The Economy Doesn’t Matter
I saw something the other day that is a great lesson on “How to make money in this economy”.
In a shopping center down the street from my home, there was a high end restaurant on one end. The place was given five star reviews by just about everyone. It had been around for 25 years. In the boom economy you could never get a table there. It was always packed and the prices were outrageous.
On the other end of the shopping center there was a Burger King. During the good times, the dollar menu was a favorite of the “mommy and me” crowd and the drive thru had a line of contractor’s trucks around the block. That place had also been there for over a decade.
Last week both places closed their doors for good. Bankrupt. Out of business.
Was it because of the economy?
Well, let’s see…in the same shopping center there is a casual Mexican joint that has a line out the door everyday for lunch. They open at 11AM and they close at 9PM. I drove by last week on three different nights and the parking lot was packed during dinnertime. It’s not fast food but it certainly is not gourmet.
Same shopping center. Same traffic. Same economy.
What is making the difference?
I can’t say for sure but here’s what I know:
I received a post card in the mail from the Mexican place when they first opened. It was a discount coupon and invitation to visit. When I went there for the first time they asked for my email address and every Monday I get their “special of the week”. They also gave me a “bring a friend for free” coupon during my first visit (so that I would return). And they asked me for my birth date (so they can invite me to celebrate it at their place with a free meal if I bring three or more people).
The gourmet place never sent me anything; never invited me to come over, and damn sure never cared about my birthday. And good old BK didn’t do anything locally to promote their business. They just relied on the scary bigheaded king character on television to drive traffic to them.
The key take away for you is this:
You have to take responsibility for your own success. Do not rely on the economy. Do not rely on the “brand” of your law firm. Do not rely on your reputation as an exceptional legal practitioner.
Make an effort to develop relationships with people who will become your clients and with the people who will refer clients to you. Invite them in. Get to know them. Show them you care.
You make your own economy. You can still do well. You just have to work a little harder and work a lot smarter than you did in the past.
Complaining about how tough things are will get you nowhere.
If you want to attract clients to your law firm you need to take action. If you are confused about what action to take, give me a call: 305.692.5531.
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EmailBeating Back the Time Bandits: How to Save An Hour Per Day
Time is your most valuable asset. And it is perishable. You will never again get back the ten minutes you spent figuring out how to install the toner on the copy machine. That time is gone.
Everyone wants more time from you. Your spouse wants you to spend more time with the kids. Your paralegal and your associates want you to spend more time working with them. Your partner wants you to spend more time billing. Your client wants you to spend more time on his matter.
Everyone wants more of that precious asset but only a few are truly worthy. Yet we do not treat our time as a perishable asset. We treat it carelessly. We give it away and we waste it on stupid inane tasks that are handled inefficiently.
Below is one technique – just one – that will help you save an hour per day.
Never, Ever Answer a Ringing Telephone
Taking an unscheduled telephone call from ANYONE is a horrible idea. There are only three types of UNSCHEDULED calls you receive during your work day. They are:
- Personal calls
- Calls related to a client matter (past, present or future)
- Calls from someone who wants to sell you something
In all of those cases, it is a bad idea for you to pick up the telephone. Here’s why:
Personal calls should be handled on personal time. If you are at work, work. Have a conversation with your spouse, kids, mother, whoever and explain to them the importance of momentum and productivity. Then be proactive and call the people who are most likely to call you during your “personal” time (while driving, while having lunch, while taking a break from your work).
Taking unscheduled calls from a client or about a client’s matter is a disaster because you have no idea why the client is calling you or what the call is about. It is far better to have an assistant take a detailed message from the client and ascertain the purpose of the call. This way your assistant can schedule a telephone appointment to discuss the matter when you are prepared and have the client’s file in front of you.
Never, ever talk to a salesperson. Have your assistant screen all sales calls. If you have a legitimate need for the salesperson’s services, set up a telephone appointment to speak with that person.
Don’t have an assistant? Get a voice mail transcription service. I use Phonetag. This service transcribes my voicemail messages and sends them to me as an email attachment. You can then choose what you want to do with the call.
Here’s the bottom line on time management and this specific technique: You must train people to do business on your terms. Does that sound egotistical?
Think about it this way: You are always operating from an agenda. You can operate from your agenda or you can operate from someone else’s agenda. It’s up to you.
Train the people who call you for personal reasons. Train your clients. Train your assistant. And most importantly, train yourself.
The only person who can improve YOUR productivity is YOU. Start today with this simple technique.
Never Let Them See You Coming
Many people think being flashy is good. They believe that showing off your wealth, your knowledge or your skills is the way to win people over.
Nothing is farther from the truth.
If you want to attract clients, this may be the most important piece of advice you will ever receive.
Never let the client see you coming. This means you should always let the other guy feel superior.
Always.
Let him think he is smarter than you (at least when it comes to his business). Let him think he has more money than you do. Let him think he is more successful than you.
People are constantly comparing themselves to one another (both consciously and subconsciously). If they think they are more successful than you, they will want to be around you.
It’s human nature. The ego needs to be placated.
Providing the other person with the illusion of superiority allows you to control the interaction.
Need a case study? Watch a Colombo rerun.
Back in the 1970’s there was a television detective named Colombo (played by Peter Falk). Colombo appeared to be forgetful, disheveled and generally pathetic looking. His appearance and behavior always made the suspect feel at ease – as they did not believe Colombo was smart enough to crack the case. Of course this meant that they would be less guarded when having a conversation with Detective Colombo. This always led to the bad guy’s demise.
What does this mean for you? How can you use this in the day-to-day running of your law firm?
Avoid appearing or sounding superior. Dress professionally but not extravagantly. Be low key in your behavior. Never boast. When your work is successful, always deflect credit. Let others sing your praises. Make the client look good.
At the end of the day your goal is to help the client achieve his goal and to collect a fair fee for doing so.
In business and in life you can have everything you want as long as you are willing to make others look good (and feel good) while you conduct your business.
Your Most Valuable Relationship
A couple of weeks ago at a meeting of my Strategic Advisory Group for lawyers, one of my clients was telling the story of how his client, a very big celebrity, was going to be honored at an industry event. As he told our group this story, he ran down the list of all the things he had accomplished with and on behalf of this high profile individual. The list could have easily been mistaken for the achievements of a CAREER – yet my client helped his client accomplish these initiatives in less than twelve months.
I am not easily impressed or star struck – but in this case my jaw dropped.
The reason?
Not because of the fame of the celebrity involved. Not because of the sheer volume of work accomplished in a short time. And not because of the fees transferred from client to lawyer. All of these were significant but none as impressive as the one thing that can literally make or break any law firm or lawyer’s practice….the strength of the relationship between the lawyer and the client.
In this particular attorney/client relationship, the client, a mega star, does not make a business move without talking to his trusted advisor – the lawyer – my client.
Why is this so impressive?
Because that is the true nature of the practice of law. That is why you exist and why I help you. The client seeks your counsel. You guide. You advocate. You opine. And you represent. An ideal attorney/client relationship is not bound by specific matter or individual transaction or passing legal case. It is life-long and it is built upon bedrock of trust.
You may know me as a guy who helps lawyers attract clients but that is only partially true. I am the guy who helps lawyers attract the RIGHT client and then I help lawyers develop those life-long relationships.
In my world, marketing for lawyers is relationship development. To me a billboard is equal to speed dating. Lawyer referral services are essentially on-line match makers. Books with faces and twit websites are akin to The Singles Bar Scene.
I prefer my clients to meet their clients the old fashioned way – through a referral, by being approached by an admirer or by seeing them speak at an event. Making this happen is both an art and a science but it is only the beginning. Delivering value (real value in the eyes of the client) is what makes a relationship last.
How many of your clients will NOT make a move without first discussing it with you?
That list, in essence, is a demonstration of your value as a lawyer.
How To Double Your Productivity in 30 Days
All of us are plagued with too much work and too little time. Many of us have experimented with various time management systems and various electronic scheduling programs that we hope will keep us focused and on track and help us improve our productivity.
In reality we all possess the tools we need to double (and in many cases even triple) our productivity.
The secret is focus.
I’m not taking about listen-to-your- wife-while-you-watch-the-basketball -game focus. I’m talking about focus on one task and one task only to the point of excluding everything and everyone else.
And I’m talking about that kind of focus all the time.
But for most people, this is easier said than done.
Here’s how you can do it:
Step one: Write down everything you have to do and everything that takes up your time and energy during the course of the week. Make a big list. On this list put everything you spend time working on and thinking about.
Then lump these activities into categories. For example: driving to and from meetings, research, preparing a talk, returning client phone calls, sifting and sorting email, networking, drafting an agreement, etc.
Step two: Select the five areas of focus that are the best possible use of your time. Notice: This step has a hidden step within it. You must determine what your time is worth and decide what is the best possible use of your time.
Once you have selected the five things (or categories) that are the best possible use of your time, you can move on to step three.
Step three: Ruthlessly eliminate everything else from your life except the five things that are the best use of your time. The idea is to delegate or otherwise permanently dispatch these things from your life. Get rid of them completely.
Typical excuses:
Whenever I introduce this concept to my clients they always push back on certain items. Email for example, is one of the biggest time wasters on the planet. Here’s what I encourage you to do with email:
1). Never keep email open on your desktop while you are working.
2). Train your assistant or paralegal to sort your email. Have her alert you to anything urgent, handle what she can handle and flag things that need your attention.
3). Schedule time to check and respond to email every day. Select an hour in the morning and an hour in the afternoon.
4). If something in your email will need longer than 5 minutes of work, schedule time to handle it. Actually put it on your calendar – as long as it is one of the five things you are focusing on.
Another area people complain about is the telephone. Here is my solution for that problem:
Never take an inbound call. Have all your calls go to voice mail. Have the voice mail transcribed and emailed to your assistant or paralegal. Have the assistant handle the issue or schedule time on your calendar for you to handle the issue later on (as long as it is one of your five areas of focus).
Earn the Privilege of Being Selective
Last week I selected 100 people from my list of Rainmaker Minute subscribers and I made them an irresistible offer.
You see, I’ve developed a new self paced coaching program and I need 10 new lawyers to test it each month. So last Thursday I sent an email to 100 people on my subscriber list and offered them the opportunity to be Pioneers in this program.
This means the lawyers selected will receive one video DVD, audio CD and workbook/transcript from me with three recommendations each month. As Pioneers they agree to evaluate the information and if appropriate, implement the recommendations in their law firm. They also agree to provide feedback.
These 10 lawyers get to participate in this new program for a fraction of what the investment will be in the future. (The people who get in this month are only paying $97).
Within 6 hours of sending the initial offering email, I received 17 applications (yes, I make people apply and I evaluate them before accepting them). Within 12 hours I had 22 applications and I am still receiving a few here and there.
But even with that virtual stampede to sign up for this great deal, there were still a few skeptics. And there is a lesson we can learn from a couple of them.
Two people who received the email offer said they would be interested if I sent them some references of people who had already been through the program. This proves two things:
1).These folks do not read carefully. The reason I am looking for “Pioneers” is because nobody has been through this program yet. That’s why I am taking 10 new people each month and adding them to the client roster. As I add new recommendations I am adjusting based upon the feedback of other clients.
As a way to compensate for a lack of track record in this program I do not require any commitment. If you want out, just say so and you do not need to pay for future months. Just send an email and you’re out. It’s easier and quicker than a Las Vegas Divorce.
2). These folks have a distorted sense of value. Think about all the things you spend $97 or more on with no guarantee of success:
- Dinner for two in a chain restaurant (without wine)
- A trip to the movies for a family of 4, with popcorn, soda and candy
- The gym membership you have not used in 6 months
- A Craftsman Drill at Sears
- A tie, on sale, at Saks
- Your cell phone bill without a data plan
- A box of crappy cigars
None of those things or any of the hundred other things you could “invest” your $97 in will have a significant return on investment.
The coaching program I offered to these lawyers will certainly have a return on investment. Quite a few people were astute enough to recognize this fact and they applied immediately.
Could I have done more to demonstrate the value of my service to the skeptics?
Absolutely.
I could have given them the names and phone numbers of my clients who graciously serve as volunteers for references. Some of these folks appear on my website with full name and law firm affiliation available for the world to see.
But in this case I chose not to “sell” anyone on working with me.
Why?
Because I have earned the right to be selective. Demand for my service is high. People see the value of working with me at $3,000 per month. Dozens of people see the value of being involved with me at $97. I like working with clients who recognize value.
So what does this mean for you and your law firm?
It means you should price your service fairly based upon the value you provide. It also means you should understand the demand for your service and not worry about the few people who do not recognize your value. They were not meant to be your clients…especially when dozens or even hundreds are out there waiting to work with you.
If you have an interest in this exclusive program, call me and I will interview you. If you are accepted, you will fill the next opening on my client roster. 888.692.5531.
Five Qualities of Successful Lawyers
During this day and age of limited time and resources I am constantly being asked to boil success down to a handful of qualities. Everybody wants the five “secrets” to success.
While I am hard pressed to limit the qualities of successful lawyers to just five things, I can give you five qualities that are common among all successful people.
Incidentally, these five qualities were not developed by me. They were developed by a guy named Napoleon Hill as a result of a 20 year study he conducted on successful business people.
Good old Napoleon came up with 16 laws of success as a result of this study. All of Hill’s laws can be applied to attorneys but there are five in particular that separate the winning attorneys from the moderately successful attorneys.
Here are the five qualities from Napoleon Hill’s work that I believe to be most responsible for a lawyer’s success:
Quality 1: Successful Lawyers have a Burning Desire to Serve Their Clients:
This means you must really want to make a difference to your clients and you believe in your ability to do so. That passion and desire is easily spotted in successful people. It is a quality that attracts others – clients and referring attorneys – to you like a magnet.
If you are currently practicing law and you do not have a passion for it, consider a career change.
Quality 2: Successful Lawyers Make Use of Specialized Knowledge:
Every attorney has specialized knowledge of the law (compared to a non-attorney). But successful attorneys also have the specialized knowledge of how to build and run a law firm. They have specialized knowledge on how to build systems to set their practice up for success. They have specialized knowledge in business strategy and they know how to deploy their resources toward an area of need in the market. They know how to attract clients to their law firm and persuade those clients to retain them.
Specialized knowledge goes well beyond the law. It extends to the knowledge necessary to build and grow a thriving law firm.
Quality 3: Successful Lawyers are Decisive:
This is a quality that stands out in a good lawyer. They assimilate information and then they make a decision. You have to make correct decisions and you have to do it in a way that projects confidence in yourself and in the people around you.
Let’s face it; if you have the will, you can recover from almost any mistake you make in life.
However you may never be able to recapture an opportunity that presents itself if you don’t make a decision. Great opportunities – golden opportunities – only come along so often – and you need to be decisive to take advantage of them. Napoleon Hill found that decisiveness was a key quality in successful people and I could not agree more.
Quality 4: Successful Attorneys Set Goals:
Successful people are goal oriented. This means they have actually taken the time to think about where they want to be in five years, ten years and twenty years.
If you want to achieve significant success you need to first define what success is. That means setting goals.
If you have never done any goal setting exercises, try this:
- Pick out five things you would like to accomplish between now and the end of the year.
- Write these five things down on a sheet of paper.
- Fold the paper up and put it in your pocket.
- Review this sheet of paper every time you eat a meal.?
You will be amazed at the results.
When you write your goals down your subconscious mind automatically goes to work to try to help you achieve them. You will find yourself drawn to activities that will bring you closer to your goals.
Once you become comfortable with this process, conduct a similar exercise, setting goals for the next five years.
Quality 5: Successful Attorneys Tap into the Collective Intelligence of Others
This is critically important. You need to have a group of people you can trust to give you honest feedback on your ideas and performance. You must have a group of like-minded people who know and understand what you are going through and can help you achieve your goals.
This last one really resonates with me because when I started my own practice I was a one person operation. After having worked my entire career in big firms, I suddenly found myself without a sounding board for ideas. This lead to a stifling of my creativity.
As my business has grown I have actively sought out successful people to bounce my ideas off of. This process has been phenomenally value in many ways. Every lawyer needs a handful of people in whom he can confide.
When a lawyer comes to me and says he needs help with his law firm, I review these five characteristics with him. Almost always, the struggling lawyer has not developed any of these qualities in himself. That’s when I ask him a critical question:
“Are you willing to adopt these five qualities and use them in your law practice?”
You see, part of Napoleon Hill’s study revealed that successful people are not born with these qualities. They developed them over time. Success is learned behavior.
So I ask you now:
Are you willing to adopt these five qualities and incorporate them into your law practice?
