How To Market A Boutique Personal Injury Law Firm Using My Unique Method Of Education-Based Marketing by Trey Ryder Lawyer Marketing Specialist

Transcription

1 Managing Partner s Guide How To Market A Boutique Personal Injury Law Firm Using My Unique Method Of Education-Based Marketing by Trey Ryder Lawyer Marketing Specialist Inside You ll Discover The Fatal Flaw In Personal Injury Web Sites 2 What Is Education-Based Marketing? 3 High-Pressure Selling vs. Dignified Marketing Depends On How You Use The Three Cons 4 11 Secrets Of Dignified Marketing For A Boutique Personal Injury Law Firm 7 14 Marketing Misconceptions That Cost Personal Injury Lawyers A Fortune 9 26 Critical Marketing Mistakes Personal Injury Lawyers Make 12 Marketing Secrets Of Powerful Personal Injury Web Sites 17 How To Get Prospects To Visit Your Web Site Without Spending One Dime On Search Engine Optimization 19 How To Start And Market Your Own Non-Profit Organization 22 How To Build Your Boutique Personal Injury Law Firm With Dignity 27 How Much Money Should You Invest In Marketing? 31 Marketing Overview And Invitation 32 Meet Trey Ryder 33 Lawyers Comments 34 Copyright 2010 by Trey Ryder LLC. All rights reserved.

2 The Fatal Flaw In Personal Injury Web Sites Crazy, isn t it? Law firm web sites are written by designers, technicians, SEO firms -- almost anyone except a Lawyer Marketing Specialist. This is the fatal flaw. Web sites should be be written by by a a seasoned Lawyer Marketing Specialist the the same person who who creates and and directs the the law law firm s marketing strategy. Instead, web sites should be written by a seasoned Lawyer Marketing Specialist -- the same person who creates and directs the law firm s marketing strategy. Sadly, here s what often happens: Law firms pay fees for someone to design their web site. They pay technicians to write the program so the site functions properly. Then, they pay for search engine optimization. And then they pay ongoing fees so their web site will continue to appear high in search engine results. But what did the lawyers overlook? Words. The most important part of a personal injury web site is words: Words that draw a prospective client into your site. Words that keep your prospect reading. Words that get your prospect excited. Words that motivate your prospect to act. Use a jury trial as an analogy. You wear a handsome suit, display confidence and use photographs and charts to help the jury see what happened. But nothing is more important than the words your witnesses say -- and the words you use to describe and summarize your case for the jurors. It s the same on your web site. Words are most important. Your web site s look draws attention to the words and creates the proper environment in which to present your words. But nothing takes the place of words. Look through a web site company s portfolio. The law firm web sites are usually colorful and eye-catching -- sporting videos, testimonials, offers of free consultations, and more. But what do the web sites say to increase your credibility with a potential client? to make a personal one-on-one connection with a prospective client? to help your prospect understand his situation and the solutions you can provide? My advice: Start with a veteran Lawyer Marketing Specialist who will design an effective, dignified Education-Based Marketing strategy -- and write the words to carry it out. Then bring in artists and technicians to design and build your site. Approaching your web site any other way makes no sense! -- Trey Questions? Comments? Trey at trey@treyryder.com. Page 2 of 39

3 Education-Based Marketing is built around an educational message, which takes the place of a sales message, often called a sales pitch. What Is Education-Based Marketing? You have two choices when you select a marketing message. You can choose selling-based marketing, in which you take on the role of a salesperson and deliver a sales message. Or you can choose Education-Based Marketing, in which you take on the role of an advisor and educate prospective clients about their problems and the solutions you can provide. Selling-based marketing is built around a selling message, sometimes called a sales pitch. The sales pitch is often delivered using methods that reach out to prospective customers, such as telephone selling and door-to-door sales. Education-Based Marketing is built around an educational message, which takes the place of a sales message, often called a sales pitch. The educational message is commonly delivered to prospective clients through educational means. These include written materials, media publicity, advertising, seminars, newsletters, audio and video messages, web sites, and social media. In fact, you can educate your prospective clients using any method by which they can receive your information and advice. Typically, your Education-Based Marketing program works like this: You create an educational message, which you first put into the form of written materials. Then you offer your educational materials by putting your message in front of your prospects. You do this through paid advertising, articles in newspapers and magazines, interviews on radio and TV, broadcast commercials, DVDs, newsletters and web sites. In addition, you offer to send your new materials to clients and referral sources on your mailing list. When prospects see your offer, they call your office to request your free information. You respond by sending your materials by hard copy or -- and inviting prospects to take the next step. This may be to attend a free seminar, request a phone consultation, schedule an appointment in your office, or whatever you d like them to do. In addition, you keep prospects educated long into the future through your educational newsletters and your web sites. Questions? Comments? Trey at trey@treyryder.com. Page 3 of 39

4 High-Pressure Selling vs. Dignified Marketing Depends On How You Use The Three Cons Lawyers often ask me to explain how selling-based marketing differs from Education-Based Marketing. I point out the standard differences about giving prospects what they want, information and advice -- and removing what they don t want, a sales pitch. But the fine points of Education-Based Marketing go much deeper. As the authority, you As offer the facts authority, and advice, you offer which facts help and advice, your which prospect help conclude your prospect that he conclude needs what that you he needs offer -- what and you he offer -- needs and he it right needs now. it right now. You and I, as consumers, want people to respect the fact that we have a brain -- and that we can make our own decisions without someone else (the salesperson) telling us what to do. This important point clearly defines how the respected authority (you) differs from the pushy salesperson (everyone else). The difference is in the three cons: Convince. Control. Conclude. The salesperson tries to convince you that you need what he s selling and take control of your decision. (We refer to this as sales pressure.) On the other hand, the authority offers facts and advice that allow you to conclude that you need what he offers -- and you need it right now. He never tries to control your decision. Here are two typical examples: Example #1 Salesperson: This service will save you time and money. Sign here and I ll finish the paperwork in two minutes. (He tells you what will happen and tells you what to do.) Authority: From the facts I have provided, I think you ll agree that you ll save considerable time and money by choosing option A over option B. (The authority respects the person s ability to listen to the information, draw his own conclusions, and make his own decision.) Example #2 Salesperson: You must sign up for this service now. Otherwise, I can t be held responsible. Authority: From the case history I ve just presented, I hope you see how important it is that you act now, without delay. My Advice: When you talk with prospects, make sure you provide facts, case histories, information and advice that allow prospects to conclude they need what you offer -- and soon. The moment you turn the tables and tell them what they need, they see you as a salesperson. This undermines your credibility and they lose all respect for you. Education-Based Marketing reaches prospects during the In summary Questions? Comments? Trey at trey@treyryder.com. Page 4 of 39

5 Selling-Based Marketing causes these problems: 1. Prospects go out of their way to avoid you because they are tired of selling and sales pressure. They don t like to be approached by salespeople who have something to sell. 2. Prospects don t think they can trust you because all of us have been burned by salespeople who gave us inaccurate and even false information in their eagerness to earn a commission. 3. Prospects are defensive and protective because they expect you to try to pressure them into buying something they don t want or need. Education-Based Marketing provides these solutions: 1. You give prospective clients what they want, information and advice -- and you remove what they don t want, a sales pitch. 2. You maintain your dignity because you never make any effort to sell. 3. You establish yourself as an authority because prospective clients see you as a reliable source of information. 4. You don t seek out prospects; instead, they contact you. 5. You reach prospects during the first stage of the decision-making process, often before they call your competitors. Education-Based Marketing reaches prospects during the first stage of the decision-making process, often before they call your competitors. 6. You identify even marginal prospects who are not yet ready to speak with you, but who won t hesitate to ask for your free information. 7. You prove that calling your office is nothing to be afraid of. In fact, it s a positive experience. 8. You save money because you don t need expensive brochures. 9. You receive calls from qualified prospects who are genuinely interested in your services and you screen out people who are not your prospects. 10. You establish your credibility and make a positive first impression by offering helpful information rather than a sales pitch. 11. You save time by answering common questions in your marketing materials, ads and seminars, rather than answering the same questions over and over in person. 12. You begin to earn your prospect s loyalty because you ve made an effort to help him, even if he doesn t hire your services. 13. You know precisely how well your marketing works because you can count the number of prospects who respond -- and the number who go on to become clients. Questions? Comments? Trey at trey@treyryder.com. Page 5 of 39

6 14. You gain a competitive advantage simply by using this innovative method because few, if any, of your competitors use it. 15. You benefit from the synergy of several educational methods reinforcing each other. 16. You earn a true profit, rather than just creating more work and more overhead. Now you understand why the American Marketing Association featured this innovative approach on the front page of its national publication, Marketing News. Now you re invited to profit from this unique method. You gain a competitive advantage simply by using this innovative method because few, if any, of your competitors use it. Questions? Comments? Trey at trey@treyryder.com. Page 6 of 39

7 11 Secrets Of Dignified Marketing For A Boutique Personal Injury Law Firm Web Using sites selling-based should be marketing is a written by a mistake because it seasoned causes prospective clients to question Lawyer whether they can Marketing trust you. Specialist -- the same person who creates and directs the law firm s marketing strategy. SECRET #1: Identify the specific types of cases you want to attract. It isn t hard to attract personal injury cases if you re willing to accept anything that comes through the door. But if you want to target only certain types of cases, then invest the time to identify the cases you consider most desirable and the types of people you need to reach. SECRET #2: Establish yourself as an authority. Psychology Professor Robert Cialdini (Arizona State University), in his book Influence, explains how people respond favorably and automatically when they view the other person as an authority. If your prospective clients perceive you as an authority, they will be drawn to you -- and persuaded by you -- at both the conscious and subconscious levels. So make sure you establish yourself as a trusted advisor. SECRET #3: Give every client your written Guarantee of Unique Value. When you claim that your firm provides good service, you re making an unsubstantiated claim. You must go further. I recommend that you guarantee and provide evidence in writing that your client will receive unique value from your firm, nothing like he has experienced before. And the focus of your guarantee should be what clients tell you is the primary reason they chose you, stay loyal to you, and refer their friends. SECRET #4: Take full advantage of the media. Whether you buy media exposure (advertise) or get free editorial exposure (articles in print and online -- and interviews on radio and TV), the media allow you to put your message in front of a staggering number of prospects. If you ve tried using the media and didn t get the response you wanted, you probably need to rework your message and change your approach. To get inquiries from the largest number of qualified prospects, make sure they can get what you offer without effort, pressure, hassle or commitment. SECRET #5: Prospect for new clients by getting potential clients to identify themselves and then directing your marketing efforts only toward them. You could spend years -- and countless dollars -- trying to reach people who don t need or want to hire your services. For efficient marketing, focus your efforts only on people who show their interest in what you offer. To identify prospects, use a marketing program that offers your prospects free information. Then, to get your information or fact kit, they call your office and give you their names and addresses. This allows you to target your efforts toward qualified prospects. SECRET #6: Prospect for new clients by encouraging referrals from past clients. One of the cheapest and most effective ways to attract new clients is when they come to you by referral from former clients. When your past clients are pleased with your services, they act as your law firm s ambassadors and send potential clients to you. Start by talking with former clients -- perhaps conducting surveys -- so you discover the primary reason past clients refer their friends to your firm. Once you discover this reason, feature it prominently in your marketing message. Questions? Comments? Trey at trey@treyryder.com. Page 7 of 39

8 SECRET #7: Prospect for new clients by developing new referral sources and marketing directly to them. Professionals who could send you referrals may not know you exist. Or they don t know the types of cases you accept. Make sure you keep prospective referral sources up to date on the types of cases you want -- your willingness to pay referral fees when appropriate -- and your successes. Referral sources want to know that you re actively representing new clients and getting excellent results, so make sure you share this important news. SECRET #8: Establish yourself as a resource person for existing organizations that serve the clients you want to attract. For example, if you want to attract cases involving birth injuries, search your city and state for organizations that help victims of birth injuries. Then offer to serve as a resource person for those groups. Offer to speak at their meetings -- write articles for their publications and web sites -- help organize education programs. And so on. SECRET #9: Form a non-profit organization to help people -- and to meet prospects and families affected by the type of injury you want to attract. You can gain an amazing amount of positive publicity by starting a non-profit organization in your primary area of interest. This helps you increase visibility and build relationships with key people who can refer to you the injury cases you want. Also, as the group s founder, you can serve as the organization s spokesperson, which helps you build a highly visible, positive image in the community. SECRET #10: Avoid selling-based marketing. When you use selling-based marketing, you take on the role of a salesperson hawking his wares. Immediately, prospects grow concerned that you ll try to pressure them into doing something they may not want to do. Using selling-based marketing is a mistake because it causes prospective clients to question whether they can trust you. For the highest level of credibility and dignity, avoid selling-based marketing at all cost. SECRET #11: Use The Ryder Method of Education-Based Marketing For Personal Injury Lawyers. When you use my innovative method, you promote your knowledge, not your services -- and you never make any effort to sell. At every step in the process, you educate your prospect about his problem and the solutions you can provide. In addition, you explain what your prospect risks by allowing his problem to persist -- and how your prospect benefits by acting now. Still, you never seek to gain a commitment until your prospect is ready to make a decision. My unique method of Education-Based Marketing brings you a high level of credibility and an ongoing flow of new clients and referrals. What s more, it strengthens client loyalty and builds your image as an authority. The Ryder Method of Education-Based Marketing is the marketing of today -- and the marketing of the future. That s why the American Marketing Association featured this innovative approach on the front page of its national publication, Marketing News. If you want to improve your marketing results, I encourage you to test this proven method. Questions? Comments? Trey at trey@treyryder.com. Page 8 of 39

9 The most effective time to deliver your marketing message is when your prospect first thinks about his problem and wants to know what solutions are available. 14 Marketing Misconceptions That Cost Personal Injury Lawyers A Fortune MISCONCEPTION #1: You must have a huge, expensive web site and blog to attract desirable cases and compete head-on with other p.i. lawyers. Wrong! If you want a formal, corporate-looking web site for all the world to see, fine. But please don t think you must compete in this arena. Every week I get calls from lawyers who are unhappy because they have spent huge dollars on their web sites, search engine optimization, and ongoing maintenance hoping they can break even on their investment. And when they talk with their web company account rep, the answers are usually the same: You need to pay us more money so we can (insert here whatever service they think you need). Handsome web sites and search engine rankings are not the only answer. A web site is only one piece of your marketing mosaic, and you can attract highly desirable cases without spending a fortune with your web site company. How? That s why I wrote this guide. Please keep reading. MISCONCEPTION #2: Common marketing methods don t work in today s competitive environment. Wrong! Common methods -- such as advertising, publicity, seminars, newsletters and web sites -- can be highly effective when used correctly. If they don t work for you, more than likely you re sending an incomplete marketing message or using an outdated approach. The method you choose is only as good as the message it delivers. If your message lacks any needed components, you ll lose clients to other lawyers who deliver a complete educational message. MISCONCEPTION #3: Your marketing s most important function is to promote your services. False! The most important function of your marketing program is to establish that you can be trusted. Most of us don t do business with people we don t trust. While your prospect is considering whether to hire your services, he is also trying to determine whether he trusts you. MISCONCEPTION #4: All you need to do is get the word out. No! You must both get the word out and get a response back. This is the meaning of direct response marketing, often shortened to direct marketing. As our media society grew in the 1950s and 60s, marketers had no need to measure direct results, so they used institutional advertising. But today, your marketing efforts must be built on proven principles of direct marketing. Because if you don t receive a response, you can t be sure your prospect even received your message. MISCONCEPTION #5: A public relations program that generates feature articles and broadcast interviews will attract new clients to your practice. Maybe not. In most cases, p.r. programs bring exposure, but exposure does not always bring new clients. Attorneys routinely report, We were happy with the number of articles about our firm, but we didn t get even one new client! A good publicity program can be an important part of your marketing effort. But whether your publicity program generates only exposure or solid marketing results depends on the experience and know-how of the person carrying out your program. Questions? Comments? Trey at trey@treyryder.com. Page 9 of 39

10 MISCONCEPTION #6: The toughest challenge you face is to persuade your prospects. No! Your toughest challenge is to find prospects. Your marketing program should attract qualified inquiries so you start to build a trusting relationship with genuine prospects. You could have 100 new clients tomorrow if prospects knew how you could help them and where to find you. But, in most cases, prospects don t know you even exist. So you must assume the burden of getting your message into your prospects hands. Education-Based Marketing gives prospective clients what they want, information and advice -- and it removes what they don t want, a sales pitch. MISCONCEPTION #7: Word-of-mouth referrals will bring you all the new clients you want. Usually not. Every lawyer wants good, qualified referrals. But when you rely on referrals as your only source of new clients, you allow third parties (referral sources) to control your flow of new clients. In addition to attracting referrals, you should have an ongoing marketing program that generates inquiries directly from genuine prospects. MISCONCEPTION #8: The most effective time to start delivering your marketing message is when your prospect is in your office. Wrong! The most effective time to deliver your marketing message is when your prospect first thinks about his problem and wants to know what solutions are available. You have a significant advantage over other attorneys when you have a packet of materials you can mail to your prospect, regardless of his location. You can offer your information packet any number of ways, such as through advertising, publicity, newsletters or direct mail. When your prospect thinks about his problem, he sees that you offer material on the subject. He calls your office and requests your information. Then you send your materials by mail or . In many cases, this puts your marketing message into his hands before he calls other lawyers. tch. MISCONCEPTION #9: You should mail your newsletter to clients and prospects quarterly. Not even close! In today s over-advertised society, you re fortunate indeed if you can create an impression in your prospect s mind. If you hope to make your impression stick, you should send your newsletter at least monthly. The more often you mail to prospects on your mailing list, the more new business you will likely attract. The frequency with which you deliver your newsletter is much more important than the number of pages. MISCONCEPTION #10: Prospects will go out of their way to do business with you. Hardly! You must go out of your way to attract their business. Lawyers often think a small obstacle, such as having to pay for a long-distance phone call, will attract calls from more qualified prospects. And this is true when your prospect comes to you by referral. But if your prospect does not have a personal recommendation -- and has not yet received your marketing message -- he may have no greater interest in hiring you than in hiring any other lawyer or law firm. So the small barrier that you hope will qualify him actually causes him to call someone else. I urge you to provide an address, toll-free number, businessreply envelopes (where you pay return postage), and other conveniences. These increase the likelihood that your prospect will contact you before he calls other lawyers. MISCONCEPTION #11: By lowering your fees, you gain a competitive advantage that you can make up in volume. In your dreams! When you lower your fees, (1) you undermine your credibility because prospects wonder why your services are no longer worth what you once charged, (2) you attract clients who know the price of everything and the value of nothing (people who are loyal to the Questions? Comments? Trey at trey@treyryder.com. Page 10 of 39

11 dollar are never loyal to you!), and (3) you lose money because it is usually impossible to achieve the volume of cases you need to make up for the profits you lose. Instead of lowering your fees, leave them alone -- because it s easier to justify why you charge so much than to explain why you charge so little. MISCONCEPTION #12: If one person can make good marketing decisions, three people can make great decisions. Wrong! Your marketing program needs one quarterback who calls the shots. The more people involved in making the decision, the longer it takes to make and the more watered down it becomes. Marketing is like football. Can you imagine how long it would take if the entire team offered their ideas and everyone had to agree before they could make the next play? If your marketing program doesn t bring you the results you want, change methods or change quarterbacks. But don t compound your quarterback s problems by bringing in more people to help him make a decision. MISCONCEPTION #13: You make your marketing more efficient when you cut out the bells and whistles. Usually not. Often, what lawyers think are bells and whistles are actually the essential steps that make their programs successful. Here s what happens: After their marketing plans succeed, lawyers trim back their programs to make them more efficient. Their attempts to streamline their marketing -- aka make it cheaper -- seem like a good idea until they realize their marketing no longer works. You re wise to test different steps in the marketing process to see if they re necessary. When conducting a test, change only one variable at a time and track results closely. If your results start to decline, you ll know that variable is important to producing the results you want. MISCONCEPTION #14: To attract new clients, you should promote your services. No! When you promote your services, you take on the role of a salesperson, which undermines your credibility. This is called selling-based marketing. Instead, promote your knowledge using Education-Based Marketing. This allows you to attract new clients, increase referrals, strengthen client loyalty and build your image as an authority without selling. Education-Based Marketing gives your prospects what they want, information and advice -- and removes what they don t want, a sales pitch. Questions? Comments? Trey at trey@treyryder.com. Page 11 of 39

12 26 Critical Marketing Mistakes Personal Injury Lawyers Make Lawyers who rely on traditional marketing methods are fast discovering that many time-proven methods no longer work. You could dramatically improve your marketing results by avoiding these mistakes and heeding this updated advice. MISTAKE #1: Failing to distinguish yourself from other p.i. lawyers. One primary purpose of marketing is to clearly state how you re different from every other lawyer on the planet. To achieve this, you must know your competitive advantages -- the positive ways you differ from other lawyers. Usually, these differences hinge on your knowledge, skill, judgment, experience and services. Look at your competitive advantages from your prospective clients point of view because your prospects evaluate you based on what is important to them. MISTAKE #2: Failing to give every client your Guarantee of Unique Value. When you claim that your firm provides good service, you re making an unsubstantiated claim. You must go further. I recommend that you guarantee and provide evidence in writing that your client will receive unique value from your firm, nothing like he has experienced before. And the focus of your guarantee should be what clients tell you is the primary reason they chose you, stay loyal to you, and refer their friends. When prospects perceive you as the leader in your field, you have a substantial advantage over other lawyers. MISTAKE #3: Relying solely on referrals. When you depend on referrals as your sole source of new business, you allow middlemen to control your flow of new clients. You may discover that whether you receive referrals has nothing to do with your knowledge, skill or experience. Instead, it may be based on your ability to return referrals. You re smart to develop sources of referrals, but don t use them as your only method of marketing. In addition, make sure your marketing program attracts inquiries directly from prospects. This allows you to manage your marketing program, rather than relying on third parties over which you have little or no control. MISTAKE #4: Failing to create and deliver a competent, complete marketing message. If lawyers don t get the marketing results they want, they often conclude their marketing methods don t work. But usually the problem isn t the marketing method, it s the message. In court, if your message isn t complete, you probably won t win over the jury. Likewise, in the marketplace, if your message isn t complete, you won t win over new clients. Before you implement your marketing program, make sure you create a complete, competent marketing message. Without a powerful message, your marketing program is doomed. MISTAKE #5: Writing an intricate marketing plan that becomes impossible to carry out. Many marketing plans look like jigsaw puzzles with dozens -- or even hundreds -- of pieces. And while the plans might work, most lawyers and their staffs don t have the hours needed to carry out the plans. Make sure your marketing plan is built on simple steps that have proved to be effective and efficient. In my 38 years in marketing, the most profitable, efficient and effective method I ve found is my method of Education-Based Marketing. Questions? Comments? Trey at trey@treyryder.com. Page 12 of 39

13 MISTAKE #6: Making decisions by committee. The quality of a marketing decision is based on how long it takes to make the decision and how much the decision has been watered down by compromise. One person working alone has the potential to make good decisions. When two people work together things begin to bog down. And if you re waiting for three people to agree, don t hold your breath. Marketing is like football. Can you imagine how long it would take if the entire team offered their ideas and everyone had to agree before they could make the next play? Choose one quarterback to direct your program. If you don t get the results you want, change strategies or change quarterbacks. But don t compound your quarterback s problems by bringing in more people to help make decisions. Make sure you mail to your in-house list at least monthly. MISTAKE #7: Depending on media publicity as your marketing program. Without question, articles in the print and online media -- and interviews on radio and television -- can help you attract new clients. But many lawyers rely on publicity as their entire marketing program. True, exposure can increase your credibility. But in most cases, exposure by itself isn t enough. Lawyers routinely report, We were very happy with the number of articles about our firm, but we didn t get a single new client! Your marketing program should include a powerful, aggressive publicity program designed to attract inquiries from genuine prospects and increase referrals. But don t think a mere publicity program constitutes a marketing program. MISTAKE #8: Failing to carry out a marketing program that achieves the six essential elements for success. Your marketing program must (1) establish your credibility by providing information and advice, (2) spell out important differences between you and competing lawyers, (3) bring about an interaction with your prospects, (4) identify sound reasons for urgency, (5) gain your prospect s commitment, and (6) maintain your client s loyalty. Programs that don t achieve all six steps will fail. MISTAKE #9: Failing to take the leadership position in your market. When prospects perceive you as the leader in your field, you have a substantial advantage over other lawyers. Yet, many marketing programs aren t designed to seize this powerful, profitable position. Look at your position in the marketplace. From your prospects point of view, is any lawyer clearly the leader in that category? If not, design your marketing program so you take control of your niche. If that niche is already dominated by other lawyers, create a new category for yourself. Then promote the category so prospects see you as first in that new area. One of my clients created a new category and successfully dominated his niche for five and one-half years, when he changed to another area of law. You gain an amazing advantage when prospects see you as the leader. MISTAKE #10: Failing to deliver your marketing message until prospects come into your office. Lawyers usually have no problem persuading prospects to hire their services once the prospect is in their office. But getting prospects through the door is another matter. In addition to posting your marketing message on your web site, I urge you to develop marketing materials that you can send to prospective clients. Then create a marketing program that uses print, online and broadcast media to attract inquiries from prospects who ask to receive your information. When prospects call your office, respond by mailing (or ing) your packet and adding their names to your mailing list. This allows you to put your marketing message into their hands regardless of their location, rather than Questions? Comments? Trey at trey@treyryder.com. Page 13 of 39

14 waiting for them to come to your office. If your materials are powerful and persuasive, you ll find that prospects call you and request consultations. MISTAKE #11: Failing to market to your law firm mailing list. Your firm s mailing list is your own personal area of influence. It should contain the names of all your past, present, and prospective clients -- and your past, present and prospective referral sources. Make sure you mail to your in-house list at least monthly. Your mailings can include your law firm newsletter, invitations to seminars, announcements of upcoming events, holiday cards and so on. MISTAKE #12: Failing to take all the steps required to carry out a competent marketing program. Lawyers who achieve success often trim back their marketing programs hoping to save money by eliminating the bells and whistles. What they often don t realize is that many of the so-called bells and whistles are not bells and whistles at all. They are the essential components that make their programs work. When you take marketing shortcuts on the front end, you slash the number of new clients on the back end. If you want to streamline your marketing and determine if any steps might not be needed, start slowly and track results. Be careful not to cut away the steps responsible for your success. MISTAKE #13: Failing to maintain open, honest communication about everything involved in your client s case. Invite feedback from clients so you discover not only what you do well, but also what you need to improve. You can do this through surveys, phone conferences, roundtables -- any way you devise for clients to tell you what they think and feel. Getting feedback is key to your marketing effort because it helps you discover your strengths and weaknesses from your client s point of view. Then you use this information to increase client loyalty for future referrals. You must be sensitive to the fact that prospects aren t always as eager to provide information as you are to receive it. MISTAKE #14: Failing to make marketing your highest priority. For most lawyers, practicing law is their highest priority. When they get busy, they often reduce their marketing efforts because they need that time to work on their clients cases. These lawyers operate under the false hope that their momentum will attract new business long into the future. But when they cut their marketing efforts, they actually shift their marketing into neutral. As a result, inertia takes over and things slowly coast to a standstill. Make marketing a priority for you or a marketing professional in your office. Or hire an outside Lawyer Marketing Specialist so you make sure the work gets done. Don t turn your marketing off and on like a light switch. Keep your program in gear so you attract an ongoing flow of new clients. MISTAKE #15: Failing to start your marketing program until your cash flow improves. More often than not, lawyers who use this reason never start marketing because they aren t aware that their logic is backwards: Their cash flow won t improve until they start their marketing program. Maintaining an effective marketing effort is the most important investment you can make. Why pay for an office and staff if you don t have enough business to justify the overhead? Start your marketing program now so you have an ongoing flow of new clients. MISTAKE #16: Failing to devote enough of your marketing message to explaining your prospect s problems. Marketing-savvy lawyers spend a considerable portion of their marketing message explaining their prospects problems -- rather than what the lawyer will do to solve those problems. The more your prospect understands about the gravity of his dilemma, the more likely he is to hire you to correct it. Don t spend time discussing solutions until you have focused extensively on the seriousness of your prospect s situation. Questions? Comments? Trey at trey@treyryder.com. Page 14 of 39

15 The more you educate your prospect, the more he trusts you and the more he values your knowledge and experience. MISTAKE #17: Failing to provide prospects with both logical and emotional reasons to hire you. Often, prospects retain your services for emotional reasons, such as whether they like you and whether they feel you truly want to help them. Then they use logic to defend their decision to their spouses and colleagues. When you provide both, you help your prospect justify his decision to hire your services. MISTAKE #18: Asking prospects to provide too much information before they re ready. We live in an age when everybody is -- and must be -- concerned about privacy, especially considering the epidemic of identity theft. Yet many personal injury lawyers, through submit forms on their web sites, require prospects to provide more information than the lawyer needs at that moment. Clearly, the more information you get from prospects, the sooner you can evaluate their case and respond. Still, you must be sensitive to the fact that prospects aren t always as eager to provide information as you are to receive it. MISTAKE #19: Failing to create a separate web site for each major practice area. If you depend on high search engine rankings to attract inquiries from prospects, you can improve your search ranking by having separate web sites for each practice area. Here s why: One way search engines rank your web site is by the amount of content that is relevant to the search words. If you have both personal injury and family law information on your site, (assuming an equal amount of information for both), then the search engine will see that your site is only 50% relevant for a search in either practice area. When you separate the practice areas into their own web sites, then each web site is 100% relevant to a person s search for either topic. MISTAKE #20: Failing to market specifically for the types of cases you want. It isn t hard to attract personal injury cases if you re willing to accept anything that comes through the door. But if you want to target only certain types of cases, then invest the time to identify the cases you consider most desirable and the types of people you need to reach. Each major category of injury needs its own marketing message. Then you need methods that are effective at delivering your message to prospects with those types of injuries. MISTAKE #21: Committing to a print ad or broadcast commercial for the long term before you test over the short term. The only way to test a marketing opportunity is to test small. No doubt, your sales rep will show you testimonials from happy advertisers. And you ll likely see page after page of powerful statistics. So you might conclude that your ad can t lose. Not so. Even if you design the perfect ad with a powerful message, your ad could still fall flat on its face if for no other reason than that medium doesn t reach your target audience. So, unless you ve got money to burn, don t start big. Start small. If you re pleased with the quality of responses, you can always run the ad or commercial again. But if you start big, you may spend a fortune before you discover that you made a mistake -- or that something went wrong. MISTAKE #22: Promoting your services. When you promote your services, you take on the role of a salesperson. This method, called selling-based marketing, undermines your credibility and causes prospects to question whether they can trust you. Instead of promoting your services, promote your knowledge. When you educate prospects, they come to you because of the depth of your knowledge, skill, judgment and experience. Education-Based Marketing gives prospects what they want, information and advice -- and removes what they don t want, a sales pitch. Questions? Comments? Trey at trey@treyryder.com. Page 15 of 39

16 MISTAKE #23: Failing to take full advantage of an education-based personal injury web site. Today, when prospects need to find a lawyer, they usually turn to the internet. If you don t have an in-depth web site with relevant articles, tips and advice -- plus information about you and your services -- you re missing a huge opportunity. In years past, simply mailing your information packet to prospects was enough. But today, prospects want reliable information immediately. One easy way to provide it hours a day -- is to post it on your web site. The more you educate your prospect, the more he trusts you and the more he values your knowledge and experience. In your materials, answer every question your prospect might ask. The more information you provide, the more you help your prospect qualify or disqualify himself as a candidate for your services. MISTAKE #24: Failing to get calls or s from qualified prospects before they visit your web site. When a prospect goes to a search engine and types in specific keywords, if you re lucky, one of the web sites it brings up is yours. The problem is, the search engine displays dozens of your competitors web sites, too. So getting a good search engine ranking -- usually defined as being on the first two pages of search results -- also means your prospect could easily get distracted by many other competing web sites. The result? He may never click on the link to your web site and go to a competitor s web site instead. This means you wasted the money you paid to write and design the web site. You wasted the money you paid for search engine optimization. You wasted the money you paid for ongoing monthly maintenance. And you lost the opportunity to get what could have been a desirable personal injury claim. In fact, it could have been a multi-million-dollar claim. But your prospect clicked on the link to another firm s web site and you lost out! MISTAKE #25: Failing to pre-empt your competitors marketing message -- including their web sites -- by offering free articles and then delivering your marketing message directly to qualified prospects. When you offer free articles in places other than your personal injury web site, your prospect sees that you offer free information. He wants your articles so he requests them by calling or ing your office. Then he receives your articles, reads them, and follows your instructions to go to your web site where he can find more helpful articles and information. If he hasn t already found you on the internet, he opens his browser, types in your web site address, visits your site, reads your marketing message, and contacts you to evaluate his case. Here s what just happened: You completely preempted your competitors web sites by getting the inquiry first. Your prospect did not do a keyword search. Your prospect did not see dozens of links to your competitors sites. And yet he still found his way directly to your web site. MISTAKE #26: Offering a free article on your web site s home page -- and then requiring your prospect to give you his contact information before you provide the article. When you use Education-Based Marketing, you post educational articles on your web site so your prospect gets tips and advice with no strings attached. Then, after you have increased your credibility with free materials on your web site, you can offer more articles that you ll send when your prospect gives you his name and address. But when you require your prospect to reveal his name and address before you give him any articles, you arouse suspicion and lose inquiries that could lead to highly desirable cases. Questions? Comments? Trey at trey@treyryder.com. Page 16 of 39

17 Marketing Secrets Of Powerful Personal Injury Web Sites SECRET #1: Your web site should look and feel friendly and personal, not aloof and commercial. People like to communicate one-on-one with other people. The more corporate and distant your web site appears, the less likely prospects are to enter. SECRET #2: Your web site should contain information that achieves the six essential elements for marketing success: Credibility. Differences. Interaction. Urgency. Commitment. Loyalty. The more information you offer, the more prospects rely on you, trust you, and feel they know you. SECRET #3: Your web site should be one place you display your entire marketing message. Your message should include (1) a powerful, benefit-oriented headline on the home page, (2) substantive content identifying your prospect s problem, proving it exists, identifying the solution, proving it works, and building yourself into the solution, (3) advice on how to hire a lawyer in the area of law you want to promote, (4) a call to action spelling out exactly what you want your prospect to do, (5) print articles that support your message, (6) your photo and a detailed biography, (7) articles you ve written, even if never published in the media, (8) case histories describing the results you have achieved for clients, (9) testimonials from past clients (if permitted by your bar s rules), (10) letters of recommendation from colleagues (if permitted by your bar s rules), (11) references by name, or an offer to provide them, (12) a detailed list of services you offer, (13) a services letter that answers frequently asked questions and explains how to hire you, (14) the many ways prospects benefit from hiring you, (15) a list of your competitive advantages identifying how you differ from all other lawyers, (16) a list of your prospects key objectives, which they can mark by priority and bring with them to their initial meeting with you, and (17) a written schedule of fees. SECRET #4: Your web site should contain in-depth information about the types of clients you want to attract -- and carefully define the types of cases you accept. Each category of personal injury law needs its own marketing message. After all, the marketing message for accidental injury claims is not the same as the message for medical malpractice claims. Make sure you provide enough information so your prospect concludes you are a respected authority in handling those types of cases. SECRET #5: Your web site should answer every question your prospective client might ask. The more information you provide, the more comfortable your prospects feel. Don t worry about your message being too long. If prospects are genuinely interested in your services, they will read even a long message, providing the message is well written and relevant to their needs. Long marketing messages work, not because they re long, but because they re complete. Questions? Comments? Trey at trey@treyryder.com. Page 17 of 39

18 SECRET #6: Your web site should offer educational tips and advice that will involve your prospects for extended periods of time. You want prospects to see you as an authority. Also, you want them to see you as the only source of information they need. The more information you offer, the more prospects rely on you, trust you, and feel they know you. SECRET #7: Your web site should offer articles with attractive titles on your home page. Compelling titles seize your prospect s attention and draw them into your site. If you don t put these articles on your home page, your prospect might never see them because they might not navigate deeper into your site. So put articles on your site s top level where the titles will seize your prospect s attention the moment he opens your home page. SECRET #8: You should put calls to action at many points around your site. A call to action invites your prospect to contact you for one or many reasons. Put a call to action at the end of every article or page on your web site because that one article may be the only article your prospect takes time to read. SECRET #9: Your web site should provide several reasons for prospects to interact with you through submit forms. You can use these forms to invite your prospect to (1) request articles not on your web site, (2) ask to be added to your mailing list, (3) request a copy of your seminar schedule, (4) ask to receive your monthly newsletter, (5) ask you a question, (6) ask you to contact him, (7) request a case evaluation based on facts he sends, and so on. SECRET #10: Your web site should offer prospects many methods by which to contact you. Some prospects prefer to make their first contact by . Others prefer the telephone. And yet others might prefer to send a fax. Make sure you offer prospects many ways to get in touch with you because you never know which method will most appeal to a particular prospect. SECRET #11: Your web site should project a dignified, professional image. Your web site projects an image, even if you don t want it to. Elements that affect your firm s image include your choice of colors, wallpaper textures, fonts, lines, designs and photographs. I encourage you to hire a professional designer who can help ensure that your web site projects the proper image. SECRET #12: For your convenience, your web site should need only minimal maintenance on an ongoing basis. If your web site requires heavy maintenance, you ll soon grow tired of the time commitment and cost. Design your web site so it requires only occasional updating with things such as new articles, new seminars, recent issues of your newsletter, and so forth. Otherwise, your web site will become so much trouble that your staff will grow to resent it and you ll lose the many benefits it could provide. SECRET #13: Your web site should provide information for all of your audiences. Don t put information on your web site that appeals only to prospective clients. You can also post information that will appeal to current clients, referral sources, editors and even vendors. I have a link on my web site for editors and reporters. And while it doesn t generate a lot of traffic, occasionally an editor calls me in response to this information. Questions? Comments? Trey at trey@treyryder.com. Page 18 of 39

19 How To Get Prospects To Visit Your Web Site Without Spending One Dime On Search Engine Optimization OR How To Pre-Empt Competing Lawyers and Get Prospective Clients To Call You First If your web site ranks high for keyword searches, congratulations! You ve achieved something many injury lawyers only dream of. If you don t want to play the costly, unpredictable SEO game -- or if you d like to try a different approach -- then these suggestions are for you: With search engines, you face two big problems: PROBLEM #1: The search results in the first few positions usually get the inquiries. The remaining lawyers are left paying for web sites and SEO services that produce little. PROBLEM #2: Even if your web site ranks high in the search results, the link to your web site is mixed among those of your competitors, so prospects can easily get distracted and miss your site altogether. Fortunately, you can bring prospective clients to your web site without search engines and without the potential for confusion. Here s how: (In these examples, I ll use titles of articles that I use to market to lawyers.) STEP #1: Add to your web site educational articles that have teaser titles. People are drawn to helpful information written in list form. For example, I use 17 Fatal Marketing Mistakes Lawyers Make, Marketing Secrets Of Superstar Lawyers, 11 Brochure Mistakes Lawyers Make, and many more. When you add educational articles to your web site, you create a site that prospective clients want to visit because you offer free tips and advice. In addition, your articles increase your site s relevance in search engine rankings. STEP #2: Invite prospects to visit your web site so they can read your articles. Offer the articles in every type of communication, including -- Classified Ads. Your entire ad could be as simple as this: Discover 17 Fatal Marketing Mistakes Lawyers Make at Or make it more attractive by including two or more titles: Discover How To Build Your Law Practice With Dignity and 11 Brochure Mistakes Lawyers Make at Questions? Comments? Trey at trey@treyryder.com. Page 19 of 39

20 Offer your prospects an irresistible article that they can read only by going to your web site. -- Display Ads. If you want more space than a classified ad -- or think your prospects may not read classifieds -- design a small display ad. Make powerful use of black and white graphics to seize your reader s attention. In addition, include a closely cropped photo of your face with good eye contact and a warm, engaging smile. (Nothing draws readers eyes to your ad faster than your eyes looking back at them.) Depending on the size of your ad, you could include titles of many articles. Each title acts like a fishhook in a lake. You can t be sure which bait will cause your prospect to bite, but all it takes is one good title to motivate him to visit your web site. -- News Releases. Write a news release about a key issue in your area of law or the impact of a recent court decision. At the end of the news release, announce that you have published three articles, listing each by title. Then tell the reader he can call your office to receive free copies by mail, or visit your web site at Then send your news release to editors at print and online publications -- and producers at the broadcast media. -- Newsletters. In every issue, invite prospects to read articles on your web site. You might say something like: Yours Free! Discover 15 Business Card Sins Lawyers Commit, Marketing Secrets of Superstar Lawyers, and How to Market Other Practice Areas Within Your Firm -- at -- Seminars. In your seminar materials, include a flier that lists articles on your web site. -- Announcements. Send a mailing to former clients and referral sources alerting them to articles on your web site -- and inviting them to direct friends and colleagues to your site. -- Referral Brochures. Create a referral brochure with a reply card on which you offer various articles. Say that for a faster response, prospects can read these articles on your web site. -- Feature Articles. At the end of every article you submit for publication, include an author s note that offers your articles, something like this: Trey Ryder specializes in Education-Based Marketing for law firms. He offers the following three articles at 17 Fatal Marketing Mistakes Lawyers Make, High Pressure vs. Dignity Depends On How You Use The Three Cons, and 19 Secrets That Increase Response To Ads. -- Signatures. Consider offering an article and including its title in the signature to your . You might include something like: Visit to read 17 Fatal Marketing Mistakes Lawyers Make. Your URL by itself may not motivate a prospect to go to your web site. But when you alert him to an important article that discusses one of his current problems, he has a good reason to visit. -- Envelope Inserts. Prepare an insert that announces new articles on your web site. Include it in outgoing correspondence and, on the insert, invite the recipient to pass it along to a friend or colleague. Questions? Comments? Trey at trey@treyryder.com. Page 20 of 39