The Rainmaker Blog : Law Firm Marketing and Business Development : The Rainmaker Institute : Stephen Fairley : Professional Legal Marketing

Perhaps one of the most frustrating exercises in life is basing a law firm marketing plan on strategies that simply don’t work. We see it all the time, and really, there is no reason for it with all the resources available to attorneys today to develop a legal marketing plan that will deliver real results.

If you are working on a new law firm marketing program for 2012, be sure you include these 5 pillars as the foundation for your plan:

People: Identify your target market by analyzing the characteristics of your best clients and determining why they need your services. Look for a niche you can serve.

Product: Identify specifically what services you provide and the best way to present these to your prospects. Be sure they always know what they will get when they hire you.

Positioning: Take an in-depth look at your competitors and identify why you are different from them. Then educate your prospects about why they should hire you and no one else.

Packaging: When it comes to law firm marketing, the package is you. Decide how you can best project an image that makes people want to work with you.

Place: Be where prospects can find you online, participating in social networks that your target market frequents. Market your articles and other content so you show up well in search. Be where people can find you.

These 5 pillars provide a firm foundation on which you can build a great law firm marketing plan to generate leads and converting those leads into paying clients. 

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Free CD: Insider Small Law Firm Marketing Practices

Get your free CD on Insider Small Law Firm Marketing Practices by #1 best-selling author and nationally recognized law firm marketing expert Stephen Fairley, and listen as he reveals a proven system to generate more and better referrals, find new clients fast, and fill your law practice! Discover:

• How 1 piece of simple technology in your practice will drastically increase your communication with prospects, clients and referral sources – resulting in a major revenue boost
• 5 ways to market and position yourself as a recognized expert
• How 2 Attorneys promoted their law firms to over 100,000 people for less than $100 in 2 hours
• The 1 item you must absolutely have to create a Million Dollar Law Practice (hint: Not having this will almost guarantee your failure!)
• 6 BIGGEST secrets to generating more and better referrals
• How to create a proven network of 30 new Strategic Referral Partners in the next 90 days

To obtain your free CD, click here now.

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With all the legal marketing emphasis on social media these days, it sometimes seems as if that very powerful law firm marketing tool – email marketing -- gets left in the dust. That would be a very serious mistake.

The 2011 Marketers’ Benchmark Report by Focus Research showed that email marketing is still the top performing channel:

Earlier this week, Hubspot provided these tips for proven ways to increase your email marketing effectiveness by improving your click-through rates:

Test subject lines – remember the ingredients for effective email subject lines: deliverability, actionability, personalization, clarity, brevity and consistency.

Keep it brief – keep the copy short and extend your offer early.

Make it social – include social sharing buttons that allow readers to pass along your content.   Research shows that adding these can increase your click-through rate by 30 percent or more.

Segment your lists – whether it’s by geography, new clients, current clients, prospects or practice area, segment your lists and talk directly to the subjects that interest that segment.

Personalize – not only by name, but also by interest. Make the most relevant offers to those who are most likely to be interested in those specific offers.

Remove distractions – don’t clutter your email newsletter with lots of “fun facts” or other esoterica that distracts from your message.

Strong call-to-action – hit your prospects in the face with a strong call to action in the first part of your email and make it impossible to miss.

Include a P.S. – these are irresistible to most readers, and should be used to reiterate your offer.

Optimize for mobile – research tells us that 70 million Americans access email via their mobile devices every day. Be sure your email messages are optimized for mobile.

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FREE Rainmaker Retreat Preview DVD – Learn Before You Go!

If you want to learn more about the Rainmaker Retreat and why it is a proven legal marketing system that has helped over 8,000 attorneys find more and better clients, then click here to receive a free DVD of your colleagues (and even your competitors) describing their experiences at our 2-day law firm marketing boot camp, the Rainmaker Retreat.

Yes, we know you are skeptical.   So instead of us telling you how these 2 days will transform your business, you can listen to your peers describe their experiences in their own words.
 
Click here to order your complimentary DVD right now.

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Distrust of traditional media sources is growing, and so is the influence of blogs on consumers’ purchase decisions, according to the 2011 State of the Blogosphere Report recently released by blog directory website Technorati.

The report shows that more than one-third of the consumers surveyed believe they will be getting their news and entertainment from blogs rather than traditional media over the next five years, and more than half said they trust traditional media less than they did five years ago:

More than half also said they visit blogs to get news or information:

And almost one-third said that a blog is likely to influence a purchase decision:

There is no denying the value of blogging when it comes to law firm marketing.

When used properly, it becomes a clear, consistent voice for your practice. It entices prospects, referral sources, colleagues, clients and thought leaders to engage you in dialogue.

It keeps you top of mind. It builds visibility among your target clients. Ultimately, it earns you more of the kind of client you most desire.

Blogging is your forum to connect with the community at large and to make it clear that you are an expert in your field.  But to make it the highly effective medium you need it to be, your law firm marketing and promotion strategy should include:

• A topic list designed to engage your target audience;
• A list of social media (such as Facebook and Twitter) to promote it;
• A list and schedule for article marketing services to add visibility and to feed it to reporters and thought leaders;
• An up-to-date blog that you write articles for at least 2 to 4 times per week;
• A search engine optimization formula to increase your page rank.

When you have all these things in place, you will be well on your way to creating a blog that will enhance your overall law firm marketing efforts.

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Practice Made Perfect for Lawyers CD Set

The Practice Made Perfect CD set and manual applies Stephen Fairley’s unique High Impact Marketing System to the practice-building challenges faced by solo practitioners and partners at small law firms.  

It includes dozens of specific marketing and sales recommendations that can be easily and quickly applied to your firm, including:

• The only 7 sure-fire ways to get clients in your door NOW
• Why advertising doesn’t work for most small law firms
• The 7 reasons why people don’t buy from you           
• How to market and sell with USP’s (Unique Selling Proposition)           
• Using audio logos to attract immediate attention for your business
• Using low-cost, high impact marketing strategies           
• Strategies for achieving maximum results from all of your marketing efforts           
• How to discover your Ideal Target Market
• 3 critical factors to remember when looking for new clients
• The NEW sales cycle for professional services
• How to retain your best clients

Click here to order your Practice Made Perfect for Lawyers CD set and manual now.

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A New York Times article last week noted a growing trend among attorneys in their mid-20s to early 40s: opening up their own shops in lieu of pursuing the partner track in larger law firms.

According to the article, a growing number of young attorneys want more control over their time and many are choosing to go it alone or with a like-minded colleague rather than be at the mercy of large law firm layoffs or what has become a slower slog to partnership.

The article profiled five new law firm start-ups and revealed some of the lessons learned from hanging out one’s own shingle:

• To reach profitability more quickly, run a lean operation
• Network at every possible opportunity
• The best clients are the people you would want to socialize with, not just anyone who walks through the door
• Challenge the status quo when it comes to billing practices – one firm charges a flat rate and bills upfront for third party services
• Create a realistic budget
• Effective time management is critical
• Learn to handle uncertainty – your monthly income is likely to be cyclical until you are well established

Want to learn more about building a successful law practice? See our free CD offer below.

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Free CD: Insider Small Law Firm Marketing Practices

Get your free CD on Insider Small Law Firm Marketing Practices by #1 Best-Selling Author And Nationally Recognized Law Firm Marketing Expert Stephen Fairley, and listen as he reveals A Proven System To Generate More and Better Referrals, Find New Clients Fast, and Fill Your Law Practice! Discover:

• How 1 piece of simple technology in your practice will drastically increase your communication with prospects, clients and referral sources – resulting in a major revenue boost
• 5 ways to market and position yourself as a recognized expert
• How 2 Attorneys promoted their law firms to over 100,000 people for less than $100 in 2 hours
• The 1 item you must absolutely have to create a Million Dollar Law Practice (hint: Not having this will almost guarantee your failure!)
• 6 BIGGEST secrets to generating more and better referrals
• How to create a proven network of 30 new Strategic Referral Partners in the next 90 days

To obtain your free CD, click here now.

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Everyone who has ever attended a Rainmaker Retreat knows this is one of my mantras, but it bears repeating:

"The Fortune is in The Follow-up!"    

I was speaking with an estate planning attorney who mentioned he’d recently had a fantastic meeting with an interested, and very wealthy individual. The attorney made a proposal to the prospect for a comprehensive estate plan and quoted him a fee around $5,000. He was confident in his belief that the prospect would sign up.

However, after thinking about it for a few days, the prospect declined, citing the attorney's high fee as the reason. Now, this potential client's estate is worth well north of a million dollars.  His parents are multi-millionaires, so it's not a matter of not being able to afford it.  

When I inquired as to what my client was doing to follow up and re-sell the prospect, my client stated nothing because his partner told him, "We don't chase clients." 

Now, I am all for attracting clients and not being perceived as an "ambulance chaser." However, I rather pointedly stated I thought his partner was dead wrong!  Now is the time to increase your follow-up, not eliminate it.

I coached him to immediately call and email the prospect and ask for a meeting with him and his parents and in this meeting to emphasize the value of having a comprehensive, bullet proof estate plan versus one cranked out by a trust mill or a generic online form.   

In the law firms who have hired The Rainmaker Institute to consult with them on improving their conversion rates, we have found if they fix their follow-up they will fix their cash flow!  If you are struggling with negative cash flow you need to immediately look to your system of follow-up or the lack thereof.  

Every lead, every prospect, every referral source and every client needs to have a follow-up in a timely and consistent fashion. Since you have a very limited amount of time to do so, you must learn how to automate the follow-up process. We recently helped one of our clients set up an autoresponder series to do just this.  

An autoresponder is an automated process that sends out a pre-written series of emails to a qualified list to encourage them to take a desired course of action. 

For example, if you meet with a prospective client who does not make a decision to retain you immediately, you can set them up (with their full permission of course) to receive information from your law firm via email.  

This may consist of a series of five to ten emails that is sent every three to five days. The first email may consist of a simple "Thank you for coming in to see us. Here's a link to our website for more information." The second email may be "There are 10 questions you must ask any attorney before you hire them to take your case. Here's the first two questions..."   

On average, people require at least seven to ten meaningful touches to move from being interested in you to being ready to buy from you. Most attorneys stop after two or three touches because they falsely believe they are "bothering" or "chasing" the person.  

As long as you are professional and courteous in your email communications, most people perceive your persistence as caring about them and wanting their business, not bothersome.

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Want to Learn More Marketing Techniques for Attorneys? Attend a Rainmaker Retreat!

If you are interested in building a lifestyle law practice through effective law firm marketing, then come to one of our upcoming Rainmaker Retreats:

• November 11-12, 2011 – Chicago, IL ***4.25 General MCLE credits***
• December 2-3, 2011 – Los Angeles, CA
• February 10-11, 2012 – Orlando, FL

If you want to learn more about the Rainmaker Retreat and why it is a proven legal marketing system that has helped over 8,000 attorneys find more and better clients, then register now for one of our one-hour complimentary teleseminars:

Wednesday, November 2

1pm PT | 2pm MT | 3pm CT | 4pm ET  

Thursday, November 10

12pm PT | 1pm MT | 2pm CT | 3pm ET  

Wednesday, November 16

10am PT | 11am MT | 12pm CT | 1pm ET  

Join us and learn why the Rainmaker Retreat is the one law firm marketing boot camp you cannot afford to miss!

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Do you have an answer to the #1 question prospects are thinking but few ask: Why should I hire you?

If not, you’ll want to attend the November 2 meeting of the Phoenix Legal Networking Group on Wednesday, Nov. 2 from 5:30-7:30 p.m.

When faced with this question, most attorneys fall back on talking about the quality of their services, their experience and the size of their law firm. Prepare to have your eyes opened to the truth:

• The #1 reason why prospects “shop you on price”
• How most attorneys completely miss the point when talking about their experience
• The 4 biggest reasons to emphasize when talking with prospects
• Overcoming common objections attorneys encounter

The networking event and marketing seminar will be held from 5:30-7:30 p.m. on Wednesday, Nov. 2 at Target Market Media Publications (Attorney at Law Magazines), 4647 N. 32nd St., Suite B-280 in Phoenix.

Cost is $20 if you register by Oct. 31, $30 if you register by Nov. 1 and $35 on the day of the event.  This covers drinks, hors d’oeurves, the networking event and the workshop.

What's different about this networking group from others?


First and foremost, it's for attorneys. While attorneys from all size law firms are welcome, it is specifically designed to help lawyers in small and solo practices to connect with one another and share referrals.

Second, there is an educational component at each event. Not MCLE or about substantive matters of law, but about how to build your business, make more money, generate more referrals, and run your practice like a business. We invite all local Arizona attorneys to join us each month. Upcoming topics will include:

• Practical ways to run your law firm like a business
• Generate more and better referrals
• Lessons from 7 figure attorneys
• Automating your online marketing efforts
• Increase your revenues and improve your receivables
• Take consistent action to build your business
• How to fix your follow up with every prospect, client and referral source
• Tools to increase referrals from CPAs, CFPs and other attorneys
• Learn cutting edge internet marketing strategies
• Apply practical tips and techniques to create a lifestyle law firm

To register for our Nov. 2 networking and legal marketing event, co-hosted by Attorney at Law Magazine, Coash & Coash Court Reporting and The Rainmaker Institute, visit www.therainmakerretreat.com/network or call 888-816-8935.

If you would like to be notified of specifics for future meetings, please go to www.therainmakerretreat.com/network and sign up by clicking the box “Can't Make It, Send Me Future Dates.”

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Can’t Make Our Nov. 2 Phoenix Legal Networking Group Meeting? You Can Still Get the Answers to “Why Should I Hire You?”

If you can’t make it to the November 2 meeting of the Phoenix Legal Networking Group but still want access to the information being given at the workshop, then get our one-hour How to Answer the Question, “Why Should I Hire You?”: Creating a Unique Competitive Advantage webinar online to watch at your convenience. Learn:

• Why quality does NOT matter! (Yes, you read that correctly, quality does not matter when it comes to closing a prospect)
• The #1 reason why prospects “shop you on price”
• How most attorneys completely miss the point when talking about their experience
• The 4 biggest reasons to emphasize when talking with prospects
• Overcoming common objections attorneys encounter
• Winning over skeptics by focusing on the numbers of your practice
• Case studies of how top attorneys respond when asked the ultimate question
• How to overcome price objections even before you meet with a prospect
• How to respond if someone says, “Your price is too high” or “That’s too much money!”
• How to get potential clients to stop making price an objection once and for all
• And 8 more effective ways to answer the question, “Why should I hire you?”

To access the webinar online, click here. 

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Nobody wants to hire a lawyer, but there are certain events that cause consumers and business owners to seek out a lawyer:

• Purchasing real estate
• Getting a divorce
• Starting a company
• Creating a estate plan

The struggle comes when consumers are faced with an overwhelming number of choices. Regardless of practice area, most consumers and business owners do not know how to distinguish a great lawyer from a mediocre one.

With over a million attorneys in the nation, there are thousands of lawyers in every major city who provide the exact same services. Unless attorneys seriously reconsider how they differentiate themselves from other law firms they will continue to flounder.

In Practice Made Perfect, our business development CD set for attorneys, we cover 10 specific ways to differentiate your services. Here are just 3 of them:

1. Create a micro niche. If you develop a tumor on your brain you would go to neurologist, not a general practitioner. It's the same way with law firm marketing. You must position yourself as a specialist, not a generalist. One way to do this is by focusing on a very defined niche. For example, "I concentrate on helping inventors and owners of small software development companies in Los Angeles with less than $1 million in revenues protect their intellectual property and develop creative ways to generate multiple revenue streams from their invention."

2. Focus on the benefits, value and results. Too many attorneys try to sell their legal services. People never buy legal services. They buy solutions to their problems. When meeting with a prospective client emphasize the benefits you offer to clients and the value you bring through your specific experience with their kind of legal problem. Discuss the results you have achieved for other clients, but be careful not to overstep the ethical boundaries or promise results based on someone else's case.

3. Build an online presence. The Internet has changed everything when it comes to law firm marketing and how consumers select law firms. Today, most people will check attorneys out online before they ever hire them.  Having a robust presence on leading social media platforms (Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, YouTube), an interesting blog and a website that reinforces why you are different is key.

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Want to Learn More Internet Marketing Techniques for Attorneys? Attend a Rainmaker Retreat!

If you are interested in building a lifestyle law practice through effective law firm marketing, then come to one of our upcoming Rainmaker Retreats:

November 11-12, 2011: Chicago, IL

December 2-3, 2011: Los Angeles, CA

If you want to learn more about the Rainmaker Retreat and why it is a proven legal marketing system that has helped over 7,000 attorneys find more and better clients, then register now for one of our one-hour complimentary teleseminars:

Thursday, October 27

1pm PT | 2pm MT | 3pm CT | 4pm ET  

Wednesday, November 2

1pm PT | 2pm MT | 3pm CT | 4pm ET  

Thursday, November 10

12pm PT | 1pm MT | 2pm CT | 3pm ET  

Join us and learn why the Rainmaker Retreat is the one law firm marketing boot camp you cannot afford to miss!

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Millions of people purchase products every day because they were enticed to do so through a strong call to action – a Buy It Now, a Limited Time Offer, a Click Here, a Sign-Up Now – whatever the incentive, it moved them to a purchase decision.

Calls to action work for several reasons, chief among them is that it’s human nature to follow instruction. A great call to action is one that creates a sense of urgency in a prospect’s mind, offers a solution to a problem or stimulates a desire. 

A great call to action works when it:

• Triggers an emotional reaction;
• Show exactly how to make a purchase;
• Creates a sense of urgency to make the purchase;
• Provides incentives or an offer that is too good to ignore.

There are many ways to integrate a great call to action into your law firm marketing efforts, including:

On your website. Even when you’re selling a service, you should create calls to action on every page of your website. Have a sign-up for a free report, a webinar or e-newsletter on every page.

In your newsletter. If you have a monthly newsletter, you should be featuring a new incentive every month to entice prospects to get in touch with you.

On your blog. Use your blog to connect on an emotional level with prospects. Tell a story about how your legal service has solved a problem. Include calls to action in your sidebars where they are easily visible.

On your social networking sites. Facebook and Twitter are great vehicles for reaching prospects in real-time and testing a variety of calls to action to see what works best for your legal service. These venues are an inexpensive and effective way to test what works best for your target market.

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Want to Learn More Effective Marketing Techniques for Attorneys? Attend a Rainmaker Retreat!

If you are interested in building a lifestyle law practice through effective law firm marketing, then come to one of our upcoming Rainmaker Retreats:

October 7-8, 2011: San Francisco, CA

October 21-22, 2011: Livingston, NJ

November 11-12, 2011: Chicago, IL

December 2-3, 2011: Los Angeles, CA

If you want to learn more about the Rainmaker Retreat and why it is a proven legal marketing system that has helped over 7,000 attorneys find more and better clients, then register now for one of our one-hour complimentary teleseminars:

Thursday, September 29:

11am PT | 12pm MT | 1pm CT | 2pm ET  

Wednesday, October 5:

1pm PT | 2pm MT | 3pm CT | 4pm ET  

Thursday, October 13:

12pm PT | 1pm MT | 2pm CT | 3pm ET  

Join us and learn why the Rainmaker Retreat is the one law firm marketing boot camp you cannot afford to miss!

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The New York Times has done a research study on the Psychology of Sharing to learn more about why people share content on the Web. 

You can download the report for free here.

The research found that these were the top five reasons people share content via email or social networks:

1. To bring valuable and entertaining content to others

2. To define ourselves to others

3. To grow and nurture relationships

4. Self-fulfillment

5. To spread the word about causes or brands

So if you have posted content on your blog or created articles on JD Supra, Avvo or other legal info sites that isn’t seeing much action, you need to examine it to see if it is meeting any of these needs that people have for sharing.

Here are some tips for creating great content that people want to share:

Make it real. Don’t simply deal in hypotheticals – tell a story with a good outcome for a client (maintaining privacy, of course) that draws people in and makes them feel something.

Create a conversation. Commenting on the hot legal topics of the day with a unique viewpoint increases the chances your content will get shared. Ask others’ opinions on your blog and post comments.

Speak like a human being. Do not use legal jargon or write above your target market’s head. Use a conversational tone in your posts or articles in a voice people can understand.

Make a list. People love to read and share lists, so get a little creative and develop lists that will get noticed – for example, The Top 5 Divorce Disasters you’ve seen in your family law practice, and so on.

Understanding the psychology behind what makes people want to share content and then crafting your content to fulfill those needs will ensure your words get the reach you’re hoping for when creating content.

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Get All the Law Firm Marketing Strategies You Need to Create A 7-figure Law Practice with Rainmaker In A Box: Volumes 1 and 2!

Want to discover Proven Marketing Strategies that Top Law Firms are using right now to generate more leads and referrals and convert them into paying clients?

Rainmaker In A Box: Volume 1 and Rainmaker In A Box: Volume 2 contains highly valuable legal marketing information you absolutely need to know!

Rainmaker in a Box: Volume 1 includes:

• The 5 Immutable Secrets to Building a 7 Figure Law Practice
• Secrets of Building a Referral-based Law Practice for Busy Practitioners:
• The Top 6 Most Powerful Online Marketing Strategies for Attorneys:
• Action, Accountability and Next Steps
• Data DVD: Includes all 4 PowerPoint slides for all 4 presentations. We recommend you print all these off and take notes on them as you watch the 4 intense DVDs.

Rainmaker in a Box: Volume 2 includes:

• 8 Proven Steps for More & Better Referrals


• 7 Strategies to Recession Proof Your Law Firm


• 6 Keys to Unlocking the Secrets of Social Media


• 5 Core Components for Highly Successful Websites & Blogs

• Data DVD: 
Includes all 4 PowerPoint slides for all 4 presentations. We recommend you print all these off and take notes on them as you experience these information-packed DVDs!

Purchase both sets on our website and get 25% OFF!

Click herenow to order!

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There are more than 1.2 million attorneys in the United States, and many continue to struggle to create a financially successful practice.  Why? 

Through our work with over 8,000 attorneys over the years, we have found one common denominator among attorneys who struggle with practice building: they believe the best use of their time is to practice law.

Which is why I tell them: You are not in the business of practicing law. You are in the business of building relationships (also known as marketing) so that you can practice law. 

Building a successful practice isn’t rocket science; it’s work and it takes three important things: time, energy and money. Every attorney who starts a new practice fully intends to succeed; yet according to research, more than 50% of them still fail.

We have helped thousands of attorneys achieve their goals of creating a financially successful and personally satisfying legal practice. In our recently updated, complimentary e-book, you can discover specific principles and tools you can use right now to grow your practice:

• How to avoid the top 10 marketing mistakes before they destroy your practice
• 3 tools top Rainmakers use to automatically attract more and better clients
• Specific keys for building a powerful online presence
• How to market and position yourself as a recognized specialist
• The 1 thing you must never do when marketing your law firm
• The top 2 online resources for small and solo law firm marketing
• The advertising secrets they don’t want you to know

The e-book is free; see below for details.

Join Our Rainmaker Retreat Via Twitter: I’ll be in Las Vegas on Friday and Saturday at our next Rainmaker Retreat session. You can “listen” in and see the action happening in real time via your Twitter account.  Just add #Rainmaker to the “Follow Your Interests” area found on the front page. I’ll post more details about this on Friday morning.

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FREE "Top 10 Mistakes Attorneys Make and How to Avoid Them" E-book

In a newly revised e-book, legal marketing expert Stephen Fairley outlines 10 of the most common marketing mistakes attorneys make that can lead to the failure of their business, and provides specific strategies and proven principles for avoiding these deadly errors. 

Get your complimentary copy online here.

Regardless of your specific situation, this free e-book will help you examine how you are currently finding new clients and recommend specific steps you can immediately start using to grow your practice. 

We have helped thousands of attorneys achieve their goals of creating a financially successful and personally satisfying legal practice. In this e-book you will discover specific principles and tools you can use to grow your practice, too.  

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There's a "new" player in town and they go by the name "Rocket Lawyer." "Who?" you ask. Followed by, "What do they do?"

Just like many of you, I was caught off guard when I read the Forbes post yesterday about Google investing a big chunk of change in a company called Rocket Lawyer.

That's correct, according to Forbes,  Google has "entered the online legal marketplace" with an investment in a San Francisco start-up called Rocket Lawyer.

Rocket Lawyer was founded three years ago “to make legal services easy and affordable for everyone,” according to their website. Users can access legal form templates, customize them, download and share and also have their documents reviewed by “a real lawyer” for $19.95/month for personal legal documents or $39.95/month for both personal and professional (business) legal documents.

Rocket Lawyer also has a lead referral service they call Smart Referrals Program – an attorney can pay by the month ($89.95) or by the year ($899.95) for local referrals the website generates.

Recently, I had the pleasure of meeting some of the staff from Rocket Lawyer while speaking at the California Bar Solo and Small Firm Summit. They were very sharp and excited about their business.

However, when they started talking about the amount of website traffic they were generating, I must admit I was very skeptical.

As someone who tends to stay current on what's happening around me -- and especially in the legal industry -- I had heard their name before, but didn't know anything about them or their services.

As it turns out, they may just be the fastest growing legal start-up we've never heard of. With revenues of more than $10 million this year, and a series of venture capital investments by some major players, CEO Charley Moore has certainly positioned the company to grab a lot of market share in the upcoming months!

From a strategic perspective, I think there's a lot of room for these types of service providers in the legal industry and Rocket Lawyer may be perfectly positioned to become a market leader...as long as they can avoid 2 major pitfalls:

1. Getting in trouble with the State Bar Associations like LegalZoom. When the Forbes writer tried to differentiate the two services, he didn't get it quite right when he said that LegalZoom doesn't work with attorneys. I have it from an inside source that this is precisely one of the growth strategies that LegalZoom is actively pursuing--working with actual attorneys in the form of...wait for it...using the pay per lead (PPL) model!

From what my source has told me, they are seeking to set up what could become that largest PPL provider in the legal industry. So from the legal industry's perspective, that's not really a true distinction between the two.

In case you aren't aware of the fast changing game of law firm marketing, let me give you some context of the newest business model: Pay Per Lead (PPL) is when attorneys pay a set amount per lead that is provided to them, regardless of whether or not that lead becomes a client.

Total Attorneys, a nationally recognized PPL company that provides leads to primarily bankruptcy attorneys on a pay per lead basis (they have leads for other practice areas but are most well known in the field of bankruptcy), has taken the lead on proving this new business model.

They have spent hundreds of thousands of dollars, perhaps even millions, defending over 40 different lawsuits defending the right of attorneys to obtain leads on a PPL basis.  To the best of my knowledge, they have won every single one of them and--kudos to them--have also paid all of their clients’ legal bills as well. Now, many other companies and websites are getting into the PPL model--including LegalZoom.

So, if both LegalZoom and Rocket Lawyer work with and refer to licensed attorneys, what's the real difference? I don't know.  Rocket Lawyer will need to build their case and quickly before attorneys and the Bar Associations make up their minds.

Here's the second pitfall Rocket Lawyer needs to avoid:

2. Having attorneys see them as competitors. If they aren't careful, they can end up just like LegalZoom and become the new "evil" that is "leading consumers astray"...or something like that...which is how most attorneys I meet now look at LegalZoom .

Instead, Rocket Lawyer needs to actively develop specific ways for attorneys to see them as a benefit and even possibly a lead generator for their law firm, as well as a way to assist clients who aren't willing or financially able to spend money on hiring an attorney for basic documents.

Only time will tell which road they will choose and how attorneys, the legal industry, and thus Bar Associations will perceive them, but as of now the choice is still theirs to make.

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Free Report: 4 Myths That Keep Attorneys From Building A Referral-Based Practice

Referrals are the lifeblood of many law practices, and building a good referral program takes a proven process.  Stephen Fairly unveils the 4 Myths That Keep Attorneys from Building a Referral-Based Practice in his new free report.  Read and discover:

• How to determine the best source for your referrals
• How to explain your ideal target market to a referral source
• How to get referrals from other attorneys
• Whether online directories are a good referral source
• How to network effectively
• And much, much more!

Click here to get your free report today.

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Lucky – and rare! – is the lawyer who can sit back and watch the referrals come rolling in day after day.  The hard fact is that referrals rarely just happen; they are the result of infusing your law firm with a referral-cultivation mindset, of having a process in place to plant the seed, nurture the crop and reap the harvest.

Here are some ways you can infuse your law firm marketing program with referral-making strategies:

Make sure all your marketing materials mention how important referrals are to your firm.
From the first meeting, make sure your clients know that referrals are a very important part of your practice.

Continuously educate your referral sources on your target market as well as all the practice areas within your firm.

Work those networking events you attend.  Don’t just automatically say, “Business is great!”  Instead, tell those potential referral sources that things are good, “but we’re always looking for people we can help with x (your practice area).”

Always look for ways to refer others and they will in turn feel an obligation to refer you.

Want more tips on how to build a referral-based practice?  I have a new report out that is yours totally free of charge -- see below.

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Free Report: 4 Myths That Keep Attorneys from Building a Referral-Based Practice

Referrals are the lifeblood of many law practices, and building a good referral program takes a proven process.  Stephen Fairly unveils the 4 Myths That Keep Attorneys from Building a Referral-Based Practice in his new free report.  Read and discover:

• How to determine the best source for your referrals
• How to explain your ideal target market to a referral source
• How to get referrals from other attorneys
• Whether online directories are a good referral source
• How to network effectively
• And much, much more!

Click here to get your free report today.

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They CAN, if it’s the new Rainmaker Institute “Rainmaker In A Box: Volume 2!”

If you know anything about online marketing and the Internet, you know that nothing stays the same for very long. Things that were effective last year now don’t work at all. Tricks that got your website on the first page of Google search results 6 months ago are old hat and ineffective.

Fortunately, we’re staying on top of the trends and cutting edge strategies for you. We have one aim in mind – to teach you how to use these little known strategies so you can get more and more qualified leads and dominate your marketplace; to help you create the law firm of your dreams.

Rainmaker In A Box: Volume 2 includes:

8 Proven Steps for More & Better Referrals
Do you have a referral plan? An actual written plan where you can measure your success? Discover the proven step-by-step system used to double your referrals from current and former clients and how to build a network of strategic referral partners. Top attorneys have used this exact system to double their referrals in 6 months or less!

7 Strategies to Recession Proof Your Law Firm
This recession has hit the legal industry incredibly hard! How is it possible that some attorneys are bucking the trends and having their best years ever? Watch and learn as I walk you through the specific strategies top lawyers are using to increase their revenues in this tough economy-and it doesn’t include reducing their fees! You can’t afford to miss these!

6 Keys to Unlocking the Secrets of Social Media
Do you want to learn how to leverage LinkedIn? Feed Facebook? Tweak Twitter and use YouTube to generate more leads for your law firm? Social media has emerged as the fastest way to build a massive platform of prospects! I pull back the curtain and let you in on little known secrets of how attorneys are generating dozens of leads every month from social media. We guarantee you have never seen any social media system like this one!

5 Core Components for Highly Successful Websites & Blogs
My interview with nationally recognized personal injury attorney John Bisnar on how his law firm uses search engine optimization and internet marketing to drive tens of thousands of unique visitors every month to his 30 websites and 10 blogs. Discover proven techniques for converting website visitors into paying clients.

Data DVD:
Includes all 4 PowerPoint slides for all 4 presentations. We recommend you print all these off and take notes on them as you experience these information-packed DVDs!

***For Blog Readers, Facebook Friends, Twitter Followers and LinkedIn Connections – we are offering you a $50 discount for Volume 2 and a $100 discount for both Volume 1 and Volume 2 because of your social media presence with The Rainmaker Institute.

Click here now to order!

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An opinion piece in The National Law Journal by a third-year law student echoes what I’ve been saying for years: law schools are great at teaching their students how to think like lawyers, but fail miserably at teaching them how to actually be lawyers.

The article comments on the ABA’s Standards Review Committee’s proposal to require law schools to provide greater transparency when it comes to providing a clear picture of the value of a law degree.  The author argues that many law schools paint a far rosier picture than what the cold reality is once law school graduates hit the streets looking for work.  He writes:

"The ABA's proposal is an adaptation of performance measurement — a management technique often used to transform private and public organizations. At its core, performance measurement is about using data to demand accountability and drive innovation.

"For the first time, law schools would have a potent incentive to reduce tuition and accelerate the so-far glacial movement to incorporate practical skills into legal education. By accurately measuring employment outcomes, schools will for the first time confront an unambiguous basis for evaluating their activities. And schools that perform poorly on the measure of job placement will face increased pressure to re-evaluate their educational model."

I have been teaching law firm marketing and business management to attorneys for years through state and local bar associations and our own Rainmaker Institute programs, including the Rainmaker Retreat.  In a vast majority of these sessions, at least one attorney will always ask me why they don’t teach these principles in law school.  

Apparently, more and more attorneys are finding their voices when it comes to demanding more of the legal academy, which they accuse of being disconnected from the actual practice of law.  With crushing debt loads, more and more law school graduates are finding it difficult at best to “learn on the job” what they actually need to know to start and sustain a successful legal career.

Where is your voice on this issue?  I’d be interested in hearing your comments.

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FREE "Top 10 Mistakes Attorneys Make and How to Avoid Them" E-book

In a newly revised e-book, legal marketing expert Stephen Fairley outlines 10 of the most common marketing mistakes attorneys make that can lead to the failure of their business, and provides specific strategies and proven principles for avoiding these deadly errors.

Get your complimentary copy online here.

Regardless of your specific situation, this free e-book will help you examine how you are currently finding new clients and recommend specific steps you can immediately start using to grow your practice.

We have helped thousands of attorneys achieve their goals of creating a financially successful and personally satisfying legal practice. In this e-book you will discover specific principles and tools you can use to grow your practice, too. 


 

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A feature article earlier this week in the New York Times touted the virtues of online video as a low-cost marketing tool for companies of all sizes.  As the Times reported:

Online video is becoming a first stop for many customers. It is akin to what the Web page was a decade ago — something that can give early adopters an edge over competitors. It gives them a channel to talk directly to customers in ways previously accessible only to large companies that could afford TV advertisements.

Online video is a highly underused form of law firm Internet marketing that promises a big return. Whether you place your video on the homepage of your web site, or upload it to YouTube, the benefits are undeniable.

Use these five simple guidelines to make a highly effective online video for use in your law firm Internet marketing efforts:

Use real people, using real words. One of the biggest mistakes attorneys make is using video the way they use PowerPoint. Stringing together static images accompanied by a faceless voice on audio is not an effective use of online video. While this may get seen by some potential clients, it is not nearly as valuable as giving them a chance to see your face and hear your sincere words.

Create a well-thought out script designed to persuade potential client to call you. To accomplish that, ask yourself what makes your law firm different from, and better than, your competition – and then build your script around those key points.

Focus on the viewer, not yourself. It is easy to get caught in the trap of thinking potential clients want to hear about all of your qualifications. The real truth is they want a law firm that understands their problems, and knows how to solve them. Your script should describe some of the problems clearly, and then explain how you can solve them.

Use sidebars to emphasize key points. The time to use still images in your online video is in a sidebar to emphasize your most important points – such as key statistics related to your area of law.

Include your contact information 2-3 times within your video. The goal of your online video is to persuade potential clients to call you. Yet, no matter how well crafted your video is, if those clients do not know how to reach you, it’s wasted effort. With that in mind, say it once within the video, usually at the end, and “write” it at least once in full screen, at the beginning and the end.  By including it at the beginning, return viewers can quickly get your contact information without wading through the entire video again.

If you are looking for a way to connect with clients and prospects, make online video a part of your law firm Internet marketing strategy.

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Want to Learn More Internet Marketing Techniques for Attorneys?  Attend a Rainmaker Retreat!

If you are interested in building a lifestyle law practice through effective law firm marketing, then come to one of our upcoming Rainmaker Retreats:

• April 8-9, 2011 – San Diego, CA
• May 13-14, 2011 – Scottsdale, AZ
• July 15-16, 2011 – San Francisco, CA

If you want to learn more about the Rainmaker Retreat and why it is a proven legal marketing system that has helped over 7,000 attorneys find more and better clients, then click here to receive a complementary DVD of your colleagues (and even your competitors) describing their experiences at our 2 day law firm marketing boot camp.
 

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To be successful with Internet marketing and social media, you must recognize and play to your strengths and weaknesses.
 
The goal in life is not to eliminate your weaknesses.  In fact, many people make the mistake of focusing too much on trying to overcome their weaknesses when their time and mental energy would be much better spent in trying to maximize their strengths.

There are two major reasons why you should spend time identifying your marketing and business development strengths and weaknesses. It helps you surround yourself with the right people and it gives you a clear picture of what areas you need to spend your time on versus outsourcing.

If writing a blog post 5 times a week or posting updates on a Facebook account multiple times a week for your firm is not your thing, you need to find a reliable resource who can take charge of these and similar tasks, because developing and implementing a powerful marketing strategy is critical to the success of your business.

Many attorneys waste far too much of their precious time, energy, and potential profits by trying to do everything for themselves as a way of "saving a little money" or not wanting to give up "control."

Remember, control is an illusion. Don't let your need for control or your need to be right every time get in the way of becoming a successful entrepreneur.

When it comes to taking on another project or heading up a new initiative, consider the real cost to your business in terms of lost time, wasted efforts, poor productivity, and decreased revenues. You are the most important person at your firm and your time is valuable.

It used to be said that 'time is money,' but that's not true in our modern society. Time is worth more than money because you can always make more money but you can never make more time.
 
Here are a few common examples of what many attorneys try to do single-handedly when they would be better off delegating or outsourcing:

• Creating, maintaining and writing for a monthly E-zine (e-newsletter) to send to current and prospective clients
• Setting up and writing for a weekly blog
• Setting up an maintaining Twitter and Facebook Accounts for your firm
• Writing and distributing press releases
• Creating and launching a direct mail campaign
• Developing their own law firm websites or learning how to build one from scratch
• Search Engine Optimization to increase traffic to your Internet Marketing efforts
• Designing a comprehensive law firm marketing plan or strategy
• Implementing systems and processes to better manage their client and prospect relationships
   

I'm not saying you should outsource your entire firm or use a law firm marketing company for everything, but unless you have a lot of extra time or specific experience in certain areas, you will not be able to represent yourself and your firm in the best possible light without the help of other experienced professionals. Remember, asking for help is a sign of strength and wisdom, not weakness and senility.

There are many ways that you can alleviate the pressure of developing and effectively using all of these exciting and effective marketing strategies on your own:
 

• Use existing staff in house who have talents and abilities in certain areas that you may not have been previously aware of and assign them specific tasks such as writing a blog 5 times a week or compiling a contact list with updated email addresses for past or prospective clients.
• Outsource just the initial set up of specific marketing tools or hire an outside firm to set up, write and maintain the entire initiatives from start to finish.
• Work with a law firm marketing professional to create a Marketing Action Plan (MAP) to focus your efforts and avoid common pitfalls.

If you need help creating a MAP for your law firm or want some help in jumpstarting your business development efforts give us a call at 480-659-9700 or contact me and let us help you get moving in the right direction. 

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Exclusive Rainmaker Retreat Preview Call – Learn Before You Go!

If you want to learn more about the Rainmaker Retreat and why it is a proven legal marketing system that has helped over 7,000 attorneys find more and better clients, then register now for our one-hour complimentary teleseminar.

Hosted by Rainmaker Institute CEO Stephen Fairley, this teleseminar will give you a preview of the valuable material that is taught at our 2-day Rainmaker Retreat.

Sign up now for one of these upcoming one-hour teleseminars:

Thursday, December 2, 2010
1-2pm Pacific | 2-3pm Mountain | 3-4pm Central | 4-5pm Eastern

Wednesday, December 8, 2010
11am-12pm Pacific | 12-1pm Mountain | 1-2pm Central | 2-3pm Eastern

Thursday, December 16, 2010
1-2pm Pacific | 2-3pm Mountain | 3-4pm Central | 4-5pm Eastern

Join us and learn why the Rainmaker Retreat is the one law firm marketing boot camp you cannot afford to miss!

 

Tweet

 

Enter your email to receive our complimentary monthly newsletter, the Rainmaker Report.

For Email Marketing you can trust

 

 

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Digital research firm eMarketer released a report last week about how blogging has become more fully integrated into marketing communications. 

According to PRNewswire and PRWeek statistics, about one-third of journalists reported they used corporate blogs as research sources in 2010, up from one-quarter a year ago.  Almost two-thirds of journalists use blogs to publish and promote what they write, so it is apparent that blogs have become a widely accepted and credible source among the fourth estate.

Here is a graphic showing the results of an April 2010 survey among journalists on the research tools they use when developing a story:

Journalists operate on tight deadlines, so the use of the Internet as an information-gathering tool for stories should not be a surprise to anyone.  However, this also reinforces the need for attorneys looking for press coverage to have a robust law firm Internet marketing plan in place to help accomplish this goal.

**************************************************

Exclusive Rainmaker Retreat Preview Call – Learn Before You Go!

If you want to learn more about the Rainmaker Retreat and why it is a proven legal marketing system that has helped over 7,000 attorneys find more and better clients, then register now for our one-hour complimentary teleseminar hosted by Rainmaker Institute CEO Stephen Fairley.

Sign up now for one of these upcoming one-hour teleseminars:

Tuesday, October 26, 2010


11am-12pm Pacific | 12-1pm Mountain | 1-2pm Central | 2-3pm Eastern

Thursday, November 4, 2010


1-2pm Pacific | 2-3pm Mountain | 3-4pm Central | 4-5pm Eastern

Join us and learn why the Rainmaker Retreat is the one law firm marketing boot camp you cannot afford to miss!

 

Tweet

 

Enter your email to receive our complimentary monthly newsletter, the Rainmaker Report.

For Email Marketing you can trust

 

 

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Marketing for lawyers on the Internet can be a very effective tool for generating highly qualified prospects, if you do it right.

Here's the first tip: Don't wait any longer to start marketing your law firm online.

Every week you wait, it just gets more competitive. Don't give other law firms sole access to all of the potential clients to be found online. Develop a client generating website for your law firm.

Here are some online law firm marketing secrets you can start using to attract more and better clients:

Create a website that targets your ideal clients. Don't make the common mistake of trying to be everything to everyone. People don't want to work with a generalist. They want to trust specialists. When it comes to marketing your law firm online, focus is critical to your success.

Give website visitors a reason to contact you. Every law firm's website has a place for a free consultation. How boring! That's simply not enough to attract someone's attention. Offer them a free special report or white paper or a tip sheet; something that educates them about a problem they have and then positions you as the best possible solution.

For lawyers who have multiple practice areas, develop a practice specific micro site for each one. Again, focus is key here. For example, a personal injury lawyer may have a practice specific website for: SUV rollovers, construction accidents, dog bites, and automobile accidents.

Write compelling content for your law firm website. Please remember, writing for the Internet is not the same as writing a legal brief. My recommendation is to hire a professional copywriter who has experience writing for law firms. Don't know any? Email me and I'll send you a list of recommended writers. The cost is well worth it.

Work with an SEO firm. Search engine optimization is the technical process of improving the volume and quality of traffic to your law firm's website. Once you have developed your website into exactly the format you want, you can begin using online legal marketing strategies to market it.  You can expect to invest several hundred to several thousand dollars per month on a top notch SEO firm.  Make sure they have experience in the highly competitive field of legal marketing.  Send me an email if you want a referral to who I think is the best one out there.

Submit educational articles to online directories. There are hundreds of places online where you can submit articles for prospective clients for free.

Transform your website into a client generating machine and watch your profits increase from the many different prospects you will reach by marketing your law firm on the Internet.

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BALIF Rainmaker Institute Event on October 14 in San Francisco

On Thursday, Oct. 14, Bay Area Lawyers for Individual Freedom (BALIF) will present a 1-day workshop designed for busy attorneys, partners, associates, and their staff who want to discover how to apply proven marketing strategies and top tips used by some of today’s biggest Rainmakers to create a 7-figure lifestyle law firm.

Rainmaker Institute CEO Stephen Fairley will be speaking on Proven Strategies for Today’s Rainmaker: Increasing Revenues and Referrals Using Networking, Internet Marketing and Social Media In the New Age.  This one-day seminar includes 1 hour of MCLE Ethics Credit for California attorneys.

This one-day seminar also includes 1 hour of MCLE Ethics Credit for California attorneys.

The October 14 seminar is open to all BALIF and Minority Bar Coalition members as well as interested non-members.

For more information and to register online, go to www.rainmakerretreat.com/balif/ or call 888-588-5891 to register by phone.


 

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Last week I pulled up the Yahoo! home page and one of their promotional boxes was urging me to click on a video of a dancing dog.  For some reason, it just caught my eye and so I clicked and – I have to admit – it was a pretty amazing performance.  (You can catch it here.)

Monday night I turned on Letterman and noted his guests were Bill Clinton and...the Dancing Merengue Dog, from that same video.  I just checked it again and it has over 5.5 million views on YouTube and a movement is afoot to get the dog a spot on Dancing With The Stars!

So how does a dancing dog fit into your law firm marketing plan?  Look at the video.  It was shot in a parking lot.  Production value is pretty poor, but that didn't matter -- the video has turned that dog into a worldwide sensation.

Whenever I talk to lawyers about adding video to their websites or blogs, the first thing I usually hear is, “I don’t want to spend money on a film crew and make it a big production.”  The lesson from the Dancing Merengue Dog is you don’t have to. All you need is a $200 video camera (they're all pretty high quality these days) and something interesting to say (to your potential clients, not other lawyers!).

Online video is a highly underused form of law firm Internet marketing that promises a big return. Whether you place your video on the homepage of your web site, or upload it to YouTube, the benefits are undeniable.

Video adds value to your law firm Internet marketing approach in three ways:

1. It engages the viewer immediately and convinces them to stay awhile and listen to your message;
2. It provides the viewer (aka potential client) with a chance to hear the authority in your voice, to see the sincerity in your face, and ultimately to get to know you, trust you and choose you;
3. It enables you to tell the client precisely what makes you the better choice in legal support over your competitors.

If you are looking for a way to connect with clients and prospects, make online video a part of your law firm Internet marketing strategy.

**********************************************************************

Are you looking for specific marketing strategies you can use in your law firm?

Then order the Rainmaker in a Box 5-DVD set!

Some of the information and strategies you will learn include:

• The 5 Immutable Secrets to Building a 7 Figure Law Practice
• Secrets of Building a Referral-based Law Practice for Busy Practitioners
• The Top 6 Most Powerful Online Marketing Strategies for Attorneys
• Action, Accountability and Next Steps

This program also includes a data DVD, which includes all 4 PowerPoint, slides for all 4 presentations.

To order this information-packed set click here.

 

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A very powerful law firm marketing strategy to generate more clients is to hold educational seminars or speak at events.  Here are some tips to help ensure that the time you commit to this endeavor pays off for you in terms of new clients and/or referrals.

Tip #1: Always Speak to Decision Makers
Make sure you get in front of the right group (people who either can refer you clients or who are highly likely to need, want and be able to afford your services) by asking about:

• What is the average attendance?
• What is your average attendee like? Their job title? Description? Age? Decision maker?
• What percentage of your usual attendees are decision makers?
• What kinds of topics have had the best turnout?
• Who has recently spoken to your group and what did they speak about?

Tip #2: Educate Your Audience
Make your talk educational. Don’t stand up there and spout legal jargon and legal theory or sections and codes because that’s not what people want. They want practical, useful information.

You may say, “Well, I don’t want to give away the store. I don’t want to give them so much information that they can do it themselves.” Please understand, if you could give them enough information where they could do it themselves, the people who actually would do it for themselves are not your clients.

You want to target the people who have the money to hire an attorney and don’t want to do it for themselves. You don’t want to hire tire kickers or “do it yourselfers” because all they’re going to do is try to get your lowest price. I actually follow the opposite principle. I purposefully try to overwhelm my audience with practical, useful information when I give a seminar on law firm marketing. Why? Because I want them to walk out of the room with so many great ideas that they don’t know where to start so they will turn to me and hire my company to implement the law firm marketing plan for them.

You must recognize that not everyone in the audience is in your target market and you need to qualify them as much as they qualify you. You need to ensure that they need you, they want you and they can afford you. If you don’t want to attract “Yellow Page Clients” then don’t charge Yellow Page prices.

Tip # 3: Get Attendees' Contact Information
Have a plan for obtaining the attendees’ contact information both before and after your presentation. You want to get it before so that you can get ready to follow-up with them, but also after your presentation just in case somebody shows up at the door. If you can’t get the contact information from the conference organizer, do a giveaway for a prize and have them pass their business cards to the front or have them email you their contact information to get a free copy of the handout or PowerPoint slides.

Tip # 4: The Fortune is in the Follow-up
The number one reason why lawyers don’t get results is because they don’t have a written follow-up system. You must develop a follow up strategy before the talk.

Let me give you an example. Let’s say your follow-up strategy is a series of emails, phone calls and maybe a letter or postcard. Your follow-up system would include 4 emails, 3 phone calls and 1 letter.

Email #1 would be sent within 24 hours post-seminar. It would be a thank you email with an offer for a free consultation, special report or audio CD.  Phone Call #1 would be made by your staff and would be made within 24 hours post-seminar. The call would be to thank them for attending and make the same free offer that’s made in the email. Your letter would be sent out the next day (they should receive it within 3 days if they are local.) and the letter would repeat what you have written in the email. All of this would happen in the first 24 hours after the seminar.

Some of you will question if that’s too aggressive. It’s not. It demonstrates a high level of professionalism and commitment to your attendees. We give dozens of law firm marketing seminars every year and this works.

Email #2 is sent 3 to 5 days after the event. Remind them about the seminar they attended and invite them to sign-up for a consultation for your newsletter. Email #3 might offer a brief tip about the topic you spoke about: top 10 tips or recommended resources, etc. Every person should be contacted by at least three phone calls before you stop trying to reach them. Every attendee should receive at least 5-7 emails and 1-2 letters from your law firm.

If you follow this script, you will attract both new clients and referrals from an audience that has been impressed by your knowledge, how you articulate it and the thoroughness of your follow-through.  You’ll be the attorney they want to do business with, I promise.

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Phoenix Attorneys:  Learn About Social Media at July 21 Legal Networking Group

Join us on Wednesday, July 21, when Stephen will address a meeting of the Phoenix Legal Networking Group on Unlocking the Secrets of Social Media for Lawyers: Facebook and Twitter. 
You will learn:

• Why Facebook is the 800 pound gorilla on the Internet
• Who is using Facebook (this will surprise you)
• What kind of practice areas are getting clients from Facebook
• How to get started fast
• Why Twitter is growing so fast
• How to leverage Twitter to drive traffic to your blog or website
• Top tips for using social media in your legal marketing strategy

The event will be held from 5-7 p.m. on Wednesday, July 21 at Monti’s, 100 S. Mill Ave. in Tempe.  Cost is only $20 per person.

To register for this seminar, co-hosted by FindLaw, Attorney at Law Magazine and The Rainmaker Institute, click here.

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If you believe the latest Internet statistics regarding online video viewership, you might think that most Americans are spending a very big portion of their day watching videos on their computers.

And you may be right.

According to comScore Video Metrix data, 178 million U.S. Internet users watched 30.3 Billion online videos in April. 

You read that right.  Over 30 Billion video views in one month.

For 178 million viewers, that averages out to 171 videos per viewer in April.  Or an average of almost six per day.

So are you using video on your website or in your blog?  If not, why not? 

Video is hot, hot, hot!  People are watching more videos online than ever before (see above).  It’s easy to get started with a Flip video camera, or by hiring a local high school or community college film student to shoot and edit your video. 

It’s more about content than quality these days when it comes to online video.  Use education-based marketing to draw prospects in and entice them to connect with you.

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Looking for more proven tactics from The Rainmaker Institute?

Then subscribe to our FREE monthly e-newsletter. One click of your mouse will take you to our site where you can see the current issue and subscribe to our complimentary monthly e-newsletter that will be delivered to your inbox.  Each issue is chock-full of legal marketing information you can put to use right away. I think you will find the information in every newsletter something you will want to share with your staff to maximize the effectiveness of your legal marketing plan.

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MARKETING MISTAKE 3:
USING PASSIVE MARKETING VERSUS ACTIVE MARKETING

One of the mistakes I talk about in my book, Practice Made Perfect for Lawyers, is using passive versus active marketing strategies in Law Firm Marketing.

Passive marketing is when you wait for your prospective clients to come to you—like placing an advertisement in the newspaper or waiting for a referral to walk in the door.

Active marketing is when you go out and find those prospective clients—like giving a presentation or formal networking.

PASSIVE MARKETING STRATEGIES may include: Sending out direct mail letters, postcards, or flyers announcing my company, new services, or law firm websites.  Researching area associations I can speak to.  Refining my Unique Competitive Advantage. (UCA).  Waiting for referrals to come in.  Writing or reworking the firm’s brochure.

ACTIVE MARKETING STRATEGIES may include: Making a follow-up call to everyone I sent the direct mail pieces to until I reach them and ask them to attend or sign up.   Calling a list of ten organizations a month and inquiring about speaking opportunities. Sharing my UCA with potential referral sources in a 1-1, face-to-face setting.   Conducting a phone survey of leading experts in my target markets industry and interviewing them on a specific topic. Handing the brochure out to hot prospects I meet at a networking event and following up with them via phone & email within 24 hours.

What's wrong with using Passive Marketing Strategies in your law firm marketing plan?

There is nothing wrong with using Passive Marketing Strategies. Passive Strategies are not necessarily better than Active Strategies; however, as a law firm marketing consultant here are two common problems I frequently encounter with the attorneys I coach and offer legal marketing services to:

1.  First, attorneys have a much greater tendency to use passive rather than active strategies. As I said, one is not better than the other. The key to success is using a powerful combination of both.

Take a look at your 12-month law firm marketing plans and ask yourself, does it contain a balance between the passive and active strategies or am I favoring one or the other?

2. Passive strategies tend to take a lot longer to produce results—which is fine if you have lots of time to make money and generate revenues, but if you're hurting for cash flow right now or want to quickly ramp up your revenues, you really need to use Active Marketing Strategies more frequently.

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Why every single law firm should have a blog...   Spend 60 minutes with us on August 5^th and learn how blogging will really make a difference in your practice.  Click here to learn How to attend this Session and Receive Your Digital Audio Clip...

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