Essential Systems for Marketing and Managing an Estate Planning Law Firm…Ignore at Your Peril

Anyone who is serious about building a consistent 7 figure estate planning law practice, or any legal practice for that matter, has probably heard that you need systems for every part of your firm. Systems for how you generate new business; systems for servicing existing clients; systems for drafting, editing and delivering estate plans; systems for managing staff and vendors and, of course, systems for managing finances.

Unfortunately, nobody ever bothers to tell you how to build these systems or exactly which systems you need. It reminds me of an old Steve Martin routine where he ask the audience if they want to know how to make a million dollars and not pay any taxes? With a straight face he would say:

“First….you make a million dollars.
Then…you don’t pay any taxes!
It’s that simple – you make a million dollars and then you don’t pay any taxes. You see there? Pretty simple plan!

Like making a million dollars, marketing and managing an estate planning law firm to a 7 figure level is not that simple. But that doesn’t mean it can’t be done. You just need systems… 11 to be exact, and at the American Academy of Estate Planning Attorneys, we’ve been teaching these systems for 17 years. So are you ready to discover how you can have the practice and life you really want?

Let’s start with a quick overview of each system and in subsequent blog entries, we’ll look at each component in more detail.

American Academy’s 11 Essential Systems

1. Strategic Planning System
   1. Aligning Your Business With Your Personal Values
2. Integrated Client Marketing System
   1. Multiple Marketing Activities Generating an Endless Supply of Qualified Prospects
3. No Stress Client Engagement System
   1. Predictably Inspiring Clients to Take Action and Retain Your Firm
4. Dependable Client Services System
   1. Drafting, Presenting and Executing State of the Art Estate Plans
5. Lifetime Communication System
   1. Regularly Communicating with Clients Through Multiple Touches
6. Continuity Revenue Stream
   1. Dependable Annual Income From Each Client
7. Comprehensive Technology System
   1. Integration of the Best Tools to Draft Documents and Manage Your Firm
8. Staff Accountability and Team Building System
   1. Putting the Right People With Right Skills in the Right Positions
9. Financial Management System
   1. Managing by the Numbers to Keep in Touch With Your Profitability
10. Continuing Legal Education System
    1. Staying on the Cutting Edge of Effective Legal Strategies
11. Ancillary Business System
    1. Developing Multiple Sources of Revenue

Do you have these systems in your practice? Could a new employee walk in and immediately know how things are done in your firm? If not, this may be holding back your law firm growth and your peace of mind.