Free Legal Marketing Ideas for Solicitors That Get You New Clients?

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Check out the legal marketing videos right here...

March 16th Sole Practioner Builds Business On Google

One of my clients has steadily been building his business
for conveyancing and HIPS via Google searches.

Read about what he recommends other sole practitioners
do in the latest "SOLO" Sole Practitioners magazine.

Here's a copy. (PS his article is on page 9).

March 15th The "Little And Often" Referrals System

The "Little and Often" System.

Referrals are the best ways to grow any law firm.

You know this already.

So how do you boost
your referrals?

The answer is...

Create a system to make
consistent deposits into clients'
"emotional bank account."

The Emotional "Bank Account"

Stephen Covey, author of the Seven Habits of Highly Effective People,
created the concept of the

emotional bank account.

Everyone has an emotional bank account.

You have an emotional bank account.

I have an emotional bank account.

An emotional bank account is how somebody
feels about YOU.


It's similar to a real bank account.  
you can you can make deposits or
withdrawals from it.

If I create a POSITIVE interaction with
you I am making a deposit to your
emotional bank account.

If I create NEGATIVE interactions with
you I am making a withdrawal from your
emotional bank account.

So Here's the BIG SECRET.

Create as many positive interactions
with your clients as you
can, as frequently as you can!

When you do this, people will be ready,
willing and happy to help whenever
you ask for it.

So here's what you need to do...

CREATE A SYSTEM that consistently makes
deposits into your clients
emotional bank account.

The Key Element of the Formula

When you're making consistent
deposits you need to do one more thing.

You need to REMIND people how important
referrals are to you and your business.

Reminding is a softer form of asking for
referrals.

When  remind people about
about how important referrals are to
your business, they'll start sending
them to you...in a BIG way!

So here's the formula...

DEPOSIT -> DEPOSIT -> DEPOSIT -> REMIND

Make at least 3 deposits and then make 1
reminder withdrawal.

Geddit?

To remind yourself of how to ask for
a referral to get more clients for your law firm
go here

and to make
deposits check out this.

March 10 - Get A Google Listing Right Or Suffer The Consequences

If a law firm doesn't monitor it's Google Local information
then there could be a problem. One of invisibility. Make
it a weekly task to check your Google Local listing.

Watch this video so your law firm doesn't disappear.

Here's the video.



March 9 - How Solicitors Can Siphon Off Traffic From You Tube



March 5th - Tesco have Estate Agents Panicking - Lawyers Next?

I am not an Estate agent but I do help some of them with marketing.

So the launch of
ISold from Tesco is of interest.

And if affects your Estate Agent partners so you should keep up.

My question of any agent or Tesco is...

Why should I sell my property through you?

If you can answer this question and prove your answer
is the solution to my problem you get my business.

I think that Tesco will say.

 "Tesco is the only Estate Agent
company that can market your property to 10 million
 of our own customers, in store, online and in the
local newspapers for less than the price of your
household insurance and you only pay a success
fee that is 1/4 that of the average estate agent,
saving you enough to fund your holiday".

My Estate Agent answer may be;

 "Butler's is the only agency where ready and willing buyers
 PAY to receive information on properties exactly like yours
BEFORE they are advertised."

Buyers who have paid to get details fast will bid the price
up on my house and I will get a better price for my property and
it will sell fast - saving me two months of my life.

And that is invaluable.

it goes to the heart of how you are unique and express your difference.


March 5th - Secure And Retain Your Google Local Position

Getting more links to your website is a good thing generally.

Getting more links that Google takes note of is even better.

But how to find the right links?

If you are talking Google Local then you can spy on what
the successful firms are doing and find out where
they are linking to get on Google Local.

When you know where they are linking replicate what
they are doing.
Check out the video to see one way of spying...



March 3rd - How Fast Or Free Is A Great Guarantee

I was with Estate Agents and solicitors yesterday.

After some really great brainstorming a promotion 20 years
old was dusted down and spruced up for 2010.

"Sell Your House in 10 Weeks Or Less
With Us Or You'll Pay Nothing When We Do".


It's a sellers market. So this is not going to cause too many problems
for the Estate Agent.

But offering a guarantee makes it much
easier for a client
to make a decision about which agent to go to.

Because people are scared of making mistakes. Especially with
important and big things. Like selling a house.

Dominos make it with pizza, (delivered in 30
minutes or your money back).

What guarantees can you give that reverse the
risk for the buyer and make it easy to decide
to pick you?


Here's more on guarantees.


Feb 26th - I Watched Television About Solicitors Last Night.

I don't really watch much television.
(It doesn't teach me much)

But last night on Channel 4 I watched
Scams, Claims and Compensation Games.

It was about personal injury lawyers and their battles
with councils, razor manufactures and others.

One thing I picked up on was a law firm that
sponsored the appointment cards
at the local
accident and emergency. A great legal marketing
idea.

This TV show was watch by millions.

It's will  bring awareness
of personal injury claim possibilities
to many people.

So if you handle personal
injury claims, revamp an article ,
send it 
out to local/regional media owners and offer
yourself up as an expert.

And think about using tabloid style headlines
in your articles like Scams, Claims and Compensation
Games - because more people read tabloids.

Remember I mentioned getting partnerships
with car accident repair firms? Same idea as the
hospitals....(scroll down, you'll find it).

And when you are looking at converting prospects
to clients for personal injury claims think visual.

People want to know how much they might get.

Here's two ways you can show them.

Personal injury marketing pic one
Personal injury marketing pic two


Feb 25th - Can You Make It Easy To Buy From You?

Andrews Estate Agents have gone and bundled their commission
HIP and Conveyancing partners into one easy payment.

It means that for 2% commission with the agent you get the whole package.

It makes it easy for the house seller to deal with one company. And
with a little bit of a twist, such as a "no fee if we don't sell" it could
be a winner for Andrews in a market where there is little differentiation.

Check out the
all in one package.

Can you do this with your products and partners?

Feb 23rd - Do You Have Loyal Clients Or Satisfied Clients?

A quick quiz question. Choose one right answer.

You know you are building loyalty with a client when:

 

A. Your client wants to know more about your service.

B. Your client refers other clients to you.

C. Your client places orders with you only.

D. Your client will always take your call.

The correct answer is right here



Feb 16th - Check Out My "How To Use Twitter For Lawyers Report

Get it right here. And a recap; What's your answer to the question,

"Why Should I Choose Your Law Firm?." Need help? Check this out.


15th February - You Can Do The Same Videos For Free




Feb 12th - Solicitors Get Google Traffic Fast From Twitter



Feb 11th - Google Buzz - Is It For Law Firms?

Google have launched another product called Buzz.

And you want to know about it. Why?

Because social media is not just about staying
in touch with friends.


It's a great way to share information. Which shows
your expertise. Which gets you prospects. More on this here.

Especially when Google offers recommended
Buzz's to people you may like to have as clients.

And Social media affects Search Engine Optimisation
(how you are found online).


I can't predict where Google Buzz will end up
or how you can use it - you'll find your own way.

But if you don't have a company gmail account
then you should probably get one so that you can
use Buzz when you want to/figured out how.

Buzz works through GMail - Google's email service.

A Gmail account for a law firm is something like; cluttoncox@gmail.com

(If you haven't got a personal gmail account you should
also get one in your name, along with Twitter, Skype and Facebook
in your name.)

You can see a video about Buzz right here

Feb 10th - Let Others Say It For You



Feb 9th - How To Position Yourself As A Legal Expert.

Let me ask you,

“Has your doctor ever called you at lunchtime asking if you are ok and recommending treatment for flu?”

No, because Doctors don’t prospect.

They don’t waste their time trying to second
guess that you may need treatment on a
particular day and that what they have is the cure.

You go to the doctor when you are sick.
You go to the doctor because he’s the expert,
you trust him and you know where to find him
when you need him most.

“A flower does not chase the bee.”


Which is why you must download and read my
report on How to Position Yourself As a Legal Expert.

You can get it right here.

Feb 2nd - Why Don't You Change Your Marketing?

How to prevent change...

We know that in times of crisis people cling to the most familiar.

But doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results is said to be akin to madness.

So what’s stopping you making changes to the way your law firm does its marketing?

Limited Vision?

Many people are limiting their vision because they see the condition of themarket, the economy and legal reform as insurmountable. In other words, “I can’t change the system.”

Always Adapting?

There’s plenty of advice telling you what to do and how to be successful.

But what you find is that most of it says you have to do it within the structures and rules that already exist.

This just serves to retain the status quo.

Thinking about Yourself?

The more that you think about yourself the more you become pre-occupied.

No matter how much you change yourself you can’t change anything without the structure changing with you.

Being realistic?

Phrases such as “that’s just the way it is” perpetuate the structure you have.

You may be called naive or unrealistic.

These are phrases to dismiss what you want to do.

Too Rational?

It’s easy for those who profit to defend the past. And it’s easy to say that you can only work and make changes if you do so from “within the system.”

Rationalising your actions like this means that only limited changes will be “allowed” to happen.

 Whether employed deliberately or not, these mechanisms are designed to prevent change.

And if change is what you want to grow your law firm, dismantling these mechanisms is important.

You must also avoid replacing them with similar barriers to change.

Maybe you'd like my thoughts on a similar subject? Co-operation not Competion?

Feb 1st - Shoosmiths Website You Can Swipe

Shoosmiths new website Access Legal is one to take a look at.

You should probably swipe and deploy most of the stuff they have done.
Although you may slim down the content for a smaller firm.

And don't forget you can put it in other formats like audio and video
or even diagrams.

(Here are my comments on video)

It'll be interesting to see how they promote this site.
Will it get to page one of the search engines for Conveyancing, Wills etc?

The great thing is that much of conveyancing/Wills is local based search.
And there is nothing stopping you from being number one locally.

So when you look at this site don't despair. Take the good ideas,
put them to use on your site and do everything you can to be
number one locally. Get the Google local for lawyers report here.

More marketing videos are here..

27th January - Get Testimonials Agreed Before You Start Work

Sometimes it is difficult for lawyers to talk money in testimonials
but testimonials can demonstrate the solution to problems.

What is the result that has been achieved?

 “I got my dream home because Sarah kicked ass!”

That’s a result testimonial because getting your dream
home is as important as a corporate client completing a
7 million pound deal.

You can get a testimonial agreed before you start working with someone.

Simply state,

”We’ve got a testimonial scheme in place where our legal clients give us a testimonial when we have completed the job. 90% of people are happy to give us a testimonial.

When we do your work successfully will that be ok with you to give us a testimonial for our law firm?"

90% of people say yes. And that's important.

Because Testimonials are Social Proof  you are great.

USE THEM IN YOUR LEGAL MARKETING!


20th January - The Power of Scarcity Can Sell Legal Services

People buy for emotional reasons.

And justify it by logic.

Psychology plays an important role in emotions.

The fear of missing out is a major factor in decision-making.

Check out this video to see how Ryanair and Russell Brunson use it.

You can get more on psychology and selling with my

Resource Report on Psychology for Selling right here




20th January - Legal Services Video Marketing

I send an email to newsletter subscribers and you want more!

Here's the 10 Tips For Great Video Marketing You ASKED FOR!


19th January- How Video Gets You To Top On Google

Check out the Google search results for Solicitors in Reading.

Field Seymour Parkes are second in the organic listings (FREE)
and also on the Google Local search results. (Get my Google Resource Report For Legal Marketing Services here)

They have put videos on their site and this has helped them
increase website visits by 1000% Why?


Because one year ago they were not on page one of Google.
So they may as well not have existed for 70% of internet
searchers..

Billions of videos are being watched online. People find it easier
to watch and listen than to read. (Shame but true).

Are you getting yourself top Google rankings and more enquiries
from video marketing?

If not, you are leaving money out there
that others are taking from you.

TGI Friday

Here's an inspiring video as lawyers head into the week end..



January 13th - Law Firm Marketing Demands Guarantees

Todd Davis, the CEO of Lifelock,
plastered his social security number on the
top of his web site (it's 457-55-5462).

Journalists asked CEO's of other
"identity theft protection" firms to
give their social security numbers and they all said "no".

Lifelock gives you a $1 million insurance policy
against identity theft.

If your identity is ever stolen they'll spend
up to $1 million to correct it.


What guarantees can you give that makes it
a "no brainer" to buy your legal services?


Because in a cynical world, guarantees give people
the crutch they need "in case they make a mistake".

And a guarantee is another unique buying point for your law firm.

January 11th  - Law Firms Waste Money On Adverts

What are the greatest adverts you’ve ever seen?

The best adverts I’ve see are those for
 “old people” in the Sunday papers.


For slippers, trousers and hearing aids.
With a picture, lots of detail and a coupon.

You may hate them. Or maybe not notice them.

But you should study them.


Why?

Because the fact they appear week after
week means that they are successful.

Because they are direct response
ads that make money.


“I cannot judge good advertising; it judges me.”

If the ad works—brings in orders, donations or
inquiries at the budgeted return on investment...
it's a good ad. If not, it’s bad..

I hate ads whose return on investment
can’t be measured. 

Lots of solicitor firms are wasting their money.

If your law firms doesn't want to waste money use my

“Write an advert for your law firm that kicks butt guide”.

And remember when you do get an ad that works,
make sure that your phone lines are
ready for the calls!



January 2010 - Financial Facts Tell The Story


Lots of solicitors are being made redundant.

And many law firms are closing.

And it comes as a surprise to many people
that work in these firms.

But it should not be a surprise.

Because all staff should know exactly
how their law firm is performing. And if
they don't they must find out.

As you live with the consequences
of decisions it’s essential that you
help make them
.


And if you work for a law firm you must know
the basic financial facts if you are to have
any influence on the business.

Management that informs staff, educates
them and allows them to influence their
own futures is good management.

If you are the Parnter in charge, provide your staff
with the answers to questions.

As staff, ask these questions.
(Cut and paste).
  • Do we have an annual business plan?
  • Can we have a copy?
  • How many clients do we have this year?
  • How does it compare to the last 3 years?
  • How much income from fees are we forecasting this year?
  • How does this compare to last year?
  • How much income in total is forecast for this year?
  • Is there a monthly accounts document that can be shared with a snapshot of how we are doing each month?
  • What will our profit before tax be for the year?
  • How are any profits this year going to be used?
  • How have we been affected by the recession?
  • What areas are expected to expand and contract over the next two years?
  • What plans are in place to allow this to happen effectively?
  • Who is responsible for cost control?
  • What areas have been identified where we can save money?
  • How are salary increases worked out?
  • What are our forecasted income, costs and pre-tax profit for the 2010/11?
  • What is our average income per client in each department that comes to our law firm? (number of years x £ per year)
  • What are the main threats to our profitability?
  • What are the main opportunities for growing our profitability?
This is the start of open-management.

December 25th 2009 - Cross selling success for law firms.

"If you aren't counting, you're just

practising".

Please keep score with your cross-selling...

You'll get more cross selling done if you;

1. Make it part of the job - and explain why it's important

2. Keep score - reward people for cross-selling

3. Staff will then see it's important.

4. Make sure it's part of the questioning process for phone calls.

5. Coach all staff in cross-selling so they feel confident in doing it.

6. Put cross selling paragraphs on the bottom of everyone's emails.

7. Make sure links on the website cross-sell (with the right keywords in the links)

 8. Make sure that you cross-sell in email and paper newsletters

 9. Bundle products together so cross-selling is seen as natural

10. Have forms that people fill in and give to other colleagues with opportunities.

11. Have a follow up and feedback system in place to see who follows up well.

12. Have a budget in place to reward staff who pass on opportunities,

13. Reward internal referrals whether they turn into work or not.

 14. Think about it. Action it. Test it. Refine it.

Cross selling is habit you must create.

 And PROFIT from.

Has anyone ever given you a better list?


December 15th  - Do You Want A Google Sticker For Your Solicitors?



Let's face it. Google Rules.

And if you aren't looking at a future
that contains Google then you may not
be looking at such a bright future.

Google uses window stickers to help the most searched-upon
local retailers forge online connections to their physical store/offices.

Google has identified more than 100,000 local businesses in

the U.S. in 9,000 towns and cities across the nation that

are searched upon most often by users.

Each one of them will soon receive a window sticker

from Google featuring a scannable code.

Passers-by can then scan that code with any of

hundredsof mobile devices—including iPhone, Android phones,

BlackBerry and more—and be taken directly to that business's

Place Page on their mobile phone.

There, they can find reviews and coupons or "star" the

business as one they want to remember for later; soon,

they'll be able to leave reviews as well.

Google plans to send out more window stickers to

qualifying businesses in the future.

Make sure you are looking to the future now - not when it

has arrived. Here's a short reminder on what solicitors should do.

Time to get in line at Google's Local Business Center...?



December 11th - Sometimes We All Need A Reminder



Every business has to make a profit over the long
term to survive and thrive.

Profit may not be the driving force, but it is the lifeblood.

What is your firm's written plan to retain or
grow profits?

Do you have a written plan that you look at
every day?

Something that has your goals on it?

And when you want to achieve them by?

It amazes me how many people don't have
any written personal goals that they are working toward.

But then a lot of law firms don't have written
goals either.

Which is why this picture is a great reminder.

If you don't have written goals that are
consistently strived for then it is unlikely
you will achieve them.


Do one thing this week end.

Write down what you want to achieve personally
over the next 10 years, 5 years, 1 year and
6 months.

Then create a plan of how to get
there personally and professionally.

You may be surprised with what you come
up with.

December 9th - Small Ads Can Work
 
Small Adverts Can Pay Off In Newspapers.

Legal marketing consultants don’t mention these
because they don’t get paid to run small ads in newspapers.

And most of your competition has never even thought
about using one. They are too scared to try out a
few £10 adverts.

Newspapers aren’t phoning you and telling
you about these options. It costs them too
much to contact you for a small advert.

Small adverts can pay-off. And if you get
one right they are instantly scalable.

So for example: The headline:

Sexual Harassment at Work?
Call about a possible compensation
 0844 502 1631

 Injured at Work?
call
0843 218 3542
 for compensation.

You could run these on the Woman’s page
in the local paper.

You can even run them as an
information line to get pre-qualified
leads.

If you want to know what an information line
is...it’s like a 24/7 sales person that presents
your sales story to people so you don’t have to.

Then when someone is interested they leave
their details for you as a pre-qualified lead.

Call this number to see how they work...
0843 218 3542



December 8th - Take The Marketing Quiz

Can you get 100% of the ten questions correct?

Try out legal marketing quiz right here.

December 5th  - How Do You Manage Your Law Firm?

If you manage a company you have huge influence over its success.

Great managers deliver more sales, bigger profits and lower staff turnover.

The fact is that you are only as good as your team.

In their book, First Break All the Rules, Buckingham and Coffman

report on Gallup Inc and how they researched what makes a great manager.

Gallup Inc. found 12 questions that employees answered captured

the most important information about whether management

of a company is good or bad.

Employees that gave a more favourable response

worked in higher performing companies.

These are the questions that employees answered and accurately reflected management and company performance.

1              Do I know what is expected of me at work?

2              Do I have the materials and equipment I need to do my work the right way?

3              At work do I have the opportunity to do my best, every day?

4              In the last 7 days have I received recognition for doing work well?

5              Does my manager or supervisor seem to care about me as a person?

6              Is there someone at work who encourages my development?

7              At work do my opinions seem to count?

8              Does the mission or purpose of my company make me feel my job is important?

9              Are my co-workers committed to doing quality work?

10           Do I have a best friend at work?

11           In the last six months has someone at work talked to me about my progress?

12           This last year, have I had opportunities to learn and to grow?

 

These questions were answered by 105,000 employees

in 250 business units in 24 different companies.

 

With this research they then went on to find the good

managers and interviewed 80,000 highly rated managers.

Over and over again the researchers heard...

Great managers help each person become more and

more of who he or she already is.

 “Manager as coach” is how it can easily be summed up.

 The process of finding the right person for the right position

and them coaching them to a higher level starts with hiring.

When hiring, behaviour-based questions, (tell me a time when...) can indicate natural talent and interests, (which can then be coached).

 Matching the right talent to the right job can have huge results.

Perhaps you could ask your legal firm employees these

12 questions once every six months?

Here's the word document you can cut and paste.

You’ll find out any obvious improvements that managers can make.

And you’ll find out what talents you have among your staff that needs to be coached and developed to maximise your success.


December 1st - Are Solicitors Too Clever?

Someone told me once not to be the smartest
person in the room. It was great advice, (even if it wasn't relevant!)

I know that solicitors are intelligent.

But sometimes they are just too smart.

If you want to write great copy for a website or
sales letter then you have to make it
REALLY easy to read.

If a twelve year old can read it and understand it = good.

If you have to be a graduate to read it = bad

Paste your website text into

http://www.addedbytes.com/readability/

and you’ll see what grade level your text is.

It’s an American website so it works on grade levels rather than ages.

It's all to easy to think that everyone is as smart as you are.

But what sells more?

The Sun or The Telegraph?

PS  The Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level grade level of this paragraph is

4.94 The readability score is 85.4 out of 100.

Keep it simple...


November 27th - Are Legal Client Surveys Good?

A legal marketing consultant recently questioned the value of client surveys.

He suggested that they may not be worth doing.

(For my thoughts on Total Quality For Law Firms download this)

I disagree and these are the reasons why;

  • Surveys can tell you what you are doing well or badly
  • They can new highlight services clients want
  • Use results to reward staff
  • They can gather hundreds of testimonials
  • They let clients contribute to your business building loyalty
  • They show you care
  • You can cross-sell your service, (careful!)
  • They can act as a long-term barometer of improvements
  • They centralise knowledge so everyone can learn
  • They act as a motivational tool to do better
  • Or a pat on the back for a job well done
  • They can highlight which Partners are good at coaching staff

There should be an incentive to return them.

Surveys should go out immediately a job is done.

They should go back to someone independent of the job.

And the clients must know a survey will result in action.

And at 30 pence per client to find out what they really think it's a bargain.

If that's not value from a legal client survey  then I don't know what is.

Remember to download my ideas on Total Quality



November 23rd - Free Publicity For Your Law Firm



Great news from a Great Legal Marketing member.

Clutton Cox  featured in a 10,000 circulation newspaper.

For free.


It's an idea that you can easily swipe and deploy for your own firm.

And if you want to know how he set up the promotion -
it was easy...he simply asked me for the idea and some help.


But the genius part is actually DOING IT.

Feel like being a genius in marketing your solicitors?



November 20th  - How You Can Make The Most Of Your Calls

Want a simple tool that can help you get more out of your phone calls?

Here's one that I use daily and you can use for your law firm.


November 18th - Out Of Office Emails - Don't Waste 'Em

Ok you legal marketing people.

And that means everyone.

Another reminder.

This happens every day in your law firm....


You are out for the day. You set up your "out of office" message.

People
email you. And they get your message.

"I am sorry I am out of the office.
If it is urgent please call Sarah Smith on xxxxxxx"
followed by a whole paragraph of legal baloney.


When I think of the hundreds of cross-sell,
upsell, downsell and educational opportunities
you guys are wasting...c'mon I'm on a mission to help you!


Look at your out of office message
for your law firm.


Can you improve it?

Maybe add a link to a video you''ve put on your website?

A link to your latest blog entry?

A link to a secret white paper they can
steal while you are out of the office?

Links to other departments they may not know about?


Someone has emailed you.

Try to give them something of value
even if you are not
there.

You may have another email from the same
person when you get back.

Asking you to do some more business for them.
Sweet.


Especially if the whole firm does it!

Free marketing for solicitors - again!



November 16th - Send Price Shoppers To Other "Law Firms"

On the Law Gazette Blog Pages there's been a discussion about conveyancing service and pricing.

There's a great list of things that can go wrong with conveyancing listed, (the answers to which could form part of your marketing message) and some good advice on positioning your law firm against "conveyancing factories". (You wouldn't get a plumber to write your Will would you?)

When someone calls you about conveyancing, or any other legal service, a great way to make sure that price is not an issue is to raise the price issue right from the start. This may seem counter-intuitive for most law firm marketing.

But try this.


Ask the question of your prospects,

"We are not the cheapest on the market for conveyancing,
but as you can see from our huge number of testimonials from
loyal clients, we are exceptionally good at what we do.

Before we continue let me ask... Is price an issue for you or do you just want a fantastic service?"


As long as you have the testimonial proof and service
to back up your claims this should eliminate price
resistance and allow you to deliver a service that
brings referrals in by the bucketload.



November 5th - No One Remembers Solicitors Names

More than 60% of the public cannot name a
single law firm, according to research from
You Gov, even though 78% have used a solicitor before.


Quite a damming statement. But not unsurprising.

See a marketing sequences for law firms video on this here.

The whole thing about naming a brand is
not as important as knowing exactly who
to contact when you want to buy legal services.

That's what you are interested in.

Someone calling your law firm
when they are ready to buy legal services.

People buy when they are ready to buy,
not when you want to sell.

And it's not good enough that people are satisfied with legal services.

They have to be loyal.

(If you don't know the difference,

my wife may be satisfied, but I prefer her to be loyal.)

It's not about legal expertise (because that's a given).

It is about marketing, which includes your positioning and

communication of your expertise.

You have to know what it costs to get a prospect to your law firm.

What it takes to convert one.

How much you make from each client over a lifetime.

And then you start to understand marketing your solicitor services.

You can only convert prospects with a marketing sequence.

See a presentation video on this here.

Your law firm return on "investment in marketing" picture alters dramatically.

If you don't know the basics of marketing then you want to find out fast.

It's not just because Tesco will steal your market.

It's because you are leaving thousands of pounds of profit in pockets.

That could be yours.

That's why you have to keep in front of people all the time.

With a sequence so that you educate, persuade

and entertain your prospects.

They will come to you because they will actually remember your name.

And your phone number.

And mention it to their friends and family. (See more on referrals)


November 3 - Use The News To Sell

Remember it's easier to get publicity and
attention for your solicitors firm if you piggy
back big stories and give them a twist.


Two things caught my eye today searching on Twitter. 

(You can find out what people are thinking about
now, right this minute by doing a search on Twitter.).


Steven Gately, died without a Will = your chance to
do a story about the fact that tragedy can strike
anyone and you have to be prepared


and....

Professor Nutt, the guy sacked by the
 Home Secretary = a case for unfair dismissal?

Your chance to talk about this subject and show your expertise.


There's always someone famous dying or
getting sacked.

All you need to do is one press release/story
and top and tail it each time it happens...
and watch your audience grow...


PS we covered this before with Michael Jackson remember?
See what I mean about famous people dying regularly.


October 29th National Make A Will Week - Every Week

Are your prospects thinking about Wills this week?

There's been some coverage in the press that might be
 making them think about it.
(See Telegraph article here.)

I have also seen a promotion in my local Reading Post newspaper,

The question I have is this....

Why wait until national Wills week to do a
promotion with several charities?

Flint Bishop have partnered charities
all-year round.
Can You?

For the price of a phone call and a follow up
letter you could get a partner with 100,000 members.

That you could mail to, in conjunction with their brand.


Let me know if you want a sample letter.


October 28th - Direct Mail Letters That Sell

If you know you have 3 clients that are similar
 how about trying to find some more?

One way you can do this is by writing a sales letter.

Let's say you have 3 charities you work for.

If you can write to another 500 charities
 that are similar, with a persuasive letter
and 25 respond then you have an immediate
qualified 25 prospects.

And it cost you £250 to send the initial letters. 
That's £10 a lead for your law firm.

Here's my video  thoughts on a letter sent to me to try and get me to buy.

If you convert one from 25 you will probably make a
return of at least 10 x the money you have invested.

So why not try it?

Here are some tips that will help you write better sales
letters to market your law firm.

There's another resource on direct mail for solicitors here.
Send a letter with no offer and you’ll get no response -
That's known in the world of marketing as a “waste of money.”

If you do not get the results you need or response is flagging,
check the offer first.

“If you want to dramatically increase your response, dramatically improve your offer.”

“Success in direct mail is 40% lists, 40% offer and 20% everything else.

Before sending out a letter without an offer, think the letter “P”:
only the Printer and the Post Office make money.

A good direct mail letter is as direct and personal
as the writer can make it.

Even though it may go to thousands of people,
it still talks to an individual.

It’s a message from one letter writer to one letter reader.
A sales letter should never be signed by two people.
Two is a committee.

It's impossible to make an emotional connection with a committee.

Do not write “we” in your letter. Write “I”.
This gives the sense that one is getting a letter written by a real person.

If you are available anytime (24/7)  for the call, or for more
information, make sure that you are and tell them you are.

They’ll appreciate you saying it, even if they don’t take you up on it.
Turning a 50 pence letter into £2500 of business
is a skill that you can easily learn.
Just follow simple, proven and profitable systems.

(Of course the 475 that don't respond
will go into a marketing sequence remember...)


October 25th - Celebrity Status = Trusted Resource

"Boyd, I'm having my picture taken by the
local Gazette newspaper on Monday morning!"

I love getting emails like this.

Someone that tries something different.
And gets publicity. And sales.

Remember, celebrity status = trusted source

Someone should film you getting your
picture taken or giving a seminar whenever it happens.

There's nothing better than a video of a celebrity
that works for you on your website to convince people to buy.

And the reason they are coming to do a story on him?

October 22 - Do You Want People To
Write Things On Your Website You Don't Know About?





October 20th
- More Testimonials Than Any Other Law Firm On The Planet

You have put your law firm on Google Local right? (Click this link to find out how)

Apart from the fact that Google local helps you get on the first page of Google for searches such as "solicitors in Reading" another reason all law firms must take Google local seriously...because it provides a simple platform to generate tens or even hundreds of online testimonials.

If a law firm like yours started today and got one a day then I expect you would be able to say you are "the World's number one law firm on Google Local" or "More Testimonials Online Than Any Other Law Firm On The Planet." withing 3 months.

Just like this company with more than 1000 reviews.

And it's easy. Just ask every client you have to go to your Google Local listing...

Like this listing for a law firm in Reading...

And ask them to write a review of your services.

That's it. Brilliant testimonials. Online proof of your value. For free.


Check out the websites section of this
legal marketing site...

October 13th - Can You Use Humour To Sell Your Legal Services?

Did you know that almost 60% of internet use is video? Did you know that most solicitor websites don't use video. Why is that?

One of the problems is that solicitors aren't always comfortable with shooting a video, uploading it to a hosting site, such as YouTube, and then "embedding it" on their website.

I guess it sounds difficult to do. And what about making movies that tell a story. Sounds impossible! But let me ask you...Can you type? Can you point and click and drag with a mouse?

Because take a look at what you can do really easily with some free software.

And you can use this type of thing to get meetings with key corporate clients, on your email newsletters , for praising staff...anything where you want to be noticed and have an effect.



October 8th - Do You Have A Reason To Communicate?

Have you ever seen Disney's Jungle Book?
Do you know the bit where the three vultures
are sitting on a tree, just waiting for something to happen

"What we gonna do?" says one.

"I dunno, what we gonna do?" says the other.

And so it goes on until Shere Khan arrives on the scene...

Sometimes you want a reason for "what you're gonna do."

Or what you have to say.

This is where a promotion from a company selling
server space caught my eye. See it here.

It's based on the clocks going back on October 25th.
It's usually an excuse for an hour lie in but Rackspace
are using this annual event as a promotion.

And this made me think.

"Charities benefit from crazy clock rules as
law firm donates hour to good causes."

"Solicitor uses time machine to give over 65's free Wills"

"We've donated our lie in to our clients.
We'd rather help you than have breakfast in bed."

How many events are there a year that you can use to
market your legal services for PR, marketing to your
existing clients and generally creating a USP for your firm?

National Lottery, Halloween, Xmas, New Year,
 Wimbledon, X Factor, Strictly Come Dancing...

It's all about using the rising tide of what's
going on, and benefiting from free publicity
for your law firm to grow faster than anyone else.

October 6th - Enter the Theatre of the Mind to sell your Wills..

There's been a discussion going on at
Law Gazette about marketing Wills.

One of the contributors came up with a
short list of life changing events that mean people want Wills.


Things like;marriage, divorce, kids, buying a house,
retirement, selling a business etc.


Most people are going through these at any one time.

So there's the opportunity to enter their "theatre of the mind".

This means that you enter the conversation that is
already going on in their heads.

It's much easier than butting in where you are not welcome
.

This should dictate the type of subject lines you
write in emails and headlines in letters and stories on your website.

A laser-targeted headline about a subject someone
is thinking about will have a good chance of getting you a hot prospect.


The Head Partnership consistently cross-sell their legal
services in this way.

They know I'm a business owner.

They know I don't have a Will.

Take a look at this legal firm cross-selling email

This may just have hit me at the right time.

(although they missed the "offer" tactic out).

Is there anything stopping you from writing
to all your small business clients and company
owners with something similar?


Remember something is going on in your clients' minds.

You want to learn how to read them
so that you can market your law firm successfully.


What is it today? What will it be tomorrow?
And if you don't know...ask them.


September 29th - Halifax Legal Target
Great Legal Marketing Owner


Sounds a bit sinister? Well I guess it could be.

Because when I opened my inbox this morning
someone from Halifax was trying to sell me a Will.

And do you know what?
I've wanted to get one for the last 5 years...
so now maybe the time is right.

Some of the lessons to be learnt from their approach
are; communicate, an offer, that's clear and beneficial,
make it personalised and....let's see if they continue to market it -
because the sequence is everything...

Would I use their service?

Would their email and website suck me into and make me buy?

Click to see the video o see what I think.

September 24 - 3 Million Wills Written

Oh yes. He's gone and done it.
Partnered up with a great organisation.
That will do his company no end of good.
And it didn't cost him a penny.

And not only has he done it with Oxfam but he's
also got the BMA and Breast Cancer Care.

Access to 3 million people and 500 transactions a month.

There are probably other law firms out there doing the same thing.

I hope so.

Alan is one of the people who gets the

Great Legal Marketing email newsletters.

But I bet he's also someone that does something with them.

Do you?

Alan gave me permission to let everyone know about this deal.

I wanted to ask his permission because he's got a system
that is very valuable.

And it can easily be copied.

In fact, the idea of marketing partners is very old.

The only way it has remained a secret is because of the knowing-doing gap.

You know you should do it.
But you don't do it.

And there are always so many reasons, (excuses) not to.

Aren't there?

Don't say I didn't mention partner marketing for
solicitors to you...
it's been here all along.

Remember "if it's not your job, then maybe it's your opportunity?"

And Alan, if you're reading this,
buy yourself a present. A DVD,
a nice restaurant meal, oh..and happy birthday.

September 23 - Video presentations for lawyers made easy

Making best use of time, (slaying the time vampires)
is paramount for all of us.

There are lots of technologies coming out that
are free and simple to use that help us in the cause.

They can also be highly effective.

Whether it's video conferencing rather
than travelling hundreds of miles, or
doing something once so that it can
be used again and again.

Take screen casting, where you record what's
on your screen and then send the video to your
prospect or client.

You can use a service such as screenr.com
which automatically tweets (Twitter) your
stuff for public viewing or not, the choice is yours.

The other technology is www.jingproject.com.

It's a great way of producing short powerpoint
with narration videos for your website or for
giving updates of key points by video rather than letter or call.

It could even be used as a video newsletter ;-)

See my marketing videos for solicitors using Screenr

September 18th - Personal Testimonials For Solicitors via Linkedin

I am a regular contributor to the Law Gazette blog forum.

And this week there are a few things I mentioned.
One is a comment about Linkedin.

One good thing about Linkedin is that people
 type in your name on the internet and discover more
about you via your Linkedin page.

You are being Googled .

 Marketing is really about who knows you so it
makes sense to take advantage of Linkedin.

Of course I don't mention everything on the
Law Gazette blogs.

Hell, I'd have no reason to do this legal marketing website if I did.

One of the great things about Linkedin is
that it makes it incredibly easy for solicitors
to get personal testimonials.


 If you are on Linkedin and you don't have 5 testimonials
take this challenge.

Ask one person a day, starting today,
to give you a testimonial.

 
If you want more ideas on testimonials for solicitors go here

(if you want a short email course worth £487 on how to
get testimonials for solicitors then email me today

Make sure that your title is search engine friendly
in Linkedin i.e. that when your name appears on
Google when someone types in your name,
the right title appears in search results.

E.g. Landlord Law Expert rather than just Solicitor.


September 14th - People Buy When From Solicitors They Are Ready...

I've been trying a little marketing testing with a solicitor
in the South West.

It involves putting an advert in a local newspaper in Reading,
directing calls through to his Bristol practice and offering Wills by post.

It's looking promising. One of the key elements
though is the way the calls are handled,

(I listen to the calls as they are recorded) and the


follow up marketing sequence that the solicitor has in place.

I expect most solicitors don't have a follow up marketing
sequence for prospects.

And you are probably asking what it is.

It's simply a way of solving the problem
that most prospects only buy when they are ready.

And that's not when you want them to.

The stages of pre-contemplation, contemplation, liking,
trusting, learning, communicating and deciding
over a
 period of days, weeks and months before they part with their cash.

And if you don't have something that takes them
 through this process then you are likely to end
up with a lot less business.

So make sure you have a marketing sequence
 in place for your prospects.


And if you don't have one, get in touch and I can help you.

By the way, if you want to run the advert in your
local paper, let me know.

I'll even include a trackable phone number
so you can judge the results for yourself.

September 1st - Co-operation or Competition for Law firms?

"Why should I bust a gut, I'm not a legal partner
so I ain't gonna earn more out of doing this!"

That's something you hear in all firms. It made me think of the "up or out" system within law firms.

If you are good enough you make partner
and share in the success. If not, you're part of the "rest".

At least that's how it seems to many people that work as lawyers.

 If there's a them and us culture in your firm it means that people are not co-operating. It's more likely that they are competing.

Many people assume wrongly that competition
brings out the best in people.


And the Darwinian "survival of the fittest" is often
used as a scientific justification of this type of approach.

But does competition really help your law firm internally?

When someone wins - someone loses.

And 99% of people have been taught they
if they are not winners they are losers.

And if you lose how does it affect you and your staff?

If the answer is negatively then you are duty bound to find an alternative.

And that is co-operation.

Co-peration is win/win.

It's coaching staff so that you can transfer knowledge,
it's finding best practise and disseminating it, it's scheduling work
 so that everyone gets interesting things to work on.

It's not having favourites, it's saying someone
is different not better, it's helping not hindering.

Think about how Amazon allows co-operation between
store owners and buyers.

Or how Linux allows programmers to co-operate on open source software.

Or how Betfair lets punters bet against each other.

There's an old football saying that there is no i in team.

So if you aren't referring internally, working with business
as partners or simply taking the time to help each
 other then you are probably over-competing.

Try a bit of un-learning.

Try a bit more co-operation in your law firm.

Put on your next management meeting the words...

How Can We Co-operate More In Our Firm
And Externally With Partners To Make Our Business Win Win?

And make sure you invite all staff to contribute with
 their ideas as to how you can market your solicitors firm better.


PS It is not the case that Darwin coined the term "survival of the fittest".

When you think about it his theories demonstrated that by co-operating
in distinct niches animals had the best chance of surviving.

was the exploitation of these niches that was observed.

What niches can you law firm thrive in?

August 23rd - Big Win For Reading Firm - What Did They Do?

Boyd,
I hope that you are having a good holiday. 
Just to let you know that we have been
awarded the work.

There were originally 65 applicants
at the first stage. 

It went down to 14 applicants at the second stage
and at the interview stage there were 4.

Thanks for your help.
Rachel.
FIELD SEYMOUR PARKES SOLICITORS

They prepared, they thought about what the
client wanted, they presented well.

They got the business - (six figures).

Do you want to know what we went through to make the
presentation that helped win?

August 19th - Make All Your Calls "Great Calls"
click this link to hear a short message from me...

Find out how you can get my checklist for free.

August 09 - Celebrity Solicitor Status Is Yours For Free

I once did some work with a commercial lawyer.

I asked him if he ever wrote articles or gave speaking engagements.

He said to me that

"he'd been asked to do an
article for the Chamber of Commerce
but he didn't have the time".


He didn't have the
time or inclination to
demonstrate his expertise to 7000 business people!


Which is a real shame because most law firms would
benefit greatly by getting in front of that many business
owners for free.

And even if the law firm benefits and you aren't a Partner,
(what an excuse that is for not doing things)
you should still do it for your own personal development.

The moral of the story is,
"Stop watching TV that doesn't pay or educate or
make you laugh.

Write articles and give seminars instead.

Grab celebrity status for yourself in the local media.

It will make you better at presenting, writing and thinking.

You will enjoy it and meet new people.

You will make more money.

And certainly your family will think you are cool."

All you have to do is get lots of articles published and
be a reliable, informed expert in your own field and
help editors/producers/presenters fill their media
products with your good self.

Love him or loathe him, where do you go
if you've got a story to sell to the News Of The World.


Yep...Max Clifford.  Being a celebrity PR has
made him more than £10 MILLION.


And in our celebrity-fuelled society,
it really is
who knows you that counts.

Type your name into Google - what are the results?

Because that's what your next client is going to do
before he speaks to you.

And if you don't exist, do something about it fast.

If you want more info on this here it is....



July 26th - Thought for the day

 
I just got a few notes from my friend Brian.

They are summaries of books you might like to read sometime.


They are thoughts for the day for busy lawyers and you'll find them here.


July 24th 2009 - A Little Piece Of Free Marketing Lawyers Want To Try.

Having a conversation about new technology on the Law Gazette blog,

(you'll find it here) I thought about what new
products could help solicitors market themselves better.

One of those things is www.jingproject.com -
it's a tool that you can use to record screencasts.

That's a way of recording a video of what you
show on your screen and adding audio, i.e.
 commentary to it, via a microphone.

Basically you highlight the area on the screen,
talk in a microphone, send the finished file by
clicking once and you have a passable presentation
that is so much more useful than an email.

Great for selling to companies.

Here's the sort of quick 5 minute screencast
I do instead of writing long emails

I haven't even up graded to the $15 version -
so there's no excuse.

Try it - you might like it. Let me know how you get on.

July 23rd 2009 - Do You Innovate Enough?

Would you have thought that a handheld fan that dispenses mosquito repellent would be a hit product?

Innovation is important. When you get a headstart on a product that people want you attack a "blue ocean". Rather than swimming with sharks, cutting up an existing "red ocean" and trying to win marketshare, you get a clear run.

Is there a blue ocean for you? What can you tap into among your prospective customers that they are crying out for? Is there another industry that does something you can adapt? Gift vouchers, subscriptions, Will-While-U-Wait, buy one get one free, late night opening, can any of these be applied?

Skype video calls, twitter, text messaging, voice broadcasting - can these help you?

Think about how you can swipe and deploy things so you can get better at marketing your law firm.

July 22nd 2009 - Can You Spot Opportunities Everywhere?

An independent school in Oxfordshire had to stop staff using the swimming pool
this summer because a health and safety consultant said
they were not legally covered in case of accident.

How many schools are there that are not covered
in this way in the private sector?

Would a disclaimer help? I am not a solicitor :-]
but I do fill in a disclaimer to use an open water
lake to go swimming - so maybe rather than
taking away a perk a disclaimer would do?

Nice idea for an article for private schools?
Or a video? How's that private school email
list coming along....Problems are everywhere and so
are your opportunities to solve them...

July 21st 2009 - If You Make It Difficult They Won't Come

Take a look at this law firm that spends money on advertising and then puts barriers in the way of prospects...


July 20th - From Nowhere To Google Champion in 4 Months

I congratulated one of the people I work with today.

Because they have taken their law firm from nowhere on Google to be a champion Google player in just 4 months.

So I sent him this "you are good but how good a law firm website are you" note.


Why am I telling you this?

Because all you have to do is;
 
put more relevant and regular content on your site,
get a few quality inbound links and
shoot some quick and informative legal marketing videos like this
or law firm videos like this.

That will really help you get more business from internet searchers.

And you can write the 9 bullet point script for your 2 minute video
in 10 minutes. Email me for the most effective way to structure your legal marketing video.

Then you shoot it in 10 minutes.

PS. You'll never know unless you try.

July 18th - A Quick Thought For The Day

“If it isn't your job to do it, perhaps it is your opportunity.” Napoleon Hill.

When you talk to Lawyers you sometimes hear fee-earners say that "it's not worth me making the effort because even if things did improve it's not me that will earn out of it."

Let me ask you. What do you earn by being able to walk? What do you earn by being able to read? What do you earn by learning a new skill?

I've got  a  t-shirt that is a reminder not to fall into the "it's not my job" trap.

It goes...
"the more you read, the more you learn, the further you go, the more you'll earn."  And I don't just mean big bucks when it comes to earning.

Earning means respect. It means that you get knowledge you can help others with.
It means you can quench (temporarily) a raging thirst for new ideas.

Everyone you meet is a teacher. Drink in their knowledge. And pass it on.

July 17th - Write To All Your Clients Who Have Wills

I saw that
Certainty, the central wills registration service, is helping with some legal marketing ideas to existing clients. They do this by providing suggested letters to send out to the list of clients you have. I don't know too much about the service but what I do like is this;

Take the first 50 clients in your Wills list.
Write to them saying you want to register their Will with Certainty.
Ask them if there is any update they want.
And crucially, ask them if they want a LPA or anything else from you.

AND

CAN THEY REFER YOU TO A FAMILY MEMBER WITH THE SPECIAL OFFER?

And when you have done the first 50, try the next 50 making changes to the letter according to results from the first. It's affordable, it's doable, and it's profitable.
An easy way for any solicitor to make a lot more money. And you don't need a legal marketing consultant to show you how to post a letter - do you?

July 14th - Republic Day In France.

14th Of July 1789 - 
The storming of the Bastille and the subsequent Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen was the third event of this opening stage of the revolution.

I always try some revolting on 14th of July.

 What revolution are you going to start today?

July 14th 2009 - What's Going On In Your Prospects' Minds?

If a few thousand teachers around the country get this newsletter from their union then you can bet a few hundred schools might be open to a call from their lawyers.

Ideas are all around you. Just close your eyes and picture yourself as a headteacher of a school. The Head of Upper School comes in and asks you if there is any asbestos in the school because some of the teachers have been asking about the risk.

As the headteacher you were expecting this. You have a statement and policy ready. You mention you are going to be making it part of the staff briefing tomorrow morning.

Your document has been prepared by your lawyer. As has the letter for the parents of pupils.
Everyone is reassured. Everyone praises you for quick action. You've solved a problem.

News of problems is everywhere. Open your eyes, (or close them if it helps you to think) and see how you can use this news to get you what you want.



July 10th July 2009 - A One Liner That Can Change Your Actions


"It's more important to be resourceful than it is to have resources."

Yes, it's in red print for a reason.
Red is a powerful colour.
It is a colour of action.

And action is the key message.

Do not procrastinate because you don't have the money for marketing.

Find a way to do it without paying upfront.

Do not worry about being perfect. No one will know you are perfect.
Because you'll never get anything done for people to see.

Don't use the words "if only". Substitute them with "I wonder how".

If you make a mistake. It's not you that didn't get it right. Say "it" wasn't quite right.

Every time you do something well, buy yourself something.
(I buy books or sea bass). You'll feel pretty good.

When it doesn't go right, buy something anyway.

Pretty soon you'll be feeling good all the time...and when your attitude is positive you are 99% certain to succeed in whatever you do.

See what that one-liner has done to me already!

July 9th 2009 - Do You Do Personal Injury Work?

I was browsing the Yellow Pages, (all 13 pages of lawyers not the whole book)
and
I saw this advert for a solicitors which made me think. (It's low resolution to load fast).

Why doesn't every personal injury lawyer put what compensation might be worth in their advert, website and brochures? Unless you know it's worth claiming you might not do it... so make it easy for someone to choose from the menu.

And also I really like the testimonials and trackable phone number they use. Two things you should be using all the time. Want to have your Yellow Pages lawyer advert looked at by an expert?
You know where to send it.

July 6th 2009 -  Children Of School Age? - Use The School Run To Market!

Joe Reevy, owner of Words4Business, told me a great idea today for legal marketing. So I'm pinching it to give to you ;-)

He said one of his clients has put a sign on his car that publicises his family law team. When the car is used on the school run it gets in front of 500 parents. Many of whom want a family law firm! And on Saturday's the family car is parked at Sainsbury's for a couple of hours during peak shopping periods. Easy hey?

Just use a trackable phone number on the magnetic panel you put on the car and you've got free leads coming in to your law firm. Why not supply all your staff with magnetic posters for their cars? You can have a team bonus for leads brought in each month. You can even get free magnetic panels from Vistaprint. Email me for a promotion that should give you them free! 

And check out Joe's website  because he makes doing newsletters really easy so that you can keep your herd intact and get more business at a fraction of the cost of other marketing. He's usually got a special deal for my visitors/newsletter friends you just have to ask. (The secret codeword is "free").

July 3rd 2009 - No Cost Personal Injury Referrals


You know what might be a good idea.

Go to all your local accident repair centres.

Speak to the manager.

Explain you are a local lawyer that represents people involved in
car accidents.

Tell him you'd love to offer his customers a free appraisal.

Get him to hand over your audio CD about personal injury and
motor accidents to every customer that comes in.

Thank him profusely when he sends you clients by sponsoring
his kids football team strip with his company name on it.

10 accident repair centres
50 customers a week
500 prospects a week for you
2000 prospects a month
24,000 prospects a year

500 new cases for you

Want to do it? And do more things like this?



July 3rd 2009 - Can Michael Jackson Help Your Marketing?

The media circus over Michael Jackson's estate, final wishes, guardianship of his children has made will international news. If Jackson has died intestate it's a disaster for his children.

 

It reminds us that everyone should have a will, especially married couples.

How can you help avoid this disaster for married couples?

Get a story into your local media and set yourself up as the expert on wills.

Use the "news" i.e. the conversation going on in people's heads, to get your law firm in to their head as the solution.

Even if you just write to all your existing clients with the Jackson story you are going to get codicils and other wills by referral. And what's it going to cost? A few pounds on letters sent out. And 20 minutes to write a press release or be on the phone for the local radio.

July 2nd 2009 - What Can Car Manufacturing Teach Us About Law Firms?

 

Taiichi Ohno, the architect of the Toyota Production System, used the five Why's technique to solve problems. In a manufacturing environment, the Five Whys might work like this:

Manufacturing Example Problem: The Production Line Stopped Again

Why did the production line stop? Answer: We blew a fuse.

Why did we blow a fuse? Answer: Because the bearings overheated.

Why did the bearings overheat? Answer: Because there is insufficient lubrication on them.

Why is there insufficient lubrication on the bearings? Answer: Because nobody oiled them.

Why did nobody oil them? Answer: Because we don’t have a preventative maintenance schedule.

Followed by Silence............ideally somebody should then pipe up with "we need a preventative maintenance schedule - I'll get it sorted for tomorrow."

In legal services marketing, you need to ask lots of Whys.

Mike Schultz, a US marketing consultant gives a law firm example.

Legal marketing problem: We Don’t Have Enough Leads Coming In.

Why don’t we have enough leads? Answer: Because the partners aren’t getting enough referrals to build their practices.

Why aren’t the partners getting enough referrals? Answer: Because the partners and the marketing group aren’t taking the actions needed on a regular basis to generate referrals and new business leads.

Why aren’t they doing what they’re supposed to do to generate leads and referrals? Answer: Because work expectations focus on keeping them billable, and lead generation isn’t a top priority in the marketing department.

Why are the partner jobs aligned so narrowly to billing, and why doesn’t marketing focus on lead generation? Answer: Because the managing partner hasn’t historically perceived revenue generation as an issue, and so across the board—from marketing to billable staff—there isn't much concerted lead generation effort, and, in marketing, there’s no budget.

Why? Answer: Now that it’s an important business problem to solve, why hasn’t he addressed this?

Why? Answer: Silence.

Without leadership support it doesn’t matter if you come up with the right answer because nothing will happen anyway. So Partners - it's up to you.

What I like about this technique is that it is common sense, easy to do, and gets actionable solutions. It’s also a way of “becoming your own consultant “and seeing things through fresh eyes. Very important if you want to improve what you offer.


July 1st 2009 - You Become What You Think So Work At What You Think.

One of my friends runs a website called
Philosopher's notes. It's worth checking out. Every day he sends out a summary paragraph about one of his favourite thinkers/books. I'd thought today's was very appropriate so I decided to post it here. I'll probably use Brian's stuff from time to time - it's that good! Thx Brian;-)

Experience has proved to me, time after time, the enormous value of arriving at a decision. It is the failure to arrive at a fixed purpose, the inability to stop going around and round in maddening circles, that drives men to nervous breakdowns and living hells. I find that fifty per cent of my worries vanishes once I arrive at a clear, definite decision; and another forty per cent usually vanishes once I start to carry out that decision.

So, I banish about 90 per cent of my worries by taking these four steps:

  1. Writing down precisely what I am worried about.
  2. Writing down what I can do about it.
  3. Deciding what to do.
  4. Starting immediately to carry out that decision.”

From, Dale Carnegie from How to Stop Worrying and Start Living.

I've got a list of books you might want to read,  It's short, my list is 100 + in the last year alone. So if you have read any good books let me know and I'll reciprocate. Deal?

June 29th 2009 - Email Security - Sending Secure Legal Documents

I just read about secure email and the
Independent Financial Advertiser market.

Research from Origo, (The IFA equivalent to the SRA) showed that the majority of firms (87%) did not currently have secure email systems, with over half of respondents (58%) highlighting that they were waiting for an industry standard to be put in place.

While this is the case, an alarming majority of respondents (94%)

said they did use email to send personal, sensitive or confidential data.

Now you won't get a lesson on IT Security from me.

I'm just here to question things and maybe offer an answer sometimes.

And my question is this;

"If you send an email and someone intercepts it and then changes it and then it gets delivered, then who's to know?"

I've got an article from a Canadian law firm about this - if you want it email me.

PS Having secure email is a pretty good USP too.
*****************************************************************************************************
When your mail is addressed to the bank, investment company, business partners, it can attract attention of IT staff that perform mail server monitoring. And there is nothing that can prevent unscrupulous IT staff with access to the mail server to open and read that message. Other problem is that unauthorized personnel or hackers can have access to the mail server where physical access security and network security are weak.

June 27th 2009 - Do People Open Your Emails?

If you are sending a newsletter by email or an invite to a seminar then maybe some people won't open your emails...first time round.

If you get unopened emails try a different subject headline...it won't upset those
that don't open the email by sending it twice because they never opened the first one.


Fact: Only 20-30% of your list will EVER open any
email you send them EVER....the first time.

Take the list of people who didn't open your first
email and send them the SAME mail again the
next day with a different headline.

Just a different headline. Takes about two minutes.

It's simple but powerful.

Re-mailing un-opens really works. And legal marketing is about what works.


June 24th 2009 - Do You Use Your Qualifications To Get People To Buy?

If a plumber from Reading can use his qualifications in such a fantastic way why can't you?

http://www.itsleaking.co.uk/qual.htm

A certifcate is no good in the cupboard at home. Get it out, display it and stick it on your website. Your qualifications are relevant. Most people don't have your qualifications and so they will be impressed by yours. It's an independent testimonial to your quality and something that helps deliver the preponderance of proof that you are the right choice for someone.


June 22nd 2009 - Estate Agents Giving You Work

With the MD of an Estate Agents in Hampshire yesterday I looked at his Goals and Objectives lists on the wall. One of the goals was "Solicitors must communicate". His problem was that whereas he had to let clients know how sales were progressing, he was not told as frequently how the legal paperwork was progressing. All he wanted was a speedy and efficient way of being kept up to date.

How much work do you get referred to your legal practice by Estate Agents?

What are they looking for from you? Don't know? ASK!


June 19th 2009 - Midsummer - Make The Most Of The Next 6 Months

This weekend it's the longest day of the year. It's when the Druids do their Stonehenge stuff and some people start thinking about the nights closing in...but rather than the negative, focus on the positive. Where will you be in 6 month's time?

The only thing that will make a difference is the people you know, (or get to know) and what you learn.

Make the most of the time you have. Try 7 consecutive days without getting angry, shouting, or criticising. See if you can do it. And if you can't, start over again at day 1.

I'll send a small gift to anyone that can tell me honestly that they achieved 7 days in a row of being 100% positive.

PS to give yourself half a chance print the words 100% Positive on a piece of paper and put it on your fridge door. (It's the cupboard we visit the most).

June 18th 2009 - Action Is The Mark Of Genius

It's my grandfather's birthday today. 89 years old. I remember asking him when I was celebrating my 21 birthday what he did for his. He said D-Day. Omaha Beach. American Tank radio operator (normally he was a gunner but they didn't have enough radio operators so he swapped for the day). Lucky that. His tank got blown up and he survived. The other two didn't. Still Grandad recovered, went back to liberate Amsterdam and took part in the 1948 Olympics.......you couldn't accuse him of wasting his time.......

What's this got to do with legal marketing? I'll sum it up in one word. ACTION.
People that take action are winners. Because it doesn't matter how much you know or how many great ideas to market your Practice you have. Unless you take action you won't achieve anything.

Take action to make yourself a celebrity in your local area. Write for the paper. Go on the local radio station. Speak at the Chamber of Commerce. Just once a week if you take action and become a brand you will be more fulfilled, you'll make lots of friends and you'll attract more business. Remember...

A Goal Is A Dream With A Deadline. Just Do It.

June 15th 2009 - What's Wrong With Lawyers?

Ok could someone please tell me why a law firm won't do a deal to get new customers?
 
Is it because I am asking for a 50/50 split on the profit of each new customer I bring?

I'm willing to pay for all advertising costs. I wlll write the advert.  I will pay for the advert to be designed. I will track all enquiries. I will test and refine the response system that the prospect goes into.

The only objection I have been given is that "advertising is not the sort of thing that we do at this firm."  It's an objection - but not a good one.

If YOU ARE THE TYPE OF FIRM THAT WANTS TO DO A DEAL and you are in Reading, Berkshire and you have a pretty good private practice department get in touch.

And if you are in any other town and like the idea of this then let me know where you are because I might be able to do this in other towns.

June 12th 2009 - Perfect Preparation - Have You Got It?

I got a phone call today from BT.

(BT) Would you like to save £75 off my line rental?

(Me)Yes Please.

(BT) All you have to do is get a BT credit card and spend money and then you get money off your line rental.

(Me) How much do I have to spend to get £75 off?

(BT) I don't know, I'm just here to ask you some questions.

(Me) Same here. And if you don't know the answers to my questions then you are not going to get my business.

This is the shortened version. I quizzed the guy about his preparation. He had no information that was relevant. He was given no leeway. He had to stick to the script.

What has this got to do with legal marketing?

Let me ask you. Do you have a systematic way of answering questions and objections you get on the phone or face to face? Do you know how to raise objections and answer them to control the conversation when you are selling?

Do you have a piece of paper that you fill in when you make a call or receive a call so that you can analyse each time where you went wrong and what you did right?

Or do you just leave it to random and hope that you say the right things in the right tone of voice in the right sequence?

One of the main reasons for doing things systematically, recording results either negative or positive is so that you can share best practice. If you don't share results, ideas and experiences throughout your firm you are operating at less than 50% of your operational capability. Do whatever it takes to ensure you share.

You can start easily. Get a notice board up in a prominent place. Put your idea of the week up - something that has worked for you. And put your idea of the week up next week too. Keep on going. Pretty soon you will find other ideas going up on the board. When it's full, photocopy them and put them together as a manual of ideas that have worked for your firm.

Presto. Your marketing manual has begun to take shape.


June 11th 2009 - What To Do When People Request A Price Reduction?

When people are going through hard times they might ask you to lower your prices. If you do it, they'll be shopping for lower prices after the recession so don't do it without one helluva fight. Because price shoppers aren't loyal and they don't know the value of your services, (have you demonstrated them?)

Make the the person asking for a price reduction is the decision maker. Go to see them face to face. Ask them if their customers are asking them for a reduction?

If you absolutely have to and want to reduce a price then make it a temporary reduction that helps them out while they are going through a rough patch. But make sure it's only for a few months and then you'll increase your price to them so that you can catch up with the lost income. That way it's temporary.

And remember abandoning those clients that are a pain, constantly ask for low fees and take up your time is the right thing to do anyway.

PS you have to spend £7,500 to get £75 off line rental :-(


June 10th 2009 - Have You Analysed Your Website?

Sometimes we don't challenge experts because we don't know enough.
Sometimes not knowing is great - because it means that you can ask things
someone who is in the thick of it wouldn't ask. Take websites. You have one.
Who runs it? Maybe it's your IT guy. Maybe an agency. Maybe a partner.

Have you ever wondered if it could do any better at bringing in leads?

There's a tool that I have used recently http://www.freewebsubmission.com which looks at your website and tells you how "good looking" it is to search engines.

It seems like a good tool to give you the chance to challenge the person who runs your website. Becase if you analyse your site and you see it's not good looking enough ( I mean functional for the Google Robots rather than cosmetic) then you can now ask "What are you going to do about it."

Because a lot of Partners never really challenge the website guy. But they should.
It's a major marketing channel. And it has to work its butt off for you. A little bit of knowledge is a dangerous thing. Mainly for the status quo in legal marketing. Enjoy taking a few risks.

June 9th 2009 - How Much Do You Know About Your Performance?

Is there any firm out there that knows its conversion rate for enquiries turning into a client? For every member of staff? And systematically measures this? And then uses the findings to improve everyone's performance by sharing best practise?

Because anyone can do that. If they want to.

And another thought just popped into my mind.

Why don't non-competing firms set up a mastermind group for best practise in marketing? Because the bigger the crowd the more likely you are to come up with the right solution. And I don't just mean non-competing law firms. Because you want people outside law to give you ideas. That's where you'll get some real value.

June 9th 2009 - What Is Marketing?

Everything that a legal firm does that is not operations is marketing.
It's not about one department or another. Or job title.
Anything that any internal or external clients sees, hears, thinks, feels, smells (yep some offices smell) touches and leaves an impression is marketing.

Some law firms don't want to do marketing.
Some don't know how.
Some know how but don't.
Some know how and do.

I know which I'd rather work for.

After all, if your firm does not do marketing very well, who is going to suffer?

That's right. You.

So, if you aren't dedicating at least 30 minutes a day to your own development of marketing/selling skills then you won't be a winner. You'll probably be a whiner.

And if you say your boss doesn't give you 30 minutes a day, hello whiner.

I'd just teach all lawyers to be good at marketing and selling if I owned a firm. And then I'd expect them to perform. If you can give McDonald's kids a handbook on what to do why not a lawyer handbook on how to sell and market a law firm........ah that gives me an idea......

PS thanks to those who signed up to my newsletter. Spam email accounts won't be receiving it - sorry.

PPS tip for the day - read Seth Godin's Purple Cow. Yes I know it's a few years old now but it's still moos for me and many others. Read any good books lately?

PPS Typos are my gift to you.

June 8th 2009 - Lawyers Doing So Well They Can Waste Money

If you go to Google.com and you type in "accident lawyer" you'll find a few firms that are using Google adwords. These are the classified adverts that you pay only when someone clicks. So far, so good. But if you are one of these firms you really want to know the conversion rate of the advert and not just how many clicks you get. I called one law firm today, (I'll tell you who if you mail me) to tell them that they can use something called dynamic numbers on their website which will enable them to tell not just who clicked on their Google ad, but also who and how many called.

The gentleman I talked to would not invest 30 seconds of his time on listening to the information. If he is paying £20 per click he could be getting a bill from Google for £100 a week without receiving any calls.

So why didn't he even want to know there could be a better way?

The answer is that many law firms lack diversity. And I am talking about diversity of being exposed to many different type of people, methods, cultures and systems. The more exposed to diversity you are the more willing you are to see things in a different light, and the more likely you are to come up with the right solution.

Embrace diversity. And if you are the chap from R********* all you had to do was say that you were fascinated by new ideas and you'd love to hear about something that could make massive efficiency gains, please put it in writing.

PS don't click on accident lawyer adverts on Google, it'll cost them an arm and a leg!!

June 4th 2009 - Can You Sell A Subscription?

If you do regular work for a client one way that you can create a model for payment is by creating a subscription to your services.

Imagine you have a property client. For example, a University, that needs planning, landlord tenant contracts, eviction debt collecting etc. A whole gamut of wants that you can bundle into a service.

Now you do a contract for 12 months at £100,000. You estimate the work will be worth £200,000 in time, so the Uni saves £100,000. That's great for them.

You agree to look at the deal after 12 months to make sure you are not massively
undercharging.

And you agree both sides to look at negotiating up or down
based on value to both sides. You will get more efficient over time. And you get continuity revenue.

The Uni can budget. It also only means one bill a month rather than lots of small and irritating bills.

Gas companies do it. Magazines do it. People like subscriptions. And the bonus is you develop a system that is efficient.

Otherwise you lose money. That's a great incentive to you becoming hyper efficient. And that is how supermarkets compete. So take a leaf out of Tesco's book. Become hyper-efficient and sort out your own Clubcard locking your clients in.

June 3rd 2009  So What If People Say They Don't Legal Services From Supermarkets?

Here are some of my thoughts and replies to questions about Supermarkets taking business from solicitors and law firms. The whole conversation

is on law gazette pages.

 

"So what if some people say solicitors are better at servicing than a supermarket?

Does this actually mean anything?

Supermarkets will market their legal services to people and they will get clients that law firms won't.

That's because they are better at marketing. So it doesn't matter if your product is better. As long as it is good enough. Colgate sells lots of toothpaste. It's not the best - it's good enough. Tesco products are not the best. They are good enough.

 I can tell you I'm in the market for a Will. But I have never been targeted to buy one, not even by my solicitors who did my conveyancing. 

Supermarkets will be after my money, over a period of years, with an offer, a clear call to action and with a product that is neatly packaged to make it easy for me to sign up.

If you have lots of people you have done conveyancing for, for heaven's sake write to them and make them a special offer on a Will.

And don't do it just once. Put them in a marketing sequence of months and years. They will buy when they are ready, not when you want them to remember. And stop listening to surveys which say solicitors are better than supermarkets. Just get out there and prove it by taking some action."

"For law firms branding should be as a consequence of direct marketing and other pull marketing. In other words it should be a spin off.

Nike do branding because they have a commodity product, same as Coca Cola. The only difference between soft drinks or trainers is the brand perception. But that's not what you are about.

If you have 12% brand recognition? What does that mean? Does it mean you get 12% of all the business in your area?

What I'd really like to see your marketing do is get you into the top three results on Google, Yahoo and MSN (now Bing) so that you get quality "hands up I want to spend some money on you" business that the Co-op doesn't.

Have you checked your website ranking for all the major search terms in your area? For example "Solicitor in Reading" "Lawyer in Reading" etc? And what do people do when they get to your website? Do you provide them with truly valuable information that proves you do what you say you do? With video?

Likewise do you measure your current marketing systematically so you know exactly how much it costs you to get a lead and which marketing is the most cost effective? If you don't measure it I would say stop it all. Because if you don't know something is working why keep doing it?

Have the definite of purpose to try things and take action. As long as you are on the right path that is a good start.  One this is for sure. "Defending yesterday is far more risky than making tomorrow." (Innovation and Entrepreneurship, Drucker 1985)

The figure that astounds me is 69% of people don't have a Will.

That's a fantastic market to aim at because a Will leads to Estate Planning, Trusts etc etc.

That's why it's a massive disservice for anyone to ignore their conveyancing list - you must market to them on a regular basis to get themselves a Will.

A company I worked with had written just one letter asking for money in a decade. With a list of 7000 clients I expect that 200 new Wills a month can be sold if it is done in the right way.

There's money in peoples' pockets that they want to spend. You just have to make them WANT to spend it on you and JUSTIFY spending it.

People don't buy things they need. They buy things they want. Even if it's dispute resolution. They are buying it because they WANT the right result. (ever make a special one off trip to the supermarket just to buy a tube of toothpaste you really want? If you did it's not because you needed the toothpaste. It's because you wanted clean teeth and fresh breath.

Let's look at an answer Why Joe Public will choose you first.

What is your answer as to why he should choose your firm over anyone else's?

Because that is the question you have rightly identified is going on in your prospects "Theatre of the Mind".

Do you have a USP (unique selling point) for your business? Because without one it is difficult for someone to make a choice.

After all what sales person can sell something as nebulous as "good service".

People have too many choices to make and not enough time. So making people confident in choosing you because of your USP and the way that you prove and communicate it is the way to go. And make it easy.

Examples of USP is Dominos - "Piping Hot Pizza Delivered To Your Door In 30 Minutes Or Less - Or Your Money Back." (Nothing about quality in it it at all - you see it's good enough and they make it easy.)

One you have your USP nailed you should find it easy to build your business and your communication around it. And I don't mean just out bound communication.

Marketing is everything that anyone from outside your firm sees, hears, touches or smells. So if your receptionist puts someone through to someone at your firm, make sure they say,

"I'm just putting you through to the Family Law Expert, Michelle Mann" rather than "I'm just putting your through."

Now let's take something you have said and examine it.

Personal recommendation and internet are two things that will work for Mr Joe who is looking for legal experts.

How do you systemise personal recommendations through a referral programme?

Have you done this? If you haven't then that's a good place to start. But you have to make it easy for the referrer.

And on the internet are you offering valuable information in a non-archaic legal way. By Audio/Video?

I hope so. Because if people are visiting your site you better make them raise their hand and say they want you.

 Attract Joe and keep in front of him so when he is ready to buy he comes to a trusted source. Let's take an example of something you can do.

Are you the celebrity for your town or city? A

re you the one that newspapers and radio stations come to for quotes and to appear on programmes? That's free. And you aren't going to be able to compete with Direct Line or Tesco for marketing budgets so you have to use Guerilla tactics.

As soon as a hungry prospect comes in to your firm for bait (valuable information) keep him hooked forever with a marketing sequence.

That is the key. Because it takes sometimes years for someone to be ready to buy. But that's when you want to be in front of the prospect. And in that respect you can be even better than Tesco et al. (As long as you know your customer lifetime value of course, which tells you how much you can spend on this).

But it's all there for grabs. Just Do It. As Stephen Covey said, rule number one is Proactivity.

Do you have a formalised system that generates your firm's ideas to solve these problems? If you haven't get one going.

(You might have to make it anonymous because I have found the Partners to be the ones who may pooh pooh ideas which is terrible for those who put things forward. Remember how you felt at school to be singled out).

PS On the internet, I bet you aren't looking at who calls you once they look at your website? Because you will be getting calls and not just email forms filled in. And I wonder if you have unique phone numbers for all your marketing channels because I haven't seen a law firm that has all their marketing channels measured this way. Maybe you do. Maybe you don't."

June 1 2009 - Referrals that are a win-win-win

Why not get your CSR credentials boosted by doing something like this?

One of my clients started a referral scheme and I just wanted to share it with you.

The fact is that referrals have to be systematic and ideally reward both the referrer and the referred. Sometimes people don't want cash - sometimes they do. But what is very good is when the cash gets handed over to a charity.

It means that everybody wins. You get a new customer for almost nothing,
you hand the money to the referrer, who gives it to charity, making everybody feel
good about the deal. And it encourages more deals like it. The publicity factor is quite good too. 

www.greatlegalmarketing.co.uk for all your legal marketing services, law firm development, business development for solicitors and great legal marketing information that's free.
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