the [non]billable hour

Ten New Rules of Legal Marketing

Legal Marketing has changed.  It used to be enough to keep an ad in the yellow pages and belong to the Rotary Club.  Not anymore.  Times are tough, so I present to you Ten "New" Rules of Legal Marketing.  Let me know what you think.

1.  "My lawyer can beat up your lawyer" isn't a marketing strategy.  "My lawyer will call me back before yours will" is.

2.  Google tells me there are 337,000 "Full Service Law Firms” out there.  Which one was yours again?

3.  Unless the person who founded your firm 100 years ago is still alive and practicing law, he's completely irrelevant to every client who's thinking of hiring you.

4.  Market to a "want" not to a "need."  By the time your clients realize they "need" you, it's often too late -- for them and for you.

5.  Your “keep great clients happy” budget should exceed your “try to get new clients” budget by at least 3:1.

6.  Thanksgiving cards say you're thankful for your clients' business.  Christmas cards say you're just like everybody else.

7.  Having the scales of justice on your business card says you're a lawyer -- an old, stodgy, unimaginative, do-what-everyone-else-has-done-for-fifty-years lawyer.  Same is true for your yellow pages ad.

8.  Speaking of yellow pages, don’t abdicate your marketing strategy to their salespeople.  They don’t know marketing.  They only know how to sell you a bigger ad each year.

9.  Your future clients have been living their entire lives online and will expect the same from you.  If you’re invisible on the web, you won’t exist to them.

10.  The single best marketing strategy in the world is to find your best clients and ask them, "How do I get more clients like you?"

Look for ten more rules next month.  For hundreds of legal marketing ideas, check out my Marketing Category on this blog.  And if you want to get these in real time, follow me on Twitter.

Five by Five Redux - Jennifer Rice

Last but not least are the wonderful suggestions of Jennifer Rice, the author of the What's Your Brand Mantra? weblog, and president and founder of Mantra Brand Communications, a brand strategy consultancy representing the voice of the customer within client organizations.

1. Focus. Pick a group like women business owners and learn what their needs are. The deeper you can understand a small group, the more effectively you can win business. You’ll begin attracting more new clients within that group because you’ll have built credibility and trust among other women just like them. Be sure to collect testimonials!

2. Find out how they perceive lawyers. Ask what their previous experience has been with lawyers; if they’ve had a bad experience, find out why. This will tell you what objections (logical and emotional) that you’ll need to overcome. You’ll be light-years ahead of the pack simply by finding out where she’s coming from.

3. If you’re a male attorney, check out how female attorneys market to women. Or find a female attorney with whom you don’t compete directly; learn new ideas and tag-team at networking events. Female attorneys are probably your strongest competition; personally, I prefer to work with women because the perceived trust level is higher. But a non-competing female attorney (or other professional like a CPA) can be a great advocate, referral partner and mentor for you.

4. Women rely on intuition more than men. Guys, you might think your argument is flawlessly logical, but women don’t make linear decisions. We pick up on small cues, usually subliminally, and incorporate emotion into our decision-making process. The end result is our ‘gut instinct’. If that bugs you, don’t try to get women clients. You won’t be on the same wavelength – which you may not pick up on, but women definitely will!

5. Yours is a relationship business; traditional advertising won’t be effective. Practice your listening and empathy skills on your wife, girlfriend, sister, and any woman that crosses your path. The quality of your relationships with the women in your life is a perfect barometer for your ability to attract female clients!

Five by Five Redux - Yvonne DiVita

We're hitting the home stretch here in Week One of the Five by Five. Up next for your consideration are the suggestions of Yvonne DiVita, a business and technology writer, president of Windsor Media Enterprises, LLC, and author of “Dickless Marketing: Smart Marketing to Women Online." Yvonne also writes the Lip-Sticking weblog.

Yvonne's responses:

The 5 Worst Mistakes a lawyer can make when marketing to potential female clients:

1. Assuming a condescending attitude. We know you went to law school, we accept that you know more about the law than we do---that's why we're there--but don't pat us on the hand with, "Don't worry, I'll take care of everything," blather or write your sales copy as if you're God.

2. Passing out flyers that have only men's pictures on them or heavily promote the executives in your firm--who all happen to be male! Or, looking around us for the 'man' in our lives.

3. Going overboard with pink. Guess what: Pink used to be the dominant color for boys. It was considered a watered down red and too ferocious for girls. Girls were dressed in blue. This is pretty much a 'christian' concept, notice that the Virgin Mary is always in blue. Today, women have adopted pink wholeheartedly, but that does not mean you should have a pink flowery background on your website or throughout your offices. Trying too hard to appeal to us using the color pink will backfire every time. We know frivolity when we see it!

4. Immediately calling us by our first name. Not many women openly admit this, but we are selective about getting personal with people. Getting to a first name basis is our choice, not yours. It's Ms. or Mrs. or Miss, and only Jane, Jill, or Sally if we offer that option. Business etiquette dictates a formal introduction. If you rush right into using our first name, we may not show it, but we're bristling inside.

5. Talking over us. Two ways this can happen: on your website or in your sales literature, using too much legalese...find a way to simplify your information without making us feel stupid. (hire a writer, if need be.) If we're visiting you in your office for the first time, don't interrupt before we're finished explaining why we're there. You may instinctively know what we mean after only a sentence or two, but let us finish anyway.

6. Oops...you only asked for 5. Okay...never mind.

Now, the 5 best things a lawyer can do to secure a female's business:

1. Make eye contact. In your literature, put women's faces in prominent places and use women's names---either clients who have given you permission to use their names, or made-up clients that represent smart, savvy women...yet, ones who may be overlooking critical needs you can provide.

2. Offer free consulting. I'm not saying you should "give away the store" but if you want our business, show us how knowledgable you are about what we need (there's that listening thing from #5 above), and that you not only can meet our needs but that you want to partner with us to solve whatever issue it is we came to you with.

3. Follow the lead of banks and offer specific programs aimed at women. Develop workshops for women entrepreneurs, for widows, for women entering into business partnerships, for single Moms, etc.

4. Expand your marketing focus to women in all walks of life. Approach women executives differently than you would approach stay at home Moms...do this by having separate marketing materials that speak to the individual's needs. Notice how financial firms have separate marketing materials for each service they offer, and they portray men and women together and separately.

5. ASK questions...and expect answers. Once in awhile, bring the stay at home Moms together with the business executives and entrepreneurs and listen to what they talk about. Build a community of women networking to solve family and business issues; they will ultimately see you as one of them and bring you more business.

6. Market 'couple' seminars or workshops to women not men. Show women and men together. Real life consists of real people, both male and female.Use the word partner...partnerships exist between couples, married, engaged, or merely cohabitating, and partnerships also exist between you and the clients you serve, making this word a powerful introduction to a long-term relationship.

7. Oops...there I go again...overkill.

Five by Five Redux - Anita Campbell

Our third distinguished participant is Anita Campbell, the founder, president, and chief consultant of Anita Campbell Associates Ltd., a business consulting firm specializing in helping businesses in the technology, retail and varied services sectors grow. Anita is also the co-author of the Small Business Trends weblog, most noted for its "Power Blog Reviews."

Anita's contributions to this week's Five by Five:

When entertaining, choose an entertainment that is not a sporting event, unless you know for sure the woman is a sports fan. One law firm I know invited half a dozen clients to a hands-on crafts class in making metal lanterns at the local museum. Intended to build creativity and encourage easy bonding, it was one of the most memorable client entertainments I have ever experienced. I can't recall a thing about any of the baseball, basketball, or (yawn) football games I've been invited to over the years. But ten years later, I still have the lantern and vivid memories of the experience.

Show visible commitment to women's business in general. For example, volunteer to serve on a Powerlink (an organization dedicated to advancing women's business) advisory panel. Speak at local meetings of NAWBO (National Association of Women Business Owners). And, make sure you have a user-friendly bio in your marketing materials detailing this kind of commitment.

Nominate the woman whose business you are trying to get for a business or community award. Ask her to serve on a charitable board with. Do something such as this to demonstrate that you hold her in high professional regard. Women like to be around lawyers who make them feel intelligent and worthy.

In a professional services business, your best bet for getting business from women, or from anyone for that matter, is referrals. Ask other professionals in adjacent but different fields for referrals. Create referral circles, for instance, with an accountant, a financial advisor, a marketing consultant, and a management consultant. Make sure that you seek out women professionals in creating these circles.

This is something you should always do, but be especially sure you do it when you are entertaining a woman. Be respectful with female support staff at all times. Same goes for female wait staff in restaurants. If you want to get business from women, you need to show sensitivity to women's issue. That's tough to do when you're belittling female support staff or berating a female server in a restaurant.

Five by Five Redux - Michele Miller

Up next is Michele Miller, author of the great WonderBranding: Marketing to Women weblog. She is now a partner in the Wizard of Ads, Inc. marketing firm, serving clients across North America. Michele is also the author of "The Natural Advantages of Women" (Wizard Academy Press), the audiobook that has been hailed for its concepts, principles, and new scientific information that explains how the female brain is "hardwired" for personal greatness. To watch a video of Michele, click here.

Michele's five ideas on the topic of the day:

R-E-S-P-E-C-T.
When marketing to a woman, never forget that her greatest strength lies in her individuality. You are not expected to treat a woman as being someone “special;” you are only expected to acknowledge and deal with her as an equal. Always assume that your potential client is smart and saavy. If you address a woman from that perspective, it will shine through your presentation and open many doors that are normally closed tight against the “typical” lawyer.

Give her the 4-1-1.
With four times as many connections between the left and right sides of the brain, women process information at very high rates of speed. They are not only masters of multi-tasking, they are expert gatherers of information and thrive on the word “share.” Approach your marketing from the “educational” angle and you will have clients for life – blogs, newsletters, free seminars, etc. are all excellent tools for positioning yourself as the lawyer who “cares and shares.”

Make it memorable.
Have something in your marketing toolbox that might not normally be associated with an attorney – something that shows you’ve connected with your potential client. Listening is key – what if you followed up an initial consult with a note or small gift that is related to a topic she discussed? It could be anything from the stock market to knitting. You have to go the extra mile here, but it creates clients for life.

How is the world inside your door?
Too often, business people forget that marketing is everything you do each day. Consistency of message is not just restricted to your marketing materials, website, ads, etc., but must extend to your office, and staff. Is your office conveniently located – is the parking lot safe? How is your office decorated – does it have a built-in comfort factor, or is it sterile and uninviting? What kind of magazines do you have in your waiting area…. is there reading material for both genders? How is the phone answered? The personal experience factor of a potential client is one of the biggest factors in your marketing campaign – the better the experience, the better you are at branding!

Who rates first?
As Howard Schulz, CEO of Starbucks says, “The customer comes second… employees come first.” He knows that if you focus on the happiness and stability of your employees, it naturally rubs off on to customers and clients. Are your employees given a “psychological contract” to try, succeed, and even sometimes fail if it’s for the betterment of your business? If they have your trust and training, they provide a confidence that often resonates more clearly to potential clients than anything you can do on your own.

Five by Five Redux

Just over a year ago,  I asked five seriously cool women bloggers for their five thoughts on the following question(s):

What are the five worst mistakes a lawyer can make when marketing to a female potential client?

Alternatively, what are the five best things a lawyer can do to secure a female's business?

As I head to the Blogher conference, and after reading the posts again, I’m still amazed at how spot-on these women were.  Ignore their advice at your peril.

Five by Five - Jennifer Rice

Last but not least are the wonderful suggestions of Jennifer Rice, the author of the What's Your Brand Mantra? weblog, and president and founder of Mantra Brand Communications, a brand strategy consultancy representing the voice of the customer within client organizations.

1. Focus. Pick a group like women business owners and learn what their needs are. The deeper you can understand a small group, the more effectively you can win business. You’ll begin attracting more new clients within that group because you’ll have built credibility and trust among other women just like them. Be sure to collect testimonials!

2. Find out how they perceive lawyers. Ask what their previous experience has been with lawyers; if they’ve had a bad experience, find out why. This will tell you what objections (logical and emotional) that you’ll need to overcome. You’ll be light-years ahead of the pack simply by finding out where she’s coming from.

3. If you’re a male attorney, check out how female attorneys market to women. Or find a female attorney with whom you don’t compete directly; learn new ideas and tag-team at networking events. Female attorneys are probably your strongest competition; personally, I prefer to work with women because the perceived trust level is higher. But a non-competing female attorney (or other professional like a CPA) can be a great advocate, referral partner and mentor for you.

4. Women rely on intuition more than men. Guys, you might think your argument is flawlessly logical, but women don’t make linear decisions. We pick up on small cues, usually subliminally, and incorporate emotion into our decision-making process. The end result is our ‘gut instinct’. If that bugs you, don’t try to get women clients. You won’t be on the same wavelength – which you may not pick up on, but women definitely will!

5. Yours is a relationship business; traditional advertising won’t be effective. Practice your listening and empathy skills on your wife, girlfriend, sister, and any woman that crosses your path. The quality of your relationships with the women in your life is a perfect barometer for your ability to attract female clients!

Thanks everyone! Tune in next week for another edition of the Five by Five. See you then.

Five by Five - Yvonne DiVita

We're hitting the home stretch here in Week One of the Five by Five. Up next for your consideration are the suggestions of Yvonne DiVita, a business and technology writer, president of Windsor Media Enterprises, LLC, and author of “Dickless Marketing: Smart Marketing to Women Online." Yvonne also writes the Lip-Sticking weblog.

Yvonne's responses:

The 5 Worst Mistakes a lawyer can make when marketing to potential female clients:

1. Assuming a condescending attitude. We know you went to law school, we accept that you know more about the law than we do---that's why we're there--but don't pat us on the hand with, "Don't worry, I'll take care of everything," blather or write your sales copy as if you're God.

2. Passing out flyers that have only men's pictures on them or heavily promote the executives in your firm--who all happen to be male! Or, looking around us for the 'man' in our lives.

3. Going overboard with pink. Guess what: Pink used to be the dominant color for boys. It was considered a watered down red and too ferocious for girls. Girls were dressed in blue. This is pretty much a 'christian' concept, notice that the Virgin Mary is always in blue. Today, women have adopted pink wholeheartedly, but that does not mean you should have a pink flowery background on your website or throughout your offices. Trying too hard to appeal to us using the color pink will backfire every time. We know frivolity when we see it!

4. Immediately calling us by our first name. Not many women openly admit this, but we are selective about getting personal with people. Getting to a first name basis is our choice, not yours. It's Ms. or Mrs. or Miss, and only Jane, Jill, or Sally if we offer that option. Business etiquette dictates a formal introduction. If you rush right into using our first name, we may not show it, but we're bristling inside.

5. Talking over us. Two ways this can happen: on your website or in your sales literature, using too much legalese...find a way to simplify your information without making us feel stupid. (hire a writer, if need be.) If we're visiting you in your office for the first time, don't interrupt before we're finished explaining why we're there. You may instinctively know what we mean after only a sentence or two, but let us finish anyway.

6. Oops...you only asked for 5. Okay...never mind.

Now, the 5 best things a lawyer can do to secure a female's business:

1. Make eye contact. In your literature, put women's faces in prominent places and use women's names---either clients who have given you permission to use their names, or made-up clients that represent smart, savvy women...yet, ones who may be overlooking critical needs you can provide.

2. Offer free consulting. I'm not saying you should "give away the store" but if you want our business, show us how knowledgable you are about what we need (there's that listening thing from #5 above), and that you not only can meet our needs but that you want to partner with us to solve whatever issue it is we came to you with.

3. Follow the lead of banks and offer specific programs aimed at women. Develop workshops for women entrepreneurs, for widows, for women entering into business partnerships, for single Moms, etc.

4. Expand your marketing focus to women in all walks of life. Approach women executives differently than you would approach stay at home Moms...do this by having separate marketing materials that speak to the individual's needs. Notice how financial firms have separate marketing materials for each service they offer, and they portray men and women together and separately.

5. ASK questions...and expect answers. Once in awhile, bring the stay at home Moms together with the business executives and entrepreneurs and listen to what they talk about. Build a community of women networking to solve family and business issues; they will ultimately see you as one of them and bring you more business.

6. Market 'couple' seminars or workshops to women not men. Show women and men together. Real life consists of real people, both male and female.Use the word partner...partnerships exist between couples, married, engaged, or merely cohabitating, and partnerships also exist between you and the clients you serve, making this word a powerful introduction to a long-term relationship.

7. Oops...there I go again...overkill.

Five by Five - Anita Campbell

Our third distinguished participant is Anita Campbell, the founder, president, and chief consultant of Anita Campbell Associates Ltd., a business consulting firm specializing in helping businesses in the technology, retail and varied services sectors grow. Anita is also the co-author of the Small Business Trends weblog, most noted for its "Power Blog Reviews."

Anita's contributions to this week's Five by Five:

When entertaining, choose an entertainment that is not a sporting event, unless you know for sure the woman is a sports fan. One law firm I know invited half a dozen clients to a hands-on crafts class in making metal lanterns at the local museum. Intended to build creativity and encourage easy bonding, it was one of the most memorable client entertainments I have ever experienced. I can't recall a thing about any of the baseball, basketball, or (yawn) football games I've been invited to over the years. But ten years later, I still have the lantern and vivid memories of the experience.

Show visible commitment to women's business in general. For example, volunteer to serve on a Powerlink (an organization dedicated to advancing women's business) advisory panel. Speak at local meetings of NAWBO (National Association of Women Business Owners). And, make sure you have a user-friendly bio in your marketing materials detailing this kind of commitment.

Nominate the woman whose business you are trying to get for a business or community award. Ask her to serve on a charitable board with. Do something such as this to demonstrate that you hold her in high professional regard. Women like to be around lawyers who make them feel intelligent and worthy.

In a professional services business, your best bet for getting business from women, or from anyone for that matter, is referrals. Ask other professionals in adjacent but different fields for referrals. Create referral circles, for instance, with an accountant, a financial advisor, a marketing consultant, and a management consultant. Make sure that you seek out women professionals in creating these circles.

This is something you should always do, but be especially sure you do it when you are entertaining a woman. Be respectful with female support staff at all times. Same goes for female wait staff in restaurants. If you want to get business from women, you need to show sensitivity to women's issue. That's tough to do when you're belittling female support staff or berating a female server in a restaurant.

Five by Five - Michele Miller

Up next is Michele Miller, author of the great WonderBranding: Marketing to Women weblog. She is now a partner in the Wizard of Ads, Inc. marketing firm, serving clients across North America. Michele is also the author of "The Natural Advantages of Women" (Wizard Academy Press), the audiobook that has been hailed for its concepts, principles, and new scientific information that explains how the female brain is "hardwired" for personal greatness. To watch a video of Michele, click here.

Michele's five ideas on the topic of the day:

R-E-S-P-E-C-T.
When marketing to a woman, never forget that her greatest strength lies in her individuality. You are not expected to treat a woman as being someone “special;” you are only expected to acknowledge and deal with her as an equal. Always assume that your potential client is smart and saavy. If you address a woman from that perspective, it will shine through your presentation and open many doors that are normally closed tight against the “typical” lawyer.

Give her the 4-1-1.
With four times as many connections between the left and right sides of the brain, women process information at very high rates of speed. They are not only masters of multi-tasking, they are expert gatherers of information and thrive on the word “share.” Approach your marketing from the “educational” angle and you will have clients for life – blogs, newsletters, free seminars, etc. are all excellent tools for positioning yourself as the lawyer who “cares and shares.”

Make it memorable.
Have something in your marketing toolbox that might not normally be associated with an attorney – something that shows you’ve connected with your potential client. Listening is key – what if you followed up an initial consult with a note or small gift that is related to a topic she discussed? It could be anything from the stock market to knitting. You have to go the extra mile here, but it creates clients for life.

How is the world inside your door?
Too often, business people forget that marketing is everything you do each day. Consistency of message is not just restricted to your marketing materials, website, ads, etc., but must extend to your office, and staff. Is your office conveniently located – is the parking lot safe? How is your office decorated – does it have a built-in comfort factor, or is it sterile and uninviting? What kind of magazines do you have in your waiting area…. is there reading material for both genders? How is the phone answered? The personal experience factor of a potential client is one of the biggest factors in your marketing campaign – the better the experience, the better you are at branding!

Who rates first?
As Howard Schulz, CEO of Starbucks says, “The customer comes second… employees come first.” He knows that if you focus on the happiness and stability of your employees, it naturally rubs off on to customers and clients. Are your employees given a “psychological contract” to try, succeed, and even sometimes fail if it’s for the betterment of your business? If they have your trust and training, they provide a confidence that often resonates more clearly to potential clients than anything you can do on your own.