Law Firm Marketing Increases the Value of Your Practice
How Does This End For You?
Have you given any thought to what will happen when you decide to retire?
Even if you have a couple of decades before this becomes a reality, now is the time to think about THE END.
Why?
Because everything you do influences the value of your law firm. This is especially true of your law firm marketing.
Over time, you may accumulate some assets that your law firm will own. Some of these will appreciate and some will depreciate. But the most valuable assets you have are your client database and your business systems. Let’s take a brief look at each of those to see the value they provide.
Business Systems
Ideally, your law firm can (and does) run efficiently whether you are there or not. Everything from client intake to some of the basic services you provide should be automated and scripted so that they can be handled effectively and efficiently without you. On most cases, the input you provide should be limited to development of case strategy and marketing strategy. The execution of the day-to-day tactics (both operational and marketing) should be left to your team. (On cases where clients have specifically asked for you, a premium fee should be charged and you should work the case personally).
These systems not only make the office run smoothly, they also provide you with better quality of life. That is what the attorney who eventually purchases your law firm will pay for. This is a tremendous advantage.
Client Database
Included in your database of past and current clients is your database of referral sources. All of the people in this database are folks who know you, like you and trust you. And they are not shy about sharing your information with people who ask for it.
This is valuable because it provides an ongoing revenue stream for the future owner. In most cases, when an attorney starts a new law practice, they have to start from scratch. In the case of your law firm, someone taking over can simply continue to communicate with the client and referral database and they will enjoy the same stream of referrals you have, for years to come.
Realizing that these two areas provide the most value for your law firm is one thing. Doing something to create and increase value from these areas is something completely different. This involves work. That means:
1). Creating systems that make the day-to-day operation of your law firm foolproof and
2). Developing and nurturing your client/referral source database.
Law firm marketing does not just make things easy for you now; it helps you prepare for the future. You should be building equity so that your life’s work can provide you with a significant return when you are ready to sell.
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EmailA True Measure of Success
I was wrong.
I started working at a young age. Like many people, when I was a kid I had a newspaper delivery route. I would also cut lawns or water people’s plants or watch their houses while they were on vacation. When I turned 16 and I was legally eligible to work full time hours I got a job after school. In the summertime I worked two jobs.
I did this because I liked earning money.
As my career progressed, I always took the job that offered the potential to earn the most money. I advanced steady up the corporate ladder, building bigger businesses and watching my income increase along the way.
Then one day, not that long ago, I woke up and realized I was unhappy…but I had plenty of money. And I realized I was not successful.
I spent the better part of two decades working to increase my income. But that did not bring happiness.
I realized I needed to start over. The tools I was using to measure success were the wrong tools for that task.
But do not, for one minute, think I eschew making money. Money is great. It is important, dare I say critical, but it is a means to an end and not the end in-and-of itself.
True happiness for me is about freedom.
I started my business because I want complete control of my destiny. Along the way there are bumps in the road. There are a few surprises. But the journey is terrific. Every day is a new adventure. Each day is an opportunity to learn, grow and help people.
So how does this relate to you and law firm marketing?
It is simple.
You must have the opportunity to do your best work every day. You need to attract clients with whom you enjoy working. You need to be fighting for causes you believe in.
Marketing should bring these opportunities to your doorstep. It should be a vehicle that enhances your sense of freedom and it should allow you to do exactly what you love each and every day.
Marketing provides you with freedom. The freedom to be selective and the freedom to build the law firm you want, complete with the clients you want.
That is true success.
At the end of each day, when I look back and see that I used my talent to help others, and the quality of my life improved as a result… that is when I know that I have been successful.
How do you measure success?
How Lawyers Get Clients Is Important
If you want to know about the quality of a lawyer, look at how he attracts his clients.
In the past couple of years I have worked with over 200 lawyers from all over the United States and I have spoken with hundreds more. I know their businesses intimately. I know what keeps them up at night and I know what motivates them to get out of bed in the morning.
One of the things this experience has taught me is that there are a few litmus tests for selecting a good lawyer from the hundreds of thousands out there. One of those litmus tests is how a lawyer gets clients.
You read that correctly. How a lawyer gets clients is good way to tell what kind of lawyer he is.
Here are three ways the best lawyers attract new clients:
Education
Great lawyers do not keep their knowledge to themselves. They hold educational seminars for clients, prospective clients and referral sources. These seminars are not money-making propositions. They are intimate events where the lawyer demonstrates his expertise by educating the people in attendance.
Think about it: If you are a lawyer and you want to attract new clients do you want to attract a client who knows how valuable your services are? Of course you do. Teach your prospects about the value of your services without pitching yourself. It will help you attract clients like a magnet.
Referrals
Frequency of communication is important in relationship development. Great lawyers get clients through referrals and they receive referrals by communicating frequently and intelligently with their referral sources. Email and print newsletters are excellent tools for this communication but a phone call or in person meeting never hurts.
Community Leadership
One of the least used business development tools by average lawyers is community leadership. Great lawyers get clients by being active in the community. But by being active I mean they take leadership positions in the community. Not only does this increase their visibility and credibility it also shows the strength of their character. People who give of themselves, particularly people who dedicate time for the betterment of the community are held in high regard.
There are many other ways good lawyers get clients but the methods they employ help make the selection process easier.
Next time you’re wondering how to get clients as a lawyer, think about the implications of the methods you choose.
Five Ways to Get Better Clients Who Pay Higher Fees
People who appreciate quality are easy to identify. The guy who buys a pair of jeans at Saks does not get his underwear at Big Lots. The guy who stays at the Four Seasons does not have a Motel 6 Rewards Card in his wallet. You will never find the guy who travels on NetJets waiting to board in a cattle call on Southwest.
The same is true when selecting a lawyer. People who haggle over a fee when selecting legal services do not make quality representation a priority. The legal price shopper is a difficult client. They require champagne service on a Charles Shaw budget. Accept these clients at your own peril.
Raise your fees and liberate the bargain hunters to pursue other lawyers. There is demand at both the high end and the low end of the fee scale. The lawyers who work at the low end get terrible clients, and plenty of them. The lawyers at the high end of the spectrum work with fewer clients and make more money. Work less and make more with good clients or work more and deal with the unwashed masses. You pick.
Here are five strategies ANY lawyer in ANY practice area can use to increase income and attract better quality clients. Implement just one of them today and you will notice a difference in your caseload and your wallet.
Strategy 1: Raise Your Fees
Sometimes it is just as simple as making a decision to require more money for your services. Start by raising your fee 10% each month for the next 3 months. I bet you encounter little resistance. If you feel really bold, raise your fees 30% this month. Again, I bet you encounter little or no resistance.
The only person who has an issue with the amount of money you require is you. Raise your fees now.
Strategy 2: Be Different
Do not charge what everyone else charges just because that is the industry standard. Industry norms are set by what NORMAL (aka: AVERAGE) attorneys charge. You want to be known as an exceptional attorney. You should charge exceptional fees.
If you clearly differentiate your law firm and your service from the service provided by your competitors, you will occupy a category of one. If clients cannot compare you to anyone else they cannot expect you to charge the same fees as everyone else.
Strategy 3: Put Up a Velvet Rope
What kind of reputation do you want? Do you want to be the lawyer who works with everyone or do you want to be exclusive? Here is a hint: The lawyer with the higher client acceptance standards will make more money.
Fire the clients you hate. Make clients fill out an application to work with you. Turn away more clients than you accept. Make sure you get a reputation for being highly selective. The tougher it is to work with you, the more people will pay for the privilege.
Strategy 4: Never Apologize for Your Fee
A divorce lawyer in New York City charges a flat fee of $60,000 to represent a client in the dissolution of a marriage. He handles about 15 cases a year and he turns away triple that number. An immigration attorney in Miami charges $15,000 to fill out the forms for a family-based visa. She has more athletes as clients than most sports agents. A criminal attorney in Napa Valley requires a $10,000 fee for any DUI case he handles. Last December he billed over $200,000 in that month alone. A corporate attorney in Iowa only works with people who own dairy farms. He drafts and/or reviews all legal agreements for them and charges each client an annual fee of $50,000 to be their general counsel.
There are two absolute truths when it comes to fees: 1). No matter what you charge, someone will always pay it. 2). No matter what you charge, someone will always charge more.
Strategy 5: Position Yourself Properly
When they show up, bill em. This is a great philosophy. When you give advice to a client you put your neck on the line. Do not give out free advice. Ever. Not at lunch. Not in your office. Not at a cocktail party and not with the cute blonde you met at the bar. If they want your thoughts, make them pay.
Never meet with an unqualified client. Anyone who comes to see you must have three things: 1). A matter you are qualified to work on. 2). Money to pay you. 3). The ability to make a decision. Someone on your team must find out if the potential client has all three before they see you. If they do not, the meeting should not happen.
Avoid cheesy advertising at all costs. Do not advertise on billboards. Do not advertise on any form of public transportation or on anything that is in any way associated with public transportation. Do not do TV commercials where you attempt to look really tough and scary. Get the idea?
These are just five of 43 strategies my clients use to create more value and charge higher fees. How many of these can you implement in your law firm?
Incidentally, Stanford University conducted a study in 2008 that compared the happiness and satisfaction of people who paid high prices all the time with the people who always shopped for bargains. The clients who paid more were twice as likely to be happy as the people who haggled.
You do care about the happiness of your clients, don’t you?
Law Firm Marketing and Clarity
What exactly do you want from your law firm marketing? Do you want more clients? Do you want better clients? Do you want a certain type of client? Marketing can help with all of these challenges but there is one thing that stands in the way. You.
If you do not know what you want, you will jump from opportunity to opportunity.
Law firm marketing is a means to an end but the end must be clearly defined.
Most attorneys use their law firm as a tool to help them make a living. These folks have basically purchased a job. They have no equity built up in their law firm since they move from one client to the next. This is the reason a focus on client lifetime value is so important. If you can handle multiple matters for each client, you can spend a significant amount of money to develop that relationship.
Every good strategic plan should begin with the question:
“What should this law firm look like when it is time for me to exit?”
You must have clarity on this key point before you begin to develop a law firm marketing plan.
Who Controls Your Future?
More than a few people have used the economy as a scapegoat for problems they are experiencing within their law firms. I have heard everyone from immigration attorneys to criminal defense attorneys blaming the global economic meltdown for their troubles. This convenient excuse started in late 2007 and it continues today. The news media helps add fuel to the fire but make no mistake; this is an idea that is perpetuated at the grassroots level.
The problem with this position is it just isn’t true.
Problems in most law firms started years ago. In fact, most law firms were not built as businesses on a solid foundation. Most law firms are started by lawyers who need work. This need for work creates a job that you own. That is not a business. It is a job. Instead of reporting to a boss who is employed by a company, you report to multiple bosses in the form of your clients. You punch a time clock (hourly billing) and you only have the work they decide to give you. You are not in control of your destiny any more than the guy stocking shelves at the local Wal-Mart is in control of his destiny.
How to Break Free
The secret to breaking free of this economic dependence comes in building a business instead of building a job. This means:
1). Marketing your services as a professional
2). Setting up systems to deliver the service
3). Recruiting, hiring and training people to work in and manage the business
Most law firms don’t have leaders who think like this. Most law firms have leaders who focus on billable hours, sourcing one matter at a time and day-to-day administrative activities.
When you look for someone to blame for the poor financial situation facing law firms today, look no farther than the guy in the mirror. It is his fault you are in the situation you are in but he can also lead you out of it. The question is: Will he?
7 Legal Marketing Methods to Implement Immediately
There are lots of legal marketing methods that work. Many people are confused about where they should start. Here are 7 legal marketing methods that will help you get started growing your law firm.
Legal Marketing Method 1: Blog Daily
Writing an article each day is a great way to develop a relationship with your prospective clients. If you can’t get to it daily, three times a week will work. Legal marketing means building relationships. People who read your blog want to have a relationship with you. These are terrific potential clients.
Legal Marketing Method 2: Email Weekly
Each week pick your best blog article and email it to the people in your contact database. This will help you develop a deeper relationship with them. And no, weekly email is not too frequent. Communication becomes annoying when it is not interesting and engaging. As long as your content is good, you will be successful with a weekly email. That is one of the secrets to legal marketing. Good content is always appreciated no matter how frequently it is delivered.
Legal Marketing Method 3: Print and Mail a Newsletter Monthly
Regular mail works better than ever. People pay more attention now to regular mail than they do to email. Compile your best few articles from your blog, put them in a newsletter format, and mail them out. You will capture a portion of your audience that typically does not read blogs or email. This is a classic legal marketing method that never goes out of style…because it works!
Legal Marketing Method 4: Court Bankers and CPAs
Bankers and CPAs need to establish relationships with their clients just like you do. It makes good sense to develop relationships with these professionals. You can add value to the relationship your banker or CPA has with his clients and he can add value to your client relationships. Adding value is good legal marketing strategy.
Legal Marketing Method 5: Take on a Leadership Role in the Community
People want to be lead. They like leaders. Step up and take a leadership role in your community. It will show that you are responsible and reliable. It will help inspire confidence in your prospective clients. You can’t just sit back and wait to be successful. You must earn your success. Your leadership skills and your legal marketing will help you.
Legal Marketing Method 6: Share Your Friends
One of the fastest ways to gain favor with prospective clients is to connect people to others who can help them. If you do this, it benefits three people: First it benefits the two people you are bringing together and then it benefits you. If you selflessly share your connections with others, you will reap the rewards as both people will be appreciative.
Legal Marketing Method 7: Become a Follow-up Maniac
This is the cardinal rule of legal marketing. You must follow up with everyone, constantly. People need to hear your message a minimum of seven times before it begins to sink in. Follow up early and often and you will be successful.
Legal marketing is effective when you take action. Above are seven ways you can begin to grow your law firm. The next step is up to you.
Do Internet Directory Services Work for Lawyer Marketing?
This is a question I am receiving with more and more frequency. As the economy deteriorated these services ramped up their marketing efforts so that almost every lawyer in America received a call from one of them at some point (or so it seemed). Many lawyers added an online directory listing to their marketing and signed up for the service. Others remained skeptical and called me looking for my input. Since I have now seen more than my share of lawyers who have used the various directory and “client matching” services, I can offer some fair commentary about them.
Directory services are essentially the Internet replacement of the phone book. You list your law firm in there with other attorneys who do the same thing as you do. You provide your information packaged in the same way as all the other lawyers marketing their services. You even have the opportunity to list prices for your services. Then people call you. Some call seeking free advice and some call shopping around for the least expensive lawyer.
That’s right. You will get phone calls from most of these services. And in many cases you will get clients. In a few cases, you may even get enough clients to do better than break even on your investment. Many people would say this is a good lawyer marketing tactic since you are receiving a positive return on investment.
The problem with directory services is that they make you a commodity. You become the same as a can of peas on the shelf in a supermarket. Potential clients cannot see the difference in your service from all the other attorneys in the directory. You all look the same. When everything looks the same the only criteria the client has to make a decision is price. This is not good.
Let’s see how the directory services stack up against the three main elements of lawyer marketing:
Visibility: Will it help people find you? The answer here is “yes”.
Credibility: Will it help people believe your message? The answer here is “maybe”. I say “maybe” because credibility is in the eyes of the receiver of the message. To some potential clients, being in a directory service may signal legitimacy but to others it may signal desperation. It all depends on your potential client.
Differentiation: This is where we put the nail in the coffin. These directory services offer no way to differentiate you from everyone else. In fact, they make you a commodity which is the opposite of what good lawyer marketing is supposed to do.
In the end, advertising in a directory or a client matching service will not do any harm to your law practice. You will, if you have the time and the patience to sort through all the calls from price shoppers, probably get a few clients over the course of a year. But if you have other opportunities to invest in more productive lawyer marketing vehicles, I recommend staying away from them.
Law Firm Marketing in Six Easy Steps
Law firm marketing does not have to be difficult. There are six easy steps to making your law firm marketing productive. If you follow these law firm marketing steps, you will build a significant client base within six months. It may take time, but it will be time well spent.
Below are the six easy steps to effective law firm marketing:
Law Firm Marketing Plan Step 1: Pick a niche market. Everybody is not your ideal client. Good law firm marketing requires focus. This means you must pick a specific target market and dedicate significant dollars to getting your message to it.
Law Firm Marketing Plan Step 2: Clearly differentiate your law firm from every other firm in the market. This part of your law firm marketing plan is about making sure your ideal client understands why you are different from everyone else who does what you do. It is critical that you spell out why people should hire you based upon these differences.
Law Firm Marketing Plan Step 3: Set up a blog and post 3 articles each week. This is the part of the law firm marketing plan that intimidates most attorneys. They fear that they do not have enough time to dedicate to law firm marketing in general, let alone a blog in particular. Keep in mind that each blog post can be as short as 300 words. The blog articles only need to be as long as is necessary to get your point across. Creating this content is essential for your website as well as for the rest of your law firm marketing campaign, so take the time to do it.
Law Firm Marketing Plan Step 4: Send out a weekly educational email to your clients. This email is your communication vehicle with the clients in your database. It will help you keep your name in front of them and it will remind them to call you when they have a need for your services. The email can be direct, to the point and brief but it needs to provide valuable information.
Law Firm Marketing Plan Step 5: Send out a monthly newsletter. The monthly newsletter can be a compilation of articles from your blog and your weekly email. It doesn’t have to be 100% original content. The reason a print newsletter is so effective is because regular mail is an underutilized media. These days people receive a great deal of email and little regular mail. Sending a print newsletter is a must for an effective law firm marketing campaign.
Law Firm Marketing Plan Step 6: Host quarterly client appreciation events. These events should have an educational component to them. Teach your clients (and a few select prospective clients) something new. Give them some “insider tips”. Provide them with valuable information they can’t get anywhere else. It may be a good idea to serve some food and drinks and show your appreciation to the people who have been loyal to your law firm.
A law firm marketing plan does not have to be labor intensive, complex or overly sophisticated. It just needs to be executed consistently. If you plan your time well and complete the law firm marketing steps listed above, you will be thrilled with the results.
Why Is It So Easy To Hire You?
Every so often I will point out things I think are worth reading for people interested in law firm marketing. This week I came across a post by Seth Godin on open buying and open selling. Seth is talking about the ease of getting something and its true value to the end user. This is a concept that is near and dear to me. If something is easy to get, how much could it be worth?
Let’s say you need to see a heart surgeon. It’s not an emergency but your doctor has detected an irregular heartbeat. The doctor doesn’t give you a referral (he doesn’t believe in them). So you are forced to find a heart surgeon on your own.
You go to the Internet and you call the heart surgeon who comes up on top in a Google search. You call the office at 9AM and get an appointment for 11AM. After a FREE consultation, you shake the doctor’s hand and he agrees to operate on you at 1PM.
What do you think? Is that guy most likely a good doctor or a bad doctor?
I know that sounds ludicrous but that’s what happens with many lawyers.
You can pick up the phone at 9AM, make an appointment for today at 11, go to the office for a FREE consultation and have an attorney retained by 1PM.
And the attorneys who operate this way wonder why they have so many clients who shop around.
It is not easy to hire a good lawyer. Good lawyers are selective in the clients they accept. Good lawyers are always busy…too busy to handle same day appointments or walk-ins…too busy to offer FREE consultations.
If you want quality clients you need to have a process in place to select them. If you want clients to listen to your advice they must perceive it as valuable. Law firm marketing helps influence that perception but commonsense must also have a role.
Clients get what they pay for…and they know it.
