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What would you do if an anonymous commenter left your firm a less-than-flattering online review? The Lenahan Law Firm, a personal injury firm near Dallas, Texas is garnering national attention for its response to this very situation.
The story, covered in Texas Lawyer and picked up by the ABA Journal, centers around a negative Google Review of the firm posted by a commenter identifying himself only as “Ben.” The review reads, “Bad experience with this firm. Don’t trust the fake reviews here.”
In response, the Lenahan Law Firm filed a defamation lawsuit against “Ben Doe” in state district court. In addition to seeking $50,000 in damages from Ben, the firm’s stated goals in filing suit are to subpoena Google to discover Ben’s identity and to secure the removal of the negative review.
Putting aside a discussion of the merits of the lawsuit itself, there are a few practical reasons why I would not advise lawyers to fight bad online reviews with litigation.
First, a lawsuit won’t make the review go away. Even if the Lenahan Law Firm succeeds in forcing Google to permanently remove “Ben’s” negative review, the act of filing suit has simply created a permanent digital and legal memorial of exactly the situation the firm wants everyone to forget.
Second, the firm may be doing more to sabotage its own reputation than Ben ever dreamed of. Consider this from the viewpoint of an internet-savvy potential client…after all, Lenahan partner Wes Black told Texas Lawyer that a driving force behind filing suit is the fact that the firm gets a majority of its business from online searches.
So, before the lawsuit, a prospective client who Googled “Lenahan Law Firm” or “Lenahan Law Firm reviews” might have read Ben’s review. If they’d seen it, they likely would have evaluated it for what it is – a vague, two-sentence review by an anonymous person…maybe it’s legitimate, or maybe this guy has a chip on his shoulder. But they would also have seen several longer, positive reviews. And they would have seen the firm’s very well designed website.
After the lawsuit, the same search brings up a number of hits highlighting the firm’s response to Ben’s review. Which leaves a prospective client to wonder: why the over-the-top reaction to a pretty run-of-the mill review? How reliable is this firm’s judgment? And if this is how they treat clients who disagree with them, how will they treat me if I hire them and there’s a legitimate problem?
So, what is a law firm to do? There’s no doubt that negative online reviews can have a huge impact on your reputation in the community, not to mention your bottom line.
There are a number of practical steps you can take – short of filing a lawsuit – to protect your online reputation and combat negative reviews and comments. In my next post, I’ll outline five of them.
Stephen C. Hartnett, J.D., LL.M.
Associate Director of Education
American Academy of Estate Planning Attorneys, Inc.
9444 Balboa Avenue, Suite 300
San Diego, California 92123
Phone: (858) 453-2128
www.aaepa.com
In his last blog, Robert Armstrong talked a little bit about the haphazard way most legal practices approach their marketing activities. This is a shame, since marketing truly is the lifeblood of any business, and law firms are no exception.
What if your marketing system needs an overhaul? The following five-step system can make an immediate difference in your firm’s marketing efforts:
- Write down specific, measurable, time-bound goals. These are the only kinds of goals that are truly valuable because they are the only kinds of goals that are actionable.
- Start with the end in mind.
- Find out where your firm’s revenues are now.
- Identify your revenue goal for 2012.
- Break down the categories of work you did this year, identify how much revenue you generated for each category, and determine the number of clients each category represented for your firm.
- List your 2012 revenue goal for each category.
- Divide that number by 12 to get a monthly revenue goal.
- Identify how many clients you’ll need per month to meet the revenue goal for each specific category.
- Play the body count game – how many people do you have to be in front of to reach the numbers you wrote down for Rule 2? The more people who attend one of your seminars, read your marketing materials, or otherwise come into contact with you as part of your marketing strategy, the more clients you’ll ultimately have by the end of the year. It all boils down to numbers.
- Maximize your marketing channels. You need multiple channels – forget buying a Yellow Pages ad and waiting for the clients to pour through your door. The key is to come up with a system that implements multiple marketing activities that suit your personality, your staff, and your marketing budget. A few ideas:
- Arrange seminars for prospective clients.
- Appear as a CLE speaker.
- Endorse private seminars for a local insurance agent or financial planner.
- Publish radio or television ads.
- Send out monthly e-Alerts to your centers of influence.
- Send a three-year amendment letter to your existing estate planning clients.
- Have a family seminar to educate the children of your existing clients about estate planning.
- Schedule next year’s marketing activities now. The schedule should be on a huge plastic wall calendar where everyone in the firm can see the plan and be part of it. Then, set deadlines, delegate responsibilities to your staff, and hold everyone accountable by having weekly marketing meetings.
It sounds like a lot of work, and if you have not implemented a focused marketing strategy before now, it will take some getting used to. However, before long, you’ll begin to reap the rewards of planning your marketing and taking steps to stay on track. Trust me, the rewards are extraordinary!
Sanford M. Fisch
CEO & Co-Founder
American Academy of Estate Planning Attorneys, Inc.
9444 Balboa Avenue, Suite 300
San Diego, California 92123
Phone: (858) 453-2128
www.aaepa.com
Tax season is here. For most of your clients and prospects, that means the headache of crunching numbers and rebalancing the budget to pay Uncle Sam. Tax time takes on a different meaning to thieves.
Most of the documents needed for taxes are very revealing. They contain client’s name, address, credit account information and most importantly, their SSN. For the identity thief, it means that there is a treasure chest of information to be targeted in the next two months. This provides you, as a trusted source, with a reason to meet with your clients and prospects to share the following ID Theft prevention checklist – ways to help prevent their personal identifying information out of the hands of would-be thieves.
Feel free to use the copy below when meeting with a client or prospect, as information to present during a social prospect or client event, or as part of your direct mail invitation content.
ID Theft Prevention Checklist:
- Document Disposal – Once you have gathered the receipts, paperwork and the various forms you need to calculate your taxes, make sure that any papers you no longer need go through a good, cross-cut shredder. Papers with credit card account numbers, Social Security numbers (health benefit payment forms), loan papers, and such all have information that a thief can convert into a new credit account in your name. This tip also applies to all the papers you decide to dispose of from previous years. Just because a receipt is 7-years old does not mean it cannot be used to your detriment.
- Computer Security – Many of us do our taxes or prepare our information for tax accountants on our computers. If your computer links to the Internet it must have firewall software to protect it from invasion.
- Mail Theft Prevention Tip – Since these tax forms have a lot of information on them, the best advice is to take the forms directly to the post office, dropping them in a box INSIDE the post office. It is best to not drop them in an outside box after last pick-up of the day since that gives a thief more opportunity to steal the mail. Do not leave them in the outgoing box at work, drop them at the corner blue box or leave them in an unlocked box for pickup.
- Social Security Number on the Check – Should I or shouldn’t I? Since your check goes through so many hands, it is best not to print your entire SSN on the face of the check. The last 4 numbers should suffice if you decide to put any part of the number at all.
- Tax Preparers – Be selective about who works on your taxes. Check out companies with the Better Business Bureau, especially if they are new or seasonal offices. Ask questions of the managers. How will your information be stored? What type of computer security do they use? Has the person who will be working on your taxes gone through a thorough background screening? Do you see other people’s papers sitting around? If you feel uncomfortable or believe this is not a company that understands security issues, take your business elsewhere.
Jorge Villar is President of Response Mail Express (RME), with more than 26 years of direct marketing experience, he is known in several industries for his ability to create mail packages that garner the highest response rates. He is responsible for the Seminar Success program that, for the last 17 years has accounted for more than 65% of the events being held in the nation with over 14 million individuals making reservations. Mr. Villar has also been very successful marketing to physicians and business owners regarding Success Planning and Asset Protection. Response Mail Express, and parent company DME, is a $100+ million marketing powerhouse, housing over 600 employees in their 2 state-of-the-art facilities in Florida. Their marketing ideas are presently being utilized by over 10,000 clients, including: top producing advisors, estate planning attorneys, large financial organizations, health care organizations, universities and many other industries. Mr. Villar is a frequent key note speaker at national financial symposium and training conferences.
Academy Guest Blogger
American Academy of Estate Planning Attorneys, Inc.
9444 Balboa Avenue, Suite 300
San Diego, California 92123
Phone: (858) 453-2128
www.aaepa.com
Attorneys often tell me about how great their employees are and how long they’ve been with their firm. In my experience, this can be both good news and bad news.
The Good News
It’s always good to have excellent employees. They do good work, they’re a pleasure to be around, and they tend to increase your bottom line. It’s every boss’s dream, and every boss wishes for an office full of excellent employees.
The Bad News
But here’s the problem with excellent employees: if you’re dependent on a person to run your business, you’re vulnerable. Great employees get sick. They move away. They make lifestyle changes. All these things can result in job changes that leave bosses in a bind, so your firm is what we call “people dependent.”
The Solution
Happily, you can have great employees without making your firm’s success dependent on those employees’ life choices. You do this by making your business dependent on systems rather than on people.
You accomplish this by establishing a firm-wide organizational chart, which Sandy discussed in one of his recent blogs. You also implement what we call position contracts for each function within your law firm. A position contract is a detailed description of what each person does in the firm. This is an ongoing, updated process so that if one of your employees leaves, there’s a system to follow.
Even with an organizational chart and position contracts in place, hiring excellent employees is still top priority. However, when your law firm is systems-dependent rather than people-dependent, there’s order and predictability, even when you lose a great employee.
Robert Armstrong
President and Co-Founder
American Academy of Estate Planning Attorneys, Inc.
9444 Balboa Avenue, Suite 300
San Diego, California 92123
Phone: (858) 453-2128
www.aaepa.com
How do you build lasting relationships with your clients and make sure they don’t see you as just the provider of an ink-on-paper commodity?
One way to do this is to keep in regular communication, with routine “touches” throughout the year. At the Academy, we find that it’s ideal to make contact with clients twelve times per year. It would be a little odd for your estate planning attorney to call you every month or to send you an email, like clockwork, every few weeks. However, there are a variety of ways to provide value to your clients and remain in regular contact with them. Things like:
- Newsletters, both paper and electronic
- Estate Plan Review Invitations
- Client Appreciation Events
A number of our Member firms also have a Client Advisory Board. They invite 6 to 10 loyal clients into the office every quarter to get feedback and to find out what additional services those clients would like the firm to provide.
Using strategies like these to stay in touch with your clients sets the stage for you to have lifetime and even multigenerational clients. Eventually, you’ll meet the children of your existing clients and have the opportunity to win their trust and loyalty. Before long, they will be clients as well.
You want to be viewed as the trusted advisor for the entire family. By remaining in contact through valuable information that is of interest to them, you continue to nurture the relationship as well as be visible and relevant. Make sure you do everything possible to be the sounding board and problem solver most are looking to rely upon.
In your experience, what are the most effective ways to keep in touch with your clients?
Sanford M. Fisch
CEO & Co-Founder
American Academy of Estate Planning Attorneys, Inc.
9444 Balboa Avenue, Suite 300
San Diego, California 92123
Phone: (858) 453-2128
www.aaepa.com
Estate planning, as well as funeral planning, is generally a hard conversation to start. People are reluctant to talk about their mortality.
There’s actually a psychological term for this reluctance: the Terror Management Theory. It’s based on the work of Dr. Ernest Becker and his 1973 Pulitzer Prize-winning work, The Denial of Death.
The Terror Management Theory posits that all human behavior is ultimately motivated by the fear of death. Death creates anxiety: it can strike at unexpected and random moments, and its nature is essentially unknowable.
This awareness of our own eventual death, called “mortality salience,” affects our decision-making in the face of this terror. Many people deal with it by deciding to avoid the topic altogether.
It takes personal value and a healthy self-esteem to even consider talking about estate and funeral planning. And it’s estimated that two-thirds of the general population has low self-esteem.
So perhaps one-third of your potential clients have the positive self-esteem to even show up at your office to plan their estates. Playing a little game can help start the reluctant conversation.
Remember the TV show, “The Newlywed Game,” which quizzed newly-married couples on how well they knew each other? The Newly-Dead Gameä– based on elements of “The Newlywed Game” — tests how well couples know their partner’s last wishes in a fun, upbeat way.
The game debuted at the 2011 Frozen Dead Guy Days festival in Nederland, Colorado, and will be returning for this year’s festival March 2-4, 2012. (See the September 19, 2011 post on Cryonics and Estate Planning.)
Couples who have played this game come away with a fresh appreciation of how much they still need to know about each other when it comes to funeral planning. The Newly-Dead Game can also help adult children obtain information about their parents’ last wishes.
For those Academy Members who would like to consider The Newly-Dead Game for client or community outreach events, contact me and I’ll send you a complimentary .PDF file of the question cards and game rules. Just as talking about sex won’t make you pregnant, talking about funerals won’t make you dead – and your clients will benefit from the conversation.
Gail Rubin is a Certified Celebrant who brings light to a dark subject and helps get funeral planning conversations started. Her award-winning book, A Good Goodbye: Funeral Planning for Those Who Don’t Plan to Die, won Best of Show in the 2011 New Mexico Book Awards. The book is available in print and e-book formats at Amazon.com, Barnes&Noble.com, and at AGoodGoodbye.com. Contact her at 505-265-7215 or email Gail@AGoodGoodbye.com.
Academy Guest Blogger
American Academy of Estate Planning Attorneys, Inc.
9444 Balboa Avenue, Suite 300
San Diego, California 92123
Phone: (858) 453-2128
www.aaepa.com
A funny thing happens when you really start marketing your law firm. Suddenly, there are a lot more people coming in for initial consultations, and they don’t automatically hire you. They’re sizing you up and interviewing you.
Two Ears, One Mouth
It’s at this point that we as estate planning attorneys might want to heed the words of Greek philosopher Epictetus, who said, “We have two ears and one mouth so that we can listen twice as much as we speak.”
Perhaps more than other people, lawyers like to hear themselves talk and it’s a problem when the lawyer talks more than the client in an initial consult. Yet that’s what usually happens. We’re so used to being the “answer man or woman” that it requires a whole new skill to stifle ourselves long enough to really hear about the client’s needs.
The Secret
The secret to converting a prospect into a client is to use the initial consult to show off your skills as a great counselor. You cannot – I repeat cannot– effectively counsel someone until you understand what their problems, concerns, and issues are.
We’ve found that attorneys tend to have trouble converting prospects to clients because of how they handle client meetings. Doing things like talking too much, talking about things that are really of no interest to the clients, and not asking great questions are ways to guarantee your first meeting will also be your last.
Know What to Listen For
Just as important as asking great questions is listening carefully to the answers. That’s how you find out where the problems and issues are and delve into them. Learn what the impact is if those issues aren’t handled in a timely manner. What are your clients’ fears and concerns? How important is it for them to handle their issues right now? Where do these issues rank on their priority list?
Your job is to help families make decisions that are in their best interests. Discussing things in this manner gets results because it leaves clients feeling like you really heard them and like you really understand what matters to them.
Try this approach and you’ll become a trusted advisor, and you’ll have a client for life.
Robert Armstrong
President & Co-Founder
American Academy of Estate Planning Attorneys, Inc.
9444 Balboa Avenue, Suite 300
San Diego, California 92123
Phone: (858) 453-2128
www.aaepa.com
What usually happens when an employee gives you their two weeks’ notice? If your firm is like a lot of others, by the time you find someone to replace your departing employee, there are only a few days left. The rush is on for the departing employee to impart years of information to the new hire, and the results usually aren’t very good. There’s no real consistency. You suffer, your employees suffer, and, worst of all, your clients suffer.
If your firm is to be your unique creation, it has to have a unique way of doing things – one that sets it apart from all the other estate planning law firms in town. This is one area where so many law firms are lacking, and systems are the key to fixing the problem.
Having systems in every area of your practice is central to your success. A system is really a roadmap that lets your employees know how your firm does things. So, what kinds of systems do you need, and what do you use them for?
Simply put, if you do something more than once, you should have a written system in place for it. You take every single area of your practice, break it down into its component tasks, and spell out the specific way it is done in your firm. Not only does this ensure that your clients are served consistently and effectively, it also ensures that your firm’s unique personality is injected into every client interaction.
Putting systems in place – and using them effectively – benefits you, your employees, and your clients. It ensures that your employees are clear on your expectations, and it gives them the chance to meet and exceed those expectations. It allows your clients to get to know the stellar experience they can expect every time they interact with someone from your firm. And it allows you to be confident in the work your firm produces, the office environment you’re cultivating, and the reputation you’re creating in your community.
Robert Armstrong
President & Co-Founder
American Academy of Estate Planning Attorneys, Inc.
9444 Balboa Avenue, Suite 300
San Diego, California 92123
Phone: (858) 453-2128
www.aaepa.com
Your legal expertise is apparent, but what about your business acumen? Do you have time to crunch twenty-five complex financial ratios, and then search the internet for comparison numbers to contextualize your own?
One of the foundations of working on your business rather than in it is your ability to use your firm’s financial and human resources effectively, efficiently, and fairly. Any entrepreneur, in any field, would jump at the chance to discover industry-specific financial benchmarks for the optimal relationship between overhead and revenue, or revenue and number of employees, or gross revenue and owner’s comp. Consultants may be available to run these numbers for you, for a nice fee, and they may or may not be able to give you current information about how your allocation of resources stacks up against that of other, thriving legal practices.
Members of the Academy submit these financials annually and at a close-door session at every Spring Summit, these same Members share information able their financials with each other. If you’re not a Member, you still have the opportunity to have us review your financial statistics against our benchmarks for owner’s compensation, revenue per person on the payroll, revenue per attorney in the firm, and cases per employee, among other valuable ratios. To find out how you too can adjust one or more of your financial numbers and get out of the office and onto the golf course while your revenue skyrockets, contact us about Membership today via email at info@aaepa.com or by phone at 1-800-846-1555.
Jennifer Price
Director, Member Services
American Academy of Estate Planning Attorneys, Inc.
9444 Balboa Avenue, Suite 300
San Diego, California 92123
Phone: (858) 453-2128
www.aaepa.com
Every year, the co-founders of the Academy share a year-end message to the Membership. To me, it is always a breath of fresh air and I thought that our many blog subscribers might enjoy it as well.
Happy New Year!
Jennifer Price
ON YOUR MARK, GET SET… STOP!
We’ve all heard the first part of this phrase before. In fact, young children can even finish it when prompted. However, as we end 2011 and get ready for the new year, we invite you to take a moment and STOP! That’s right, STOP. Take some quiet time and reflect on the past 12 months. Sure, we’ve all heard we should review our goals, failures and triumphs, but what does that really mean? Well, we believe there are some critical elements you’ll want to look at as you get ready for 2012.
Last year we mentioned three things we think are crucial to your sustainable success: Influence, Action and Resolve. Now is a perfect time to evaluate and reflect on these values.
How did you influence others and what or who influenced you? Who did you hang out with? Did you replace any of those naysayers and pessimists who have brought you down or tried to kill your dreams? What books, magazines, TV shows, movies and radio stations did you allow into your life? Did they uplift and inspire you or were you surrounded by a bubble of negativity? As long as we’re looking at influence, what impact did you have on others? Were you an example of the virtues you look for in others? Did you keep your word, arrive at appointments on time and create a transformational experience that changed people’s lives? We encourage Members to think about how you fulfill your leadership role to those around you—family, friends, staff, clients and prospects. This can make a world of difference for everyone in your universe. Remember, peoples’ views and attitudes are contagious, and you’re in the perfect position to profoundly impact many different groups. We encourage you to take on this leadership role and use it wisely.
Next, look at your actions. In the past year, did you take deliberate action to further your goals? In the Academy Peak Performer program, we stress daily action steps in pursuit of your goals, and it is always coupled with accountability. We require Peak Members to report to us and the group daily on their progress. We’ve found that without publicly declaring your goals, finding an accountability partner and actively building structures in your life you have little chance of success. So we ask you, who is holding you accountable for your actions? In many respects the entrepreneur’s life is a lonely one with no natural checks and balances other than the indifferent marketplace.
We believe the foundation of action is integrity. No, not integrity in a moral sense, but integrity as a precursor to workability. Just like a ship has “water tight integrity” to insure the vessel stays afloat, did you demonstrate integrity by honoring your word, doing what you said you would do? We all have a funny way of distorting reality to get us off the hook. It’s often been said that we judge ourselves on our intentions, but others judge us on our actions. Look back on your actions this past year and identify those areas where you substituted your intentions for solid, real action. In many ways our lives resemble a defendant standing before the judge who pleads “guilty with an explanation.” I intended to do that, but… (fill in the excuse of your choice).
But none of it matters if your resolve is not there. Remember, if it was easy everyone would build a successful business. Expect the challenges because they are surely coming. Remain disciplined as you face the inevitable problems which confront all business owners. Be willing to go that extra lonely mile that most never walk. It can incorporate everything from taking the time to strategically plan your year to the extra effort involved in improving your skills as a counselor, manager and leader.
However, as we stressed this year everything becomes easier and is enhanced when you know your WHY. Why do you do what you do? When you strip away the money and the status, what really lights you up every day? When you identify it, we’re sure it will energize you, sustain you and provide the impetus to seize the opportunities in your marketplace. With a clear vision of your firm, you can move confidently into 2012 and you will not be alone. You will be surrounded by the care and support of the Academy and your colleagues around the country. It reminds us of the wonderful quote by Basil King, “Be bold and mighty forces will come to your aid.”
We continue to marvel at the collective success of Academy Members and remain humbled by our affiliation with such an amazing group! On behalf of the entire Academy team, we wish you a great holiday season and a prosperous New Year!
ON YOUR MARK, GET SET… GO!
To your success,
Robert and Sandy
Robert Armstrong and Sanford M. Fisch
Co-Founders of The American Academy & Co-Authors of The E-Myth Attorney
American Academy of Estate Planning Attorneys, Inc.
9444 Balboa Avenue, Suite 300
San Diego, California 92123
Phone: (858) 453-2128
www.aaepa.com
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