Lawyer Gets Exactly What He Deserves
Every day people ask me if my business strategies will work in their practice area.
It doesn’t matter if they practice environmental law, personal injury law, criminal defense law or law relating to Native American Rights – everybody thinks their law practice is different. And they feel compelled to verify that the strategies I have developed over the years will work for them.
In this week’s Rainmaker Minute I’m going to give you a quick case study that will show you how applicable basic client acquisition strategy is and how you can use it to attract the clients you deserve.
A few months ago Steve Klitzner (a longtime client) came to me looking for a way to attract new clients to his tax practice. Steve handles IRS problem resolution.
What does that mean?
Well, think about people who have not paid their taxes for years and years. Now think about them waking up one day and deciding that they can’t take the feeling of impending doom any longer.
Who do they go see? They go see Steve.
A good portion of Steve’s business is developed as a result of referrals from accountants, bankruptcy attorneys and other lawyers. He does quite a bit of marketing and he is always looking for new ways to attract clients.
At one of our meetings Steve told me he was looking for a way to get more referrals from accountants. While he had booked speaking engagements to groups of accountants in the past, he had never been able to convert them into new business. With a speaking engagement to his State’s Association of CPAs coming up, he was looking for a way to make this event pay off.
Here is the exact strategy we developed and the results Steve received:
At the conclusion of his talk Steve offered all of the attendees a special report titled:
“EIGHT MISTAKES TAX PRACTITIONERS MAKE WHEN NEGOTIATING WITH THE IRS: Important Tips to Keep Your Client From Getting in MORE Hot Water”
About 40 CPA’s gave Steve their contact information and he sent them the report. They also receive his monthly newsletter on an ongoing basis.
In the three months since this event, he has received 8 referrals directly from accountants who got on his mailing list as a result of that strategy. If Steve’s average case value is $5,000 (and it’s not, it’s a lot more) he added an additional $40,000 to his billing as a result of that one strategy.
But that’s not the end of the story.
Steve then turned the report into an article and pitched it to several trade publications and industry newsletters. A prominent tax industry publication ran the article verbatim. That article landed Steve two additional speaking engagements and three additional referrals from CPAs.
This report, which took Steve two hours to create, will help him develop over $100,000 in new business this year…and this is just one of the marketing strategies he has in place.
Here’s the moral of the story:
Steve Klitzner is a successful IRS Problem Resolution Attorney because he takes action. I developed this strategy for him, but he put it into place and he got new clients as a result.
In the end, all of us get the business we deserve.
You just received the exact strategy Steve used to develop new business. It could work for you. But first you must take action.
Rest assured, whether or not you put this (or any other client acquisition strategy) into place, you are going to get the business you deserve.
If you come across a client with a tax issue send them to Steve. And you can find that special report he published on his website: http://www.floridataxsolvers.com
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EmailLaw Firm Marketing and Your Business
Most people want to go to sleep tonight and wake up in the morning smart, rich and thin. They want the formula for the magic potion they can drink that will make this happen.
Lawyers are no different.
Many lawyers will hire Social Media Gurus, Search Engine Optimization Experts or a Public Relations Flack and expect to have thousands of clients lining up outside their office door by the end of the week.
It doesn’t work that way.
You can’t just plunk down a couple of bucks for the “all the clients you can stand” option at the local buffet.
Sorry.
No matter what anyone says, there is no way to make this happen overnight.
But there is a way to build a client base and establish a reputation as a good lawyer in the process.
Here is the three step formula:
Step One: Do excellent work.
Yeah. It’s true. You have to represent your clients well. You have to get the best result possible for them. You have to do everything legally, morally and ethically possible to help them. There is no avoiding this. You must be a good lawyer.
Step Two: Embrace business ownership.
As a lawyer you have a responsibility to your client (see step one). As a business owner you have an additional responsibility to yourself: To make money. These two things are not mutually exclusive. You can be professional, charge fair fees and run a profitable business. If you cannot come to grips with this concept, go to work for a big law firm.
Step Three: Set up systems that allow you to be the CEO of your law firm.
You will severely limit your income if you spend 100% of your time practicing law. You love the law. I know. You went to school to practice law. I know. You only feel validated when you are doing the work required to resolve an issue for a client. I know.
The big problem arises when you run out of hours in the day. You see, at some point, you will run out of hours in which you can complete the work. This means you need to have systems in place that help you complete at least fifty percent of the work that will flow through your office. These systems will involve other people. There will be delegation and there will need to be accountability.
Yes. You read that correctly. You will need to manage people and processes if you want to grow your law firm.
How do you set up these systems? What do they look like? How do you hire the right people? How do you get them to perform the necessary tasks perfectly and consistently? How do you ethically attract enough clients to support this added infrastructure and make a healthy profit?
These are the questions that can be answered by a true expert.
I’m not talking about someone who can “get you on the first page of Google”. Or someone who can help you get 3,000 ‘friends” on Facebook.
I am talking about an expert who can sit down with you, listen to your goals for your law firm and your life and help you design a plan to make them a reality.
I am talking about someone who can help you put that plan into motion and make adjustments along the way.
You need a business strategist to help you build a business. But you have to take action. You have to admit that you want to build a successful business.
Not everyone does.
If you are one of the few lawyers who have the guts to embrace business ownership, you owe it to yourself to take action.
Legal Marketing and The Slacker Season
This is the time of year when legal marketing can become very discouraging.
Why?
It is tough to get a return phone call from anyone. People are leaving work early so you can’t meet anyone for lunch. Next year’s budget is set but this year’s budget is spent so nobody wants to talk about legal services until after the calendar turns a page.
What are you supposed to do while everyone else is tired, bored and simply refuses to work until the Holiday Break is over?
Here are five things you can do during The Slacker Season to maintain your legal marketing momentum and your productivity.
Plan for the next 3 to 6 months. This time of year is the perfect time to take a few hours and map out your plan for the next three to six months. Shut off the phone. Close the office door and think about where you want to go and how you want to get there.
Set up appointments by sending a letter and following up with a phone call. This is the perfect opportunity to send out a brief letter that says “let’s catch up”. Notice I said a letter and not a card. Everyone is getting holiday cards this time of year. Send a letter on your letterhead to clients and referral sources. Then follow up with a phone call to set an appointment to meet them next month. Leave a voice mail if they don’t answer.
People will be happy to get a date on the calendar next month so they can get their year off to a great start. Send a letter and follow up with a phone call and you will be amazed at the number of appointments you can set.
Handle any tedious office tasks that you have been avoiding. If you have avoided reorganizing your files, now is the time to tackle that task. If you have ignored rearranging the office furniture, do it now. Anything administrative that you have been avoiding, you should handle during the next few days.
Tackle the big project. This is the perfect time to write the white paper you have been putting off. This is an ideal time to develop your presentation to your Bar Association. This is the ideal time to get moving on any big marketing project you have been neglecting because you have been “too busy.” Simply put your head down and get to it.
Go on vacation. Let’s face it, if your clients are not burning up the phone lines because of the time of year, and you’ve gotten all of your administrative work done and you have prepared your marketing initiatives for the next 6 months, then there is only one thing left to do….take some time off. This is the perfect time of year to rest, relax and recharge your batteries. Do it now before you get busy.
The “Slacker Season” can (and should) be the most productive time of year for legal marketing. Use these next few weeks to your advantage. If you do, you will find that your law firm is well prepared and well equipped as the calendar page turns and business picks up.
Legal Marketing: Ten Ways to Attract More Clients
We all get so busy focusing on the work we have to get done that sometimes we forget the basics of client attraction.
I’m not talking about some fancy new Internet technique that the latest guru is hawking. I am talking about simple human behavior that, in the long run, will help you win (or lose) more business than anything else you do.
Here are ten ways to attract more clients and deepen existing client relationships.
1). Be likeable. People work with people they like. Be polite and patient. Avoid foul language, avoid displaying frustration or impatience. Never scream and yell in public.
2). Think about the other person. People are attracted to people they believe have their best interests at heart. If someone drops something, help pick it up. If someone looks confused, say something like “can I help you find something?” or “are you ok?” Kindness and common courtesy go a long way toward endearing people to you.
3). Don’t lie. Clients want to work with someone who is honest, ethical, and above board. Even a small untruth will hurt you. Make sure your biographical information on your website is accurate. Make sure the stories you tell are not exaggerated. Remember, if a client doubts the truthfulness of one thing you say, they will doubt the truthfulness of everything you say.
4). Get yourself together. People are attracted to people who are physically attractive, or at least not physically repulsive. Be well-groomed. Dress well. Have good personal hygiene. This means showering regularly and brushing your teeth frequently.
5). Be real. Look and act like a regular person. Be friendly and show an interest in others. Ask the other person questions about their company, their job, their industry, even their family and interests.
6). Listen. People are attracted to people who listen and really hear what they are saying. As a rule of thumb, during any conversation, you should listen 70% of the time and speak only 30% of the time.
When you listen, maintain eye contact and smile or nod occasionally. (Don’t stare like a psycho).
7). Establish a point of commonality. Are you both in the same place for the same reason? Are you wearing the same color, working in the same building, taking the same route to work, have kids the same age, etc? People want to feel a connection with other people. Make it easy for them to feel that way with you.
8). Be humble. Don’t be a braggart or egomaniac. Never discuss how much money you make. Never discuss how good you are or how great your kid is. If you are a good lawyer, get the client’s business and SHOW them how good you are. Talk is cheap.
9). Appear busy. We are all attracted to people who seem busy and successful. Never tell anyone that things are slow and you really need clients. That is a sure way to give people the impression that you are loser.
Think about a doctor as an example. You don’t like waiting for the doctor. But how would you feel if you called a heart surgeon and he said: “Come on over today. I can operate this afternoon. Just let me set the DVR so I can record Oprah.”
Wouldn’t you be wondering how good he was if he had no patients? Wouldn’t you feel more assured if his schedule was booked for a few weeks?
10). Be easy to approach. We are attracted to people who are easily approached. When someone asks you a question, do you scowl or seem put out? Questions are a sign of interest. If you have time, answer them. If you don’t have time, give the other person a way to contact you and politely ask them to reach out to you with their question later on.
Intimidation is not a client attraction skill. You can be a real tough guy when you advocate on behalf of your client. Do not be tough when you are trying to attract them.
These ten tips seem like common sense. But experience has shown that common sense is not all that common.
I encourage you to read this list thoroughly at least once each week. Use it as a reminder that the little things make a big difference in attracting clients.
It’s Not the Economy
The phrase that kept Bill Clinton’s campaign on track when he was elected President of the United States in 1992 was: “It’s the economy, stupid”. This was a stark reminder to the candidate and his team to keep their message focused on the economic issues that were troubling the people.
I hear this phrase repeated often from lawyers today. It is their way of letting me know that nothing I teach them about marketing will work because “it’s the economy, stupid.”
That is just plain wrong.
If your law firm revenue is down, year-over-year then you are not doing enough to get clients in the door.
Yes, it is harder to get clients to hire you, compared to 2006. Yes, you have to try many different marketing methods in order to generate leads. And yes, you should follow Roy Black’s advice and spend more time learning about marketing than learning about trial procedure.
Nothing in your law firm is going to change unless you change.
Get up and get going.
Take Your Medicine
Aren’t you sick and tired of waiting for the economy to turn around?
Haven’t you had enough of the negative psychobabble from the news media?
Wouldn’t you like to take back control of your economic future?
The past couple of years have been difficult for everyone but they have been especially difficult for sole practitioners and lawyers in small law firms. A few years ago, in certain practice areas, people were lining up to throw money at you because they were flush with cash. But the economy changed rapidly and before we all knew what happened, the market for most legal services became a ghost town.
Then, not too long ago, we were teased with a little optimistic talk. Some new business was dangled in front of us and we bought into the fact that recovery was on the horizon. Maybe you picked up a couple of new clients during this time of hope and change and you started to feel better about things.
But then someone flipped a switch and the clients all scattered back into hiding. As hard as you look you just cannot seem to find them and as much as you try to lure them out of hiding they just don’t seem to like the bait you are putting out.
So what are you supposed to do? You’re back to the place you started. Doing the same things over and over and expecting different results.
How long are you going to let this continue?
There is a way to grow your law firm. Even in an economy like this. There is a way to build a sustainable law practice that will help you feed your family and live the lifestyle you deserve. There is a way to make the money you were making back in the “boom time”.
But you have to be ready to do some things differently.
Please go back and read that last sentence again. There are two parts to it. The first part is “do something” the second part is “different”. Most lawyers have trouble embracing both of these concepts, particularly when it comes to business strategy. If you are ready to embrace the idea of doing things differently, I will help you take back control of your law firm, your time and your financial future.
Here are the three concepts you MUST embrace in order to begin your own recovery:
The first thing you must do is stop listening to the crowd. There is a good chance you hang around with people who are in the same situation as you. These folks are not going to be helpful to your long term growth. Winners hang around with winners. If you must hang around with these people (they are relatives) ignore their advice.
The second thing you must do is embrace some new ideas and concepts when it comes to marketing. I’m not talking about spending all of your time on Facebook and Twitter; I am talking about using some effective, ethical, sound marketing strategies that you have been avoiding. I am also talking about bundling some solid marketing and relationship-building habits into systems and putting them to work in your daily routine.
The final thing you must do is take action. You must get up out of your chair and get going. You must dedicate yourself to finally doing what you know you have needed to do for the past couple of years. Embrace the fact that the only way things get better is if you make them better. The money fairy is not going drop a big sack of cash at your door step. You have to go out and take the cash from the clients who need your help. And you have to do it ethically and effectively.
If you are ready to take action, ready to try new things and ready to stop listening to the people who are bringing you down, I can help you.
Earlier this year I introduced my Legal Marketing Fast Start System to a select group of lawyers and they put it into practice. The results were beyond encouraging. Since its introduction, I have added two additional components to this system. One is a component that helps you focus on the daily habits that will build up a successful client base over time. And the other will help you get new clients on board properly and help you collect full payment from them.
Visit http://LegalMarketingFastStart.com to see the testimonials of some of the lawyers who have worked with my system and to see the satisfaction guarantee. Yes, there is someone who stands behind his work these days.
You owe it to yourself to take control of your law practice. Take a few minutes and visit http://LegalMarketingFastStart.com right now.
Marketing for Lawyers Must Have a Call to Action
You have written the perfect article to express your point. The trade magazine read by all your clients has agreed to run the article. You have the printer on stand-by, ready to reprint the article so you can send it to everyone in your database. But even if all of those things happen, the article may still not have any impact. Why?
Because, like most pieces of marketing for lawyers, it is missing the one element that makes all the difference in the world. That element is known as the “Call to Action”.
The call to action is the component of any marketing piece that gives the reader specific instructions on what to do.
For example:
If you write an article on the importance of hiring an attorney to appeal your property tax bill you should tell the reader to call your telephone number to receive your free report titled: “Five Secrets Your Stat Government Doesn’t Want you to Know About Your Taxes”.
If you are writing about a blog post about a personal injury case you should include a link to a web page where readers can get a free CD titled “How To Prepare for Your First Meeting with a Personal Injury Lawyer”.
In marketing for lawyers we always make the call to action related to obtaining free educational information. This not only helps the attorney position himself as a leader in his field, it serves as a non-threatening way to start a relationship with a potential client.
Forgetting the call to action is like leaving your house without your pants. You will still get where you are going but you will not be taken seriously when you get there.
Law Firm Marketing Needs Even More Rules
Apparently the American Bar Association is going to be issuing new and more stringent model rules on Law Firm Marketing. While some consultants may feel this is going to be a bad thing for the profession, I think this is going to be excellent. Fantastic actually. Here are a few reasons why:
Less Competition: People Will Leave the Profession in Droves
Let’s face it; there are already too many lawyers. If the ABA creates new (and more restrictive rules) on law firm marketing, and some states adopt those rules, lawyers will become even more frustrated by their lack of ability to make a living. This means they will have to find something else to do. That will help shrink the already overwhelming number of lawyers practicing today.
This “thinning of the herd” will result in the remaining lawyers being able to charge higher fees and work more hours.
Marketing Will Become More Innovative
Any time you over regulate something you force people to innovate. Think bootleggers during prohibition and present day drug traffickers. Innovative lawyers will find a way to get to potential clients with their message.
Even in the most restrictive law firm marketing state in the United States, Florida, we find people circumnavigating the rules all the time and calling it “innovative marketing”. For example: A personal injury lawyer will hire an “accident investigator” to interview an accident victim in a hospital within days (sometimes hours) of an accident. This investigator will then subtly introduce the attorney’s contact information to the victim and, sometimes initiate contact. Is this a violation of the Florida Bar Rules? Yes. Is it provable? Maybe. How many attorneys get busted for this? Not too many.
Innovation. Thomas Edison would be proud.
The Public Will Be Protected
Freedom of choice leads to bad decisions. Let’s protect the public from having as many choices as possible.
Restrictions on law firm marketing mean that people will be forced to ask their friends and neighbors for legal referrals. So if they get arrested for a DUI they will need to pick up the phone and call everyone they know and tell them what happened while they ask if they know a Criminal Lawyer. This is great. The shame of this process will certainly prevent them from ever drinking and driving again.
Think of the great deterrent this will be to divorce. You are thinking of getting divorced and you want to discuss your options with a lawyer. You call all your friends and neighbors and get some attorney referrals. Your spouse finds out that you are looking for attorney referrals and he gets to all the attorneys before you do. This creates dozens of conflicts and nobody can represent you. What do you do? You stay married!
There are probably dozens of other reasons why more stringent regulation of law firm marketing is a great idea but these three alone should be enough to convince you. Less competition, greater innovation and better protection of the public. What more could you want?
This will definitely enhance the reputation of the ABA as an industry advocate. I’m sure solo and small practice lawyers will be rushing out to join the ABA in droves after they see the good work they are doing.
Law Firm Marketing Reality Check
For many years I thought marketing was about selling things to people. I thought it was about telling people how great my service was, explaining how smart I was, showing them the benefits of hiring me and then closing the deal.
That’s what many of the books I read on marketing told me to do.
Boy was that a big mistake.
Over time I came to learn that marketing professional services, particularly law firm marketing, is not about benefits and closing the deal. Marketing in professional services is about three things. Those three things are:
1). Building a Relationship with Your Prospective Client/Referral Source
2). Educating the Prospective Client/Referral Source
3). Differentiating Your Law Firm from All the Others
Here’s what I mean:
Building a Relationship
This is the primary purpose of attorney marketing. Working with a lawyer is a personal decision. The prospective client must know you, like you and trust you before they will work with you or refer you.
You get people to like you by being yourself in your marketing. Law firm marketing is not like being in court and it is not like writing an opinion letter. It is about creating authentic relationships with people who may not use your services or refer you for years. Being yourself means using common language and conveying information in a natural way. If you blog, write in exactly the same way you speak. If you are giving a talk to a group of executives, do not use legal jargon. Speak like a human being. When you are networking, talk about life and not about the law.
People want to trust their lawyer but they also need to like him. Be yourself and be interested in your client’s life outside of the matter you are handling. First develop a relationship and the business will follow.
Education is a Great Law Firm Marketing Strategy
This is an important component of your marketing but you need to be careful about how you do it. You want to teach your referral sources and prospective clients about what you do and about the law but you do not want to come off as condescending.
You do this by presenting your information within a story or a case study. Nobody appreciates a lecture but everyone loves a good story. Teach people how you can help them by telling them a story that illustrates your learning objective.
Differentiation
Many people use common characteristics as points of differentiation. Look around the Internet and you will see this. Things like, being a former prosecutor or being a former judge, 30 years practicing law, graduate of Harvard Law School, etc. Those things are important and they should be included in your marketing but those things are not enough. Here are a two ways to truly differentiate your law firm.
Differentiation Through Communication
Set up a system and a schedule for communication with your clients. Give them regular (weekly, biweekly or monthly) updates on their case. Schedule these calls, send these emails, even if there is nothing new to report. Do this because this is important to the client. But schedule it in advance. Then explain to future clients (and to referral sources) that you have this process in place.
The number one reason lawyers get fired is because of a failure of communication. Show the client right from the beginning that you are different in this area.
Differentiation Through Your Fee Structure
Look at how your competitors are charging their clients and do the opposite. If they are charging hourly, immediately move to a flat fee model. If they are charging a flat fee you must figure out how to include more services (or a longer term relationship) in your flat fee agreement. This is not a race toward becoming the cheapest lawyer in town. It is a race to providing the best value. You can charge more than everyone else you just have to provide more value to justify that fee.
Communication and fees are two of the easiest ways to differentiate your law firm from the others. There are hundreds more. Find some and use them in your marketing.
Law firm marketing is not the same as marketing a box of detergent. Do not get the two confused. Law firm marketing is personal. You must make sure you give it the time and attention it deserves.
Big Legal Marketing Opportunity for Small Law Firms
We should not have to convince small law firm owners about the opportunity to dominate their area of practice by using legal marketing, but we do. There are a few reasons solo and small practice law firms do not spend time and money on marketing. They are:
- No understanding of legal marketing.
- They have received bad information about legal marketing.
- Fear of the investment in legal marketing.
Let’s take a look at each of these reasons and help them work through them.
No Understanding of Legal Marketing
Most lawyers have no concept of what legal marketing is or how legal marketing should be attempted. They do not teach anything about legal marketing in law school. So when an attorney does some research on legal marketing, he finds a great deal of diverse information.
Some of the information is useful but most of it is crap. The Internet is full of false profits in every industry but when it comes to legal marketing these false profits are particularly sneaky. Most of the people who will take a lawyers money or offer a lawyer advice on legal marketing are, in fact, lawyers themselves. This makes them very appealing to the lawyer who needs marketing help.
The danger of hiring a part time lawyer for help with marketing or even worse, hiring a former lawyer for help with marketing, is that you will get wrong information. Most of the lawyer-turned-marketing-gurus do not intentionally give out bad information but they do not have the experience and knowledge to apply an appropriate solution for every practice.
The part time lawyer, part time marketing guru knows what you want to hear and they sell that to you. If they knew about building a law firm they would be doing that full time.
If you want to fully understand legal marketing and if you want to pick a set of strategies that will work for you do your research. You can start here at Rainmaker Lawyer and continue at our other legal marketing website Legal Marketing For Lawyers.
Bad Information
There is no shortage of bad information out there about legal marketing. Everywhere you turn there is some guru trying to sell you their Facebook solution for attracting more clients or their Social Media Success System.
Ultimately, you must thoroughly vet the people you listen to. You must review their track record and get a feeling for their ability to build a business. A law firm is a business. If you build it properly it should be an asset that appreciates in value. Your law firm marketing guru should be able to help you build and grow this asset into something you can sell when the time comes.
Look for a legal marketing expert who has a track record of building businesses. If they have done it they can help you do it.
Fear of the Investment in Legal Marketing
The Yellow Pages salesman ruined legal marketing for everyone. Back in the old days the Yellow Pages guy would walk into a law office and walk out with a $12,000 check. Each year several people would call as a result of seeing the ad in the Yellow Pages and the lawyer would attract a couple of clients. This would be enough to keep his interest albeit at a significant expense.
Today the SEO guy is the Yellow Pages equivalent. There are people out there who are promising they will get your website on the first page of Google in three weeks. Lawyers invest in these solutions and they invest heavily. Sometimes they work and the lawyer becomes completely dependent upon them. Most times they are a big waste of money.
This has made the lawyer scared of legitimate legal marketing solutions.
There is no need to fear the expense of legal marketing. You can invest as little money as you’d like and still get great results. Keep in mind that reducing the investment in dollars will most likely mean increasing the investment of your time.
The bottom line on all of this it that you should not feel apprehensive about working with a legal marketing expert. Do your homework and you will make a good decision.
