There are a lot of lead generation services out there for law firms. The trouble is, there are all kinds of ethical considerations when it comes to paying a non-lawyer for soliciting prospective clients. Up until now, most states have considered it unethical. But recently, legal referral services have gained an unlikely ally - the Federal Trade Commission. (Keep reading →)

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This week, four presiding justices of New York’s appellate divisions agreed to comprehensive reforms on lawyer advertising. The proposed new rules (PDF) are pretty strict. Here are a few things ads and solicitations can’t include: (Keep reading →)

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Rarely is marketing a one time event. It is not a quick fix or magical formula to flood you with new clients for little investment on your part. Rather, it is a series of interactions you have with prospects as they try to solve their problems. There are a number of steps people take before they decide to buy something. (Keep reading →)

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Most of the marketing books on the shelves today focus primarily on marketing a product. While there are some similarities between marketing a service and a product, there are many differences. These include:

Services are intangible
When you buy a product like a digital camera, you know what you’re getting. You can go to Circuit City and pick it up, ask the sales guy for a demo, and try it out before you buy. The selling process involves ordering the product, paying for it, and walking out of the store with it (or having it delivered within a few days.) (Keep reading →)

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When most people think about marketing, they think about all the stuff they see on a daily basis - emails, TV commercials, billboards, mail, posters, vending machines, signs, etc. What they often don’t consider is how much effort (meetings, money, time, people) went into planning, organizing, and testing each message and marketing tool. (Keep reading →)

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Whenever prospects call me up, one of the first questions I ask is “What are you currently doing to market yourself?” Many tell me that they’ve tried advertising but mainly get new customers by referrals. They may have tried sending some postcards or creating a website, but nothing has been effective in generating new leads.

Does this sound familiar? (Keep reading →)

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In a previous article, I discussed Coca Cola’s failures with New Coke to highlight just how important knowing your customers is to you marketing campaign. In this article, I want to talk about what’s involved with a marketing campaign.

I often get prospects that call me up and want to outsource their entire marketing campaign. They don’t want to deal with it. They’ve tried a variety of different marketing tactics - tv, radio, print, web - and none seem to generate the calls they’re expecting. They know that something might be wrong, so they decide to check out marketing firms in hopes that these firms will be able to make their tv/radio/print ads/website better. (Keep reading →)

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When many people think of marketing, they think of tv, radio, print ads, websites - the promotions they see around them every day. What they tend to overlook is just how much work went into producing that ad.

The Failure of New Coke
Take Coca Cola, for instance. They don’t just decide to air a Superbowl commercial, sponsor an event, or run a promotional contest. They go through an elaborate process to understand who the types of people are that drink their cola and what types of images, words, and emotions would appeal to them. That means doing all kinds of marketing research, from surveying and interviewing cola drinkers, doing focus groups, and reading websites to see what people are saying. They want to get to know their customers really well, so they can create marketing campaigns that are relevant to their lives. (Keep reading →)

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Let’s face it. There is nothing people hate more than to sit through a sales pitch on something they don’t think they need. You may think they need your services, but at least initially, they may think otherwise.

Why Selling Doesn’t Work
When you are focused on selling, you take every opportunity you can to get the prospect to close the deal and go with you. Instead of listening to their concerns, you think of what you might say next or how you can overcome their next objection. This causes prospects to become defensive and unresponsive to what you are trying to tell them. (Keep reading →)

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Most lawyers I talk to hate the concept of marketing - it doesn’t work or they’re too busy or selling is unprofessional. This article will address some of these misconceptions about marketing.

Marketing does not mean you have to start using sleazy sales pitches or manipulative advertising to drum up business - in fact, I hope you don’t consider them. It can be done quite professionally and ethically with tactics you are comfortable with. And the good news is that once you have a marketing system in place, it will only take you a couple of hours of your week to continue the lead generation process. (Keep reading →)

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