I admit it. I cannot sell. I stink at selling. That’s me, the person who couldn’t sell water to a thirsty man. I fear selling. I think of used car and insurance salesmen when I think of selling. My skin crawls when I think of selling. When I opened my firm in 2009, my main resistance was to the idea that I would have to sell. (Insert all manner of icky sound effects here). But I put on my big girl panties and began. With the help of Alexis Neely, my friend and mentor, I learned to overcome my panic-attack … Continue reading »

This is an important public service announcement if you are considering hiring a legal marketing company, agency or service to market your law firm. Please take it seriously. Far too many lawyers think legal marketing will be the answer to their prayers — I get it, I once thought that, too — but what I discovered (and you will, too, if you don’t heed this warning) is that legal marketing is just a teeny piece of the law business puzzle. You’d think it was the whole enchilada if you pay attention to what every online marketer in the legal space … Continue reading »

Dear Lawyers: I know you’re buried. Overwhelmed. I know you’ve probably thought about throwing in the towel at least once already this year. We hear it all the time around here. One email I received this week stood out in particular. (I do personally read all your comments & emails, so keep them coming.) She wrote about how she can’t keep up – hearing over and over “how I should be ‘transforming’ my practice while I am also worrying about making payroll, not screwing up cases, and meeting deadlines. PLEASE STOP TELLING ME HOW HORRIBLE IT IS, and give more … Continue reading »

If you’ve been practicing for any length of time, you’ve gotten that call. “I just need a will and I’d like to know what you charge for that.” Heaven knows, if you actually said the number out loud at that moment, the response would be, “Thanks. I’ll call you back if I need you.” Click. With the advent of online document generators like LegalZoom and prepaid legal companies that purport to provide legal services at a fraction of the price, plenty of consumers are price shopping. Which is a wise thing to do, particularly when dollars are tight. But, price … Continue reading »

In the pursuit of their perfect practice and the struggle to generate the desired income, many lawyers fear turning away any kind of case but, focusing your marketing to attract the kinds of cases and clients you really want to serve can reap huge benefits for your practice. A few points: first I am not necessarily suggesting you actually limit the types of cases you take to only one small segmented type. What I am advocating, however, is the idea that you need to take the prospect through your marketing experience by the hand and control the entire process. In … Continue reading »