How was I able to get moved and set up so quickly with a minimum of down time? I have created a great community of support around me.

And, that's also why I moved here to CO.

There is a phenomenal community of entrepreneurs that I feel so synergistically connected with on a business and personal level.

I first discovered the power of community and collaboration while running my law firm - much of the successful marketing I did was done in collaboration with other advisors in my community.

If you aren't yet experiencing the power of collaborative marketing in your law firm, you are investing way to much time and energy into getting your phone to ring.

When like-minded professionals come together with a common goal, magic happens. This week's Law Business Briefing Memorandum explains.....

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

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   Law Business Revolution Weekly Briefing Memorandum       
How to find... and work with the best referral sources in town  =================================================

If you do not have a collaborative relationship with complimentary professionals in your town or community, you are missing out on the best way I know of to reduce your marketing investment (of time and money) and increase your return substantially.

It's time for you to put together your own local marketing mastermind collaborative.

The key to making this work is choosing the right people for your collaborative.

As attorneys, we tend to get stuck in the traditional "referral networks" that consist of financial planners, CPA's and insurance salesmen. Consider looking for more unconventional professionals who may be more excited about outside the box opportunities to market.

Begin by thinking long and hard about WHO your ideal client is. For what group of people are you what I call "Best in Class?"

You may not be able to be THE best lawyer in the whole world, but you can certainly be the best for a specific class. Who are they?

Once you know that, you can brainstorm other professionals who market their services to that exact same demographic.

For example, my ideal client as an estate planning attorney was parents with small children in California's South Bay Area. So I talked to local fitness instructors that help moms get back in shape, daycares, pediatricians, the owner of a children's clothing boutique, etc. when setting up my mastermind collaborative.

Or maybe you're like my friend who is a criminal defense lawyer in New Jersey that specializes in DWI. For her, complimentary professionals would include bail bondsman, counselors and therapists that specialize in substance abuse and even insurance agents who work with high-risk drivers.

Now, the single most important thing about who is in your group is that at least one person must be grounded in the fundamentals of marketing, developing a campaign and carrying it out.

Join us on our call on Friday when we discuss all the specifics of how to set up your own local marketing mastermind collaborative and make it pay off for you and all the other participants quickly. Here's the link: http://www.lawbusinessrevolution.com/coop

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        
================================================

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.

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
================================================

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....

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!
================================================

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!

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
================================================

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!

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
================================================

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.
 

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

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 
================================================

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!

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

For the past 10 years, I've always had a coach/mentor; often more than one at a time. And, I can honestly say that having a coach has been the #1 key to my success.  

Even though one of the single best things I do is coach others, I cannot coach myself no matter how much I try.  I simply cannot see my own blindspots.  None of us can.  And that's where a coach comes in.

On that note, I want to give you some F*R*E*E coaching and action steps in this week’s Law Business Revolution Weekly Briefing Memorandum so you can start increasing your referrals, fees and create raving fans for life in less than 24 hours.

Enjoy!

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

Alexis

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   Law Business Revolution Weekly Briefing Memorandum        
                   How to Revamp Your Client Service
                         System in 24 Hours or Less
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This not only ensures you are continuing the WOW experience after your initial meeting but it also helps  the client to justify…and feel really good about the investment they just made into your firm.

This process will also make a HUGE difference in how your clients talk about you to their friends, family, clients and colleagues, which will result in far more referrals for you in the long run.

So by now you should already have (or at least be researching) a practice management system to help you keep track of your new clients and the action steps that must be completed on their behalf.

However, you don’t necessarily need a practice management system to get started with this. You can revamp your entire client service system in less than 24 hours by merely setting up an excel spreadsheet that lays out what needs to happen (and more importantly WHEN it needs to happen) after a prospect becomes a paying client of your firm.

And ideally, you’ll want to sit down with your team when you do this (starting from the minute the client leaves your office after successful engagement to the completion of the work they’ve paid you for) so everyone is on the same page and knows what’s expected of them.

To give you an example of what I mean, here are some of the action steps that happened in my own law firm after a client said yes to working with us:

1.  Immediately set time and date for their next appointment at the meeting.

2.  Personal phone call within 2 days from attorney checking in and thanking  client for choosing the firm.

3.  Series of 4 follow up emails sent over two week period welcoming client to our firm and introducing them to the team and process they'd be experiencing so they knew what to expect.

And the list goes on….in fact, I had a 14-step follow up process documented out and automated once someone became a client.

This follow up process turned my clients into raving fans because it was so different than anything other lawyers were doing.  And, it eliminated that feeling that most clients have after they engage a lawyer of falling into a big, black hole. 

Plus, it saved us time because we eliminated 99% of those time-sucking “just checking in to see what progress you’ve made on my file” phone calls because the client now knows what you are working on and where they are in your process.

The key to making this work in your firm is automation.  If it's left to a human to make this happen, it won't.  At least, not consistently.  Automate your client service process and watch the magic happen.

Some serious breakthroughs were made, mindsets were overhauled and business plans were completely upleveled as our attorneys made huge steps in the direction of creating a six or even seven figure a year business  that meets their needs, as well as the needs of their clients—even in this sluggish economy.

We spent quite a bit of time focused on mastering the client engagement process.  For that reason, I’m giving you one more chance to jump on my no-charge call happening TODAY entitled, “"How to Get 97.5% of Your Prospects to Say Yes!"

If you have not yet done so, go here and register--- I promise it will be worth every second of your time.  http://budurl.com/CES09

This week's article starts our series on what to do after your prospect says yes and becomes a client so that you create a WOW experience that turns your clients into raving fans.  Read on ....

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

Alexis

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  Law Business Revolution Weekly Briefing Memorandum        
   How to Keep the Momentum Going AFTER You Get to Yes
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The number one complaint I receive about attorneys is clients often feel like “just a number” or “not a priority” after they’ve written their check to engage their lawyer. Often, they'll call their lawyer, have to leave a voice mail and not receive a return phone call back for days, if at all.

I've heard quite frequently that clients feel as if they've fallen into a black hole.

What that means for you is that you can make a huge impact on your clients and turn them into raving fans by counteracting this experience.

What happens in your practice right now after your client writes you a check?  When do they hear from you again?  When do they get reminded that the investment they just made was a good one? If this follow up is happening, is it happening the same way, at the same time, for each client? Is it being tracked so you’re sure no one is falling off the radar?   

If you couldn't answer these questions affirmatively, you are sabotaging the hard work you put into the client engagement process.

Fortunately, automating your follow-up and creating a WOW experience after the client engagement process is easier than you think.

To get started, you’ll need to set up a practice management system (there are many to choose from), or even an excel spreadsheet that lays out what needs to happen (and more importantly WHEN it needs to happen) after a prospect becomes a paying client of your firm.

Next week, I'll outline a simple process for you to follow that will make a HUGE difference in how your clients talk about you to their friends, family, clients and colleagues, which will result in far more referrals for you. 

Stay tuned and until then think about what you'd want to receive from your lawyer if you'd just made a big investment in his or her services.

Many of you walked away with a whole new way to think about what you do, how you serve clients and how to grow your business. 

For the rest of you, I want to jump right back into our series on client engagement so you can start experiencing some of these shifts in your own law firm as well!

Whether you realize it or not, your office space has a huge impact on your bottom line.  This week’s Law Business Briefing Memorandum Explains…….

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

Alexis

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  Law Business Revolution Weekly Briefing Memorandum        
               What Does Your Office Say About You?  
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Do your prospects view you as “stuffy”, “slimy”, “cold” or “self-absorbed”?

While you’re probably thinking the answer to that question is a big HECK NO, the subliminal messages you’re sending by way of your office space may say otherwise.

Essentially, if your office space is littered with stuffy law books, grouchy faces and uncomfortable furniture, I can guarantee you are losing potential clients.

Why?

Because people want to see your human side, they want to know they are more than just a number to your firm and they want to feel like family.

And in most cases, a prospect will say YES on the spot to an attorney who makes them feel that way, even if their price is a bit higher than the guy down the street, because it’s so rare.

Fortunately, there is a whole lot you can do to revamp your office space so clients feel right at home upon walking through the door.

To show you what I mean, here’s a video clip of my personal office space which includes some really essential tips in creating a tranquil and home-like setting.

The video is only 7 minutes long and I encourage you to watch it in its entirety if you’re looking for simple and easy steps to immediately bring more paying clients into your firm.

www.personalfamilylawyer.com/officevideo

PS – your office doesn’t have to look just like my office to make people feel at home, just like your house doesn’t look like my house. But, give some thought to how you can take the elements I talk about in the video and adapt them to your personality and style. I’d love to hear what you come up with. Drop me an email back and let me know.

I knew you would because these systems are time-tested, proven and cannot fail if you really make the effort to do things the right way in your law firm.

Because I know you’re eager to hear the next part of this series (and I’m busy creating curriculum for our upcoming SOLD OUT Triple X-Factor Bootcamp) at which I’m excited to be seeing many of you, I’m going to jump right into today’s lesson.

Basically, if you’re sick of battling client inertia and dealing with cancellations, this week’s Law Business Briefing Memorandum is just what you’ve been looking for …..

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

Alexis

PS – if you are kicking yourself that you are not coming to the Triple X Factor Bootcamp and want to get on the waiting list in case space opens up, email support@daveandalexis.com and get on the list.

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  Law Business Revolution Weekly Briefing Memorandum        
          3 Ways to Eliminate Appointment Cancellations
                       & Take Back Your Time
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One Saturday a few years ago, I had three initial meetings on my schedule and I was super excited to not only help three new clients, but to bring in at least $9,000 to meet my obligations.

I’m sure you can imagine how I felt then when all three appointments cancelled in the same day!

I knew I could not continue to run my business this way and if you’ve been experiencing cancellations in your business, you can’t continue to run your business that way either. Cancellations mean no consistency, no predictability and ultimately may mean no business.

There are a few ways to eliminate cancellations and they all have to do with how you are showing the value of your time:

1.    Convert your free initial consultations into a meeting that has a name, a value and a purpose. For example, Personal Family Lawyers don’t have free initial consultations, they have $750 Family Wealth Planning Sessions or $1,250 Whole Family Wealth Audits, each with a specific purpose.

2.    Take a credit card to reserve time with you. This is a strategy that virtually every lawyer I’ve talked to has been scared to death to try, but every single one that has tried it has never gone back. It’s critical that you do it right though – or you will lose clients. When done right, you’ll never do it any other way.

3.    Create a follow up campaign that is run whenever someone makes an appointment. Last week we talked about the pre-meeting package and that’s the first step. After that though, you want to send out a series of emails and make a series of phone calls to your prospect that are all designed to get them prepared for the meeting and, most importantly, show up for the meeting ready to say yes to your services!

If you’ve been experiencing cancellations, take these three steps and watch the cancellations disappear. You and your business deserve it. Your time is valuable and it’s time your prospects know that too.

And last, but far from least, be sure to mark off October 29th at 3:00pm EST on your calendar now when I'll be covering all of these client engagement strategies in depth and live on a special client engagement tele-conference training you won't want to miss.

Then consider this current series my “stimulus package” to you because I’m breaking it down for you step by step until you have a clear idea of what’s happening in your office—and what you need to do to fix it!

On that note, I’m going to jump right into this week’s Law Business Briefing Memorandum on the do’s and don’t’s of the client intake process.

This information is so vital that I suggest you print it out and pass it around your office to ensure everyone who works with you understands what it takes to convert prospects into paying clients.

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

Alexis

PS: Save the date!  October 29th at 12pm PT/3pm PT I'll be hosting a coaching call to help you engage 97.5% of the prospects who call your office.

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  Law Business Revolution Weekly Briefing Memorandum
              Do’s and Don’ts of the Client Intake Process
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In continuing our series on client engagement in this week’s Law Business Revolution Briefing Memorandum, we are covering how your intake process (or lack thereof) affects the number of prospects—and eventually paying clients—who make it into your office each month.

Hopefully by now you have a rough list of stats compiled that tells you how effective your overall client engagement process really is (and if you missed last week’s article, you can find out how to gather those stats here). But for the purpose of this lesson on client intake, I want you to grab that spreadsheet and focus on the number of prospects that called your office last week vs. the number of prospects that set up an appointment with your firm.

If you’re not showing at least a 50 % conversion rate and preferably 75%, you need to take a closer look at how your intake is being handled.

There are 4 essential do’s and donts that dictate this process and if you violate any one of these principles, you will see a direct downward impact on the number of appointments you set each month. 

To ensure you are getting the absolute best results from your intake process, take some time this week to implement these principles in your own firm:

1.     DON’T be your own intake specialist! You must have someone besides yourself answering the calls from prospective clients. Most people are intimidated speaking directly to an attorney and quite frankly, there are much better uses for your time. So whether you hire someone in-house or contract with a virtual intake specialist, commit to stop doing intake from now on.

2.     DO provide a detailed script to your intake specialist-  Your intake specialist should be using a script for every phone call which explains your services, conveys the value of your initial meeting and encourages prospects to say “yes” to coming in for an appointment. You never want your intake specialist to come up with this information on the fly, and it’s up to you to write a script that will achieve those goals. 

3.     DON’T discuss numbers on the intake call! When done right, your intake specialist should NEVER have to discuss your fees on the intake call. In fact, a good intake specialist using a great script won’t even need to give a price range! But, at all costs you want to ensure that the prospect doesn’t feel as if you are avoiding the “how much will it cost” question or they’ll flee faster than you can say boo. The only numbers that your intake specialist should have to focus on are what it will cost your prospect to NOT meet with you and the value of your initial meeting that they’ll be getting free. 

4.     DO follow up with prospects that don’t set an appointment after the initial phone call- Whether you send a warm letter, email or welcome packet via direct mail, this constant communication helps people on the fence eventually pick up the phone and call. Studies show that it takes up to 5 “touches” or contact with a firm for a prospect to take action—so don’t give up if the prospect doesn’t say “yes” right away.-           

And don’t forget to track your numbers this week as you start making some of the changes I mentioned above! I want you to see with your own eyes the impact that automation and client engagement systems have on your bottom line and how simple direction in this area can change the effectiveness of your firm forever.

One thing I was sad to hear about though is the pervasive theme of how the economy is hurting so many lawyers.  My Executive Vice President, Laura Lee Sparks, spoke to 37 lawyers, each of whom were downright frustrated that their marketing dollars weren’t having the same results they had in the past.

They’ve run ads, built fancy websites, spent money on search engine optimizers hoping to dominate Google for their industry keywords—just about everything short of selling their first-born child for a lead!

It’s a quite different picture from what many of our Personal Family Lawyers are experiencing.  Why?  Because they know not to spend a penny on marketing until they have mastered the art of turning their leads into paying clients.

If you don't want to waste your precious marketing dollars this is key for you to know too.

This week’s Law Business Briefing Memorandum explains…..

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

Alexis

P.S. Yesterday I did an amazing tele-class with my partner Dave Dee not just for lawyers, but for all small business owners.  It was called "The Triple X Factors: Your Success Blueprint  for Small Business Owners Who Want To Move From Surviving To Thriving...Regardless Of Economic Conditions"

We didn't send you information about this call in advance because we've been sending you too many emails as it is!  But, I wanted to make sure you got to hear it.

During this call, we revealed our Triple X Factors  which will help you build your law business on a foundation of  excellence that makes it impervious to economic conditions.

You can listen to the call by going to:

http://www.daveandalexis.com/xfactor

At the end of the call, we made an offer that you can read about by going to the link below BUT do NOT buy the event because I am talking with Dave about making you a very special offer for this event to thank you for being one of my subscribers.  So, read all the details, but do not click buy just yet.  Look for an email from me early next week with a gift.

http://www.daveandalexis.com/event

If you’re like most lawyers, your marketing budget runs on average of $2,000- 4,000 a month.  This might include everything from direct mail to email marketing, Google adwords campaigns, ads in local publications or seminars and networking lunches.

 When the phone starts ringing as a result of your marketing efforts, you are beyond happy and consider your marketing investment to be money well spent.

But is it really?

Not until you master the art of turning those phone calls into money in your pocket.  Unfortunately, many of you are losing a whole lot of coin because you are investing in marketing without making the same investment in conversion.

Fortunately, converting leads into clients won't cost you much more money than you are already spending to attract those leads, but it does require an upfront investment of your time and energy.  Best yet, once you get it down, your lead to client conversion process can run without you.

The place to start is to get a crystal clear understanding of where you are right now.  Here's what you'll want to do:

1. Over the next month, make a commitment to collect the data you need to track your numbers. 

2.  Have whoever answers your phones log every phone call.

3.  Require that all calls inquiring into becoming a client be recorded on a prospect intake form, which captures how the person heard of you, all of their contact information, specifics about their situation and whether they made an appointment.

4.  Use a spreadsheet to then track how many actually made it in for their appointment and finally how many of those callers became paying clients after meeting with you or the other attorneys of your firm.

Each week, sit down with your team and review your lead to prospect conversion number (this is the number of phone calls you received that turned into appointments) and your prospect to client conversion number (this is the number of appointments made that turned into clients).

If these numbers are not both at least 75%, don't spend any more marketing dollars until you  fix your client engagement problem because otherwise you are pouring money down the drain. 

I can’t stress enough that there is NO POINT in spending money on marketing if you are not doing as well as you can to convert your prospects into paying clients once they pick up the phone to call your office.

In the next few weeks, I'll cover all of this in more detail.  Until then, here's a few diagnostic clues to find the “leak” where your prospects may be getting away during the client engagement process:

-   Your phone is not being answered in the correct way

-  There is no system to follow up with prospects who want more information

-  There is no system to follow up with prospects in the time period between when they make an appointment and come in to your office for their appointment

-  You are not following a script during your client engagement meeting

We'll cover each of these and more in depth in the coming weeks, but until then start by collecting hard numbers on what’s actually happening in your office so you'll be ready for the fixes as they are presented and understand which fix you need to focus on. 

You may be quite surprised by what you discover once you begin collecting your numbers.  

For me it's been since last year at this time. And by the time you read this week’s Law Business Briefing Memorandum, I’ll be in the middle of the desert in an RV at Burning Man with no access to the modern world.  

It's what it takes for me to totally unplug and get away. I hope you've taken some time this summer to unplug and sharpen your saw too. 

Many lawyers have asked me why I go to Burning Man and I'll tell ya, it's all about the creativity. I schlep my entire family (the kids AND the ex!) nearly 1000 miles to get inspired. 

In the new economy, creativity is the secret sauce that makes the difference between those who are making it and those who aren't. This week's Law Business Revolution Briefing Memo explains.

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

Alexis

P.S.  We've got a no-charge call entitled Triple X Factors "The Critical Success Blueprint for Small Business Owners Who Want To Move From Surviving To Thriving ...Regardless Of Economic Conditions” hosted by myself and Dave Dee on Wednesday, September 10 at 3:00 PM /12 PT.   You’re gonna have to get this stuff down if you want to survive in this economy and this is a fast and no-cost way to get ahead of the game.  Register at http://www.budurl.com/xfactor09

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  Law Business Revolution Weekly Briefing Memorandum
              Kick-start Your Creativity in 3 Simple Steps
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Kick-start Your Creativity in 3 Simple Steps

Before I share with you my 3 simple steps to kickstart your creativity without making the trek to  Burning Man, let me quickly make the case for why you must infuse your business with your creative juices. 

In the new "experience" economy, your prospects are not simply looking for a lawyer, they are looking for an experience. 

They want to feel special. They want to feel as if they've gotten something unique and different. And you want to provide that to them because it's what justifies your higher fees and makes you unshoppable. 

Who doesn't want that? (If you don't want clients lined up eager to pay you higher fees than the rest of the lawyers in your community, don't worry about creativity - you can continue to provide the same old, same old, no problem.)

Do these three things in the next week and see what happens:

1. Take a walk. 

If you are more of an indoor person, take a walk in nature. Focus your attention during your walk  on how everything works together and supports everything else effortlessly.

If you love the outdoors and spend a lot of time outisde already, take a walk inside at your local mall and consider how you would change things around to make the shopping experience more enjoyable. 

Journal your observations. 

2. Ask some questions. 

Pick three people in your community who provide a service and ask them what their biggest business challenge is and then spend 30 minutes or so brainstorming ways they can solve their challenge. 

These can be people you don't speak with regularly or even know very well. Let them know you are working on a project to increase your creativity and are offering your time without asking for anything in return. A natural side benefit of this step could be making a great connection with another professional in your community.

Get outside your comfort zone here and connect with at least one business owner completely outside of your realm of business, such as a plumber or a carpet cleaner. 

3. Move your body. 

As lawyers, we spend a lot more time in our heads than other people. This can drain creativity more than anything else. 

Go dancing, do yoga, play softball or football or hockey. Just get out there and do something that gets the blood flowing. You'll be amazed at how a little body moving stimulates your creative juices. 

You, your clients and your business deserve it! 

I literally cried tears of joy a few times while reading it because the author has so clearly encapsulated what the Law Business Revolution is all about. In fact, he talks about lawyers quite a bit in there and the book should be a wake-up call for every one of us.

If you are only offering what computers can offer, why should anyone hire you?

Law school cultivated and strengthened our logical left brains, but it’s our right brains that we need to use if we want to make a real difference in our client’s lives and have businesses that will thrive well into the future.

When I talk about my mission to change the way lawyers think, this is exactly what I’m talking about. My mom was an artist and while I never could draw when I became a business owner I realized it was the perfect outlet for my creativity and it’s a major reason my business became so successful so quickly.

It’s my absolute pleasure to help you strengthen those right brain muscles that may have atrophied through years of traditional lawyer thinking.   My current Law Business Revolution Briefing Memorandum series on experience should get your creative juices flowing, so read on below.

Real quick though, I want to welcome all of our new Law Business Revolution members joining us for the first time this week! I hope you’ve had the chance to review your free practice- building gifts. We love hearing what you think about them – email support@familywealthmatters.com and let us know.

I’m beyond excited about the new things we are rolling out over the next few months. We’re putting the final touches on new products, intense mastermind meetings and additional resources designed to take your business to the next level-- without killing yourself in the process.

So if you have friends who are hurting right now in their law practice, be sure to send them over to get in on this revolution.

It’s like I told you last week—it’s not the economy—it’s the experience.   In this economic shift, many lawyers are working harder, when the real secret is working smarter. One major way to work smarter is to give your prospects and clients such a “wow experience” that they wouldn’t think of going anywhere else.

This week’s Law Business Briefing Memorandum explains.

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

Alexis

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  Law Business Revolution Weekly Briefing Memorandum
          Creating a 'Wow' Experience in 3 Simple Steps
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For some odd reason, there’s a huge disconnect between the “wow” factor we expect from other service-based businesses as opposed to that which we provide in our law firms.

Consider your expectations at an expensive, five-star restaurant, like the one I wrote about last week. In addition to terrific food, you expectvalet parking, impeccably clean bathrooms, and friendly staff just waiting to say “yes” to your every request. It’s the little extras that justify the big check you happily pay.  If you had that same great food in a dive bar, you’d expect to pay a whole lot less.

You see, it’s the experience that justifies the added expense.

So why would things be any different in your service-based business? 

If you want to attract prospects in droves and command fees you deserve, you need to provide a unique experience that your prospects and clients can’t get just anywhere.  

But, if you are like most of us lawyers, your left-brain desire to appear “professional” leaves you looking just like everyone else.   Unfortunately, that’s the kind of thinking that will find you losing ground quickly in the new economy.

To help you with this, I’ve outlined three steps you can take immediately to “wow” your prospects and set yourself apart from the crowd in a way that will create immediate results.

1.     Know your target audience and create an experience right from their first contact with you-

To begin with, it’s critically important to narrowly define exactly who you serve. Know your market inside and out. What brands do they like? What books do they read? What keeps them up at night?

Then, design every interaction (from advertising to networking to how your phones are answered) with your target market in such a way that they know you really understand them and that they can trust you.

You signal this by doing little things like setting your office up so that it appeals to their tastes. My market was upscale, affluent parents of young children. So, I moved my office into a renovated historic home in my community, kept a scented candle burning at all times, met with my prospects at a Pottery Barn table instead of a fancy desk or conference room table, and had children’s toys available at all times.

These small gestures went a long way in earning my prospects trust and helping them to see me as a nurturing extension of their family who was going to hold their hand through the most important decisions of their life (no matter how expensive my fees seemed at the time).

2.     Capture their emotions with your “firm story” – A big focus of the new economy is the power of story. Your story should give your prospect a brief history of yourself, how you work and how you are different. Your story should last between 3-7 minutes and resonate through your whole firm – from your marketing pieces, to your pre-meeting package, to your team members. And when done right, this will be the crux of creating a ‘wow’ experience because the client will immediately understand why you are the perfect lawyer for them and they couldn’t shop you if they tried.  

I suggest using short vignettes to paint a picture of how you used to be and what happened to make you into the lawyer you are today.   Your story should be human-- letting your client know you’ve made mistakes along the way but are devoted to helping clients in their shoes. And most importantly, you want to finish up by illustrating what this means for your prospect and how your transformation into a new kind of lawyer will impact their life or business for the better. 

3.     Take control of each meeting - Part of the ‘wow’ experience is the ability to stay in control of your interactions with your prospects without being overbearing or pushy.   A server at a fine restaurant already has the chair pulled out, napkin ready and water poured before you can even say hello. You need to be on your game the same way in order to convey absolute confidence in your firm and the services you offer. 

To do this, you’ll want to have your prospects come to the meeting prepared – what kind of homework can you give them to do in advance? Plus, create an agenda that will allow you to take control right from the beginning and get right down to business in a non-intimidating, friendly way. Have a folder with all paperwork you need prepared in advance (including homework you assigned to your prospect or client prior to the meeting and working tools, such as your engagement letter and method of payment form). Remember—you are going into this with an expectation … be prepared for the expectation to be fulfilled. 

This is just the beginning of how you create a “wow” experience for your prospects and clients, but it’s a great start. I’ll continue on this theme next week and we’ll talk about how you can continue the wow experience once your prospects turn into clients and how doing so will get you off the marketing merry go round.

PS - many lawyers get confused between their target market and their practice niche. Don’t make this mistake. Focus on who you serve first and foremost and design an experience the people you serve will want for themselves and their friends and family.