The Elder Law Coach

Ep 59 Building the correct Avatar, Not Guesswork: Targeted Elder Law Growth

• Todd Whatley

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Most elder law firms try to speak to everyone and end up convincing no one. We take you inside a practical, field-tested approach to defining three high-value audiences—seniors, adult children, and caregivers—and crafting messages and channels that meet each where they already are. Seniors want independence, asset protection, and clarity about Medicaid and probate. Their adult children want quick answers, financial safety for mom and dad, and easy ways to take action. Caregivers and healthcare providers want reliable experts they can confidently recommend.

We break down how to build precise client avatars, then translate them into marketing that works: community events, church bulletins, senior centers, and tangible print for seniors; targeted Google Ads, SEO on phrases like Medicaid eligibility and nursing home costs, and short evergreen webinars for adult children; and small, high-impact sessions for caregivers that turn five conversations into dozens of referrals. You’ll hear why a simple monthly Q&A—no slides, just real answers—can outperform polished decks, and how consistency compounds trust over time.

We also talk measurement and patience. Not every seminar or webinar converts next day, but people save resources and return when a crisis hits. Track sources, update Medicaid numbers, refresh materials, and keep testing until you find your stride. By narrowing focus on the clients you love to serve, aligning your channels with how each audience actually behaves, and offering clear next steps, you turn attention into appointments and appointments into lasting outcomes for families.

If you’re ready to sharpen your strategy and grow with intention, subscribe, share this with a colleague, and leave a review telling us which channel delivers your best clients.

Check out our new website www.TheElderLawCoach.com.

SPEAKER_00:

You're tuning in to the Elder Law Coach Podcast, the definitive resource for attorneys delving into the world of elder law. With your host, Todd Watley, a certified Elder Law attorney, past president of the National Elder Law Foundation, and renowned coach with a quarter century of specialized experience. Whether you're an established attorney looking to refine your expertise, or an emerging lawyer seeking a successful foray into elder law, this is your masterclass. Now, let's get started with the Luminary in the field. Here's Todd Watley.

SPEAKER_01:

Hi there, my name's Todd Watley, certified Otor Law Attorney, and I am the Odor Law Coach. Thank you so much for joining me today. And um I would love for you to subscribe, to like, to comment on this because I always love comments from people. And if you subscribe, that will make sure that you get the latest updates and you'll be notified when something else comes out. Today I want to talk about one of the things that I think is one of the biggest frustrations that Elder Law attorneys have. Well, not the biggest, but it's a huge frustration. How do you target your audience? And it's interesting because in Elder Law, there is the target audience and then there's your secondary audience. And sometimes the secondary audience really brings in the clients faster than the primary audience because you know typically our main audience, older people, very reluctant. You know, they don't want to spend the money, they have to be shown that you know this is absolutely worth it. And so um you have to market to them a little bit differently. Just to clarify the client profile, okay, we're gonna create the what's commonly known as the avatar of the ideal client. So who needs you most? Okay, who as elder law attorneys, who do we work with most? And it is primarily seniors, okay? Elder law, it's it's it's a term. And as I approach this age, this kind of offends me, but it's what has always been the case is that the elder law clientele, the target audience is 65 and above. And those are considered in America to be 65. And I hope that you see me as not just super old. I don't see myself as being old, but hey, I'm I'm pushing that. I'm I'm still five years away. Okay. I'm I'm not 65 yet. I am turning 60 and it's hard. But 65. That is the the ideal client. But and what's interesting with those is they are going into some very unique situations that they need our expertise. Who is the secondary audience? Well, they're kids, and that's a totally different market when you're talking about advertisement. Okay. Trying to market to the 45 to 65 year olds is way different than advertising to the 65 and above. And I will get into that, but it is very differently. But it's these children, the 45 to 65 year olds, tend to be the real decision. They typically are more experienced with the legal field. Some of them have been through divorce, or maybe in their job, they are used to working with lawyers. And so lawyers don't intimidate them as much, and they're more used to working with lawyers, and they are more tech savvy. They are able to do the searches to go out and find someone, and we'll go over this, but with the seniors, you really have to go to them. You've got to put something in front of them for them to see you. They're typically not going to be going out looking for you unless they show up to a seminar or dinner or you know, something like that. And then there's actually a third audience that you cannot ignore and can be very lucrative if you do it correctly, and that is caregivers and healthcare providers. Okay. People over 65 spend a lot of time with their health care advisor or a caregiver group. So um reaching out to them is money very well invested because you get five of them in a room and you've got five people going out and telling you 25 or 30 people that um you do what you do. And so that is money well spent, even if it's a small group, to get 35 older people or to get, you know, to talk to five older people, you've talked to five older people. But talking to the caregivers, they go out as a champion for you, letting the world know exactly what you do. How do we create that avatar? So just think about when when you're putting words into Google ads and different things like that. Here's here's some of the things that you need to think about. They are typically 65 and above. And some of their concerns, particularly, are Medicaid and asset protection, probate avoidance. If your state is one that probate is not easy to go through, that you want to avoid that. And so you want to be careful and and mention those things and make sure that they catch you. Okay. So how do we get to that ideal client or that that client avatar has to be built in Google Ads, in your promotions, things like that. So typically it's the person who is 65 and above. The topics they are searching for is Medicaid, eligibility, long-term care Medicaid, nursing home, anything in that realm, asset protection. They are worried about protecting their assets, and they're also concerned about probate avoidance. They don't want to go through probate. And many people think a will avoids probate. And so being able to pounce on that and make sure that they understand that's not how you avoid probate is important. Some of the questions they're going to type into Google is how do I protect my savings? How do I protect my house? How do I make sure my house goes to my kids? And you need to be in there saying, okay, you need to worry about it not just for probate or when you pass away, but also for Medicaid. And so being able to capture those questions and those thought patterns. And I would encourage you when you do presentations and if you do QA, which one of my presentations is just purely QA. There's no slides, no handouts, no anything. I'm simply there to answer questions. And I periodically have people in my staff be there with me so that they can write down every question that is asked. And if they're asking it in public, they're also asking it online. And you need to be able to know those questions and jump in there and answer those. And then the motivation of why people are asking these questions or doing these searches is peace of mind, maintaining independence. That is huge with this group. They want to maintain independence. They don't want to go to the nursing home. Okay. And so peace of mind, maintaining independence are key words there that these people are going to be looking at. So what about the adult children? Again, 45 to 65 is the age group. They want to, they're looking for searches for ensuring safety, making sure mom and dad are safe, financial security for their parents, again, not losing money to the nursing home, asset protection, things like that. The kids are also concerned about that. And some of their common questions are how do I ensure mom's care without losing her house? Very common question. Or do I need to change documents now that mom has changed states? Things like that to get out in front of those people so that they can call you. The motivation between the, or not between, but with the kids is family responsibility. They want to make sure that they're doing what they can to protect their parent and make sure they're doing what needs to be done so that their parent is as safe as possible and can safely get the care that they need. Okay. How do you reach them? Okay, this is polar opposites here because having done this back in the day when you could kind of combine the two, I will tell you, newspaper was the way to reach seniors, and it still is if you have one. But most newspapers have now gone digital, and I think a lot of the other people did not follow the paper to digital. I'm one of those guys, I have found a paper that I can get, and um down I don't download it, I get it in the mail. It comes and I'm flipping through the paper, drinking my coffee, and it's just like, ah, this is beautiful. Okay. So with seniors, you've got to really go out to them. Community events. They love to go to their church, they love to go out to senior-related events, and you need to be there, you need to be putting those on. You need to get people, they will, if they are still able to, they will get out and they will come see you. They would rather do that than search for you on the internet. Newspapers, if there is a newspaper, please do it. Church bulletins, okay? Old people go to church typically, and they get what they what is given out to them at church and they read that stuff. Senior centers, people love senior centers. They like to go and see people and see their friends, and particularly if they're widowed, or they want to go and see other people, and they love to go to senior centers. And so if you can be there and be available to answer questions, they will love that. The adult children, totally opposite. Okay. You want to focus on solution-driven messages, meaning, you know, how can I I solve this problem? And you do that online. You you do it through social media, Facebook, Instagram, different places like that, putting things out there so people can see exactly what you're doing, and they are um you know able to find you online, okay? Um, and stick with the things of peace of mind, protection for my parents. That's the topics, but you've got to go online, pay for those Google ads, pay for the words. And I would recommend getting a professional group who does this all the time and then they know exactly what to do, and have them do it for you. All right. I have heard attorneys do great with direct mail. I have never had great success with direct mail, but it's one of those things that probably if it worked with anyone, it would work with older people. I just get so much junk mail, so that apparently means it works. If I'm getting tons of junk mail, that means someone has deemed that it's worth spending money on. So you may try it. I've just, I personally have not, I've I've tried it and I have not had success. All right. But printed materials are good. We do a magazine in our office that is very high quality, it's thick, it's shiny. I designed it, I wrote the articles, I told which advertisers should be in it, and it actually cost me nothing to do this magazine. So if you are interested in that, then I would suggest um go to the website, call the office, ask for Trisha, and she can get you some information on who does that. It's a a fantastic tool. All right. All right. I am starting to work with webinars. Okay. I I don't think old people do great with webinars, but I think their kids will, the 45 to 65, I think, are more willing to do that. And I do those not at a set time, and you have to show up at that time. It's a on-demand or as we call it, evergreen webinar. It's always there. And so we get them to come in, give us their email address. They can watch the webinar whenever that they want to, and keep it short, keep it within about 30 minutes. And we're I'm really starting to put some effort into that and we'll see how that goes. It's always good to track your results, okay? But you know, when people come in, how did you hear about us or kind of measure when the phone rings after you do an event or webinar or something like that? But let me tell you, don't lose hope if you go out and you you did an in-person event and no one called, okay? Or you did a webinar and you got zero response, okay? I tell you that because I've done it and I've spent lots of money on it. And when I didn't get an immediate response, I would be sad. I was like, well, that was money wasted. No, it's actually not money wasted because these people will store this information for quite some time. They want to ask around, they want to do some research. Oh, and I've not mentioned this, but you absolutely must have a website. Even the old people want to go and make sure that you're quote for real, and they want to look at your website, so you have to have a decent website, if not a good website, so that people can actually prove that you are who you say that you are, and so you need to have a website. So when people come to your webinars or meet you at the senior center, and if you don't get immediate phone calls, I promise you it's okay. That was not wasted time or money. They will take that information, they will go and they will look at it, and then what's even more frustrating is when they come into the office, they're like, How did you learn about us? They're like, I don't know. I'm just here, I've heard about you. And you're like, come on, tell me what got you in here. And sometimes they don't remember, and I don't love it, but that's okay. Them not remembering that is fine. They're there, but you do like to try to get it, and and sometimes people will be very forthcoming and say, I watched the webinar two years ago. It took you two years. Yeah, sometimes they do. When I did a Ask the Pro in a newspaper, it was just a I wrote the question, I wrote the answer, and I did it every week. And sometimes I would get sad that you know no one would call. But then here comes Miss Jones coming into the office to meet with us, and she's she's got a stack of newspaper clippings this thick. She's like, Yeah, I know back on this date you said blah, blah, blah. And it's like, yeah, yeah, you're right. So they, you know, they cut them out and kept them. Well, they don't do that anymore. Okay. Um, you know, typically newspapers are gone, and so you you've just got to do the next bit next best thing, which is online and just go to people that way. So, action steps. Clearly define your top client avatars. Do it immediately. Figure out, sit down and and say, who are the clients I love to work with? Who are the clients that that have been the most successful, the most enjoyable, both from a fee, from personality, from topic, whatever. Figure out what client you enjoyed working with the most and write down who is this client. What are the characteristics of that client and go after that client? Go limit everything else and just go toward that client that can make you some money and bring great joy to your life. Audit your marking materials frequently. You've got to stay on top of it. Make sure that your Medicaid numbers are correct, they're not outdated. And I know sometimes things will get out there, but if it's printed, people understand, hey, I printed that three years ago. That's not the actual number. But make sure that what you are handing out is absolutely up to date and aligns with your message of going after that ideal client. And then finally, plan some targeted campaigns. Try different things, do different things and see how the response is. And finally, you'll hit your stride. Mine personally was the Coffee with the Pro. I do it twice a month at two different places. I'm there every month and been doing it for 10 years, and I just simply show up with my magazines and answer questions. I don't have slides, I don't have a presentation. I show up and say, hi, my name's Todd Wally, Surf ID Law Attorney. I have an office up in Bentonville. I'm not here to provide legal advice, but I am here to answer questions. Who has the first question? And boom, there it goes. And it just goes, and sometimes I've got to cut it off at an hour and a half. I'm like, y'all, I've got to get back to the office. Thank you for your questions. I will I will be here next month. And that has been absolutely the best thing that I've done. It works consistently. Now, I do presentations with slides and topics and different things that people invite me to do, but the things that I the event that I love to do is the coffee with the pro. All right. I hope this helped. Okay. I hope it helped you figure out who your ideal client is, who you should be going after. And if you can narrow focus, get a laser focus on who you want and stop wasting money on the peripheral. Spend money on your people, your avatar, your folks who make your life happy and pay your bills. Go after those people. Go after them and let them make your job absolutely the best job in the world. Okay? If you would love coaching, I would be honored to be your coach. Go to the website, theelderlawcoach.com. There's a ton of information there. There's a way that you can schedule an appointment with me. I will be on the phone speaking with you, talking with you, figuring out where you are and where we can get you to. Okay? Thank you very much, and I will see you next time.

SPEAKER_00:

Thank you for joining this episode of the Elder Law Coach Podcast. For those eager to take their elder law practice to new heights and are interested in Todd's acclaimed coaching program, visit www.theelderlawcoach.com. With Todd Watley by your side, the journey to becoming an elder law authority has never been more achievable. Until next time, keep learning, keep growing, and stay passionate about elder law.