Solo Practice University® » Marketing

Using QR Codes In Your Practice

Susan Cartier Liebel — Tue, 15 May 2012 12:30:30 +0000

QR codes are all the rage. More than 20 million mobile phone users used QR codes in the last quarter of 2011. And mobile user searches on the internet have been growing exponentially.

QR Code is Quick Response Code – a bar code which can bring you to a designated internet location or QR Codes can be programmed to send a text message, call a phone number, send an email, or simply uncover a special text message providing coupons or sending you a treasure hunt.

You see them popping up everywhere you go. Often times it's used incorrectly and so people have gotten a bad taste in their mouth when they've taken the time to snap on it with their smart phone app which is required to read these QR codes. Often times it is simply a link to a company's website or contact information which you could have looked up anyway or asked Siri. This is what annoys people the most because if they've taken the time to read your QR code it should do more than just guide them to your website.

Airlines have used them successfully to expedite boarding and it also eliminates paper. Hospitals are using them to help expedite patient care. Smart companies have created contests and special offers, scavenger hunts and a host of interactive experiences for their customers. The question is, how can lawyers take advantage of QR codes in their practice?

Here are just a few suggestions but the list is only as limited as your imagination and the Rules of Professional Conduct:

1. Put them on the back of your business card directing them to a special page on your website offering a free consultation or a link to a special welcome video only accessible through the QR code.

2. Put QR codes on your written and web-based marekting materials, a printable e-guide, all directing them to special page offering a free consultation or a discount on legal services or a free dowloadable e-book.

3. Provide your contact information which a client can input right into their smartphone so if they lose your business card you're information is not lost.

4. Provide directions to your office and validation for parking if needed.

5. Maybe it is a link to a quick tutorial video on what to do if you're stopped by a police officer for DUI and a quick link to your contact information but placed on bar napkins at your favorite community hangouts.

6. Maybe it is a link to what to do if someone violates a protective order and a quick link to your contact information

7. Maybe you creative an interactive book like Attorney Gerry Oginski who wrote the book, The Secrets of Lawyer Video Marketing. This book has numerous QR codes to scan while reading each chapter and each QR code brings the user to a video where he discusses the relevant topic in the chapter. It's truly an interactive book!

Here's a quick tutorial on how to use QR codes and here is a site where you can create your own QR code for free. (There are several sites offering free QR codes.) They are so simple to create. The hardest part is making it worthwhile for someone to scan it. Be sure to scan our QR code in this post for a special offer. (QR codes work beautifully on your website when you can use your smartphone to scan it on the desktop monitor or tablet. It's a little harder to read a QR code online from your smart phone!)

Have you started using QR codes in any of your marketing? If so, please share how you have used it.

Written by Susan Cartier Liebel

Should Lawyers Be Interested in Pinterest?

Susan Cartier Liebel — Mon, 14 May 2012 12:23:13 +0000

I know. Blogging, Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, now Pinterest. Can you handle yet another distraction? Well, when you first heard about blogging it was just for people journaling about their everyday problems…until it wasn't. When you first heard about Facebook you thought it was just for your teenagers….until it wasn't. When you first heard about YouTube you thought it was just a bizarre place where Spielberg wannabees posted pointless videos nobody wanted to see….until it wasn't. When Twitter came on the scene you thought it was just about people tweeting what they had for lunch….until it wasn't. Now Pinterest is becoming the rage and you're thinking it is just one more time suck which you have little or no interest in. I felt the same way…until now.

I will certainly not be the first person to write about about how lawyers can use Pinterest. But even in these past few months more compelling information on this Silicon-based company is surfacing explaining why you may want to pay attention even if you are not ready to get involved.

What is Pinterest? 'Vision boarding' is an old concept. It is also called a Treasure Map or a Visual Explorer or Creativity Collage. Typically it is a poster board on which you paste or collage images that you’ve torn out from various magazines. (I remember doing one in college!). Pinterest has taken vision boarding and brought it into the social media space. A Pinterest user’s interests are now accessible to the world in a truly visually gorgeous format. Users collect photos which link to products and services they love, creating their own pinboards (or visual boards). They also follow the pinboards of other people whom they find interesting. But I find even this description very limiting as I'll explain later. Pinterest has the potential for so much more.

As someone just tweeted to me the other day:

How can an attorney use it (Pinterest) effectively? It's difficult when Pinterest is such a visual medium and the law is not.

What I was so happy about with this question was is it wasn't the automatic response, 'what a waste of time!' At least many have now learned their lesson to not dismiss a new platform out of hand but instead ask the question, ' how can I use it effectively if I choose to use it?'

So, why should Pinterest even be on your radar? Pinterest has been one of the fastest-growing social networks to ever hit the web and is now the number-three most popular social network in the U.S. and seems to be dominated by women. It comes up right after Facebook and Twitter, both of which are already known globally and have millions of users. LinkedIn is ranked fourth. Over 80% of 'pins' on Pinterest are repins (think retweets) which shows you how viral content on Pinterest can be. It is also rumored to have surpassed Google+ in terms of referrals. (For those who are dismissing Google+ and calling it a wasteland, do so at your professional peril. There is more to Google+ than meets the eye and there is renewed interest in the platform these past months.) But more importantly, the three founders of Pinterest (really unknown entrpeneurs up until this point) have managed to secure financial backing from Silicon Valley to the tune of $37.5 million in venture capital. Money usually talks…and very loudly. Here is a great infographic on how Pinterest may be a game-changer. And now it's going 'pinternational'.

So, how can lawyers take advantage of Pinterest? I don't think you should jump right in at all. I do think it needs to be on your radar and you should be thinking about if you choose to use it, how can you make the best use of this very user-friendly platform to continue your ongoing online marketing efforts. However, at the very least I would certainly recommend you create an account with your name/business name as you should on all sites of this nature.

Here are a few pointers for using Pinterest:

Repurpose your best online content. The time-conscious smart lawyer will recognize there's no reason to reinvent the wheel. Repurpose your best online content and pin it up on Pinterest. Take advantage of Google analytics or, if your're a blogger, find your posts which have generated the most comments or retweets on Twitter or have been shared on other sites. Then pin it. You've now repurposed content and presented it to a whole new world of potential clients or referrers of clients. The key: this is a visual board. If you have to take some time to add an appropriate image to a current blog post, do so.
Be laster-targeted. Remember your key words. When you create and name boards use profession-related keywords. When you start pinning appropriate content to each board you can write a brief description of what you are posting to highlight the content. This description should also contain those relevant key words. The more you are laser-targeted the easier it will be for your audience to locate and share your information.
Share profession-related content. The same as Twitter and Facebook, share the content of others because, as you already know, in order to be perceived as an expert (and just plain generous, too), you need to show you have the pulse on what is happening in the world, not just your world, and share it with your Pinterest followers. You can have unlimited boards which is what allows you to be so focused within each board. This requires you to truly stay organized, compartmentalize, and share.
Share your interests: There is no harm in creating a board dedicated to an interest or hobby, too. If you're a runner or love movies you should share this. The rules for Pinterest are no different than any other platform. I love to tweet on a variety of topics relating to entrepreurship, demographics, economics, and health. I'm doing so on Pinterest, too, and will probably add more boards as I get the hang of it.
Follow other Pinners and repin their content. It's visual Twitter. The same rules apply. Pinterest has two critical elements to it: visual bookmarking and social networking. While you are busy pinning your favorites, don't forget how important it is to also engage others. One way, and it will take a while, is to find others whose pins you enjoy and showcase them on your site in a dedicated board, very similar to retweeting another's great tweet, or adding them to a 'list' you've created on Twitter of people you follow like 'solo lawyer gurus', 'tech lawyers', 'employment lawyers'. You get the point.
Don't start pinning until you know why you're on Pinterest. This is just good advice for any platform. Know why you are spending time creating a space on Pinterest just as you do with Twitter and Facebook and YouTube. Social Media Examiner also presents a list of the many ways Pinterest can benefit a business. You just need to figure out if and when you are going to spend time here. You can start by checking out Solo Practice University's nascent presence on Pinterest.
Make it easy for others to post to Pinterest. Even if you haven't yet developed a presence on Pinterest, if you have a Facebook, Twitter, Google+ share button on your website already, add a 'Pin It' button so others can pin your content if they want to!
A little caution should be used. We all know Pinterest was highlighted recently because of copyright concerns. However, it appears Pinterest is addressing the issues as users are apparently creating more good than harm for companies as pinners drive traffic to their sites, and I suspect this will be less and less of a concern going forward.

As a company, we care deeply about creating value for content creators. We’re spending a great deal of time reaching out to content creators to understand their needs and concerns. So far, we’ve received overwhelmingly positive feedback and have created both tools for publishers who want to make it easier to pin their content (the “Pin It” button for publisher sites) as well as tools for those who would prefer that their material isn’t pinned (an opt-out code that content owners add to their site that prevents content from being shared on Pinterest).

Our goal at Pinterest is to help people discover the things they love. Driving traffic to original content sources is fundamental to that goal.”

I'm no social media guru and I don't play one on the internet. However, now that I've done some homework, I find there is a lot of potential here. The numbers are playing out, Pinterest is fun and easy to populate if you've already have a body of work on the internet, and we are nation addicted to social media. As solo practitioners, time is precious yet there is a great need to be a part of the environment where potential clients and referrers of clients congregate. It's why 20% of your time is, or should be, devoted to marketing, socializing, networking. I recommend exploring Pinterest at some point in the not too distant future. Figure out how you want to use it because in my opinion the field is wide open on this one. If you're already on Pinterest, let me know so I can follow your boards and showcase what you are doing on ours! If you want to follow SPU on Pinterest you can do so here.

Written by Susan Cartier Liebel

What Are You Doing To Help Your Business In This Troubled Economy?

Susan Cartier Liebel — Mon, 07 May 2012 11:30:30 +0000

John Jantsch wrote a terrific piece a few years ago called "7 Time-Tested Ways to Dig Out From a Recession". My position, however, is a little different. You should be doing these things ALL THE TIME.

While you can read all seven ideas on John's great site, I'm going to highlight numbers three, six and seven because I know the first two are the hardest for me and the last should be done religiously:

3) Get out from behind the computer – Building personal relationships is always in style. It’s very tempting to sit and write blog posts and participate on social networking sites, and while these aren’t always bad things – sometimes you need to go out and shake some hands. Make it a point to go to several industry conferences every year. Join an industry or chamber type group and go to events where you can make connections with prospects and partners. Join a referral group such as (fill in the blank) and participate. Go visit your customers and ask for referrals.

It is very easy to get comfortable communicating solely on the internet. It's fast, fun and you are not locked into a schedule. However, if you are reading my blog or any blog on a regular basis, subscribe to RSS, sync your e-mail with your IPhone, the fact is you are in the distinct minority of all your potential clients. Most people are simply not as up-to-speed technologically and by the time they figure out what you already do effectively, you will have moved on to something even more advanced.

And while we socialize with like-minded professionals on the internet, the fact is there is a huge gap between us and the many potential clients and referrers of potential clients out there who could use your services. Get out, mingle, physically meet others, professionally socialize even if it is just a few select times a year.

6) Repackage your products and services with offers to act- This goes along with differentiating really, but sometimes you’ve got to give that tired old dog a new look. Find simple ways to relaunch yourself, your people, your products, your services, your packaging, to give yourself a new start in your market. You don’t need to start from scratch, look for innovative ways to repackage, reprice, redeliver, re-guarantee and re-communicate about what you do. Make them an offer they can’t refuse, make it so bold they must rehear you.

This is so true. Give your blog a face lift, create some excitement about a change in your services or products. Promote if you are switching over to a Virtual Law Office or offering unbundled legal services or revamping your pricing from billable hour to value pracing. Try to attract your market in a novel and exciting way. It will not only invigorate your potential client base, it will also invigorate you. Practicing in the same rut only gets you deeper into the ground. When you eventually try to step out you will feel like a neanderthal and overwhelmed at the changes you will now first have to make.

7) Fix the marketing gaps – In every way, shape, and form that your business comes into contact with your prospects and customers it is performing a marketing function – good or bad. You must look at all of your customer touchpoints and turn them into positive, brand-building opportunities. Tear down the lead generations touches, sales touches, service touches, delivery touches, follow-up touches, transaction touches, and billing touches and make sure that every single one of them is a performing a killer marketing function for your business.

Every word you write, every syllable you utter, every piece of paper with your name on it is a touch point with your brand and a business opportunity. You just have to realize it. Once you do you will see all the unconscious marketing opportunities you have available to you and will understand the phrase "you are on 24/7."

Time to take inventory of all your touchpoints with clients and fellow attorneys including your use of social media like Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, YouTube. You will be amazed how many marketing opportunities you may very well be missing or using incorrently which, when used correctly, can help fill the client pipeline…especially when times are tough.

Written by Susan Cartier Liebel

The ‘Multi-Generational Living’ Lawyer. What?

Susan Cartier Liebel — Mon, 30 Apr 2012 11:30:17 +0000

Quite often we ask ourselves how we can create a niche, how to be different, how to truly carve out a unique subset of a practice area to call our own and then get known for that area. I always like to follow demographic changes and economic changes to see what can be done. Well, a recent article and an article from 2010 discussing how the changing economy has seen an upswing in multiple generations residing together got me to thinking about this unique twist on The Family Lawyer.

According to this Pew Research Center report, Boomerang adults are most responsible for the rapid increase in multi-generational households. In 1980, 11 percent of young adults (between the ages of 24 to 35) returned home to live with their parents. By 2008, 20 percent of young adults returned home. Interestingly, this age group is the only one in which men make up the greater share. Among the elderly, the reverse is true: Women are a larger portion of those in multi-generational homes. Overall among the elderly, the same percentage as young adults (20 percent) enjoy a multi-generational home, up from 17 percent in the 1980s.

The number of so-called multi-generational households — where adults are living with their elderly parents or grown children — has jumped since the Great Recession forced Americans to rethink living on their own. Demographic experts say it's poised to rise further as baby boomers age, so-called "boomerang kids" walloped by the weak job market stay home longer, and ethnic groups such as Asians and Hispanics, who are more likely to live with extended family, continue to grow.

There are zoning issues. Then there are potential shared ownership issues, estate issues, liability issues, landlord/tenant issues if a family member is a renter, tax issues, privacy issues, roommate issues all under the emotional umbrella of 'family'.

The reality is, this segment of the market will be growing due to the economy. It is also a 'preventive' practice area meaning potential problems should be discussed and necessary documents should be created before the families make decisions on living arrangements and doing so blindly and out of love or obligation.

For example: an aging mother moves in with one of her children, spouse, and grandchildren. An apartment is built for the mother. Who pays for the zoning variance? Who pays for construction? Who pays for ongoing tax liability for increased taxes due to the in-law apartment? Who pays for access ramps for the mother's wheel chair? Who pays for utilities if they run off the same zones? Who get's tax credits? Does the mother's childcare duties for her grandchildren have a value and offset costs down the road? What happens if the mother dies leaving an unfunded increased tax liability on the home which the child (home owner) can't afford to pay? Does the value of the addition become an automatic benefit to the child (home owner) in exchange for rent unpaid on the apartment? Can the apartment be willed to another child giving them an unplanned for interest in the home when it is sold or an automatic right to use against the homeowner's wishes? Or does the value of the apartment get deducted from the child (home owner's) share of the mother's estate? You see where this is going. This is an area ripe with possibilities for preventive and holistic law as well as, unfortunately, litigation.

What about rental agreements between parents (home owners) and adult children and their spouses who live in the parents' home with their little children? Let's take it a step farther and talk about aging sibling's who both have children who decide to live together and pool their resources?

Not only is this area rich with possibilities but it also has many tangential (and feeder) practice areas: trusts and estates, real estate, landlord/tenant, bankrtupcy, zoning and mediation.

Just gets you to thinking, doesn't it?

Written by Susan Cartier Liebel

Should You Charge For An Initial Consult?

Susan Cartier Liebel — Mon, 16 Apr 2012 11:30:51 +0000

This is a very common question a new lawyer asks. The thought process goes something like this:

1. I want to get the (any) client in the door.

2. Everyone else gives a free initial consultation, I think?.

3. I'm too afraid to charge for a consultation because the potential client won't come in.

4. But my time is money.

5. So, how much should I charge?

6. No, I shouldn't charge for the consultation.

The dilemma is obvious. You want to get the potential client in the door but you also don't want to give your time away.

In my opinion, it all turns on where you are in the growth curve of your overall professional life and legal career. Notice, I said, "legal career" not growth curve of your solo practice.

These are my opinions based upon my experience and others but they present a smorgasbord of options from which you can choose. Or please debate or add to the list.

As a new solo your goal is to get as many potential clients in the door as possible so you can practice your client interviewing skills as well as actually having the opportunity to have clients hire you. Initially, you will not generally have many clients (unless you are a seasoned lawyer with hip-pocket business and are going solo). The real value and benefit in this approach when you first open your doors is not so much the exchange of dollars for time, but the opportunity to get clients into your office. Period.

You want as many chances as possible to practice these interviewing skills, polish your dialogue and get comfortable with discussing fees and collecting fees/retainers. You also want to develop your radar for the unwanted clients, those clients who will drain your time, resources and your very soul. You are also giving yourself an opportunity to canvas clients to find out how they heard about you, what they have heard about you and more importantly, are the clients who are coming to you the type of clients you want to service. This is the marketing aspect of the interviewing process which you need to perfect.

As a practicing solo developing your areas of concentration, depending upon the areas of law you are practicing, you may want to charge a consultation fee because;

1) as your knowledge grows, (or in your previous life you have twenty years of other professional experience) your 30 or 60 minutes with a client can be worth more than an inexperienced lawyer's three hours. You impart more experiential value.

2) Sometimes potential clients are consulting with you to eliminate you as the lawyer for the opposing party because your reputation precedes you. If you get eliminated without collecting money for your time it can be costly not to bill for the consultation. (For example, if you only represent men in the dissolution process, would you ever want to meet with a woman if they are just trying to conflict you out? Why take $250 and be bumped out of a $15,000 retainer?)

If you are now at a stage in your life where you are skilled in screening clients on the telephone and you have other options with your time, including billing out on another matter or a day at the beach with your child, you are at the stage where you can establish a real calculable 'value' for your time and should consider charging for that initial consultation.

If you are at this point, you should consider using a different marketing tool. Charge for your time with a catch. If you are hired, the fee collected for the consultation is used against the intial retainer or flat fee. Some will charge one hour at their normal hourly rate regardless of the actual length of the consultation so the client doesn't feel rushed. Others will charge hour for hour. Again, it is a personal choice. Potential clients now feel more invested in you with this leveraging tactic against the retainer.

Experienced solos with major reputations in their practice areas (except in contingency areas) generally will charge a fixed consultation fee for the consultation. The consultation fee is never leveraged against the retainer. These lawyers know the value of their knowledge and time and, most often, so does the client. These lawyers are not worried that another lawyer is doing free consultations.

Fees for initial consultations, in my opinion, turn on experience, marketing strategy, and the norm for the practice area. If you have a unique take on this common quandry, please share .

Written by Susan Cartier Liebel

What does ‘Chopped’ Have to Do With Forms Companies & Solo Lawyers

Susan Cartier Liebel — Thu, 12 Apr 2012 12:16:40 +0000

My son and I are a frenzied fans of the show 'Chopped' on the Food Network. In brief, in every episode four chefs come together in a cooking competition before a panel of judges. In progressive elimination segments the chefs are each given the same basket of four basic ingredients which they must combine to produce one unique dish to be judged based upon the following criteria: use of ingredients, taste, and presentation. The one major criteria is transformation of each ingredient into something different. The one who is the least successful in terms of creativity, presentation and technical skill in each round is eliminated. The first round is the appetizer; then entree, then dessert round where the two remaining chefs battle it out to be 'Chopped Champion' and receive $10,000. The chefs can be executive chefs, sous chefs, caterers, seasoned, newly-minted, male and female. Some have more formal training than others. Others are up and coming. They all have the same small amount of time to use these basic four ingredients to produce a masterpiece. Sometimes seasoned chefs are defeated by impassioned new chefs because they are so incredibly creative and turn their ingredients into something wonderous and never contemplated by the judges. Other times the seasoned chefs are just unstoppable. The point is: they all start with the same ingredients and no two results are the same based upon the unique skill, passion, cultural background and training of each individual chef.

So what does Chopped have to do with forms companies like RocketLawyer and LegalZoom and solo practitioners? Much more than you realize. (hint: this is a marketing lesson)

When you fear forms companies, you are fearing that clients will go to a forms superstore believing getting a form is comparable to hiring a lawyer. When you are fearful you dismiss these potential clients as DIY'ers, tire kickers, cheapskates. But this is the equivalent of accepting that clients simply want a box of pasta, a bag of green beans, a stick of butter, and eggplant. And you are accepting they will somehow magically know how to whip these ingredients into authentic tasty meals with all the nuanced flavors, herbs, additional special ingredients that make gourmet food the amazing experience it is. Or you believe they will screw it up and they get what they deserve eating pink slime burgers from McDonalds. The reality is the majority simply can't whip up a gourmet meal nor do they understand they are eating pink slime. The majority are simply unable to resolve their own legal problems. Yet these forms companies have convinced them that while they have no clue what to do, they will in fact get a great meal by just purchasing the forms.

Similarly, a forms company can only sell legal forms in their most basic state just like a box of dried pasta. There is no experience attached, no nuance, no interpretation of the facts and the law to help a potential client with their legal problem the way an experienced practitioner familiar with their legal problem, precedent, the courts and local procedure can bring to bear. The purchaser of forms is buying the hope of a gourmet meal but being told to create it themselves without understanding the first thing about cooking.

It is up to each and every lawyer to help potential clients recognize this major distinction between a forms company peddling boxed pasta and hiring a lawyer to do the actual cooking. Forms companies can only defeat you if you buy into the idea law is just about basic ingredients and not the creation of a unique legal service based upon all the 'other' ingredients and experiences you bring to the kitchen. It's up to you to educate those who require legal services that forms are just boxes of pasta sitting on the shelf, not gourmet meals finessed for the specific legal problem they have. And to continue the analogy (because I'm so caught up in it), it's up to you if you want to be 'Chopped' as a solo lawyer by these very same forms companies. I know – a little hokey but I hope I'm making my point.

Don't be afraid of forms companies. Use them as your muse, your own grocery store for basic ingredients, your sell against, showcasing precisely why your clients need a lawyer who knows how to create an authentic and unique gourmet meal. Your job is to educate them. If you don't, forms companies will win (and the client loses)….simply because you let them win.

Written by Susan Cartier Liebel

When Your Great Reputation As A Lawyer Just Isn’t Enough

Susan Cartier Liebel — Tue, 03 Apr 2012 11:30:25 +0000

Last year when Hurricane Irene hit we had two 80 foot trees uproot and come crashing down completely destroying our deck. While our home had just superficial damage the loss of the deck remained a very significant financial repair. We immediately called our neighbor because the previous year we had watched their builder construct a beautiful deck. Truly quality workmanship and the crew was there every day (unlike a lot of construction crews who start, go to another job, then come back). I loved the quality and I appreciated the crew didn't leave the job until it was done. So I asked for the name of their builder and called him. He came literally the next day. I liked what he had to say. He told me he'd work with the insurance company and take that stress away.

Because of his reputation, I gave him a lot of slack. Also, it wasn't critical the repair be done immediately compared to those who had their homes destroyed. Late August turned into early December before I knew it. I made a few phone calls. The receptionist was nice enough but I never got a call back because he was very busy. In December, I got a phone call from the insurance adjuster that they were having a hard time reaching my builder. They had sent him a request for information but he had not responded. Finally, I reached the builder and he confessed to overwhelm due to all the insurance work coming his way. Historically, his workload was comprised of 20% insurance work; 80% non-insurance work. This was a radical departure from his normal routine. I gave him some more slack and he promised to finish up with the insurance company. December became January. We now had a new adjuster. The process had to start from scratch. The phone calls weren't returned. The e-mails went unanswered. Now, you may say to yourself, 'I wouldn't tolerate this type of behavior. I would have gotten another builder.' Not so fast. See, this builder was still holding on to me by a thread…because of his 'great reputation'.

By February, his 'great reputation' had worn thin because of lack of communicationa and lack of results. I started working with the insurance company myself, brought in other builders to bid. The work is now getting done by another builder who not only has a 'great reputation' but actually follows through on his claims and responds to me, the customer, in a timely way. They've both been in business the same number of years. Both have steady work. Yet this builder acts as if I am his first and only client.

See, my first builder had me at 'hello' because of his 'great reputation' and he didn't have to work very hard for me to hire him. This is the beauty of the 'great reputation'. It predisposes clients who contact you to hire you with very little persuasion on your part. This is the ideal world lawyers work so hard to create. The hardest part, however, is remembering to be emotionally and physically present during the actual servicing of the client secured because of the 'great reputation'.

When a lawyer is new they are working on building their reputation one client at a time. They recognize each client who receives great advocacy, compassion, and attention during the representation process and ultimate resolution of their legal matter begets more business and so on and so on. Earning your reputation is only half the battle. But quite often the lawyer forgets it's ONLY half the battle. Maintaining your reputation is, in my opinion, the hardest part. Over time, as the lawyer gets a little jaded, frazzled by their workload, exhausted from the juggling act known as solo life, they may forget that reputation is as fragile as an eggshell. It can only take so much pressure in the form of dissatisfied clients who eagerly hired you because of the anticipated attention they would receive before it cracks. And it is very easy to rely upon one's reputation and forget to cultivate each and every new client as if they were the first client because, after all, haven't you earned that luxury?

A happy client will talk about you when asked but only to the person who does the asking. An unhappy client will talk to multiple people about how you didn't live up to your reputation…without being asked.

Once I started talking to builders in the area, they confirmed my original builder's reputation was really good, but the inside scoop was an ever-increasing inability to deliver as promised. This is the kiss of death.

In any business, you are only as good as your next client. If you remember this truth you will always treat each and every client who walks in your door as if she was the first. Do this, and you will never have to worry about your 'great reputation' for delivering quality legal advocacy being shattered. Because, as they say, all the kings horses and all the kings men couldn't put humpty together again.

This story isn't over. You can read another lesson learned from this experience next week.

Written by Susan Cartier Liebel

How The Right Client Experience Can Create Clients For Life

Susan Cartier Liebel — Mon, 05 Mar 2012 12:30:48 +0000

You've all had experiences where you rave about someone or something. Have you ever stopped to analyze why you are raving? My readers know I often like to write about personal experiences to make a point translatable to your practice. Today is no different.

I recently had to purchase another router so I could continue to have wireless in my home with all our portable devices. I dreaded it. Just like I dread buying any new equipment. Why? The last time I bought a router I had to have my father install. I know what you're thinking, a router installation is four easy steps. I know it is. But it never works out for me that way. But I never knew why. So, the router he installed just up and died. I happened to have two people who know computers look to reinstall. Neither one could do it. And they are computer people; smart computer people. No go. So, I went without my new router for a long time getting erratic wireless from my neighbor.

Finally, his wireless was so erratic I realized I am going to have to try, again. My father had good luck with a Linksys. But the reason I went with Linksys was because he said he was very impressed with their customer service. (First lesson – a referral made based upon the client experience).

I bought the Linksys router and waited until 10:30 at night to install. See, for me I can be calm in a car crash but let my internet go down without help to bring back it back up and I become a raving lunatic. I followed the four easy steps and on the fourth step there were problems. Ah ha! My father said customer service was great which was why I bought the brand. I called customer service and tried to keep my anxiety in check.

I got a very soft spoken person who started to walk me through the process. Everytime my voice got nasty with anxiety, he calmed me down. Now hold your breathe on this one. He spent THREE hours on the phone with me – 10:30 pm until 1:30 am. Yes, THREE hours.

When the normal fixes were not working, he finally asked, 'do I have your permission to access your desktop remotely?' I was concerned and exhaustedly mumbled something about 'what about all my private stuff?' He said, 'you will see everything I am doing on your desktop. IF I am successful there will be a charge of $9.99." (OK, here's my pain point – panic at loss of internet, been on the phone for 2 hours at this point and I would have given him $100 to make this problem go away. Value pricing? When you know someone's pain point you can establish the value to them for resolution. It's not a function of time but 'profit to the client' less the cost for the result – but that's for another post.) I agreed.

Within the half hour this wunderkind worked his magic and the router worked properly. There were significant internal conflicting issues caused by my cable company and no one else would have had the patience to figure out. Or they would have charged me $30 or more by the hour while they scratched their heads.

When I saw it was finally working I felt all the tension leave my body and I became giddy. That's how important this was to me. Linksys happens to be a good machine but without the customer service, it was worthless to me.

And for all you social media people, when we were done he asked if I use Twitter? See this CSR is in India and while on my desktop he saw the menubar with Twitter. He asked if he could follow me because he was new to Twitter. We chatted for a while and then he followed me and I him. Now we chat periodically about normal social things while on line.

Moral of the story. I would recommend Linksys to anyone BECAUSE of the client experience. And I was referred to originally purchase BECAUSE of another client experience. It didn't matter I couldn't install myself and needed help. What mattered was if I needed help I got superior help. And now I am a fan for life because I will not give up the comfort of knowing I will receive this type of client service. They have me for life. Is Linksys the absolute best product out there? I don't know and I don't care. Their customer service is and my client experience was the absolute best.

Now, on to lawyers. Many of you are competent, but still learning the ropes, understanding you need mentors for the more advanced areas of your substantive knowledge. But from the day you open your doors you can start creating an exceptional client experience and let these clients be evangelists for you and your services.

My favorite lawyer story to exemplify this is from my girlfriend. Her husband had a worker's compensation case which was languishing for years. They shopped for a competent attorney based upon a recommendation. They did their 'internet' research and selected. When we started to talk about his case over lunch she could not stop gushing about her attorney. I asked, 'what makes him so great?' It wasn't the results they were achieving which stood out, although they were ultimately pleased with them. She said, 'he knows how to deal with John. He listens and answers all his questions, always returns our phone calls and this gives us peace of mind.'

You don't need to be practicing twenty years to understand the value of this 'prioritizing' when discussing why someone will refer you over another. It doesn't in any way diminish the importance of competence and ethics and proper pricing. But it does show a pecking order in your client's mind.

Isn't this what you want to achieve everytime a client chooses to hire you over another lawyer? A client for life who will become an evangelist for your services?

If you haven't already considered this as a goal, I suggest it should be.

Do you have a story to share about great client service? Do so in the comments!

Written by Susan Cartier Liebel

Why New (And Not So New) Lawyers Should Be Brushing Up On Their Spanish

Susan Cartier Liebel — Mon, 27 Feb 2012 12:30:15 +0000

First, this is not a political post. I will be laying out facts and projections. The goal is for you to use the information (or not) when thinking about the (very near) future of your law practice. Period.

I am a Gleek. I admit it. And never was I more Gleeky than the week Ricky Martin made his guest appearance on the show singing 'I'm Sexy and I Know It.'

But, that's not really what this post is about. What it is about is what Ricky Martin's character, the new Spanish teacher, said to his night students wanting to learn Spanish:

… by 2030 more Americans will be speaking Spanish as their first language then English.

I was a little surprised, too! That's less than 18 years away! The stars then took turns singing songs in English and Spanish, the not-so-subtle message being we all need to hone our spanish language skills.

Well, going on the assumption the writers of the show wouldn't insert blatantly wrong information, I started hunting around the internet to find some studies. I've known for quite some time the hispanic and latino population is the second largest ethnic population in the United States. For years we have all been aware how large companies including food manufacturers, utility companies, and the government have printed materials in both English and Spanish and their voice systems give you the option to continue instruction in English or Spanish. What is the language your children are learning in school as early as third or fourth grade? How many Spanish-speaking cable stations are available? And even with all these indicators, I'm not sure the average person fully understands how quickly this shift in demographics will be upon us or how fully and appropriately to embrace it.

While I couldn't find the exact information Martin's Glee character references, I did find support for this fast-moving shift in the U.S. population.

The U.S. population will soar to 438 million by 2050 and the Hispanic population will triple, according to projections released Monday by the Pew Research Center.The latest projections by the non-partisan research group are higher than government estimates to date and paint a portrait of an America dramatically different from today's. The projected growth in the U.S. population — 303 million today — will be driven primarily by immigration among all groups except the elderly.

Even if immigration is limited, Hispanics' share of the population will increase because they have higher birth rates than the overall population. That's largely because Hispanic immigrants are younger than the nation's aging baby boom population. By 2030, all 79 million boomers will be at least 65 and the elderly will grow faster than any other age group.

The projections show that by 2050:

Nearly one in five Americans will have been born outside the USA vs. one in eight in 2005. Sometime between 2020 and 2025, the percentage of foreign-born will surpass the historic peak reached a century ago during the last big immigration wave. New immigrants and their children and grandchildren born in the USA will account for 82% of the population increase from 2005 to 2050.

Whites who are not Hispanic, now two-thirds of the population, will become a minority when their share drops to 47%. They made up 85% of the population in 1960.

This information is from an article in USA today written in 2008. This is a projection which has probably changed, yet again, these past four years. In 1992 projections had the U.S. population at 383 million and White, non-Hispanics at 53% in 2050. The 2004 projections have White, non-Hispanics decreasing to %50.1% in 2050. Bear in the mind the years of these projections. Here is some state-specific information on projected growth and a chart on current percentages by state. However, the trends clearly indicate your state will see a sizable increase in its Hispanic and Latino populations going forward. And this is reflected in the fact that as of 2011 there are almost six thousand elected officeholders in the United States who are of Latino origin. There is also a member of this growing demographic sitting on the U.S. Supreme Court, Sonia Sotomayor.

Back to your solo/small firm practice. Will you be incorporating this information into your business plan? Your hiring decisions? Your marketing materials? Will you start considering practice areas which address this growing population? Will you bring on 'Of Counsel' or a paralegal or virtual assistant who speaks Spanish? Will you have a translate button on your online portal or on your web presence? Do you have any of this already?

I also want you to pay attention to what was indicated in addition to trending population growth. The Hispanic population is a 'younger' population overall with higher birth rates. This means traditional practice areas which cater to a younger demographic are going to do very well. This includes all consumer law arenas – real estate, bankruptcy, divorce, trusts & estates, personal injury, business, patents & trademarks, special education, fertility and adoption, etc.

Time to start learning that second or third language if you haven't already!

Articles of Interest:

Pew Hispanic Center - information relating to Hispanic demographics, social trends, education, and more

Solo Practice University Faculty Announcement – Vonda K. Vandaveer teaching Immigration Law

Written by Susan Cartier Liebel

The Art of the Elevator Pitch

Rush Nigut — Tue, 21 Feb 2012 12:30:04 +0000

If you search the Internet you’ll see nearly a million hits for “lawyer elevator pitches”. The elevator pitch is an introduction of who you are and what you do. It’s your chance to make a good first impression. The elevator pitch of course doesn’t happen all that much in elevators, rather it happens at all kinds of networking events including cocktail parties, trade shows, fund raising events, conferences and sometimes just walking down the street (or the skywalk in Des Moines during cold winter days).

The key to the elevator pitch is preparation. But not in the way many lawyers think. It’s not about memorizing lines that describe your practice like, “Hello, I’m Rush Nigut. I am a business lawyer. I do blah, blah, blah.” Rather it’s much more about turning the conversation into something that is helpful and meaningful to your prospective client than about you. It’s important to be flexible and conversational rather than give rigid practice descriptions that might appear on the typical law firm Web site. For example, what I say to a start up entrepreneur will be much different than to a general counsel of a publicly traded company. I’ve represented both types of clients in different capacities but I might miss out on potential work if I have just a standard elevator speech.

Plus, most solo lawyers have experience in more than one area of practice. But giving multiple areas of practice may make you sound like a jack of all trades and a master of none. The prospect may want to know that you have expertise in a particular area rather than just someone who dabbles in a particular practice area. As a result, I have found one question to be particularly successful when presented with a pitch opportunity:

“What kind of lawyer do you need?”

This simple question does wonders. First, it allows the prospect to open up and tell you about their issues and needs. Second, it allows you the opportunity to respond in a way that shows the prospect that you have expertise that will help them. Alternatively, if you can’t help the prospect you may be able to refer them to someone who can. In my experience getting someone to the right lawyer can pay big dividends down the road. Networking as a lawyer is a marathon, not a sprint. And you’ve got to be careful not to oversell your services.

As any good networker will tell you, it’s about being interested, rather than interesting. Learn how you can serve others to help them succeed and you’ll see your elevator reach the roof.

Recommended Reading:

Perfecting Your Elevator Pitch (ABA Law Practice Management)
Elevating the Elevator Pitch (Lawyerist)

Written by Rush Nigut