Search Results for: getting things done

If the IRS was in charge of your marketing

January 19, 2015 by
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In school, we had deadlines for finishing papers and projects and being ready for exams. If it weren’t for those deadlines, many of us would never have done the work.

Today, we have more deadlines. Statutes of limitations, court dates, appointments, CLE compliance due dates, bills to pay, tax returns to file, and many more. We also have deadlines tied to our promises to other people, e.g., when the work will be done or the papers will be delivered.

Sometimes we miss a deadline and suffer the consequences, but for the most part, the system works. It works not just because we are aware of the penalties for missing deadlines but because there is a specific date reminding us that something is due.

What about all of the other things we want to do, or need to do, that don’t have a deadline? Too often, we don’t get these done. They may relate to our most important goals but because there is no deadline, no due date, they get pushed aside.

Countless studies, which I am too lazy to look up, have shown that scheduling these “open” tasks dramatically increases the odds that we will do them.

Let’s say you set a goal to increase your income this year. Part of your plan is to bring in more clients by adding one blog post or article to your site each week. The weeks are flying by, however, and you haven’t written the first article, or you wrote one or two but aren’t keeping up.

Because there is no deadline, you’re not doing the work.

It’s not that you can’t do it. If you knew that you had to get the work done by a certain date or the IRS would seize your bank accounts, you would get the work done.

So, give yourself a deadline.

Decide when you will write those articles and schedule time on your calendar specifically for that purpose. Make an appointment with yourself and tell your staff not to schedule you for anything during that time.

When Thursday at 4PM rolls around and you see on your calendar that you have an appointment to write your weekly post, you’ll be more likely to write it.

Tell yourself that you can either write it or sit at your desk and stare at the wall for 60 minutes. Your “client” (you) has paid for that time. So no Facebook or reading or anything else.

You can also impose penalties for missing your deadlines. You might authorize your accountant to automatically send $1,000 to a politician you detest if you fail to send the accountant a copy of your completed post by the due date.

You can also reward yourself for making your deadlines. For each post your write, for example, you get to watch another episode of your favorite TV show.

But while penalties and rewards can help, just having a deadline will often be enough.

Try it. Choose something you need to do and put it on your calendar. Give yourself a deadline for getting it done. I’m betting you’ll do it, but just in case, I’ll tell the IRS to keep an eye on you.

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Filed Under: Marketing Plan, Productivity, Time Management Tagged With: , ,

The best way to get more legal work

December 19, 2014 by
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I spoke to an estate planning lawyer the other day. He’s getting ready to do another mailing to his client list to encourage them to make an appointment to review and update their estate plans, due to a change in the law. It seems many people are either unaware of the new law or believe it doesn’t apply to them.

We spoke about the content of the letter, including whether or not to extend a special offer or incentive to get more people booking appointments.

I am sure he will get more work out of this, but not nearly as much as he could.

One letter (or email) isn’t enough. Selling your services to prospects or clients is a process, executed through a series of communications. Even if the letter he sends is brilliant and makes the phone ring, a second letter would bring even more.

Some people won’t read the first letter. Some will mean to call, but forget. Some will need time to take care of other business. Some won’t have the money today, or not want to spend it today, but that will change over time.

Never rely on a “one off”. If you do, you’re leaving much dinero on the table.

Your letters and emails, your newsletters, and everything else that comes out of your office, should be part of a sequence of communications, designed to educate and stimulate response.

But don’t stop with the written word. Or other static ways to educate and motivate your list (e.g., videos, seminars, speaking engagements, etc.)

I told this lawyer that if he wants to book more appointments, there’s something else he needs to do.

Call the clients.

You are their lawyer. They need to have this work done. You’ll book more appointments and get more legal work if you talk to them.

Actually, have someone else in the office call on your behalf: “Mr. Twinkletoes wanted me to call you to make sure you received his report about the recent changes in the tax law and to see if you have any questions. He knows you’ll want to take care of this immediately, so we’re booking appointments right now for the week of the 5th. I have an opening on. . .”.

You’ll get waaay more appointments if you call.

What’s that? You don’t do estate planning? Your practice area doesn’t have a lot (or any) repeat business?

No problem. Here’s a couple of things you can do.

  1. Team up with an estate planning lawyer and promote his or her services to your client list. That lawyer can then promote your services to his or her list.
  2. Call you clients and tell them you have a special offer or promotion going right now and you want to let them know so their contacts can take advantage of it. Referrals, baby.

Your list is incredibly valuable. Repeat business, updates, and referrals await you. Call and get some.

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Filed Under: Client loyalty, Marketing legal services, Referrals Tagged With: , ,

What’s wrong with your website?

December 15, 2014 by
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My wife is nesting. Getting the house ready for Christmas company. Cleaning, polishing, making sure everything is ship shape. You know the drill.

I am amazed at the little things she finds that need repair. A chip in the paint that needs touching up, for example. I walk by it every day but never noticed. Why? Because I walk by it every day.

I’m used to it. So it doesn’t stand out. If you came to the house, having never been here, that chip would probably be the first thing you’d notice.

My wife is also proofreading my latest book. I’ve been through it more times than I can count. To my eye, it’s done. She spots typos on almost every page.

We all need fresh eyes to look at our work. We’re too close to it. We can’t see what’s obvious to others.

Take your website for example. Do you know what’s wrong with it? Can you spot the things that are missing or need improvement?

Even if you know what you’re doing, there’s a good chance you’re missing things, simply because you’re too close to it.

You need someone else to look at your website. You need fresh eyes.

Have a client go through your site with you. Have them narrate what they see and what they’re doing. Note the pages they go to first, and where they go after that.

Have them find and fill out the contact form. Have them find your bio, your list of services, and the directions to your office. Have them follow you on Twitter or Like your Facebook page. Have them share one of your posts.

You’ll see how others see and use your site. I promise you, it will be an eye opener.

You should also have an expert look at your site. They’ll find more things that need fixing. They can show you how to get more traffic, more subscribers and more social media followers. They can show you how to get more visitors to see you as the lawyer they should choose, and get them to call or email to hire you or take the next step.

You can hire me to do that. I’ll go through the site with you and tell you what to do. Or, you can have me do this for free.

Remember, when you order The Quantum Leap Marketing System, you get a free coaching session with me as a bonus. You can use that session to have me go through your site with you.

What’s wrong with your website? Have me take a look and help you fix it.

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Filed Under: Coaching, Marketing legal services, Online Marketing, Web traffic

Are you doing “Positive Thinking” the right way?

November 26, 2014 by
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Many studies prove that positive thinking is good for us. It can improve our health, help us live longer, improve our performance and productivity, and improve our lives in many other ways.

Other studies show that positive thinking can sometimes make things worse.

If you imagine a goal, for example, but ignore the obstacles that lie between your current reality and the achievement of that goal, you’re not going to do what needs to be done to achieve it.

I’m not an expert. I don’t even play one on TV. But I’m going to clear this for you, my friend, based on what I have learned about the Law of Attraction.

I know, many people think LOA is a lot of nonsense. Indeed, there are a lot of aspects of it that make me scratch my head. But some parts make sense to me and that’s what I’m going with.

According to the Law of Attraction, “like attracts like”. When you think about something, good or bad, those thoughts attract similar thoughts, ideas, people, even circumstances. I won’t get into the quantum physics aspects of this, because I don’t really understand it, but supposedly, it has to do with the fact that all matter vibrates at a sub-atomic level, our thoughts are energy and energy is matter.

If this sounds too flaky for you, just think of it in terms of the subconscious mind which uses the Reticular Activating System (RAS) to filter stimuli, protecting us from harm and improving our awareness of the world around us. (You just bought a new car, now you see that car “everywhere”. That’s your RAS at work.)

Anyway, back to positive thinking.

When we think about something we want but don’t have, what we really think about is the fact that we don’t have it. Your dominant thoughts are not about the goal, they are about not having that goal (and all of the reasons why). The Law of Attraction says that like attracts like so we attract more of “not having it”.

If you set a goal of earning $10,000,000 and you’re not even close to achieving that, the more you think about the goal, the more you think about not having it. You think you’re moving towards the goal but you’re doing just the opposite.

We don’t attract what we want, we attract what we think.

Does that mean we should only choose goals that are realistic? No. Long term “dream” goals are fine. It can be exciting to think about your magnificent future. But only briefly, to set your course. Don’t dwell on it.

Instead, think truthful thoughts about your current reality that are connected to your big goal.

How do you know you’re doing it right? Your feelings give you the answer. If the thought feels good, you’re moving in the right direction.

When you think about having $10,000,000 and realize you’re not even in the ballpark, it feels bad. You might tell yourself that the goal is exciting and feels good to think about, but when you’re that far away from it, your thoughts are primarily about how far you have to go.

Choose thoughts that feel good when you think them.

For example, you might think about how you’re good at your work, and getting better every day. That’s a thought that is both true and feels good and moves you a step closer to your goal. (If you’re not that good yet, take a step back and think about how you are working on your skills. True? Feel good? You’re doing it right.)

Then, reach for another truthful thought that feels good. Maybe you realize that you know some sharp business people with exciting projects you might be able to get involved with. True? Feel good to think about? Likely to move you forward towards the big goal? If so, you’re doing it right.

Perhaps after that you think about how well you get along with some of these folks. You’re spending more time with them, learning about their business, contributing ideas. These truthful, positive thoughts that feel good when you think them continue to move you forward, step by step, towards your long term goal.

Eventually, your current situation will be such that when you think about your goal it actually feels good. It feels imminent, not far away. At that point, you are on the brink of achieving that goal.

Doesn’t this make more sense than simply clinging to a thought we know isn’t true?

Thoughts lead to action and action leads to results. Continually reach for thoughts that feel good about your situation and you will continually be lead to actions which move you towards your goal.

Think about what you want, not what you don’t want, because whatever you think about, you attract.

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Filed Under: Inspiration, Personal development, success Tagged With: , ,

How to write a blog post in 15 minutes

November 3, 2014 by
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The other day I spoke to an attorney who wanted some help with his marketing and made sure to tell me he didn’t have a lot of time to do it. As you know, I advocate doing things in short increments and often say, “You can market your law practice in just 15 minutes a day.” And you can. To prove it to you, I’m writing this blog post in just 15 minutes.

There are three parts to the post. The beginning captures the attention of the reader and introduces the topic.

The middle provides the meat and potatoes. This can be done in paragraph form, like this post, or with bullet points. Three points is enough, and that’s what this post includes, but you can certainly do more.

The last part is the summary and call to action. Review what you want the reader to remember and tell them what to do next.

Write quickly, not just because you have allocated only 15 minutes but because writing quickly usually results in better writing. Don’t try to be brilliant, just say what you want to say.

Obviously, things are much easier if you know what you want to say before you start writing. If you can write down three points about your subject in advance, the writing should go more quickly.

If it helps, pretend you’re speaking, not writing, and imagine you’re speaking to someone you know who is seated across the desk from you. Or, write your post like an email.

Include at least one story. This could be about you and your work, a client story, another lawyer’s case you are familiar with, or anything else. A story adds the human element, allows you to illustrate one or more points, and makes your post more memorable.

At the beginning of this post, I told you about the attorney I spoke with who said he didn’t have a lot of time for marketing. Does that qualify as a story? Sure, and it’s about someone you can probably relate to. An attorney has a desire but his lack of time is keeping him from getting what he wants. The solution is to work in 15 minute increments, which I am demonstrating with this post.

By the way, the opening of your post is a good place to tell your story. It sets the stage for what is to come. You can come back to it towards the end, as I am doing here.

So, there you have it. How to write a blog post in 15 minutes, written in 15 minutes. A beginning, three points, a summary, one story, and you’re done.

I’ll take another five minutes to email this to you and post links on social media. And that’s it for marketing for the day. I’m off to do other things.

I challenge you to write a blog post today and see for yourself how easy it is. It might take you a bit longer the first time you do it, but the more you write, the faster you will get. Send me a link to your finished post. Or post in the comments.

For more help with writing blog posts and marketing online, get this

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Filed Under: Blogging, Communication, Online Marketing, Writing

Maybe we’re not using our calendars enough

October 14, 2014 by
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Most people use their calendar to record appointments and deadlines and little else. Followers of David Allen’s Getting Things Done methodology see the calendar as a place to record the “hard landscape” of their life, meaning only those things that need to get done on specific days and times.

We might want to start using our calendars more liberally.

In an interview, Stanford professor, Jennifer Aaker, author of The Dragonfly Effect, said that, “people who spend more time on projects that energize them and with people who energize them tend to be happier. However, what is interesting is that there is often a gap between where people say they want to spend their time and how they actually spend their time.”

Those gaps, she says, occur primarily because we don’t write down those activities. Adding them to a to do list is good; scheduling them on a calendar is even better:

“When you put something on a calendar, you’re more likely to actually do that activity–partly because you’re less likely to have to make an active decision whether you should do it — because it’s already on your calendar.”

If you want to get in shape, for example, instead of merely planning to exercise after work, put it on your calendar.

I have long recommended scheduling marketing time (even 15 minutes a day) on your calendar as an appointment. If you do this, you know it makes it much more likely that you will do it. Of course you have to treat it like a real appointment, a “must do,” and not a “would be nice to do”.

In a nutshell, using our calendars to schedule time for people and projects that energize us and are consistent with our goals can make us happier and more productive.

What might you add to your calendar?

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Filed Under: Personal development, Productivity, success, Time Management Tagged With: , ,

Maybe you should procrastinate more

October 2, 2014 by
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There are countless articles and books about overcoming procrastination, offering hundreds of techniques for doing so. But maybe procrastination has been given a bad rap. Maybe it’s not something we must always defeat.

We procrastinate because it serves us in some way. We resist doing things for a reason. Maybe we’re not ready and need more information. Maybe we need help. Or maybe we would be better off letting someone else do it.

If you procrastinate, ask yourself why? What’s the message? What is your subconscious mind telling you? If you need more information, go get it. If you’re not ready to address the jury or give the speech, practice. Burn the midnight oil. Do what you have to do.

If procrastination is hurting your reputation or income, you need to do something about it.

Otherwise, don’t sweat it.

In school, I routinely put off writing papers and studying for exams until the last minute. But I got them done and got good grades. No harm, no foul.

Okay, maybe I could have gotten even better grades if I didn’t put things off. But I enjoyed the challenge of getting a good grade on a paper I wrote in two hours that other students wrote over six weeks.

Plus, procrastinating gave me a great excuse in case I did get a bad grade. “Hey, I barely studied!”

But I was a kid. I’m not recommending this strategy for operating a professional practice. “Sure, we lost the case, but hey, we did pretty good considering I did no discovery.”

Yeah, not so much.

If procrastination is hurting you or your clients, fix it. Immediately. Otherwise, when you find yourself putting off something, figure out why and learn from it. Listen to that inner voice. It’s trying to protect you and guide you towards a better future.

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Filed Under: Personal development, Productivity, Time Management Tagged With: ,

Removing the obstacles to success

August 25, 2014 by
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Instant manifestation. You think it and it appears. You write it down and it becomes reality. Sound good? Actually, it would be a nightmare. Your life would be a jumble of confusing and conflicting thoughts and you would be continually fixing mistakes and apologizing for transgressions.

Thankfully, there is a buffer of time between first thought and manifestation that protects us and keeps us sane. We want something, we think about how to get it, and then we do the work. It takes time and reason and effort to get from first thought to fruition.

And it’s a messy process. There are lots of failed attempts, unsolved problems, and abandoned ideas along the way. That’s part of the buffer, too. These obstacles help us clarify our objectives and ultimately, get better results.

But sometimes these obstacles get the better of us and stop us from getting what we want. How do you overcome obstacles that keep you from achieving your goals?

You could power through the problem. Drink another cup of coffee, burn the midnight oil and do what needs to be done.

When we do this, we acknowledge the obstacle and then defeat it by refusing to give up. When we do, we’re often the better for it. Tired, but victorious!

But there’s another way and it’s a lot less taxing. Instead of fighting the problem, eliminate it.

Make a list of obstacles that are keeping you from achieving your goals. Your list might look something like this:

  • I don’t know what to do/don’t know how
  • I’m not good at [whatever]
  • I don’t have enough time
  • I don’t have enough money
  • I don’t like doing what I have to do
  • I lack confidence
  • I procrastinate (actually, this is a symptom; the obstacle is one of the other things on this list)

Then, make a list of ways you could remove those obstacles:

  • Get help doing the things you’re not good at or don’t like doing
  • Money: Sell something, save, use credit, find vendors who will barter
  • Eliminate or postpone other tasks and projects to free up time (prioritize/learn to say no)
  • Talk to someone who has done it and get their advice
  • Read, take a class, and learn how to do it or how to do it better
  • Hire an expert to advise you
  • Outsource all or part of it
  • Change the rules. Modify the goal or objective to suit your present situation
  • Ignore the problem and let your subconscious mind solve it while you’re doing something else

You can either work harder (power through the problem) or work smarter (eliminate or dilute the problem).

And if neither of these works, you can confess your sins to your wife, mom, partner, or client and have them make you do it.

Hey, whatever works.

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Filed Under: Personal development, Productivity, success, Time Management Tagged With: , ,

Managing a law practice by playing childish games

August 15, 2014 by
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Remember playing “hot potato” as a kid? You stand in a circle and pass around a small object as quickly as possible. When the egg timer or oven buzzer sounds, whoever has the “potato” in hand is out. If you’re the last person left, you win.

Kinda like musical chairs. What, you don’t remember that either? Okay I’m old.

Anyway, I did my best to run my practice like a game of hot potato. My goal was to get things out of my hands and into someone else’s as quickly as possible.

I’d review a file, decide what needed to be done, and give it a secretary to handle. When she brought the file back, I’d do the same thing. I tried to leave work each day with everything off my desk and on someone else’s.

I did the same thing with opposing counsel and claims adjusters. Write the letter, make the call, draft the document, send it off. Out of my hands and into theirs.

It’s not a perfect system. Bigger projects, things I couldn’t delegate, problem files, were a constant. Getting everything else out of my hands, however, gave me time to handle them.

Take a look at your desk or your task list. What could you get rid of right now by handing it off to someone else?

Managing a law office is easier if you have some fun with it. Remind me to tell you about the time I brought a Hula Hoop to the office. . .

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Filed Under: Law office management, Productivity Tagged With:

Slaying the perfectionism dragon

July 22, 2014 by
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A short article on the Entrepreneur.com website caught my attention. In “Start Before You’re Ready, Really,” the author urges us to launch our new business, project or idea before we are, or it is ready.

You can set up a quick Facebook page instead of a website, or a simple (ugly) web page just to get something “out there”. Run the idea up the digital flagpole and see who salutes it.

The author started her new business with just one strategic alliance partner (referral source), who sent her enough business to help her get her business off the ground. Had she waited until she had ten or twelve referral sources, she may still be waiting.

No matter what you do, you can improve it later. Even if you do wait before you launch, there will always be things to improve. So why wait?

Get something out there now and fix or improve it later.

I salute this idea. Hard as it is to show your ideas before they are fully formed, edited, vetted, and groomed, you must. If you wait, you’ll never be ready. In your lifetime, you will produce only a fraction of what you could.

I’ve done this many times. I’ve put up terrible web pages. Announced businesses and books when they were merely ideas. Advertised courses before I was finished writing them.

Some of my best stuff came because I put it out for the world to see before I was ready. Turns out, they were closer to being ready than I had thought. What’s a few typos among friends?

There’s nothing like a deadline to get you crackin’. Once you announce or launch or publish, you’ve got a deadline. You’re committed. You’ve got to finish it, or fix it, and you do.

The alternative is to pay homage to your perfectionism and wait until everything is right. That’s how so many people die with their music in them.

The most important part of any project is getting started. Whatever it is you want to do, do it. Give yourself permission to do it badly. You can fix it later. You can make it better. Or you can cancel it start something else.

There is greatness in you. Slay the dragon and let your ideas soar.

For a simple marketing plan that really works, get this

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Filed Under: Increase your income, Law office management, Marketing Plan, Personal development, Productivity, Writing Tagged With: , ,
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