TechnoLawyer

Originally published on January 4, 2011 in our free SmallLaw newsletter. Instead of reading SmallLaw here after the fact, sign up now to receive future issues in realtime.

Do you work in a large law firm? If so, you're reading the wrong version of this column. Read the BigLaw version instead.

This month a variety of "experts" will push your firm to put together a marketing plan for 2011. That's a great idea! Many of us who manage small firms will get to it right after we put the finishing touches on our 2010 marketing plan.

Oh yeah, that's right. We're really not going to write a 2011 marketing plan. We'll be lucky to find the time and energy to get to any marketing in 2011 between the clients, the upset paralegal, the unpaid receivables, the kids calling on the cell phone, and the need to hit the grocery store on the way home. A marketing plan isn't on the agenda no matter how much we know we should plan, budget, and calendar the necessary activities to continue to grow the quantity and quality of our clients. We just don't have the time, the energy, or the inclination.

Well, I have a solution for you so you won't have to feel guilty about skipping out on the planning. I've written your 2011 marketing plan for you. It's not the perfect marketing plan, but I guarantee that if you complete even half the tasks I've planned for you, you're going to see substantial new business flowing through your door. If that doesn't happen, email me a note in December and I'll fully refund what you paid for this SmallLaw newsletter.

You'll have to pick and choose the elements of the plan that work best for your firm. Obviously, you'll have to adapt the plan to your practice whether it's representing businesses or handling criminal cases. Tweak it to make it fit. If your firm has multiple practice areas, focus all of your marketing activities on your most promising (or favorite) practice area.

January
Send a letter to one-tenth of your existing clients. Thank them for allowing you to perform their work and ask whether they'd like to talk to you, at no charge, about any issue. Have them call and schedule a phone conference if they'd like to talk. Also, schedule lunch with two prospective referral sources.

February
Send the same letter to the next tenth of your clients and repeat every month until you finish in October. Also, schedule two more lunches and continue these lunches each month until November.

March
Continue with letters and lunches and write an article for any publication your target clientele likely reads. Limit yourself to 750 words (shorter than this article) and submit it.

April
More letters and lunches. Be sure to buy a reprint of the article from last month and place it on your Web site to note that you've been published. This month, join a club — any club will do. Lots of people like the Rotary. Just join a club. Also, write a quick note to everyone you've had lunch with since January and schedule coffee with them for next month.

May
Letters, lunches, and coffee with everyone you lunched with from January to March. Start asking your happiest clients and former clients to post reviews on your Google Places page (if permitted by your state's rules). Also, rack your brain for a connection to a local media outlet — TV, radio, or newspaper. You've got to know someone who knows someone. Just think it through for now.

June
Letters, lunches, and coffee with everyone from your April and May lunches. Call your media contact and introduce yourself. Sure, it's going to be weird if your connection is tenuous. Just do it — it's in the plan, right? Tell the contact that you're an expert in your area of the law and offer to make yourself available if he or she ever has questions.

July
Letters, lunches, and coffee. Also, write follow-up notes to everyone on your lunch list just to check in. Now you should be in a cycle with the lunch people. Do lunch, have coffee, and send a note every 90 days to everyone on the list. Also, go ahead and write another article for publication. Plus, you're still going to your club meetings, right? Offer to help with the club newsletter (it's good to get your name in print).

August
Letters, lunches, coffee, and follow-up notes. Keep the cycle going. Reprint your article on your Web site. Keep going to the club meetings. It's time again to ask for endorsements on your Google Places page. These endorsements need to become a regular practice so that you're asking new people to recommend your firm every three months.

September
Letters, lunches, coffee, follow-up notes, and club meetings. Call your media contact again. Offer information on recent developments and remind the person that you exist. Be friendly and helpful. Maybe the journalist would like some lunch or coffee? Send a follow-up note.

October
Letters, lunches, coffee, notes, and club meetings. You're busy, you're tired, and you're overrun with new clients. Seriously, if you've followed this plan, you're getting crushed. Keep it up. Don't slow down. If you need to regulate the volume of work, then raise your prices or hire some help. Don't stop. Stopping is the enemy. Go, go, go!

November
Take a break from client letters. You've made it through the list. Send holiday cards to everyone. Consider a holiday party for your lunch and coffee people. Don't stop with lunches, coffee, notes, and club meetings. Your club will have a holiday party. Offer to play the trumpet for people to dance to (I'm kidding, but you should go to the party next month).

December
Take a break from everything except the club holiday party, your bar association holiday party, and your firm holiday party. Rest and draft your marketing plan for 2012 (I won't be able to write your 2012 marketing plan).

By the end of 2011, you've sent all of your clients a letter reminding them that you exist and can help. You've met a bunch of new referral sources and had a chance to get to know them. You've met a ton of new people in your club. You've been recommended numerous times on Google. You've likely been published in several magazines, and you've probably been quoted in the local media. It's been a very good marketing year.

That's the plan. If you execute on this plan, you'll have a huge year. If you don't, you probably won't. Marketing can be systematic, entertaining, and productive. It doesn't have to be complicated. Try this plan. You'll be glad you did.

Written by Lee Rosen of Divorce Discourse.

How to Receive SmallLaw
Small firm, big dreams. Published first via email newsletter and later here on our blog, SmallLaw provides you with a mix of practical advice that you can use today, and insight about what it will take for small law firms like yours to thrive in the future. The SmallLaw newsletter is free so don't miss the next issue. Please subscribe now.

Originally published on January 4, 2011 in our free BigLaw newsletter. Instead of reading BigLaw here after the fact, sign up now to receive future issues in realtime.

Do you work in a small law firm? If so, you're reading the wrong version of this column. Read the SmallLaw version instead.

This month a variety of "experts" will push your firm or practice group to put together a marketing plan for 2011. That's a great idea! Those of you who manage large firms or practice groups within large firms or who serve as a Chief Marketing Officer will get to it right after you put the finishing touches on your 2010 marketing plan.

Oh yeah, that's right. You're really not going to write a 2011 marketing plan. Between your clients, the fires you'll need to put out, and all the other unforeseeable events that you know will occur, you'll be lucky to find the time and energy to perform your job let alone write a marketing plan. Even at the world's largest firms, a marketing plan often falls off the agenda no matter how much everyone knows they should plan, budget, and calendar the necessary activities to continue to grow the quantity and quality of clients.

Well, I have a solution for you so you won't have to feel guilty about skipping out on the planning. I've written your 2011 marketing plan for you. It's not the perfect marketing plan, but I guarantee that if you complete even half the tasks I've planned for you, you're going to see substantial new business flowing through your door. If that doesn't happen, email me a note in December and I'll fully refund what you paid for this BigLaw newsletter.

You'll need to pick and choose the elements of the plan that work best for your firm or practice group. And you'll have to adapt the plan to your practice areas. However, you'll find it surprisingly malleable and, therefore, applicable to just about any practice area from ERISA to intellectual property litigation.

January
Send a letter to one-tenth of your existing clients. Thank them for allowing you to perform their work and ask whether they'd like to talk to you, at no charge, about any issue. Have them call and schedule a phone conference if they'd like to talk. Also, schedule lunch with two prospective referral sources.

February
Send the same letter to the next tenth of your clients and repeat every month until you finish in October. Also, schedule two more lunches and continue these lunches each month until November.

March
Continue with letters and lunches and write an article for any publication your target clientele likely reads. Limit yourself to 750 words (shorter than this article) and submit it.

April
More letters and lunches. Be sure to buy a reprint of the article from last month and place it on your Web site to note that you've been published. This month, join a club — any club will do. Lots of people like the Rotary. Just join a club. Also, write a quick note to everyone you've had lunch with since January and schedule coffee with them for next month.

May
Letters, lunches, and coffee with everyone you lunched with from January to March. Start asking your happiest clients and former clients to post reviews on your Google Places page (if permitted by your state's rules). Also, rack your brain for a connection to a local media outlet — TV, radio, or newspaper. You've got to know someone who knows someone. Just think it through for now.

June
Letters, lunches, and coffee with everyone from your April and May lunches. Call your media contact and introduce yourself. Sure, it's going to be weird if your connection is tenuous. Just do it — it's in the plan, right? Tell the contact that you're an expert in your area of the law and offer to make yourself available if he or she ever has questions.

July
Letters, lunches, and coffee. Also, write follow-up notes to everyone on your lunch list just to check in. Now you should be in a cycle with the lunch people. Do lunch, have coffee, and send a note every 90 days to everyone on the list. Also, go ahead and write another article for publication. Plus, you're still going to your club meetings, right? Offer to help with the club newsletter (it's good to get your name in print).

August
Letters, lunches, coffee, and follow-up notes. Keep the cycle going. Reprint your article on your Web site. Keep going to the club meetings. It's time again to ask for endorsements on your Google Places page. These endorsements need to become a regular practice so that you're asking new people to recommend your firm every three months.

September
Letters, lunches, coffee, follow-up notes, and club meetings. Call your media contact again. Offer information on recent developments and remind the person that you exist. Be friendly and helpful. Maybe the journalist would like some lunch or coffee? Send a follow-up note.

October
Letters, lunches, coffee, notes, and club meetings. You're busy, you're tired, and you're overrun with new clients. Seriously, if you've followed this plan, you're getting crushed. Keep it up. Don't slow down. If you need to regulate the volume of work, then raise your prices or hire some help. Don't stop. Stopping is the enemy. Go, go, go!

November
Take a break from client letters. You've made it through the list. Send holiday cards to everyone. Consider a holiday party for your lunch and coffee people. Don't stop with lunches, coffee, notes, and club meetings. Your club will have a holiday party. Offer to play the trumpet for people to dance to (I'm kidding, but you should go to the party next month).

December
Take a break from everything except the club holiday party, your bar association holiday party, and your firm holiday party. Rest and draft your marketing plan for 2012 (I won't be able to write your 2012 marketing plan).

By the end of 2011, you've sent all of your clients a letter reminding them that you exist and can help. You've met a bunch of new referral sources and had a chance to get to know them. You've met a ton of new people in your club. You've been recommended numerous times on Google. You've likely been published in several magazines, and you've probably been quoted in the local media. It's been a very good marketing year.

That's the plan. If you execute on this plan, you'll have a huge year. If you don't, you probably won't. Marketing can be systematic, entertaining, and productive. It doesn't have to be complicated. Try this plan. You'll be glad you did.

Written by Lee Rosen of Divorce Discourse.

How to Receive BigLaw
Many large firms have good reputations for their work and bad reputations as places to work. Why? Answering this question requires digging up some dirt, but we do with the best of intentions. Published first via email newsletter and later here on our blog, BigLaw analyzes the business practices, marketing strategies, and technologies used by the country's biggest law firms in an effort to unearth best and worst practices. The BigLaw newsletter is free so don't miss the next issue. Please subscribe now.

Originally published on November 22, 2010 in our free SmallLaw newsletter.

I've been practicing law for 23 years, and I've been marketing since day one. It started with lunches with referral sources. I then started attending seminars and sending big batches of direct mail to referral sources. In 1995, I built a Web site. Some time later, we took up advertising in business publications, then newspapers, followed by radio and even some television. Lately, we've been blogging and tweeting.

It's all good. It all worked to a greater or lesser extent. I have no complaints, and we've built a thriving practice. But one activity stands out from the others, which I've returned to over and over in this column.

Lunch With Referral Sources

When I think back on the money we've spent on advertising, I have no regrets. But it was spent long ago. It's gone, and it did its thing way back when we spent the money. We got a favorable return on our investment. The ads either worked or they didn't. Clients called for a day or two after seeing the ad, and that was that.

Lunch, however, pays dividends. Lunches we scheduled two decades ago benefit our practice today.

You see, we're still getting referrals from people we met that far back. They still send their clients to us for help. In some cases, those lunches were a one-shot deal. One lunch, no follow up. We made enough of an impression that we continue to reap the rewards.

Actually, I don't imagine we made that much of an impression way back then. I'm guessing — thankfully — that no one else has bothered to call that person and ask for his or her referrals.

Even after all this time, I'm guessing we're the only name the person knows for our area of the law.

No other form of marketing that will have the long-lasting impact of getting to know someone in a position to refer business to you. These people are the backbone of a highly profitable practice. Regardless of your approach to marketing, you should always nurture referral sources. They're that important.

Many of us shy away from one-on-one referral source meetings. We'd rather pay someone to build a fancy Web site, film a sophisticated TV ad, or tweet for us. Talking about ourselves and building relationships is hard. Many of us went to law school thinking it was a good path for avoiding what we perceived as a life of selling.

Realistically, however, building a law practice is about sales. Sales are required to grow and thrive. We've got to be willing to get out there and meet people to drive new business to our doors.

Sales doesn't have to be a dirty word. It can be fun; it can be lunch. Lunch can lead to a friendship. The friendship can grow so that your spouse gets to know your referral source's spouse. Their children get to know yours. Sleepovers happen. Family picnics take place. You're at their kid's high school graduation party; they're at your kid's wedding. You vacation together. You commiserate about the empty nest. You study retirement communities together.

All the while, referrals keep showing up at your door, and you do what you can to send some back to your referral source's door as well. Your practice grows. You can afford the kids, the houses, the vacations, and the retirement. That's the lunch dividend at work.

It all starts with lunch.

Written by Lee Rosen of Divorce Discourse.

How to Receive SmallLaw
Small firm, big dreams. Published first via email newsletter and later here on our blog, SmallLaw provides you with a mix of practical advice that you can use today, and insight about what it will take for small law firms like yours to thrive in the future. The SmallLaw newsletter is free so don't miss the next issue. Please subscribe now.

Originally published on October 25, 2010 in our free SmallLaw newsletter.

I loved Michael Gerber's book, The E-Myth. The first half of the book tells the story of a small business owner named Sarah. Gerber goes on for page after page showing us the life that Sarah is living. He explains what works and what doesn't work in her business. We come to understand her stress, her ups, and, more importantly, her downs. I learned something from this book that I never expected to learn and that Gerber didn't intend to teach.

Work On Your Business Instead of in It — and Understand Your Client's Problems

As I read the book, I kept feeling like Gerber wasn't describing Sarah — he was describing me. It was as if he knew me. I felt he had been watching me in my business. I started to believe Gerber must have been a fly on the wall in my life. It was eerie. It was as if Gerber had looked inside my brain and my heart.

By the time I finished reading The E-Myth, I was sold. I thought Gerber understood me better than my wife. I was ready to buy anything Gerber was selling. I really wanted to meet the guy. I had found my business guru.

Only later did I realize something odd: Gerber had described my problems, but he hadn't really provided me with a solution. He gave me some vague ideas about heading in the right direction, but I didn't know what to do to solve the problems he had described so well. I was still lost except that I was certain that Gerber could help me. I knew he would know what to do.

I went to California to see him. I attended an E-Myth Seminar. I hired an E-Myth coach, and in fact I learned how to solve my problems with the help of the E-Myth approach. I have nothing but fond memories of my time with Gerber's people. I learned plenty from them. We built amazing systems, and I moved from working "in" my business to working "on" my business. But the most important lesson I learned from Gerber came long after the consulting ended.

Only later did I realize that Gerber is much more than a business "fixer." He is also a marketing genius. Although he never tried to sell me anything, I desperately wanted to buy whatever he was selling. I was sold because I knew Gerber understood me. I was convinced that if he understood my problems as well as it seemed, he certainly understood how to solve my problems.

That's the big lesson I learned — show me that you understand my problem, and I'll buy your solution. You don't need to show me the solution. You just need to make it clear that you understand me and my problems. Then you've sold many others and me.

How To Make Prospects Feel Like You Understand Them

How does Gerber's approach to selling apply to my practice and to yours?

If you want to sell your services effectively, you've got to be able to tell your clients their own story. You've got to be able to describe what's happening to them, how they're feeling, what they fear, and what they dream about. When you're able to create that "fly on the wall" feeling, you've got clients for life. They'll know that you understand their problem, and they'll be certain that you know the solution.

How can you be a fly on the wall? How can you create that experience for them?

It's easy. You've been gathering data for as long as you've been practicing law. Your clients have been telling you what's happening in their lives. They talk about their worries and concerns. They talk about what's bothering them and how upset they have become. Unfortunately, we tend to ignore this information — the "legally insignificant" stuff we don't put in our notes.

We've been discounting the most important material when we listen to our clients because it usually doesn't make much difference from a legal perspective. Much of what they've been telling us matters only from an emotional perspective.

It's time to shift gears. We've got to go back and think about what our clients tell us. All that extraneous information turns out to be the most valuable marketing information. It will enable you to retell the client's story and create that fly-on-the-wall feeling.

Master the story. Be able to tell it anytime, anyplace.

Then tell it. Tell it in on your Web site, in your initial consultations, in advertisements, during referral source lunches, and everywhere else you communicate your marketing message.

Let prospective clients know that you understand. Once they know that you know, they'll line up at your door. You'll be their legal guru. You'll be the lawyer with services they want to buy even if you never offer anything for sale.

[Editor's Note: Perhaps because of his experience helping Lee Rosen and other lawyers, Michael Gerber published a new book a few months ago entitled The E-Myth Attorney: Why Most Legal Practices Don't Work and What to Do About It.]

Written by Lee Rosen of Divorce Discourse.

How to Receive SmallLaw
Small firm, big dreams. Published first via email newsletter and later here on our blog, SmallLaw provides you with a mix of practical advice that you can use today, and insight about what it will take for small law firms like yours to thrive in the future. The SmallLaw newsletter is free so don't miss the next issue. Please subscribe now.

Originally published on September 20, 2010 in our free SmallLaw newsletter.

It's lunchtime again here at SmallLaw. My goal for today is to help you prevent an unsuccessful outcome when taking a prospective client or referral source to lunch. The topic is personal hygiene. Personal what? Before you assume that this column does not apply to you — stop! Recognize that you might be the last person to know that something about you is off — way off — especially if you have surrounded yourself with people who won't tell you the truth.

It's imperative that you know whether you're making a hygiene faux pas. We all form judgments. If something looks wrong, smells wrong, etc., it distracts us from absorbing further information. We simply stop. That's a natural reaction. Thus, when your referral source notices something amiss at lunch with you, he or she might be too polite to mention the problem, but you can be absolutely certain your source has stopped listening and isn't going to refer business to you.

It's easy to make a hygiene mistake. We can all remember someone making one of the mistakes I've outlined below. Not only do we remember the mistake, but it's what we most remember about that person. You can check some of these issues yourself, but some will require the assistance of a trusted advisor. You'll want to skip consulting anyone who has adjusted to you (your spouse) as well as those financially dependent on you (your assistant). Find someone you can rely on who will tell you the truth — maybe your sibling or your law partner (both are usually willing to say something mean to you).

The Top Eight Personal Hygiene Mistakes

1. Hair in all the wrong places. Don't have hair growing out of places it shouldn't. Trim your eyebrows, ear hair, and nose hair. Do it yourself or pay someone to take care of it for you (your hair stylist).


2. Stench. Don't stink. Use deodorant. Wear cologne or perfume if necessary. If you have an evening outing, go home and shower beforehand so you'll be fresh.


3. Bad breath. Brush your teeth, try breath mints, and see your dentist or doctor if the problem persists. No one wants to tell you about your breath, and no one will. There is no question that your smelly breath will cost you business. It's just the way the world works.


4. Smoking. Don't smoke. If you need to smoke, do it outside of the presence of referral sources. Avoid smoker's breath. Make sure your clothes don't reek of smoke. Smoking is at its lowest levels among highly educated, affluent people. It's not an appealing habit.


5. Bad hair every day. Get rid of the dated haircut. If you're sporting the comb-over, it's time to leave the 1970s behind. If you're sporting the same haircut you had in college, it's time for a refresh. Get a decent haircut. It's hard to miss a bad haircut, and people make judgments about you when you've got it wrong.


6. Smeared, gaudy makeup. Get your makeup right. If you're going to wear makeup — and there's no requirement that you must — get it right. Misapplication of makeup is worse than no makeup at all. I'm certainly no expert on makeup, but I'm told that it's fairly easy to receive instruction on proper application of these products in the cosmetics department of many stores.


7. Oily, greasy hair. Wash your hair daily. Don't waste that nice haircut by failing to shampoo away the dirt. Keep your hair clean and shiny. You might be cleaning your hair properly but using a product that doesn't work for you. Consult your haircare professional.


8. Creepy fingernails. Keep your fingernails trimmed and clean. Weekly trimming of your nails is essential. Don't let them get too long, and don't chew on them to manage their length.

These hygiene mistakes are not trivial issues. Prospective clients and referral sources understand them much better than the legal mumbo-jumbo you're spewing about. Get your personal appearance under control, and you're going to find it much easier to get the business you seek. Get them wrong — even one of them — and you're wasting your time at lunch.

Written by Lee Rosen of Divorce Discourse.

How to Receive SmallLaw
Small firm, big dreams. Published first via email newsletter and later here on our blog, SmallLaw provides you with a mix of practical advice that you can use today, and insight about what it will take for small law firms like yours to thrive in the future. The SmallLaw newsletter is free so don't miss the next issue. Please subscribe now.

Originally published on August 23, 2010 in our free SmallLaw newsletter.

The success of your practice depends on a core of solid, reliable referral sources. You count on these people to send you business in good times and in bad. They know you, like you, and trust you. You can't live without them. You've got to create and nurture these relationships, or you're dead. In this column, you'll learn how to do so and have fun at the same time — nine tips in all.

The Secret to Lawyer Referral Relationships

How do you feel about your next referral source meeting? Are you excited, or are you dreading it?

You won't develop referral source relationships if you don't enjoy the process. You're a lawyer, and one thing I've learned about lawyers is that they won't do anything they don't want to do.

You've got to have fun building referral source relationships, or you're going to put them on the back burner. That's a fact I've learned to accept. If you aren't having fun, you're going to find a way to skip out on this essential part of building your practice.

1. Like Them or Ditch Them

Don't get involved with referral sources you don't like. When you meet a contact for the first time, make a decision. If you don't like your contact, then scratch him or her from the list. Cut the meeting short and go back to work. Only keep people you like on the list. If you can't get jazzed about seeing a person again, leave him or her for someone else to cultivate.

2. Find an Activity in Common

As you get to know your contact, listen for activities you have in common. As soon as you find something you both enjoy, get off the coffee/lunch train and do the activity. Take your contact to a baseball game, play golf, bowl, or enjoy the ballet together. You already enjoy the activity — now you're sharing it with your new friend. As a bonus, most activities are better for your waistline than eating and drinking.

3. Bring Them Home For Dinner

Dinner at your house is more fun than a business lunch. You'll all relax, have some wine, and get to know your spouses, significant others, and possibly children. A home visit takes your relationship to the next level and gives you both insight into the other person's life. Of course, dinner at your house leads to dinner at your contact's house. The relationship becomes closer and closer.

4. Learn From Them

Figure out what your referral sources know — their expertise. Ask for help and advice. Get engaged in the subject matter of their expertise. Is he a motorcycle restoration expert? Do you have some interest? Ask to help so you can see how that vintage Harley works firsthand. Does she speak Spanish? Would you like some help learning conversational aspects of the language? Ask.

5. Help Them in Business

Don't miss a chance to help your contacts with their business. Refer business to them, but go further and do more. Offer your vendors if they might be of assistance. Look for products they might find useful. Keep their needs top of mind as you move through the day, and you'll find ways you can help. Helping others feels good.

6. Ask for Advice

Ask for advice and you'll receive some good ideas and, better yet, foster a positive feeling in your referral source. Everyone likes being asked for and giving advice. It makes us feel special, and we get that same good feeling you get from helping others.

7. Be a Friend

Life is filled with unexpected twists and turns. When your referral source encounters a problem, make yourself available to help. It might be covering childcare when a medical problem arises. It could be transportation for a child when a schedule conflict pops up or helping out at an event your contact is hosting. Be there when the need surfaces, and you'll cement the relationship.

8. Shop for Them

Keep your referral sources top of mind when you're out and about. Buy them a gift while you're visiting an exotic vacation destination. Pick up a pie for them while you're at the farmers' market. If you truly know your referral sources, you'll know when you've stumbled across the perfect gift. It feels better to give than to receive, right?

9. Friend Them

Be sure to friend or follow your referral sources on Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, and Plaxo. Talk to them about any other networks they're involved in and join them. Share your interests and life via the Internet. Post pictures on Facebook, post business developments on LinkedIn, and tweet to your heart's content on Twitter.

Conclusion

These nine actions can have unexpected results. The next thing you know, you're having fun with your referral sources. Your relationship becomes economically beneficial and enhances your life. Don't hold back with your referral sources. Go all the way and you'll build a practice that supports you financially and emotionally for years.

Written by Lee Rosen of Divorce Discourse.

How to Receive SmallLaw
Small firm, big dreams. Published first via email newsletter and later here on our blog, SmallLaw provides you with a mix of practical advice that you can use today, and insight about what it will take for small law firms like yours to thrive in the future. The SmallLaw newsletter is free so don't miss the next issue. Please subscribe now.

Originally published on July 19, 2010 in our free SmallLaw newsletter.

Fear is incredibly powerful. It makes us do things we wouldn't otherwise do. More importantly, it stops us from doing things we'd like to do. Fear stinks. It's fear that slows us down when it comes to marketing. I've seen it stop otherwise amazing lawyers in their tracks. Let's explore a recent example.

A lawyer — let's call her Ellen — recently phoned me seeking advice about building referrals from other attorneys, professionals, clergy, and physicians. Ellen has generated business from her former clients, Web site, and involvement in a local professional women's group. She wants to grow her practice, but she doesn't have the resources or the desire to spend big money on advertising.

We generated a plan together. The plan is simple. Ellen's going to find 20 referral sources — 10 attorneys and 10 other professionals. She's going to call them one at a time and arrange lunch or coffee. We developed a script for the conversation and a follow-up plan. We even worked through a system for selecting the first 20 prospects and a process for culling them over time so she kept the best and eliminated the least productive contacts. Ellen agreed to go to work on the plan immediately. In fact, she committed to make the first call immediately after we hung up the phone.

What happened? You guessed it. Nothing.

Did she call me and say, "I'm scared, I can't do it?" Of course not. She called with questions: "Should I really have 20?" "Can I add more lawyers and fewer others?" "What do I say if they don't want to have lunch?" and on and on. She had questions to ask, but more significantly, she had fears to address. She was stalling and delaying. It's easy to avoid action when we're afraid.

What was she afraid of? Someone saying no to her lunch invitation? Someone refusing to take her call? Someone saying he or she didn't have time to talk? Yes, all of those possibilities and more.

Irrational Fear

You've seen phobias in your clients. Fear is amazing. It seems perfectly reasonable when you're experiencing it. It's easy to rationalize it so that it seems appropriate.

I'm great at rationalizing my fears — snakes, for example. They're dangerous. People die from snakebites. Many of them are poisonous, and therefore, it's better to avoid all snakes. In fact, if you see one while you're out on a hike, it's best to turn around and go the other way. Actually, it's better to skip the hike and go to the movies instead. Snakes could ruin my life if I let them.

From a distance, you can see that Ellen's fear is unreasonable. You know that she's going to be fine and that most people are gladly going to have lunch with her. More importantly, you can see that when someone rejects her invitation, she won't suffer any consequences other than losing five minutes on the phone. Her fear is irrational, and it's interfering with her pursuit of her goals.

Unfortunately, her fear is real to her, and it's stopping her dead in her tracks.

May It Please the Court

You've overcome fear in the past. Each of us has addressed fear in one context or another. It might have been public speaking or test taking. Lots of us have addressed fear of the courtroom. Because of our fear, most of us were very nervous when we first appeared in court. It took me a very long time to overcome my anxiety and reach a point where I could process what was happening in the courtroom and deviate from my carefully made plans about what I was going to say and do. Over time, I conditioned myself to a higher comfort level in court. It was a slow, painful, and deliberate adjustment process.

I mention the court experience because, for many of us, it offers many similarities to the marketing experience. It's something new. It's something we need to do. It's something we can easily imagine ourselves doing. Yet it's something that, at least for a time, caused us a great deal of stress, and sometimes the stress caused us to make concessions and compromises so that we could avoid the courtroom.

For some reason, those of us who overcame our courtroom fear decided that we had to master that situation if we were to succeed. I suppose our desire to succeed was more powerful than our fear. We did what we had to do.

That's where Ellen is with her marketing. She's deciding whether her need to succeed is more powerful than her fear. She's struggling because marketing, unlike a court appearance, isn't quite so black and white. We don't have a deadline or a client. We lack the clarity we have in the litigation process. She doesn't have that moment where the judge says "motion denied" because she failed in court. She has to deal with court, or she suffers immediate consequences.

The consequences from failing to market are far less obvious. If Ellen gives in to her fear, she earns less money each year. She'll have fewer vacations and fewer dinners out, and her retirement plan will suffer.

How to Overcome Your Fear of Marketing

So what can you do about your fear of marketing? You've addressed fear before and overcome it, so you can do it again. Marketing anxiety (some experts call it "sales call reluctance") is challenging. It's easy to spend a 40-year legal career without addressing this fear. Unfortunately, this fear has consequences as it can cost you hundreds of thousands of dollars in referrals.

To overcome your fear you must recognize it. Knowledge, especially self-knowledge, is power. Your reasons for failing to act aren't based in reality. Only with this realization can you start shifting your attitudes and taking steps to overcome your fear. Increasing your awareness of your attitudes will enable you to challenge yourself and take the steps you need to take to grow your practice. You've done it before. You can do it again.

Written by Lee Rosen of Divorce Discourse.

How to Receive SmallLaw
Small firm, big dreams. Published first via email newsletter and later here on our blog, SmallLaw provides you with a mix of practical advice that you can use today, and insight about what it will take for small law firms like yours to thrive in the future. The SmallLaw newsletter is free so don't miss the next issue. Please subscribe now.

Originally published on June 21, 2010 in our free SmallLaw newsletter.

Marketing is about more than taking referral sources to lunch, updating your Facebook page, and conducting seminars. It's about asking yourself some important questions and taking action based on the answers. Let me first tell you about the 10 questions. Then I'll tell you a quick story about some lawyers who answered those questions and turned their practices, and their industry, upside down.

This column is not just for reading, it's for taking action. Together we're going to ask and answer some questions that will send you and your practice in a new direction. We're going to unearth some issues you haven't thought about before that can boost your bottom line.

Don't just skim this article and put it away. Stop what you're doing at some point today. Carve out a quiet hour to sit with pen and paper, and write down your well-considered answers to these questions. We'll talk about what to do with the answers after you've worked through the questions.

Answer These Ten Questions

1. What do I love to do at the office that's so enjoyable that it's more fun than work?


2. What am I better at doing than all the other attorneys in my area?


3. What other products/services can I offer my existing clients?


4. What could I do to get over my fear of marketing and promoting myself?


5. How can I make sure people don't forget me?


6. What's marketing vehicle currently works best for me?


7. Who has the money?


8. How can I make life easier for my clients?


9. Am I worth talking about?


10. How can I give people more than I promise?

Bonus Questions

1. How can I say "thank you" to my clients in a way that matters to them?


2. Whom can I partner with on a marketing project?


3. What are my clients' biggest fears?

Learning From Your Answers (And Dentists)

Now that you've got your answers let's see what you can learn from them. Your answers will certainly lead you to insights that drive you in one direction or another.

Most of us are stuck doing the same old things in the same old way. We practice law like everyone else, we bill like everyone else, we talk about our services like everyone else, and we interact with our clients like everyone else. You're not like everyone else. In fact, no one is like everyone else. We all bring something unique and special to the mix.

The problem is that we don't act on our uniqueness. We don't take advantage of our special talents, skills, abilities and interests.

In answering these questions, you've certainly discovered some of your own strengths. You've thought of some things that energize you like nothing else. You've found some things you do better than the rest and you've identified some elements of your personality that make you different.

You've started to think about the market in a new way and to identify the unmet needs of prospective clients that you hadn't previously considered. You've started thinking of ways you can get paid for delivering value to clients that others aren't delivering.

Most importantly, you've started to find the parts of your practice and your market that you love and the client needs that you can serve with renewed energy and passion. I suspect you've found some great matches between what you can offer and what clients need.

Now it's time to tell the world what you've got. It's time to bring a new mix of products and services to the marketplace and deliver on your potential. You won't have trouble spreading the word when you offer something unique that matches up perfectly with the needs of clients. You won't be reluctant to spread the word when you're doing something you love to do that your clients want to purchase.

When I was a kid, a dentist was a dentist. I went to the same dentist as my parents. He cleaned our teeth and filled our cavities. I wonder if the dentists all got together one day and answered these 10 questions? It's hard to imagine, but maybe it happened. Do you think that's where they got the ideas for pediatric dentists? Maybe that's how pain-free dentistry originated. I wonder if they dreamed up the "smile doctor" during that meeting? Cosmetic dentistry? Teeth whitening? Discount dentistry? Sedation dentistry? Invisible teeth alignment? Special needs dentistry? The list goes on and on.

Incidentally, I found plenty of research that debunks the myth about dentists having the highest suicide rate. Bunk. Many dentists do what they love and do it for patients who feel like they need the service being offered. They've come up with some pretty good answers to the 10 questions and turned them into action.

Do for yourself what the dentists have done. Spend some time with your answers. Do some thinking. The real work in marketing lies in matching up your excellent skills with clients seeking what you offer. Your answers to these questions will lead you in a whole new direction. Find something in your answers that transforms your practice into something extraordinary.

Written by Lee Rosen of Divorce Discourse.

How to Receive SmallLaw
Small firm, big dreams. Published first via email newsletter and later here on our blog, SmallLaw provides you with a mix of practical advice that you can use today, and insight about what it will take for small law firms like yours to thrive in the future. The SmallLaw newsletter is free so don't miss the next issue. Please subscribe now.

Originally published on June 7, 2010 in our free SmallLaw newsletter.

It's time to incorporate video into every aspect of your practice. It's a great tool for marketing, communicating, documenting, and training. You can leverage an inexpensive camera like no other single tool in your arsenal. You can buy a camera, microphone, tripod, and lights for less than $500. You'll recoup your costs in a few hours. We use a $150 Kodak Zi8. We've added a lapel microphone from Radio Shack, a tripod from BestBuy, and some bright halogen lights from Home Depot. The high definition picture looks stunning. Below you'll find 12 ways you can put video to work. You'll come up with more once you get started — plus check out fellow SmallLaw columnist Gerry Oginski's law firm video reviews.

1. Put Video on Your Web Site

Let prospective clients get to know you. If a picture is worth a thousand words, a video must be worth a million. Video gives people a real feel for who you are and what you're like. If you've got video and your competition doesn't, you're going to win every time. Provide tutorials on the law throughout your site. Help people understand the issues. Use video rather than a headshot on your bio page, and tell your personal story. If you already have written content on the site, you can recycle it as video.

2. Create a YouTube Channel

YouTube is the second largest search engine, and generates two billion video views per day. YouTube video shows up in the traditional search engines too. Create a channel and post your videos explaining the law and providing practical advice. It works — I had a guy chase me down at a local mall to ask if I was "that lawyer from YouTube." He thanked me for my advice.

3. Send Video Messages via Email

Create video "newsletters" and client updates. Explain the latest developments in your area of the law. Send special messages for special events. Send a video holiday card, adding humor if you've got it in you. How about a video birthday greeting for your most important client?

4. Record Your Next Presentation

We all give speeches from time to time. Have someone record your next lecture and post it on your Web site and your YouTube Channel. You're putting time into preparing for your talk so you may as well maximize the return on that investment. Odds are that you'll have far more viewers on YouTube than you had at the live presentation.

5. Prepare a Guided Tour of Your Office

If you have a nice office show it off. Give prospects a behind-the-scenes tour. Introduce everyone and show their offices. Zoom in on the knick knacks and have your staff tell stories behind the items they have on their desks. Clients love knowing what the office looks like before they visit. It reduces anxiety and builds the client's connection with your firm.

6. Record Your Client's Opinions About Your Work

Create a three-to-five minute video of a happy client explaining the outcome of their case. Let your client tell the story and explain how you were able to help. Post the video on your Web site, YouTube channel, and elsewhere. You can automate the upload of the video to sites other than YouTube with a free service from Tube Mogul. (Just be sure to check the rules on testimonials in your state.)

7. Create a Facebook Page for Your Practice

You can upload your videos to Facebook and receive tremendous exposure. Facebook has half a billion users. It can't hurt for your smiling face to show up on a site with that much traffic.

8. Practice Your Speaking

Use your video rig to practice opening statements and closing arguments. Then sit down and watch the video. Other uses — prepare for your upcoming Rotary club speech or CLE presentation. There's no hiding from the camera. You'll learn more about your public speaking shortcomings from video than from any other source. Even your spouse probably won't be nearly as cruel as your camera.

9. Prepare Your Clients

Sit them down in front of the camera to prepare for depositions, trial testimony or other presentations. Telling clients what they're doing wrong isn't nearly as powerful as showing them. In some jurisdictions you can use your own video camera to record a deposition and play parts of it back at trial.

10. Use Video With Skype

Client meetings over Skype with the camera turned on result in much better communication than audio-only. You can see facial expressions and understand where the other party is coming from. Your video camera or Webcam can easily integrate with Skype for free videoconferencing.

11. Shoot Video for Illustrations and Archives

A camera will come in handy as you meet with clients. When clients show you something, film them. This way you'll have a visual record you can use to explain records or property to others. This footage might even prove useful should you go to trial and need an exhibit.

12. Create Training Videos

Record your office procedures. Some tasks are easier to show than to tell. For example, as the Food Network has proven, a video on making coffee is much more effective than written instructions. The same is true for running a complicated copy job. Create a training video when it makes sense.

Video is powerful — magical even. You've got to use it in your law firm. With a little effort, a little gear, and some creativity, you can put it to work for you in dozens of ways. One final tip — take a vacation after making all these videos, and bring your video camera. We all love sitting down in your living room with some popcorn to watch your vacation videos.

Written by Lee Rosen of Divorce Discourse.

How to Receive SmallLaw
Small firm, big dreams. Published first via email newsletter and later here on our blog, SmallLaw provides you with a mix of practical advice that you can use today, and insight about what it will take for small law firms like yours to thrive in the future. The SmallLaw newsletter is free so don't miss the next issue. Please subscribe now.

Originally published on May 10, 2010 in our free SmallLaw newsletter.

Along with the warmer weather and blooming flowers comes conference season. Conferences occur in every industry and every part of the country. It's time to pack your bag, jump in the car, get on a plane, and get out and meet some people. Conferences can generate significant new business — often in ways you cannot predict. Woody Allen explained it best when he said "Ninety percent of life is just showing up." Today's column explains how to maximize the other 10% to ensure success.

Select Conferences

Picking the right conference is important, but not nearly as important as going in the first place. It's easy to get caught up in the decision-making process and fail to take action. At this point, it's less important to deliberate than it is to act.

Register for something and go. Consider an industry conference related to your practice area. Maybe you handle construction litigation and the National Builder's Association is the right place for you. Maybe you have a radio station client so you'll go the National Association of Broadcasters convention.

Maybe there isn't an industry conference for your practice area. Maybe you practice white collar criminal law and the closest thing to an industry conference is the annual banking convention. If that's the case then consider attending a conference involving other lawyers in your practice area. For example, if you haven't attended the Real Property Section meetings of the American Bar Association, it might serve you well.

As you consider your options, think outside of the box. Consider a leadership conference, management conference, social media conference, or something totally random like the Le Leche League International meeting (I did that — twice!). You're more likely to develop ideas and business opportunities outside the office than sitting behind your desk.

Conduct Reconnaissance and Rehearse

Picking a conference is step one. Step two is gathering the conference attendee list along with the vendor and speaker list. You can always get the vendor and speaker list. The attendee list isn't always available. Study the lists and determine whom you'd like to meet while you're there. Speakers are usually the movers and shakers in the group. Vendors are always willing to talk. Scour the attendees list looking for people who might prove valuable to your firm.

As your list comes together, go ahead and arrange some meetings now, before the conference. Call or email your list and arrange to have a meal, coffee, etc. Don't book yourself solid. You'll want to save some time for talking with folks you meet along the way.

Before you pack your bags for the trip you should practice. Make sure you have your elevator pitch down. Make sure you have good conversation-starter questions ready. Carry plenty of business cards, along with a system for taking notes about conversations you have. Search for online photos of the people with whom you have meetings. Think through the legal questions you're likely to be asked and have your answers organized in advance. Rehearse some of your best stories and be prepared to tell them when the opportunity arises.

Work the Conference

Next up is the conference itself. Stay at the main conference hotel. That's important because you need easy access to the attendees. You want to share the same elevators, restaurants, and gyms with the conference participants. Crossing paths with new people is an important part of your effort. You can usually get a discounted rate at the conference hotel.

As the conference gets going, it's time for you to get going. Get up early and stay up late — there's time for sleep when you get home (take an afternoon nap during sessions if you get tired). Your goal is to meet people between your prearranged meetings. Talk, talk, talk. Don't get trapped in conference sessions where you're required to sit quietly and take notes. Get out in the hall and chat with folks. Meet people, figure out how you might work together, and take notes. You don't need to close the deal at the conference. You'll follow-up later.

How will you work together? Many possibilities exist. Some folks will become clients, some will become marketing partners, some will become referral sources. You'll meet the association magazine editor who'll invite you to write an article, the meeting planner who will ask you to speak next year, the vendor who needs help tweaking his contracts, and the reporter who needs an expert to comment on an industry issue.

After the sessions wrap up for the day you should head for the bar. Hang out and get to know people. Gather a group and move out for dinner. Talk about dinner as you maneuver through the day and invite anyone who doesn't have a plan. You may want to book a big table for each night before you leave home. If your budget permits, go ahead and buy dinner for the table.

Follow Up After the Conference

Do all of that and you'll succeed unless you make one huge mistake — fail to follow up once you return home. You must plug the names, email addresses, and numbers into your whatever system you use immediately. Then communicate with each person to make your plan for new business come to fruition. Call all those people who invited you to participate in some way and make it happen. Call prospective clients and move toward an engagement. Contact the referral sources and move the relationship forward. Follow up is critical. Otherwise, you may as well just stay home.

Written by Lee Rosen of Divorce Discourse.

How to Receive SmallLaw
Small firm, big dreams. Published first via email newsletter and later here on our blog, SmallLaw provides you with a mix of practical advice that you can use today, and insight about what it will take for small law firms like yours to thrive in the future. The SmallLaw newsletter is free so don't miss the next issue. Please subscribe now.