Law Firm Marketing | Creating an Identity

This is the second in what will hopefully be a long line of Wednesday law firm marketing posts. Today we're going to talk a little bit about getting creative - thinking outside the box to get more customers. Here we go!

One of the things I find the most frustrating about marketing my law firm is the fact that everyone so often seems to do the same thing. Don't believe me? Google DUI attorney and start clicking around. Everyone is "aggressive," everyone is "dedicated," and everyone is "experienced." I even have that stuff on my website. The problem is, I have no idea if that kind of talk helps. Honestly, I don't think it does. But I'm at a bit of a standstill on what I can do that is different to get my name out there.

Yesterday I took some time and I wrote down a long list of law firm marketing ideas. This is what I came up with:

Billboards;

Creating a brand - who is my firm?;

Radio ads;

Print ads;

Matchbooks;

Coozies;

Keychains;

Television ads;

A website with less "friction" - that is easy for people to take action on;

Booth at the local farmer's market;

Lunch with great known referral sources;

Better business card;

Getting some press;

T-shirts (funny/catchy/true slogans);

Magnets;

Wrapping the car in an ad; and

Get more customer reviews (seek them out instead of waiting for them to come in).

As I looked at this list, I began to realize something that I've been avoiding for a long time because I think it's a little uncomfortable - my law firm has no true identity. And that sucks.

Sure, I know I want to give great service and yada yada yada, but I don't have all of that wrapped up into a tight, clearly defined package so that when people see me, my firm name, or my firm logo they know exactly who I am and what I do. That's not good. And that's the key to differentiating yourself from everyone else in a world where everyone seems to be the same - figuring out exactly who you are and then not being afraid to tell everyone about it in every way you can think of.

I read a lot of emails from the personal finance guy, his name is Ramit Sethi. He's got a blog called I Will Teach You to be Rich and he sends out a monthly newsletter about personal finance and going after your goals full throttle. His newsletter this month was about the power that we let failure have over us. And while I know it applies to starting a law firm, I also think it applies to marketing a law firm, in the sense that I know I feel apprehensive about whether or not my ideas are going to work out (and whether or not they are going to get me laughed at by my peers in the process). Here's the part of the newsletter that I really liked:

People think failure is a bad thing, which always makes me laugh. Failure can be managed, planned for, and even eagerly anticipated.

For example, I have a "failures" tag in Gmail where, if I'm not adding 5 NEW FAILURES PER MONTH, I know I'm not doing enough.

Another data point: for every 10 marketing initiatives we do at "I Will Teach You to be Rich," 7 will fail. And we are pretty freaking good at what we do.

You can treat rejection as a normal step in the process. Expect it. Manage it. Own it.

I think the point of that is that it's okay to go out on a limb. It's okay, and in fact is critical to success, that new marketing ideas are consistently created and tested. And it's okay if you fail, because in the end you'll be laughing all the way to the bank.

Here's my challenge to you. Create an identity for your firm. Who are you? What do you do? Why are you different? And then own that identity in every part of your business. Once you do that, come up with 5 creative marketing ideas and implement them. Don't just think about them - actually try them out. If they fail, at least you know. And if they succeed, you've probably just substantially increased your business.

If you'd like to share your ideas in the comments, please do. Next week I'll tell you what I've come up with.

Law Firm Marketing | Why Have a Blog?

I like to talk about law firm marketing, and I used to have a different site devoted to it. But I just decided I should combine everything here. So I am. Starting this week you should be getting one post devoted more to marketing a law firm and one devoted more to the other areas of starting a law firm. Sound good? Not hearing any responses from the crowd I'll assume that's a no (by the way, that's kind of a bad trial lawyer joke - I heard someone ask and respond to about fifty voir dire questions like that once - why not ask the question so you get some answers?!).

Today's post is about blogging. We all feel like we should be blogging, right. We are all blogging, right? But are we doing it correctly, that is the question. And is there even a way to do it incorrectly?

If you didn't know it, what I'm doing write now is blogging. The term originally came from weblog, which was supposed to be like a diary for a lot of people. Weblog was then shortened to blog, people found out that people would search out and read what they were writing, people found out they could make money from it, and it's been a little bit art and a little bit science ever since.

I could probably create a 300 page book on the art and science of blogging. There's really that much to it. But today, according to the title of my post, we're just here to answer "Why Have a Blog?" particularly in the law firm marketing sense. The other answer to why you should have a blog is because it's a great place to make yourself feel more important than you really are.

From a marketing perspective, you want your blog to do a couple of things when people find it. First, you want it to make a personal connection with the people that are reading it. For example, with this blog, I'm not stuffy. I tell you what I'm thinking in my own language and in my own style. Though you may not know much about me personally, I bet you kind of have a picture of who I am, at least from a law firm owner's standpoint. That's what you want. It will make it so when people call you to get help you won't need to sell them on what you can do. They'll just be verifying what they already feel from experiencing your web presence.

Second, you want to show people you know what you are talking about. If I got on here and told you about my dog Rufus all day, you probably wouldn't be relying on me very much for information related to marketing a law firm. So you have to talk about your topic, and you have to talk about it in a way that either answers people's common questions or invokes thought. I like to do a little bit of both. By blogging you can build up a perceived level of expertise that people will enjoy. It's a way of "showing" what you can do instead of "telling" what you can do.

And, by the way, don't talk about how experienced you are or how good you are (that's the "telling" I was referring to), that works about as good as telling a judge they should rule in your favor because you "believe it's the right thing." Show the judge why you're right, position yourself so there's only one way he can rule - yours - and you'll win the case. Same thing with clients. Position yourself so when they pick up the phone and call you they are thinking "this guy knows what he's doing - I want him to help me." That's effective law firm marketing.

Finally, you should have a blog because it is a cheap, easy way to significantly increase your web presence. Every time I write a post on this blog you see that I have links pointing all over the place - I do that on purpose. And every time I write a post on here I create a new web page. In some places, because of the way these posts set up as their own web pages, I've been able to the first, second, and third result in a Google search. Think about how much exposure you could create if you did that for your blog or website. The possibilities are endless. I'm not going to talk about blog set up here today - I've already talked about it before. But it's definitely a reason to have a blog.

Still not convinced you need a blog for your new law firm? Don't believe some of the things I'm saying? Have some follow up questions? There's a nice little spot for comments right below here. Instead of sending me an email, put in a comment. And if you read a comment and have an idea, respond. Maybe we can have an old fashioned discussion on here!

Happy marketing. Talk to you Friday.

Starting a Law Firm | Working for Friends and Family

A funny thing happens to all attorneys once they actually become attorneys, whether they choose to start a law firm or not - friends and family begin to ask you all sorts of legal questions from all sorts of different areas of law. You've got your buddy that got a traffic ticket, you've got a cousin that needs you to look at her lease. The list goes on and on - and I'm not saying this is bad by the way, just a fact - remember, I have family too :).

The question of the day is, what do you do with these questions?

I received a comment on this blog today from someone that wants to start a law firm. She had several concerns, which many people typically have, and then she left this at the end:

4. I do alot of legal work for my family and friends right now because I am out of work. I don't get paid because I don't feel comfortable charging people I know when I am unemployed and don't have a practice. Please give me some suggestions on how I should market and gain clients?

It was something I just couldn't pass up talking about.

I guess the easiest way to do this is to answer the question, and then explain why. Here you go -

the only free work I do for anyone is family. And even then, I strongly consider charging for it. And I don't typically give discounts to friends.

I know, I know, I'm cold hearted, I hate my friends, and I'm just trying to make some money off my friends. In fact, the opposite is true, and here's why.

1. Free work has little perceived value.

I get the idea of wanting something to do and jumping on the legal issues your friends and family members have. And I'm okay with that. It makes you feel like a lawyer, like you are doing something good, and it helps out a close friend or family member.

But here's the problem, when you do work for free, it's impossible for your friends and family to understand the level of value you are providing them. When you charge, they get it. And most importantly, they get it enough that when their friends have problems, they will remember that you are a lawyer (and that you do great work but you aren't cheap). You might not believe this is true, but trust me, it is.

2. Free work doesn't count as work when you are starting a law firm.

If you want to be busy, go down to the courthouse, tell people you'll work for free, and start signing people up. But if you want to make some money while helping people (which is sort of the point of starting a business), you've got to be making money for the work that you do. If you aren't, then you're doing yourself a disservice because you're working for well under your value and you are taking yourself away from other things that you should be doing (i.e. marketing to get paying clients).

I see this all the time in criminal defense. People are running around working their butts off for people that are probably never going to pay them. Until they look at their bank balances they feel like their business is really taking off. Bottom line, if you aren't getting paid, you don't have a successful law firm.

3. Family and friends can be a crutch that can hurt you in the long run.

This blends points one and two together, in a way. What I mean is, if your friends and family keep bringing you work and you keep doing it, for little or no pay, then not only does it make it hard to market to outside sources, it gives you a reason not to step out there and take some marketing chances. And you can't fail if you don't try, right? So you'll just keep languishing, wondering when business is going to pick up, when in fact you are doing it to yourself by leaning on your friends and family to make you feel like you're busy.

I know, I know, it's uncomfortable asking for money from friends and family for work that requires your expertise, knowledge, and will provide them with tremendous value. But if they aren't happy to pay after you've talked to them about what you can do for them, it's your fault not theirs. You haven't done a good enough job of letting them know why they should be more than happy to pay you for the work you are about to do for them. Here are a couple of starters.

First, they are going to get a level of service they won't find anywhere else. For example, you have a dentist? Ever try to get a hold of the dentist personally? Not easy to do. For your friends and family, they have your cell phone number at the ready. They have a level of access to their attorney, someone that is going to be helping them with a problem, that they wouldn't otherwise have.

Second, they have a level of trust with you that they won't have with any other attorney. Ask people what the number one concern is with hiring an attorney and it's whether or not the attorney is going to perform as advertised. With you, they know what they are getting, and as long as you don't make outrageous promises, they are going to rest easy knowing you are giving it everything you have.

Third, and finally, they are showing their support for you by investing their money in your services. What better sign of "this attorney is good and can be trusted" than when family and friends are paying you to help them?

Now, to back track just a bit. Here's the part where I say you don't have to charge everyone full price all the time. That just doesn't make any sense. But, if you're going to give a discount (you should only do something for free as a last resort - do it for free and if anything goes wrong your client is going to think you weren't giving your full effort because you weren't getting paid), make sure you spell out to the client what you would normally charge (printing it on the bill is a good way to do that). That way they will know what your services are worth.

In the end, starting a law firm is as much about running a business as it is being a lawyer. So you've got to start thinking about your law firm as a business, as something that helps you accomplish the goals you have in life. Bottom line, if your business isn't making money, it's not working for you the way it should be.

Starting a Law Firm | Marketing Tactics

I got a phone call from a potential client yesterday. She was calling because she thought the lawyer she had right now sucked. She told me that they'd been to court a bunch of times and that each time the lawyer was unprepared. She told me that she couldn't get in touch with him and that he never seemed like he knew what he was doing.

First, of all, I wasn't surprised, necessarily. Those types of attorneys exist out there. And if you are shopping for a lawyer it's important to figure out who that person is and stay away from them.

But then I continued talking to her, and I learned a little more about her situation. "I hired this guy because I got something in the mail from him shortly after I got my DUI. I wasn't sure how I was going to pay for the help, so I went with the cheapest guy I could find." And there you go.

This story, for me, provides two lessons for all of you out there thinking of starting a law firm. The first has to do with marketing. The second has to do with pricing your services.

Starting a Law Firm and Marketing Your Services

First, the marketing. And, to be honest with you, I just had a revelation about this. When I heard that from this person yesterday that she'd received a mailer from someone for help, I was a little bit pissed off. For whatever reason (and I'm honestly not quite sure what the reason is) I feel like sending something out like that is a little bit underhanded.

And here's where the marketing lesson comes in.

Sending out letters is not underhanded. Even to people who are in desperate circumstances and easily impressionable. You know why it's not underhanded? Because it's perfectly legal. These guys, so far as I know, are acting within all of the rules we agree to in becoming attorneys. And they are marketing their services using the tools that are afforded to them.

The only question is, and should be (once you make sure it's legal), does it work?

I know the law is a "learned profession" and "bigger than business." But that is only one side of the coin. Once I have clients I do everything I can for their case. I fight for them. But if they can't find me, I can't help them, and this is a competitive business.

To make sense of what is probably a jumbled mess above, here's the bottom line - don't forgo trying to do something, whatever it is, just because someone else thinks things shouldn't be done that way.

Starting a Law Firm and Pricing Your Services

We all like to have clients. It makes us feel good. And it allows us to eat. But if you are not careful, you can get sucked into a race to the bottom that has no end.

For most people, whatever fee you quote them is going to be too much. Most people don't just have thousands of dollars sitting around, and finding it is a painful endeavor. They wonder why it's so expensive. It's your job to let them know why. It is not your job to let them convince you you should be the cheapest lawyer before they hire you.

And here's why.

Forgetting about any bills you have and obligations you have (family, etc.), because the client doesn't care about that, it's important to have a firm grasp on what your services mean to your client. For example, I'm a DUI and criminal defense lawyer. My services mean to my client that they get every chance to stay out of jail to and to avoid a criminal record. That's a pretty important service. And it's something that will follow them forever.

The key is figuring out exactly what you do and then helping the client put their price tag on that service. Get them thinking "what is it worth to me to get x result?" We know we can't guarantee them that result, but we can show them that we'll do whatever we can to get that result.

That's how you price your services. If someone wants to hire the cheapest lawyer they can find, they simply aren't the right client for you. The sooner you accept that, the sooner your sleep easy at night.

I want to apologize for those of you that have made it this far in this post. I hope some of that made sense and is related to your quest in starting a law firm. Writing it felt disjointed (these are important and difficult concepts).

Why don't we talk about what you think? What kind of marketing works for you? What strategies do you use to show clients how valuable your services are?

Starting a Law Firm and Managing Expectations

When I started my law firm less than a year ago, I had a one year plan, a five year plan, and a ten year plan. The one year plan was aggressive but achievable. The five year plan even more aggressive. And the ten year plan had the sky as the limit. I think when you are thinking about starting your law firm and trying to determine what you can expect (and I'm talking about money for the most part here), I think it's important to manage expectations. It is really easy for the math to get out of hand in your head, and disappoint you early.

For example, at my law firm, one of my goals is to keep costs low. I currently do, and probably always will, share office space (in the future I'd actually like to own an office building, but that's very far down the road). It helps to spread out costs among several businesses. I have a very streamlined approach to everything I do. I don't spend a bunch of money on marketing that doesn't work. I am constantly evaluating the need and efficiency of our methods.

Because of that, right now my business expenses hover around $2,500 a month. Most of it is parking and rent ($1,000). That makes it really easy for me to, theoretically, make money. One DUI case is a minimum of $2,500. That means if I sign up more than one case a month, I'm starting to make some pretty significant money.

When you think about it like that, thinking about how to start a law firm becomes pretty easy. You just open up shop and the money comes in, right? Well, when you get out there in the real world, you begin to realize there are barriers to your mountain of riches. Those primarily consist of the myriad of other attorneys out there trying to do the same thing you are, and the fact that most of those attorneys have multiple years in the marketplace that you are trying to catch up on.

It's not impossible, though, to break through those barriers. Honestly, it's not even hard. But it does take a little bit of time. It takes time to market your law firm. It takes time to get people to your office. It takes time to gain the market share you want to have the kind of success you want.

If you don't keep those expectations tempered during the early months, and sometimes years, of your practice, you can easily be discouraged. What separates the successful new law firm owners from those that just get by or fail is they don't sit in the office when the phone isn't ringing and schedule that next networking luncheon with all the other unsuccessful attorneys.

They don't continue to read blogs and articles on starting a successful law firm. They do. They get out there and get their hands dirty. They write blogs instead of read them. They market on the internet. They market to their ideal customer. They do whatever it takes to get to where they want to go.

As you begin, or continue, on your journey to starting a law firm, remember this - there is a boatload of money out there for you; there is a boatload of job satisfaction out there for you; and there is a boatload of personal satisfaction out there for you. But, like most anything else, you have to work for it. We live in a great country, but it's dog eat dog out there. So, stop wasting time, stop reading these articles, and get to work!