Solicitors Can Market Even When Not At Work

I'm deliberately sending this out on Wednesday at 11.50am

It's the best time to get emails opened.

When I send out on Friday I get mainly out of office emails..

Out of office emails. Don't you just love 'em?

A they a great marketing legal marketing tool?

Not if this is anything to go by.

* I am out of the office today the 13th September. If the matter is urgent please contact...

This says to me, "I couldn't be bothered to stamp my personality
on my emails or at best, I hadn't thought about it."

But then I got this reply from Richard Davies and thought
ah...there's someone that's taken a bit of time and effort...

_______________________________________________________________

Thank you for your e-mail. Please note I will be out of the office until 6th September.

I will be checking e-mails periodically during this period but in the event of any urgent matters please e-mail one of the following:

For general and conveyancing enquiries e-mail Irene Campbell - irene at rbmdavies.com

For divorce and family law matters e-mail Jane Young - jane at rbmdavies.com

For probate, wills and Court of Protection matters e-mail Andrew McLoughlin - andrew at rbmdavies.com

or telephone the office on 0151 336 6611.

Richard B M Davies
RBM Davies & Partners LLP
__________________________________________________________

And here's something from Fishers, it's a mini
events guide on their out of office emails...

WHAT'S ON:

Sunday 19th September 2010

The Melbourne Festival - Fishers Solicitors continue their partnership with the Melbourne Festival. Running from the 11th to the 25th of September, the festival brings together performances of music, drama, poetry and comedy with the best local art and architecture. Fishers will be hosting a stand on Sunday 19th during the Art and Architecture Trail, come along and say hello and join us for a glass of wine.

Thursday 30th September 2010

Leicester Business Event 2010 - Fishers will be exhibiting at LBE10 at the Walkers Stadium. Visitors get free entry so why not take the opportunity to come along and chat to some of our lawyers.

Thursday 30th September 2010

Ashby Trade Fair - Fishers will exhibiting at the Ashby Trade Fair. This is a great opportunity to meet other local businesses in the Ashby de la Zouch area. If your business is based in Ashby come along to Hood Park Leisure Centre between 12pm and 7pm and meet some of the team.



Can you try something friendly...

_________________________________________________________________

Thanks for emailing me. I'm with clients
all day helping them with their divorce cases.

If you want an update on yours feel free to call me
between 4pm and 5pm Monday to Friday on 0844 502 1631

If it's really urgent and can't wait
then please text me a short message with
what's urgent on 0795 1284875.

If you want to know anything about the divorce process
and how I can help you please download my free guide here

Remember to change your Will when you get divorced.

For other legal solutions please get in touch with...etc.

______________________________________________________________

If you have 10 out of office emails a week that's 500 ways
to cross sell other services a year. Multiplied by how many members
of staff you have. And it's gratis.

I would be gobsmacked if you don't pick up at least ONE
NEW CLIENT.

PS, please do this...it is so easy. And change it from
time to time so you sound human!

PPS is it Yellow Pages renewing time? Are you going to need
a trackable phone number (you must). Get one from me - just ask!

Read more...

Solicitors In Bournemouth

I saw this rather good solicitors website. It's one of the first to use a trackable phone number that I've seen. If you want a good example of someone doing something different check out this solicitors in bournemouth website.

Read more...

Direct Law founder talks about online legal services

Remember the days when you used to call
a local insurance broker?

And they'd call around looking for some good car insurance
or house insurance for you?

Or when you used to call the airline
and ask about flights by phone?

Seems a long time ago. But it isn't.
Probably less than 10 years.

(check out today's interview here)

Imagine then that someone calls you
and you don't offer the prospect the option
of completing their Will online?

You've had a chat on the phone
and you know they just need a simple
Will...and all they have to do is fill in the blanks.

Are you still going to send them a paper survey, or spend
time on the phone going over the details?

When you can fix the price for them, capture their email,
send them a link where they can log into your secure
website, fill in the blanks, and pay their money.

In about 3 minutes.

And still charge what the client is prepared to pay.

I've had a chat with Grahame Cohen, CEO of Direct Law.

I've put it on the website. Right here on
Solicitors Marketing Ideas Might be worth taking a look.

Because you don't want to miss this opportunity
for someone in your firm to become an expert
in delivering legal services in the way that
a large portion of your prospects want them delivered.

Read more...

3D accident showreels for personal injury cases

Video is massive and you need to use it
as much as you can.

Take this great service from
http://www.3daccidentreconstruction.com/3d-accident-reel/

What they do is reconstruct car/motorbike
accidents in 3D.

The outcome is a dramatic representation
of what was alleged to have happened.

How useful is this service?

Justin Adams of LA Media says that insurers
often settle before the case comes to court.

I'm not surprised. Ranging between £3.5 - £2k
these videos are powerful influencers
(already being used by top QC's).

It's a young company, but one which is going to be
big.

Check them out here

To email Justin use justinadams@LAmedia.co.uk.
They're based in Scotland.

PS remember that before and after video
in personal accident cases is also very powerful.

Read more...

Google Places - You Must Have The Right Categories Listed

Read more...

Solicitor Marketing Ideas By Spying On Other Firms.

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

For spying on other law firms websites
so you can see their keywords and adverts
they are using on Google you can use Keyword Spy

Just as I did in this video http://screenr.com/cin

This is another cool tool

http://www.web2pdfconvert.com/

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

How cool is that? You can email your
website to clients!

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

Another great tool is http://screenr.com/
as it allows you to produce screen casts
easily 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

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. More useful tools coming up in a few days.

Let me know how you get on.

Read more...

Google Instant Gives Solicitors Marketing Ideas

Google has rolled out an instant search mode that will display the top 10 search results as you type.

This is probably going to cause some changes in the way people use Google.

I played around with a "live" just to see what it does

check it out here http://screenr.com/Lin

Here's Google's reason for doing it and their video

http://www.google.com/instant/

If you see changes in your website traffic in the coming months, this could be the main reason.

As you can see the results when you type in the words, instead of scanning through the search engine result page (SERP) after each search, you are more likely to look at the top 3-4 results and then refine the search until they find what they want.

Might be worth optimising your website for some of the instant search phrases.

Here's my vid http://screenr.com/Lin

Read more...

Solicitor Marketing - There's Riches in Niches

It's always great to see a law firm
targeting a niche and understanding
that the more you give the more you get when it
comes to legal marketing.

Take a look at this lawyer in the US.
http://www.bedsorefaq.com/bed-sore-resource-center/

He focuses on care home negligence.

One of the specialities he has is
bed sore claims.

This web site is a fantastically detailed resource
for anyone that wants to know about bedsores.

Who are you going to use to make your
claim if you have a relative that has suffered
from bedsores?

Someone that knows their stuff or an amateur?

If I were a civil litigation solicitor or personal
injury solicitor I'd be tempted to register
pressuresore.org and do the same with a UK
website...

And I'd be looking at niches you can exploit because
if you have two clients of any one kind, i.e. charities,
schools, Supremely affluents etc then you
can create your own legitimate niche.

As Shaw Taylor (Police 5) said..

"Keep 'em peeled"

Read more...

Professional Indemnity Insurance Solicitors And Life Changes

I know that indemnity insurance costs have risen...in case you
didn't see it there's a new insurer on the market and the Law
Society have produced a guide to the subject...

http://www.lawsociety.org.uk/newsandevents/news/majorcampaigns/view=newsarticle.law?CAMPAIGNSID=419346

One member of this newsletter has used Connect2Law
http://www.connect2law.co.uk/
to successfully get P I Insurance. Might be another route for you?

Obviously insurance is a major issue for you. But what are major
issues for your clients?

Because major life changes can help you to market..

Things like;marriage, divorce, kids, buying a house,
retirement, selling a business etc.

Most people are going through these at any one time.

And they don't know that there are legal consequences.

So there's the opportunity to enter their "theatre of the mind".

This means that you enter the conversation that is
already going on in their heads.

It's much easier than butting in where you are not welcome.

Just make sure it's a laser targeted headline or
selling phrase you use when you engage them
by email, on the phone or by letter.

It still amazes me that solicitors don't make an offer for a new Will
with conveyancing EVERY TIME. Perhaps you might wait a few weeks/months
to sell the Will because a new house takes up most of
someone's brain for a while.

But plant the seed and then nurture it with a marketing sequence
over a few months and I bet
you'll get their Will sorted.

And if you find this difficult to systemise
why not automate the whole process?

A friendly letter/email and sms text twice a year
highlighting legal solutions to major life changes
would cost pennies but it's a nice reminder
and your clients will thank you for it.

If a garage can send an sms about an MOT
and a dentist can send a reminder about a check-up
couldn't you do the same twice a year about a
legal check up?

The more you help your clients the more they will
trust and like you. And the more they will buy.

And the principle applies to commercial clients
as well as private clients. The more you know about
their business the more you can provide solutions.

But if you don't ask regularly you will never know.

PS remember people buy when they want to buy, not when
you want to sell. That's why you have to be in constant
contact efficiently, in a valuable way, and systematically.
Ask me how if you want to! Visit Solicitor Marketing

Read more...

Online Legal Services - Is The Time Now?

I've been looking at how firms can offer something to sell to visitors to their websites.

After all, why not make money 24/7 right?

One thing that you can do is offer "backsourced" products such as Wills, where the client fills in the details and you check it over. It's how most of the car insurance industry now works.

(For an example of who does use it in the legal world visit www.Nelsonsonline.co.uk

Personally, online legal services are right for me as a consumer and I think there is a big market for them.

And I asked Tim Bishop, (who runs the Salisbury Solicitors firm Bonallack and Bishop) his views on the matter. (Tim's website is worth checking out - he know's where he's headed).

These are Tim's thoughts on online legal services

What do you think about online legal services Tim?

"I suspect it's likely that this method of delivering some legal services will become increasingly popular. However it's early days. I'm a great believer in not adopting a radical new method first I prefer to wait and see and let others go through the expense, the pain and the learning curve -- and if it looks like a winner then I'll happily come on board at the forefront of the second wave, learning from others' mistakes."

Do you see it happening soon?

"If this method of delivering legal services does take off -- I suspect it won't be tomorrow but the day after tomorrow. Law firms are a conservative market."

What mistakes do you envisage people making?

"I've spoken to at least one firm who just started taking this route -- I'm not sure that they have even the basic pricing right however. If I recall correctly they were doing wills the traditional way for about £95 pounds and online wills, with very little input from lawyers, for about £85 ."


" I don't see many clients choosing to go down the technological route, at their own risk when for another £10 they could get a lawyer to take the risk and do all the hard work. In my view to make this offer attractive, there clearly has to be a much bigger differential. But the problem for this particular firm I think is that they are significantly undercharging for wills in the first place."

What are the important things to consider?

"If the market is not ready for mass adoption of these sorts of services -- all we are doing in the short-term is cannibalizing our own market. I appreciate the risk is that non-lawyers to come into the market.

Here however I think is the crux of the matter. It is not so much delivery of service but control of the source of work. If solicitors can control the source work than they can, to a certain extent, control the rate of change in service delivery. Equally if the likes of, say Which, take control over the source of work for wills, that will allow them to start controlling the means of delivery.

How are you preparing for the future at Bonallack and Bishop?

"The central plank of my personal role [I no longer run legal cases] is finding ways of controlling the sources of work -- We will continue to deliver wills for the time being locally and in the traditional manner -- in fact we're coming up with various initiatives to significantly increase the number of wills we are doing and therefore getting people onto our private client database -- a critical move."

"The other issue is that I'm personally concerned about commoditized services -- where profit margins will be driven down and down again and the only way eventually of delivering them will be on a massive scale -- simply beyond most small and medium firms of solicitors -- more suited to the likes of Which or large insurance companies. My target is therefore the niche areas of law which are more specialized and labour-intensive where we are, as solicitors, much more likely to be safer from the likes of Which etc, and where we are likely to be able to continue charging a premium in at least the medium term."

Thank you to Tim for sharing his thoughts.

Tim's words about getting local people on to their client database is very
interesting. This is where online "backsourced" wills and working with
joint venture partners, such as schools, charities and media owners locally can be combined.

Are you looking at online legal services as a way
to capitalise on your website?

Let me know what plans you have or why you won't be doing it any time soon...

Read more...

Turn Negatives Into Your Positives For Solicitor Marketing

I was away for five weeks and
I only managed to get stung by a jellyfish once.

Now I have a free souvenir of my time in France.

I like to turn negatives into positives. It works well
away from the beach too.

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...

How can Law Firms Come Up With New Ideas?

New ideas are a great way to compete.

New ideas are not about money. They are about innovation. And no-one has the patent on innovation.

Most of the business concepts we have are handed down.This means we are limited in our ideas by tradition.

But anyone can create a new world. It’s all in your imagination.

Let’s imagine you are going to be making a presentation about handling a large University property account.

You believe that you will have a good chance of winning the business if you really know what the client is thinking so that you can handle any objections. So you decide to use a prop that ensures the buyers WILL tell you what they are thinking.

You give the panel gavels that they can bang down whenever they have an objection or question.

You say to them, “You be the judge, if you have an objection or question, bang the gavel!”

* You get a clear signal that you have to communicate better or more or prove what you are saying.
* The audience don’t feel embarrassed about asking.
* They get a clear understanding and banish their doubts.
* They enjoy the process.
* They buy.

You can probably think of a hundred different analogies you can use in your law firm like this.

You don’t have to use all the ideas, (pick the best,) but the more you have, the better those you choose to implement.

Here's an example.

Imagine if all estate agents in your town would give a free will to all buyers and sellers written by your firm.

This free will is offered when the buyer/seller gets a conveyancing quote from you.

It’s promoted in every advert that the estate agent places and in every communication with buyers/sellers.

The solicitor gets more conveyancing, gets a relationship with the buyer/seller, sells more family law services via a marketing sequence and gets publicity paid for by the estate agent.

The Estate Agent gives extra value to potential clients.

All the solicitor does is provide the marketing materials to the estate agent. (Got to do some work you know).

Remember your imagination needs nourishment. Stand back once in a while from your day to day work.

Here’s another way to come up with ideas.

Check out this page

Do you know Einstein imagined what it would feel like to be a light particle travelling through space? He came up with the theory of relativity based on his feelings and imagination.


PS, I’ve mentioned it before. Michael Michalko’s Book “Thinkertoys”
is a book that helps feed the imagination.
If you have children or an enquiring mind you will love iit.

Read more...

Solicitors - Have You Protected Your Relationship with Agents?

Some people are worried about
Tesco Law and the Co-op stealing
business away.

But there's probably a different threat.

Complacency.

You see a company is signing up estate agents in your area
and getting their conveyancing leads. They might
only be at 2.5% of the English market but I expect
that to rise.

What are you doing to protect your leads from Estate
Agents and mortgage brokers. Are you complacent?
Do you know enough about what
your agents want? Are you proactive?

Could you outsource your conveyancing to this growing firm?

Find out what commercial director of myhomemove.com said
when I interviewed him earlier this week.

Here's the interview

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

Read more...

Niches for Solicitors - Can you exploit yours?

It's always great to see a law firm
targeting a niche and understanding
that the more you give the more you get.

Take a look at this lawyer in the US.
http://www.bedsorefaq.com/bed-sore-resource-center/

He focuses on care home negligence.

One of the specialities he has is
bed sore claims.

This web site is a fantastically detailed resource
for anyone that wants to know about bedsores.

Who are you going to use to make your
claim if you have a relative that has suffered
from bedsores?

Someone that knows their stuff or an amateur?

If I were a civil litigation solicitor or personal
injury solicitor I'd be tempted to register
pressuresore.org and do the same with a UK
website...

And I'd be looking at niches you can exploit because
if you have two clients of any one kind, i.e. charities,
schools, Supremely affluents etc then you
can create your own legitimate niche.

As Shaw Taylor (Police 5) said..

"Keep 'em peeled".

Read more...

Solicitors market to the theatre of the mind...

I love it when someone ACTS.

Not as in the thespian way, but in the
genius way.

Remember I talked about I-Sold (Tesco)
using handwritten postcards to target
house sellers?

(It's here)

One of the Great Legal Members
didn't do what I suggested (try the same
for conveyancing) but did do an alternative.

He's selling Wills by recognising that the
house seller is having a major life-change
and it's a good time to get a new/updated will.

Do you systematically market to people undergoing
major life changes?
Things like;marriage, divorce, kids, buying a house,
retirement, selling a business etc.

Most people are going through these at any one time.

So there's the opportunity to enter their "theatre of the mind".

This means that you enter the conversation that is
already going on in their heads.

It's much easier than butting in where you are not welcome.
Just make sure it's a laser targeted headline or
selling phrase you use when you engage them
by email on the phone.

It still amazes me that solicitors don't bundle a Will
with conveyancing EVERY TIME.

But maybe you do?

Read more...