A leak can do tremendous damage before you know it.

The competitive environment for law firms is ever changing. If you’ve ever had a leaking pipe in your house, you understand tremendous damage can be done before you even know there’s a problem. Your competition continues to make moves that may catch you off guard. The damage can be severe if those moves go undetected.

In business, you’re either moving forward or sliding backwards. Standing still is not an option.

Over the past week, I’ve noticed that national, family law firm Cordell & Cordell has launched a new television campaign. Here’s a link to the commercial in the Louisville market (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cMNClTsNDfo). If you search YouTube for their firm, you’ll see that they launched their 3^rd YouTube channel approximately 1 week ago. They already have 2 other channels with a ton of videos.

What I found interesting is that their new channel has state-specific “bundles” that appear to be the same videos, simply formatted for the individual states. This is actually an interesting way to rapidly deploy a uniform, marketing campaign. For those of you in Kentucky personal injury, I’d expect Morgan & Morgan to do something similar.

I point this out for several reasons. First and foremost, we’re about to begin the 4^th quarter of the year. If your caseload is down, it’s time to investigate your competition to see if they’ve quietly changed a tactic or implemented new tools to gain market share. Remember the leaky pipe that slowly, quietly does a ton of damage? If you’re not tracking your local competitors, you might miss some tools you could incorporate into your own strategy and combat the competitive attack.

Second, you don’t have to re-invent the wheel. In the case of Cordell & Cordell’s videos, take a look at the ones that seem to have a lot of views. Could you update your videos and/or on-page content to address a similar topic? Put your unique perspective to work and launch some new content. Again, standing still is not an option. You may already be leaking clients, as well as revenue.

Third, remember to cluster or group your content assets. Just having a single page of content on a topic may not be enough. There are always related topics that can be addressed. This is even more important if the topic is a highly competitive area of law. You and your prospective clients may be thinking about the same type of case, but they may use different terms or be focused on a sub-topic issue. By creating content clusters (both in text-based and video-based content), you’ll have a better chance of appearing relevant to the search engines (e.g. Google) and your clients. Oh, and don’t forget to create several internal page links so the content creates a web of informaton.

If your house has a leaky pipe, the sooner you do something about it the better off you’ll be. If your firm is leaking clients and revenue because of a competitor’s new tactic, it could cost you much more.

For more free information and tips to help grow your practice, subscribe to my firm’s Facebook page. If you’re ready to change your marketing tactics, let’s assess your competitive environment and begin implementing a plan to grow your firm’s business. My phone number is (502) 208-9639.

You should routinely perform a law firm SWOT analysis to help you plan for the upcoming quarter and/or year. The below video is an excerpt from a CLE I presented for the Louisville Bar Association in June, 2015.

Use a SWOT Analysis to Define Opportunities

A law firm SWOT analysis gives you the ability to look at your firm strategically. From there, you can develop tactical plans based on your findings. The acronym SWOT stands for Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats. The first 2 are internal. The second 2 are external.

In this video, I provide an overview of key factors you may consider. A law firm can identify ways to use strengths to defend itself against external threats. More importantly, a SWOT analysis provides insights into how you can leverage your firm’s internal strengths to take advantage of external opportunities.

Use SWOT to Develop Individual Performance

Based on a question I received from the audience, I also address how a SWOT analysis relates to managing yourself and your associates.

GE’s Jack Welch had very specific views of how your talent pool should be managed. I began my career at GE and learned some valuable insights in this progressive organization. If you lead a firm or organization, you might find my views helpful.

I share my somewhat controversial view on dealing with the B- and C-level talent, within your own organization. I managed sales teams and organizations a significant part of my career. There’s no silver bullet, but understanding how a personal SWOT analysis can help in the development/performance of your team can provide some direction.

Earlier this year, the Louisville Bar Association published my article about how a law firm can use a SWOT analysis. Here’s a link to that article on my blog:  https://jimrayconsultingservices.com/evaluating-firms-market-position/

If you’d like to discuss issues related a law firm SWOT analysis to evaluate your firm’s growth and direction, please contact me. My cell is (502) 208-9639. For more information, feel free to SUBSCRIBE to my YouTube channel or Like my business Facebook page.

The elevator speech is a simple, concise tool you can use to start conversations.  It’s extremely helpful when networking, especially at social gatherings.  Maybe you’ve heard the term “elevator speech” but haven’t actually developed one for yourself.  The brief video, below, provides some information about the idea, it’s primary objective, and how you can use it to open the door to new clients.

I gave another CLE at the Louisville Bar Association focused on helping attorneys to grow their practices.  The presentation was titled:  Selling 101 – Proven Methods to Increase Your Client Base.  One of the topics focused on the importance of an elevator speech.

The concept is simple.  Assume you and another person are on an elevator.  As the doors close, the person asks, “So, what do you do?”  You know there’s only a brief moment to explain it, but you have to do it in a way that engages the person.  Your elevator speech should be a concise description.  Most importantly, however, it should elicit a follow up question such as, “That’s interesting, how to you do that?” or “Hmmm, what kind of clients to you have?”

Remember, you don’t have a lot of time, so finding a way to stand out – or to become “memorable” – opens the door to a potential new client.  A quick exchanging of business cards, maybe a request to grab coffee, or some other way to begin a conversation is full of potential.

An elevator speech can be extremely effective a social events.  You don’t want to aggressively “work the room,” but a few extended conversations may lead to important business relationships down the road.  Always keep in mind that your next lead may be someone this person knows (e.g. a colleague, family member, etc.).

I usually recommend that you practice your elevator speech until it’s clear and consistent.  Once you have it down, try it out on some friends to see if it makes sense.  If your description is so vague that it confused the person, you can refine it.  Better to have some “test runs” before you actually use it with someone you don’t know.

The below video is an excerpt from my recent CLE presentation.  I hope you’ll find it helpful as you continue to grow your client base.  An elevator speech is just the beginning.  For more information on business development for your law firm or small business, feel free to read the other posts on my blog.  If you have specific questions, please contact me on my cell phone at (502) 208-9639.  I’d be happy to arrange on opportunity to meet with you.

7 Tips to Blog More Effectively

If you want to blog more effectively, I invite you to read a post my Michael Hyatt (“Blogging Gone Bad: 7 Mistakes You Don’t Want to Make”).  I’ve followed him for several years.  Michael definitely knows this stuff.

Since early 2014, Michael has been featured in Forbes, Inc. magazine, Entrepreneur magazine, Success magazine and the “Thirty Most Influential Leaders in Business” by the American Management Association.  I think you’ll find his blog, video and advice well worth the read.

http://michaelhyatt.com/blogging-gone-bad.html#more-30226

Blogging has become a great tool for increasing your online visibility and enhancing your professional reputation.  It seems everyone is doing it these days.  However, if you want to blog more effectively, it takes commitment.  You don’t have to get overwhelmed by the thought of it.  It’s really not that difficult, but there are always ways to blog more effectively.

One tip that I’ve offered in the past is to simply listen to the questions your clients ask during their initial meetings with you.  If the person sitting across from you has a specific question, you can be sure that many others are wondering the same thing.  Here’s a link to some tips for identifying blog topics.

I’ve spent much of this year writing articles, blogging and giving CLE presentations on the topic of incorporating video into your blogs.  A video-blog post can be a nice way to enhance your content, as well as user experience.

Regardless of the medium you choose, be consistent.  If you’re blogging about topics and issues related to your profession, remember that you are the subject matter expert.  The key is to avoid trying to tell your audience everything you know in just one post.  Consider dividing your topics into a series of related posts and adding page links to each of them.  It’s a good way to spread out the effort for both the reader and the search engine.  Multiple posts provide multiple opportunities to search engine optimize the information.  That increases the likelihood that a prospective client can find information about you, your services and the value you add.

I hope you take time to read Michael’s post.  You can blog more effectively if you follow some simple tips.  If you’d like to discuss improving your firm’s marketing efforts, feel free to contact me on my cell phone at (502) 208-9639.

Law Firms Gain a Competitive Advantage by Video Marketing for Rural-Area Clients

This is the article I contributed to the Louisville Bar Association’s May 2015 edition of Bar Briefs.  It provides insights into a counter-intuitive approach to law firm marketing, especially for rural areas.

Sometimes, it’s not what you say, but rather how you say it that’s important. If you’re marketing to a rural area, you should take that a step further. Based on your target audience, you may want to consider how that message is delivered, literally.

Many Louisville-area law firms engage in efforts to market to the surrounding counties. Some are cultivating a statewide approach to generating incremental business. There’s enough data to prove that it’s time some of these firms begin taking a counter-intuitive approach to marketing.

If you do any level of Internet marketing (e.g. website, blog, etc.) it’s time to think about how you provide content, especially if your intent is to reach a broader audience. It’s time to reconsider online video. It’s no longer an expensive attribute or upgrade to your website. Based on the statistics, it may be your best medium.

Read more →