Useful Tools for Solicitors to Market and Sell With

Here are a couple of really practical
tools which can be useful on a day to day basis.

http://www.web2pdfconvert.com/

You can plug in any website URL
address and it transforms the website
into a PDF.

How cool is that?

Great for times when you want a hard
copy of a website to read on a train,
in bed (sadly) or on a plane. (Remember
you need to prepare to sell).

http://www.greatlegalmarketing.co.uk/LawyersThatPrepareWin

Some people even download all my website
and read it offline to find out how to do things or
come up with new ideas.

Another great tool is http://screenr.com/
as it allows you to produce screen casts
esily and for free. It's great for producing
You Tube videos which you can then embed
on your website.

Video is a great way for people
to understand what it is you solve.

Check out www.fsp-law.com
who use video to get them to the top
of the search engines and to help clients
see and hear what they do.

An alternative way of creating screencasts is
http://www.jingproject.com

If you want to work with things
which make your life easier here's a
good resource where you can find information.

http://www.c4lpt.co.uk

There's a list of the top 100 tools.

I'd focus on the video stuff myself.

Here's how and why

http://www.greatlegalmarketing.co.uk/sitedata/Misc/10-Tips-for-Making-the-Mos.pdf

It'll work to get you new clients.

Hope it helps.

Read more...

Be Your Own Solicitor Firm Or Law Firm Marketing Consultant

One of my members went through my website and found
47 things he could do to improve his business.

Which is why one of the first things I teach lawyers
is to be their own consultant and give as
much as I can so that you can do this

You see hiring in a consultant to help with marketing can be
expensive.

Because not all of them are value for money.

So why pay someone when all you have to do
is put on a fresh pair of eyes and see your law firm as a
prospective client?

Sounds common sense.

But as Oscar Wilde said, “the trouble with
common sense is that it is not that common.”

But here are some easy things you can do that will
help you identify and make changes for the better.

* Go through my website www.GreatLegalMarketing.co.uk
* Do an audit on your firm by downloading this and using it
* Ask all your clients how you can improve
* Ask all your staff how you can improve
* Swipe the best ideas from companies you like dealing with
* Make a general enquiry by email to 10 law firms in your area and compare responses and follow up.

You'll probably get 100 ideas.

Pick those that are best.

And are free.

Implement them and measure the results.

Read more...

Solicitors Market With The News

Here's something you can swipe and deploy
from last week.

It's a good example of how to combine
current news..i.e. recession with legal service i.e. divorce
and come up with an angle the local media like...

(remember local media like "if it bleeds it leads" stories.

You can easily rewrite this in about 20 minutes and email
it to your local newspaper and BBC local radio station.

Once you've got one story in - keep 'em coming
and pretty soon you'll be the legal expert for your town.

Why is it good to be the expert? Check this out.

http://www.greatlegalmarketing.co.uk/sitedata/Misc/How-To-Position-Yourself-A.pdf

Here's the story... below.


http://www.businessdorset.co.uk/90721/8247183

Cheer up! Things may be bad but at least it's a good time to get a divorce

Now could be the time for entrepreneurs to get divorced.

That’s the unusual advice from Ianthe Slinger, head of the family team at Letchers Solicitors in Ringwood, who says that the poor economic climate means that it’s cheaper for people who are in an unhappy marriage and who run their own businesses to untie the knot.

“If you’re going to get divorced, now is the time to do it – any divorce lawyer will tell you that,” said Ianthe, who read law at Cambridge and specialises in financial settlements for business people.

“If you’re a businessman with property, prices are down, borrowing is difficult – you’re more likely to keep your business. It’s an asset. If there is no value the wife cannot have it. If it has value who will buy it and how will they finance the purchase?” asked Ianthe.

Pointing out the financial benefits, she explained: “The court will look at income generating rather than value. When a husband wants to get divorced the wife looks to take half his business. But she will get maintenance. She can’t have both. This scenario happens in this economic climate.

“If a husband says his income is lower than it actually is then a judge will say sell the business.”

She added: “I open two to three cases a week – I have done 60 to 70 divorces so far this year.”

Ianthe, who has been practising for 11 years, trained in Salisbury and then became a partner at Frettens in Christchurch.

She says that in recent years the introduction of collaborative law “where people get round a table” combined with mediation have helped lower the cost of a traditionally expensive divorce.

____________________________________________________________________________

And if you can't think of ways to combine stories then get
creative with this article...http://www.greatlegalmarketing.co.uk/Ideas_For_Marketing_Legal_Companies

Or just buy Michael Michalko's Thinkertoys book

Read more...

Solicitors and Lawyers Use Compare and Contrast To Sell

Here's your new scenario....

It uses the law of Compare and Contrast.

It goes like this...a prospect has picked you out
of Google Local (he's searched conveyancing in Bristol)

"Hello just checking on Conveyancing Mr Smith, I've been
recommended to use Countrywide Lawyers by my Estate Agent
but I wanted another option. Could you tell me what you do.?"

"Sure, but first let me send you this link to the Countrywide reviews...http://www.ciao.co.uk/Reviews/Countrywide_Property_Lawyers__5658256

And here's a link to our videos.....

And by the way....we're independent of the estate agent
which means we work Exclusively FOR you."

Now let me tell you 3 things about us which make us unique...."

Do your staff answer the phone like this?

Remember....

To get someone to buy your conveyancing team you only have
to do the following;

Get someone to like you.
Be positive. Be friendly. Be Enthusiastic.

Get them to trust you.
Give them overwhelming proof, video, audio, written testimonials.

Help them understand what they'll get.
Explain clearly, give them guides and videos. Make
your service understandable.

Ensure they know it's a fair price.
Tell them everything you do for them, don't leave
anything out, even if everyone else does it, you've
got to tell 'em because they don't know.

Remember these are the reasons that people buy.



I like the seller

I understand what I am buying

I perceive a difference with this company

I believe the seller

I have confidence in him

I trust him

I feel comfortable

The price seems fair

I perceive this product will work for me.



I believe this sales person wants to help me so he can build his business.

Work your script around making someone feel great
about these things and you'll convert 50% more leads.

Read more...

Solicitors That Market Persistently Win Profitable Business

Thursday, 15th July. St Swithins Day.

My birthday. Again. I'm taking one year off my age every year from now. So today I am 41.

My mother phoned today of course. And told me...

"If at first if you don’t succeed, try again." And that made me think...

Persistency is one of the qualities you must have if you want to be great at marketing.

Because although you are trying to create a marketing system which gives you predictable and profitable results it will take time, effort and testing to get you there.

But don’t despair if your first efforts don’t pay off. Learn from them.

Just as Thomas Edison said, “I got it wrong 9,999 times in trying to invent the lightbulb...but I learned from every failure.”

The main thing about marketing is to know that just testing, tweaking and persisting in marketing will get results.

And sometimes changing the positioning of your service or product can have dramatic effects. Which is another reason to try new things out.

And inventing new products by amalgamating old products, or changing their name or offering them to a different niche.

You might take heart from the fact that well-known brands such as Timex, Kleenex, Q-Tips, or 7UP haven’t always been successful...

• Timex was a failing company until their cheap watches were put on sale in, of all places, pharmacies. Their success is based on the fact that they tested new places to sell their products!
• In the 1920s, Leo Gerstenzang saw his wife clean out their baby's ears with cotton balls stuck on toothpicks. He then got the idea to design cotton buds, which he originally called "Baby Gays" in 1926.
  
  But it wasn't until he discovered that people were using his buds for different uses other than cleaning baby ears that he decided to change the name to "Q-Tips." After that, sales skyrocketed!
• Kleenex was originally advertised to be used to remove make-up. But when it was discovered that people were using it to blow their noses, they changed their marketing and sales exploded almost instantly.
• 7UP was originally a means of settling infants' upset stomachs and then, as an adult hangover remedy. But when the makers turned it into a soft drink, it sales rocketed!

Testing is part of being committed to marketing. And marketing is about finding, getting, keeping and growing your clients.

So why is it that very few solicitors firms are members of the University of Marketing Stickability?

Remember most prospects have to hear about you, like you, and trust you even before they consider buying from you. And that takes time.

One way of using time well is by persistently offering high quality information that allows prospects to make an informed choice. This will help you convert prospects to buyers.

Some time ago I did a video about “marketing sequences” which is another way of saying persistent marketing.

You can see those videos here.

Part One - click here

Part Two - click here

It’s still relevant. And it will always be relevant.

Because most law firms give up after a couple of goes trying to sell.

People don’t buy when you want to sell. They buy when you are ready. And you had better be top of their mind when that happens.

One way of doing this automatically is by offering a free report on whatever subject interests your prospects. You get their email address and send a series of 5, 10, 20, or 50 emails with video explanations, testimonials, examples, offers , diagrams, recordings – a whole multi-media "preponderance of proof" that you are the right firm to solve the prospects problems.

Too hard for others to do? You bet.

Too hard if you’re not persistent? Golly gosh yes.

Too hard for you to do...? Maybe.

But if you want to be persistent with your prospects keep in touch with them with quality information...

Just like me...;-)

And if you got this far down congratulations on your persistency.

Read more...

Legal Services Subscriptions - Solicitors Kill Bill By Hour

I'm always on the lookout for
things you can swipe and deploy.

Here's one

http://www.boysandmaughan.co.uk/cms/document/EmployAssure_Flyer.pdf

It's simply a fixed fee employment law service
for small businesses.

Katie Marsh from Boys and Maughn who operate it told me,

"Each client proposal is bespoke and dependent upon factors such as their industry, length of trading and track record.

However, the annual premium is rarely more than 1% of payroll"

And

"One other local firm offers a similar scheme, but they lock their clients in for a minimum 3 year contract. We are so confident in our scheme that we only ask clients to sign up for 1 year at a time. "

Small businesses have to deal with employees.
They don't really have the expertise or time or money
to do it properly. And this is their "take my headache away" solution.

It's easy to promote this service.

PR in the local paper (every paper has a business
section), small adverts in the classified trades
section, Federation of Small Business, Chamber
of Commerce, direct mail to local small businesses
with 10 employees or less, radio spot, on your own
website, via Business Banking managers, accountants,
financial advisers....the list is endless.

Why not record an audio CD with information
on your service, testimonials and some great advice
and give it to the local business banking manager.

Tell them you'll co - brand it if they give it
to all their business clients.

And the great thing is that you can offer almost
all the documentation small firms need on line
which makes offering a subscription very profitable.

Even if you don't do employment law can you do
the same for other services by offering subscriptions?


Here's Tessa Shepperson's subscription site
for Landlord Law...
http://www.landlordlaw.co.uk/

How about Business Law, Property and even Family Law...

Is there a way you can do this?

Read more...

Conveyancing Solicitor Goes Football Crazy and Scores

Conveyancing Solicitor Marketing Again...

How can you get free publicity for your firm?

By making a boring subject a bit more interesting!

Thought YOU might like this story.

Here's the link...

http://www.cluttoncox.co.uk/site/ourservices/spurs_champions_league_.html

Those of you who have read Paul Hajek's profile will see that his ambition is for Spurs to win the Champions League within the Perpetuity Period ( a legal definition equivalent to 80 years)

I seem to remember he got publicity from the World Cup too.

Check it out here.

He just emailed the story to all the major news outlets in one email...job done.

Read more...

Legal Marketing Partnerships with Schools

I met up with a CEO of a law firm
a couple of weeks ago
and we discussed partnerships to get more
business.

I particularly like partnerships for marketing
because someone else promotes your services
and you simply return a fee or gift (only if successful).

So it's really low risk. (SRA dictats apply!)

And if most of the marketing work is done by the
partner then how about the legal work
also being "backsourced".

It could make for a really efficient, low cost
option of legal service, being promoted for practically
nothing and instantly profitable.

Let's take an example..(one that is being explored by one law firm.
(And one that I exploited locally for a French Language company).

Imagine going to every school in your county.
Getting them all to put an advert on their bulletins.
That says something like...

Do You Know What Happens To Your Children If You Die Without A Will? Find Out By Calling Our Free 24 hour Recorded Message on 0844 502 1631 or visit www.yourlawfirmwebsite.co.uk

and each school had a
trackable phone number.

The caller hears a recorded message
and leaves their contact details.

And these callers are then sent an email/text
inviting them to a website where they can
do an online Will.

And these Wills were sold and completed online.

And the price was £47.

And £17 went to the school.

And you built up a Will Bank of 1000 clients
(10 per school).

(And got your picture in the local paper and on radio
handing over cheques).

And these 1000 people bought

100 conveyancing
10 probate
10 divorce

services each year.

And you did it for 10 years.

1000 Conveyancing = 500,000
100 probate = 100,000
100 divorce = 100,000

That's 700,000 Pounds.

And each of those clients referred one
other person over 10 years...(I expect a lot more).

That's another 700,000 Pounds.

£1.4M

And all because it's easy to promote with direct online sales.

Where the client does the work.

As Danny Zuko (Grease) sang...

"I've got chills...they're multiplying..."

PS, You repeat this process with charities,
large employers, local authority etc.
Once you have a system in place
it's replicable. -

Want me to help you?
I will if you want to give this a go.

Read more...

Swipe and Deploy Tesco marketing for legal marketing success

Can You Swipe And Deploy Tesco Marketing?

I live in Reading and Isold – the virtual estate agency from Tesco have started to market through the local newspapers.

They have taken a direct marketing approach that will work with some house sellers.

They have used handwritten-style notes to entice vendors to find out more.

The handwritten note is genius.

Not for the handwritten font...but the fact that they are doing it.

Because action is genius.

It's something you can copy.

The SRA ethics guys said it was ok to do...
(I phoned them).

The cards and the story is here...

http://www.greatlegalmarketing.co.uk/free_legal_marketing_ideas

Read more...

Selling Legal Services online

I met up with someone yesterday and
we thought about partnerships to get more
business.

I particularly like partnerships for marketing
because someone else promotes your services
and you simply return a fee (only if successful).

So it's really low risk.

And if most of the marketing work is done by the
partner then how about the legal work
also being "backsourced" (a term coined by
Graham Cohen).

It could make for a really interesting, low cost
option of legal service, being promoted for practically
nothing and instantly profitable.

Let's take an example..(one that is being explored by one law firm.
(And one that I exploit for a French Language company).

Imagine going to every school in your county.
Getting them all to put an advert on their bulletins.
That says something like...

Your Children Can Be Put In To
Care If You Were To Die Today
Without A Will.

And each school had an affinity code
or trackable phone number.

And Wills were sold and completed online.

And the price was £47.

And £17 went to the school.

And you built up a Will Bank of 1000 clients
(10 per school).

And these 1000 people bought

100 conveyancing
10 probate
10 divorce

services each year.

And you did it for 10 years.

1000 Conveyancing = 500,000
100 probate = 100,000
100 divorce = 100,000

That's 700,000 Pounds.

And each of those clients referred one
other person over 10 years...

That's another 700,000 Pounds.

£1.4M

And all because it's easy to promote with direct online sales.

Where the client does the work.

As Danny Zuko sang...

"I've to chills...they're multiplying..."

PS, You repeat this process with charities,
large employers, local authority etc.
Once you have a system in place
it's replicable.

Read more...

Be The Best Sales Person at Your Law Firm

I met with the CEO of a major law software company

last week. They are the company that allow

law firms to make money while they sleep.

(If you want to be introduced let me know).

The best thing that Grahame said to me was...

“Boyd, you’re a salesman!”

On the way back from London on the train I thought

a lot about this comment and decided to share my thoughts.

It makes me proud to be a salesman.

Because until someone sells something, nothing in this commercial

world actually happens. There's no marketing, no finance,

no law firm!

How are you as a salesperson?

• Do you enjoy it?
  
• Do you study how to do it?
  
• Or, like me, do you just try your best and then hope that people buy?

Because, being your best and hoping that people

buy isn’t such a crazy idea.

In striving to be your best you generally get smarter and better

than other people. Because most people really don’t reach

half of their potential.

• You see they give up learning.
  
• They give up studying.
  
• They aren’t self motivated.

What I love about you is that you took the

time to sign up to this newsletter.

(And many have been with me for 12 months now - thank you.)

You demonstrated that you are motivated enough to learn.

So I want to share with a like-minded person my list of what

I do to be as great as I can be.

Here’s what I focus on.

Smart. – I try to be smart. Flexible enough to think on my feet

rather than trotting out the same old stuff as everyone else.

Self-motivated. Nobody has to tell me what to do.

I know what to do and why I am doing it. I work to learn and earn every day.

Great Attitude. How much of my success is attributable to attitude?

10% No. 40% No. 90% Yes. Everything starts with a positive attitude.

Excellent Communication. I want to be compelling.

I want to tell stories that resonate. I want to be believable, clear and concise.

Physically and Mentally Fit. I want to exercise my body and my brain.

I want both of them to be fit to take on the day whatever it’s going to bring.

Mental and physical press-ups are required to live to the full.

Computer Skilled. I can’t have the excuse that “It’s all too difficult to keep up”.

The Internet rules the economic world.

Ignore this fact and in 10 years you’ll be unemployable.

Goal Driven. Having a goal is basic to success.

Devising and persisting with a plan to get there is key to success.

Action is genius and I need to act on getting to my goal.

Dedicated to Success. I want to achieve something every day.

It keeps the momentum going. It keeps me dedicated to my goal

with visible progress.

Past Success. Every time I do something successfully I

imprint it on my memory by squeezing my left index finger.

Those memories give me confidence. I can access that

success feeling any time I want by pressing on my finger.

A Career, Not a Job. It’s not about how much I earn this

week or this month. It’s about how much return I get on what

I am investing in. Give me a pound and 50% commission rather

than £2 and 10% commission.

I’m more interested in personal development and

success than money. I dedicate myself every day to becoming better.

As a result people value me more.

Lifelong Student: Accept I don’t know, then learn.

I know I don’t know everything. I accept it.

And I will never be someone that knows everything.

I am a "lifelong learner."

I love helping others. There’s nothing better than

helping someone become successful.

There’s probably something missing from the list.

Ah...Sales Skills.

But do you know what? It’s better to have a positive attitude

and brains than selling skills.

Because selling skills can be learnt.

Whereas being smart, happy and striving to be the best I can be is totally up to me.

Where do I get help to help me think?

Books. And I surround myself with positive people.

If you have never read anything about personal development try a couple of books

out and let me know how you get on. Take a look at these on Amazon.

Psycho-Cybernetics by Maxwell Maltz MD

The Strangest Secret by Earl Nightingale

Think And Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill

Power of Positive Thinking by Norman Vincent Peale

You can get all these books for £12 or so second hand.

Take them on holiday and read them. Read them instead

of watching TV. Read them on the train instead of trash

news.

I guarantee it's money and TIME well spent.

and for a taster of personal development books

try clicking here

http://www.greatlegalmarketing.co.uk/sitedata/Misc/01---The_7_Habits_of_Highl.pdf

Read more...

Recommendation Isn't Referring

Law Society research says 90% of people would recommend their solicitor
to a family member of friend. (IF ASKED BY A RESEARCHER).

Those are my capitals. Because it doesn't really matter what someone says to a researcher. What matters is what YOUR CLIENTS do.

Industry pats on the back don't do anything for your bottom line.

You can't spend researched recommendations at the bank.

And satisfaction is not loyalty.

The true test is loyalty.

How many of your clients will never leave you and
will defend you to the hilt?

Because loyal clients are the best referrers.

And the question is "How are you systematicallly asking
and getting referrals?"

Action on getting a systematic referral process
in place will do everything for you.

The research doesn't show how many referrals each
loyal client is giving you.

The research doesn't show how many each client could
give you.

The research doesn't show the value of each referral and what you should invest in getting referrals.

If you know how to get loyal, highly profitable clients and get them to refer
their best friends, clients and colleagues (i.e. people like them)
then you are on to a winner. But everyone already knows that don't they?

Still, how many people have a referral system in place?

Have you?

First admit you don’t know. Then learn. Then act.

Read more...

Referral Partner System for Lawyers and Solicitors

Remember my last email where I talked
about getting a partner referral programme going?

(It's down below)

Well here's a letter format you can
swipe and deploy for your firm.

This is a real example being used by
my client.

http://www.greatlegalmarketing.co.uk/sitedata/Misc/Partner_offer_for_Rentals_.pdf

Send this letter out to the top 75 businesses
in each category listed.

Obviously change the words for your own (or ask me
to do it for you £££ ;-)
but use the same or a similar format.

Any questions, let me know.

Boyd

PS enjoy the match. An England win means
happy people. Happy people buy things.

PPS advance notice...I'm away for August...
so get any questions in before then...

-----Original Message-----
From: boyd@greatlegalmarketing.co.uk
Sent: Tuesday, 15 June, 2010 10:19am
To: boyd@greatlegalmarketing.co.uk
Subject: Great Legal Marketing Newsletter - How To Create A Referral Network.

Good morning...

Still on the the theme of referrals.

Did you know there are only 5 steps you have to take
to create a referral network.

But you have to take at least one step today.

And that's to open the PDF
I've put together for you.

It's right here

http://www.greatlegalmarketing.co.uk/sitedata/Misc/referral-networks-for-soli.pdf

I'll probably get a few emails after people read this.

So bear with me if it takes a couple of days to get
round to answering yours.

Read more...

Get Your Solicitor Firm on Bing For Buyers To Come

Here's a new tip for you.

You know Google Local right?

And if you've done what I suggested
you are probably making good money
out of it.

But have you done the same for Bing?

Because in my books Bingers are Buyers.

So it makes sense to get yourself on
the Bing local version.

You can do this so easily...I don't even have
to make a video to show how it's done.

Just click here
http://marketlocation.my118information.co.uk/Default.aspx?action=H

And follow the instructions...

PS for all you employment lawyers
using the World Cup to sell your services
take a look at this

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FZQL5kobOEs

How many ways can you present information
that makes it more interesting?

Read more...

5 Steps To A Solicitors Referral Network

Still on the the theme of referrals.

Did you know there are only 5 steps you have to take
to create a referral network.

But you have to take at least one step today.

And that's to open the PDF
I've put together for you.

It's right here

http://www.greatlegalmarketing.co.uk/sitedata/Misc/referral-networks-for-soli.pdf

I'll probably get a few emails after people read this.

So bear with me if it takes a couple of days to get
round to answering yours.

Read more...