Have you ever been interviewed by a writer or blogger or podcaster? If so, are you using that interview as a marketing tool? 

You can post it on your website, use it as a handout or lead magnet, or turn it into a paid eBook that sends you leads. Interviews allow you to describe what you do and answer the types of questions people who are looking for a lawyer usually ask. 

And, in the minds of the people who read the interview, just the fact that you were interviewed says a lot about you. 

Interviews position you as successful and important—an expert in your field. And people want to read these, especially prospective clients. 

Interviews are a great sales tool, and you should use them in your marketing. 

If you don’t have an interview you can use, you can create one in an hour by asking another lawyer to interview you (and offering to interview them in exchange). 

You write the questions you want them to ask and an introduction. Get on the phone or chat, record everything, transcribe the recording, edit, and you’re done. 

I did this with a successful appellate lawyer and turned it into an eBook which is sold online.

Another way to use an interview is when you meet a new business contact or prospective client who asks what you do. Instead of flapping your gums, ask for their email and send them a copy.

You can also send copies to podcasters, bloggers, and meeting planners, to show them why they should book you on their program. 

So yeah, a simple and powerful tool that every lawyer should have in their marketing toolkit. 

What do you do when you go to a new networking event? Find some new people to meet? Talk to friends and business associates? Pass out cards? Collect them?

Do you have an agenda?

You don’t need one. There’s only one thing you need to do.

Get there early, meet the organizer(s) of the event and offer to help.

Introduce yourself, or ask someone you know to introduce you, and see what they need (door greeter, sign-in guests and pass out badges, help people find the restroom, etc.) and volunteer for something.

That’s it. That’s all you need to do.

The organizers always need help and will appreciate anything you can do to make their life easier and their event better. Even if they have everything covered, they will appreciate your offer and remember you.

Yes, you want to meet new people, but the best way to do that is to show the organizers some love. They know the key people who are attending—who they are and what they do—and can introduce you to them.

And they will.

Follow-up with the organizer after the event, tell them you enjoyed meeting them, liked the speaker, or the chicken, and you look forward to seeing them at the next event.

And send them some information about yourself, with a photo, so they can put your name to your face.

At the next event, get there early, find the organizer, offer to help, and when the dust has settled, ask them if there’s anyone there you should meet.

That’s how it’s done.

Broadly speaking, there are two types of referrals. Direct referrals occur when a client or business contact gives your name and contact information to one of their clients or contacts, and tells them to contact you about their problem or desire. 

It’s all good. And it can lead to a lot of business for you. 

But you might get even more new clients via indirect referrals: 

• Your clients agree to pass out your “special report,” checklist, tip sheet, or form to their friends, neighbors, co-workers, or clients
• A referral source mentions your blog post in his newsletter or on social media 
• A business client puts a supply of your reports or brochures in their waiting room
• An accountant sends a copy of your latest article to all of his clients or other accountants
• A business expert co-authors an article, blog post, or book with you
• A blogger or lawyer in your target market interviews you for their blog, podcast, or channel
• Your clients and/or referral sources agree to tell their list about your upcoming seminar
• A lawyer or other professional you know puts copies of your article in his “new client” kit

Many of your clients will distribute your content because they want to help their friends, and/or because you asked. Many of your professional contacts will do it for the same reasons. 

But with professionals, you have another option. You can ask them to distribute your content in exchange for you agreeing to distribute theirs.

In either case, your job is simple: create (more) content. Make it good enough that people will want to (or agree to) share it.

But don’t forget to ask. 

My dad was a successful lawyer. You might not have known that if you were in his office and saw the piles of papers and files on top of his desk, on the credenza behind him, and sometimes on the floor. 

I don’t know how, but he got his work done. The mess wasn’t a problem for him. In fact, I’m pretty sure he liked things the way they were. 

Some people thrive in chaos. Not me. I need to have one thing in front of me at a time or I find it difficult to concentrate. 

In my office, I usually had other files on my desk, but I kept them in a neat stack and worked from the top down. That doesn’t mean my office was tidy. I had my share of clutter and knickknacks. I still do. But there isn’t any Work-in-Progress in my line of sight. Or on the desktop of my laptop which is nearly empty most of the time.

I work off my “today” list which allows me to stay organized and prioritize my tasks. This gives me a sense of control and peace of mind. If I did it any other way, (e.g., my father’s way), it would ruin that sense of control, distract me, and become a source of stress.

Call me crazy, but that’s how I work best. 

If you thrive in chaos, bless you. If you’re like me and would like to have more order and peace of mind in your work, try putting everything out of the way except the one thing you’re working on. (And clean off that damn desktop!. Okay, I must be crazy. I’m getting bothered thinking about YOUR desktop). 

Anyway, give it a try. If you miss the mess, you can always go back to the way things were. Just don’t tell me about it. 

You’ve got a list of prospective clients, right? Email addresses, newsletter subscribers, social media followers, maybe even a snail mail list.

You want to grow your list, right? Get more people reading your words, seeing your offers, responding to your calls to action.

Because the bigger the list, the bigger your client list will eventually become.

Yes or yes?

But the size of your list is only one factor. You can do more with a small list of the right people, who come to you the right way, than you could with a massive list of the wrong people.

Size matters, but not as much as you think.

Anyway, there are many ways to build your list and while some are better than others, there is one method you should always use.

Because it is not only the easiest way to build your list, it is more likely to bring you more new clients than many other methods.

It’s also free and you can start doing it immediately.

What is this magic elixir of which I speak?

It is to use your existing list to tell people about how you can help them.

Tell people they know about your services, your website, your free report, your offer, your event, your course, your newsletter, or anything else of value that might interest the people they know.

How do you get people to do that?

Ask them: “Please share that link with people who might like/want/need. . .”

Yes, there are other ways to get people to share, but asking them to do it is easy and works well.

If you’re not ready to do that, do this:

Continue to produce good content and trust your list to share it organically–because it is good content and they want people to see it.

“That’s a good idea, David. I know a few lawyers who need to see this. . .”

Yeah, like that.

People will forward your email or share your link, because they know people who would benefit from seeing it.

Anyway, enough said. Go forth and multiply your list.

If you want more ways to do that, check out my email marketing course.

What’s the best way to handle objections? The best way is to eliminate them before they occur.

That means providing enough information to prospective clients, on your website, in your presentations, and in your client meetings, so that all of their issues and concerns are addressed and there is nothing left to object to.

Give them the facts. Share the stories. Provide FAQ’s that deal with all the objections you commonly hear.

If money is a common objection, make sure you build the value of what they get. Show them how not hiring you would be more costly and explain the payment options you have available.

Deal with this issue in advance and you will get far fewer objections.

You won’t completely eliminate objections, however. What then?

It depends.

Sometimes, the best way to handle an objection is to repeat it back to the prospective client.

People often say things they don’t really mean or haven’t thought through. When they hear their own words repeated back to them, it causes them to re-evaluate their position. As they respond, they often answer their own objection.

Your conversation might go like this:

CLIENT: “I want to think about it”
YOU: “You want to think about it?”
CLIENT: “Yeah, I need a day or two”
YOU: “A day or two?”
CLIENT: “Well, maybe not that long. I need to see if this is something I want to do.”
YOU: “Something you want to do?”
CLIENT: “Well, I know I need to do this but it’s kinda expensive [the true objection reveals itself]. . .”
YOU: “Expensive?”
CLIENT: “Yeah, it’s a lot of money to me. But like I say, I know I need to do this and I guess I can put it on a credit card, so let’s get this going. . .”.

Sometimes, the best way to an handle an objection is to respond to it directly.

When the client tells you they want to think about it and you know the real objection is probably something else, like money, you might say, “I understand completely. It is a big decision and it is a lot of money. But you have to consider what might happen if you ignore this problem. As we discussed. . .” and go over the issues and possible outcomes again.

If you’re not sure what the real objection is, ask them. “What exactly do you want to think about? Is it the need? Is it the fee?”

Handling objections this way is sometimes referred to as “Feel, Felt, Found.” It is a way to validate the client’s position before you respond to and overcome their objection.

So, if they object to the fee, you might say, “I understand how you FEEL. A lot of my clients tell me they FELT the same way when they were in your position. But once we got started, they told me they FOUND that it was money well spent and they were glad they got this taken care of.”

Sometimes, the best way to handle objections is to ignore them.

You’ve handed the client a retainer agreement and pen and he tells says he wants to think about it.

Instead of saying, “Sure, just let me know,” and having him walk out, you say, “I can get started this afternoon and have everything done for you by next Tuesday. You will finally be able to move forward with your life. Today is the 15th; make sure you write the date here” and point to the blank for the date.

You’ll find that clients typically have the same four or five objections, not hundreds. Think about the last few prospective clients who didn’t retain you. What did they say? How did you respond? How might you have handled it differently?

Come up with two or three ways to handle each common objection and the next time they arise, you’ll be ready.

Want to make the phone ring? Here’s my step-by-step system.