Integrity Marketing

A Systematic Approach to Client Acquisition

Client Acquisition -- the holy grail of estate planning and elder law marketing. Regardless how much we talk about maintenance programs, client reviews, and ongoing relationships, we know that the health of your practice depends upon your ability to successfully acquire NEW clients on a regular basis. They didn't tell you that in law school, now, did they? This is one reason that most attorneys are poorly prepared for this daunting task. The single biggest, and most common flaw that I see in practice management is the lack of a systematic approach to client acquisition.

Relationships are the fundamental building blocks of any client acquisition program.

Relationships -- not Promotions. When most people think of marketing, they think of promotions. Promotions include advertising, workshops, direct mail -- communications with a call-to-action. Promotions can work, but they lose their effectiveness over time if they are not buttressed by solid relationships. If your marketing plan does not include consistent, systematic, automated relationship management, then -- given enough time -- it is destined for failure.

What is relationship management? Essentially, relationship management is the process of building and nurturing relationships. Successful relationship management relies on the consistency achieved through automated systems.

Why are these attributes essential? Because relationships are built, nurtured and come to fruition only OVER TIME. The contacts you make at a workshop or seminar are usually only initial contacts. Most of your website visitors are initial contacts. So, too, many of the contacts you make even through referrals are essentially initial contacts. If you are attempting to generate clients only from initial contacts, your client acquisition costs will be outrageous and your marketing efforts will fall short of your goals. 

How many of us decided to marry our spouses after only one introduction? So it often is with client relationships as well ... consistent contact over time is required to bring these relationships to full bloom. However, unlike a dating relationship that focuses (usually) on only one person ... your client acquisition efforts are focused on many, sometimes literally hundreds of people at any given moment. A consistent, systematic, automatic relationship management program will help you build these multiple contacts into profitable, mutually satisfying, long-term client relationships ... and ensure that you do so in a cost-effective manner.

If you are not currently managing your key relationships in a consistent, systematic manner, you are leaving money on the table every day. If you want to get control of your client acquisition process call James and ask for a free demonstration of The Essential Solution®. 1-877-352-2021, ext. 0. We will even pay for the call!

Beating the Summer Doldrums

The summer months can pose a true marketing challenge to your estate planning or elder law practice. Because people are so busy with their active summer lifestyles, it may be difficult to get them to attend workshops, schedule appointments, or refer clients.

Here are some quick tips to help cope with the summer doldrums.

• Prioritize Your Work. During the summer months you should have two main goals: the first being to maintain cash flow, and the second to lay the groundwork for a successful fall. Focusing exclusively on one or the other would be a mistake. Unfortunately, too often we find that when the work load at the office gets a little lighter, we are very tempted to take some time off, switch into "casual" dress, and -- in general -- break all the rules of good business. This type of behavior can be very hazardous to the health of your practice! You've heard the adage, "when the going gets tough, the tough get going." Well, it was never more applicable than during the summer doldrums!
• Shake Some Money Loose. If your cash flow is starting to waver, here are some proven ways to shake some money loose rather quickly: (listed in priority order)

1. Review your "Pending Sales" reports from the last three to six months. Evaluate which of these cases would be most likely to move forward if you took some affirmative action ... such as a phone call to their referral source, a reminder letter, or perhaps you just need to complete a proposal or some other detail that would close the case and result in payment. Develop an action plan to close any pending business.
2. Review your top referral sources from the past three to six months and make a point to contact each of them. A quick phone call to "touch base" on a current or past client, or schedule a business lunch is often the catalyst necessary to spark a referral.
3. Review your least active referral sources, and make a prioritized list for follow-up. Has something gone wrong to sour the relationship? This would be a good time to find out, and do whatever may be necessary to rebuild it. You may discover that there is nothing really wrong, and that a phone call from you is just the spark to rekindle the referral fires.
4. Send annual review or check-up letters to past clients. Some of our clients report their best revenue months were sparked by an annual review letter sent to all of their clients. These letters often result in significant revenue from the reviews; the resulting updates, restatements, and/or funding required; and from additional client referrals.
5. Schedule a workshop for senior adults. Work with a bank, professional advisor, or other group to host a workshop targeted for seniors. A "customer appreciation" program could be an excellent opportunity. Why seniors? Their schedules are often least-affected by summer vacations, school schedules, or other seasonal activities. While these types of workshops may not result in top-dollar fees for sophisticated planning, they can boost your cash flow during an otherwise "slow" season.

• Plant Seeds for a Fall Harvest. The next most important aspect to focus your efforts on this summer is developing, and nurturing referral relationships that will bear fruit in the fall. Instead of taking time off from the office, re-double your efforts to make personal contacts with each of the professional advisors in your "referral base."
  
  Here are a few ideas to get you started:

1. Send notes, make personal phone calls, and visit their offices. This is a good time to thank your best referral sources for their ongoing business, and start building new relationships.
2. Get personal. I know of one attorney who hosts barbecues at his home for the various agencies with which he works. He says it is the best marketing investment he has ever made. If you are working with several agents from one agency, consider inviting them all to your home (if appropriate) for an outdoor barbecue or pool party. If this is not possible for you, think of some other creative method to nurture personal relationships.
3. Teach. Offer to teach a short course at your office, or theirs. Focus on their needs -- for instance, most agents have difficulty introducing the topic of estate planning to their clients. Focus on overcoming objections, recognizing needs, and communicating benefits. This will distinguish you from the "pack" of attorneys who offer to explain the intricacies of generation skipping transfers.

Finally, remember that NOW is the time to get organized for fall. If you do not have a marketing system in place, don't wait until September to try to get one. Use these slower months to your advantage, get everything set up, and you'll be well-positioned to make the most of your fall opportunities.

Do You Have a Vision for Your Estate Planning Practice?

That's my granddaughter, Alexis, in the photo. She is three years old and just graduated from riding ponies-only to her first big horse. That saint of a horse under her is my retired show jumper, King, age 30. On the right is our trainer, Miss Dana, leading the Princess and the King in the round pen here on our farm last Friday night. 

Why am I sharing this photo with you today? What could it possibly have to do with estate planning and elder law marketing?

So many things had to come together for us to arrive at this magical moment -- with my beloved granddaughter astride my beloved best friend. The story is too long to share here -- but suffice to say it all started on a cold morning in Park City, Utah. On that morning, I did not own a horse or a farm, my son James (Lexi's father) was not yet married, and Alexis was not even a gleam in his eye! But walking through the snow at the base of the mountain, I had a vision for a future that I hoped would look very much like this photo -- hopeful, strong and full of joy.

That vision was achieved neither quickly nor easily. Some of the steps along the way were huge -- like striking out to purchase 20 run-down acres of Kansas prairie. Some of the steps were tiny -- like polishing up an old saddle. But every step was essential to achieve the Vision.

And that is the difference between a Vision and a Dream. Dreamers seldom accomplish much of anything, despite their big talk. Visionaries, on the other hand, give feet to their Dreams. They don't just make plans, they make sacrifices. They allocate resources. They take tiny steps, and they take huge leaps of faith. Sometimes they have anxiety attacks and white knuckles. But they make it.

What is your Vision for your practice? What are you doing today to ensure this Vision becomes reality, and not just another Dream?

I see far too many attorneys who starve their Vision to death. Oh sure, they have big Dreams, but their Vision is hat-rack thin. They feed their Dreams with big talk, but starve their Vision with inaction. We talk to some of these folks ... year after year ... and year after year they sing the same sad song.They want big results from tiny investments.

Big Dreams. Tiny Vision.

If there is still a spark of Vision left in you, try feeding it today. Take action. Make a bold move. You can do it!

 

Is Your Estate Planning Practice Working?

It's Friday, and a big day here at King's Ransom, the horse farm where I live and work. We are having a training pen (known as a round pen) delivered and installed here on the farm this afternoon. Why is this such a big deal? And what does it have to do with marketing your estate planning practice?

The training pen means that the granddaughter now has a safe place to learn to ride, that the ex-race horse has a safe place to exercise and get back into condition, and the dressage horse has a safe place to warm up, loosen his joints, and prepare to work.

It means our farm is working.

I've owned this farm for five years, and can honestly say that it is only just now starting to work. We have lovely horses, a beautiful barn, a three-acre lake and acres and acres of lush pasture -- but the farm still was not really working for us.

What changed?

We finally found an excellent trainer who brings it all together. There are plenty of specialty trainers out there -- folks who will take your dressage horse and get him literally dancing across the arena. That's fine if all you want to do is dance across the arena. But if your horse needs to perform anywhere besides the show ring, as ours do, this type of training is not enough. Why not? Because it usually results in a horse that will spook at his own shadow, and so be virtually un-rideable and useless outside of an enclosed arena.

Miss Dana, on the other hand, is no one-trick pony. She takes an holistic approach to training. After working the dressage horse in the arena, she then trots him out across the fields, developing a horse of sound mind and body. We have different goals for each of our horses, and Miss Dana is helping us reach them.

So, what does all of this have to do with marketing your estate planning or elder law practice?

We take the same approach with our Essentials clients that Miss Dana takes with my horses. We meet you where you are -- not physically, but philosophically. We discover your resources, your strengths and weaknesses, and your goals. Then we take an holistic approach to achieving your goals. We don't just focus on one aspect of your marketing -- we implement an integrated system, each part supporting and supported by every other part.

In other words, we get everything working for you. If your practice is anything like my horse farm  -- with lots of great pieces but no system pulling it all together, give us a call. I would love to bring to your practice the kind of joy we have here at King's Ransom today ... the joy that comes from knowing everything is working properly.

When is the Best Time to Start Marketing Your Estate Planning Practice?

You may know this young couple, or you may have read about them. They both have good jobs, and a nice rental apartment in a fashionable section of town. They dress well, party well, and drive expensive cars. They also dream of owning a big, beautiful home in an even more fashionable section of town.

But between dressing well, partying well, and driving expensive cars, they never get around to saving a down payment. They run up debts and their credit score is not that hot, either. In fact, they better never leave their rental apartment, because they might not even be able to get another lease.

The folly of their thinking may seem obvious ... but look in the mirror for a minute. Are you guilty of this, too? Are you hoping to have a successful practice, but failing to invest in the marketing required to achieve it?

I see this pattern quite often among attorneys. They rent the nice office, take expensive vacations, and even pay huge sums to "join" the latest groups or organizations ... all before they invest in the marketing that will buid a sustainably profitable practice.

The thinking goes pretty much like this:

• When times are great: I don't need marketing. Look how busy I am! I really don't need any more work (today).
• When times are average: Maybe I should think about a little marketing ... on a strict budget.
• In times of crisis: I cannot afford marketing! I can barely afford my membership dues!

If you recognize yourself, today is the day to make a change.

Marketing and practice development are not magic potions that work overnight. Every single legitimate, effective marketing strategy requires time to yield results.

The time for that young couple to start thinking about growing their down payment is not the day they find the house of their dreams. No, it was YEARS before that. So it is with your marketing.

Every day that you delay, every single day that you procrastinate and fail to make a decision about your marketing is a day you fall further behind. It's a day of prosperity lost.

If you really want that dream home -- or that profitable, enjoyable estate planning or elder law practice -- you have to start now. Better if you had started years ago. But now is the next best time.

Social Media Marketing -- Here is How it Works

I know some of you are still unsure about how to use social media in your estate planning or elder law marketing. I see a lot of mistakes, too. The two most common mistakes I see attorneys make on social media are:

1. Ignoring Social Media Altogether. If you're not on Facebook, Linked-In, Twitter, etc., then you can't really make too many more mistakes.
2. Using Social Media to Advertise. Ugh! I see this so often. Attorney sets up a Facebook account, and then starts posting things like, "Did you know seven out of 10 Americans don't have an estate plan? Call us for a free consultation." Hello, friends, this is not socializing. This is advertising, and it does not work on social media.

Perhaps a true story from my own life will help illustrate how social media is supposed to work.

Last year, I needed a new trainer for a horse I had purchased. Since most of my horse-connections were in another discipline of riding, I didn't know anyone to call for a word-of-mouth reference. So, I went to Google and started searching. I found a trainer nearby who just happened to have a terrific and well-optimized website.

I have been working with this trainer for a year, and she is just wonderful, not only with the original horse that I took to her, but with all of my horses. My trainer would now like to expand her business, and visited with me about it a last week. I said I would be happy to help.

• The first thing I did was mention on my own Facebook how happy I am with my trainer. I did not suggest anyone call her, I did not even mention her name. I just told a few stories about how well things are progressing with my horses.
  Net one inquiry  and potential new client for my trainer.

• Then, I mentioned it on a horse-related forum that I frequent. Again, I did not mention her name nor suggest anyone call her. Instead, I told stories about how well my horses are doing in training. I got an email that same day from someone who wrote, "Would you be so kind as to ask your trainer if he/she would be interested in a new client? Please?  Here is my number, feel free to give it to your trainer ... fingers crossed he/she will take on another client this summer."

So, that's two new clients for my trainer in less than a week. Now I am starting to think I should slow down, curb my enthusiasm a bit. After all, I want to be sure my trainer has time for ME!

Teaching Points:

1. The entire relationship started with trainer's optimized website. When I went to Google searching for a trainer in my area, hers was the only relevant site that came up. (I got a lot of feed dealers and veteterinary suppliers, but only one trainer.)
2. The relationship blossomed because my trainer is the REAL DEAL. She is well-qualified, pleasant and fun to be around, and she does a great job with my horses. Does not hurt that she is reasonably priced, but honestly that is not an issue. (If you've got horses, you're already financially insane, and conditioned to ignore the costs...)
3. Trainer recognized me as one of her A-Level clients. Not because I am extremely wealthy, not because I am a terrific rider, not because I have the best horses in the county (well, that last one is true, but the first two absolutely not). I am one of her A-Level clients because I am an influencer. I am well-connected and I make good referrals.
4. Trainer ASKED me to make referrals. When you find a client who is an influencer, treat them well and then all you have to do is ask. They are more than happy to help, it's just how they are wired.
5. Social Media. I turned to social media -- both Facebook and the horse forum. I have a well-developed network that fits right into my trainer's target market. But believe me, an advertising message like, "My trainer is really good, and she's looking for new clients, give her a call" would have done nothing. All I did was tell truthful stories to a few (thousand) of the right people.

I have some other ideas to help my trainer build her business, and I will share them with you as well. Stay tuned. This gets fun!

The Essentials of Success in Estate Planning Marketing

Yesterday I finished reviewing marketing statistics for each of our Essentials clients. This is something I do every month, and every month I am reassured that the systems we put into place for our clients are working. Which is not to say we don't find things to tweak, areas to improve, or new ideas to implement -- we certainly do.

Let me share a story about one of our clients, whose name I will keep confidential. Let's call him Sam.

Sam's marketing statistics look terrific. His website traffic is healthy, and showing steady growth. Not only that, but his website visitors are clicking through an average of nearly eight pages per visit! This is truly phenomenal. Google searches generate about 40 percent of his website traffic, with another 40 percent finding his website through his e-newsletter and "referral" sites. One of his referral sites is the local radio station's website, where our client is regularly featured on a weekend talk show. Very nice that they gave us a link on their website, and we can now track how much traffic they send.

The most popular points of entry for his website, however, remain his home page and his online newsletters -- both the current issue and his archived issues. In fact, his online newsletter pages account for nine of his top 10 most popular entry pages! Why? Sam has a healthy e-newsletter distibution list, and an interesting, compelling online newsletter -- like this.

Additionally, Sam has finally become convinced of the power of blogging! Way to go Sam, you posted to your blog 31 times during the month of May! Woo hoo! How is this helping him? Well, Sam's website has 246 pages indexed on Google -- 205 of those are from his blog. All things being equal, the website with more indexed pages will outrank the website with fewer.

Sam's website showed a net gain of 10 spots on Google over the past month, and it ranks on PAGE ONE for ALL of his key search terms. Again, Way to GO SAM!

In fact, Google sees Sam's website -- the number of indexed pages, the volume of traffic, the SEO coding -- and scores it as highly valuable to their users. Now, they didn't send Sam a check ... but they did reward him with six site links on the Search Engine Results Page. Do you know what site links are? Those are the links that show up on the search engine results page below some sites. Google awards these site links automatically, but only to websites that meet their standards of best practices. In fact, Sam has as many sites links as Starbucks!

But there's more to Sam's marketing success. You see, Sam is pretty darn savvy.

He sends out 250 hard-copy newsletters IN THE MAIL (yes, that's US Postal mail) every month. Yes, that's every month -- to his targeted list. His printed newsletter and his e-newsletter are nearly identical. The key topic this month in both his printed and electronic newsletters is Women, Money & the Law. Now, just guess what Sam is doing? He's having a workshop this month -- targeting women -- on the topic of Women, Money & The Law.

So what is the secret to Sam's success?

Integration.

Every aspect of Sam's marketing is integrated to coordinate beautifully with every other aspect. Sam does not have a solitary website, languishing away, waiting to be found by the handful of folks who search for an estate planning attorney online. No, Sam has a gorgeous, user-friendly website with tons of relevant, compelling content ... content that is updated and re-indexed almost daily. Sam drives traffic to his website with his blog, his e-newsletters, his newsletters, his personal networking and even his radio talk show. Then, he capitalizes on that success to host workshops and seminars.

Sam's marketing is running like a finely-tuned sports car.

And the real beauty? Most of this happens behind the scenes, with little effort on Sam's part. Oddly, we sent a prospective client to talk to Sam recently, and she came back to us disappointed. She had asked Sam specific questions about his marketing numbers. His response was, "All I know is that I'm constantly busy, and I could not survive without Integrity Marketing."

Well, the truth is we have the numbers -- and plenty of them -- to quantify Sam's success. But I, for one, am pleased to know that Sam hired us to do what we do best -- marketing -- so he can do what he does best -- practice law.

 

Google Ranking Reports are "Meaningless." Really?

I am really fed up with Google. I just listened to Science Friday on NPR, with Google's Scott Huffman talking about how they continue to experiment with Google's algorithm and mix up the search results. I heard him laugh out loud about some of the random results they get when they test out different ideas. Now, I know Mr. Huffman works on the evaluation team and it's his job to test things ... but it's not very funny when a business owner wakes up to find their website has been banished to Oblivion. It's not very funny when businesses lose revenue. It's not very funny when the same website inexplicably reappears back on the top of Page One a week later.

I want to holler at Google to Stop the Madness!

Yesterday I read an interview with Google's Matt Cutts where he basically chastises business for reviewing their web rankings reports. He doesn't want us to focus on web ranking reports because they are fairly meaningless.

Here is what Michael Martinez of SEO Theory wrote last week about web rankings:

But let’s talk a little more about rankings. Like so many other aspects of Google’s service, rankings today are not like rankings 10 years ago. 10 years ago rankings were predictable. The algorithm and database were subject to more manual oversight than they are today and hence Google’s search results often looked the same day after day. That consistency created a mental dependency among many users. Knowing the search results would be the same, they used Google as a site navigation tool more and more.

But as Google has evolved its services the search results have become more chaotic — chaotic in the sense that they constantly change. The user can no longer expect to see the same search result as, say, someone sitting in an office down the hall. In fact, I’ve seen completely different search results sitting in the same office.

Is a ranking report really useful if Google shows a Website all over the place? Now it’s number 1, now it’s number 4, now it’s a different page entirely? One has to wonder just how convoluted the set of rankings a single page can be for a single keyword.

This is why we no longer send web ranking reports -- by themselves -- to our Essentials clients. They are not meaningless, but unless reviewed in context with all of your other marketing metrics, they are nearly meaningless. Rankings can vary by time, by location, and by user status.

In our marketing performance reports, we take Google web rank into consideration. But we also look at 22 other vital metrics to gauge your marketing health, to show us where we might need to make some tweaks, and how we can capitalize on strengths ... to generate more qualified leads.

Why? Because Google does not send you a check when your website lands on Page One. New clients send checks. Your marketing is not about getting to Google's Page One. Your marketing is about building your practice with qualified new prospects.

A Tale of Successful Drip Marketing

One of my marketing professors from grad school keeps track of me through this blog. Yesterday, he wrote to me with some suggestions he thought I should pass along to you.

1. Keep Your Database Current.  Add names that could be potential clients or referral sources delete those that you may know would never convert.
2. Integrated Drip Marketing Works. Keep consistently "touching" your clients and prospects through a variety of media -- social media, email, direct mail and in-person. 

To illustrate, my professor writes:

I had a good example of someone I've had on my file for our newsletter and missives for a couple years, a very high prospect for me.  We had a meeting a couple years ago about managing some business together. Despite the fact that our meetings were all good ones, they bore no fruit.

Just last week I had a reason to contact her on another matter and also suggested we should revisit the previous one, as I thought good synergies would result.  She called me back almost immediately, practically apologized for being so "absent" and virtually gushed about how nice it was to see me and read our newsletter. Then we set up another meeting to talk about ways to get down to doing business together.

Lessons from this experience (I told you he's a professor)

• Without other "touches", I could have been forgotten, lost in the shuffle of her daily work.
• Without other "touches", she never would have responded so quickly or with such enthusiasm.
• Without other "touches", she probably would have forgotten what I even looked like. She still felt  close to me because my photo is always there.
• And I doubt she would have had the same reaction had all my messages been emailed.

So, some of the best tips from a grad school marketing professor:

1. Keep your database current.
2. Drip marketing works!
3. Mix it up -- don't realy entirely on one medium. Email is great, but it's seldom enough. Add in targeted direct mail, mix in some social media, and remember to pick up the phone and CALL -- especially top prospects among your allied professionals.

Estate Planning Marketing: Good Conditioning Still Wins

I've been analyzing marketing data for several days now, and in between each set of numbers I also have been catching parts of a documentary about Bjorn Borg and John McEnroe. Something McEnroe said in an interview really hit home with me, as I sat with scores of statistics under analysis.

Why did Borg consistently beat McEnroe?

Easy answers come quickly to mind -- Borg was just "better," or Borg was better able to handle his emotions. But what does McEnroe think? Why did Borg beat him consistently?

McEnroe (in his typically modest manner) says he was better than Borg ... for two hours. When he looks back on his tennis career, McEnroe says Borg beat him consistently because Borg was in better condition. Borg ran, he swam, he cross-trained. McEnroe played tennis, and then he drank and partied. He says that if their matches went two hours and one minute, Borg would beat him every time because McEnroe simply could not keep up with Borg's conditioning.

Now, how does this apply to your marketing?

Conditioning -- that's the tough, un-glamorous stuff that no one applauds. They don't give you a medal for running those training miles, you never "win" at the end of those early morning laps in the pool. All of that conditioning work, that boring stuff that no one sees, that's what separates the winners from the also-rans.

So it is as I reveiw these marketing statistics. The attorneys who put in the daily work -- posting regularly to their blog, building their e-newsletter distribution list, mailing newsletters to their top clients and referral sources -- those are the ones whose websites rank on Google's page one, those are the ones whose websites get thousands of visitors every month, and they are the ones getting new business.

Oftentimes when we visit with prospective clients, they come to us looking for a "website." They are looking for that glamorous online image. They think that if we design and optimize their website properly, they will "win." The truth is, a website is just one component of a successful marketing system. A winning website is the result of proper conditioning -- getting all of those un-glamorous, behind-the-scenes systems working properly.

We want you to be Bjorn Borg and not John McEnroe. We want to be sure you win, even when the match goes on for two hours and one minute.