The Rainmaker Blog

Phoenix Legal Networking Group: Learn How to Double Your Referrals in 6 Months or Less at our September 16 Meeting

Stephen Fairley — Thu, 02 Sep 2010 08:05:44 -0700

At our September 16 Phoenix Legal Networking Group meeting, I will be talking about How to Double Your Referrals in 6 Months or Less.

In addition to some great information, there will be some great food, good fun, and a chance for you to reconnect with other attorneys who could turn out to be great additions to your referral network in the Phoenix area. After only four gatherings, many of our attendees are already reporting jumps in their referral activity from those they’re met here.

So who should attend?

Partners at small law firms who want to reconnect with colleagues and discover new and innovative ways to increase their referrals and revenues and are open to new ideas.
Solo practitioners who want to find new clients fast on a shoestring budget and want to build relationships with other Phoenix area attorneys.
Of Counsel Attorneys who need to learn how to bring in more business to the firm.
Associates who are looking to grow their book of business or who want to get on the partner track.
Law Firm Staff—including Business/Office Managers, Paralegals, and other Office Staff who are looking for more referral sources and want to help grow their law firm with more connections.

Join us on September 16 and discover:

The proven 8-step system used by hundreds of top attorneys to generate more and better referrals fast
How to identify who the best referral sources are for you (and they usually aren't other attorneys)
The #1 reason why you're not getting more referrals
The best ways to meet potential referral sources
5 effective ways to follow up with referral sources

The event will be held from 5-7 p.m. on Thursday, September 16 at Monti’s, 100 S. Mill Ave. in Tempe.

Cost is $20 per person if you register by September 14, $30 if you register by September 15 and $35 on the day of the event. This covers drinks, hors d’oeurves, the networking event and the workshop.

To register for our September 16 networking and legal marketing event, co-hosted by FindLaw, Attorney at Law Magazine and The Rainmaker Institute, visit http://www.therainmakerretreat.com/network/ or call 888-816-8935.

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Stop Wasting Precious Time and Money

Feel like you don’t have time for marketing? Let us show you how to make a plan that runs on “autopilot” – one that attracts new and lucrative clients while you focus on your practice.

Learn how easy it can be to create an effective law firm marketing plan that performs by getting our Free Guide: 5 Easy Steps to Create Your Law Firm Marketing Plan.

After working with many ultra-successful lawyers we found five common threads in their marketing plans. This guide outlines these shared elements to provide insight into strategies that work and how to make them work for you.

There are two versions: one for Attorneys in Solo Practice and one for Attorneys in a Small Firm. You can download them now free! Go here to download, and start using these proven strategies today!

For Email Marketing you can trust

Live Webinar on How to Use Social Media to Market and Grow Your Law Firm

Stephen Fairley — Wed, 01 Sep 2010 11:27:46 -0700

Social media...is it a fad or a fundamental shift in the way we communicate and market? Every time you turn on the television, advertisers are encouraging you to “become a fan on Facebook” or “follow us on Twitter”—what does that mean and why should you do it?

We have all heard the staggering social media statistics:

Facebook now has over 500 Million registered users!
LinkedIn adds another 1 Million users every 12 days!
Over 75 Million people have set up a Twitter account!
YouTube has surpassed over 104 Million unique visitors per month!

As a law firm, should you “jump on the bandwagon” and get in before your competitors do or should you “wait and see” if social media really takes hold? If you wait, what will you miss and how will you know when to jump in? What are the risks you need to be aware of? What about the ethical rules and regulations? How do you get started? How much time, energy and money should you devote to social media? How do you measure a return on investment? What expectations should you have?

Attorneys have lots of questions about social media and in this 2-part webinar series I will give you all the answers. Get what you need to know while avoiding common pitfalls and time wasters. By the end of this series you will know if social media is right for your law firm and if so, precisely how to use it to market your law firm, build your online platform, connect with prospects, clients and potential referral sources.

2-Part Live Webinar

Part 1: Wednesday, September 15th at 3:00 pm ET
(2:00pm CT, 1:00pm MT, 12:00pm PT)
Duration: 60 minutes

Part 2: Tuesday, September 21st at 3:00 pm ET
(2:00pm CT, 1:00pm MT, 12:00pm PT)
Duration: 60 minutes

Wednesday, September 15th

In Part 1 of this fast-paced 60-minute law firm marketing webinar you will learn:

The 7 Fundamentals of Social Media you must understand to market your law firm
What kinds of practice areas benefit most from social media? Litigation or Transactional? Business to Business or Business to Consumer?
Research on the Benefits of Using Social Media
Understanding the “Dark Side” and Risks of Using Social Media
Actual case studies and real world examples of how law firms are using social media outlets
The 6 Major Social Media Tools Lawyers Can Use
An in-depth Analysis of LinkedIn for Lawyers
Insightful Demographics of LinkedIn Users
8 Steps to Get Started Fast on LinkedIn
Why Facebook is Becoming the New Google and Why They Turned Down a $1 Billion Buy-out Offer from Google
How to Fix Your Facebook Profile
Unbelievable ways to target your exact perfect client on Facebook (you won't believe it even when I show you)
Case Studies of Lawyers Using Facebook Fan Pages to Promote Their Law Firm
Benefits of Facebook Fan Pages
Why Facebook is causing a “New Gold Rush”
Measuring the Return on Investment of Social Media

Tuesday, September 21st

In Part 2 of this information-packed 60-minute law firm marketing webinar you will discover:

The Rainmaker Social Media Blueprint: A How To Guide for Marketing Your Law Firm on Social Media
Review of 6 Major Social Media Tools
Is Twitter a waste of time and do people really search for attorneys on Twitter?
Twitter Terminology for New Users
The Do’s and Don’ts of Using Video on Your Law Firm’s Website
Creative Ways to Use YouTube to Promote Your Practice
Why 68,000 Attorneys are already on YouTube
The Importance of a Comprehensive Profile on Avvo
Should You Consider Advertising on Avvo?
One of the “Secret Weapons” to Rapidly Build Your Online Presence
Using Online Article Marketing to Dominate Your Competition
A long-term strategy to position yourself as an expert on the Internet
Case Studies of Attorneys Using Social Media
What works and what doesn't on each social media network
Why legal blogs can give your firm a huge advantage over the competition
Using your blog to generate quality leads for your law firm
The 3 biggest mistakes attorneys make when blogging
How to get started in 30 days with a new blog
Why the research says having a blog is a “must have” for any law firm
Why the frequency of your blog posts determines your lead generation
How to Keep Social Media in Perspective

Online Registration

I really encourage you to register for both sessions, but if you can attend only one, rest assured that each one-hour session is a great standalone presentation on social media strategies for law firms. Here’s the online registration information:

For Email Marketing you can trust

Law Firm Marketing: Are You Hitting Your Ideal Target Market?

Stephen Fairley — Tue, 31 Aug 2010 11:45:43 -0700

This venn diagram at Matt Homann’s the [non]billable hour blog got me thinking again about perception and reality when it comes to law firm marketing:

If you ask most attorneys whom they are marketing to with their websites, they’ll tell you potential clients. That’s their perception. But the sad reality is, most attorneys are marketing to other attorneys and, yes, themselves.

How profitable is that?

Maybe it’s time to take a good long look at that Ideal Target Market and be sure your website – and all your marketing efforts – are speaking directly to them.

Your Ideal Target Market (ITM) is the person or company who is most likely to retain you initially, repeatedly, and at the highest profit margin. There are 3 key parts here:

Initially—your ITM will retain your services faster than others and present fewer obstacles for you to overcome.

Repeatedly—the most expensive thing a law firm can have is a 1-time client. On average, it will cost your firm 10 times as much to obtain a new client as it does to service an existing one.

At the highest profit margin—your ITM is not the price-conscious consumer. Research tells us that 15% of any market, regardless of what product or service you are selling, will always and only buy on price. Your responsibility as a law firm marketing professional is to quickly identify those “15 percenters” and move them out of your pipeline so you can focus on selling to the other 85%.

Identifying and targeting the right market is absolutely critical to the success of your law firm marketing plan. If you don’t target the right market, nothing else you do will matter. To be successful as a legal marketer and attorney, you have to start with a clear picture of your ITM.

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BALIF Rainmaker Institute Event on October 14 in San Francisco

Founded in 1980, Bay Area Lawyers for Individual Freedom (BALIF) is the nation’s oldest and largest bar association of lesbians, gay men, bisexuals, and transgendered persons in the field of law.

On Thursday, Oct. 14, BALIF will present a 1-day workshop designed for busy Attorneys, Partners, Associates, and their Staff who want to discover how to apply proven marketing strategies and top tips used by some of today’s biggest Rainmakers to create a 7-figure lifestyle law firm.

Rainmaker Institute CEO Stephen Fairley will be speaking on Proven Strategies for Today’s Rainmaker: Increasing Revenues and Referrals Using Networking, Internet Marketing and Social Media In the New Age. This one-day seminar includes 1 hour of MCLE Ethics Credit for California attorneys.

For more information and to register online, click here.

For Email Marketing you can trust

Law Firm Marketing: Legal Ethics Expert Weighs in On Social Media Regulations

Stephen Fairley — Mon, 30 Aug 2010 13:29:30 -0700

Over the past couple of months I have blogged here and here about the Florida Bar’s proposed new legal ethics in advertising rules. Not that I’m obsessed, but I just had to share another viewpoint (one that I heartily agree with) from an interview at gjel.com with legal ethics expert Diane Karpman.

Here’s an excerpt (the boldfaced parts are mine):

GJEL: Will the expanding use of social media by the general population have a permanent effect on attorney ethics guidelines?

DK: I’m not sure. There is a historic reaction against technological changes that the bar always takes. They always try to take the old rule and stretch it and see how it will encompass the new technological developments. The biggest problem with social media and lawyer guidelines is that at least in California, anytime a lawyer puts their name on anything, it’s deemed to fall under regulations governing advertising. Every state has very Byzantine regulations regarding lawyer advertising. The overarching theme is that everything lawyers say in advertisements must be true, accurate and not confusing. But these rules fail to take into consideration things like Twitter. If you only have 140 characters you just can’t comply with all the requirements.

People think that what’s online is friendly, but that’s not true when you are a professional. The main problem is that what’s posted on the Internet is there forever. It has a permanent effect on attorney ethics guidelines.

Five states are obsessed with enacting stricter attorney advertising laws. Some of the most restrictive are Florida, Texas and Louisiana. Some states even have a requirement that before a lawyer does anything, it must be approved by the state bar.

GJEL: Are there free speech issues associated with social media regulation?

DK: Putting regulations on social media is a violation of freedom of speech. If you have to get pre-approval from the bar, how can you be blogging or tweeting? The social media platforms are stretching the ethical ideas way beyond what has been thought about before.

GJEL: I understand that a number of states have enacted additional guidelines for social media use. Do you think each state should enact specific regulations around use of social media?

DK: Ethics rules are about 50 years behind the reality. When emails started the question was on whether to encrypt messages or not. They realized that email is just like a phone call and it cannot be tapped without the same ethics guidelines. As soon as a rule is enacted it’s almost obsolete. You have to take into consideration the overarching principles that guide the profession. Special rules just look silly. The type of regulation in Florida is just overkill. I almost think it’s unconstitutional just because it’s a prior restraint to freedom of speech.

Amen. And hallelujah.

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Exclusive Rainmaker Retreat Preview Call – Learn Before You Go!

If you want to learn more about the Rainmaker Retreat and why it is a proven legal marketing system that has helped over 7,000 attorneys find more and better clients, then register now for our one-hour complimentary teleseminar.

Hosted by Rainmaker Institute CEO Stephen Fairley, this teleseminar will give you a preview of the valuable material that is taught at our 2-day Rainmaker Retreat as well as teach you:

How to Avoid the Most Deadly Marketing Mistakes Attorneys make
3 powerful strategies you must put into action in your practice immediately
How to set yourself apart from your major competitors
Secrets top attorneys are using to generate more referrals right now…
How attorneys are winning even in this economy by implementing this proven 8-step system

Tuesday, August 31, 2010
1-2pm Pacific | 2-3pm Mountain | 3-4pm Central | 4-5pm Eastern

Wednesday, September 8, 2010
11am-12pm Pacific | 12-1pm Mountain | 1-2pm Central | 2-3pm Eastern

Join us and learn why the Rainmaker Retreat is the one law firm marketing boot camp you cannot afford to miss!

For Email Marketing you can trust

Law Firm Marketing: Using Video to Move the Masses

Stephen Fairley — Fri, 27 Aug 2010 08:38:26 -0700

Remember when you were in school and how happy it made you to show up for a class and find out the teacher was going to show a movie? I hope you recapture that feeling today, thanks to this little gem created by the Consumer Attorneys of California (kudos to the Gillin Jacobson Ellis & Larsen blog where I first saw it):

A World Without Lawyers - The funniest home videos are here

For Email Marketing you can trust

Law Firm Marketing: Announcing Fall 2010 Rainmaker Retreat Dates

Stephen Fairley — Thu, 26 Aug 2010 09:58:18 -0700

Fall is almost here and so is the next group of Rainmaker Retreats! These information-packed law firm marketing seminars are designed to give small firm and solo attorneys the guidance you need to go back and develop legal marketing strategies that will allow you to build the type of practice you have always wanted. The information presented ranges from legal marketing systems and techniques to Internet marketing for attorneys.

The Rainmaker Retreat schedule includes the following dates and locations:

October 8-9, 2010 New Brunswick, NJ
October 22-23, 2010 Scottsdale, AZ
November 5-6, 2010 San Francisco, CA

The Rainmaker Retreat is different from other marketing seminars in several ways:

First, it is specifically designed for Attorneys at small law firms and solo practitioners. While attorneys at larger firms can benefit from the information presented, it is presented with the Small law firm and solo attorney in mind.

Second, it is a working retreat. You will be creating many of your plans during the retreat.

Third, it is NOT an introductory course. We work very hard to make the material easy to understand and simple to apply, but please understand this is an advanced, in-depth, hard-hitting course.

Fourth, it is designed to maximize the your Return on Investment. Everything about this workshop is focused on one goal—helping you achieve the best results by finding more and better clients in the least amount of time using the least amount of money possible.

Fifth, it offers a 100% Satisfaction Guarantee. We are so confident you will benefit from the Rainmaker Retreat that we offer a 100% satisfaction guarantee. If you are not completely satisfied at the end of the first day, just let us know, turn your materials in and we will refund your money.

If you are looking to revolutionize your law firm marketing, register now for one of the Rainmaker Retreats.

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Complimentary Rainmaker Retreat Preview DVD is Available

We would like to send you a DVD of your colleagues (and even your competitors) describing their experiences at the 2 day Rainmaker Retreat. Yes, we know you are skeptical (we wouldn't have it any other way). So instead of us telling you how these 2 days will transform your business, we will let our clients do the telling. Like this:

Click here to order your complimentary DVD right now.

For Email Marketing you can trust

How To Measure Your Law Firm's Success With Social Media: What Are You Measuring?

Stephen Fairley — Wed, 25 Aug 2010 09:41:11 -0700

Last Friday, I blogged about a social media marketing study just out from KingFish Media, HubSpot and Junta42 that showed 75% of B2B and B2C marketers surveyed have a social media marketing program in place.

I want to revisit that survey again to discuss how marketers measure social media ROI using both quantitative and qualitative metrics. Both measurements are important because social media is really about two things: engagement and influence.

Quantitative measurements are those counted in quantity – it’s the “show me the numbers” part of research that can determine how your social media program is performing on the engagement level. There are a number of different quantitative measurements for social media, as shown here:

Qualitative measurements are those relating to or concerning quality and measures how your social media program is performing on the influence level. Here are some of the ways leading marketers are using qualitative measurements for social media:

For both quantitative and qualitative social media measurement, check out this Wiki of social media monitoring tools: http://wiki.kenburbary.com/.

As you develop your social media marketing plan, take the time to determine what you want to know. Your plan should be able to identify all of your target audiences, the key influencers to those audiences, and your effectiveness in reaching them. You should be able to track the conversion rate of prospects to clients, the response percentage to your marketing messages, and who is responding to your messaging.

However you choose to measure social media, it is imperative that you have a success metric in mind before you begin. Without some sort of benchmark, determining your ROI is impossible.

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Stop Wasting Precious Time and Money

Feel like you don’t have time for marketing? Let us show you how to make a plan that runs on “autopilot” – one that attracts new and lucrative clients while you focus on your practice.

Learn how easy it can be to create an effective law firm marketing plan that performs by getting our Free Guide: 5 Easy Steps to Create Your Law Firm Marketing Plan.

There are two versions: one for Attorneys in Solo Practice and one for Attorneys in a Small Firm. You can download them now free! Go here to download, and start using these proven strategies today!

For Email Marketing you can trust

Law Firm Marketing Seminar: Becoming a Rainmaker Series Returns to New Jersey

Stephen Fairley — Tue, 24 Aug 2010 08:06:53 -0700

The information-packed Becoming a Rainmaker presentation is coming to New Jersey, October 5, 6 & 7, 2010 in a series of presentations sponsored by the New Jersey State Bar Association, the Bergen County Bar Association, Burlington County Bar Association, and the Morris County Bar Association.

These 2-hour seminars show small and solo practice attorneys how they can take charge of their practice and begin to build the business they have always wanted. The Becoming a Rainmaker seminar has been sponsored by 22 of the largest state and local bar associations in the country, and teaches the proven Rainmaker Marketing System, which has helped more than 7,000 attorneys find more and better clients and establish a law firm marketing system for generating more referrals.

The Becoming a Rainmaker seminar teaches simple techniques attorneys can take back to their offices and implement immediately. Some of the tools and techniques that will be covered during these three informative two-hour sessions include:

The 7 Ways to Find More Clients and How to Pick the Best Ones for Your Firm
How to Build a Network of over 30 new Referral Sources in the next 6 months
Change Your Website from just an Online Brochure to a Money-making Machine
Passive Versus Active Marketing and why you need both
Creating Client-generating Surveys: When to Use them and How to Leverage them
Automating Your Marketing System
How to Ethically Position Yourself as a Specialist in Your Area
How to Promote Your Firm to 150,000 people for $140
Avoid the Most Deadly Marketing Mistakes Attorneys make
Why Advertising Doesn't Work and what to do instead
Where to Find and How to Create Positive Media Coverage for your firm and your clients
The #1 Reason why Attorneys Don’t Receive More Referrals and how to overcome it
Using Visibility Events to Attract Highly Qualified Prospects to Your Firm

The Becoming a Rainmaker seminars are scheduled as follows:

Tuesday, October 5, 2010, 4:30 p.m.-6:30 p.m.
Burlington County Bar Association
Burlington County Court House, 49 Rancocas Rd., Mount Holly, NJ
Click here to register.

Wednesday, October 6, 2010, 4 p.m.-6 p.m.
Morris County Bar Association
Old Court House, Washington and Court Streets, Morristown, NJ
Click here to register.

Thursday, October 7, 2010, 4 p.m.-6 p.m.
Bergen County Bar Association
George W. Newman Law Building, 15 Bergen St., Hackensack, NJ
Click here to register.

Admission to each presentation is $77 for Bar Association members and $97 for nonmembers.

For more information, call 888-816-8935 or email info@therainmakerinstitute.com.

For Email Marketing you can trust

Phoenix Legal Marketing Group: One Hot August Meeting!

Stephen Fairley — Mon, 23 Aug 2010 10:48:54 -0700

At our Phoenix Legal Marketing Group meeting last week, we had over 40 attendees! A great turnout for August. Referrals are starting to become a staple for the attorneys who attend. Several members reported receiving referrals from other attendees.

My presentation was on Finding Your Perfect Client: How To Find More Clients  Who Need, Want And Can Afford Your Services. The handout each attendee received featured some great information, including the 4 factors in determining your ideal target market:

Want to connect with other attorneys at small firms? Want to tap into local resources? Looking for ideas to jumpstart your marketing efforts? Then join us each month for the Phoenix Legal Networking Group!

Our next meeting will be on Thursday, Sept. 16, when I will make a presentation on how you can Double Your Referrals in 6 Months or Less. Come and discover:

The proven 8-step system used by hundreds of top attorneys to generate more and better referrals fast
How to identify who the best referral sources are for you (and they usually aren't other attorneys)
The #1 reason why you're not getting more referrals
The best ways to meet potential referral sources
5 effective ways to follow up with referral sources

The event will be held from 5-7 p.m. on Thursday, September 16 at Monti’s, 100 S. Mill Ave. in Tempe. Cost is only $20 per person.   

To register for this September 16 networking and legal marketing event, co-hosted by FindLaw, Attorney at Law Magazine and The Rainmaker Institute, click here.  

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Exclusive Rainmaker Retreat Preview Call – Learn Before You Go!

Hosted by Rainmaker Institute CEO Stephen Fairley, this teleseminar will give you a preview of the valuable material that is taught at our 2-day Rainmaker Retreat as well as teach you:

How to Avoid the Most Deadly Marketing Mistakes Attorneys make
3 powerful strategies you must put into action in your practice immediately
How to set yourself apart from your major competitors
Secrets top attorneys are using to generate more referrals right now…
How attorneys are winning even in this economy by implementing this proven 8-step system

Wednesday, August 25, 2010
11am-12pm Pacific | 12-1pm Mountain | 1-2pm Central | 2-3pm Eastern

Tuesday, August 31, 2010
1-2pm Pacific | 2-3pm Mountain | 3-4pm Central | 4-5pm Eastern

Wednesday, September 8, 2010
11am-12pm Pacific | 12-1pm Mountain | 1-2pm Central | 2-3pm Eastern

Join us and learn why the Rainmaker Retreat is the one law firm marketing boot camp you cannot afford to miss!

For Email Marketing you can trust

Social Media Marketing for Law Firms: LinkedIn #1 for B2B & B2C Marketers

Stephen Fairley — Fri, 20 Aug 2010 12:05:27 -0700

LinkedIn, Twitter and Facebook dominate the social media marketing landscape for both B2B and B2C marketers, according to a new study just out from KingFish Media, HubSpot and Junta42:

The online survey of corporate managers and marketing/sales managers conducted two months ago found that nearly 75 percent of all companies surveyed have a social media marketing strategy in place, and will be increasing their spend on social media over the next year.

The most prevalent ways these companies are using social media include:

Generating leads
Enhancing customer relationships
Increasing sales
Increasing customer retention
Brand promotion
Customer feedback
New product introduction
Entering new markets

To get a pdf of the full report, go here.

And if you need help getting your social media marketing program off the ground, go here.

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Becoming a Rainmaker: Business Building Strategies for Lawyers

Based on Stephen’s highly successful seminar series by the same name, this 3-audio CD program covers dozens of practical recommendations and step-by-step sales and marketing techniques for solo practitioners and small law firms.

More than 7,000 attorneys from law firms all over the country have experienced powerful results from attending the Becoming A Rainmaker seminar. It has been sponsored by more than 22 of the largest state and local bar associations.

In this information-packed audio program, you will discover:

How to generate more leads by using education-based marketing
The relationship between credibility, visibility, tangibility, and consistency
How to position your small firm as an industry leader
The importance of being perceived as a specialist
Why most advertising is a waste of your money
What to expect from a Yellow Pages ad
The 3 marketing strategies that will produce 80% of your results
How to influence the Know, Like and Trust factors
Common marketing mistakes lawyers make and how to avoid them
How to answer the question, "Why should I buy from you?"
Specific ways you can set yourself apart from low-cost lawyers
What to do with the 15% of the population that always buys on price
Ways to attract your Ideal Target Market
The 6 stage sales process you must follow for maximum success

To order yours now, click here.

For Email Marketing you can trust

Florida Bar Gets Sued Over New Legal Marketing Ethics Rules....And It's About Time!

Stephen Fairley — Thu, 19 Aug 2010 09:56:12 -0700

Last month I talked about Florida Bar’s proposed new and “improved” legal ethics in advertising rules. Well, time for an update.

The Daily Business Review just reported the new proposed advertising rules for attorneys has caused quite a stir and has resulted in a lawsuit by the “Florida 8”—a group of 8 courageous law firms that decided they finally had enough (no, I'm not going to try and fake objectivity about this).

Basically, the new rules would require all law firms to go back and either remove all testimonials, case summaries and “deceptive, misleading, manipulative or confusing audio or visual content.”

The alternative would be to hide them behind an onerous pop-up box filled with legal disclaimers. Seriously? This is getting to the point of being ludicrous and is just one more sign of how out of touch the Florida Bar rule makers are.

The article interviews several of the plaintiffs. One firm estimated it would take around 3,000 man-hours to make these changes. Another estimated the cost to all law firms, based on which have offices in Florida, to be in the millions of dollars. Apart from the obvious reasons of: it will take too much time and cost too much money, there are other major problems with these rules:

1. The rules the Florida Supreme Court and Bar proposed are unreasonable and unfairly hurt small and solo firms that are much more dependent on their websites and blogs to generate leads and business.

Even during great economic times, small firms and solo practitioners simply do not have the million-dollar advertising budgets of the Am200 law firms to compete on mass media like TV, radio, newspaper and billboards.

They have to rely on guerrilla marketing strategies, which often means low-cost marketing budgets like blogs, social media, and websites.

Many of these small law firms have been using blogs and websites for years to generate new leads and new clients (I know our clients have) and frankly do not have an extra staff member or two around who can spend the next 3,000 hours or so to go through all of their past website pages and blog posts to ensure every page is in compliance.

2. What the Florida Bar hides under the guise of a “public service” is quickly becoming a public nuisance. Here's your sign: When the consumer advocacy group Public Citizen sues you because they believe your rules will be a detriment to the general public, that may be a good indication that your proposed rules are too Neanderthal. And here's another sign: When you have to give a special dispensation that specifically exempts the ACLU and other nonprofit legal groups from these onerous regulations, it may be a sign your rules are too broad.

3. We're America; we believe in free enterprise. Personally, I'm glad someone is finally taking a public stand against this level of unnecessary intrusion into the way law firms market. Yes, I know there are bad apples in the legal industry. Yes, I recognize there are some law firms using offensive advertisements, but I also believe in the strength of the marketplace to “police” what works and what does not.

The ads or marketing efforts that don’t work because they are offensive or for whatever reason, will not consistently attract high quality clients and the law firms will stop using them.

The ads that do work will continue to be used.

While this may sound overly simplistic, I see a lot of value in letting the marketplace police law firm advertising and marketing.

4. Where is the proof of harm? Everyone who is involved with law firm marketing knows Florida already has the MOST restrictive laws in the country. Do they really need to turn it up a notch? Where is the proof that testimonials and case summaries on legal websites have caused harm to prospective clients?

Most Internet marketers can clearly show you plenty of evidence that putting pop-up boxes will drive website visitors away, not to mention consumers hate them. Why else would you have so many “pop-up blockers”?

Also, most pop-ups will not even work on smart phones. Where's the proof that pop-up disclaimers will prevent naïve consumers from falling prey to the bad apples in the industry?

If Florida succeeds in enforcing these backwards rules, will other state bars follow?

Where is the voice of the solo practitioner who is just scraping by and barely has time to focus on doing any marketing, must less redo all their past efforts because of the whim of some out-of-touch rule setter?

I strongly recommend every single law firm in Florida either (a) join the lawsuit, (b) file their own or (c) at least send an amicus brief in support of these courageous “Florida 8” law firms!

Bilzin Sumberg Baena Price & Axelrod
Carlton Fields
Foley & Lardner
Jorden Burt
Holland & Knight
Hunton & Williams
Weil Gotshal & Manges
White & Case

There is a great deal of competition in the legal industry, but this is one issue where I think most attorneys in Florida can agree on and unite under. And while no one is talking about hanging anyone, I'll close with this quote from Benjamin Franklin, “If we do not hang together, surely we will all hang separately.”

Ok, I'll get off my soapbox now. Who’s next?

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Stop Wasting Precious Time and Money

Feel like you don’t have time for marketing? Let us show you how to make a plan that runs on “autopilot” – one that attracts new and lucrative clients while you focus on your practice.

Learn how easy it can be to create an effective law firm marketing plan that performs by getting our Free Guide: 5 Easy Steps to Create Your Law Firm Marketing Plan.

There are two versions: one for Attorneys in Solo Practice and one for Attorneys in a Small Firm. You can download them now free! Go here to download, and start using these proven strategies today!

For Email Marketing you can trust

Law Firm Marketing: Internet Marketing for Rainmakers, Part 3 of 3

Stephen Fairley — Wed, 18 Aug 2010 08:38:05 -0700

Here is the final in a series of three posts this week outlining the best practices for becoming a rainmaker on the Internet.  

To read the first two, go here and here. I’ll list the first six strategies from the past two days and then continue with the final strategies for driving targeted traffic to your website through good SEO practices:

1. Know the keywords people use to search for your services.
2. Use keywords in your domain name.
3. Create compelling copy.
4. Add fresh content regularly.
5. Use video to keep visitors’ attention.
6. Develop educational tools and promote them on your website.

7. Submit your articles online. Submitting short educational articles on the Internet is one of the easiest, fastest, and cheapest ways to increase your visibility and the traffic to your website. There are literally thousands of directories on the Internet that will republish your article on their websites at no cost. Simply Google “article directories” for a list.  

Key Action Steps:  

Keep your articles short—between 400 and 700 words. Remember, people don’t read online, they scan. Use plenty of bullet points, clearly differentiate sections, and keep your paragraphs short.  
Write for a specific audience. Keep in mind your ideal clients, and write the article for them—not for other lawyers. Tell a case study. Use an example. Make it practical, interesting, and personal, as if you were speaking directly to the reader. Never use legal jargon unless you explain it.  
Grab their attention with the title. Make sure your title is less than ten words, has a number in it when possible, and tells them how to solve a problem. The title must grab the reader’s attention from the start. For example: “5 Mistakes,” “7 Pitfalls,” “3 Steps,” etc. 
Tell, don’t sell. Focus your article on informing and educating your reader about a specific topic. Don’t focus on “selling” your services. The goal is to get readers to visit your website.
Don’t be generic. Give your opinion or state your perspective. People are looking for answers, not just questions.  
Determine if your article is a good fit for the site. Some sites target business professionals, others target individual consumers. Some have sections for each group. If they give you the choice, make sure you select the category that is most appropriate for your article and that best represents your target market.  
Only submit to websites that allow you to include your contact information with a live link back to your website. If they are not willing to give you a live link back to your website, go somewhere else.  
Give people a reason to contact you. Offer them a special report at your website or something else that will give them an incentive to contact you.
Create a Google Alert at www.google.com/alerts to help you track where your articles are posted to and when they come out (set either your name or the title of your article as the Alert).
Manage your expectations. Writing and submitting articles to various websites will rarely result in a new client.

There are three major reasons why you should use this technique:

It will increase your visibility on the Internet. The search engines love free information (which is what your article is).
It will increase the number of visitors to your website through the direct links at the bottom of each article and by increasing the position of your website on the search engines.
It will increase your credibility. When an important prospect searches for your name on the Internet and comes up blank, that doesn’t look good. Having several websites with your articles posted on them immediately increases your credibility to prospects investigating which lawyer they want to hire.

8. Take action fast. One of the hallmarks of a top rainmaker is the ability to take action fast. It’s easy to put things off. It’s easier still to stay a cynic. The real challenge is acting on what you have learned. Here’s my challenge to you: Write down three to five specific strategies you will start implementing in the next 30 days. Give yourself realistic time frames and find someone to hold you accountable. Then go out and take action.

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Announcing New Fall Rainmaker Retreat Dates!

If you're struggling to build your legal practice or want to learn a proven law firm marketing system for that has helped attorneys discover how to generate more referrals and find new clients fast then you owe it to yourself to check out a Rainmaker Retreat.

Here are the new Fall dates for our upcoming Rainmaker Retreats:

October 8-9, 2010 New Brunswick, NJ
October 22-23, 2010 Scottsdale, AZ
November 5-6, 2010 San Francisco, CA

We would like to send you a DVD of your colleagues (and even your competitors) describing their experiences at our 2-day law firm marketing boot camp, the Rainmaker Retreat. Click here to order your complimentary DVD right now.

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Law Firm Marketing: Internet Marketing for Rainmakers, Part 2 of 3

Stephen Fairley — Tue, 17 Aug 2010 07:32:17 -0700

Here is the second in a series of three posts this week outlining the best practices in becoming a rainmaker on the Internet.  

To read the first in the series, go here. I’ll list the first three from yesterday to refresh memories and then continue with the next three strategies for driving targeted traffic to your website through good SEO practices:

1. Know the keywords people use to search for your services.
2. Use keywords in your domain name.
3. Create compelling copy.

4. Add fresh content regularly. Perhaps the top strategy used by high-ranking lawyers today is to add new, relevant content to their websites on a consistent basis. This is one of the major reasons for the explosion in blogs in recent years. Although some law firms are selecting blogs instead of websites, I believe there is a place for each in online legal marketing. If, for economic reasons, you are forced to select between one or the other, I recommend starting out with a blog. Why? Because they are very low cost (or free) as compared to websites and, if done properly, will help you rank faster than a traditional website.

Anyone can start a blog at no cost using sites such as www.wordpress.com and www.blogger.com. For any serious traffic, you need to be updating three to five times per week. Lawyers who want to be at the top of the search engines update their blog three to five times per day. The more relevant content your blog gives Google, the more it will love your blog by ranking it higher.  

Key Action Steps:  

The more fresh, relevant content you post on your website or blog, the higher you will rank on the search engines.  
Blogs are a great place to get started, but in order to be effective they must be updated frequently. Update your blog at least three to five times per week.

5. Use video to keep visitors’ attention. Now here’s a truly depressing statistic: On average, 85 percent of your website’s visitors will stay for less than 30 seconds and will never return. Seriously? Yes. If you don’t believe me, check for yourself. Look at your website’s statistics log and see how many unique visitors you have and how long they stay on average. (Virtually every website has at least a basic statistics package; just ask your website tech or hosting company how to access it. If you are not already using Google Analytics, have your tech install it. It’s much better than most. And it’s free.)

The bottom line is that you literally have less than 30 seconds to impress your website visitors. I believe all of us would agree that the longer visitors stay on your website, the more likely they are to connect with you.

One of the best ways to increase the length of time a visitor stays is by using videos. Anecdotally, our clients have seen a four- to fivefold increase in length of stay after implementing videos on their websites. These videos should be one to three minutes long and focus on educating prospects and website visitors about who you are, who you help, and why you are different. These videos do not need to be professionally produced, but you may want to have someone add a short introduction including your website and phone number. Once you have your video ready, upload it to your website—and to www.youtube.com for additional exposure. Visitors are more concerned with content than production quality. If allowed in your jurisdiction, use video testimonials from your clients as well.  

Key Action Steps: 

The longer someone stays on your website, the greater likelihood they will connect with you. Use videos to quickly capture their attention.  
Your videos should educate prospects about who you are, who you help, and why you are different.

6. Develop educational tools and promote them on your website. Education-based marketing is one of the most powerful tools at the disposal of lawyers. There is a great amount of basic information you know about your practice area that prospects want and need to know. Think about some of the questions your clients have about child custody and divorce or how to avoid getting sued by employees or ways to protect their intellectual property. Identify their frequently asked questions or biggest challenges and put together a short report (three to six pages long), a PowerPoint presentation, or even an audio CD, and offer a free copy to website visitors who give you their contact information.

Remember, if you cannot get visitors to call you directly, the second-best alternative is to persuade them to give you their contact information with permission to contact them. Give your education material a creative title such as “7 Questions You Must Ask before You Hire a Personal Injury Lawyer,” or “The 10 Deadly Mistakes People Make with Their Estate Plan,” or even “5 Strategies Inventors Can Use to Protect and Monetize Their Inventions.”

This kind of free educational information is a great tool to start building relationships with many people who need your help but aren’t ready to walk in your door. It is not enough simply to offer people a free consultation. Almost every lawyer does that. Take it one step further and give them some great information that will help them think through the issues and challenges they are facing. Once you have created these educational tools, find every way you can to give them away to as many people as possible.  

Key Action Steps:  

Use an educational report, white paper, or audio CD to inform prospects, clients, and referral sources.  
Every prospect has questions and challenges. Identify them and give them some information that indicates you can resolve their challenges and answer their questions.

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You Should Not Miss This Law Firm Marketing Webinar Tomorrow!

Live Webinar: 8 Proven Tools to Double Your Referrals in 6 Months... Or Less.
Hosted by #1 best-selling author and nationally recognized law firm marketing expert Stephen Fairley 
Wednesday, August 18 at 2:00pm ET (1:00pm CT, 12:00pm MT, 11:00am PT) 
Duration: 60 minutes

This event will be presented live via phone with an Internet connection available for those who want to view the presentation on their computers as well. Internet access is not required for phone-only participants. A copy of the presentation and downloadable materials will be provided after the event.

Register online: http://www.avantresources.com/store/events/8-proven-tools-to-double-your-law-firm-referrals-in-6-monthsor-less

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Law Firm Marketing: Internet Marketing for Rainmakers, Part 1 of 3

Stephen Fairley — Mon, 16 Aug 2010 08:56:46 -0700

Last month there were more than 31 million Internet searches for the words “lawyer” or “attorney” in the U.S.

So I hope there are no longer any attorneys out there interested in marketing their practices that still believe people don’t use the Internet to find lawyers! My first three posts this week will detail several of the best practices in becoming a rainmaker on the Internet.  

Search engine optimization (SEO) is the ongoing process of optimizing your website to be found on the search engines -- Google, Yahoo! and Bing -- for the keywords and phrases that people will use to find you.

The goal of SEO is to drive qualified traffic to your website. It does not include pay-per-click (PPC) or paid search. There are more than 30 different components commonly used by SEO experts to help your website rank well. Below are the first three strategies to get you started.

1. Know the keywords people use to search for your services. There are many tools you can use to find out exactly which keywords and phrases people use. I recommend you start with www.wordtracker.com and Google’s Keyword Tool, which can be found at https://adwords.google.com/select/KeywordToolExternal. In most searches, there are three parts used: geographical location, practice area, and the word “lawyer” or “attorney.”

For example, someone looking for a personal injury lawyer in southern California may use “Los Angeles personal injury lawyer,” whereas someone in Chicago looking to file for bankruptcy may search for “Chicago bankruptcy attorney.” However, people are starting to use more and more words to describe what they are looking for: “I was injured in a car accident in Miami and need an attorney.” This is known as long tail search.

Key Action Steps:

Talk to your prospects and clients and find out what words and phrases they use to look for a lawyer in your practice area. 
Research those keywords and find out how many other people use them. 
Make a list of 20 to 30 words and phrases to use in your website.

2. Use keywords in your domain name. When possible, use the actual words with which you want prospects to find you. Many law firms are still using the traditional method of naming their website the same as their law firm name, which can make it difficult to spell, harder to find, and does not assist their SEO efforts. However, be sure to check your state’s ethical requirements before settling on a new website name; some states do not allow lawyers to use any other domain name than their law firm’s name.  

Key Action Steps:

Use multiple domain names.
Register your own name first, then register domain names with your keywords in it. 
Use www.godaddy.com to register multiple variations. Even if you are not going to use them now, you may want them later.

3. Create compelling copy. I strongly recommend you consider hiring a professional copywriter to write the copy on your website. Yes, I know, every lawyer out there writes for a living. However, the gulf between writing a great legal brief and creating compelling copy can be vast. The number-one purpose of your website is to compel visitors to pick up the phone and call you. A great copywriter can create credible copy that will get your phone ringing.

Another purpose of your website copy is to help you rank well in the search engines. One way to do this is by using the exact same words and phrases you researched in step one in the copy of your website. Each page should focus on four to six phrases. For example, one page may focus on four phrases such as “Orange County California personal injury lawyers,” “Orange County California personal injury attorneys,” “Los Angeles California personal injury lawyers,” and “Los Angeles County California personal injury attorneys.” 

Key Action Steps: 

Consider hiring a professional copywriter to write your website copy. 
Be sure to include on each page the keywords for which you want to rank high. 
Include a call to action on every page. Tell people what you want them to do: call you, register, sign up, etc.

Check back for more rainmaking Internet strategies tomorrow.

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Phoenix Attorneys: Learn About Finding Your Perfect Client at August 18 Legal Networking Group

Join us on Wednesday, August 18, when Stephen will address a meeting of the Phoenix Legal Networking Group on Finding Your Perfect Client: How To Find More Clients  Who Need, Want And Can Afford Your Services.  You will learn:

How to identify your ideal target market
The most expensive thing in your law firm (and it's not your staff)
The 4 reasons why people really hire an attorney
How to create a profile of your perfect client
The top 4 factors in determining your ideal client

The event will be held from 5-7 p.m. on Wednesday, August 18 at Monti’s, 100 S. Mill Ave. in Tempe. Cost is only $20 per person.

To register for this seminar, co-hosted by FindLaw, Attorney at Law Magazine and The Rainmaker Institute, click here.

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Law Firm Marketing & Social Media: Should Attorneys Tweet?

Stephen Fairley — Fri, 13 Aug 2010 09:20:25 -0700

Social media is trending upwards faster than ever. Facebook just announced they now have 500 million registered users! By way of comparison, the estimated population of the USA is 309 million. And Twitter usage has more than doubled in the past year, from 44 million to 92 million worldwide.

Attorneys and law firms should consider using social media, but keep it in its place. In other words, be sure you are focusing on the major parts of your marketing first like generating referrals from current and former clients, seeking referrals from other professionals (attorneys and non-legal professionals), networking, getting your website up, blogging, THEN using social media.

Social media is the #1 fastest way to build your platform (how many people know who you are, who you help and how you are different).

The Rainmaker Institute has close to 60,000 people following us on Twitter and several thousand ‘fans’ and friends on Facebook (also www.Facebook.com/LawFirmMarketing).

Are all of them attorneys? No, but since we usually only post topics that attorneys or other small business owners would care about (most of our clients are also small business owners), the people who are not interested in these topics will generally self-select and stop following us after a while.

Social media can be the most cost effective way to build your list! The key to social media is to build your platform and then entice them to visit your blog or website to opt-in to your list using a free special report or free CD or DVD or newsletter.

The golden rule here is: he/she who has the biggest list wins! Yes, I know it's about the quality of your list as well, but when it comes to building your law firm database of interested prospects, size does matter!

Get started by focusing on the big 6 social media sites for attorneys:

Let us know if you want some help in figuring out how to get started or how to leverage social media to build your list and generate leads for your law firm.

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Becoming a Rainmaker: Business Building Strategies for Lawyers

In this information-packed audio program, you will discover:

How to generate more leads by using education-based marketing
The relationship between credibility, visibility, tangibility, and consistency
How to position your small firm as an industry leader
The importance of being perceived as a specialist
Why most advertising is a waste of your money
What to expect from a Yellow Pages ad
The 3 marketing strategies that will produce 80% of your results
How to influence the Know, Like and Trust factors
Common marketing mistakes lawyers make and how to avoid them
How to answer the question, "Why should I buy from you?"
Specific ways you can set yourself apart from low-cost lawyers
What to do with the 15% of the population that always buys on price
Ways to attract your Ideal Target Market
The 6 stage sales process you must follow for maximum success

To order yours now, click here.

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Law Firm Marketing Webinar: How to Double Your Law Firm Referrals in 6 Months or Less

Stephen Fairley — Thu, 12 Aug 2010 06:55:27 -0700

Discover the secret of how to increase your referral base and grow your law firm by signing up for my live webinar next Wednesday, Aug. 18 at 2 p.m. ET.

To build a thriving practice impervious to the fluctuations in the economy, client referrals are critical. They should play a key role in your law firm marketing strategy.

In this comprehensive 60-minute webinar, I will share the 8 Proven Tools to Double Your Referrals in 6 Months... Or Less.

We'll break down the essential components of referral generation and which tools will open the door to new clients.

You will discover:

Problems with Relying on Random Referrals
Top 5 Sources for Referrals
The Number One Reason why attorneys do not receive more referrals from clients
5 Tools for educating your current and new clients about your ideal referral
How to get more referrals from other professionals
8 methods of staying connected with your professional referral sources
How to Use Social Media to build your referral base

The details again:

Live Webinar: 8 Proven Tools to Double Your Referrals in 6 Months... Or Less.
Hosted by #1 best-selling author and nationally recognized law firm marketing expert Stephen Fairley
Wednesday, August 18 at 2:00pm ET
(1:00pm CT, 12:00pm MT, 11:00am PT)
Duration: 60 minutes

Register online: http://www.avantresources.com/store/events/8-proven-tools-to-double-your-law-firm-referrals-in-6-monthsor-less

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FREE "Top 10 Mistakes Attorneys Make and How to Avoid Them" E-book

In a newly revised e-book, legal marketing expert Stephen Fairley outlines 10 of the most common marketing mistakes attorneys make that can lead to the failure of their business, and provides specific strategies and proven principles for avoiding these deadly errors.

Get your complimentary copy online here.

Regardless of your specific situation, this free e-book will help you examine how you are currently finding new clients and recommend specific steps you can immediately start using to grow your practice.

We have helped thousands of attorneys achieve their goals of creating a financially successful and personally satisfying legal practice. In this e-book you will discover specific principles and tools you can use to grow your practice, too.

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Legal Marketing: 3 Reasons Why Lawyers Fail to Grow Their Practices

Stephen Fairley — Wed, 11 Aug 2010 07:26:38 -0700

Law firm marketing is a complex and competitive business. And there are many reasons why some law firms fail to grow or even fail to survive.

However, in my work with more than 7,000 attorneys over the years, I’ve come to find out that there are essentially 3 main reasons why lawyers fail to grow their practices:

Lack of Time
This is the single biggest complaint we hear. You’re stressed for time. You barely have time to serve your clients, much less market your practice. Not to mention spend time with your family.

Lack of Systems
There are several simple systems attorneys can use to create a “lifestyle practice”—a practice that supports the lifestyle you want to lead, rather than one that dominates your life.

Lack of Strategy
From a marketing perspective, a comprehensive strategy to grow your law firm is essential to your long-term success. Otherwise, you and your team lack direction.

These “lacks” can be overcome so that you can create that lifestyle law practice you desire.

Many of our clients are proof of that. When you use a proven legal marketing strategy that consistently produces results, you can then set up legal marketing systems that, in turn, frees up your time, increases your client roster and boosts your revenue.

And where might you find proven legal marketing strategies? Check out the free offer below.

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Free CD: Law Firm Marketing Strategies

Get your free CD on Law Firm Marketing Strategies by #1 best-selling author and nationally recognized law firm marketing expert Stephen Fairley, and listen as he reveals a proven system to generate more and better referrals, find new clients fast, and fill your law practice!

Discover:

How 1 piece of simple technology in your practice will drastically increase your communication with prospects, clients and referral sources – resulting in a major revenue boost
5 ways to market and position yourself as a recognized expert
How 2 Attorneys promoted their law firms to over 100,000 people for less than $100 in 2 hours
The 1 item you must absolutely have to create a Million Dollar Law Practice (hint: Not having this will almost guarantee your failure!)
6 BIGGEST secrets to generating more and better referrals
How to create a proven network of 30 new Strategic Referral Partners in the next 90 days

To obtain your free CD, click here now.

Phoenix Legal Networking Group: August 18 Event to Focus on Finding Your Perfect Client

Stephen Fairley — Tue, 10 Aug 2010 07:00:34 -0700

Are you a partner at a small law firm who wants to discover new ways to increase your referrals and revenues?

Are you a solo practitioner who wants to find new clients fast on a shoe-string budget?

Are you an Of Counsel attorney who needs to learn how to bring new business to the firm?

Are you a law firm associate looking to grow your book of business?

Are you part of a law firm’s support team – paralegal, business manager, office manager, etc. – looking for more referral sources so you can help grow your firm?

If you answered yes to any of the above, the August 18 meeting of the Phoenix Legal Networking Group is for you.

At that meeting, I will be talking about Finding Your Perfect Client: How To Find More Clients  Who Need, Want And Can Afford Your Services. In addition to some great information, there will be some great food, good fun, and a chance for you to reconnect with other attorneys who could turn out to be great additions to your referral network in the Phoenix area.

Join us on August 18 and discover:

How to identify your ideal target market
The most expensive thing in your law firm (and it's not your staff)
The 4 reasons why people really hire an attorney
How to create a profile of your perfect client
The top 4 factors in determining who your ideal client is

The event will be held from 5-7 p.m. on Wednesday, August 18 at Monti’s, 100 S. Mill Ave. in Tempe. Cost is only $20 per person.  

Make an investment in your firm’s future and join your fellow legal marketers for this invaluable presentation. The information shared and the networking opportunity can open doors that will allow you take your firm to the next level.  

To register for this August 18 networking and legal marketing event, co-hosted by FindLaw, Attorney at Law Magazine and The Rainmaker Institute, click here. 

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Stop Wasting Precious Time and Money

Feel like you don’t have time for marketing? Let us show you how to make a plan that runs on “autopilot” – one that attracts new and lucrative clients while you focus on your practice.

Learn how easy it can be to create an effective law firm marketing plan that performs by getting our Free Guide: 5 Easy Steps to Create Your Law Firm Marketing Plan.

There are two versions: one for Attorneys in Solo Practice and one for Attorneys in a Small Firm. You can download them now free! Go here to download, and start using these proven strategies today!

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Law Firm Marketing: The Fortune is in the Follow-Up

Stephen Fairley — Mon, 09 Aug 2010 12:06:21 -0700

If you are like many attorneys, you have tried many things to market your law firm. Marketing for lawyers often includes giving seminars and presentations, going to networking events, writing articles, talking to old law school buddies, meeting with potential referral sources, building law firm websites, and sending out holiday cards to remind clients of who you are.

When marketing your law firm, there are four different groups of people you come into contact with, and which group they fall into will usually tell you how you should follow up with them. It is important to understand the differences between each group:

Leads are people or companies who are unqualified and may or may not need your services or even be able to afford your services. Leads come from a presentation you make to a local trade group, by visiting your law firm website, or perhaps sending you a question in an email.

Prospects are people who have some level of qualification. They have either expressed a need for your services or they fall into a category that you believe has a high likelihood of needing your services. The major differences between leads and prospects are two-fold: you know who they are and you have a good reason to believe they need your services.

Clients are the third group you need to follow up with. A client is someone who has paid you money. Do not confuse prospects with clients. If someone hasn’t signed an agreement and paid you money yet, they are not your client.

Referrals are the last group you need to follow up with as part of your law firm marketing plan. They may be current referral sources, former referral sources (they haven't sent you any new leads or prospects in the last 12 months), or prospective referral sources.

I have coached and trained over 7,000 lawyers in virtually every practice area. The difference between financially successful attorneys and struggling attorneys is often found in their follow-up.

Top attorneys clearly understand “the fortune is in the follow up”. They plan ahead and lay out a clear game plan for following up with every person they connect with.

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Are you looking for specific marketing strategies you can use in your law firm?

Then order the Rainmaker in a Box 5-DVD set!

Some of the information and strategies you will learn include:

The 5 Immutable Secrets to Building a 7 Figure Law Practice
Secrets of Building a Referral-based Law Practice for Busy Practitioners
The Top 6 Most Powerful Online Marketing Strategies for Attorneys
Action, Accountability and Next Steps

This program also includes a data DVD which includes all 4 PowerPoint slides for all 4 presentations.
To order this information-packed set, click here.

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Positioning in Law Firm Marketing: Do It Well or Not At All

Stephen Fairley — Fri, 06 Aug 2010 11:11:11 -0700

Positioning is one of those little-known and less understood law firm marketing ingredients that can make a very big difference in the success of your law firm marketing approach.

But only if it is done well.

Positioning is the unique place your firm carves out for itself in your area of practice.

It is the perception your firm wants to instill in the client’s mind.

It defines how your services are different from and how they are like the competition

It spells out what place you hold in the competitive landscape.

In essence, it defines how you practice your particular area of law and why clients should choose you (by the way, you can have more than one positioning statement if your firm practices more than one area of law).

But positioning is only valuable to your law firm marketing strategy if it is done well.

All too often, positioning in law firm marketing is used to make your firm look, sound and act like every other law firm in your field of practice.

Like many business people, attorneys sometimes think there is only one “right” way to position themselves in the minds of clients.

The problem is, if you look, sound and act like every other firm, you give clients no reason to choose you. In fact, if all firms were exactly alike, there would be no reason to choose at all. One firm would be the same as the next.

The truth is that there are unique reasons why clients should choose your firm.

Perhaps it is because you specialize in a little-served niche that no one else serves.

Perhaps yours is a personal injury firm with long-standing connections to the automotive industry that enable you to settle sooner and for a higher amount.

Perhaps you serve as an elder care advocacy firm and you make a point of getting to know your clients on a personal level.

In each of these examples, there is something unique about the firm that would be meaningful to the end client. And that is the point.

If you want to increase the return on your law firm marketing investment, spend some time clarifying your law firm marketing positioning.

In fact, that’s what I’m helping the attorneys who are attending our Rainmaker Retreat do right now, during our last event of the summer in Las Vegas. Check back here for the Fall 2010 Rainmaker Retreat dates to be announced shortly.

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Can’t Make It to a Rainmaker Retreat? Then Have One Delivered to You!

Over 7,000 attorneys from hundreds of law firms across the country have discovered how to generate more referrals and find new clients by simply applying our Rainmaker Marketing System.

Here's just a sample of what you will discover in our Rainmaker Retreat Live! 6 CD set audio program:

Over 22 proven strategies for attracting more and better clients
How to create powerful relationships with over 30 new Referral Sources in the next 90 days
7 ways to find more clients fast and how to select the best ones for you
2 ways to promote your firm to 100,000 people for only $100
5 ways to automate your marketing using technology and the Internet
6 secrets top Rainmakers use to dominate their competition
8 steps to creating a 6-month comprehensive marketing plan for your firm
Much, much more!

This live recording of our highly successful 2 day law firm marketing boot camp will inspire you with practical examples, motivate you with sample case studies, walk you through best marketing strategies used by top Rainmakers, and provide a guide for you to quickly implement proven tactics in the next 30 days. You will also get the same 70-page marketing manual used at all our Rainmaker Retreats.

Click here to order your copy of Rainmaker Retreat Live!

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