Law Business Revolution Blog : Alexis Martin Neely's Law Business Revolution Blog : Legal Coaching & Consulting For Lawyers & Attorneys

I can't believe its 2010!  It's a new decade, a new year and a new day for you to do big things in your law practice.   

I hope you had some time over the holidays to clear your mind and proactively plan for the year ahead.  Every December, I sit down with Dave and Laura Lee to map out our plans for the entire year thanks to the money map process I developed.   

It wasn't something I could do until I had a few years of business experience and a whole lot of marketing knowledge under my belt because I couldn't see a big enough picture to do that.  But, now that I can it's so comforting to know I won't be scrambling at the last minute every month to hit my business objectives.

If you are in that place of not being able to see how you could create an annual marketing calendar that brings in a steady stream of clients from a variety of places each month, make it a priority to create your own automated marketing system this year.

Too many lawyers are expecting clients to come from one main source, but that simply is not realistic.  If that's you, you are asking for consistent frustration and wondering why your phone isn't ringing enough.

The reality is you need an automated marketing system that feeds clients into your pipeline daily through multiple sources.   This week's Law Business Briefing Memorandum will show you how to do just that (after giving you some cold hard stats from our 2009 legal marketing/ law practice survey).

Power to the People (and your dream law business!)

PS- Join me and my partner Dave for a two-day VIRTUAL retreat on Jan 29th and 30th during which we'll teach you everything you need to know about setting up your automated marketing system that will feed clients into your pipeline for years to come. The best part is we are not only going to teach you how to set up your own automated marketing system step by step, but you are going to actually take action during the two day event. You'll even complete the event with marketing materials done and reviewed by me and Dave so you'll be ready to hit the ground running come February 1st. Staff members and up to 3 key referral sources are also welcome. Check out the curriculum and get registered at http://www.lawbusinessrevolution.com/virtualevent

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  Law Business Revolution Weekly Briefing Memorandum        
                   
                  The shocking results of our 2009
                Legal Marketing/ Law Practice Survey        
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The results of our 2009 legal marketing/ law practice survey are in and the responses are sadly indicative of our industry as a whole.  

According to the results, you are frustrated and tired of begging for business and struggling to turn a profit in your small and solo firms.  The statistics show 23% of lawyers surveyed made under $50,000 last year, while 40% of lawyers surveyed felt "very dissatisfied" with the amount they made in 2009.

A large majority also expressed dissatisfaction with the amount of time they wasted on tire kickers, price shoppers and clients who refused to pay their full fee...and quite frankly, what you know you are worth.

That's a hard pill to swallow, especially after spending up to six figures on your law degree.

The most unfortunate part, however, is how many of these lawyers did do the right things in marketing their practices last year.   99% of lawyers surveyed tried at least one form of advanced marketing (if not many forms) and still failed to see consistent results or good ROI from their efforts.  As you can imagine, these attorneys were off the chart when it came to feeling "very dissatisfied" with their marketing efforts and practice as a whole.

But, here's the important thing for you to know ... the lawyers who felt "very satisfied" with their marketing, practices and income last year all had one thing in common:

They were not just relying on one source of business; instead, they had an automated marketing system to consistently market using a diverse set of strategies without fail-even (especially!) when times got tough.

A good client attraction strategy is like having a diversified investment portfolio.  When one sector bombs, your stock in an unrelated sector shields you from huge loss.  The same holds true with your marketing.  You want to have an integrated and coordinated marketing system set up so that if one source temporarily dries up, it doesn't affect you.

I'm sure some of you are thinking, "Wow, that's got to be expensive ...I can barely afford to run a nice big ad in the yellow pages, let alone do all this marketing you're talking about".  The good news though is that some of the best strategies are low-cost or even no-cost provided you put in the time to set up the system to begin with.

The great news about a system though is that once it's set up, it's good to go and will produce consistent, reliable and predictable results for you on an ongoing basis.

So, what does an integrated, coordinated, automated system look like? 

I laid it out in detail on this call I hosted.  Listen to it here .

And if you are ready to get your integrated, coordinated, automated system in place for 2010 and beyond, join us for our 2-day virtual event . It will change everything for you. I guarantee it.

 

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I hope you had a wonderful time this holiday season with your family and friends and got to take some down time so that you are feeling refreshed and motivated as we go full steam ahead into 2010.

I'm in the midst of a big move (we pull out of Los Angeles for Colorado in just a couple of days!) and I am hosting a BIG call you don't want to miss this morning to guide you and hundreds of other business owners on how to create your money map for 2010.

Given all that, I've asked my good friend and former lawyer himself Jonathan Fields if I could repost a very important blog post he wrote recently titled, "if your business sucks, don't blame the market.

His blog post is clear proof you can absolutely, positively, without a doubt create your life and your business on your terms - if only you change the way you think.  That's my mission - changing the way you think so you can finally live the life of your dreams.

Law school taught us to think as lawyers, which is the exact opposite of the thinking that will help you grow your business and love your life. 

Power to the People (and your dream law business!)

PS - I made a huge number of mistakes when I owned my law firm because I knew nothing about business and the biggest thing I knew nothing about was how to manage my finances.  Today's money map call I'm hosting is about everything I wish I had known that would have saved me millions of dollars.  Register here: http://budurl.com/MoneyMap2010 - it's a gift from me and Dave to you for 2010

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   Law Business Revolution Weekly Briefing Memorandum           
        If Your Business Sucks, Don't Blame the Market
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By: Jonathan Fields/ Author, Awake at The Wheel

Over the last year, I began to notice I was holding books a bit further away. And, getting headaches with increasing frequency.

Now, I'm 44 years old, I don't wear glasses or contacts and the last time I went to an optometrist, my vision was 20:15. In fact, the guy laughed, sent me on my way and told me clients like me made it hard to pay his kids' college tuition. Flash forward 5 years and it appears I've entered what's known as the mid-40s vision-drift crowd. Still 20:20, but I now need reading glasses when writing or reading for long periods.

I learned this while visiting a new optometrist last week. After the exam, he shared, I'd love to sell you something, but my glasses range from $300-$700 and frankly you'd be better off grabbing a pair for $20 at CVS.

Thanks, I replied, then added, So, are you going anywhere for the holidays?

No, he said, business is really tough right now.

I'm new to this whole glasses thing, I replied, but I'm curious, what's making it so hard? Is it the internet? Can people buy what you're selling for a lot less online?

Bingo, he snapped back. You can't imagine how many people come in, try on every pair of glasses in the store, write down every bit of information, even ask for model numbers, then, after using up an hour of my time, split never to be seen again. I've got retail rent to pay, inventory to carry and staff to take care of. But, the internet is killing us.

Little did he know, on the drive over, I'd actually called an eyeglass-wearing uber-geek friend and asked how the whole glasses thing worked these days. And, that friend confirmed the optometrist's lament, sharing how he goes into the local eyeglass franchise, tries on glasses, buys for 70-90% less online then goes back to the local biz to get free adjustments.

I'm hearing a lot of people complain about how the market's left them behind lately...

So, when my new optometrist friend brought up his "business" issues, my mind began to spin.

Okay, I said to him, from what you're telling me, the market is moving strongly away from the model that supported the industry for generations. That's something that doesn't seem all that changeable and you don't have any real interest in joining the fray online and trying to bang out a living by competing on price.

Yup, he replied, I like the people aspect.

Well, I added, if the trend you mentioned keeps on, it seems like you're not going to be in business five years from now (yeah, I'm blunt like that, as my consulting client's have discovered, lol). My question is, how can you tap the CHANGE in market to change your business model and provide a solution that is either still needed or has increased in a substantial way BECAUSE of the move to buy glasses online?

What if, I asked, you offered a new service?

Right now, web-buyers are the bane of your existence and you'd do anything to get them out of your store, so you can stop wasting your time on people who have no intention of buying from you. What if you looked at these folks differently and saw their new patterns as economic opportunities? New problems to be solved?

With the massive, demographic driven growth of the Boomers, the need for glasses is about to explode way beyond the size of the current market. But, unlike other "pure" commodities, potential buyers are very concerned about how their glasses:

1. Fit, and
2. Look...

ON THEIR FACES!

And, once chosen, their glasses must be further customized with prescription lenses, so they want to choose right before ordering.

But, they also know they can order for a fraction of the price online.

So, let me ask you this, I said, what would happen if you kept your $50 exam service and credited that amount to purchases like you do now, but then added a second service that specifically accommodated and even reached out to all the people who are now the bane of your existence?

What if you launched a new web-purchase try-on service?

Charge somewhere between $35 and $50. People could come in, they'd get up to one-hour with a consultant to try on as many frames as they likeed. Then, they'd leave with a printout of every brand, model and list of 5 websites where they could buy them online. You'd also email them a copy with links directly to those product pages. They'd also get a photo-sheet of how they looked in their top 5 picks.

These folks could then either go home or buy online, most likely using the links you included in your email to them OR...they could buy online using the kiosks you've set up in your store that link through to the  most reputable discount eyeglass websites. Either way, the links you provide them would be affiliate links, so every purchase would also give you an additional affiliate fee.

This new service would potentially:

• Capture revenue from an endless stream of people who are now "using" your store as a free try-on service with no intention of buying.
• Allow you to keep a way smaller inventory,
• Dramatically reduce carrying expenses. And
• Likely make you far busier, because now instead of people feeling awful about "scamming" you and knowing you know what they're really up to, they're feel great about it and will be far more likely to come and refer friends.

Well, what about the fee, came the reply?

I can't answer, I said, I don't know what the right price point for something like this is and I don't know your business model well enough to make a seriously educated guess or understand the break-even and profit points. But, what I'm saying is...

The market is telling you that a service like that has value. Your job is to do something with that.

And, because they're saving so much money because they can now buy the "commodity" side of what you're selling for a good 75% less online, I wonder if they might see the expense of a high-touch try-on service as something worth paying for?

Plus, a certain percentage of those new people, folks who'd never have wandered into your shop in the first place, will end up getting an eye-exam ($50 upsell) and taking a liking to you. They'll feel a sense of reciprocity, a need to support the little guy AND, because we tend to be addicted to the notion of "now," a percentage of people who intended fully to avail themselves only of your try-on service will end up wanting their new glasses from you...now. And, they'll realize they really do want a local guy to help them out when needed.

So, you'll likely end up with higher traffic, selling those people in the store.

A few seconds passed as my new optometrist friend contemplated the idea, then, as most folks who've been wedded to an industry, a course of dealing and an age-old business model do...he laughed it off and moved on to something else.

Shame. Really.

Because when a market moves away from you, it's not the market's fault when you end up out of business.

It's up to you to respond. That may mean changing your model, assumptions and solutions. And, yes, that may also mean short-term anxiety, pain and risk in the name of a renewed sense of long-term opportunity.

But, it also may do something else that terrifies many of us...

If the new model, assumptions and solutions, the ones the market now wants, no longer hold the same level of passion appeal to you, then it may be time to either innovate more or, painful as it may be, move into a different profession with a better mix of economic potential and passion satisfaction.

So, my question to you, as you gear up for 2010, is...

• Have you taken the time to look back at how your market has changed over the last year? To see where the pain points, needs and desires have moved?

• And, if they've put pressure on the way you've been doing business for years, have these changes opened up new opportunities that might require a bit of a leap of faith, but might also deliver both you and your business into the next generation?

• Or, have they stripped the essential qualities that made you come alive out of the business, leaving you with some bigger picture decisions to make?

Maybe it's time to stop bleeding and complaining, maybe it's time to evolve....

 

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I know its Christmas Eve so I'll jump right into this week's Law Business Briefing Memorandum so you have a bit of "food for thought" to chew on over the holidays.

This holiday season, I want you to think about stepping up your creativity level so you can start attracting more clients to your firm.

For all you left-brainers out there, it's easier than you think!

Have a very merry holiday and I'll talk to you next week..

Power to the People (and your dream law business!)

PS. Want to give a great holiday gift to one of your favorite referral partners or one you hope will be a primary marketing partner for you in 2010?  How about a joint registration for our two day Client Attraction System virtual retreat?  Make it a date at your office and attend with one of your favorite (or potential) local marketing partners.  Or even better put together a local marketing study group and attend as a team. Together, you can create a killer marketing system you can all share for 2010.

Curriculum and further information can be found here. We'd love to have you!

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   Law Business Revolution Weekly Briefing Memorandum
                    A little creativity = a lot more clients!
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Corporations spend billions each year developing creative advertising and marketing campaigns to attract more clients.   They realize creativity is the key to standing out in a saturated marketplace.  So, how do they stand out?  The key is in creativity.  Making their product, marketing materials and physical space "unique" and different on multiple sensory levels.

The good news is you don't have to spend billions to do this in your own law business.

And yet most lawyers are stuck looking the same as everyone else. Why?

Because most of us:

1. Are analytical/left-brain thinkers who have a hard time jumping into our right-brain/creative side (creativity really is hard for some people); and

2.  Assume everything must be "professional" to earn the respect of a prospect, leaving very little room for creativity and innovation.

Lawyer type of professional is a thing of the past. Today, people associate that old kind of "professional" image with a non-responsive, scary lawyer who takes their money and won't return phone calls or the attorney who will bill for every email, phone call or correspondence that crosses her desk.

Being creatively professional, on the other hand, helps remove the defenses and stereotypes people have when hiring a lawyer and overcomes the presumption that you're just like all the other lawyers in town.

With that said, here are the top three ways where a bit of creativity and right-brain thinking can go a long way in attracting clients to your law firm:

1.  Web copy:  If your web copy reads like a CV or a text book, time to hit the delete button and juice up your creative writing skills.  Use your website to tell the story of who you are, why you are different and why your area of law matters so much.  You can even get creative with your writing style! Throw in some bullet points, contractions and folksy language if that's how you speak.  Use those creative juices to prove you aren't the stuffy lawyer prospects expect you to be.

2.  Firm Story:  Your firm story (the story you relay to clients about why you practice law, how your business came to be and what makes you different from other lawyers) should be about true life events and epiphanies that are relevant to the person you are speaking with, not a biography of your most notable accomplishments and awards.  Here you'll creatively use your experiences outside the law to connect to prospects on a much deeper and more meaningful level.  Did you grow up in foster care and now practice family law or estate planning as a result? Integrate that into your firm story!  Did you live through a bankruptcy and now practice business law to help other entrepreneurs avoid the same plight?  Include that too!  The more outside-the-box your story is, the more likely it will stick with your prospects and make an impact.

3.  Your office space:  If you haven't watched my video on setting up your office space in a way that's creative, outside the box and prime to attract more clients, do so now by clicking here. Your office says so much about you and plays a huge role in attracting the right type of clients to your firm.  Therefore, you'll want to get the décor and ambiance just right so your first impression with a prospect won't be the last.  You can do this even if you use a virtual office space.  Create a basket that you bring in before each client meeting that personalizes the space.

And as always, be sure to email alexis@lawbusinessrevolution.com with your success stories or questions on getting creative in the marketing of your law firm.  Creativity is the key to your client attraction strategy in 2010 so jump out of that left-brain thinking and get started!

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 With only 3 weeks to go before my big move to Colorado, I am certainly feeling the crunch! 

I'm sure many of you are equally stressed out trying to wrap things up before the holidays when the courts shut down and your team expects you NOT to call them for a few days.

Yet the good thing about the world shutting down for the holidays is that you'll have some time to re-evaluate your marketing plans, strategies and your business in general for 2010.

You'll also want to evaluate the extent your business is built around YOU and who YOU are, as it will ultimately impact your success in the New Year.

This week's Law Business Briefing Memorandum explains how....

Power to the People (and your dream law business!)

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   Law Business Revolution Weekly Briefing Memorandum
 Embrace the Real You and Your Ideal Clients Will Show Up
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Over the past few weeks, I've given you practical how-to's on attracting more clients to your law firm.  What I haven't talked about is that the heart of client attraction is about becoming clear about the authentic you. 

Let's face it.  You can be the smartest lawyer, the savviest marketer and even an outward success, but if you aren't happy with what you are doing and who you are being, your leads and prospects will ultimately feel that energy and be repelled.

Referrals will slow down as your clients simply don't feel comfortable sending people they love to you for help. You won't have the kind of impact you should be having on people that keeps them coming back for more.  And worst of all, you won't be giving each client your "all" out of frustration, annoyance or boredom with your work.

All of these traits drive clients away from your business.  The only way to fix the issue is to take a cold, hard look in the mirror and figure out who you are, who you want to be and how you can contribute more value to the world.

No matter how "out there" this sounds, if you can't attribute meaning and value behind the work you do on a daily basis, you'll never reach your full potential as a lawyer.  You'll never reach the income levels that are truly possible for you or the impact your business can have on the world. 

A lawyer who is confident and secure in herself, on the other hand, who knows he is changing lives and making an impact on the world will attract more of what is needed to keep moving forward-namely clients and income.   

None of that can happen until you identify what you are really passionate about and the area of law which ultimately provides you with the most personal fulfillment.  

If you are finding that your client attraction strategies simply aren't working the way you wish they would, consider that it might be because you are not putting yourself out there as much as you could because you are not happy with the lawyer you've become.

If that's the case, consider a new practice area.  It's never too late to make a change.

If you are in a practice area you are passionate about and are ready to serve a whole lot more of your ideal clients, be sure you've registered for my client attraction coaching call today at
http://lawbusinessrevolution.com/holiday/

One of my personal passions is helping lawyers really love their businesses and clients really love their lawyers.  I'll be sharing the big picture of my single best strategy for generating a lot more business for your firm in 2010.  So be sure to register here and prepare to bring more satisfaction, fulfillment and happiness back to your law business!

PS. After your register for the call, be sure to review the rest of the e - course by clicking here for video 2 here for video 3 here for video 4.

See you then!

 

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First and foremost, I want to welcome our new subscribers from the ABA CLE I spoke at yesterday. I look forward to connecting with you here each week and want to personally welcome you to the law business revolution.

We’re getting awfully close to the holidays and I hope you’re in the process of sending out cards to your leads, prospects and clients.

Holidays are a great time to warm up old leads and simply say THANKS for being a friend of your firm. From a marketing (and relationship-based) perspective, you don’t want to miss an opportunity where even the grumpiest clients or prospects don’t mind hearing from you at this time of the year!

And while you’re at it, don’t forget to send a little something to your best referral sources. Again, holidays are a great way to say thanks for the business that’s come your way and to stay on everyone’s radar for potential opportunities in the future.

Running short on time and need a few gift ideas for your referral sources? Try:

•    A  Hersey’s Basket or Solid Chocolate Card (http://www.hersheys.com/)
•    Gourmet Fruit Basket from Edible Arrangements (http://www.ediblearrangements.com/)
•    A  Nice Bottle of Wine from Gary Vaynerchuk’s Wine Library (http://winelibrary.com/)

Yet before you kick it into high gear and start shopping, I want you to take a few minutes and read the conclusion of our series on Maximizing your Speaking Opportunities.

This week’s Law Business Briefing Memorandum explains what to do with the leads you’ve collected at in-person events to ensure more prospects have the opportunity to say YES to your services in the future.

Power to the People (and your dream law business!)

Alexis

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   Law Business Revolution Weekly Briefing Memorandum
              Are You Maximizing the Opportunities
                From Your Speaking Engagements? 
                                       Part 2
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In last week’s Law Business Briefing Memorandum, we discussed strategies you can implement before each live event to boost your effectiveness and generate higher turnouts than ever before.

If you missed that article, I encourage you to read it here, but essentially, you’ll want to start communicating with your prospects before the event via the information collected on the registration form and gather leads during the event by utilizing an opt-in form tied to a free gift or offer.

Yet gathering leads is only half the battle in relationship-based marketing. The second and arguably most important step in making the most of your speaking engagements is to automate the follow-up process to ensure no prospect is left behind and everyone receives consistent communication from you and your firm.

You may have heard the saying, “the money is in the follow-up” and I can vouch from personal experience this is true. So with that said, here are four easy steps you can take after each live speaking event to ensure money is in the follow-up for you as well:

1.     After the event, compare the initial registration list to the names of those who were in attendance.

2.     From there, break those names down into three categories: those who took your offer at the event, those who attended but didn’t take your offer and those who registered but didn’t attend—then create appropriate follow up sequences. The follow up sequence should include multiple touches in various ways (email, phone, snail mail) for the best effectiveness!

3.     If the free gift you offered requires fulfillment, strive to distribute your materials promptly while you are still fresh in the prospect’s mind.

4.     Always add all leads to your house list and maintain consistent, friendly ongoing communication with them via both email and direct mail.

As you can see, the hardest part of this maximization effort is automating the follow-up process so you can contact your prospects long after the event has taken place.

Infusion is my personal automation software of choice because it allows for segmented lists and hence very specific follow-up campaigns designed to motivate prospects and get them to say YES to your services if they didn’t already do so at the live event.

 But don’t let not having a good email marketing/ contact management system stop you from getting started with this! Either make a quick investment into a good CRM like Infusion (which is money VERY well spent on your part), or use an excel spreadsheet or some good ole’ fashion tickler systems. Either way—just get started.

So next time you have a speaking engagement, I encourage you to give these steps a try and chart your results. And don’t forget to email me at alexis@lawbusinessrevolution.com with your success stories!

PS- If you're considering a CRM like Infusion, be sure to email support@lawbusinessrevolution.com for further information on special bonuses we've negotiated for members of the Law Business Revolution. We're always happy to help.
 

 

 

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It's been a crazy week here for sure!  

I'm putting some last minute touches on a content-rich holiday gift for our subscribers (you should start receiving emails about this next week), I'm prepping for my next speaking engagement with the ABA and I'm considering a BIG move to Colorado!

Scary, exciting and invigorating all at the same time.

I've also received some incredible stories over the past few weeks from skeptical (and even cynical) attorneys who followed my advice and experienced phenomenal marketing results in their firms! 

As I always say, you may not like me-or you may not like the delivery of my message, but the strategies I teach are time-tested, proven and designed to get results. 

So on that note, I have another time-tested strategy for you today on how to maximize the effectiveness of your speaking engagements.  Keep reading to learn how.....

Power to the People (and your dream law business!)

Alexis

PS:  Lawyers, don't forget to join me on a no-charge call TODAY at 2 pm PST as I interview Kevin Houchin and Michael Fleming on the new FTC guidelines and what they mean for your law practice (especially your testimonial pages and social media strategy). All content, no-strings attached.... so much so that here's the direct call-in number: Conference #: 323-476-3672 Pin #: 615456#

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   Law Business Revolution Weekly Briefing Memorandum
              Are You Maximizing the Opportunities
                From Your Speaking Engagements?  ================================================

If you enjoy speaking and are decent up in front of a crowd, your marketing plan should include regular speaking engagements from which you'll be able to convert attendees into clients.

Too many lawyers aren't using speaking at all to build their firms.  And the few of you who are, are often spinning your wheels spending a lot of time without a lot of return on your investment.

That's because there's a lot more to putting on a successful speaking engagement than just booking a venue (or finding someone to host you) and writing out talking points.

On the flip side, when you know how to speak strategically, it's a lot easier than anything you are doing right now to market.

So what steps can you take to ensure you're truly making the most of your speaking opportunities?  Try the following:

Before the event:

• Have a special phone number or web page where people can register in advance.  This is your first chance to capture contact information and get a rough idea as to how many people will be in attendance.
• If you're collecting information by phone, be sure your team logs everything into your database or on a spreadsheet so you can readily access the data a few days before, and after the event.
• Be sure to let people registering for the event know you'll send a reminder before the event and that they'll begin to receive your weekly email newsletter as well.
• Send a friendly reminder of the event 24-48 hours in advance by email and strongly consider having someone in your office make a phone call as well.
• Strategize the offer you'll make during the speaking event (this does not have to mean you are selling something. Your offer can be for a very high value something, like an article, a report, or even an appointment with you that you give away.)
• Collect the contact information of anyone who wants your free giveaway (this can be done as simply as having people hand you their cards if it is a business event, or you can use a form you've created or even simple index cards).  These people are all leads who have raised their hand to tell you they may need your services down the road.

Of course, your fortune with these fresh leads (or prospects if they've made an appointment to meet with you) is in the follow up.  Next week, we'll cover exactly how to follow up to convert these leads and prospects into money in the bank.

In the meantime, you may want to check out my most recent article on lawyerist.com. You can read it here:http://budurl.com/pc28

 

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Instead of my typical note this week, I just want to say THANK YOU, for being a friend and partner of the Law Business Revolution and for your support of me personally.

Your struggles, successes and burning desire to be more effective, efficient and profitable in your law business is what inspires me to continue creating programs and products to help you live the life you want ....and deserve.

I'm working on a great big holiday gift for you that will be ready very soon. (Yes, a no strings attached gift!) Until it's done, please accept my humble words of gratitude and thanks for subscribing this year.

Once it is finished, I'll be unplugging and enjoying some well deserved time off with my family and I hope you plan to do the same.

Before you shut-down your computer for the Thanksgiving holiday, be sure to send a note of thanks to your clients, prospects and referral sources first.

This week's Law Business Briefing Memorandum tells you exactly what to do.

Happy, Happy, Happy Gratitude Week!

Alexis

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   Law Business Revolution Weekly Briefing Memorandum
    Want to Boost Business and Your Income Next Year?    
                         Say THANK YOU First. 
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Thanksgiving is one of the best holidays for lawyers to forge a very special bond with prospects, referrals sources and current clients simply by saying THANK YOU and showing gratitude for their loyalty to your firm.

I'm sure some of you are thinking, "GREAT! I'll just send a quick email to everyone on my list saying Happy Thanksgiving and call it a day"....but I'm going to challenge you to take things up a notch and really get personal this year.

Before you do anything, I want you to really experience the energy of gratitude.  Close your eyes for a moment and bring into your body the immense gratitude you feel for all of the clients who hired you and paid your fees this year.  Let yourself really feel how thankful you are for the food they put on your table, the car payments they made, and everything you were able to enjoy as a result of their choice to work with you over all the other lawyers they could have picked.

From that place of gratitude, come up with a way to uniquely express your thanks.

If you are feeling stuck, here are some of my best suggestions:

    * Send a personal email to your clients, referral sources and even your leads and prospects.  From your heart, share how you have been able to make a difference in the world and feel great about what you do thanks to the clients who chose to work with you.  Let people into your life on an emotional level.  If you have an email broadcast service, you can do this automated.  Just make sure it has the capacity to personalize the message with the receiver's name.  If you don't have an email broadcast service or a database of client emails, put this on your list of must haves for 2010.

    * Send out a voice broadcast.  If you're not familiar with these, they're similar to the robocalls you get during election time and I know that sounds weird, but clients really seem to love them! I know quite a few attorneys having great success with this during the holidays and their easy to set up.  I'd set it so it only calls during the day and leaves a message on the voice mail. Also, make sure to listen to it after it's recorded and that you sound happy and upbeat.

    * Drop a card in the mail. Thanksgiving is a great time to send holiday cards so they don't get lost in the holiday card mess.  For extra impact, write a personal note that speaks specifically to the person you are writing to. At least do this for your best clients and referral sources.

 The bottom line is you need to do SOMETHING to express your gratitude this holiday season.  Remember, in this new economy, the little extras go a long way, so take a moment and do something that's good for your soul and your business.

And to you I say THANK YOU so much for being you and being willing to step outside of the old, outdated way of doing things and into a new vision of what it means to be a lawyer and run a business.

It is my absolute pleasure to serve you and I am so grateful to be able to do it.

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It's been a busy week here at the Law Business Revolution.  I became a featured contributor on Lawyerist, the Lawyering Survival Guide, held a training call for hundreds of lawyers ready to turn their clients into raving fans, and traveled to Colorado and and back with my kids so I could speak at Denver law school about the new business model for lawyers.

That's one of the benefits of building a business that is supported by a great team and has automated processes in place, you can travel, get away, and relax, while the business keeps on going.

And yes, you can have that too in your law firm. This week's article is about giving your client's the red carpet treatment and each of the strategies I share with you can be structured to happen on auto-pilot so that you have the faith of knowing your clients will be treated like gold, even without you being there every minute of the day.

Check it out below.

One of the best things about having my business on autopilot and homeschooling the kids is that we can travel wherever and whenever we want.  So, I'm writing to you this week from Colorado where I'm staying with one of my very first mommy friends, Martha.

When is the last time you took a break from “lawyering” or spent some vacation time out-of-state?

If you’re thinking, “that’s impossible Alexis, I can’t take time off—this firm would fall apart without me and I’d be broke!”, then read on because you still have some work to do in building a systematized firm that runs on autopilot.

Shifting to flat-fee or membership based billing is a key piece to that puzzle and this week’s Law Business Briefing Memorandum explains exactly what you need to do to make the change.

Enjoy!

Power to the People (and your dream law business!),

PS - with Thanksgiving coming up, I want to say thank you so much for being a fantastic member of the Law Business Revolution. It is because of you and the difference you want to make in the world that I am doing this.  I'd love to hear how anything I've written or said has impacted your life and/or business. Write me back.

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   Law Business Revolution Weekly Briefing Memorandum
           Give Your Clients the Red Carpet Treatment to
                               Succeed in This Economy 
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As we all know, the legal industry was hit particularly hard by the economy. Over 12,000 lawyers and legal staff members lost their jobs, entire firms have shut down and small and solo attorneys are working harder than ever to get new business in the door.

You may be wondering, 'Is my practice next?" "How long will this last?" "Can I afford to ride out the storm?"

Here's the good news about the economic shakedown:

I don't want you to believe a word I'm saying here. I want you to test it out in your own business. I know it works because it's what turned my law firm into a million dollar business within three years and has my Personal Family Lawyers and private coaching clients doubling and even tripling their income right now by making a few fundamental shifts in the way they do business.

And the really good news is that it doesn't have to take a whole of time, effort or money to make this shift in your business. But, the return on your investment will be phenomenal.

So what does high concept/high touch look like in your law firm? 

Essentially it means creating a WOW experience that appeals to all of your prospect’s or client’s senses, not just their minds.

There’s a new business model emerging as a result and if you are prepared to embrace what client’s really want . . . high concept / high touch and interaction, you will completely differentiate yourself in the marketplace and your business will thrive.

Try some of these out in your practice:

• Change the way your phones are answered. No more “Law Offices” barked into the phone by a surly receptionist. Instead, make sure that whoever answers your phone has a smile on his or her face and a script that immediately identifies your firm as different, warm and inviting.
   
• Walk into your office as a prospect and see what they see. How can you make the décor of your office appeal to your “ideal clients” on multiple sensory levels (ex. My practice helped families with little kids, so we had toys, fresh fruit, juice and muffins daily, scented candles burning, comfortable furniture to relax in, pictures of my family, etc).
   
• Automate your client engagement and client service systems so there is consistent follow up and communication with prospects and clients who will never again feel as if they’ve fallen into a black hole after calling or engaging you (I call this the ‘no client left behind’ initiative).
   
• Shift your billable hour model to flat-fee billing or a membership model so clients don’t feel “nickel and dimed” or penalized every time they contact the firm. It’s amazing what happens when your clients don’t have to worry about getting a bill in the mail each time they contact you.

If you’ve already started making these changes in your law practice, GREAT! You’re on your way to jumping off the cash flow rollercoaster/ marketing merry-go-round forever!

Remember, in a time of economic hardship, lawyers are a dime a dozen. People are choosier than ever as to who they do business with and what they spend their hard-earned money on, and most of that decision making is driven by the little extras that make people feel special.

To hear more about what having a high-concept, high touch office looks like—especially as it relates to dealing with clients on a daily basis, I invite you to download a free call I recorded here on setting up a client service system and how to take your firm to new and unexpected heights, even in this economy!

 

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I'm back home after a fantastic trip to Las Vegas to attend Ali Brown's first ever SHINE event.  What made the trip so fantastic?

Well, first of all, I was there with my honey and when I caught a cold, he totally took care of me and helped me knock it right out.  Second, I got to reconnect with the passion I have for my business and how I really want to be spending my time. And most importantly, I got clarity about how I want to be showing up for my kids.

So I'm going to ask you the same question about your law business that I asked myself at SHINE. What do you want out of your business?  What do you want out of your life? Is your business in line with your values? What changes would you have to make to ensure that it is?

I can tell you that no matter what your values/ life aspirations are, you must automate your law firm so you have the freedom to do those things!  For you, that might mean the freedom to homeschool your kids, take month- long vacations in Europe, start that side business you've always dreamed of, write a book, have a TV show-whatever! The sky is the limit if you can simply free up your time without sacrificing your income.

Don't worry, I would never get you all excited like that without teaching you HOW it's all possible ;)

This week's Law Business Revolution Briefing Memorandum explains....

Enjoy!

Power to the People (and your dream law business!),

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   Law Business Revolution Weekly Briefing Memorandum        
                            The Power of Raving Fans    
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I've talked a lot about systematizing your processes so you can set your client expectations and turn them into raving fans.  But it's possible that I haven't explained precisely why raving fans are the key to your business freedom.  Having raving fans isn't simply an ego boost (though it does feel good), it makes a huge difference to your bottom line and ultimately the time you have to put into your business.

Here's a few of the reasons you want raving fans:

1. They insist that all their friends and family use your services.  This saves you huge marketing time, energy and money.  

2. They will butt into the conversations of a strangers asking for legal advice to say they must contact you, and only you, because of their incredible experience.  This kind of a referral makes engaging the client a piece of cake for you.

3. They become walking advertisements for months or even YEARS down the road-giving you a greater marketing ROI than any magazine ad or direct response marketing campaign could ever touch.  Plus, they are more likely to use more of your future services, which means more bottom line revenue for your business.

Today, it's about high-concept, high-touch, relationship-based service.  It's what's bringing in the clients and keeps them so they stay, pay and refer.  And that means more happiness for you.

You already know times are tight and that means the same old, same old is simply not going to do it. People have lots of choices among lawyers and will not spend their hard earned money on just anyone.  Revamping your client service process to create a high-concept, high-touch experience without much additional expense will put you light years ahead of the competition struggling to figure out what this shift means-and how to operate under it in their business.

Think about this for a moment. 

What do people think of when they think about lawyers?  Non-responsive, dodging phone calls and foot-dragging. They come into the relationship expecting to have to stay on your tail and call your office every couple days to check on their progress. They expect you to treat them poorly.  It's sad, isn't it?

Imagine their surprise then when your firm treats them completely differently. Now, you are proactively communicating with your clients. You're still giving red-carpet treatment-even after you've won their business and cashed the check.  

That is what creates a raving fan for life of your firm-not to mention, a raving fan who will call you whenever she needs a "trusted advisor" down the road.

So now that you know WHY client service systems (aka the automated process of how things are handled after a client says yes and gives you a check) is so important, I invite you to learn HOW to set up a client service system that works by joining me for a preview call on Thursday, November 19^th at 3 EST / 12 pm PST during which I'll lay out my Client Service System and what you can learn from it.

I'll be sending you the registration link on Monday, so be sure to block this date on your calendar and we'll discuss this in more detail next week!

PS. Here's an example of what happens when you create raving fans. They send you unsolicited testimonials like this one:

"This past Monday, the day after I listened to the CDs over the weekend, I had a couple of client meetings that resulted in $3k of additional revenue b/c I asked 4 "$1,000 questions" and got yes answers on 3 of them.  So the system paid for itself the day I started using some of the ideas - Pretty cool!"

-Pete Sisson - Boise, Idaho

 

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