Your herd is your list of people with whom you have come in contact with - your past clients, current clients, friends, relatives, leads and acquaintances. These are people who know you have something interesting and valuable to give them. Your herd will eventually become immune to other attorneys' advertising and will think of you first when in need of legal services.

One of the two works great...One was dead on arrival and for a week and half Dell has mystifyingly been unable to tell us how they were going to get it operational or replace it.

So we told them to take it back... here's the exact email I just got from my tech guy on our request to Dell to take back the computer that was dead on arrival.

Here is the updated information as of now. I just got off the phone with a Dell supervisor, they cannot refund one of the computers without both being returned. I have initiated them to refund your money in full. They tried saying that since it has been over 21 days they cannot give a full refund. I then asked to speak with their supervisor and explained the broken computer upon arrival and Dell is the reason we went beyond 21 days not my client.

So we need to format and re-set Terry's workstation to Dell factory and box them both up. Dell will be sending me information on the return pre-paid sticker to place on the boxes. So we will need to then reconnect Terry's old computer until new one arrive.

And they will continue to blame the recession as sales go down.

Update: Dell must read my blog.. they called back and said, yes indeed, they would be happy to take back only one of their computers...

They said, "if you want a replacement that will take 3-4 weeks." We said, you are morons...if we just order on the Internet it will take less time than that...but who in the world would ever order from Dell again?

Here's the deal.... we ordered two mid level desktops from Dell...we even paid for one of their super duper primo "we come to you" service plans.. where if something goes wrong during the warranty they rush someone out to fix things.

After all...they are selling to businesses and they know that this is mission cirtical.

So they two computers were delivered and we get our tech team over here to set em up. Problem is one was dead on arrival.

Its been over a week and not only haven't they sent someone over here as promised but they can't even tell us WHEN they'll send someone over here.

Bad stuff....my friends are all telling me to buy a Mac and I've never listened before...but now I'm listening.

Hey Dell...do you have anyone who can pick up the phone and get this done?

Hey every one else: Do you have policies in place or people who work for you that take all of your marketing dollars and throw them down the drain by their inability to deliver what the marketing people promised? Don't blame the recession when you biz goes down the tubes if what's really going on is really, really bad customer service.

Direct response marketing is an effective method in attracting prospects. Basically, with this type of lawyer marketing, you capture people's attention with a unique headline in your ad, such as a book title, and make it simple for them to request information. Next, you include tantalizing bullet points in your ad, which will stop their search and get them to read what you have to say. An example of a great bullet point is, "why service provided by some attorneys can be the kiss of death to your case."

As an attorney, it can be difficult understanding where to start, when it comes to allocating these precious resources. If you are limited on the amount of time and money you can spend with your attorney marketing efforts, here are some tips for you:

As far as making yourself available 24/7 so you don't miss cases, here is some news for you - you are already missing cases. Are you getting all of the cases in your location right now? Probably not. By making yourself always available, you could be sending the wrong impression. For example, if you needed non-emergency heart surgery, would you rather see the surgeon who is not able to see you for six weeks or one who says, "I'm not busy, let's go ahead with the operation today." Do you understand my point?

If you have ever flipped through your Yellow Pages then you probably noticed that there were anywhere from five to 70 pages of ads. The headlines were mainly generic and the only offers made to consumers were free consultations or "no fee unless we win." The names of the law firms could easily be swapped in these ads and not much would change.

People do not look for attorneys the same way they shop for goods and other services. That is why traditional marketing doesn't work to adequately attract new clients. Someone is not going to sit down one Friday night and watch all of the lawyer ads that were recorded on the DVR. This person is instead going to head to the computer to start searching for a lawyer to help with his or her legal issues. In some areas, this search will be done using the Yellow Pages.

Think about when you search for a subject, service or product on Google. Do you scroll through pages and pages of search results? If you are like most people, then the answer is, no. The majority of prospects searching for legal services online will only read the websites listed on the first page of Google or whatever search engine. Many of them won't get past the websites listed at the top. In order for more of your potential clients to find you, not only should you be on page one, you also need to be at the top.

You may have been told that having your firm's name, phone number and practice areas on a website is enough, but that is absolutely not true. To have a successful attorney website, it must incorporate four important elements, which are listed below:

The marketing vultures that sell you expensive advertising space are going to tell you that you just need to buy a bigger ad or add color to your attorney advertisement to get a better return on investment. Then you will stand out for sure, right? The answer is no. If your ads and website send the same message as all the other lawyers in town, it is like having potential clients throw darts at a dartboard to pick an attorney. How will they know whom to call?

You need to let your prospects know that you have the solutions they are looking for. It is very difficult to put a lot of information into a Yellow Pages ad or other form of advertisement. Instead, you should design a package that you can mail that provides multiple educational materials. If you were to include the same information that you can potentially incorporate into your mailing package, in a Yellow Pages ad, it would cost millions of dollars.

Before I go into how to create effective ads that send the right message, it is important to talk about what you shouldn't do. Many attorneys make the error of listing too many practice areas in one ad. Open up the Yellow Pages and you will see some ads that list up to 25 different specialties. This type of lawyer ad is giving the impression that the law firm is just an average firm. The industry is fiercely competitive, which is why you have to find a way to stand out from the crowd.

It is important to understand that a free consultation is not an irresistible offer. Just about every law firm in town will be saying the same thing in their ads, so it will not set you apart from your competitors or even give a potential client a reason to pick up the phone and call you.

A Waiting List is Forming Now.

I'm excited to share some big news with you today. With a final surge in registrations just after the holidays, JumpStart 2010 is now sold out. This marks the fifth consecutive GLM conference event to sell out (and the earliest).

The GLM conferences have proven to be the best on the planet for lawyers who are success-minded and self-reliant and who are committed to building thriving practices.

If you missed your chance to register, I do want to let you know that all hope may not be lost. In the past we've sometimes ended up with a few last-minute cancellations due to an unexpected emergency or a change in a trial schedule, so we've gone ahead and set up a waiting list.

If you would like to be placed on the waiting list or check to see if there have been any cancellations, please contact Nicole at Nicole@NicoleTully.com or by calling 717-824-6553.

For additional information about JumpStart 2010, please go to GLMJumpStart2010.com.

Ben Glass

The headline for your legal advertisement or website needs to give people a reason to continue reading. Think about your habits when reading the newspaper or magazine. You choose an article based on the title. Your prospective clients will do the same thing.

Do you have these types of statements in your lawyer advertisements? If so, you are not the only attorney to make this common lawyer marketing mistake.

Too often, lawyers waste money on ineffective ads. They market in the Yellow Pages and on the Internet with ads that look like everyone else. Some attorneys will waste valuable ad space with comments that are similar to those above that really don't differentiate them from the law firms down the street.

When you open the Yellow Pages, it is common to see pages and pages of lawyer ads. Law firms spend thousands of dollars to advertise in the Yellow Pages and online and get little return on investment. There are many possible explanations, including the following:

Nationally-recognized attorney and legal marketing expert Ben Glass announces the official agenda for the popular (and nearly sold out) "Great Legal Marketing" JumpStart 2010 Conference, to be held January 15-16, 2010, in the Washington, D.C. area.

Time is Running Out to Reserve Your Spot at Great Legal Marketing's JumpStart 2010 Conference

I know you've got tons of stuff going on right now. We all do. But, if you're serious about building a hugely successful practice in 2010 and beyond, you owe it to yourself and your family to read this email and take a few moments to sign up for our next conference.

Here's Why:

For starters, JumpStart 2010 is nearly sold out. Each year, we end up turning away lawyers in the last couple of weeks prior to the event who waited too long. Don't be one of them.

More importantly, though, here's just a taste of what you'll miss if you're not here: