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[legalpedia-blog]

Attention Nigerian Lawyers! Discover the  the Secret for Building a Successful Lawyer Marketing 

How profitable will your firm be if you systematically planned and implemented legal activities intended to bring potential clients in the door … that’s marketing! And that doesn’t contravene the law at all!!

Our previous Profitable Law Firm (PLF) Series emails have been showing you WHY you should be marketing your law practice, and that there is a HOW to market, that is the correct way.

Now it’s time to get into the crux of the PLF Series.

The first thing you need to know and must never forget is that …

The Tools and Techniques of Great Legal Marketing Change Over Time, but the Principles NEVER Change

As time goes on, we will be exposing you to the tools of the trade.’ However, the principles that govern your use of them will remain the same.

They are the foundation on which your ‘Legal Marketing’ efforts rest. Principles are universal. Focus on the principles. They work. They are tested and proven.

This email will dwell on the first principle you should know.

The # 1 Principle of great legal marketing is:

You (and only you) decide who you want to see coming through that door as your next client.

Everybody doesn’t need your services. Everybody cannot be your target client.

The ideal client is the one who desires and needs your services and to him/her, your services are a ‘hot sell’ to them; a perfect fit for their needs and the reason why they will be willing to go the extra mile to get it from you at all cost.

Imagine how much easier life will be if you know who they are, where they are and how to get them.

That’s why the first thing you need to do is...

Identify and Define who your ideal client is.

I will not leave this to you to figure out how. I will be giving you pointer questions to help you perform this task of identifying who is your ideal client.

If you are able to successfully think deep and answer two questions, you have just laid a major stone in the foundation of your law firm marketing structure.

1. Who is Your Preferred/Choice Customer?

• Who exactly is this customer? Be as specific as possible.• Identify Demographic Information – age, gender, location,  income… • Identify Psychographic Information (a.k.a. their affinities)  – especially in areas like politics, religion, values, hobbies,  interests… • Identify Emotional Information – hopes, dreams, fears,  and pain. What is that ‘thing’ that keeps them up at night?

2. What is their KEY Problem and the challenges associated    with it that you can address or provide a solution?

The easiest way to do this is to fill in the blanks in this statement (representing your ideal client): “If I could just ________ I will _________”.

For example, say you are a Litigation Lawyer, one of your client’s problem should be like this:

"If I could just prove my ownership of this property, I will sell it,and have my peace of mind.

What is their pain and what is the outcome that they desire to have in solving it? What are the associated pains that go with it and what are the associated outcomes that go with solving that pain?

How about if these people know and remember (through the right ‘marketing’) that YOU are trusted, and can address those pains and help them achieve their desired outcome?

What do you think will happen to your practice if you can find such people or such people can find you easily?

How easy will it be to provide ‘custom tailored’ solutions to address those particular needs? How valuable will your ‘offer’ be to them?

It is because you know your ideal customer and what they want, you can then create the perfect offer for them.

The offer will be “IRRESISTIBLE” because, it provides the perfect solution to help a SPECIFIC type of people achieve their desired goal.

Remember, Client First, Offer Second

After answering the two questions, what do you think you need to do differently going forward?

Hit th comment button and let’s hear your comments.

[legalpedia-blog]

[Revealed] The 5 Amazing Secrets of A Successful  Nigeria Lawyer

Have you ever stopped to ask yourself the question… ”Why are there lawyers that are successful and those that aren’t?” The big reveal is that it is not about how good you are as a lawyer, but how good you are in marketing and positioning yourself and your practice to attract, satisfy and retain your ideal clients. First, you must realize that you own and run a business and you are in it among other things to make profit, to earn a living. And so, like ANY business owner you must think and behave like an entrepreneur and not just a lawyer. Remember, the only person who is responsible for your ultimate success (or lack thereof) is you. Your mind needs to open up to new possibilities; what it is, that ethically successful lawyers leading balanced lives, and doing great jobs for their clients are doing? We will be focusing today on how successful entrepreneurs think and behave. You must learn to ignore the voices of the critics who say “well, who gave you the ‘right’ to do this?” They aren't paying your bills for you! A proper mindset is the key to any kind of sustained success in life. Success Principle 1—Profit is Good In order to be the very best you can for your clients, your family and yourself, you have to be making a profit with your law practice. The lawyer who is running a business, that includes a marketing machine that drives potential clients to him, in order that he can ‘select’ and represent only those clients who best fit his skill set, attitude and interests is a better lawyer for those clients. Don't worry if you can't save everyone. You were not put on this earth nor are you expected to save everyone. That's impossible. It leads to mediocrity and burnout. Your role is to maximize your unique gifts and talents for the people you can help. Success Principle 2—Greed is Good; Be Very Greedy With Your Time You MUST be radical with time management. Here are 4 Time Management Keys that you should adhere to. 1. Relate everything you do to your goals. 2. Calculate the true value of your time and delegate everything else that is    not at your “pay level.” 3. Do not make or take phone calls that are not scheduled in advance. 4. Educate your employees and clients as to why your time is so valuable    and why it is in everyone's best interest to protect your time. Success Principle 3—Successful entrepreneurs have an abundance mentality. Great entrepreneurs believe that the world is big, and that the opportunities are endless. When you truly believe this, your entire thinking about the ideas that you see changes. Some lawyers live their lives looking over their shoulders, because they believe there is not enough of everything to go around. Thus, they not only refuse to share what it is they know, but they refuse to open their minds to the possibilities. This can destroy your practice. Harsh? It’s the truth! Success Principle 4—Challenge Industry Norms (a.k.a.: “Who Made THAT Rule?) If you went into an occupation or a profession and you had no mentor and you didn't know what to do to be successful, the best thing you can do is look around, see what everybody else is doing and just do the opposite. Model what truly successful people are doing. However, if you don't know who the successful people are, or can't find any, simply look around at what the rest are doing and do something different. Doing what everyone else is doing is the sure path to “average.” By definition, what the masses are doing is merely average. That should not be good enough for you. Some of the “industry norms” in the legal profession are: 1. The best way to get your name out there and get cases, is to join a whole    bunch of committees, so that you can get referred cases. 2. In a litigant's practice you have to not only risk all of your time, but also    totally fund all of the cases yourself. 3. In order to satisfy and keep clients, you have to make yourself available    24/7 and give them your cell phone number. 4. My type of clients won't respond to “this type” of marketing. 5. If I don't sign up the client today they will go to the next client on the    list tomorrow. Success Principle 4—It's OK to Practice Discrimination There is a perfect client profile for your practice and skill set and you should be marketing only to that person. Who do you enjoy representing? What type of client brings you not only the money that you deserve, but also the enormously good feeling of helping someone solve their legal problem? Which type of client do you hate? Remember this… Successful entrepreneurs give themselves permission to recognize that "there is a perfect client for them"; to design that prototype in their minds and commit it to paper; and then to design marketing and build a practice that is specifically for that type of “A client.” It is okay to treat the potential client you want differently than the clients you don't want. In fact, your ‘marketing’ should repel those whom you do not enjoy representing. Go ahead. Discriminate. Success Principle 5—Recognize That We Are Not in the Commodity Business. It is common to believe that there is no way you can differentiate yourself from the competition. After all, you all do the same things. It's absolutely not true! If you believe that, all you are doing is producing the same thing that every other lawyer in your niche is producing, then you have given yourself a no better than average career. Here are some ways you can differentiate yourself: 1. Develop a unique selling proposition. “Why should a client choose you to do    business with, above all other choices, including the choice to do nothing?” 2. Niche your business. Don't try to be all things to all people. 3. Create and sell an experience. Ultimately, your ideal clients are attracted to    how good and secure your services will make them feel. 4. Create, sell, and deliver by a system. Think “McDonalds.” 5. Create an interesting and educational system to ‘market’ your practice that    is so deep and comprehensive that people come to know you by your type    of marketing. I know this is a LOT of information for one email, but it’s necessary. We will delve deeper and break them down as we go along. Feel free to shoot us a mail with any comments or questions

#Nigerian lawyer #legalmarketing #entreprenuer #nigeria #online business

[legalpedia-blog]

How To Make Clients Line Up And Beg You To Take Their Money!

You’re a lawyer, you don’t do marketing, right? Wrong.

How profitable will your firm be if you systematically planned and implemented legal ‘business’ activities intended to bring potential clients in the door; an overall system or plan that takes prospects through the journey from being a legal prospect to your client? Do you have a plan like that? Well, that’s marketing! And that doesn’t contravene the law at all!! Yes. You read that right. It doesn’t.

You’re a lawyer, you don’t advertise, right? Wrong! Wrong!!

Really?! Yes! When you give out your complimentary card, when you tell a friend, who tells another, that’s advertising. Do you have a sign post that says who you are in front of your firm? That’s a form of advertising. Got that? Legal advertising is all about getting the word out there about your legal services. Now, the challenge is the medium and manner in which you get this word out. Just getting the word out there IS advertising. Doing it is one thing while doing it professionally and ethically is another.

You’re a lawyer, you don’t sell, right? Wrong! When you sit down to have a discussion with a potential client you are in a sales conversation. You are essentially ‘selling’ your firm and services to the potential client. You give them reason to see why they should rather do business with you and not another. Legal sales or the potential client or initial client meeting is all about closing the deal. You make a recommendation and you quote a fee. Words like ‘selling,’ ‘advertising’ or ‘marketing’ do not resonate well with lawyers for obvious reasons. What if there is a professional and ethical way to engage in these activities in a comprehensive, systematic and interesting way that makes you the guru through which all requests for legal information come; the preferred choice. You become the ‘hunted’ by clients and not the other way round. You can accept only those cases that fit your perfect case profile while making friends with both the declined client and the lawyer you refer them to when you decline. You can lock everyone up in “your herd” forever so that the next time they or anyone in their circle of friends needs an attorney like you, you will be the first option to be considered. A first among equals.

Our goal at Legalpedia is to reveal well kept secrets of legal marketing used by a few super successful Legal practitioners to you, to create a highly profitable and enjoyable legal career and free you from pain and stress with automated systems that grow your firm, giving you the time freedom to devote to the things and people most dear to you. This series will take you through thought provoking ideas and methods of ‘legal marketing’ that are “outside the box.” This is about bringing real clarity to marketing in the legal profession. In their true definitions, marketing and advertising are not wrong or dis-allowed within the noble profession. It’s all about really understanding what they mean and how they can be done within the confines of the law using these little known techniques that are guaranteed to bring the kind of success you only dream of.

Legal marketing is really about how lawyers can differentiate themselves in their area of expertise (the market place) and attract at will their preferred clients. Your law practice, just the same as the practice of a medical doctor or an accountant, etc. is a business. And you will agree with me that a business exists to make profit as it provides value to the market place (clients and customers). In this profession, just as the same as the others, our revenue is generated from clients that agree to do business with us. Your practice can be a wealth building tool for you without pain and stress, providing great value to your clients who are consistently satisfied with your services and keep returning as they refer you to others.

To be the best and provide maximum value to your clients you need to build and nurture a profitable business that runs on systems and does not require you, to spend any time doing something that is not the highest value use of your time. It doesn’t matter how good of a lawyer you are (as important as that may be). All these don’t matter at all if you don’t have a steady flow of new clients coming down through your automated and systematized marketing pipeline. Marketing is the one critical thing that can make or break you.

You need to know and believe that you can be the preferred legal service provider, first and above all the competing law firms out there struggling for the attention of your ideal customer. That you can develop your business and make it reputable, dynamic, successful and fun too.

You need to shed the belief system that says that you must market to every Tom Dick and Harry and accept every case that comes your way. Loose the fear that you won’t have any clients if you ‘select’ those you wish to work with and open your mind to a direct response approach to legal marketing where you attract only the kind of clients you want and are willing to work with.

Still interested? Or do you think this is too “outside the box?” Are you in the camp which believes that lawyers shouldn't think about things like “profit”, “value” or “running your law office like a business?”

You do have a choice. So, if you believe that there IS a better way to go about the business of the practice of law in order to lead the life you (and your family) want to lead, keep reading. Who says you can’t have it all as a lawyer? Have a great life. Great practice. Great relationships. And a practice just the way you wish it to be? You need to buck industry norms. YOU NEED TO STOP THINKING LIKE A LAWYER! Shocking? Welcome to the Profitable Law Firm series.

Welcome to ‘OUTSIDE THE BOX MAGNETIC LEGAL MARKETING’ for Nigerian lawyers

#marketing #legal marketing #lawyer #advertise #nigeria #lagosnigeria #young lawyers #young law graduates