Legal Marketing Secrets

Passion and Legal Marketing

A new client and I spoke yesterday.

She was recently laid off as in-house counsel and was finding it difficult obtaining another job.

So, she decided to hang out her shingle.

We discussed a lot of marketing ideas but I wanted to discuss one of the most important issues we spoke about.

She decided to niche her practice in the elder law and estate area.

She told me she choose this area because of the baby boomers retiring, mistrust of the stock market, new Medicaid rules, and other "market" issues that made this area of the law "hot".

While I could not disagree with her logic, I challenged her and asked how passionate she was about this area and helping people plan for their retirement and their estate after death.

She was silent for a bit and then agreed she had passion around these issues.

I'm not really sure if she does or not, but my point is that I do not believe you can be a good marketer/promoter of what you do if you're not somewhat passionate about the people you’re helping and the problems you're solving.

My advice to her was that "You may be good in this area, and it may be "hot" right now, but you could be miserable doing it."

And life is way too short for that.

Three Easy Networking Tips

I hope you're well.

I attended a networking event today set up by two experts in the business development and PR field...Nancy Fox and Gina Rubel. They are wonderful people and you should try to work with them.

The guest speaker, best selling author Michael Port, was wonderful. One tip he gave that I wanted to relay is about networking.

He suggests that each day, you:

1. Introduce 2 people in your network to each other;

2. Send a person in your network an article and note of interest; and

3. Call them up and just say hello.

Very good advice.

On another topic, I'm always looking out for new and creative ways to market legal services and I'm certainty on the lookout for a bit of humor... so if you want to see some funny examples, go to these two:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CkSLXbut_vs&NR=1

http://www.snyderwins.com/movie.htm.

ALI-ABA and ACLEA Team Up To Host High-Level Summit on Lawyer Education and Development in the 21st Century

PHILADELPHIA – September 22, 2009 – ALI-ABA Continuing Professional Education (ALI-ABA) and the Association for Continuing Legal Education (ACLEA) are hosting a high-level summit on lawyer education and professional development in the 21^st century, to be held October 15-17, 2009, at the Fairmont Scottsdale in Scottsdale, Arizona.

The invitational conference, titled Equipping Our Lawyers: Law School Education, Continuing Legal Education, and Legal Practice in the 21^st Century, will call together selected continuing legal education (CLE) professionals, practitioners, bar leaders, judges, law school professors and representatives, mandatory CLE administrators, law firm educators, and other experts on lawyer professional education and development.  Over the course of two-and-a-half days, these 150 thought leaders will debate and discuss critical issues facing law schools, continuing legal education providers, and the legal profession in equipping today's lawyers for practice, and will develop specific goals and recommendations for improvement and change. This will be a milestone summit, with an impact on legal training and the profession for years to come.

The summit will open on October 15 with two panels of experts discussing “The Future of the Legal Profession” and “The Role of Technology in Legal Training and Practice.” These panels will also be webcast live from the summit.  The core of the conference will be six participatory breakout sessions, featuring in-depth discussions of trends, best practices, and goals for law school education, bar admissions, CLE, mandatory CLE, in-house professional development, and generational issues. Recommendations emerging from these sessions will be debated by the conferees as a whole, who will craft consensus recommendations for modernizing and improving lawyer education and professional development to meet the challenges of the 21st century.

A detailed agenda for the summit can be found at www.equippingourlawyers.org.

The 2 Key Ingredients to Succeed in Legal Marketing...or Anything Else

While many of us spend a good deal of time making sure our web site looks good,

is maximized for search engines, have a glossy brochure, develop an excellent

and catchy elevator pitch, write articles, give speeches and all of the other

marketing tactics we are told will work.

While it’s true you need to have some collateral materials and tactics for visibility,

at the end of the day the only 2 things that really matter is:

(i) that you make a compelling offer and

(ii) that you follow up to close the deal. 

Work on these two things, do it every day with laser focus,

and you’ll never worry about having enough clients.

The Best Thing You Can Do For a Client

 

Without question, the best thing you can do for a client is to win their case...promptly and for a reasonable price. 

 

But aside from that, the best thing you can do for your clients is to help them make money, save money and provide them peace of mind.

 

One of the ways you can accomplish all three of these objectives is to get them business.  Everyone sells something and if you're able to get your clients new business or career opportunities, you'll be in their good graces forever.  What's more, since you've gone out of your way to help them, no doubt they will do the same for you by either referring you new business or making sure they call you when they need an attorney.

 

Becoming a promoter of your clients and helping them succeed is the best marketing tactic there is.

 

 

 

Why Don't Law Firms have a Sales Department?

Ask any businessperson what they believe is the key to success and they’ll tell you marketing” and “profitable customers.” 

Yet for many reasons...lawyers hate to "market" themselves.

Whether it's  due to billable hour demands, lack of training, distaste for “selling” or self promotion, or the organizational structures at many firms, the fact is that while many lawyers are good legal technicians, many fail at client development. 

And why should they spend their valuable time marketing? 

In you're were running a software development company, would you ask the engineers, the people who actually do the work, to sell?

While many firms have marketing departments to do marketing collateral, bios, seminars, etc. and other progressive firms have client officers who are tasked with making sure the clients are happy, very few if any, have salespeople.

In an era where law firms are looking more like traditional businesses, it may be time to make a leap and think about a salesforce that will be tasked and compensated for bringing in new business. This idea eliminates the risk that the new client belongs to a particular lawyer that they take with them when they leave the firm.

It also leaves the lawyers to do what they do best...win the case... so the client is really happy!

Make Your Marketing Strategy Failsafe

A business development strategy is defined as a process that allows one to concentrate on the greatest opportunities to increase revenues and to achieve a sustainable advantage. From my many years of experience in business and law, I have come to the conclusion that most business development strategies fail due to the lack of a “system.”

Do not make this mistake! Make your strategy failsafe by choosing the tactics you want to employ, but also be sure to have a system that keeps you consistently in front of your prospects. Without a system, you’ll flounder for direction and you won’t know what to do next. 

To achieve a failsafe strategy, pick the ideas and tactics that appeal to you and that feel most comfortable. I highly recommend that you limit your choices to just five tactics initially and no more. The reason I suggest only five is because it’s best to keep your client development simple, focused and fun. Once the tactics you choose become second nature to you, you can add in more. But implementing too many at the start will dilute their effectiveness and become overwhelming. 

Your system should concern itself with:

I. a method for visibility and consistency;

II. a method for obtaining data about prospects and getting them into your contact management database; and

III. a fun, easy and organized process to stay in touch and follow-up.
 
The follow-up system you implement should represent a “ladder” approach.  Using the tactics described here, first you may start with a nice to meet you note, then an article, then a call, and so on. This multi-step process is designed to give your prospects a taste of what you have to offer and what it’s like to work with you.

It will inevitably show them how much you care about the issues that are important to them, and that you are consistent, credible and committed to their success.

When they need a lawyer, advice or referral, you’ll be fresh in their mind as someone who has always
been there for them.  That's Priceless.

Do You Really Listen To Your Clients?

Adding to the economic conditions we are experiencing, the business of law is rapidly changing. 

Here a just a sampling of factors currently altering the legal landscape:

 Globalization for low level legal tasks
 Consolidation and the creation of mega firms
 Increased use of request for proposals (RFPs)
 Budgetary caps on fees
 Alternative billing
 Marketing of legal service plans
 De-equitizing law firm partners, closing of firms and layoffs
 Self-help legal guides
 Higher rates of lawyer depression and anxiety

A recent book by David Galbenski entitled “Unbound: How Entrepreneurship is Dramatically Transforming Legal Services Today” highlights the pressure that businesses are feeling and that if lawyers don’t adapt, they may not be around.

There is no doubt you have to be more creative in all that you do; whether its reviewing your cost structure or finding new ways to add value for your clients.  Getting your clients to talk to you about their needs and how they really feel about your services is a good place to start.  I spoke to one firm that set up an “Alternate Billing Committee”…yet they failed to ever invite one of their clients to discuss ideas with them. 

Go figure?

Despite what Richard Susskind predicts in his book…the end of lawyers is not going to happen. 
We have to blame someone for the predicaments we find ourselves in.

What is going to happen is that the lawyers that fail to really listen to their clients
will no longer hear from their clients at all.

What's Your Legal Marketing Message?

A lot of law firm marketing looks and sounds the same. 

What about yours? What's Your message?

When deciding on your message, you need to determine what is your irresistible offer, why people should hire you and what’s in it for them. In other words, what’s the quid pro quo? 

Does your message hit a nerve or pain point? Does it address solutions to those pain points?  Do you know what your really wants and how you're going to give it to them? 

Here are some ideas that will align your uniqueness with your message:

 Your reputation in the field
 Your special talents
 Your singular knowledge and approach
 Your trial skills
 Your mediation or negotiation skills
 Your ability to help a particular industry
 The skills you impart to a particular group of people
 The solutions you bring to a specific problem
 The ongoing references or contacts you can provide
 Your credibility in a particular field of knowledge
 Your personal accomplishments and results
 The client’s intrinsic trust in you
 The long-term results that the client will achieve

Whether it’s by practice, industry, problem, or a particular group of people,  your message is how your clients will view you and it will be the reason they want you as their attorney.  It represents the major advantage or benefit a client gets from hiring you (more pleasure or less pain) combined with an irresistible offer and a powerful experience. It’s targeted and strategic and sets you apart by making your solution the thirst quencher your client is craving. 

Hopefully, it's also fun and enjoyable.

Wow Your Prospect into a Paying Client

Meeting a prospective client for a power lunch or attending a networking event where you know they'll be? 

Congratulations – you’ve got their time and attention. 

Now you need to cement the relationship.  By the end of the lunch, your prospect must be convinced that your firm will be a valuable partner and resource, capable of providing insightful legal counsel.

These days, relying on charm and good table manners, plus the reputation of your firm, isn’t enough. 

You need to prepare for that lunch as if you were going to an interview.  That means doing your homework.   Find out all you can about your prospect and his/her company and industry. 

Have they been in the news lately?  What is the background of senior management?  Who are their competitors?   What’s happening to their customer base?   In other words, what are their pain points and major issues?   And how can your firm solve them better than anyone else?

Don’t have the time or resources to do this or not getting enough quality info from Google...then I suggest you contact Linda Rink, President of Rink Consulting, business research specialists. 

She can be found at 215.546.5863 or www.LindaRink.com.