14th Of July 1789 - The storming of the Bastille and the subsequent Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen was the third event of this opening stage of the revolution.
I always try some revolting on 14th of July.
What revolution are you going to start today?
If a few thousand teachers around the country get this newsletter from their union then you can bet a few hundred schools might be open to a call from their lawyers.
Ideas are all around you. Just close your eyes and picture yourself as a headteacher of a school. The Head of Upper School comes in and asks you if there is any asbestos in the school because some of the teachers have been asking about the risk.
As the headteacher you were expecting this. You have a statement and policy ready. You mention you are going to be making it part of the staff briefing tomorrow morning.
Your document has been prepared by your lawyer. As has the letter for the parents of pupils.
Everyone is reassured. Everyone praises you for quick action. You've solved a problem.
News of problems is everywhere. Open your eyes, (or close them if it helps you to think) and see how you can use this news to get you what you want.
"It's more important to be resourceful than it is to have resources."
Yes, it's in red print for a reason.
Red is a powerful colour.
It is a colour of action.
And action is the key message.
Do not procrastinate because you don't have the money for marketing.
Find a way to do it without paying upfront.
Do not worry about being perfect. No one will know you are perfect.
Because you'll never get anything done for people to see.
Don't use the words "if only". Substitute them with "I wonder how".
If you make a mistake. It's not you that didn't get it right. Say "it" wasn't quite right.
Every time you do something well, buy yourself something.
(I buy books or sea bass). You'll feel pretty good.
When it doesn't go right, buy something anyway.
Pretty soon you'll be feeling good all the time...and when your attitude is positive you are 99% certain to succeed in whatever you do.
See what that one-liner has done to me already!
I was browsing the Yellow Pages, (all 13 pages of lawyers not the whole book)
and I saw this advert for a solicitors which made me think. (It's low resolution to load fast).
Why doesn't every personal injury lawyer put what compensation might be worth in their advert, website and brochures? Unless you know it's worth claiming you might not do it... so make it easy for someone to choose from the menu.
And also I really like the testimonials and trackable phone number they use. Two things you should be using all the time. Want to have your Yellow Pages lawyer advert looked at by an expert? You know where to send it.
Joe Reevy, owner of Words4Business, told me a great idea today for legal marketing. So I'm pinching it to give to you ;-)
He said one of his clients has put a sign on his car that publicises his family law team. When the car is used on the school run it gets in front of 500 parents. Many of whom want a family law firm! And on Saturday's the family car is parked at Sainsbury's for a couple of hours during peak shopping periods. Easy hey?
Just use a trackable phone number on the magnetic panel you put on the car and you've got free leads coming in to your law firm. Why not supply all your staff with magnetic posters for their cars? You can have a team bonus for leads brought in each month. You can even get free magnetic panels from Vistaprint. Email me for a promotion that should give you them free!
And check out Joe's website because he makes doing newsletters really easy so that you can keep your herd intact and get more business at a fraction of the cost of other marketing. He's usually got a special deal for my visitors/newsletter friends you just have to ask. (The secret codeword is "free").
You know what might be a good idea. Go to all your local accident repair centres. Speak to the manager. Explain you are a local lawyer that represents people involved in Tell him you'd love to offer his customers a free appraisal. Get him to hand over your audio CD about personal injury and Thank him profusely when he sends you clients by sponsoring 10 accident repair centres 500 new cases for you
car accidents.
motor accidents to every customer that comes in.
his kids football team strip with his company name on it.
50 customers a week
500 prospects a week for you
2000 prospects a month
24,000 prospects a year
Can Michael Jackson Help Your Marketing?
The media circus over Michael Jackson's estate, final wishes, guardianship of his children has made will international news. If Jackson has died intestate it's a disaster for his children.
How can you help avoid this disaster for married couples?
Get a story into your local media and set yourself up as the expert on wills.
Use the "news" i.e. the conversation going on in people's heads, to get your law firm in to their head as the solution.
Even if you just write to all your existing clients with the Jackson story you are going to get codicils and other wills by referral. And what's it going to cost? A few pounds on letters sent out. And 20 minutes to write a press release or be on the phone for the local radio.
What Can Car Manufacturing Teach Us About Law Firms? Taiichi Ohno, the architect of the Toyota Production System, used the five Why's technique to solve problems. In a manufacturing environment, the Five Whys might work like this: Manufacturing Example Problem: The Production Line Stopped Again Why did the production line stop? Answer: We blew a fuse. Why did we blow a fuse? Answer: Because the bearings overheated. Why did the bearings overheat? Answer: Because there is insufficient lubrication on them. Why is there insufficient lubrication on the bearings? Answer: Because nobody oiled them. Why did nobody oil them? Answer: Because we don’t have a preventative maintenance schedule. Followed by Silence............ideally somebody should then pipe up with "we need a preventative maintenance schedule - I'll get it sorted for tomorrow." In legal services marketing, you need to ask lots of Whys. Mike Schultz, a US marketing consultant gives a law firm example. Legal marketing problem: We Don’t Have Enough Leads Coming In. Why don’t we have enough leads? Answer: Because the partners aren’t getting enough referrals to build their practices. Why aren’t the partners getting enough referrals? Answer: Because the partners and the marketing group aren’t taking the actions needed on a regular basis to generate referrals and new business leads. Why aren’t they doing what they’re supposed to do to generate leads and referrals? Answer: Because work expectations focus on keeping them billable, and lead generation isn’t a top priority in the marketing department. Why are the partner jobs aligned so narrowly to billing, and why doesn’t marketing focus on lead generation? Answer: Because the managing partner hasn’t historically perceived revenue generation as an issue, and so across the board—from marketing to billable staff—there isn't much concerted lead generation effort, and, in marketing, there’s no budget. Why? Answer: Now that it’s an important business problem to solve, why hasn’t he addressed this? Why? Answer: Silence. Without leadership support it doesn’t matter if you come up with the right answer because nothing will happen anyway. So Partners - it's up to you. What I like about this technique is that it is common sense, easy to do, and gets actionable solutions. It’s also a way of “becoming your own consultant “and seeing things through fresh eyes. Very important if you want to improve what you offer.
You Become What You Think So Work At What You Think. “Experience has proved to me, time after time, the enormous value of arriving at a decision. It is the failure to arrive at a fixed purpose, the inability to stop going around and round in maddening circles, that drives men to nervous breakdowns and living hells. I find that fifty per cent of my worries vanishes once I arrive at a clear, definite decision; and another forty per cent usually vanishes once I start to carry out that decision. So, I banish about 90 per cent of my worries by taking these four steps: From, Dale Carnegie from How to Stop Worrying and Start Living. I've got a list of books you might want to read, It's short, my list is 100 + in the last year alone. So if you have read any good books let me know and I'll reciprocate. Deal?
One of my friends runs a website called Philosopher's notes. It's worth checking out. Every day he sends out a summary paragraph about one of his favourite thinkers/books. I'd thought today's was very appropriate so I decided to post it here. I'll probably use Brian's stuff from time to time - it's that good! Thx Brian;-)
Email Security - Sending Secure Legal Documents Research from Origo, (The IFA equivalent to the SRA) showed that the majority of firms (87%) did not currently have secure email systems, with over half of respondents (58%) highlighting that they were waiting for an industry standard to be put in place. While this is the case, an alarming majority of respondents (94%) said they did use email to send personal, sensitive or confidential data. I'm just here to question things and maybe offer an answer sometimes. PS Having secure email is a pretty good USP too.
I just read about secure email and the
Independent Financial Advertiser market.
Now you won't get a lesson on IT Security from me.
And my question is this;
"If you send an email and someone intercepts it and then changes it and then it gets delivered, then who's to know?"
I've got an article from a Canadian law firm about this - if you want it email me.
*****************************************************************************************************
When your mail is addressed to the bank, investment company, business partners, it can attract attention of IT staff that perform mail server monitoring. And there is nothing that can prevent unscrupulous IT staff with access to the mail server to open and read that message. Other problem is that unauthorized personnel or hackers can have access to the mail server where physical access security and network security are weak.
Do People Open Your Emails?
If you are sending a newsletter by email or an invite to a seminar then maybe some people won't open your emails...first time round.
If you get unopened emails try a different subject headline...it won't upset those
that don't open the email by sending it twice because they never opened the first one.
Fact: Only 20-30% of your list will EVER open any
email you send them EVER....the first time.
Take the list of people who didn't open your first
email and send them the SAME mail again the
next day with a different headline.
Just a different headline. Takes about two minutes.
It's simple but powerful.
Re-mailing un-opens really works. And legal marketing is about what works.
Do You Use Your Qualifications To Get People To Buy?
If a plumber from Reading can use his qualifications in such a fantastic way why can't you?
http://www.itsleaking.co.uk/qual.htm
A certifcate is no good in the cupboard at home. Get it out, display it and stick it on your website. Your qualifications are relevant. Most people don't have your qualifications and so they will be impressed by yours. It's an independent testimonial to your quality and something that helps deliver the preponderance of proof that you are the right choice for someone.
Estate Agents Giving You Work
With the MD of an Estate Agents in Hampshire yesterday I looked at his Goals and Objectives lists on the wall. One of the goals was "Solicitors must communicate". His problem was that whereas he had to let clients know how sales were progressing, he was not told as frequently how the legal paperwork was progressing. All he wanted was a speedy and efficient way of being kept up to date.
How much work do you get referred to your legal practice by Estate Agents?
What are they looking for from you? Don't know? ASK!
Midsummer - Make The Most Of The Next 6 Months
This weekend it's the longest day of the year. It's when the Druids do their Stonehenge stuff and some people start thinking about the nights closing in...but rather than the negative, focus on the positive. Where will you be in 6 month's time?
The only thing that will make a difference is the people you know, (or get to know) and what you learn.
Make the most of the time you have. Try 7 consecutive days without getting angry, shouting, or criticising. See if you can do it. And if you can't, start over again at day 1.
I'll send a small gift to anyone that can tell me honestly that they achieved 7 days in a row of being 100% positive.
PS to give yourself half a chance print the words 100% Positive on a piece of paper and put it on your fridge door. (It's the cupboard we visit the most).
Action Is The Mark Of Genius
It's my grandfather's birthday today. 89 years old. I remember asking him when I was celebrating my 21 birthday what he did for his. He said D-Day. Omaha Beach. American Tank radio operator (normally he was a gunner but they didn't have enough radio operators so he swapped for the day). Lucky that. His tank got blown up and he survived. The other two didn't. Still Grandad recovered, went back to liberate Amsterdam and took part in the 1948 Olympics.......you couldn't accuse him of wasting his time.......
What's this got to do with legal marketing? I'll sum it up in one word. ACTION.
People that take action are winners. Because it doesn't matter how much you know or how many great ideas to market your Practice you have. Unless you take action you won't achieve anything.
Take action to make yourself a celebrity in your local area. Write for the paper. Go on the local radio station. Speak at the Chamber of Commerce. Just once a week if you take action and become a brand you will be more fulfilled, you'll make lots of friends and you'll attract more business. Remember...
A Goal Is A Dream With A Deadline. Just Do It.
Posts
All Comments
