Benjamin Glass Posted: Marketing Your Law Practi...
by admin on July 16th, 2009
filed under Business
Benjamin Glass posted:
Marketing your law practice is one of the most frustrating aspects of running a small law firm. No one ever taught you how to market in law school and the typical lawyer marketing article in your state bar journal tells you all the things you can’t do.
Here are eleven major mistakes that personal injury lawyers make with their advertising.
1. Failing to make a decision as to what the perfect business and perfect customer look like. You can’t develop a marketing plan (or purchase advertising media such as Yellow Page ads, TV commercials or websites) without understanding where you are going. What does your perfect client look like? What do you want your law practice to look like? The correct answer to the question “why do you want to spend any money on marketing?” should not necessarily be, “more cases.” Not drawing at least a mental picture of what it is you are after with your practice is like getting on an airplane and saying “take me anywhere.”
2. Failing to accept that marketing and practice building is the most important thing you can do in your law firm – look around. Is it only the best lawyers, real estate agents, doctors in your town who get the best business? Just being a good trial lawyer, (even the best) doesn’t cut it anymore. Isn’t it frustrating to see a lawyer whose has never tried a case get better clients than you do and then brag about it later? By understanding how to market effectively you put yourself into a position to see more cases from which you can choose the ones that match your “perfect customer” profile.
3. Thinking That Copying What Other Lawyers Are Doing With Their Marketing Will Get You A Better Result. Earl Nightingale, one of the world’s foremost experts on what makes people successful, had some good advice for lawyers and other business owners who want to market their practices. He said, (and yes, I am paraphrasing) that if you wanted to learn a new skill in business, and you had no mentor or guide you could trust, that the best thing you could do was figure out what everyone else was doing and then do the opposite. What the majority does is, at best, average. So it is with marketing.
4. Ignoring the Gold In Your Files Right Now. It costs at least ten times a much to obtain new customers as to keep in contact with old clients and indeed, everyone who contacts you. Your files are filled with names of folks who know you. Those folks generally have at least 50 other friends in their “circle of influence.” (Read How to Close Every Sale, by Joe Girard.) Personal injury lawyers are happy to spend thousands on Yellow Page and TV marketing while ignoring completely those who they already have some relationship with.
5. Failing to capture the name of every new person who indicates that he/she is interested in what you have to say. Lawyers spend thousands on generating new leads (potential client inquiries) yet never market back to the cases they don’t accept. In most offices that’s MOST of the new inquiries. Yet this is a goldmine of people that you can directly market to in the future. You can’t rely on the fact that if they or someone they know needs your services or products that they will remember you tomorrow because they called you once in the past.
6. Failing to get ahead of the marketing curve. How many lawyers spend any time trying to start a relationship with a potential client BEFORE that person has a problem? Most personal injury lawyers view marketing as reactionary. That is, the relationship starts once a person is injured and they start trying to find a lawyer. How about if you offered a good reason for people to call you BEFORE they get hurt (good quality information on how to buy car insurance comes to immediate mind), BEFORE they need you. Once they tell you who they are they are inviting a conversation and giving you their permission to market to them directly and as frequently as you can afford to. If you can develop a “herd” of people that listen to you before they have need you, they won’t be looking in the Yellow Pages after they have an accident or need your product.
7. Being an advertising “victim”-most business owners think about their advertising and marketing plan the 30 minutes or so before the Yellow Page rep comes walking through the door. They don’t do any independent research or study. They follow the crowd because “it must be working or else everyone else wouldn’t be doing it.” If it doesn’t work they then take the Yellow Page rep’s advice to “buy more, and use color.” A real sign that you are an “advertising victim” is that you allow the Yellow Page rep to design your ad. This is usually a huge mistake. Think about it–the goal of the Yellow Page rep is not to make your ad beat all the other ads in the book.
8. Failure to accurately measure resultsdo this test. Ask anyone who spends a lot money on advertising exactly how much revenue is returned (ROI-return on investment) they get from a particular TV spot. Better yet, ask the folks running double truck (huge, 2 page) ads inside the Yellow Pages how much revenue those pages generate vs. the outside back cover they are also buying. They won’t be able to answer that question. Would you buy mutual fund without demanding a specific accounting of actual results? 9. Failure to develop a terrific referral system–we all know that the best clients with the best cases come from referrals and are pre-sold on you. Strange as it may seem, clients don’t always know how to refer. The lawyers who really understand marketing have figured out ways to have current friends and customers refer new consumers to them BEFORE they need an attorney. Developing good consumer information products and backing it up with an interesting firm newsletter that it consistently mailed is a terrific way to greatly expand your referral base without using high priced TV marketing.
10. Failure to Diversify Your Marketing-”one” is a very dangerous number. Don’t forget to see what other industries are doing. There are lots of media out there, for example, media not traditionally used by lawyers. While most lawyers think in terms of Yellow Pages, TV and websites, sophisticated lawyer marketers understand and also use low cost coupon media, postcards and free standing inserts. The key is to choose media that is relatively easy to test and then to measure results.
11. Trying to Win the Advertising Game by “Shouting Louder”Most injury lawyers try to differentiate themselves in print and TV media by simply spending more money to “shout louder.” This is accomplished by buying more color, more space, or more TV as spots. The two fold problem of this approach is that (1) it’s an expensive way to run a business and (2) there will always be someone who can spend more than you can.
Personal injury lawyers need to learn to “make a different kind of noise” with their marketing.
Posted by Milton Henyon
Marketing your law practice is one of the most frustrating aspects of running a small law firm. No one ever taught you how to market in law school and the typical lawyer marketing article in your state bar journal tells you all the things you can’t do.
Here are eleven major mistakes that personal injury lawyers make with their advertising.
1. Failing to make a decision as to what the perfect business and perfect customer look like. You can’t develop a marketing plan (or purchase advertising media such as Yellow Page ads, TV commercials or websites) without understanding where you are going. What does your perfect client look like? What do you want your law practice to look like? The correct answer to the question “why do you want to spend any money on marketing?” should not necessarily be, “more cases.” Not drawing at least a mental picture of what it is you are after with your practice is like getting on an airplane and saying “take me anywhere.”
2. Failing to accept that marketing and practice building is the most important thing you can do in your law firm – look around. Is it only the best lawyers, real estate agents, doctors in your town who get the best business? Just being a good trial lawyer, (even the best) doesn’t cut it anymore. Isn’t it frustrating to see a lawyer whose has never tried a case get better clients than you do and then brag about it later? By understanding how to market effectively you put yourself into a position to see more cases from which you can choose the ones that match your “perfect customer” profile.
3. Thinking That Copying What Other Lawyers Are Doing With Their Marketing Will Get You A Better Result. Earl Nightingale, one of the world’s foremost experts on what makes people successful, had some good advice for lawyers and other business owners who want to market their practices. He said, (and yes, I am paraphrasing) that if you wanted to learn a new skill in business, and you had no mentor or guide you could trust, that the best thing you could do was figure out what everyone else was doing and then do the opposite. What the majority does is, at best, average. So it is with marketing.
4. Ignoring the Gold In Your Files Right Now. It costs at least ten times a much to obtain new customers as to keep in contact with old clients and indeed, everyone who contacts you. Your files are filled with names of folks who know you. Those folks generally have at least 50 other friends in their “circle of influence.” (Read How to Close Every Sale, by Joe Girard.) Personal injury lawyers are happy to spend thousands on Yellow Page and TV marketing while ignoring completely those who they already have some relationship with.
5. Failing to capture the name of every new person who indicates that he/she is interested in what you have to say. Lawyers spend thousands on generating new leads (potential client inquiries) yet never market back to the cases they don’t accept. In most offices that’s MOST of the new inquiries. Yet this is a goldmine of people that you can directly market to in the future. You can’t rely on the fact that if they or someone they know needs your services or products that they will remember you tomorrow because they called you once in the past.
6. Failing to get ahead of the marketing curve. How many lawyers spend any time trying to start a relationship with a potential client BEFORE that person has a problem? Most personal injury lawyers view marketing as reactionary. That is, the relationship starts once a person is injured and they start trying to find a lawyer. How about if you offered a good reason for people to call you BEFORE they get hurt (good quality information on how to buy car insurance comes to immediate mind), BEFORE they need you. Once they tell you who they are they are inviting a conversation and giving you their permission to market to them directly and as frequently as you can afford to. If you can develop a “herd” of people that listen to you before they have need you, they won’t be looking in the Yellow Pages after they have an accident or need your product.
7. Being an advertising “victim”-most business owners think about their advertising and marketing plan the 30 minutes or so before the Yellow Page rep comes walking through the door. They don’t do any independent research or study. They follow the crowd because “it must be working or else everyone else wouldn’t be doing it.” If it doesn’t work they then take the Yellow Page rep’s advice to “buy more, and use color.” A real sign that you are an “advertising victim” is that you allow the Yellow Page rep to design your ad. This is usually a huge mistake. Think about it–the goal of the Yellow Page rep is not to make your ad beat all the other ads in the book.
8. Failure to accurately measure resultsdo this test. Ask anyone who spends a lot money on advertising exactly how much revenue is returned (ROI-return on investment) they get from a particular TV spot. Better yet, ask the folks running double truck (huge, 2 page) ads inside the Yellow Pages how much revenue those pages generate vs. the outside back cover they are also buying. They won’t be able to answer that question. Would you buy mutual fund without demanding a specific accounting of actual results? 9. Failure to develop a terrific referral system–we all know that the best clients with the best cases come from referrals and are pre-sold on you. Strange as it may seem, clients don’t always know how to refer. The lawyers who really understand marketing have figured out ways to have current friends and customers refer new consumers to them BEFORE they need an attorney. Developing good consumer information products and backing it up with an interesting firm newsletter that it consistently mailed is a terrific way to greatly expand your referral base without using high priced TV marketing.
10. Failure to Diversify Your Marketing-”one” is a very dangerous number. Don’t forget to see what other industries are doing. There are lots of media out there, for example, media not traditionally used by lawyers. While most lawyers think in terms of Yellow Pages, TV and websites, sophisticated lawyer marketers understand and also use low cost coupon media, postcards and free standing inserts. The key is to choose media that is relatively easy to test and then to measure results.
11. Trying to Win the Advertising Game by “Shouting Louder”Most injury lawyers try to differentiate themselves in print and TV media by simply spending more money to “shout louder.” This is accomplished by buying more color, more space, or more TV as spots. The two fold problem of this approach is that (1) it’s an expensive way to run a business and (2) there will always be someone who can spend more than you can.
Personal injury lawyers need to learn to “make a different kind of noise” with their marketing.
Posted by Milton Henyon
Benjamin Glass Posted: Rketing Lessons From Bott...
by admin on July 9th, 2009
filed under Business
Benjamin Glass posted:
rketing lessons from bottled water.
Have you seen that show on TV where there are hidden cameras inside a fancy restaurant hotel? They get a guy to pretend he is a “water steward” and he’s out on the floor offering the expensive bottled water. They all have labels from different mountains and springs; and they’re selling these 8, 9, $10 bottles of water and they are selling the story and getting feedback from the patrons. And of course the camera goes to the back of the room and there’s a guy with a water hose and he’s filling all the bottles with city water right out of the tap. Every bottle has the same thing in it.
The teaching point is that if hundreds of companies can figure out how to differentiate bottled water and sell it at premium prices then you can figure out of to make your personal injury practice stand out as well. It’s all about the character, the personality, the drama. Its the wrapper or the story of the journey from the springs in some far away mountain to your refrigerator.
What’s your story? What’s your reason for being in the market place. Please don’t make it “free consultations” or “we care.” Those aren’t unique stories.
There are many ways of choosing to market yourself in any media, the only challenge is finding a way that is different from everyone else’s. Check out the yellow pages in your area. Pretend you are a consumer. Is there any reason to call one lawyer over the other in the book in your town? I doubt it.
You can be in the consumer’s face (shout louder than everyone else), or you can be discreet in a way that makes them want to come to you. I like to think of this as guerrilla marketing. It’s like Nike going to the World Cup and not being a major sponsor of the event. Instead, they drive their vans up and hand out Nike hats and T-shirts. It’s the subtle message that nobody else is thinking about.
It doesn’t matter if you’re selling shoes or legal representation. All of this is transferable. The, the ideas are the same and, and what you may have a hard time getting over is that, I’m a lawyer and so my business is different. My profession is different. That’s not true.
Study the marketing of bottled water. If they can do it, so can you.
Posted by Milton Henyon
rketing lessons from bottled water.
Have you seen that show on TV where there are hidden cameras inside a fancy restaurant hotel? They get a guy to pretend he is a “water steward” and he’s out on the floor offering the expensive bottled water. They all have labels from different mountains and springs; and they’re selling these 8, 9, $10 bottles of water and they are selling the story and getting feedback from the patrons. And of course the camera goes to the back of the room and there’s a guy with a water hose and he’s filling all the bottles with city water right out of the tap. Every bottle has the same thing in it.
The teaching point is that if hundreds of companies can figure out how to differentiate bottled water and sell it at premium prices then you can figure out of to make your personal injury practice stand out as well. It’s all about the character, the personality, the drama. Its the wrapper or the story of the journey from the springs in some far away mountain to your refrigerator.
What’s your story? What’s your reason for being in the market place. Please don’t make it “free consultations” or “we care.” Those aren’t unique stories.
There are many ways of choosing to market yourself in any media, the only challenge is finding a way that is different from everyone else’s. Check out the yellow pages in your area. Pretend you are a consumer. Is there any reason to call one lawyer over the other in the book in your town? I doubt it.
You can be in the consumer’s face (shout louder than everyone else), or you can be discreet in a way that makes them want to come to you. I like to think of this as guerrilla marketing. It’s like Nike going to the World Cup and not being a major sponsor of the event. Instead, they drive their vans up and hand out Nike hats and T-shirts. It’s the subtle message that nobody else is thinking about.
It doesn’t matter if you’re selling shoes or legal representation. All of this is transferable. The, the ideas are the same and, and what you may have a hard time getting over is that, I’m a lawyer and so my business is different. My profession is different. That’s not true.
Study the marketing of bottled water. If they can do it, so can you.
Posted by Milton Henyon
Steve Dubin Posted: DATELINE: BOSTON, MASS.Terre...
by admin on June 28th, 2009
filed under Business
Steve Dubin posted:
DATELINE: BOSTON, MASS.
Terrence M. Schwab, a senior associate at Boston-based Tarlow, Breed, Hart, & Rodgers, P.C. (TBHR) recently authored a chapter in the Massachusetts Continuing Legal Education (MCLE) publication Federal Civil Litigation in the First Circuit. Schwab wrote the Plaintiff’s Perspective for Chapter 13 entitled “RICO in Federal Civil Litigation.”
RICO refers to the Racketeer-Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act. Although it’s most commonly associated with fighting organized crime and mobsters, the civil provisions of the RICO statute afford a private cause of action against persons who engage in a pattern of racketeering activity. A typical civil RICO case will involve a white-collar crime such as mail or wire fraud. The penalties for violation of civil RICO are severe, and a plaintiff who prevails is entitled to triple damages and attorney fees.
“Most people only know about criminal laws regarding racketeering through television and movies. Yet the civil provisions of RICO are powerful and can be used to stop many unfair business practices. Recently, Tyson Foods, Inc. was alleged to have knowingly hired illegal aliens to work for below market wages at its chicken processing plants. A group of Tyson’s workers brought suit against Tyson under the civil RICO statute alleging that legitimate employees were also paid below market wages because of the company’s illegal practice of hiring illegal aliens. It was an ingenious use of the statute, and shows that there are many creative ways to fight unfair business practices under the civil RICO provisions,” said Schwab.
Schwab joined TBHR in 2007. Schwab’s practice focuses on disputes among business owners, shareholder disputes, commercial litigation, construction litigation, contract claims, creditor’s rights, employment litigation, insurance coverage claims and probate litigation. A Natick resident, he was most recently recognized as a “Rising Star” in Boston Magazine’s Super Lawyers special edition. He received a bachelor of arts degree, magna *** laude, from Boston University and earned his juris doctorate at Northeastern University School of Law.
“We’re quite pleased to have someone of Terry’s stature on our litigation team. His knowledge of important federal civil litigation in the First Circuit is a fine testimony to his expertise and we are most fortunate to have him at the firm,” said Richard P. Breed, a member of the firm’s management committee.
About Tarlow, Breed, Hart & Rodgers, P.C.:
Formed in 1991, Tarlow, Breed, Hart & Rodgers, P.C. is committed to providing high quality, comprehensive legal services to its clients. Featuring a breadth and depth of experience and perspective usually found only at larger law firms, Tarlow, Breed, Hart & Rodgers. P.C. offers sophisticated legal counsel to entrepreneurs, businesses, individuals, families, and institutions.
Tarlow, Breed, Hart & Rodgers’ areas of expertise include corporate law, employment matters, mergers and acquisitions, litigation and dispute resolution, estate planning, taxation, real estate, bankruptcy, and municipal law.
The offices of Tarlow, Breed, Hart & Rodgers, P.C. are located at 101 Huntington Avenue, Prudential Center, in Boston, MA 02199. For additional information, or to arrange for a consultation, please call 1-617-218-2000, e-mail info@tbhr-law.com, or visit www.tbhr-law.com.
Posted by Milton Henyon
DATELINE: BOSTON, MASS.
Terrence M. Schwab, a senior associate at Boston-based Tarlow, Breed, Hart, & Rodgers, P.C. (TBHR) recently authored a chapter in the Massachusetts Continuing Legal Education (MCLE) publication Federal Civil Litigation in the First Circuit. Schwab wrote the Plaintiff’s Perspective for Chapter 13 entitled “RICO in Federal Civil Litigation.”
RICO refers to the Racketeer-Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act. Although it’s most commonly associated with fighting organized crime and mobsters, the civil provisions of the RICO statute afford a private cause of action against persons who engage in a pattern of racketeering activity. A typical civil RICO case will involve a white-collar crime such as mail or wire fraud. The penalties for violation of civil RICO are severe, and a plaintiff who prevails is entitled to triple damages and attorney fees.
“Most people only know about criminal laws regarding racketeering through television and movies. Yet the civil provisions of RICO are powerful and can be used to stop many unfair business practices. Recently, Tyson Foods, Inc. was alleged to have knowingly hired illegal aliens to work for below market wages at its chicken processing plants. A group of Tyson’s workers brought suit against Tyson under the civil RICO statute alleging that legitimate employees were also paid below market wages because of the company’s illegal practice of hiring illegal aliens. It was an ingenious use of the statute, and shows that there are many creative ways to fight unfair business practices under the civil RICO provisions,” said Schwab.
Schwab joined TBHR in 2007. Schwab’s practice focuses on disputes among business owners, shareholder disputes, commercial litigation, construction litigation, contract claims, creditor’s rights, employment litigation, insurance coverage claims and probate litigation. A Natick resident, he was most recently recognized as a “Rising Star” in Boston Magazine’s Super Lawyers special edition. He received a bachelor of arts degree, magna *** laude, from Boston University and earned his juris doctorate at Northeastern University School of Law.
“We’re quite pleased to have someone of Terry’s stature on our litigation team. His knowledge of important federal civil litigation in the First Circuit is a fine testimony to his expertise and we are most fortunate to have him at the firm,” said Richard P. Breed, a member of the firm’s management committee.
About Tarlow, Breed, Hart & Rodgers, P.C.:
Formed in 1991, Tarlow, Breed, Hart & Rodgers, P.C. is committed to providing high quality, comprehensive legal services to its clients. Featuring a breadth and depth of experience and perspective usually found only at larger law firms, Tarlow, Breed, Hart & Rodgers. P.C. offers sophisticated legal counsel to entrepreneurs, businesses, individuals, families, and institutions.
Tarlow, Breed, Hart & Rodgers’ areas of expertise include corporate law, employment matters, mergers and acquisitions, litigation and dispute resolution, estate planning, taxation, real estate, bankruptcy, and municipal law.
The offices of Tarlow, Breed, Hart & Rodgers, P.C. are located at 101 Huntington Avenue, Prudential Center, in Boston, MA 02199. For additional information, or to arrange for a consultation, please call 1-617-218-2000, e-mail info@tbhr-law.com, or visit www.tbhr-law.com.
Posted by Milton Henyon