Speakeasy Marketing's online newsletter for December 2017
GROW YOUR LAW FIRM IN 2018
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How Attorney Bortel Increased His Firm’s Revenue by 20% in 9 Months
RICHARD JACOBS ATTORNEY MARKETING SPECIALIST
Attorney Aaron Bortel is a client of ours.
He’s a DUI attorney in California, so his firm operates in one of the most ruthlessly competitive legal markets in the United States. Several of his peers have closed shop over the last year.
Why?
During the last five years, at least, law schools have churned out a constant deluge of freshly minted juniors who are now desperate for business. Their operating costs are close to zero (since Mommy and Daddy don’t charge rent and they can tinker with their website while sitting in Starbucks). So, business is tough right now for experienced attorneys who need to earn a decent living wage and support a family. Yet, while his peers have been worrying about where their next meal is going to come from, Mr. Bortel has not only kept his head
above water, but he’s increased his firm’s revenue by 20 percent.
point where it now produces a dependable flow of qualified leads? This one-sheet case study shows you.
Even better, his website now attracts more cases than he needs, so he regularly refers business to other attorneys who aren’t so fortunate.
speakeasy.marketing/bortel
How did he do it?
–Richard Jacobs
What method did he follow to build his website to the
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Successful networking benefits all business owners, whether they’re just getting started or trying to grow their business. These face-to-face meetings with other entrepreneurs, however, can be awkward and difficult for some people. Interfacing with industry leaders, experts, and like-minded CEOs doesn’t have to be anxiety-inducing, even if you’re naturally shy. Here are some tips to help you network more effectively at your next industry seminar or small- business conference. 1. Prepare Beforehand There are a few great ways to get yourself into the networking mindset before an event. You should have a few talking points ready. It shouldn’t sound like a formal presentation with bullet points. A few words about who you are, what you do, and why you do it will suffice. And you don’t want every word drilled down. Remember, networking is not the
a conversation about business to become a platform for building a relationship. Odds are everyone at your conference is trying to network just as much as you are. 3. Have a Card, Seriously Imagine this scenario: You’re at a conference and you just finish up a fruitful, engaging conversation. The person you’re talking to hands over their business card, and you realize you don’t have one to provide in return. Nobody wants to end up scribbling their contact information on a napkin. 4. Network From Home LinkedIn isn’t just for finding a job or screening employees. It can be a powerful networking tool for business owners. Because you can see the connections of your connections, it’s not hard to reach out to people in similar roles or industries. 5. Be Yourself Your personality and values should be an integral part of your business, and networking should be an honest conversation, even when the end goal is developing a business relationship. Be confident in who you are, and you’ll find that people will believe in your vision.
for Small- Business Owners Networking T I P S
same thing as a sales pitch. 2. Don’t Forget to Listen
Networking works best when it’s a two-way street. You can’t expect somebody to listen to you for five minutes, only for you to head to the snack table as soon as they start telling you about their company in return. The mutually beneficial nature of networking allows for
THE MOST IMPORTANT PAGE ON YOUR FIRM’S WEBSITE ...Continued from back page
Before you throw away this newsletter in disgust, consider these two law firms (and how potentials perceive them). Attorney A & Associates: One of their past clients recommends them to a friend, who then types their name into Google right away. They see the firm’s website right at the very top of the search results. Good, right? Attorney B & Associates: One of their past clients recommends them to a friend, who also types their name into Google right away. But they do NOT see the firm’s website at the top of the search results.
Instead, they see: (1) a link to an Amazon author-bio page; (2) a sidebar with solid gold stars and glowing reviews; (3) a link to the firm’s FindLaw profile (which has five solid gold stars); and (4) finally, at the third position, a link to the firm’s website.
the Google result page — created a stellar first impression.
That’s why the first page of Google is the most important page of your firm’s website. Because it’s where a potential’s first impression is made. Can you change how Google presents your firm? Yes! Absolutely, you can. It’s one of the (many) things I take you through in the latest 2017 edition of my “Secrets of Attorney Marketing” book.
Which of these firms has the most street cred?
The second one, obviously.
Now, even if both these firms had an identical website, the second firm has double, maybe even triple, the credibility. Why? Because the real “landing page” —
Request a complimentary copy here: speakeasy.marketing/comp-book.
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I’d go with the 90 percent up front and “lose” the other 10 Percent. Why? Because 10 percent of your fee is a small price to pay for not having to send out invoices, wrestle with clients to get paid, and then stress about meeting payroll. (Plus, if you follow some of the strategies I share in the new edition of my “Secrets of Attorney Marketing” book, you can raise your fees anyway.) How to Get More of Your CLIENT FEES UPFRONT ...Continued from back page If, like me, you’d rather bank your cash right away and not have to give payment a second thought, then I have something for you today. It’s an interview I recorded a while back, and it shows you how you can use financing companies to pay your fees in full, upfront, while allowing clients to pay in small, affordable monthly installments. (You pay the finance company 10 percent of your fee for this service. Like I said, though, a lot of attorneys just raised their fees to cover the difference.) What about you?
The Perfect Tool for Managing Your
So, you’ve finally woken up and realized that social media marketing is more than just the fad skeptics thought it was a few years back. However, keeping tabs on numerous posts across multiple social platforms can easily eat up all your time. After all, you’re a small-business owner, not a savvy social media marketing expert who can afford an entire team just to run the company Facebook page. Enter Hootsuite , a robust, web-based social media management application that allows you to wrangle a nearly unlimited number of social accounts in one place, drastically reducing wasted time spent tracking each platform, while providing you with a number of tools to measure customer engagement with your brand. With Hootsuite, you can integrate nearly every possible social network your business utilizes — from Facebook and Twitter to Instagram and beyond — into a single, seamless dashboard. From here, you can create timed streams for every bit of content you post to any social media account you’re managing, synchronizing or duplicating posts across platforms for maximum impact. Hootsuite plans range from a limited free plan, which allows the managing of three social profiles from a single user and includes post scheduling (perfect for a user brand-new to social media marketing), to a $499 per month business plan, which includes exportable analytic data, 50 social profiles, and custom URL branding. After you create your account, Hootsuite will take you through a step-by-step process to add each social media account you need. Following that, you can begin using the dashboard to create social media posts and control which accounts the message will get posted to and at what time(s). You can upload images and add links (which will be automatically and conveniently shortened in the actual post), as well as set privacy settings. You can even set up auto-scheduling, which lets you queue up a bunch of posts that are then automatically posted at the dates and times you specify. These tasks only scratch the surface of Hootsuite’s capabilities, which also include a staggering number of options for monitoring posts and customer engagement. That said, it’s a good idea to shop around before committing to a social media management platform. Hootsuite is the most popular one out there, but it’s far from the be-all, end-all. Check out HubSpot, ideal for tracking every aspect of your social media sales funnel, or TweetDeck, a renowned tool for specifically managing your company’s Twitter. SOCIAL MEDIA ACCOUNTS
Interested in finding out more?
Listen to the podcast here: speakeasy.marketing/fees .
Real Secrets of Attorney Marketing Law School Dares Not Teach (2nd Edition)
• Five new chapters, live chat, what’s changing for personal injury attorneys marketing-wise in 2017, and more • Completely revised and updated for 2017 • Complimentary copy mailed/emailed upon request Available on Amazon Kindle, and by emailing rj@speakeasymarketinginc.com.
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How Attorney Bortel Increased His Firm’s Revenue by 20% in 9 Months
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5 Networking Tips for Small- Business Owners The Perfect Tool for Managing Your Social Media Accounts The Most Important Page on Your Firm’s Website How to Get More of Your Client Fees Upfront
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HOW TO GET MORE OF YOUR CLIENT FEES UPFRONT
THE MOST Important Page on Your Firm’s WEBSITE
(b) Taking 30 percent of your fee at the start of an engagement, and then probably collecting the remaining 70 percent throughout your engagement.
Let me ask you an honest question.
Suppose that, for your next client engagement, you could choose between: (a) Reaping 90 percent of your fee immediately, before you work a single billable hour, and then forfeiting the remaining 10 percent of your cash; or
Which one would you choose?
I’d go with the 90 percent upfront and “lose” the other 10 percent. Why?
Do you want to know what the most important page on your website is?
It’s NOT the homepage.
It’s NOT the “contact us” page.
And it’s NOT the “about us” page.
It’s...
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