It happens. You’re not bringing new clients at the same pace as before. You may have lost some clients. Your income is down.
Don’t panic.
Or maybe you should panic if you’re in denial about what’s happening.
Either way, there’s something you can do to turn things around.
Here is a 3-step plan to help you sort things out:
STEP ONE: ASSESS
Take half a day, or several days, to stand down from your daily routine and figure out where you are, how you got there, and what you can do about it.
Start by looking at your numbers. What’s different from before (when things were good)? Where have you lost ground? What’s stopped working?
Look at last year at this time. Do you see any pattern? Is this a seasonal fluctuation that’s gotten worse?
Look at your competition. Are things slow for them, too? If not, what are they doing differently?
What’s still working for you? Where does most of your new business come from? Which sources, which strategies, which markets, which types of cases or clients?
Look at your marketing. What worked before that you’ve stopped doing? What worked before that you’ve changed? Where are you spending less time? Less money?
Look at your target markets. What’s happening to your client’s businesses or industries or niches that might be affecting their need for legal services?
Look at your referral sources. Has their business slowed, too?
Talk to your colleagues. What are they doing that’s working well?
Talk to your employees. What do they see that you might be missing?
STEP TWO: PLAN
Brainstorm your options. Things you can do to get more traffic to your website, more sign-ups for your newsletter, more prospects calling to make an appointment?
What can you do to get more people to take the next step?
What can you do to get more referrals from your current and former clients?
What can you do to get more referrals from your professional contacts?
Where can you meet new referral sources? New prospective clients?
What marketing methods can you start doing again? What new marketing methods can you start doing?
What relationships can you/should you strengthen?
How can you improve your marketing message? Your website? Your lead magnet? Your offers?
What skills do you need to improve? Acquire? What tools do you need to acquire or upgrade?
After you’ve exhausted the possibilities, write a one-page plan. Choose no more than three strategies (for now). Decide on the best one and focus on that first.
STEP THREE: EXECUTE
Get your team on board with your plan and get busy.
Do the things that only you can do and delegate everything else.
Track your results so you can do more of what’s working.
Get help. Get a workout partner. Join a mentoring group. Hire a company or consultant to advise you. Hire a coach.
Keep a journal throughout this process to record what you’re doing and what you will do to prevent future slowdowns.
If you want help, let me know
