clients and prospects isn’t about information or elegance, it’s about engagement.

It’s not what you say or how you say it that’s paramount. It’s that you said something.

You showed up in their life again, reminding them that you’re still practicing and still interested in knowing them. You shared an idea or observation, or shared something about your practice or your personal life. You asked for their feedback, and asked them to tell you how they are doing.

You don’t need to be brilliant, or even good. You just need to show up regularly and say hello.

Tell them something you did this week, or something you thought. Tell them about a website or book you recommend. Tell them about an interesting case or client you have, or one that another lawyer told you about.

A few paragraphs, once a week, is enough to maintain your relationship.

But here’s what happens.

You keep doing it and your writing gets better. And faster.

You find more interesting things to say, and better ways to say them. You start to enjoy writing, and you look forward to it, especially when you see how it is helping your practice grow.

You don’t have to be good to start, but you have to start to be good.

Here’s what you need to start your newsletter or blog

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Filed Under: Blogging, Marketing legal services, Newsletters, Writing

The thrill is gone? Here’s how to get it back

July 17, 2015 by
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The thrill is gone. You’ve lost the spark you had when you started practicing. You’re spinning your wheels and getting nowhere fast.

You’re doing okay, but you want to move on up, to an east side apartment in the sky.

Or maybe things aren’t so good. You’re struggling and falling behind.

What can you do? How do you get things moving?

You need to start over. Go back to the beginning and be “new” again. Forget what you have and what you know and begin from square one.

Before you can construct, you have to destruct.

I know, starting over might hold some bad memories for you. It does for me. I was scared to death. Everything was riding on my making a go of things and I didn’t have a clue about what to do.

But I was excited. The world was mine for the taking. Anything was possible.

And I was hungry. Determined. Open to anything. I had nothing, so I had nothing to lose.

You too? Good. Go back to those days in your mind. Be hungry again. Be open again. Be excited again.

Pretend you have nothing. No clients, no lists, no website, no ads. Chuck it all and start from scratch. You’ll add them back one at a time. Or maybe you won’t.

Yes, but what do you do? That’s not really important. If your head is on right and you are truly reborn, you’ll figure it out.

You’ll try lots of things, with no expectations. Some will work, most won’t. You want this thing to work and you’ll do whatever it takes to make that happen.

Get out a legal pad and a pen. Time to start building. Start by taking inventory.

Who do you know? Write down the names of people who might be able to help you. Clients, prospects, referral sources, other lawyers who can give you advice, friends and family who can support your dreams.

What do you know? What are you good at? What are your skills (legal, marketing, management, leadership, speaking, writing, etc.)

What do you want? Write down one or two goals for the month. Forget next month for now; you’ve got a rent payment coming due.

Are you excited yet? Scared? Itching to do something? Good. Pick up the phone and call someone on your list.

Call a friend and tell him you’re re-launching your practice today and just wanted to share the good news.

Call a lawyer and tell her you’d like to meet for coffee and talk about how you can work together.

Call a former client and see how they’re doing. They might need you for something, or know someone they can refer.

Call a current client and tell them how much you appreciate them.

Spend the rest of the day talking to people. Tonight, write down some marketing ideas. Tomorrow, get up early and do it again.

Need a marketing plan? Get this

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Filed Under: Increase your income, Inspiration, Marketing legal services, Marketing Plan, success

One two three, one two three, drink

July 16, 2015 by
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How’s biz? Yes, I know, it’s great. But really, how are you doing this month compared to last month or last year?

You need to know.

You’ve got to track your progress. Otherwise, you won’t know if what you’re doing is working.

How many new clients did you sign up this week or this month? Write that down.

How much revenue came into your coffers? You should probably make a note.

How many leads/inquires/prospects do you have in your pipeline? You’ll want that number going up.

Look at your calendar. How many appointments do you have this week? How many of those are with prospective clients?

How many subscribers signed up for your newsletter this month?

You’re running a business. You’ve got to know your numbers. You don’t need to obsess over them, but you should at least know what they are.

Your numbers tell you if what you’re growing. Because if you’re not growing, you’re dying.

But these aren’t the only ones you need to track.

Revenue, new clients, and the like, are all “history”. They are the results of things you did in the past. They tell you what happened, not what will happen.

You need to track your activities as well as as your results.

What did you do this week that might bring you some business?

Whatever else you do that for marketing, I suggest you start tracking these two activities:

1) Calls

How many outgoing calls did you make–to prospects, referral sources, prospective networking partners, former clients, etc.

2) Words

How many words did you write for marketing purposes, for your blog, website, articles/guest posts, books, presentations, letters/emails, social media content, etc.

Are these numbers growing? Holding steady? Declining? You need to know.

Results are the destination. Activities are how you get there.

Grow your practice with The Formula

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

Herding lawyers

July 14, 2015 by
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Our cat is getting his teeth cleaned this morning. Fun times.

As I grabbed him up and settled him in his cage, I thought about a consultation I did the other day with the marketing support person at a mid-size law firm. We talked (a lot) about her challenges in getting the lawyers to do anything marketing related.

She’s a lawyer wrangler. So am I.

It’s frustrating to talk to lawyers, give them million dollar advice, and know they probably won’t follow any of it. Lawyers don’t like change. They don’t like getting out of their comfort zone.

We talked about several ways she might get buy-in about the marketing agenda. I suggested she start by trying to get at least one lawyer on board and doing something, e.g., write an article for the website. I told her to make a big fuss about the article in the firm’s internal newsletter (which I suggested she start). As the other lawyers see one of their own being feted, their competitive nature might kick in and a few others might get with the plan.

You might want to do that yourself. Talk to some attorneys you know who are doing a decent job with marketing and ask them about what they’re doing. Find out how much business they’re bringing in. Get jealous, and then do something.

Start small. Outline an article, perhaps. Call a client you like and say hello.

The hardest part of marketing is getting started. The best way to do that is to schedule time for it. Schedule a 15 minute “marketing” appointment with yourself each week day. Put it on your calendar and tell your staff not to book anything during that time.

Go ahead, block out the rest of the month.

Will you do this? Today? What do you mean, you’re not sure?

Come on, you can do this. Stop looking like Grumpy Cat and block out a few minutes a day for marketing. If you do, I’ll let you sleep for the next 16 hours.

Marketing is easier when you know The Formula

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Filed Under: Marketing legal services, Marketing Plan

Relax, don’t do it, when you want to go to it

July 10, 2015 by
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Author Raymond Chandler said something about his writing process that resonates with me. He said, “The faster I write the better my output. If I’m going slow, I’m in trouble. It means I’m pushing the words instead of being pulled by them.”

Writing faster allows him to bypass the resistance he feels when he tries to force his way forward through the story. When he lets go, he gets better results.

I’ve found this to be true in my writing. When I write quickly, I write better and more naturally.

This morning, I thought about this idea in the context of marketing and building a law practice. Many lawyers force themselves to do the things they are told they need to do to achieve success. Pushing through their resistance, however, often leads to poor results.

Some things we resist simply need to be done. For these things, the best advice is to be do them quickly. Like pulling off a bandage, get it over with so you can move on to other things.

When I have to make a call I’m not looking forward to making, for example, I don’t think about it or plan it out, I just pick up the phone and punch in the number. Before I know it, the conversation is over.

Much of what we do is discretionary, however. We don’t have to engage in formal networking, for example, but many lawyers who hate it force themselves to do it. Not surprisingly, they get poor results.

Think about the many possible ways to market your services. As you run down the list, ask yourself how you feel about each method. When you find something that creates a “tug” in your gut, something that feels right to you and fraught with possibilities, that’s what you should do.

There may be only one “reaching out” method that feels good to you when you think about it, but that’s enough. You’ll do it with gusto and you will do it well. You’ll get good at it and your results will multiply.

Don’t push through the sludge and force yourself to do things you hate. Let go of things you resist and allow yourself to glide towards success.

What if nothing appeals to you? What if you can’t stand anything that bears the marketing label?

Some of it you can skip. Some of it you can delegate. But if it has to be done and you’re the one who has to do it, don’t think about it, just rip that sucker off.

Do you need a marketing plan. Here you go

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Filed Under: Inspiration, Marketing legal services, Marketing Plan, Networking, success, Writing

Marketing like a drug user

July 9, 2015 by
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Why do people get started taking drugs? Peer pressure is a big reason. They see their friends doing it and they don’t want to be uncool. They don’t want their friends pointing and laughing at them, or worse, ignoring them.

When your friends take drugs, supply them to you, and show you what to do, drug use becomes normal for a lot of people.

If you hang around nine drug users, there’s a good chance you’ll become the tenth.

I’ve never taken drugs. One reason, I’m sure, is that my friends didn’t take drugs, at least as far as I knew. If I went to a party and someone was sniffing or popping or lighting up, I left.

I didn’t associate with people who took drugs and never got started. I think I was afraid I might like it and I didn’t want to take that chance.

Anyway, the point of my sermon is that the people we spend the most time with influence us. We may not realize how powerful this influence is until one day, we realize we’re just like them.

It’s called the Law of Association. If most of your friends are big sports fans, for example, you probably are, too. If your friends are workaholics, there’s a good chance you work more than most.

Who are your best friends? Think about the five people with whom you spend the most time. What is their life like? Are they married? Have kids? Where do they live? How much do they earn?

If your five best friends earn an average of $150,000 a year, the odds are that you earn close to that. If they earn $500,000 a year, congratulations to you.

If you want to increase your income, one way to do that is to begin associating with people who earn more than you do. You’ll adopt their habits and their way of thinking. You’ll read what they read, talk about the things they talk about, and eventually, you’ll do what they do. In time, you’ll be like them.

Think about the lawyers you are close with. If they are “too busy” for marketing, or only give it lip service, the odds are that marketing isn’t a priority for you. If you want that to change, start spending time with lawyers who have a marketing “habit” and let them show you what to do.

Marketing, income, or drug use, it’s all the same. If you want to change your life, change your friends.

Do you know The Attorney Marketing Formula?

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

How to motivate clients to send you more referrals

July 8, 2015 by
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You can’t pay clients for sending you referrals. Not cash, anyway. But you can reward them nonetheless, and thus motivate them to send more referrals.

Reward them? Yes, by including them in your inner circle. The one you have established to recognize your best clients. You know, the clients who hire you most often, send you the most referrals, and otherwise help your practice grow.

Clients who qualify for your inner circle get a special invitation, a scroll or plaque, or maybe a polo shirt with your firm’s name on it.

Nice. But you can do more.

You might invite inner circle clients to special “client dinners” with guest speakers (who pay for the dinner in return for being able to offer their services). You might invite them to your firm’s Christmas party, bar-b-que or beach party. Do you play golf? Perhaps the best of the best get to join your foursome.

If your inner circle clients own a business or professional practice, you feature them on your website and in your newsletter. You might take their employees out to lunch.

Inner circle clients get preferred access to you. You take their calls first, return their calls first, and respond to their letters first.

You might periodically enter the names of inner circle clients in a drawing for a new iPad. Maybe one lucky winner gets their legal fees free that month.

You talk up your inner circle in your newsletter. You congratulate new inductees and prize winners. You promote the upcoming event. Your other clients, the ones who haven’t yet made the cut, hear about the inner circle and want in.

You might establish qualifications for joining your inner circle, or keep it at your discretion. You can invite all clients who pay their bills on time, or only invite clients who send at least one referral every six months.

Whatever you do, those who are in will want to stay in, and those who aren’t will want to be invited. Everyone will talk about your inner circle, everyone will want to be on your team, and everyone will do more to be included.

If you like this idea, your next step is an inner circle for professionals you send you referrals. It works the same way. Behavior that gets recognized and rewarded gets repeated.

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Filed Under: Client loyalty, Client relations, Marketing legal services, Referral sources, Referrals Tagged With: ,

Imagine there’s no Internet. It’s easy if you try.

July 1, 2015 by
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If the Internet didn’t exist, how would you go about marketing your services? Think about this for minute or two. Write down some ideas.

Go ahead. I’ll wait.

If you were around before the Internet, you can probably remember what you did. Write that down.

Finished? Good. What did you say?

Let me guess.

You would build relationships with prospective clients and with people who can refer them. You would build your reputation in your community or target market by speaking and writing and networking with centers of influence. You would create content (brochures, articles, white papers, reports, books, audios) that demonstrate your knowledge and experience. And you would work you tush off for your clients and generate repeat business and referrals.

There might be a few other things you would do if the Internet didn’t exist. I did a lot of advertising in days past. Maybe you did, too.

Now, look at your list. With a few possible exceptions, you might notice that the things you would do if there was no Internet (and what you did before the Internet) are pretty much the same things you do today.

Marketing doesn’t change. Fundamentals don’t change.

Jim Rohn said, “There are no new fundamentals. You’ve got to be a little suspicious of someone who says, “I’ve got a new fundamental.” That’s like someone inviting you to tour a factory where they are manufacturing antiques.”

Technology makes things easier and less expensive and gives you more options. But you’re still doing the same things.

Marketing is easier when you have a plan

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Filed Under: Marketing legal services, Marketing Plan

It’s all about keeping your clients happy

June 30, 2015 by
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Nobody would argue that keeping your clients happy isn’t vital. Clearly, it is the genesis for repeat business, referrals, and getting paid on time. But is keeping your clients happy paramount?

No. Keeping your employees happy is more important.

If you don’t keep your employees happy, you can forget about keeping your clients happy.

By the same logic, keeping yourself happy is more important than keeping clients happy. If you’re not happy, you won’t be much good to anyone else.

In response to yesterday’s post about not negotiating fees, a personal injury lawyer wrote and said he disagreed. “It’s all about keeping your clients happy, so they will return and refer,” he said.

Yes, smother your clients with love and attention. Remind them often about how much you appreciate them and want to help them. But just as a parent doesn’t need to buy his kid a pair of $300 sneakers when he asks for them, lawyers don’t need to buy our clients’ love by agreeing to cut our fees.

I showed my clients I cared about them by taking cases with questionable liability and negligible damages. I showed them that I was on their side and would fight for them when they asked for my help, even when I thought we would probably lose the case, and even if we won, I knew I wouldn’t earn much of a fee.

I also waived my fee on many cases, or cut it voluntarily. When it’s your idea, you are a hero. When the client asks (or insists), you’re just a commodity.

So be generous with your clients. But do it because you choose to do it, not because you might lose them if you don’t.

The writer also said he doesn’t think his other clients know when he cuts his fee for a client who asks him to.

Question: What happens when client A (who got a discount) refers client B? Does he offer the same discount to client B? If he doesn’t, what happens when the new client finds out that you charged his friend less?

And what happens when client A returns with another case? Does he get the discount on that, too?

Cutting fees is a slippery slope. I know. I once had an office in a market where all of the PI lawyers ran dueling ads promising increasingly lower contingency fees. You charge one-third, the next guy says he’ll take the case for 25%, three more lawyers advertise 20%.

When it got down into the 8-10% range, I’d had enough and closed that office.

With low overhead and high volume, I was still making a profit. But I wasn’t happy.

For more, see The Attorney Marketing Formula and Getting the Check

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Filed Under: Attorneys fees, Client loyalty, Client relations, Fees and Billing, Law office management, Marketing legal services
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