“I’m at my best when. . .”

August 25, 2015 by
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I watched a replay of a webinar conducted by Nuance, the makers of Dragon NaturallySpeaking, about their new products. One of the speakers was a productivity expert who suggested that we take some time to think about when we are at our best, meaning when we do our best work and under what conditions we have our best days. He suggested we remind ourselves of these conditions by posting a note on our mirror or our computer screen.

He said he’s at his best when he starts his day by first checking overnight correspondence, then going to the gym. At the top of my list I would say, “I’m at my best when I have coffee first thing in the morning.”

I’m also at my best when I work at my desk, not when I’m mobile. At my desk, I have a full sized keyboard and access to files and notes and everything else I need. I can make or take calls in quiet, without worrying about the phone signal or finding a quiet place to talk. I can also take notes more easily.

Sitting at my desk also puts me in the mood to work. When I’m away from my desk, not so much.

When I’m out, I always have something to read (Kindle books, blogs, etc.) and a way to record notes. When I have downtime, I keep busy. At the mall the other day, my wife went into a store and I read. (Okay, I also played chess on my phone.)

I’ve taken my computer to a coffee shop and the library a few times, and I was able to get work done. That was a nice change of pace. But for every day work, I prefer being in my home office.

When it comes to work, I know when I’m at my best, and when I’m not. How about you?

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Filed Under: Productivity

Advertising on the rocks with a twist

August 24, 2015 by
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Suppose you are a criminal defense lawyer who handles DUI’s. Would you like to have local bars pass out a flyer to all of their customers, advertising your services?

Try this:

Contact the owner of the bar and ask him how many cocktail napkins he uses each month. When he answers, tell him you will supply him with the same napkins free of charge. All he has to do is allow you to print your name and contact information on the napkins.

They get free napkins, you get advertising to a very targeted market, at very low cost.

Let’s say you handle personal injury cases. What if you approach auto insurance brokers who mail calendars to their clients and prospects, and make a similar offer. You’ll pay some or all of the printing and mailing costs, in return for adding your name and contact information.

Do you do estate planning or family law? Contact real estate brokers who mail calendars and note pads.

You get the idea.

Find other businesses or professionals who target the same market you do, and show them how they can lower or eliminate some or all of their advertising costs.

What’s that? You don’t advertise? Even the word makes you nervous?

No problem. Call it a joint venture. Offer to pass out their calendar or note pads or other items, in return for passing out your report, checklist, or planning guide.

Want more referrals from other lawyers? Get this

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Filed Under: Advertising Tagged With:

What should I have my virtual assistant do for me?

August 21, 2015 by
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I got an e-mail from attorney who uses a virtual assistant “to write and edit letters to prospective clients”. He asked me what else he could have her do.

Great question.

To answer it, I’ll share a (slightly edited) email I received in response to a post I did about justifying the cost of hiring outside assistants:

I have a full-time VA in the Philippines. She costs me about $75 per WEEK (full time). I gladly pay this even though I often don’t have 40 hours’ worth of stuff for her to do. I don’t let her handle much for my law practice. Her English grammar is a bit off sometimes, but she updates websites, edits video, does show notes for my podcast, handles blog posting, social media promotion of my stuff, etc. She’s been invaluable in getting my courses and info products created and published. This frees up some time for marketing, client service, and for ME… I get to have dinner with my kids almost every night.

Letting go of control is my big challenge, but I’m working on it, and Managing a VA is a skill set that needs to be developed, too… the time/distance and cultural differences require some finesse… But I’m glad to have Joanna on my team. I encourage everyone to find a VA to help out with things.

So, here’s what I would do.

Make a list of every task that is performed in your practice, by you or anyone on your behalf. Write down everything, from opening the mail, opening and closing files, meeting with clients, writing articles, and everything in between.

Then, look at that list and put a check mark next to every task that can only be done by YOU.

You probably do a lot of things that someone else could do. They may not do it as well, but as long as they can do it at an acceptable level, you should let them do it.

Make sure break down the tasks that only you can do into sub-tasks that others can do.  You may be the one who conducts the trial, but you can have others assemble documents and write (the first draft) of motions.

Now, what about the tasks that nobody is doing? What could you have a VA or employee do to help you with marketing, for example? That depends on your objectives and what you’re willing to do to accomplish them.

If you want to do Facebook advertising, you can have an assistant find keywords, create the ad graphics and copy (or co-ordinate with freelancers), and manage the campaigns.

If you have my new course on getting referrals from lawyers, you would have your assistant find other lawyers that you can contact to discuss referrals and joint ventures. The VA can compile details about what they do, make the initial contact on your behalf, and follow-up with those who respond affirmatively.

Do only those things that only you can do and delegate everything else. But first you have to figure out what needs to be done.

Get more referrals from other lawyers: click here

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Filed Under: Increase your income, Law office management, Marketing legal services, Productivity, Time Management Tagged With: , , ,

What’s next?

August 20, 2015 by
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What are you working on right now? What will do after that?

What project(s) have you lined up for next week, next month, and later this year?

It could be anything: hiring a new virtual assistant, updating your website, or getting trained on a new contact management system. Whatever it is, you need to know what’s next.

I just finished a project (Lawyer to Lawyer Referrals) and I’m already working on the next one. I also know what I’ll do after that.

For me, knowing my next project gives me time to think about that project before I start it. I can do research, outline and plan. My subconscious mind will cogitate on the subject and prompt me with ideas and questions.

Knowing what’s next also means I don’t have any “dead air”. I go from one project to the next without missing a step. And if I have any challenges with a project, or it fizzles out, I always have something else to turn to.

It’s exciting to think about what I’ve got lined up. Thinking about future projects inspires me to finish the current one.

I don’t know my next ten projects, just the next two or three. But I have a list of hundreds of ideas to draw from, and as I complete the next few projects, I’ll have the next few lined up.

Mind you, I’m not obsessed with planning. I like a little spontaneity in my life. When I stumble upon a new idea that excites me, I’m fine with pushing aside my other projects to make room for it.

No matter what productivity system or method use, or if you don’t use any, develop the habit of always knowing what’s next. Whenever you start a project, ask yourself, “What’s will I do after this?”

When you know what’s next, your productivity will soar.

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Filed Under: Law office management, Marketing Plan, Productivity, success

Voice to text dictation with Dragon Naturally Speaking

August 19, 2015 by
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A long time ago, my colleagues and I dictated most of our letters, pleadings and other work product into a recording device, to be transcribed by a legal secretary. At first, we recorded onto a magnetic belt or tape. Later, we used cassette tapes (micro and regular size).

I could type, but this was before computers, and correcting typos, even on a Selectric with built in correction tape, was not the best use of my time.

Today, I type. But in my never-ending quest to increase my writing output, I have lately been experimenting with voice to text (speech to text) apps, including an old version of Dragon Naturally Speaking which I’ve had on my hard drive for several years.

I’ve tinkered with it in the past, but never used it consistently, mainly because of the learning curve and concomitant time it always seemed to require.

That, plus I am a quick typist.

And yet, I know that voice dictation is quicker, and if I can master DNS, I will increase my productivity.

This post wasn’t dictated with the software, but I have started using it daily. I’m learning the program’s commands, practicing my old dictation habits, and things are coming along. Period. Paragraph.

Nuance, which makes the software, just announced a new app for mobile, Dragon Anywhere, coming this fall. This looks amazing for those who are frequently away from their computer. When I’m out, I use Siri to dictate on my phone, but you have to stop and re-set every 30 seconds. Dragon Anywhere offers unlimited dictation time.

Nuance also announced a new Professional version for individuals. I couldn’t resist the price so I upgraded. (If you have DNS, go to Help on the menu and “check for upgrades”.

One thing I like about the upgrade (that I don’t have on my old version) is the ability to import an audio file for transcription. If I don’t subscribe to Dragon Anywhere (it will be a monthly subscription), this will be a big help.

If you read reviews about DNS, you find a mixed bag. A lot of people have had problems with installation and use of their products. Other reviews sing their praises.

If you use voice dictation in your work, or you have done so in the past, I’d love to hear your experiences. What do you use? How has it helped to improve your work flow? Do you have any tips to share?

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Filed Under: Productivity, Technology, Time Management, Writing Tagged With: , , , ,

Marketing online is easier than you think

August 18, 2015 by
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I have a blog but I am not a blogger.

There’s nothing wrong with blogging, it’s just not what I do.

Bloggers focus on engaging their visitors and social media connections. They encourage visitors to leave comments and to visit their social media pages, and they spend time reading those comments and responding to them.

I don’t. In fact, I don’t get many comments. Lawyers are busy. I am, too. If I got lots of comments, I’d probably turn off the comment function on my blog.

Yes, I have a blog. But that doesn’t make me a blogger. Bloggers have lots of guest posts, interviews, videos, graphics, and links to other sites. I don’t. These aren’t important to me.

I’m not a blogger. I write emails to my subscribers, share information, teach and train, and tell stories. I communicate with my subscribers, provide value, and sell my products and services.

I do post most of my emails on my blog, however. This brings search engine traffic. I have more than 1000 posts now, all serving to attract visitors who are looking for marketing and productivity ideas and solutions.

I also get traffic from social media, as visitors share my content with their connections. (I don’t do much with social media myself.)

The content on my blog does something else for me. It shows visitors that I know what I’m doing and how I can help them. I don’t have to work hard to convince them to buy my products or services. The content does most of the convincing for me.

Having an email list means that when I launch a new product, as I just did, I send an email to my list and get a crush of orders.

I don’t spend a lot of time on marketing, either. Once I have an idea for an email/post, I write the first draft (usually) in five minutes. In thirty minutes (usually), it’s done and sent and posted on the blog.

Why am I telling you this? Because I want you to know that you can do what I do. You can build your practice by building an email list and posting content on your website (blog).

You can build a list of prospective clients and referrals sources and stay in touch with the people on that list, and use your emails as content for a blog.

If you’re still on the fence, take my “today” challenge. Write a short email today explaining what you do for your clients. A few paragraphs is all you need.

Here, I’ll help you: “I help people get/keep/avoid __________. I do that by ____________”.

Pretty easy, huh?

Now, email it to someone. And post it on your website.

Guess what? You’re not a blogger, either. But you’re doing what I do.

Marketing online is easier than you think. If you want to know where to start, or where to get ideas to write about, I’ve laid all that out for you in Make the Phone Ring.

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Filed Under: Blogging, Email, Marketing legal services, Newsletters, Online Marketing, Web traffic

Lawyer to Lawyer Referrals–New Referral Marketing Course Launches

August 17, 2015 by
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Do you remember the last time a lawyer sent you a referral? How would you like to have that happen every day?

My new marketing course, Lawyer to Lawyer Referrals: How to Get More Referrals From Lawyers and Other Professionals shows you how to get more referrals from the lawyers you know, and how to get more lawyers to become a new referral source for you.

Of course lawyers are potentially one of your best sources of referrals.

Sure, your clients may be willing to send you referrals. If they don’t know anyone who needs your services right now, however, there’s not much they can do. But lawyers talk to people with legal issues every day of the week. Unless those lawyers handle “everything,” they can’t help everyone.

They can either turn those people away or refer them to other lawyers. Like you.

In fact, many lawyers have the ability to send you a steady stream of referrals, month after month, year after year. If you have a systematic method of showing them how you can help their clients and prospects and business contacts. . .

YOU WILL GET MORE REFERRALS

But it gets better. Not only will you get more referrals from other lawyers, the clients they send you are often better clients than you typically get through other means such as the Internet or advertising.

They’re better because they are pre-screened by the referring lawyer. The lawyer knows if the client is a good match for you and if they can afford to hire you. They can also “sell” the client on you and your abilities, making it less likely that the client will “shop around” and more likely that they will hire you.

The referring lawyer can also provide you with pertinent information about the client and their situation, making it easier for you to relate to those clients and do a better job of showing them how you can help them. As a result, referred clients tend to sign up more quickly and with less effort on your part.

And referred clients are themselves more likely to provide referrals.

Lawyers get referrals from a lot of sources—clients, prospective clients, business contacts, friends, business owners, and other professionals—but one of the best sources of high quality cases or clients are referrals from other lawyers.

In Lawyer to Lawyer Referrals you’ll learn

  • Why some lawyers almost always get more referrals—and how to become one of them
  • The SIMPLEST way to get more referrals from other lawyers (without asking for referrals)
  • A proven system for increasing referrals by up to 1,000%
  • What to say to lawyers who “owe” you referrals
  • How to get referrals from your competition
  • How to use incentives and “referral devices” to get even more referrals
  • How to set up simple joint ventures with other lawyers. Don’t wait for referrals to happen, MAKE them happen
  • What to do about referral fees
  • The ultimate, long term, best way to get other lawyers to send you MOST or ALL of their referrals
  • What to do when you don’t have referrals to send them (i.e., when you can’t reciprocate)
  • How to get referrals as a new lawyer or when starting a new practice
  • A 7-step process for getting all the new referral sources you could ever want

One of the best things about this course is that it allows you to “automate” your referral program with a “referral letter” that does most of the work for you. It’s not as simple as mass mailing letters to other lawyers, but it’s close.

Have you ever had a lawyer tell you they sent you a referral, but you don’t know what he’s talking about because you never heard from the client? Your referral letter will make sure that doesn’t happen.

Lawyer to Lawyer Referrals is the ultimate referral-getting system for any lawyer. It comes with scripts and step-by step instructions and everything else you need to start getting more referrals immediately.

GET MORE REFERRALS IN 15 MINUTES A DAY

You may be wondering if this system will take up a lot of your time.

Nope.

You can get everything set up in a few hours, and then spend as little as 15 minutes a day “working” the system. And you can delegate some or all of the daily activities if you want.

The course comes with a Bonus Quick Start Guide to help you get your referral program set up and working. Then, you can use the system over and over again, to get more referrals from the lawyers you know and to get more lawyers and other professionals on your “team”.

No matter how many referrals you now get in your practice, you are about to learn how to get more. Lawyer to Lawyer Referrals comes in pdf format and is available for immediate download. You can use PayPal or a credit card.

Lawyer to Lawyer Referrals is only $79 $59 for a limited time. Click here to order.

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Filed Under: Marketing legal services, News, Referral sources, Referrals

Lawyers make the worst clients

August 14, 2015 by
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Just as most doctors will tell you that doctors make the worst patients, I think most lawyers would say the same thing about our species.

It’s because we know how things are supposed to work. And it’s because of ego. We’re not comfortable letting someone else call the shots.

And so we routinely handle our own legal affairs, often to our detriment. Nowhere is this detriment more apparent than when we have a dispute with another lawyer.

A lawyer friend contacted me the other day and told me about one of his clients, another lawyer, who has become the proverbial client from hell.

She isn’t happy with anything and blames him for things outside of his control. She wants what she wants and steadfastly refuses to compromise, despite his many attempts to accommodate her. At first, he wanted to save the client. Now, he just wants to save himself.

How bad is it? She’s reported him for imagined ethical violations and is threatening to file a criminal complaint.

As I say, the client from hell.

He asked for my take on it. Naturally, I suggested he turn it over to another lawyer. Not just because of the ethical and criminal risks, but because the whole thing is making him miserable.

“You’re too close to the situation and she will continue to push your buttons,” I said.

If he’s lucky, she will get a lawyer, too. Then the two lawyers can negotiate without the animus or emotion that has gripped this situation. It will cost him, but can you put a price on your sanity?

I’ve met lawyers who swear they will never again have a lawyer for a client. What say you? Have you represented any lawyers who made you wish you hadn’t?

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Filed Under: Career satisfaction, Law office management, Legal industry

You can expect what you inspect

August 13, 2015 by
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In marketing legal services, you need to know your numbers. You need to know where prospects and new clients and website traffic are coming from so you can do more of what’s working and less of what isn’t.

Knowing your numbers allows you to cut expenses (time, money) and increase profits.

For starters, ask your new clients how they heard about you. If they found you through a search engine, ask which one, and which keywords they used. If they saw one of your articles or blog posts or videos, on your site or elsewhere, ask them to identify it. If someone shared one of your blog posts or social media posts, which one?

Do the same for prospects who call to ask questions or schedule a consultation.

If the client or prospect was referred to you, you need to know the source of the referral. Was it a client? Another lawyer or other professional?

Who was it? What did they say about you?

You need to know so you can thank the referral source, even if the referral doesn’t become a client. When you show people that you appreciate what they have done, they are more likely to do it again.

What you recognize, grows.

Of course you also want to know which of your referral sources deserves more of your thanks and your attention. You may know 100 lawyers, but if four or five are sending you more referrals (or better referrals) than the rest, you’ll want to send your referrals to them.

When someone calls your office, they should routinely be asked where they heard about you. Your intake form should ask this question.

Because you need to know.

You can track referrals and other metrics with a simple text document, a spread sheet, or on a legal pad.

Once a month, examine your global numbers, i.e., how much new business (traffic, opt-ins, etc.) you got for the month, and from what sources. If one of your articles is drawing lots of traffic to your site, you need to know this so you can write more articles like it. If you’re getting more business from referrals and less business from social media, knowing this will help you know where to invest your time.

In addition, once a month, look at your numbers for each individual source of business–each ad, your blog, speaking, individual referral sources, etc.

Know your numbers, because you can expect what you inspect.

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Filed Under: Law office management, Leverage, Marketing legal services, Marketing Plan, Referral sources, Referrals

Why you shouldn’t worry about legalzoom (and why you should)

August 12, 2015 by
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The legal landscape is changing. More people are using Legalzoom, paralegals, and pre-paid legal plans, and it’s making a lot of lawyers nervous.

They shouldn’t be. Instead of fearing these would-be competitors, they should celebrate them.

These companies are doing lawyers a great service. They are expanding the marketplace of consumers of legal services. Many of their clients have never availed themselves of legal assistance before. As more of them start doing that, there are more opportunities for lawyers to show them the benefits of hiring them instead.

But many lawyers need to step up their game.

They need to learn how to use technology, and incorporate it into all aspects of their practice. They need to put marketing much higher on their list of priorities. The world is changing and they need to change with it.

Speaking of tech and marketing, I have a message for the “gentleman lawyers” of the world. The ones with an established client base who no longer work hard to build or maintain it. The ones who take two hour lunches and don’t listen to anyone with “new ideas”.

They’re living on borrowed time. Legalzoom may not be a threat to them, but the next generation of tech-savvy, hungry young lawyers certainly are.

What about everyone else? Well, if legalzoom and the like are a threat to you because they offer the same services you offer, you’re also living on borrowed time.

What can you do?

How do you compete with their massive advertising dollars and technological systems?

You don’t.

Don’t do what they do. Don’t offer what they offer.

Offer different services. Offer more specialized and complex services, to more sophisticated and higher-paying clients. Offer more personalized service and greater value.

If you rely on basic estate planning as the core of your practice, for example, move towards higher end services, for higher income clients. If basic business formation is a primary source of your income, you need to re-focus on more complex work for bigger clients.

If you offer a commodity service, you’re going to have a rough go of it. The competition will eat your lunch.

But there’s no competition at the top of the service/price pyramid. The competition is at the bottom 80% of that pyramid, where most lawyers (mistakenly) compete.

Don’t fear legalzoom, celibrate them. Don’t compete with legalzoom, and don’t let them compete with you.

How to differentiate yourself. Click here

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Filed Under: Marketing legal services, success, Technology Tagged With: , , ,
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