Marketing legal services Archives - Page 8 of 128

The best way to get prospective clients to find you

September 12, 2023 by David M. Ward

The best way to get prospective clients to find you is to get them to find YOU (not your blog or content, not “a lawyer or law firm” that does what you do—YOU.

By name.

Because if they search for a lawyer who does what you do, or content offered by lawyers who do what you do, they’ll wade through countless pages of content from your competitors and may or may not find your ad or article or listing. And you’ll pay a fortune to even be in the running.

But if they search for you by name, they’ll find you. And it might not cost you a dime.

Brand yourself. Your name. Your story. That’s what you want prospective clients and the people who can refer them to think about when they need help.

Yes, you should also create content that can capture their attention (if they happen to see it) but the best way to use this is to show it to people after they find you.

Get people to notice and remember your name and what you do. Then, when someone needs the kind of help you provide, they’ll go looking for you—the lawyer whose name they’ve been hearing about.

Do this and whether or not you advertise, your marketing will be much more effective. And profitable.

How do you do it? By doing things worth talking about. And by making sure your existing network knows about them because they will tell others.

Do something different. Something other lawyers aren’t doing or aren’t talking about.

Do something bigger. Something that provides more value or benefits. Or something newsworthy.

Do something that promotes a cause that is important to the people in your target market, or align yourself with people who do that. Sing their praises, recognize their accomplishments, and let the world hear your name when their name (and cause) is mentioned.

Lawyer, promote thyself. That should be the mantra underlying all of your marketing.

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

A simple marketing and management checklist

September 11, 2023 by David M. Ward

There are a lot of things you can do to increase the gross and net income in your practice. This checklist can help you identify strategies that might be a good fit for you to use or improve:

MORE CLIENTS

Client relations
Referrals
Following-up/Staying in touch
Networking
Advertising/Lead Generation
Public Speaking/Seminars
Public Relations
Content Marketing (Blogs, Articles, Books, Audios, Videos, Podcasts)
Event Marketing
Social Media Marketing

MORE OFTEN

Stay in touch (clients, prospects, business contacts)
Repeat Services/Updates/Maintenance
Other services (Yours, Partners’, JVs)

INCREASE FEES

Higher Rates
Bigger Cases/Clients
Upsells
Addons
Bundling/Packaging
Sell Value, Not Time

REDUCE COSTS

Better Employees/Vendors
Better Training
Outsourcing
Parnters/JVs
Systems
Personal/Professional Development
New Skills
Better Tools/Equipment

Which of these strategies do you currently use? Which need improving or expanding? Which should you let go of or downsize to make room for something else? Which seems like a good fit for you and is worth starting or exploring?

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

The aim of marketing

September 6, 2023 by David M. Ward

Peter Drucker said, “The aim of marketing is to make selling superfluous”.

Sounds good, but what does it mean?

It means giving prospective clients enough information to convince them they need an attorney and why they should choose you.

It means creating websites and marketing documents that speak to the prospective client’s needs and wants, and the solutions and benefits you deliver.

It means collecting and sharing testimonials, reviews, success stories, and endorsements attesting to your abilities, results, and what it is like to work with you.

It means creating answers to frequently asked questions so prospective clients don’t have to ask you those questions.

It means setting up simple methods for following up with prospective clients who have contacted you, offering them additional information, inviting them to ask you about the specifics of their case or matter, and making it easy for them to do that.

And it means establishing systems that help prospective clients and the people who can refer them find you.

If you do it right, prospective clients are pre-sold on hiring you. The only thing left to do is to make the arrangements.

Well, almost. There’s more. Marketing is everything we do to get and keep good clients.

Big things and small things. Things we do once and things we do repeatedly. Things we do to get the client to sign up, things we do to get them to pay us, and things we do to get them to come back (and bring others).

And while “selling” is an essential component, when you do things right, your clients do most of it for you.

Filed Under: Marketing legal services

Leverage what you’ve got to get what you want

September 5, 2023 by David M. Ward

You have a network—your clients, prospects, colleagues, friends, business contacts—and everyone in that network is a conduit to growing your practice. Your clients can send you referrals, your business contacts can introduce you to their counterparts, your social media friends and followers can tell their friends and followers about you and direct them to your site or offer.

All you have to do is ask.

Want to grow your email list? Ask your subscribers to forward your email to people they know who might be interested in your newsletter or report.

Want to get get more sign-ups for your webinar or presentation? Tell the ones who have already signed up you want to get more people to attend and ask them to help by getting the word out.

Don’t hesitate to ask. People are willing to help.

When you sign up a new client, give them extra business cards to give to people they know who might need your help. Yes, that’s asking.

If you want to get interviewed on more podcasts, email your list and say, “I’m looking to get on more podcasts about (your subject). Do you know any podcasts that might like a guest on this topic?”

After you are interviewed—on a podcast, blog, or other outlet—ask the producer or host if they can recommend other podcasts, blogs, or meeting holders that might be interested in a guest or speaker on your subject.

Everyone you know (and meet) knows other people who need or want what you offer. Get in the habit of asking everyone to refer or recommend you or your offer and you will never run out of opportunities to get more clients and grow your practice.

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

Yes, it is all about you

August 31, 2023 by David M. Ward

People connect with people, not businesses or law firms. Your clients may like your partners or employees and think highly of your firm’s reputation, but they hire and refer you.

That’s true of consumer and business clients alike.

When they have a friend or business contact with a legal situation or question, your clients tell them about YOU, not your firm.

They hand them your card. Tell them about their experience with you, the lawyer they know, like, and trust, and say, “Call my lawyer” — not, “Call me firm”.

They promote your brand. You should too.

Tweet (or whatever it’s called today) in your name, or at least create a handle that includes a version of your name, NOT your firm.

Promote your speaking events, even if your firm is conducting the event. Write articles and keep a blog with your byline, not the faceless entity you call your employer (even if it’s your firm).

When you are introduced, people should hear about you, your capabilities and your accomplishments. And hear something personal about you.

Because you are the one people will talk to, connect with, hire and refer.

It’s all about you, you stud.

You may work for the biggest and best firm in town, and that’s worth mentioning. But you are the main attraction, no matter how wet behind the ears you may be.

It’s your career. Your name and reputation. They are your clients. And you are their attorney.

Filed Under: Client loyalty, Image, Law office management, Marketing legal services

Want vs. Need

August 18, 2023 by David M. Ward

You want that cool task management app that does “everything”. But you don’t need it. You need a piece of paper and a pen. Or the free app that comes on your device.

You may want a lot of things you don’t need. If you can afford them and they give you a benefit, why not?

But ask yourself why you want it.

Will it make you more productive? Help you earn more? Save time? Give you a harmless way to distract yourself from long hours of work?

Is it fun? You’re entitled to have fun, you know.

It’s okay to buy things or do things you want but don’t need. You don’t need a reason.

And neither do your clients.

A client may need your basic service but want your deluxe package. Give it to them.

People want things they don’t need and their reasons are their reasons. They might want convenience, to feel safer, or feel more important.

If they want to give you more money, let them.

On the other hand, be prepared to give them what they need when they can’t afford what they want.

Make sure they get what they need, but if you really want to make them happy, give them what they want.

That goes for you, too.

Filed Under: Career satisfaction, Client relations, Marketing legal services

Help me help them

August 17, 2023 by David M. Ward

You never look better than when you’re helping others. I’m not talking about getting paid for your services, I’m talking about using your legal and business skills, your list of contacts, your creativity, your time, your money, and your reputation, to help people who need help.

It’s a good thing to do, and a good way to build your practice.

This might mean doing pro bono legal work, organizing a fundraiser, volunteering at a soup kitchen, or sponsoring (or playing in) a charitable golf tournament. You don’t have to be the organizer of the event. You can do a lot of good by participating in their events and otherwise supporting their cause.

Promote their organization or event in your newsletter, on your website, and on your social media channels. Interview the leaders and write articles about their work and their cause. Speak at their events, buy space in their publications, volunteer for their committees, and introduce them to people who are also willing to help.

There’s always something you can do and whatever you do will be noticed and appreciated.

Will it also be rewarded? Can you do well by doing good?

You know that’s true. But in case you need a reminder, consider that, if nothing else, your clients and contacts will see or hear about your efforts and see you in a positive light. How do you tell them what you’re doing? By asking them to join you.

Also consider that supporting these good causes will allow you to meet a lot of influential people in your target market or community. People who can hire you, send you referrals, and introduce you to other professionals and industry leaders who can do the same.

Promoting a cause also gives you a great “excuse” to contact people you would like to know and enlist their support.

Of course, the primary reason you do any of this isn’t for marketing. It’s because it makes you feel good to help people who need help. But keep in mind that the more your practice grows, the more people you’ll be able to help.

Filed Under: Career satisfaction, Marketing legal services

Make them come to you

August 4, 2023 by David M. Ward

You’ve heard it before—don’t chase clients. Because it looks bad (and feels bad) and usually pushes cliens away because you look needy and unsuccessful.

Clients want to hire successful lawyers, and if you’re chasing, that’s not you.

Something else, when they chase you, they’re usually willing to pay more to work with you.

So don’t chase, make them come to you.

How? What marketing strategies are best for attracting clients?

First (by a long shot) are referrals. When clients and professionals and business contacts recommend you, it is the ultimate affirmation of your success. They know you. They’ve seen your work. And their recommendations make their referrals easier to sign up.

You also tend to get better clients and bigger cases through referrals than any other marketing method.

On the other hand, you can’t scale as quickly as you might like via referrals, which leads to my second recommendation—advertising.

Surprised? Don’t be. Advertising allows you to maintain posture.

You’re not chasing anyone because you’re not talking to anyone—until they decide they like what they see and want to talk to you.

Yep, they come to you.

And advertising scales. And can pay for itself. When you have an ad (or campaign) that works, you can run more ads in more places. You can run bigger ads and run them more often. And bid on more competitive keywords.

You don’t have to advertise your services directly if that’s not something you want to (or are allowed to) do. You can advertise your book or report, your channel or blog, your seminar, or anything else that gets your name and offer in front of prospective clients and the people who can refer them.

They see, they like, they come to you.

The third way to get clients to come to you is through content marketing.

You share information about the law, explain problems and solutions, and show people what’s possible, and in doing that, those people see that you know what you’re doing and become interested in learning more about how you can help them.

They come to you.

You can do content marketing via a blog, newsletter, podcast, video channel, or by being interviewed on someone else’s channel or for their newsletter. You can speak at industry events, conduct seminars, network with people in your target market, or offer your content via social media.

Or through advertising.

Referrals, advertising, and content marketing. Three proven strategies for making clients come to you.

Filed Under: Advertising, Content creation, Marketing legal services Tagged With: attraction marketing, posture

How to promote (anything)

August 1, 2023 by David M. Ward

Promotion is the art of getting people to do things you want them to do. This might be attending your event, watching your video, buying your book, reading your blog post, downloading your report, making an appointment, or. . . hiring you.

You can promote a meeting or phone call. You can promote people—a business or professional you want to support, for example, or someone you’re working with and want your clients or prospects to meet.

You can also promote an idea, like a judge granting your motion, or why it’s important to have an attorney review important documents before signing them.

It’s an art because it takes skills and finesse. You don’t want to turn people off by your clumsy or overly aggressive manner; you want to turn them on and do what you’re asking them to do.

Sales skills are part of it. (NB: study salesmanship). More than that, it requires commitment to getting the results you want, and consistency in how you go about it.

Most of all, the art of promoting has these 3 key elements:

Intensity. Don’t merely announce it, put energy and emotion into your words, to show people why it is important, why you believe in it, and why they should act on it immediately. Let them see and feel your excitement, because excitement is contagious. (NB: if you’re not excited about it, pick something else to promote.)
Vision. Emphasize the benefits they get when they do what you’re asking them to do. What do they get? How will they be better off? Tell them what others got when they did it, so they can see how they can get it, too.
Repetition. Once is not enough. People don’t listen to or believe you, or they have other demands on their time. Promote it again and promote it often.

The art of promotion is one of the most valuable things you can learn and do. Use this skill in all aspects of your practice and watch your practice grow.

Filed Under: Marketing legal services Tagged With: promoting

3 stories you need to know (and use)

July 31, 2023 by David M. Ward

Marketing legal services is more effective when you use stories to show people what you do and the benefits your clients get when they hire you to do it. Stories provide context and help people understand and appreciate what you can do for them.

Your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to write (or have written) a few stories you can use in your marketing materials, presentations, and conversations.

And then use them.

Start with these 3 types of stories:

Your story
Your firm’s story
Client success stories

Your story is often the basis for the “about” page on your website, statistically the most read page by visitors of all stripes. It might include the reasons you went to law school or opened your own practice, people or events in your life that influence you, what you appreciate about your work, what you do during a typical day, and, of course, how you help your clients.

Your firm’s story, even if you are a sole practitioner, might talk about the firm’s mission, capabilities (practice areas, accomplishments, awards), reputation, charitable work, and the types of clients and industries you serve.

Client success stories are like testimonials but written in the third person. You describe clients who came to you with a problem or objective, the pain or secondary problems this caused, what you did to help them, and how they were better off as a result. If possible, quote the words of your clients describing their situation and praising you for helping them.

Write at least one client success story for each of your practice areas or services. Choose clients with different backgrounds or in different industries. You want prospective clients to recognize themselves or their situation and appreciate that you can help them, too.

These are the basics. They show people what you do, for whom, why, and how well.

And while first-party success stories, e.g., testimonials, reviews, and letters of endorsement from other professionals, are often more persuasive, you get to write these success stories and can have as many of them as you have clients.

Client success stories are some of the most powerful marketing tools you can use because they are about people and emotions, pain and relief, and are more effective than abstract facts and lists of features.

Facts tell but stories sell.

Filed Under: Marketing legal services Tagged With: Marketing tools