lawyers

How Content Drives Law Firm Marketing

March 9, 2010 By Jay Fleischman

Law firm marketing used to be so simple. Slap up a few ads, buy up some television time, and call the Yellow Pages representative to pick up a fat check.

But somewhere along the line it got more difficult. Prospective clients started wising up and asking questions. They realized that there was no early way for them to differentiate between Lawyer A and Lawyer B based on a 30 second commercial spot or a full-page Yellow Pages ad. The problem was that they didn’t know exactly how to tell the difference.

So they did what we all do when we shop for a new car – we peek under the hood.

First they turned to the Better Business Bureau, not realizing that lawyers didn’t utilize that venue. So they moved onto Martindale-Hubbell, the grand-daddy of lawyer rankings. But M-H was stuffed to the gills with huge law firms that looked down on helping people with their problems in favor of billing big corporate entities.

Some lucky few could ask their friends and family members about lawyers, but when it came to things like bankruptcy and divorce it was a little stickier. Who wants to approach their uncle and say, “Hi Uncle Bob. I can’t pay my bills. Do you know a good bankruptcy lawyer?”

So they turned to the Internet. At first there was no way to find a reputable professional, so the public just bumped around in the dark. But eventually lawyers started getting websites, those online brochures with pretty pictures. Lulled into peaceful slumber, people started equating the best website with the best lawyer.

But something happened along the way. Blogging came around, and some folks started thinking that it was a darn easy way to add information to their website. It sure was a lot faster and cheaper than paying the web guru to update the site every month.

Blogging didn’t take off for lawyers for a long time. In fact, there’s a good argument that blogging still hasn’t taken off for lawyers. But with blogging evangelists like Grant Griffiths leading the way, inroads have been made over the past few years.

When you’re talking about blogging, you’re talking about the entire world of online marketing. Every industry has marching orders to get blogging and get it done now. Every media channel has a cadre of super-successful people who also happen to be blogging their brains out. You can’t get away from it.

Consumers have been trained to ask questions online, to query Google and Bing and the rest in an effort to get answers. The answers to their questions float to the top of the search engine results page and, in so doing, the site on which those answers reside gain the most loyal followings.

Follow someone long enough and you come to trust their intellect and insight. You rely upon them for good information. You get to know them to an extent, and feel closer to them. And when you need help, you turn to that person over all others.

Chances are pretty good that you’re not creating content and, in fact, don’t know where you’d put it or what you should do to get people to notice it. If so, you’re not alone. In fact, most of your competition isn’t doing anything either. They’re watching the world pass them by, caught up in the day-to-day grind of being lawyer and entranced by the notion of cutting a fat check to some “SEO Mastermind” to turn their 3-page website into a Google magnet.

Good luck with that.

So here’s what you need to do, right now. Take out a pen and a blank legal pad and start writing. Anything at all.

We’re going to keep talking about this. Because your future depends on it.

Photo courtesy of SPazzo_1493.

Filed Under: Legal Marketing Tagged With: blog, blogging, internet, law, law firm, law firm marketing, lawyer, lawyers, martindale hubbell, new cars, social information processing, technology, yellow page ads, Yellow Pages

Starting A Bankruptcy Law Practice – What’s The First Step?

March 13, 2009 By Jay Fleischman

Lots of lawyers are thinking about starting a bankruptcy law practice. After all, the news keeps telling us how the economy’s in free fall and that people are in worse shape than ever before (at least, worse than they’ve been in a long, long while).

But what’s the first step?

Do you need to know bankruptcy law? The best computer software? The right organizations to join? The perfect books to buy?

Sure, that’s all important – but it isn’t the very first thing to do.

The first thing – absolute, positive Step One – is to make sure you’re cut out for it when thinking about starting a bankruptcy practice. Know thyself and all that.

You need to know how to market your bankruptcy practice. Because if you’ve got all the knowledge but no clients then it’s all an academic exercise. And I’m morally opposed to exercise (though I’m starting to go to the gym, it’s because I feel the creaks in my bones and not because I’m so in love with it).

You can put up an ad, a website, produce a fancy TV and radio commercial, dress up in a suit and play the part. But unless you attain an understanding of your own motives those legal marketing efforts will ring hollow with your prospects. And if it isn’t genuine, it isn’t going to work.

Let’s take a step back.

Have you ever gone into a store and been approached by a really good salesperson? He knows all about the product, the specs, the bells-and-whistles. He gives you his speech, works out the price, and pretty much does everything right. Yet when it comes time to open your wallet you stop and decide against it.

Something just isn’t right. The sales pitch is good, but you’re just not feeling it. You can sniff the bulls**t, and accordingly take a step back.

Other times, you can walk into a store and meet a salesperson who may not do everything right – he may not know everything about the product, maybe his pricing is a little high, his tie is undone, whatever. But there’s SOMETHING about this salesperson that just . . . clicks.

He gets you. He understands your needs, and seems genuinely interested in getting you what you want. Bingo, he gets the sale.

Same thing here. If you start a bankruptcy law practice but don’t personally believe in using bankruptcy as a solution and a tool for financial rehabilitation, you’re not going to be genuine. You may talk the talk well enough, but you’re not going to be able to walk the walk.

Maybe you’ll do OK for awhile, but your prospects will smell it – just like a dog smells fear. Your marketing will fail at that core level, and your consultations won’t ring true. They may not be able to put their finger on it, but they’ll know something isn’t right. And you’ll lose the client to someone else.

Don’t be a bankruptcy lawyer for the money. Don’t be a bankruptcy lawyer because it’s the latest, hottest trend. Don’t do it because the bottom fell out of your real estate practice, or because your business has dried up.

Sounds all “new age, touchy-feely,” I know. But if you can’t get behind something 100%, if your heart isn’t in it, all the other stuff won’t save you.

Filed Under: Law Office Management Tagged With: bankruptcy, bankruptcy laws, bankruptcy lawyers, lawyers, practice, start

Bankruptcy Lawyers And Referral Marketing – 7 Sources You Need To Know

December 24, 2008 By Jay Fleischman

I’m struck by how often bankruptcy lawyers talk about getting more referrals without engaging in a consistent referral marketing strategy. They go to networking groups, glad-hand at cocktail parties, and generally make themselves known.

The problem is, they’re often making themselves known to the wrong people. This is like standing on the corner with a bullhorn asking passers-by to send you clients.

Consumer bankruptcy lawyers do need to network for referrals, but in a different way. Going to a BNI meeting or similar referral-based networking organization isn’t going to do much to get you new clients who are struggling under the weight of credit card and mortgage problems.

Here are my top 7 places for bankruptcy lawyers to ramp up their referral marketing efforts:

Human Resources Managers: With massive layoffs in every industry, many companies are offering outplacement assistance to help their former colleagues get back on their feet. When those newly unemployed people encounter bill problems, they are likely to go to their human resource people for help.
Real Estate Brokers: A homeowner needs to sell a house, but it’s heading into foreclosure. Who better to help stave off foreclosure than a bankruptcy lawyer?
Mortgage Brokers: A homeowner needs to refinance but is facing foreclosure or credit card debt that makes refinancing difficult. Bankruptcy to the rescue!
Car Dealers: The consumer wants a new car, but has too much debt to make it happen.
Hairdressers and Barbers: Better than bartenders, these professionals hear every manner of woe. When a customer has bill problems, the person cutting their hair can give out a pointed recommendation to a lawyer who can help solve the problem.
Clergy: Ministers, priests, rabbis, imams and the like all help married couples get through tough times. The biggest marital strain? Bill problems.
Accountants: When a taxpayer has problems, bankruptcy may be the solution.

The list goes on and on, but remember – networking can be a critical part of your marketing efforts, but only if you’re networking in the right places.