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If you have big goals – particularly for your law firm – there are a number of approaches you can take to reach those goals. Some are more effective than others.
The most effective approach involves two keys: keeping score and accountability.
Keeping Score
To produce change and move toward your goals, you need to keep score of multiple things on a daily basis. Keeping score keeps you focused so that you know how you’re doing. After all, having goals without measuring them doesn’t do you any good.
When your focus is maximizing your law firm’s revenues, these are the types of things you need to keep score of every day:
- How many items on your to do list did you get done today?
- How much money did you deposit in the bank today?
- How many new prospects did you see today, and what percentage became clients?
- What marketing activities did you accomplish today?
- How many items did you delegate today?
Accountability
Reality can be pretty harsh, and we have found that attorneys tend to resist keeping score. However, those who are very serious about making immediate and long-lasting changes to their businesses find a way to bite the bullet and face the truth.
They are also willing to take the additional step that is almost always required when it comes to attaining your goals: They’re willing to be accountable to someone other than themselves.
Most people are really afraid of being held accountable. There’s a gap between our intentions and our actual actions and behaviors. Accountability to a third party is the bridge, but it’s also pretty revealing. It’s the ultimate reality check, and it forces you either to take action or to admit that you’re stagnating.
If you want to reach your goals, take the plunge and find someone you trust who will hold you accountable on a daily basis for the promises you’ve made to yourself.
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
Too often, attorneys work on the wrong tasks day in and day out. Particularly law firm owners. With so many important issues competing for our attention, the tendency is to be in the trenches, working on the low value items while neglecting the high value opportunities.
If you suspect you might be falling into this trap, here’s a simple exercise you can try:
For the next ten business days, keep an accurate time log. From the time you step into your office each morning, write down everything you do all workday long. After ten days, go through your log and categorize each activity according to this system:
- U: Unique Ability
- C: Competent
- I: Not Competent, But Doing
Unique ability is something you’re great at and enjoy doing. It’s one of those things you get engrossed in, and time seems to fly by without you realizing it. The other categories are self-explanatory.
If your time log is filled with activities in the “C” and “I” categories, you are not alone. However, it’s probably time to take a fresh look at how you’re doing things.
Why not structure your law firm so that you can focus on your unique abilities, and hire people whose unique abilities complement yours? Chances are, some of your employees have valuable strengths and talents you are not even aware of.
This approach sets you up so that you can delegate your “C” and “I” tasks to people in your firm who are much better suited to performing those functions. Ultimately, you and everyone on your staff will have the potential for much greater job satisfaction, and your firm will get the chance to thrive in a whole new way.
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
More and more clients believe legal services in general, and estate planning services in particular, are just commodities.
They’re being told that it doesn’t matter where they get their bundle of paper. That whether the documents are from the Smith Firm or the Jones Firm or LegalZoom, the outcome will be the same.
And you really can’t blame them. They have no way of judging who’s good and who’s not so good any more than you or I can judge whether our heart surgeon is any better than his colleague in the next suite over.
But here’s what you and I do know. We know that you’re different from the Smith Firm and the Jones Firm. And we know that you’re vastly different from LegalZoom. If you want to avoid the commodity trap, you need to differentiate yourself and your services.
Here’s how:
Develop a process unique to your firm that takes care of clients from the moment they first retain you through the end of your relationship; ideally, the relationship will last a lifetime.
Communicate this multiple-step process in a client-friendly way. For example:
The Six Step Client Legacy Wealth Planning System
- Family Legacy Consultation and Roadmap
- Family Legacy Plan Design
- Family Legacy Plan Development
- Family Legacy Plan Execution and Delivery
- Family Legacy Plan Asset Transfer and Funding
- Family Legacy Lifetime Communication and Updates
This communicates clearly to the client: Wow! That’s a lot of work, and it means that you’re there with them from beginning to end. A prospective client has no way of comparing a generic, bare bones living trust to this six-step process you have to offer them – and quite honestly, that’s because there is no comparison.
This process also launches your relationship with a new client, which puts your firm head and shoulders above those competing on the basis of commodities. There’s no relationship you can establish with a transaction where you hand someone a paper with some ink on it and show them where to sign. Having a process is the way out of the commodity trap – for you and 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
Did you know that there are only three ways to expand your business? Here they are, in a nutshell:
- Have your existing clients buy new services
- Increase the fees your clients pay
If you want your firm to grow, you need to be doing all three. And you should have a system in place for each of them, rather than engaging in a few random marketing activities here and there.
What kinds of systems am I talking about? Systems for:
- Acquiring referrals from centers of influence
- Acquiring referrals from existing clients
- Going directly to the marketplace to seek new clients
- Making efficient, intelligent use of the internet to find new clients
- Attracting new clients through image building public awareness and PR efforts
- Positioning clients for additional services they may need
- Positioning the value of your services for increased fees
The tool that will enable you to organize and implement these systems is what we call a Marketing Calendar. This is your law firm marketing blueprint for the year.
Consistent growth is not automatic, and marketing is not an innate skill for most attorneys. It’s something we need to learn about and keep learning about. As the heads of our firms, we need to be the ones leading the charge when it comes to marketing. A good place to start is by deciding which of the three areas you want to focus on, which systems you want to use, and getting started on that detailed Marketing Calendar.
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
Here’s a practical and powerful exercise you can do that will help you accomplish your goals for your law firm and know exactly who is responsible for every task! It involves making a unique organizational chart that is created by looking at what needs to get done before you determine who in your law firm will do it. Function takes precedence over personalities.
This is how to do it:
You’re the leader of your organization, so your name goes on top. Underneath that, you list each broad category of functions that needs to be handled within your law firm – much like a large business is divided into departments. Each category is further divided into smaller programs, with a box under that for each distinct task involved in running every program.
For instance, you might have categories for Lead Generation, Lead Conversion, Fulfillment (doing the actual work), Finance, and Management. Under each category, you’ll list the programs needed to implement that category, with each program further subdivided into distinct tasks. There will be a box for each category and for each program and for each task. Everything that needs to get accomplished has a box.
As you go through this process, you’ll add a name to each box, giving someone in your organization responsibility for that category, program, or task. At first, you’ll notice that your name will be plugged into a lot of boxes. As your firm grows and expands, and as you train more employees, their names will fill in the boxes and replace yours.
There’s a certain magic that happens when you go through this process and actually put the organizational chart on paper. Doing this allows you to see the pieces of your firm almost like they’re on a chess board – you can literally move the pieces around strategically to figure out how to best implement each idea and task within your firm.
This exercise will give you a feeling of control you may never have experienced before. Try it – you’ll see what I mean.
For those of you who have already done this for your own firms, how has it helped you achieve your initial vision for your practice?
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
Epsilon Targeting, the leading provider of consumer information for targeted marketing solutions, recently released the 2011 Channel Preference Study, which shows that through economic turmoil, technology advances and channel proliferation, direct mail continues to deliver as consumers’ preferred means of receiving marketing messages.
The 2011 research shows that despite direct mail’s reputation for being “old school” or expensive, it is the top choice of U.S. consumers for the receipt of brand communications in almost every category, ranging from health to household products, to household services, insurance and financial services, including credit card offers. The preference for direct mail also extends to the 18-34 year old demographic.
Key findings from the study include:
- 36% of U.S. consumers said direct mail is the preferred channel to receive financial services information
- 26% of U.S. consumers said direct mail is more trustworthy than email
- 50% of U.S. consumers said they pay more attention to postal mail than email
- 60% of U.S. consumers said they enjoy checking the mailbox for postal mail, highlighting an emotional connection
In-depth information from the study is provided in a report titled, The Formula for Success: Preference and Trust. The report can be accessed free of charge at http://www.epsilon.com/channelpreference2011.
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
Newly released online: a short video encouraging Americans to think about their health care wishes.
Accompanied by moving music, it aims to reach the viewer emotionally as well as intellectually ― more so than I’ve seen in other video pieces on this topic. In fact, its tone reminds me a bit of the emotional ASPCA ads similarly-produced with only music, text and photos.
You might find this 3-minute piece useful to share with clients. It could be viewed in your office while clients wait for their initial consult, as homework before clients complete their healthcare directives with you, or during an educational presentation you might give in your community.
This video might also be an interesting way to reach out to existing clients at the holiday season. While your clients have obviously already completed their directives, it’s just as important that they talk about their wishes with their loved ones. And while this can be hard for them to do, it can be a tremendously important gift to their families. A short video like this to share with loved ones might give them a tool to start the conversation.
The National Healthcare Decisions Day (NHDD) initiative is hosting this video on its website (on the homepage) and adapted it for national use, as another vehicle to encourage advance care planning.
If you have any tools or ideas that you use to help clients have this conversation with their loved ones, please let me know.
Randi J. Siegel, MBA, is the President of DocuBank (docubank.com), the largest advance directive registry in the U.S., which ensures that the healthcare directives of its 190,000 enrollees are immediately available 24/7/365. Working with estate planning professionals since 1997, Randi frequently speaks at national estate planning conferences and has appeared on radio and television as an authority on registries. She is active in health policy pertaining to advance directives and serves as a Senior Fellow at the Jefferson School of Population Health in Philadelphia. Randi is an ongoing contributor to the Academy blog.
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
We have a lot of conversations around here about what a revenue producing task is and what it isn’t.
It’s easy to get caught up in a trap doing work that “feels” productive—but in all reality, you may just be pretending to be busy.
If you “spend time with a prospect or a client” you may be able to go home feeling, “well… it was a great day, most of my time was spent with a possible client or a client. What a productive day.”
Here’s the litmus test.
Did you get a check?
Was the time you spend with those people, spent in a situation where the end of the conversation could result in a check? Or were you on the phone answering questions a paralegal could have handled while you were in an *actual* meeting?
I would advise considering a “long prospect call” or “substantial client call” any form of an “appointment.” Appointments end with a decision and 88—92% of the time, those decisions involve a payment to your law firm. You want to construct systems that put you face to face with the prospect because that’s where your solutions can be presented and that’s where the law firm’s revenue is. You solve a problem on the phone… you get a thank you, you solve one in person… you get a check. If you’re doing old-school “billing” for the time on the phone, that is a part of the system we wouldn’t recommend and you may want to think that through. Most phone work could and should be handled by a paralegal. Your systems should be set up so that you are in revenue generating meetings. There are occasions where there is a need to conduct a revenue generating meeting ON THE PHONE, but they should be rare and for special circumstances.
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
During our recent national event in New Orleans, I gave a presentation about the rapid changes in technology that have devastated a number of industries and professions. I commented that every group thinks their business is exempt. Even as the last one goes out of business there is this surprise and wonder that it could really happen to them. Attorneys are no different. Many believe that our venerable profession is too important or complex to be pushed aside by digital tools, but forces are at work right now to break up the guild mentality and bar association walls. Witness the amazing commercial success of Legal Zoom and the hundred other online resources that are waiting in the wings.
This is neither good nor bad. It’s really just the next iteration of the transformative impact of the microchip revolution. The argument can be made that we should feel no more sympathy for lawyers who didn’t prepare for these changes than people did a century ago for the poor buggy whip industry. It’s been said that in times of great uncertainty, there is great opportunity. For our profession, this is one of those moments. We need to reassess our value proposition to our clients and rearrange our business models to stress those relationship qualities that can’t be replaced by an outsourced worker or bits and bytes.
The entrenchment of this state of denial was brought home to me as I listened to an interview of Seth Godin, the internet guru, author and forward thinker. He was talking about the certain demise of the traditional publishing industry and his recent conversations with executives in that field who presented every excuse as to why they are going to survive. Even more astonishing, he mentioned talks with senior people in the already decimated music industry who are still hanging on to the hope that CDs are going make a comeback.
His point is a simple one. Our capacity for self-delusion in the face of overwhelming evidence is remarkable. As lawyers we can learn from these examples and see the opportunity to immediately make changes so our practices will not only survive, but flourish in this new age.
Robert Armstrong
President & Co-Founder
American Academy of Estate Planning Attorneys, Inc.
6050 Santo Rd Ste 240
San Diego, CA 92124
858-453-2128
www.aaepa.com
During a recent Peak Performers’ session one of our participants mentioned being undercut on price by a competitor. It reminded me of an important principle, one that if neglected guarantees under-performing results for your firm.
We’ve all confronted this before. A prospect comes in, spends an hour or more of free time in our complimentary consultations, we carefully probe to uncover their concerns, needs and dreams for their family. We arrive at an agreement on the design of a plan to accomplish their most cherished goals. We firm up the price and the process required to complete their plan.
Then they say, “Elizabeth, the lawyer down the street says she will complete this work for $500 less.”
Our Peak Performer asked, “What should I do next when this happens?”
It’s the wrong question. The better question is what should have been done before that meeting to prevent this from happening?
The predicate to a more successful outcome is to be sure we follow this rule, without exception:
Never allow the prospect’s view of what you offer to devolve into a product.
Never, never, never, never, never, never, not ever! The worst place to be in the Law Firm Store is on the commodity shelf, sitting there all packaged up waiting for someone to lift your services off the shelf because it is the lowest priced product. Firms die there. So, how do we make the transformation from a commodity to a premium service clients willingly pay to receive?
First, all connections equating a stack of paper to value must be removed from your own mind, replaced with differentiators, those actions we take that set us apart from our competitors. Having a strong belief system in our differentiators will give us the courage to express them during the mental battle of selling. If this step is absent, we cannot transfer it to others – staff or prospects.
Second, ban the use of the word “document” from the vocabulary of every staffer, yourself included. Use every staff meeting and 1-1s with them to inculcate your value-based differentiators, your competitive advantages into the culture of your firm.
Finally, if by chance a prospect tries to make this a price decision late in the game as happened with our Peak Member, take them out, figuratively of course. Dump the Mt. Everest of value propositions into their pain funnel and let the blood run.
Let me say it another way. If we allow this decision to be about product or a stack of documents we are doomed to compete as low cost provider where, as Wal-Mart has proven by dead competitors, only one will survive.
Instead, create beautiful art.
About the author: Mr. Parman is a frequent guest on the radio and can be seen on television talk shows explaining the importance of proper estate planning. Prosperity Productions selected Mr. Parman is a featured speaker in a nationally-recognized educational video on Living Trusts. He is the author of numerous published articles on financial and estate planning matters and the co-author of two books, Estate Planning Basics: A Crash Course in Safeguarding Your Legacy and Guiding Those Left Behind in Oklahoma: Settling the Affairs of Your Loved Ones.
Mr. Parman is a Member and Fellow of the American Academy of Estate Planning Attorneys. He is also a member of the Oklahoma and Missouri Bar Associations, the American Bar Association, and the Oklahoma City Estate Planning Council.
Academy Guest Blogger
American Academy of Estate Planning Attorneys, Inc.
6050 Santo Rd Ste 240
San Diego, CA 92124
858-453-2128
www.aaepa.com
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