Purple Rain(making)

January 11, 2023 by
Share

A question on social caught my eye: “What’s the best way for a lawyer to get a raise at their law firm?”

There were many suggested answers, such as finding a mentor, making alliances, working late, staying out of trouble, and so on. Basically, show the partners you are a team player and can bill 40 hours a day.

Nobody said, “Bring in more clients.” Which is the most obvious way to show your partners that you can fatten their bottom line.

A firm can always hire more worker bees to crank out the work and increase their profits. Good bees are valuable. The lawyer who brings in new clients (and keeps them), however, is worth their weight in Gold Pressed Latinum.

Look at it this way: if a firm decides they need to make some cuts, who do you think will be the last to go?

Right. The rainmaker.

And, when it comes time for raises, who do you think will get the biggest?

Right again.

Because partners are smart and know that if they don’t take care of their rainmakers, said rainmakers will take their marketing chops and go somewhere else.

So, that’s my answer to that question.

Prince’s song, Purple Rain, is supposedly about Armageddon. Which might be the fate of the lawyer who doesn’t understand the importance of marketing.

If you are in a firm and doubt this, go talk to a sole practitioner. They know.

Take your marketing to the next level

Share
Filed Under: Marketing legal services

7 truths about content marketing

January 10, 2023 by
Share

Content marketing is a simple concept. You create and disseminate helpful information to attract prospective clients and show them how you can help them. If you want to do this to build your practice but aren’t sure you have what it takes, here are some things to consider.

  1. You don’t have to be a great writer. If you can write an email, you can write an email newsletter or blog.
  2. You don’t have to be original. You can write about the same subjects other lawyers write about.
  3. You don’t have to write a lot. A few hundred words are plenty.
  4. You don’t have to write often. Once a week is enough. Do more if you can and you want to, do less if you don’t.
  5. You don’t have to spend a lot of time. You can do everything you need to do in one hour a week.
  6. You don’t have to do a lot of research. Or any. Write what you know, write what’s going on in your practice, write what you observe or think.
  7. You will never run out of things to write about. And, you can re-purpose your other content (presentations, interviews, memos), and/or write about subjects you’ve written about before.

Offer of proof:

I’ve written about this subject more than a few times in the past, I didn’t do any research, this post is under 300 words, and I wrote it in 34 minutes. I’ll read it over to make sure I don’t sound like a blithering idiot, post it, and get on with my day.

If you’d like to know how to do the same, check out my course on email marketing

Share
Filed Under: Content creation, Newsletters

Do your clients like you?

January 9, 2023 by
Share

It’s not a must, but it can make a big difference. Because, given a choice, people prefer to hire a lawyer they know, like, and trust.

Trust is most important and requires the most effort. Before people hire you, you want them to hear good things about you, both online and from people they know. After they hire you, you want to show them you keep your promises and get results.

Trust, baby. For a lawyer, it’s what’s for dinner.

Knowing isn’t difficult, but takes time and effort (and money) to get your name and story in front of people often enough so that it is familiar.

You can get a lot of clients with knowing and trust and many lawyers do. But “liking” is where the magic happens.

When prospects like you, they are more likely to choose you. When clients like you, they are more likely to become repeat clients, share your content, and send you referrals.

For some lawyers, however, likeability is a challenge.

Don’t worry, I’m going to give you a simple way to put a smile on people’s faces when they hear your name or see your face.

What’s that? You say your clients already like you? They love you to pieces?

Great. Read this anyway. You never know when it might come in handy.

Okay, what’s the simplest way to get people to like you?

Make them feel that you like them. Because people like people who like them.

Yeah, but what if you don’t like them? You’ll take their money and do the work, but you’ll never be their bff.

What then?

Find something you do like about them and focus on that. Even if the only thing you like is their checkbook.

Greet them (and their checkbook) with a handshake and a smile, make them feel you understand their problem, you can help them and you want to do that.

Like you do with any client.

Put the parts you don’t like in a lockbox and throw away the key.

But there’s something else you can do to make them like you, even if you still don’t like them.

You can simulate “liking” by getting them to talk about themselves (not just their legal issue).

Get them to tell you about their work, their family, or anything that interests them. Because when someone does most of the talking, they tend to like the person they’re talking to.

So, don’t hog the microphone. Let them do most of the singing.

Ask questions and listen. Ask follow-up questions and listen some more.

And, if they happen to share something you have in common with them, make sure to let them know.

Because people like people who not only like them but are like them in some way. Even if it’s just rooting for the same sports team or being fed up with inflation.

Share
Filed Under: Client relations

Addition vs. subtraction

January 6, 2023 by
Share

In a recent newsletter, James Clear, author of Atomic Habits, offered a different way to think about how to planning your time. He said

“If you’re searching for more time this year, start with a clean slate and choose what to add to your days rather than starting with a full schedule and trying to figure out what to eliminate.“

Pretend you’re just starting out. In life or in your practice. What are a few must haves for you? If you had those, what else would you want?

You can also use this approach to re-build your project or task list, your budget, or your goals. Start with a clean slate and add things that are most important to you. If you could only work on one major project this year, for example, what would it be?

You can also use this to simply the list of tools you use to do your work.

I currently use 3 different note-taking apps. I like them all and use all 3 daily, for slightly different purposes. If I wanted to simplify my workflow, it would be difficult for me to choose which app or apps to eliminate.

If I was starting from scratch, however, I know which one I’d start with.

Truth be told, I’m sure I would soon be back to using all 3. Which is okay with me. At least I would have made a conscious decision to do that instead of continuing to do it out of habit.

If you’re rebuilding your marketing mix, start here

Share
Filed Under: Productivity

Better notes

January 5, 2023 by
Share

There’s a lot being said right now about how to take more effective notes. It’s all good, but it can be overwhelming trying to implement everything.

If I could give you one piece of advice on this subject, it would be this:

Use the notes you take as soon as you take them.

Use them immediately in an article, on a case, or in planning your projects or your day. And if that’s not possible, annotate them to use later.

Summarize what you read or heard. Put the ideas in your own words. Add notes to your notes that provide context–what you think, examples that explain and expand on the points, or contrast them.

In short, make notes, don’t just take notes. Your notes will thus be more valuable to you when you eventually use them.

It might help to make a habit to record (at least) 3 key points for every note. I did that recently when I read an article about best practices for extending the life of your laptop battery. As soon as I finished the article, I wrote:

  • It’s okay to keep the laptop plugged in all the time
  • Draining the battery does more harm than good
  • Heat is the enemy; keep the laptop/battery cool

I also recommend writing down how you might use those notes in the future, e.g.., for a case or client, in a book or blog post or presentation, to improve your website, to add to a form letter, etc. Add tags or links or move them to the appropriate folder.

Do it while it’s fresh. If you wait until later, you might forget what you thought and have to start from scratch.

Share
Filed Under: Productivity

Getting unstuck

January 4, 2023 by
Share

It happens. You’re spinning your wheels or losing ground. What’s worked for you before no longer seems to. You’re bleeding money or exhausted out of your mind, scared or frustrated or angry, or all of the above.

You’re stuck and don’t know what to do about it.

The answer is to do something. Change something. Try something and keep trying until you get your mojo back.

Because you can. Nothing has to stay the same. Trust me. I’ve been there. And lived to tell about it.

I have some suggestions for you. To get you thinking. Maybe you’ve tried some of these already, or thought about trying them. Maybe you need to hear them again before you’re willing to try them, or try them again.

Quickly read through this list of strategies and note anything that catches your eye. Come back to it, meditate or journal on it, or talk to someone about it.

And then try it.

  • Fix a health issue. You can’t move forward if you’re not feeling well or don’t have enough energy. Maybe you need a new eyeglass prescription. Maybe you need to get off some meds. Maybe you have an addiction you need to free yourself from. Maybe you need to eat better or sleep better.
  • Fix a relationship issue with your spouse, child, law partner, employee, or friend.
  • Change your marketing. Try a new strategy, eliminate something, expand something. Learn more, get help, change your process. Your troubles might all go away when you’re able to get some new clients or better clients.
  • Hire someone: an office manager, a virtual assistant, a business coach, a consultant. Maybe you need a new accountant or financial advisor. Bringing some new ideas and/or personalities into your life might be just what the doctor ordered.
  • Fire someone. Someone who is making things worse, not better.
  • Change your practice area or target market. Something more lucrative or a better fit for you.
  • Delegate more. The source of your “stuckness” might simply be that you’re trying to do too much yourself. My philosophy: Only do those things that only you can do; delegate everything else.
  • Find an accountability partner to keep you on track.
  • Cut overhead. What can you eliminate? What can you reduce? Could you renegotiate your lease or move to another building? Find cheaper alternatives for anything? Every dollar you save allows you to do something else.
  • And/or. . . spend more on things that are working.
  • Farm out unprofitable cases; refer out troublesome clients.
  • Simplify (everything).
  • Make your workspace more pleasant to work in. Change the lighting or the furniture; get rid of the clutter. Buy some plants.
  • Track your time. You might find a lot of waste.
  • Reduce your work hours. Take more breaks. Take a vacation. Get more sleep.

Okay, one more. Try a side-hustle.

No, really. A business project unrelated to your current career or practice. Not as a way to supplement or replace your income, although that might happen, mostly as a way to shake the cobwebs off of you by doing something completely different.

You’ll learn new ideas, meet new people, discover different ways to market your services or build your career.

You might also have some fun, which might be the very thing that’s missing in your life.

Yes, this means diverting time and money away from your core business. But doing something else part time might be just what you need to jumpstart your core business.

If this isn’t in the cards for you right now, at least study other business models. I learned how to market my legal services, in part, by looking at what other professionals and business owners do.

The answer to getting unstuck is to do something different. Find something and run with it.

Quantum Leap Marketing System for Attorneys

Share
Filed Under: Increase your income, Inspiration, Law office management, success

The productivity hack we learned in kindergarten 

January 3, 2023 by
Share

Walk into any kindergarten school room and you’ll see a simple strategy in use you can use today to be more productive.

No, I don’t mean having a big person watching over you and making sure you do what you’re supposed to do (or have you stand in the corner if you don’t). I also don’t mean asking for permission to go to the little person’s room.

Look around the classroom. What do you see on the walls? You see a calendar, the letters of the alphabet and how to write them. You see pictures of animals, historical figures, famous monuments, and other things the kids are learning.

Okay, maybe this wasn’t kindergarten, but you remember this kind of thing from grammar school, don’t you? Today, you might do the same thing by keeping visual reminders of important information in front of you—your to-do list, your calendar, quotes that inspire you, a reminder to pick up some milk on your way home.

Visual cues of things you want to remember, on a whiteboard, sticky note, or on your desk calendar. At a glance, you can see what’s important right now, and what’s coming up soon.

Maybe you do this digitally. You have lists and notes in front of you, in an app that stays open or a pop-up on your screen, or sent to you via email or text message.

Either way, you keep your lists in front of you so you always know what to do.

I’ve just planned out some projects I want to do this year. I have them all on a single page in my task app, with Kanban-like columns (like Trello), one for each quarter. At a glance, I can see the four projects I have planned for the first quarter, one for the second quarter, two for the third quarter, and nothing yet for the fourth quarter.

This page is always one click away, on my laptop and phone, and I check it often.

Of course I also have the app remind me to work on Project X or Task Y (for project X) on days I’ve designated to do these things.

In other words. . . I don’t keep anything in my head.

It’s all in my “trusted system” which does the remembering and reminding for me. Because, as Mr. Allen reminds us, “your mind is for having ideas, not holding them”.

Share
Filed Under: Productivity

What to focus on this year

January 2, 2023 by
Share

What are you grateful for right now? Yes, I know it’s been a rough year for a lot of people. But there were some good things, too.

And it is the good things that we should focus on, even if they are small and the bad things aren’t.

Think about something in your life you appreciate. Something good, however small.

Because what we focus on grows.

When you focus on things you appreciate, you get more things to appreciate. Gratitude floods the brain with dopamine. It feels good (and supplants things that aren’t), and we want to feel it again so we do things and find things that create more dopamine.

The more you express gratitude, the better you feel and the more you have to feel good about.

Gratitude is a recipe for better health. More energy, less stress, better self-esteem, better sleep, and fewer negative emotions.

The more gratitude you feel, the happier, healthier, and more successful you become.

Science says it is so.

This year, starting from this very moment, think about things you appreciate. Your big wins, surely, but also the new baby in the house. The look in your dog’s eyes when he greets you. Something kind someone said about you. Finding the last parking space. Last night’s delicious spaghetti dinner.

It could be anything. Anything that feels good when you think about it.

Remind yourself that you have a lot to be thankful for, about yourself, your work, your life, and even the world.

Open your computer or phone and appreciate how much it makes your day more productive. Keep a gratitude journal and write in it every day. Pray or meditate and say thanks every day.

Look in the mirror and think of something you like about yourself. Thank someone for something. Think about your family, your clients, or your staff, and give thanks for having them in your life.

Focus less on what’s wrong with the world and more on what’s right.

Because what you focus on grows.

Share
Filed Under: Personal development, success

Speaking of books. . .

December 29, 2022 by
Share

If you read a lot of books, or want to, but are busy and can’t always justify the time to do it, as I recently struggled with, I’m going to make things a little easier for you by pointing out some additional benefits.

Specifically, some ways you can use what you read to get more clients and increase your income.

Not just by learning new or better marketing or management ideas, but also by improving your productivity, speaking, writing, and negotiating skills, developing new habits (or getting rid of old ones), becoming more creative, reducing your stress, and so much more.

Good things that can make you better at what you do and who you are.

You can also use the information you learn to generate content for your blog or newsletter, videos or podcasts. And you should because many of your subscribers, prospective clients, and professional contacts want to learn many of the same things you want to learn.

Developing more content this way could be as simple as writing book reviews or blog posts that summarize key ideas in these books.

You could add these books to an ongoing “recommended reading” list and post it on your blog. You could compile your favorite quotes and stories and use them in your writing or presentations.

You could write guest posts about the books for blogs in your clients’ niche, interview other people who are following these ideas, or interview the authors themselves. You might even create workshops and teach others about the principles you’ve learned, or show people how you use them.

You could also use these books in your networking. If you’re at a function attended by physicians you’d like to meet, for example, asking them if they’ve read the latest book by one of their colleagues can be a great way to start a conversation.

If nothing else, you can give away copies of your favorite books to clients and professional contacts, as a way to add value to your relationships or to thank them when they do something nice for you.

In short, you can feed your reading habit and build your practice at the same time.

Share
Filed Under: Blogging, Content creation, Marketing legal services, Networking, Newsletters, Presentations, Public Speaking

Me in ‘23

December 28, 2022 by
Share

As one does at this time of year, I’m spending a lot of time thinking about next year. One thing I’m planning to do is to read more books.

I always loved books. Always had one or two by my side, ready to pick up and teach me something, or take me somewhere. For a long time, though, I’ve been reading a lot less. I spend so much of my day reading other things, I haven’t felt like I had enough energy to pick up a book.

Many very successful people are big book readers. As busy as they are, Mark Cuban and Warren Buffett spend several hours a day reading books, for example, and credit a good portion of their success to this habit.

Why books? Can’t we get as much from reading articles, watching videos, or listening to podcasts?

We can (and I do) get a lot from those sources, but books are in a category of their own.

Books tend to be better researched and better written. They provide more value, usually, and are worth the additional effort. True, there are many disappointments, but when you read a good book, it can change your life.

I have quite a backlog of books waiting for me to “find” the time to read again. But I’ve grown tired of waiting and started reading books again a couple of months ago.

I began by reminding myself about the benefits and made a commitment to myself to read at least a few pages every day.

Without exception.

Small, but often—the key to starting and maintaining habits.

I set a daily reminder in my task app and read for ten minutes every day, no matter what. When the timer is done, I often continue reading, but I never read for less than ten minutes.

I’m pretty sure I wouldn’t have started this, or stuck with it, if I had tried to read for one hour a day. But I can do ten minutes no matter how busy or tired I am.

It’s like the office decluttering project I told you about recently. Scheduling 15 minutes every Saturday allowed me to (finally) start that project and keep going until finished.

I also make it convenient. I read mostly on the Kindle app on my phone so I can grab a few minutes just about anywhere. I’ve started walking again so I might also start listening to audiobooks.

You can read a lot of books in just 10 minutes a day. Certainly a lot more than I was reading before. But, who knows. Maybe next year I’ll go crazy and crank that up to 15 minutes.

Life in the fast lane.

Share
Filed Under: Personal development, Productivity
« Previous Page
Next Page »