Get more referrals by making it easy to give referrals

June 5, 2014 by
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Yes, I’m a broken record.

Every few weeks, I say something about the importance of building a list, specifically, an email list. I tell you a list allows you to stay in touch with people who aren’t ready to hire you, and with people who did. I tell you that having a list will bring more traffic to your website, more referrals, and more subscribers to your list who might hire you, send traffic to your website, or send referrals.

Did you? Did you add a form to your website that allows visitors to sign up for your list?

Yeah, that’s what I thought.

Is this thing on? You do want to get more referrals, don’t you?

Okay, let’s say someone slipped some LSD into your water bottle and you imagined you actually do have a list. You have a few hundred people on that list, a mix of former clients, current clients, professional contacts, and a random assortment of website visitors.

You hallucinate emailing something to your list. Once a week, you write something that passes for readable and send it out. Sometimes you write about the law, sometimes you write about interesting cases and clients, sometimes you write general consumer or business information. When you get back from your vacation to Italy, you write about the food. When you read a great book, you share something you got out of it.

Okay, you get the picture. A few paragraphs once a week. The only requirement is that it’s not completely boring, and hey, this is a hallucination, so it should be brilliant.

Now what?

At the end of your weekly scribbling, you ask readers to forward the email to someone who might be interested in the content or something you have offered (e.g., a seminar, free consultation, free report, etc.) Add another sentence, “If this email was forwarded to you, you can subscribe by going to. . .”.

Some of your subscribers forward the email. People you don’t know get a taste of your wisdom, and the tacit endorsement of the person who forwarded it.

Word-of-mouth, digital style.

That’s how it’s done, at least in a hallucination. Of course, this will never work in the real world. Forget I mentioned it.

Marketing online for attorneys. Go here to see how it’s really done.

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Filed Under: Email, List building, Marketing legal services, Newsletters, Referrals, Relationship marketing

The lifetime value of one-time clients

May 19, 2014 by
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I got an email from a marketing expert I follow who asked us if we would prefer to have a customer or a buyer on our list. What’s the difference? A customer is someone who buys something or hires you once and then goes on their merry way. They might come back, they might not. A customer, on the other hand, is someone who makes a custom of buying from you, “because of the trust, respect, and loyalty they have for you.”

So, customers are better than buyers.

Repeat clients are better than one-time clients.

Does this mean lawyers should only practice in areas where clients make a custom of hiring again and again? Should we choose business law, for example, with lots of repeat business, over consumer bankruptcy where the client might hire us once in a lifetime?

Not necessarily.

Someone who “buys” from you once and never again is potentially just as valuable as someone who hires you frequently. They should be courted and nurtured. We should build relationships with one-time clients, even if they never hire us again.

The lifetime value of a client is only partially measured by the fees they pay us. There are many other ways they can deliver value and help our practice grow. They can provide

  • Referrals
  • Website traffic
  • Recommendations and positive reviews
  • Introductions to other professionals, meeting holders, editors, bloggers, etc.
  • Invitations to networking events
  • Feedback about our services (so we can make improvements)
  • Information about our target market or community
  • Likes, re-tweets, and sharing of our content
  • Forwarding our emails to others in our target market

They can send us business, help us build our list, and otherwise help us bring in more business. In fact, what a client does for us outside of paying fees could easily be worth far more than the fees they pay. In terms of referrals alone, some clients who never hire you again could be worth many times the fees generated from clients who hire you again and again.

In fact, someone who never hires you could be worth far more to you than someone who hires you repeatedly.

The lesson? Treat everyone as though they are your biggest client. Provide extras. Help them every way you can. And stay in touch with them, before, during, and after the engagement or case.

You never know what someone can do to help you.

The Referral Blitz is one way to get clients and contacts to help you build your practice. Click here for details.

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Filed Under: Client loyalty, Client relations, List building, Referral sources, Referrals, Relationship marketing Tagged With:

Networking for lawyers who don’t like networking

May 9, 2014 by
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Think of a professional, business owner, or executive, you know. Got it? Okay, next, think of someone else you know in the same market or community who (you are pretty sure) doesn’t know the first person. This could be a business client, or prospective client.

Now, call the first one and ask if they know the other person. If they don’t, tell them how great they are and tell them you want to introduce them. They might be able to do some business together. They might be able to help each other in some way (write articles, interviews, joint venture, referrals, etc.) Or, they might just meet a kindred spirit.

Next, introduce them. Do a three-way call, or meet for coffee.

Then, get out of the way. Your job is done.

One of the most valuable (and easiest) things you can do in networking is to simply introduce people. In doing so, you are providing value to both. Of course, you’re also helping yourself this way. The two you introduce may not do business together but they will both be grateful that you made an effort to help them.

Networking for lawyers doesn’t have to be formal, time consuming, or awkward. It can be done quickly and over the phone. And it can yield huge benefits.

Think about who you know and who might like to know them. And from now on, when you meet someone new, think about who you know you can introduce them to.

Want more referrals? Consider doing a Referral Blitz.

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Filed Under: Networking, Referral sources, Referrals, Relationship marketing

Welcoming new businesses to your community

April 15, 2014 by
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My local Chamber of Commerce puts out a weekly email newsletter. It features upcoming events such as networking mixers, charity golf tournaments, and a meet and greet with our mayor. It also welcomes and lists new members. 

If I were still practicing, I would contact the new members, congratulate them on their new business, and welcome them to the community. If they aren’t a new business, I would congratulate them on joining the chamber.

If they are new, I’d ask if they are having a grand opening. If they aren’t new, I’d ask about any current sale or promotion. Then, I’d mention this in my newsletter and post it on my blog.

It doesn’t matter whether I handle business matters or consumer matters, or that they already have a lawyer. They have customers and vendors and business contacts who may need a lawyer, now or in the future. They joined the chamber to meet other businesses and some of those businesses might need a lawyer, or have customers who do.

I’d ask what kind of customers or clients they wanted and do my best to send them some referrals. I’d introduce the owner or manager of the business to other business owners and professionals in the market.

Do you think some of these business owners and professionals might also introduce me to other business owners and professionals they have met? Is it possible they might have some referrals for me? Do you think they might offer me some kind of special deal I could pass along to my clients and prospects?

Yes or yes?

How many other attorneys do this? Approximately zero. You can be the one and only.

You can start with a short phone call. Leave a message if you need to. Or send an email. Don’t pitch anything, just welcome them. If you speak to them, ask about their business. If you hit it off with them, meet them for coffee.

Marketing is easy. Lawyers are difficult.

Get The Attorney Marketing Formula and learn more about marketing legal services.

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Filed Under: Blogging, Networking, Newsletters, Referral sources, Referrals, Relationship marketing

Networking and your legal marketing plan

April 8, 2014 by
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If you do it right, networking can become a cornerstone of your legal marketing plan and one of your biggest sources of new business and career opportunities. But it can also be time consuming. 

One way to get more out of your networking is to use it as a springboard to finding content for your blog or newsletter.

Interview people you meet through networking and post it on your blog or in your newsletter. Do a profile of them or their business or practice, or promote their cause.

They get exposure, traffic, and new clients or customers. Your readers learn valuable tips from these subject matter experts. You get content for your blog that may bring you more search engine traffic.

And you get the gratitude of your new networking partner.

Their gratitude may lead to good things for you. Or it may not. Not all of people you feature in your interviews will reciprocate by interviewing you or sending you traffic or referrals. But some will.

These interviews can lead to other things. You can invite your networking partners to submit guest posts or articles for your blog or newsletter. You can explore other marketing joint ventures.

Go find some professionals, businesses, or vendors who sell to or write about your target market or community. You can find them online or in person. Reach out to them and ask questions about what they do. Then, ask for the interview. I can’t imagine anyone turning you down.

Wait, I’ll make it even easier for you. Start (this week would be good) by approaching someone you already know. Call your best referral source or business client and tell them you want to interview them.

What’s that? You don’t have a blog or newsletter? I guess you better start.

Learn how to create or grow a blog or website. Click here.

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Filed Under: Blogging, Networking, Newsletters, Relationship marketing, Web traffic, Writing Tagged With:

How to get better results from networking

March 21, 2014 by
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One of the biggest mistake people make in networking is expecting too much too soon. Networking is a process, not an event. You can’t simply pass out cards or connect online and expect anything to come from it in the short term.

It takes time to nurture a relationship. You need to learn more about what a person does, what they want, and how you can help them. You have to focus on them before you can expect them to focus on you.

Another mistake is expecting the other guy to initiate contact or follow-up with you. If you want the relationship to progress, you have to move it forward.

Call or email and set up a time to talk or meet. Learn all you can about their business. Find out what they want or need.

If you know anyone who can help them, give them a referral. If you see information they need, send it along.

Give, without expecting anything in return. Waste of time? It might be with some contacts. But there’s this thing called Karma and if you put out enough positive energy and help enough people, it does come back to you. You don’t know from whom, or when, but it always does.

Want some good news? You can get better results from networking without leaving your office or making a single new contact online. You already know plenty of people.

Look at your address book. There are people in there you haven’t spoken to in years. You might not even remember who they are. You’ve got old clients, attorneys and other professionals, dozens if not hundreds of people you met at one time. You have a connection, however tenuous, and you can leverage it starting today.

Choose someone, even at random. Pick up the phone and call, or send an email. Tell them you just saw their name in your contact list and you are embarrassed to admit that you don’t remember where you met. Or tell them it’s been years since you spoke and you want to say hello and see how they’re doing.

Tell them you’d like to get to know them better, or get reacquainted. Ask them to tell you about their company, what they do, or what’s going on in their life.

Start a conversation. Update contact information. Keep your ears open to learn how you can help them.

At some point, they will ask about you. Answer briefly, and then go back to them. Show them you truly want to know more about them. You might find out that they offer a product or service one of your other contacts needs. Perfect. You can help both of them.

Follow up with a brief note, acknowledging your conversation. Send the information you promised or remind them to send you theirs.

Schedule an in person meeting. Or calendar a date in a couple of weeks to contact them again. Ask more questions and tell them you would love to see how you could work together. Propose some ideas.

No man is an island. All of your contacts need or want something, whether it’s referrals, information, or advice, and so do you. All you need are a few who see the value of having you in their life and the willingness to meet you half way.

Marketing is easy, when you know The Formula

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Filed Under: Networking, Referrals, Relationship marketing

Attorney marketing in a nutshell

March 19, 2014 by
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Relax. Marketing really isn’t difficult.

Yes, you have to work hard the first few years in practice to establish a client base and develop some professional relationships, but once you do, you can leverage those clients and those relationships for the rest of your career.

Yesterday’s clients come back and send you referrals. Professional contacts send you business and introduce you to their counterparts. New clients and new contacts help your list grow, and the cycle continues.

That’s the way it always was. That’s the way it always will be.

The Internet lowers costs and gives you more options. But it can also become a big distraction. When you find yourself wondering what to do, go back to the fundamentals. Build a list and stay in touch with it. Contact former clients. Remind them you’re still here. Send them news and information.

What’s sad is that so many attorneys don’t get it. They don’t build a list, or stay in touch with it. They write big checks for advertising or consultants, instead of investing in their existing relationships.

The people you know, right now, are your biggest source of new business. Invest in them. Find ways to help them. Stay in touch with them.

I’ve hired attorneys before you never contacted me again. If I had a referral, I wouldn’t send it to them because I can’t remember their name.

Hello, is this thing on?

I’ll say it again. Attorney marketing is not difficult. Build a list and stay in touch with it.

You are on my list. I stay in touch with you. You buy my products and services and send me referrals and traffic. Thank you for that. I appreciate it. Of course you do this because I provide you with value. We have a mutually rewarding relationship.

What if I didn’t have a list? I wouldn’t be able to provide you with that value. I couldn’t stay in touch with you.

What if I never wrote to you? Would you remember me? Send me referrals or traffic? Not so much.

Yes, there are other things you (and I) can do to bring in new business. But nothing is more effective, less costly, or easier than building a list and staying in touch with it.

And that’s attorney marketing, in a nutshell.

Use your website to build your list. This is all you need.

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Filed Under: Client loyalty, List building, Marketing legal services, Newsletters, Referrals, Relationship marketing

Legal marketing for dummies

February 21, 2014 by
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Hope I didn’t just violate a copyright with that title. Hey, maybe the “For Dummies” publisher will ask me to write that book! Ahem, people of the NSA, I know you’re reading this. Could you do me a solid and pass this along for me?

My tax dollars at work.

Anyway, so this is a very simple idea for bringing in some new business. Possibly a lot of new business.

Here’s the lowdown.

You know some good lawyers in other practice areas, right? If not, you need to get out more. But you can use this idea even if you don’t. I’ll explain in a minute.

So, if you’re an estate planner, I want you to call up a divorce or small business or PI lawyer you know and invite them to coffee or lunch. If they insist on asking why you want to meet, tell them you want to talk about referrals. That always gets a lawyer’s juices flowing.

Bring a legal pad, if you still have one, and an open mind. Tell them to do the same.

The purpose of your meeting is to brainstorm some ways you can help each other.

Here are some ideas to get you started:

  • Send a letter or email to your respective lists, introducing each other
  • Interview each other for your blogs, newsletters podcasts, or youtube videos
  • Do guest posts for each other’s blogs or newsletters
  • Put together a talk, seminar, webinar, teleconference, hangout, or video you could do together
  • Compare notes about professionals you know who might make a good referral source for each other and introduce each other
  • Like and re-tweet and share each other’s social media posts
  • Invite each other to your networking meetings

Got it? Okay, now pick one idea, set a date for completion (if you don’t, we all know it’s not going to happen), and do it. Hold each other accountable for getting your respective parts done.

After that, pick something else on the list and do that.

After that, contact another lawyer you know and do the same thing.

Now, if you don’t know any lawyers in other practice areas, or when you run out of ones you do know, go find some lawyers you don’t know, call them up, introduce yourself, and tell them you want to meet for coffee. If they ask why, tell them you want to talk about referrals.

Of course this isn’t just about referrals. It’s about website traffic and exposure and list building and networking. There are lots of ways professionals can help each other besides referrals. You know this, but are you doing this?

Go get you some marketing partners and some new business.

For more legal marketing for dummies ideas, see The Attorney Marketing Formula

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Filed Under: List building, Marketing legal services, Networking, Referral sources, Referrals, Relationship marketing Tagged With:

Help me if you can I’m feeling down

January 27, 2014 by
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Actually, I’m fine. Just singin me some Beatles and thinking about how difficult it is for folks to ask for help. It’s an ego thing. We don’t want to appear weak. So we don’t ask, and when help is offered, we often turn it down.

But people want to help. It makes them feel good. I know this because I know how good it feels when I help others.

So we should ask each other for help more often. It’s good for them and good for you.

You can get just about anything you want just by asking. You can ask your clients for all kinds of help. You can ask the readers of your newsletter, personal friends, professional contacts, anyone, including strangers.

What do you want? Whatever it is, someone can help you get it.

  • referrals
  • information
  • advice
  • introductions
  • copies (forms, letters, checklists)
  • recommendations (products, software, books)
  • time (as a volunteer)
  • testimonials
  • someone to talk to
  • donations (to your cause)
  • write a guest post or allow you to write one
  • invite you to their next networking event
  • speak at their event
  • pass out your cards, reports
  • feedback
  • mentoring
  • Likes, Re-tweets, and Shares
  • a ride to the airport

Just about anything.

Time out. Take a break. Sing along with me and the Fab Four:

When I was younger,
So much younger than today
I never needed anybody’s
Help in any way
But now those days are gone
I’m not so self assured
Now I find, I’ve changed my mind
I’ve opened up the door

Help me if you can,
I’m feeling down
And I do, appreciate you being round
Help me get my feet back on the ground
Won’t you please, please help me

And now my life has changed
In oh so many ways
My independence seems to vanish in the haze
But every now and then
I feel so insecure
I know that I just need you
Like I’ve never done before

Okay, you may need some help asking for help. You’re out of practice. You haven’t asked for help since you needed Mom to tie your shoes. How do you get started?

First, make a list of what you want. Big things, little things, and everything in between. What could you ask for? Write down as many things as you can think of that would make your life better.

Next, write down the names of people you know who could help you get the things on your list. Match people with tasks suited to their interests, strengths, and resources. (Later, when you get better at asking, you can ask strangers.)

Then, choose something, contact someone and ask for help. Be direct. Tell them why you’re asking them.

Compliment them if possible. Tell them you value their feedback or insights, or value them as a friend or client and know you can count on them.

Start with something small, and easy. Something that’s hard to turn down. Have them read something you wrote, for example, and tell you what you think. Or ask them to recommend a good movie. Be specific. “Would you introduce me to your life insurance agent?” is better than “Would you introduce me to some professionals?”

You start small to get used to asking. Get over your resistance and see that people are willing to help. See how good it feels when they say yes.

Later, you’ll graduate to bigger things. Eventually, you’ll get good at asking. And you’ll be amazed at how much people are willing to do.

You may also surprise yourself at how much you have to give others. When people do for you, you will feel obliged to do something for them. When you do, you’ll feel good about that. You’ll want to do more. The more you do, the more others will want to do for you.

And so it goes. Help begets help.

If you’re having trouble asking, start by offering. Call someone, find out what they need and help them get it.

Years ago, I read, “The Aladdin Factor: How to Ask For and Get What You Want in Every Area of Your Life” a book by Jack Canfield and Mark Victor Hansen, the team that brought you “Chicken Soup for the Soul” and its progeny. If you’re interested in this topic and you like inspiring stories about people who experienced amazing changes in their lives by asking for help, you should pick up a copy.

Okay, now I’m going to ask you a favor. If you like this post, would you forward it to someone you care about? Thank you. I knew I could count on you. Now, what can I do for you?

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Filed Under: Client loyalty, Client relations, Communication, Inspiration, Marketing legal services, Personal development, Relationship marketing Tagged With: ,

How to get new clients through email

October 14, 2013 by
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Can a lawyer really get new clients through email? Sure. If direct mail works, why not direct email?

If it’s ethical in your jurisdiction (it probably isn’t), and you don’t mind being accused of spamming (you should mind), you could pick up some clients this way. Go find some people in your target market, send an email and offer them something of value they would find helpful in their business or personal life. An article, report, video, seminar transcript, or newsletter that helps them solve a problem or achieve a goal.

They’ll read or listen, see that you know what you’re doing and can help them, and some of them will contact you to take the next step towards hiring you.

Make sense?

But there’s a much better way to get new clients through email that’s not unethical, tacky, or spammy. And it will probably work even better.

Instead of reaching out to prospective clients by email, reach out to prospective referral sources.

Find other professionals who serve your target market. Study their website and google them. Then, send them an email that says you target the same market they do and want to introduce yourself. You’d like to find out more about what they do and see if there’s a way the two of you can work together. Ask if they want to meet for coffee, or chat on the phone.

Make your email personal. Say something specific about them or their website, so they know you’re not sending a “form letter” to thousands of others.

When you talk to them, find out what they are looking for and see if you can help them get it. I know, they want referrals and you may not have any to give right now, but there are other ways you can help them. Do they have a seminar you can promote? Would they like to come to your networking meeting as your guest? Do they have a Facebook page you can like?

At some point, tell them about your video, report, article, or newsletter and invite them to make this available to their clients, subscribers, and followers. They also may not have referrals to give you right now and this gives you another way to gain exposure to their contacts.

Send ten emails this week and see what happens. If only one professional offers your report or video to his or her list, hundreds of prospective clients, perhaps thousands, will not only get your information, they will get the implied endorsement of that professional. New clients won’t be far behind.

Learn more about how to get more referrals from other professionals. Click here.

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Filed Under: Email, Marketing legal services, Referral sources, Referrals, Relationship marketing Tagged With:
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