Recently my wife and I had our weekly Thursday dinner out at a local Mexican Restaurant in the northwest suburbs. It’s a place within walking distance of our home that has great mole sauce and we’re semi-regular patrons. Well as we paid our bill the woman at the cash register was distracted (partly by our chatting w/ her) and ran my debit card for some $600 instead of the like $25 that should have been charged for our dinner. She immediately voided the $600 transaction but then there was a ‘hold’ on our bank account for $600 that was going to stay in place for a few days which was a problem. But their reaction to the mistake really impressed me and actually will cause me to be a more devoted customer in the future.

The following day one of the restaurant owners reached out to our bank to do everything that had to be done to take the ‘hold’ off of our bank account which was done within a pretty narrow window of time so it would be cleared up before the weekend and before other payments/checks we’d scheduled from the account would be impacted. Additionally, we were given a $25 gift certificate.

I think I have greater affinity for this restaurant because of the above than I would have had if we’d just paid per usual and been done with it. I think it’s because so many people/businesses mishandle their mistakes that when someone gets it right the distinction compared to others is greatly magnified. I think an appropriate sports analogy would be when someone shows class and great sportsmanship following a tough loss. We’re used to seeing sore losers so the contrast is magnified. Now, repeated mistakes or huge mistakes would likely cause irreparable damage but I’d guess that most mistakes are of the one-time, smallish variety that you can profit from…if you react correctly.

My office was recently slower than we should have been in getting a Qualified Domestic Relations Order drafted and approved following a divorce (this is an order required to divide retirement benefits post-divorce). Once this was brought to my attention I personally got this prepared, entered in court, and forwarded to the company’s benefits administrator. The client wasn’t charged and frankly we paid a couple bucks to certify a court order and for registered mail. And we’re tacking this weekly currently and communicating with the client.

We’ll see what happens in the future with this client but if he’s anything like me with the Mexican Restaurant our mistake might turn into something profitable. Think about profiting from your mistakes the next time one occurs…unless you’re perfect.

That’s the trick…quickly ascertaining and differentiating between the ‘potential clients’ from the junk, no?

An inexperienced, no staff, ‘true solo’ over at the Linkedin Solo Attorney Practitioner’s Forum raised this question and there was a great discussion full of wonderful tips from lawyers of varying experience levels and practice areas about the art of handling potential new client calls. Here are some thoughts I culled from the discussion and my many, many years of practical experience…

Personally my preferred method of handling initial telephone calls from potential clients when my legal assistant is working is for her to take the call and then schedule the potential client for a 15-minute Mini-Consultation at a set date/time in the future with me. I hate playing phone tag and constant interruptions are hugely damaging to my ability to get substantive legal work completed. The Mini-Consultation is free of charge.

What if you have no staff and the person answering that first phone call is YOU?

I’d suggest thinking about these initial calls as 2 parts sales and 1 part ethics.

I’m selling 3-4 potential services…1) an initial, in-office, paid consultation; 2) a present full/typical legal representation; 3) a future full/typical legal representation; or, 4) goodwill and possible future referrals.

One poster in the forum referred to these sorts of consultations as “20 minute advertisements.” You don’t get a much more captive audience than the person who has made the effort to find you and call you and now you’re having very personal conversation with this person. I think that’s a great thought to have in mind when these sorts of people give you a ring. I could envision a strong sales/attorney whose role is only to take these initial sales calls and conduct initial sales meetings.

Of course some callers are just trying to pump you for free legal advise or are just price shopping. If it smells like this type of caller, very quickly mention “I charge X per hour and need a Y retainer…would you like to hire me?” Also, ask where the caller got your telephone number. If it’s a strong referral from your best friend you likely want to give more latitude versus the person who did a random Web search.

There is a segment of lawyers however who decline to discuss a potential case with a potential client except in-office, for a fee. The mind-set here being your time is valuable and also a good point made that I agree with is that often the initial legal advice given is the most valuable legal advice. In other words much of the initial advice where often very large, macro-level decisions are made is often the most critical lawyering done with a potential client and thus you should be compensated for such valuable advice.

And I suppose eventually that’s where all lawyers would like to be…getting compensated for the maximum possible % of their time. In my opinion the ideal to shoot for is a practice that both runs itself and that sells itself primarily through marketing to current/former clients and referral sources.

As for the 1 part ethics, well the question is how would this initial caller be classified and might this initial caller possibly hurt you?

In Illinois our rule 1.18 of the Rules of Professional Conduct likely would define these callers as “Prospective Clients.” Your duty to these Prospective Clients is very similar to your duty to former clients which is basically the potential conflict of interest scenarios and you’re not allowed to represent another person or interests opposed to a prospective/former client.

This sort of initial, brief telephone conference shouldn’t give rise to an attorney-client privilege generally although the use of a non-engagement letter following these brief conversations or meetings would be recommended. If not these innocuous phone calls could move towards legal malpractice scenarios.

What camp are you in when it comes to these telephone inquires?

I remember chatting with a judge from the Cook County domestic relations division during the time leading up to the General Assembly’s passage of the civil union legislation and her take was she didn’t care much about the substance of the issue but she thought civil unions would be a boon for domestic relations attorneys.

What do you think? Civil unions as a lawyer business opportunity or just politics?

Of course it’s too early to tell but it seems like my judge colleague might be off-base. Recently I was at a meeting where personnel from the Cook County Circuit Court Clerk’s office reported that 12 dissolution of civil union cases were filed the first day of eligibility; and NONE since. Here and here is some media coverage of civil union divorces.

I’d predict the civil union legislation is something we’ll look-back on as having made a big splash initially, but, with limited impact for the typical domestic relations attorney.

Why? 2 reasons:

First, the tendency of people to do nothing. Many of the property protections that civil unions aim to provide have been readily available for years through various basic estate planning documents and general contract law but few unmarried couples planned ahead. Why are these same people going to go through the process of applying for and paying for a civil union now?

Second, civil unions are publicized far beyond their ‘weight.’ Simply the same-sex population is less than 2% of the general population and I just don’t see non-same sex couples seeking a civil union instead of a marriage. So I just don’t think the numbers are there for much of a business bump outside of a smattering of neighborhoods.

UPDATE:  831 licenses issued in June 2011.

Looking forward to kicking off the 4th of July weekend by lighting the fuse beneath my law practice starting Friday in Chicago. Rjon Robins & Howtomanageasmalllawfirm.com is bringing these free, in-person Mastermind meetings to Chicago, Ft. Worth, Dallas, and San Franciso over the next two months. Checkout some reviews here from previous meeting participants.

My review to follow after a little detour to the Northwoods.

Mastermind Epilogue

I did make it to Day #1 of RJon’s little Mastermind retreat last week in Chicago. I’d recommend the experience if you’re free for any of the upcoming Mastermind meetings. Why? The main benefit is simply getting 10ish lawyers sitting around a conference table and getting unabashed, hardcore legal business advice. Unless you’re doing your own meetings or have some great mentors around you the reality is that lawyers aren’t getting this type of business forum anywhere else.

Plus it was fun to meet engaged lawyers from around the country and to meet this heretofore ‘Internet RJon‘ in the flesh. Thanks for the invite RR.

I’ve been spending some time re-working my client-focused biography of late with the help of Julie Fleming’s The Reluctant Rainmaker. She has a nice ‘how-to’ checklist where she suggests the following format:

• Photograph
• Areas of Practice
• Narrative
• Separate Section (representative matters, bar admissions, articles written, speeches, bar/industry/community organization memberships)

I find myself with a number of regular speaking engagements currently to groups that are filled with client and referral source prospects (generally non-lawyers) and wanted to be very intentional about expressing specifically what I do better. I also want a sharper biography for inclusion in our initial client meeting folder. I posted my revamped biography here and it’s generally the same on our Website. Thoughts?

Previously I had always used what is now pretty much the narrative section with 2 written paragraphs. I hope the ‘Practice Area’ and ‘Representative Matters’ bullet points serve to very specifically define for client prospects exactly the sorts of things I help clients with and mention some very good results I have accomplished for clients over the years. Not sure if the typical client cares about ‘Publications, Presentations’ though I’d think it might add a little heft to my biography.

I saw two spot-on marketing posts over at the You’re the Boss blog…a great variety of small business posting by various small business owners over there, Must Read! Here are the 2 posts:

Trying to Connect With Customers? Tell a Story. Here’s a blurb from the piece:

When a company highlights its story, it soon realizes its power. If consumers like a company’s story, they are often willing to give its product or service a try. If they also like the product or service, they will move easily from brand consumer to brand champion.

I love a good company story and yet have been slow in telling my story with my Firm. I actually do it more effectively on the blog. There are way too many generic lawyers out there and sadly to a large degree I’ve been one of them over the last 5ish years, to my business’s detriment. Everyone one has a story, so why not tell it? I was just out in the Quad Cities area  a couple weeks back and visited the John Deere Pavilion and have John’s “story” top-of-mind for the next time I’m in the market to purchase a tractor.

Have You Tried Marketing With Online Video?

Here’s the Times’ more thorough small business guide to marketing with online video. Funny how the piece talks about a ceiling tile company that produces an “Ask the Ceiling Tile Guy” video spots…sounds riveting no? Couldn’t you do an “Ask the Lawyer” segment to drive your legal business? With decent video quality now virtually ubiquitous in the higher-end smartphones and the Flip and its progeny plus built-in cameras in computers almost everyone already has the technology to accomplish decent video quality.

Click here to view the embedded video.

I’ve been incorporating videos into our bi-monthly Constant Contact e-mail newsletter that goes out to several hundred of our clients/former clients/referral services. Actually CC just improved how we can integrate video via a video thumbnail inside the newsletter instead of merely a link so we’ll see how that impacts this months “opens” and views of our video. This was the video I did last month. Honestly, I like speaking to the camera and it actually feels like less work than writing.

Is it bad for either/both a lawyer or his client when the lawyer undertakes a LOT of paid advertising to the general public?

I’m NOT talking about advertising/communicating/marketing to your clientele/former clientele/referral sources, i.e. the people who already know you. In my opinion that is the most cost-effective advertising you can do and should be the crux of your marketing focus. Obviously keeping it short of being a bother, there must be an intentional plan to keep your firm at the top of these peoples (clientele/former clientele/referral sources) minds. No trouble with that advertising at all.

I think the trouble can arise with too much general public advertising, meaning paid newspaper/television/radio/billboard/Web advertising. The obvious downside is the general cost/return ratio. The only general public advertising I’ve ever done was some 5 years ago in Chicagoland Senior News. My recollection is we placed a small monthly ad pitching our elder law practice for some 6 months and paid some $70 monthly (comparatively we spend some $15 monthly for our current e-mail newsletter software). We got one call from it.

Other potential downsides I’ve been seeing more and more are the unintended consequences of poor customer service, bad lawyering, and a lack of client loyalty. The major point being:  If you’re doing a ton of general public advertising and the phone is constantly ringing for potential new clients then there’s a tendency to focus less on the quality provided to the “old” clients. Of course this doesn’t have to occur but it sure seems like it does quite often. There are a handful of domestic relations law firms I interact with quite often who are big paid advertisers and I must say that many of these firms are just appalling in their antics. Why? I don’t know but it sure seems like the pattern is, advertise a ton/get the phone ringing/get the big retainer paid/”churn” through the retainer/withdraw/repeat.

That’s the trouble with too much advertising for lawyer/client alike, bad lawyering.

Because too many lawyers are long-winded and don’t realize that less is more we have to really work on having a concise and useful “elevator pitch.” That’s typically your one shot in many of the groups and networking events that I attend and there are a LOT of those coming up particularly in the next month with the Christmas season upon us (first major Chicago snow is falling as I type this).

I attended an event recently keynoted by a Jason Rosado @ Distinctive Coaching. His public speaking wasn’t the best but his “Build Your Perfect Elevator Pitch” concept was a nice take-away. He suggests you answer 3 questions:

1.  Who is your customer?

–I help families dealing with family strife and possible break-up.

2.  What is their problem or challenge?

–These families are often facing serious financial strain, child abuse, and general upheaval due to separation, divorce or abusive relationships.

3.  What benefits and results do they end up with?

–My clients are able to achieve access to an equitable financial structure through child support and property division as well as a clear parenting structure and a more positive home life for minor children.

Then the 3-6 sentences you use to answer those questions is your 30 second elevator pitch. Simple, concise, effective.

Forgive me for the sales pitch but please understand I’m not pitching for bar associations, I’m pitching for the specific benefits YOU can get from a couple of local bar associations. On the general topic of leveraging a bar association membership, let me direct you to Ten Tips For Making Your Bar Association Dues Work For You & Leverage Your Bar Membership for Marketing.

But more specific for you Illinois/Chicagoland folks, some timely “specials” from the Bar:

ISBA’s Meet Me at the Bar. The Illinois State Bar Association is offering a FREE 6-month membership for any non-members who haven’t been members for the past 2 years. Great bar association & IT’S FREE!

Chicago Bar Association’s Lawyer Referral Service. This is either my best or a close second best source of business…if you can qualify, SIGN-UP NOW! I think bar association lawyer referral services are generally good and rather inexpensive forms of marketing where there’s not much to lose. But the CBA really differentiates itself by the marketing it does for the referral service. It does a combination of Google, print media, and cable TV advertising that really gets the phone ringing. It’s $200 per year and I probably earned $5,000 from that $200 investment last year.

Saw this comment left recently and I thought I’d make light of it. I don’t mind doing a little advertising for the guy if it helps SIC readers:

I just stumbled across this blog and thought it was the right place for this info. I am a criminal defense lawyer in New York and use the number 1-800-ARRESTED. I have started licensing the number for other cities and states. It will make existing advertising far more effective and is an amazing cornerstone around which to build an ad campaign. People always remember the number and it tells people what you do in an instant. If you’d like to talk just dial the number and if my firm answers it means no one has it in your area. Ask for Ken and I’ll go over how it works. It’s cheap, yours for as long as you want it and is the best number for a criminal defense practice without question. Give me a call. Ken Keith

I’ve never been an “800 Number” guy but that sounds like a good one for criminal attorneys. In the family law practice area I’ve heard of a person or two who’ve retained their lawyer by calling 1-800-DIVORCE. I know a lawyer friend of mine actually who has the 1-800-DIVORCE telephone number for the Chicago area and I think he does pretty well. Personally, I don’t like divorce and think it’s something vile and something to be avoided so not something I want as my most visible marketing strategy.

Personally I’ve given greater consideration to various vanity Web domains and redirecting those sites to our Firm’s main Web page. I think that will be part of our marketing strategy as we add a new practice area in comings months…more on that to come.

Anyone using domain redirects successfully??