An Academy Member recently brought up a problem that’s pretty common. He’s running short on time; in his words, his “time is getting lost.” He’s already determined that the highest and best use of his time is conducting seminars and initial consultations. That being said, he is also personally involved on some level with every client interaction and technical step from the initial consultation through the document signing. The result is that he is getting bogged down with tasks that would be better delegated to his competent and well-trained staff Members.
After a close look at this Member’s strengths, his start-to-finish hands-on involvement in the client services process, and the strength and training level of his employees, it turned out there were a few things he could do to regain control of his time and make sure he stopped trying to do it all.
For one thing, with well-trained paralegals, there’s generally no need for an attorney to conduct the entire final signing meeting – it’s something that can be handled by well-trained paralegals. Going a step further, this particular Member has reached the conclusion that he is not too excited about being a “technician,” going over all the details and grinding out documents. He decided that he could address this issue by hiring an associate attorney who could be trained to eventually take over the technician’s job within the firm, freeing the Member to focus on his role as leader and businessman.
What’s the overarching goal for this Member and, presumably, for all Academy Members? To choose and pursue a business model that removes you as much as possible without sacrificing ANY client care and that actually increases the care clients receive, as well as their confidence in the firm.
How can you step out of the spotlight without compromising your clients’ trust in you and confidence in the care they’re receiving from your firm? I’ll talk a little about that in my next post.
In the meantime, what are the ways you’ve taken control of your time and moved away from “doing it all” in your firm?
Sanford M. Fisch
CEO & Co-Founder
American Academy of Estate Planning Attorneys, Inc.
6050 Santo Rd Ste 240
San Diego, CA 92124
(800) 846-1555
www.aaepa.com
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