Why people hate lawyers and why you shouldn’t care

December 7, 2011 by
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why people hate lawyersIn my recent post, “Why don’t people trust lawyers and does it really matter?” I concluded that not only doesn’t it matter that people don’t trust lawyers, it’s actually a good thing.

It’s good for clients because it makes them more careful when hiring an attorney. They ask more questions. They don’t blindly follow. Caveat emptor.

It’s good for attorneys because it allows us to stand out from the crowd by showing how we are different, how we can be trusted, and with a little effort, this is not difficult to do.

But not only do people not trust lawyers, they also hate lawyers. Attorney Suzanne Meehle presents ten “bad lawyer” stereotypes that make people hate lawyers.

Ambulance chasers, unethical lawyers, a**holes, incompetents, and so on.

Some of these stereotypes are worse than others. The “24/7 Lawyer,” the workaholic on a path to burnout, doesn’t belong in the same category as the dishonest lawyer. I don’t think people hate lawyers merely because they work too hard. But we all get the point: there are plenty of examples of bad lawyers who give the rest of us a bad name.

I say this is a good thing. Why? Because stereotypes are almost always exaggerated depictions of real life, making it even easier to show people that you’re “not like that”.

If a lot of people don’t like lawyers because they perceive them to be bullies, for example, don’t be a bully. If they hate lawyers because they think we are unethical, go out of your way to display words and deeds consistent with the highest ethical standards.

I don’t particularly enjoy meeting people who, within the first minutes, feel compelled to tell me they, “don’t like lawyers”. But that’s the way it is and I do enjoy the challenge of winning them over.

In sales, it is said that the best prospects are often the ones who offer the most resistance. These prospects know they are naturally an “easy sale” and so to protect themselves from getting taken advantage of, they put up an outer wall. They may be surly and unpleasant, overly suspicious and overly demanding. The best sales people understand this and when they encounter a prospect who “protests too much,” shower them with kindness and patiently wait for them to “drop their shields”. The result is often a sale and a lifelong customer and advocate.

Don’t try to argue away the stereotypes. Acknowledge them. There are a lot of bad eggs out there and people do have to be careful. With a little common sense, you can easily distance yourself from this crowd and show you are one of the good guys. When you do, you’ll find people hiring you, in some cases simply because you’re not what they expected.

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Filed Under: Client loyalty, Client relations, Marketing legal services, Salesmanship Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Why don’t people trust lawyers and does it really matter?

December 5, 2011 by
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why don't people trust lawyers?I just read an interview of the authors of a new book, “The Trusted Advisor’s Fieldbook: A Comprehensive Toolkit for Leading with Trust.” In this sequel to, “The Trusted Advisor,” Charles Green and Andrea Howe present tools and exercises for helping lawyers earn the trust of their clients.

Clearly, this is an important subject. After all, clients hire attorneys they “know, like, and trust” and if your clients don’t trust you, or don’t trust you enough, there will either be a strain on your relationship or no relationship at all.

Matt Homman, who conducted the interview, asked the authors, “What questions were you expecting [in interviews] and haven’t yet been asked? How would you answer them?” Green said a question they haven’t been asked is, “Why don’t people trust lawyers? And is it a bum rap?”

Green said it’s not a bum rap, people generally don’t trust lawyers.

I agree. But then I started thinking about this issue of trust and wondered how important it really is. People don’t trust lawyers and yet they hire lawyers every day.

And then I thought that not trusting lawyers may actually be a good thing. For clients, lawyers, and everyone else.

For lawyers, living in a world where people generally don’t trust you gives you an opportunity to stand out from the crowd. You can show why you can be trusted and you don’t need to do a lot to accomplish this.

We need to show clients:

  1. We know what we’re doing,
  2. We’re not going to rip them off, and
  3. We’ll do our best to help them.

This is not difficult. Share some stories, look them in the eye, patiently answer all their questions, and you’re half way there. And if you were referred to the client, you’ve rounded third base and are headed for home.

Once you’re hired, show clients you know what you’re doing by doing it, don’t rip them off, and do your best to help them. Oh, and return their calls.

Be a mensch. People will trust you (and your mother will be proud).

Okay, this is overly simplified, but the truth is that earning trust isn’t extremely difficult, and it is actually made easier because of the pervasiveness of distrust. A little effort on your part will go a long way.

A general distrust of lawyers is also a good thing for clients. If people innately distrust lawyers, won’t they be inclined to ask more questions before hiring one?

It’s when people are too trusting that they get hurt. It’s when they don’t ask enough questions or seek enough assurances that they get into trouble. (I don’t think Bernie Madoff had a law degree but you get the point.)

And let’s not forget “the other guy’s” lawyer. Not trusting the other side’s counsel is almost always a good thing.

Okay, people don’t trust lawyers, this is a good thing for clients, and lawyers can stand out from the crowd and earn their clients’ trust without a lot of effort.

So, what’s the problem?

Now, if we can only do something about those damned lawyer jokes.

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Filed Under: Client relations, Salesmanship Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

“I’m a doctor, Jim, not a salesman!”

December 2, 2011 by
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I'm a doctor, Jim, not a salesman!Let’s be honest, most attorneys don’t like marketing. Or so they say.

“I didn’t go to law school to be a salesman,” they’ll say, or, “I’m good at what I do, I shouldn’t have to promote myself.”

I understand how they feel.

And to some extent, their “good work” will serve as a magnet for referrals or repeat business. But to categorically dismiss marketing of any kind is foolhardy.

Advertising isn’t so bad, is it? Even Abe Lincoln advertised:

Do you have a web site? Guess what? You’re advertising. Same goes for a directory listing.

Do you ever answer the question, “What do you do for a living?” Well, whatever you say in response is selling.

In fact, every letter we send, every conversation we have, every article, blog post, or speech, is an opportunity not just to deliver words and ideas but to sell the reader or listener on us and our ability to deliver benefits.

When a client signs your retainer and gives you a check, a sale has taken place.

The sales aspects of our communications are more subtle than an informercial pitch, but it’s sales, nevertheless.

And I’m not even going to mention that negotiating, demand letters, motions, and closing arguments are sales of the highest order.

Lawyers sell. (But that doesn’t make us sales people.)

Lawyers “do” marketing. Marketing is defined as everything we do to get and keep clients.

Sales, marketing, public relations, publicity. . . what’s the difference?

I’ve found no better explanation than this one:

If the circus is coming to town and you paint a sign saying, “Circus is coming to Fairgrounds Sunday,” that’s Advertising.

If you put the sign on the back of an elephant and walk him through town, that’s a Promotion.

If the elephant walks through the Mayor’s flower bed, that’s Publicity.

If you can get the Mayor to laugh about it, that’s Public Relations.

If the town’s citizens go the circus, you show them the many entertainment booths, explain how much fun they’ll have spending money at the booths, answer their questions and ultimately, they spend a lot at the circus, that’s sales.

– M Booth & Associates

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

The one competitor no attorney can afford to ignore

November 2, 2011 by
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competition for legal servicesMarketing legal services can be cut throat. And yet I often write that while attorneys should keep an eye on their competition, they should not fear them. Competition makes us better lawyers. It educates and expands the market for our services. And it provides us with a way to convince prospects to choose us by showing them how we are different or better.

But there is one competitor that no attorney can afford to ignore.

This competitor is stealthy. If you aren’t careful, he will steal clients from under your nose and you will never know it. There is no competition more powerful, or more deadly than this one, and you need to be prepared.

Who is he? He goes by several names: apathy, indecision, and fear.

Your biggest competition isn’t the other attorneys in your market. Your prospects have another option, as Seth Godin reminds us: the option of doing nothing.

You may do a good job of showing prospects why they should choose you instead of any other attorney, but you must first show them why they need to hire any attorney. If they don’t see the need or their fears preclude them from making a decision, you’ve lost the client, just as surely as you would had he hired the guy down the street.

The good news is that you can defeat this competitor. Make sure your prospects understand the risks of doing nothing and the benefits for making the right decision. Tell them the facts and share the stories.

Once they know why they need to hire an attorney and are persuaded to do so, then show them why the attorney they hire should be you.

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Filed Under: Closing the sale, Handling objections, Marketing legal services, Salesmanship Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

The Seven Reasons Prospective Clients Don’t Hire an Attorney

October 28, 2011 by
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why clients don't hire attorneys lawyersIf prospective clients don’t hire you, there are only seven reasons:

  1. No need: They don’t need (or see the need for) what you offer.
  2. No want: They know they need it but they don’t want it.
  3. No trust: They don’t believe you can and will deliver (at all, when promised, or sufficient quality).
  4. No like: They just don’t like you: your attitude, how you answered their questions, “bad chemistry”.
  5. No urgency: They need and want it but “not now”. It’s not yet painful enough.
  6. No authority: They want to hire you but they need someone else’s permission (and can’t get it).
  7. No money: They want to hire you but they can’t afford it.

Any one of these reasons can knock you out of contention. But one of these reasons presents a bigger challenge for many attorneys than the other reasons, not because it is insurmountable (it isn’t) but because it creates so much frustration and wasted time.

Can you guess which one? Go ahead and read the list again. Give it some thought. I’ll be here when you get back. . .

Okay, what do you think?

It’s number two, “no want”.

If they don’t want it, they don’t want it. Fighting this will only frustrate you and alienate the client. He may have wanted it next year but because you pushed him, he will probably hire someone else.

This issue has confounded more sales people than any other issue in the history of sales. A customer doesn’t want the product but the salesman has been taught that it’s not a “no” until he’s heard it seven times and he should use the 37 scripted techniques he’s been taught for overcoming objections to convince the prospect to say yes.

Uck.

Oh they may get the sale. But the time and energy they spend in doing so is usually better spent finding someone else, someone who may have some questions or issues to resolve but otherwise WANTS what is being offered.

It’s no different with legal services.

Notwithstanding studies that prove that most sales take place after the fifth or seventh or twenty-seventh “no,” smart sales people and attorneys believe the prospect when he says he doesn’t want it.

You can overcome the objection. You can convince someone who doesn’t want what you offer to hire you anyway. It happens every day. Crafty sales techniques, fear and intimidation, and outright lies are used to get prospects to sign. The sales person or attorney rationalizes this by saying to themselves, “the prospect didn’t want the service, but they really did need it; all I did was help him to do what is in their best interests.”

But you don’t want these kinds of clients. You want clients who are thrilled they found you, relieved that you can help them achieve something they desperately desire.

You want the low hanging fruit.

I’m not saying you roll over and play dead. When a prospect hesitates, you must make sure he understands enough about his situation, the risks he faces, and the benefits he can get by hiring you. You must inform him. But if it’s a no, it’s a no. Move on.

What if nobody wants what you’re offering? What if you’re offering your services the right way, to the right people, and nobody’s buying? If the demand isn’t there for your services, you must also move on.

Just because you’re really good at (put your skill here) doesn’t mean the market wants it. If the demand isn’t there, you need to find out what the market does want and offer that.

Times change, people change, wants change. Yesterday, people wanted to protect what they owned. Today, they’re trying to replace what they owned and lost. Tomorrow, they may be looking for a place to live.

If business has been off for you, it might be because you haven’t been listening to your prospects and to the market. It’s time to do that.

Think of it this way, you can either create demand or you can satisfy demand that already exist. Guess which one is easier and more profitable?

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Filed Under: Closing the sale, Marketing legal services, Salesmanship Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

The Internet killed all the good clients

October 26, 2011 by
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questions clients ask attorneys lawyersI’ve represented thousands of clients in my career. As far as I know, only one prospective client interviewed me and chose not to hire me. The rest I either signed up or I chose not to.

I say “as far as I know” because there may have been others who interviewed me and I wasn’t aware of it. But the woman who thanked me for my time and was never seen again stands out in my mind because the experience was so unusual.

New York criminal defense lawyer, Scott Greenfield, says that in the Internet age, things are different. People read articles and blog posts that provide lists of questions a well educated consumer should ask lawyers before retaining them, and that’s what they do. Questions like, “how many cases do you have,” “how many have you handled in the past,” and “how many have you won?” are now common.

The problem, Greenfield says, aren’t the questions but the prospective client’s inability to interpret the answers. Greenfield quotes Matt Brown’s original post at Tempe Criminal Defense:

They want numbers about my experience, my practice, the system, and their case. It’s because numbers make an unscientific decision like hiring a lawyer seem somewhat scientific. It’s a complex decision, and the idea of boiling the process down to comparing statistics comforts some people.

Unfortunately, a little knowledge can be a bad thing. A numbers-obsessed prospective client can easily end up worse-informed than someone who doesn’t ask any questions. The problem isn’t the information, but their perspective. Information, especially numbers, can be misleading without context.

Greenfield says this is a relatively recent phenomenon, and I agree. “Rarely did people run around interviewing a dozen criminal defense lawyers whose names they found online. They sought recommendations and then acted upon them. Weeks and months weren’t lost to interviews, not to mention many hours of both lawyer’s and potential client’s lives, in this strange new process.”

Matt Brown wrote about the challenge of being interviewed by a prospective client with a list of questions:

They wanted an exact number, so I told them. At the time, the number was fourteen. I immediately realized they weren’t going to hire me.

The number startled them. They asked me how I kept them all straight. Fourteen seemed like a huge number to them. Without a frame of reference, I might as well have told them I was too busy to handle the case.

One client hears “fourteen,” thinks that’s a big number and that you won’t have time to handle their case. The next client hears “fourteen” and thinks, “that’s all; you must not be very good.” This is an issue you must be prepared to deal with, but it’s not a problem. It’s an opportunity.

When a prospective client comes to see you, armed with a list of questions, it is an opportunity for you to educate him and give him the context they lack.

Show them what the numbers mean in the real world. Explain how attorneys work and how you are different. Tell him what he needs to know and give him credit for being intelligent enough to make the right decision. And ask him questions to find out what he wants and to make sure he understands what you are telling him.

You see, it’s not his job to interpret the numbers, it’s yours.

Most attorneys provide a proforma answer to these questions and cross their fingers. Some attorneys get frustrated and wish people would stop asking. Smart attorneys are not only prepared for these questions, they welcome them.

Questions from prospective clients open the door for you to demonstrate your knowledge, your experience, and your compassion. In teaching prospects what the articles do not, with patience and respect, you provide value to the prospective client that he doesn’t get anywhere else. That value fosters trust and ultimately, clients hire attorneys they feel they can trust.

That’s why referred clients ask so few questions. Because a friend referred them, they already trust you.

Yes, it takes effort on your part to earn that trust when a client finds you online. If you want their business, if you want them to choose you instead of the many other attorneys they find online, you need to give them a reason.

Take a few minutes to teach them what they need to know, answer their questions, and make sure they understand and are satisfied with your answers. The extra effort is worth it. Once they trust you and hire you, they will refer other clients to you and you won’t have to work so hard.

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Filed Under: Marketing legal services, Online Marketing, Referrals, Salesmanship Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Attorneys can benefit from a unique selling proposition

July 15, 2008 by
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A few years ago, Progressive Insurance ran TV commercials touting that they assign a dedicated claims specialist claimants their policyholders can count on for the life of their claim. The benefit is that you can always call "your" representative and never have to worry about what’s going on with your claim. Policyholders want to be able to talk to the same person each time they call, someone who understands their claim and is staying on top of it "for them".

Now, most other insurance companies probably do the same thing. But because those companies aren’t saying they do it, when Progressive says it, they virtually OWN that benefit.

You can do the same thing. You can promise prospective clients that they will have a dedicated member of your firm assigned to their claim, so that they don’t have to worry about who to ask for when they call. They’ll feel better just knowing that someone is assigned to their case and that it’s not lost in the shuffle.

The fact that most lawyers do the same thing is not important. If you say it and they don’t, or you say it FIRST, you can effectively "own" that benefit and preempt other lawyers in your market from using it. It can become your "Unique Selling Proposition" (USP), the competitive advantage that sets you apart from other lawyers in the minds of clients and prospects.

In marketing, perception is everything. If you appear to offer a unique advantage, people will see a benefit to hiring you instead of your competition.

Your USP can be about any meaningful benefit you offer. What do you do faster, better, or more thoroughly? What do you do that you know clients like?

A great way to find a powerful USP is to learn what your clients DON’T like about lawyers in your field, and promise them the opposite. If clients consistently complain that lawyers who do what you do take to long to do it, for example, your promise to do it quickly would likely be seen as valuable and desirable to those who can hire you.

The number one complaint received by state bar associations is lack of communication by their lawyer. Many lawyers have difficulty, it seems, keeping their clients informed about the progress of their legal matter. Even worse, many complaints involve lawyers who don’t return phone calls. Something this common, and this easy to fix, would seem to be a great USP for lawyers in many practice areas.

If you’re bad at keeping clients informed (or returning calls), resolve to get better. In fact, I’d suggest a goal to become not just better but the best. Make a promise to yourself to return calls within 24 hours, for example. Raise the bar. It’s so easy to do and it will have a profound impact on your practice. Fewer unhappy clients, more repeat clients and referrals.

Then, proclaim it to your clients and everyone else. Let them know of your commitment. Make it your unique selling proposition.

If you’re already good at keeping clients informed and returning calls, the odds are you don’t tell people this, or you don’t tell them enough. Consider doing so before some other attorney decides to make it her unique selling proposition.

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Filed Under: Advertising, Client relations, Communication, Law office management, Marketing legal services, Salesmanship Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

How full is your bucket?

May 27, 2008 by
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"How Full Is Your Bucket?" by Tom Rath and Donald O. Clifton is a little book filled with big wisdom. Here’s why you should read this immediately: 

  • It reveals simple but powerful strategies that can dramatically improve your relationships with clients, employees, friends, family, and others. These strategies can increase your income, improve your productivity, and even improve your health and extend your lifespan.
  • It is based on 50 years of research, not guesswork. The authors PROVE their premises.
  • You can read the book in an hour and begin using the principles immediately. In my opinion, you’ll see results in days, if not hours.

The book is based on the relatively new field of "Positive Psychology," which focuses on what is right with people rather than what is wrong.

The book and accompanying web site show you how to replace negativity and criticism with positive strategies to obtain desired results.

Good reading!

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Filed Under: Client relations, Increase your income, Personal development, Productivity, Salesmanship Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

How to close a client–more ways to get them to ‘yes’

October 17, 2007 by
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I learned a lot about marketing legal services by studying sales and marketing in other fields. Apparently, Susan Cartier Liebel has, too. Her post, “How to close a client,” suggests that lawyers use a thought process similar to what a sales person would use to help clients move forward to a “yes”. I agree. In fact, I think every lawyer should read books on sales and salesmanship. “How to Master the Art of Selling,” by Tom Hopkins is a great place to start.

I wrote about overcoming objections and closing in my article, ‘What to say when the client says, “I want to think about it.” When it’s time to ask the client to sign on the dotted line, most lawyers don’t want to sound pushy or overly aggressive. But at decision making time, many clients do hesitate, even if they have no good reason for doing so. But if hiring you is in their best interests (it is, isn’t it?), then I think you have an ethical duty to help them make that decision. You don’t want to push, but you could give them a little nudge.

Here are a few easy ways to do that:

SOFT CLOSE:

“It makes sense to me. What do you think?”

“What part of this makes the most sense to you?”

ALTERNATIVE CHOICE:

“Would you like to get the trust AND the LLC done today or just the trust?”

“Would Tuesday or Thursday be better for you?”

“How would you like to take care of this, check or credit card?”

ASSUMPTIVE CLOSE:

“Go ahead and put your name here and I’ll get started on this immediately.”

“Where do you want me to send your copies of the documents we file in your case?”

“I have everything I need; how soon would like us to get started working on this?”

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Filed Under: Closing the sale, Salesmanship Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
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