Some attorneys are their own worst enemy

February 21, 2018 by
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You’ve heard me say it before: to build a successful practice, with lots of repeat business and referrals, you should focus on clients, not cases.

Don’t look at what a single matter is worth to you. Look at what the client can bring you over their lifetime or the lifetime of their business.

The initial case might be small. You might earn a negligible fee. Sometimes, you might not earn anything. But if you focus on treating every client like they are worth a fortune to you, eventually, some of them will be.

The guy who has a fender bender today could have a catastrophic injury next year. The small startup that can barely afford to talk to you today could become your biggest client in a couple of years.

And every one of them can send you referrals, send traffic to your website, say nice things about you on social media, and tell their friends or contacts about your upcoming event.

Clearly, this doesn’t mean you can give every client the same amount of attention. Your best clients should get more of your personal time. See them, talk to them on the phone, build a relationship with them that goes beyond the work.

The rest of your clients should be nurtured with email, letters, and calls from your staff.

Whatever you do, don’t be like some attorneys who believe that doing a good job for their clients is all they have to do. They don’t understand that clients come back not just because you did a good job but because of how you made them feel.

How to get clients to send referrals

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Filed Under: Client loyalty, Client relations, success

Massive action for the win

February 20, 2018 by
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I’m very analytical. I like to think about things before I do them. A lot.

Weigh my options, research, ferret out the risks. This is a strength; it has prevented me from making some costly mistakes.

But it is also a weakness.

It is a weakness because being analytical has stopped from doing things that might have been a brilliant success if I had allowed myself to do them.

In fact, some of my biggest successes occurred when I ignored my fears and “what ifs?” and forged ahead.

I wasn’t reckless. I considered what I would have to invest in the project and what I might lose if things didn’t work out. But I didn’t let that stop me.

Once I committed to starting, the key was taking massive action. By doing that, I was able to make enough progress so that when my fear kicked in or logic told me I was making a mistake I had enough evidence to prove otherwise.

I had people interested in hearing more. I had some sales or some clients. I had some work product in hand. I could see that things were happening and it didn’t make sense to quit.

The hard part, of course, is getting started. You do that blindly, not knowing anything about what is about to happen.

So, how do you do it?

You look at other things you’ve done that have worked out and have faith in yourself that you can do this, too. And you look at what others have done with a similar idea, knowing that if they can do it, you can, too.

Mostly, you don’t think a lot about what you are about to do, you just lace up your track shoes and run. You do that because you have a burning desire to do something or achieve something or prove something and you’re just crazy enough to believe that you can.

Take massive action. Do as much as you can as fast as you can and don’t think too much about what you’re doing. Later, when you know your idea works, you can sit down and analyze what you’ve done.

The simplest way to get more referrals

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Filed Under: Inspiration, Personal development, success

I challenge you to double your income

February 13, 2018 by
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Are you satisfied with where you are in your career? I hope not. I hope you’re doing well, of course, but you’re hungry for more.

If you’re complacent, that has to change. It’s time to find another itch to scratch.

I have a challenge for you. You can set the time frame but I’ll give you the goal: to DOUBLE your income while cutting your work hours in HALF.

How does that sound? Scary? Crazy? Or exciting as hell?

I can’t imagine you wouldn’t want this to happen but I can see how you might question if it is possible. So start there. A new project. To find out if this goal is possible for you and what you need to do to make it happen.

Do you know (or know of) any lawyers who earn twice as much as you do? Sure you do. But do any of them work half the hours you work? That might be a little harder to deduce because “busy” is how professionals define success. So, make that a part of the project. To find the “Tim Ferriss” of the legal world.

Contact some higher-earning lawyers and ask about their schedule. You can start with me. When I was practicing, in a short period of time I quadrupled my income and simultaneously cut my work week down to three days.

I know, I know, your practice is different, the competition is greater, the world is a different place. To which I say, “Hell yes, it’s different. For one thing, you have the Internet. It’s easier to scale up your income today than when I did it.”

Doubt me if you wish. Then, go prove me wrong.

If you’re nervous, don’t attempt everything at the same time. Start by working on the income side of the equation. Once it starts going up, work on cutting the hours.

On the other hand, you might be better off doing them together.

I think I was able to increase my income so quickly because I simultaneously cut my hours. Working less forced me to think outside the box I had been living in, to work smarter and do bigger things.

I did it because I was miserable. I had to change my life. If you’re not in the same place I was, it might be harder for you because you might be unwilling to take chances and endure the discomfort of change.

It comes down to this: To double your income and cut your work in half, you have to either be fed up or fired up. If you’re content right now, you need to find something outside of yourself—a cause, someone you want to help—and do it for them.

Fed up or fired up.

That’s my word for the day. Let me know if you accept my challenge.

Marketing is easier when you know the formula

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Filed Under: Increase your income, Marketing legal services, success

It all comes down to fundamentals

February 7, 2018 by
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I know what you want. You want bigger cases, better clients, more money, more fulfilling work, a better life. The good news is that you can have all of these things, but only if you focus on the fundamentals.

First, you need to work on yourself every day. Work on your legal skills, your presentation and writing skills, and your marketing. More than anything else, work on your interpersonal skills because if you don’t, you might get the bigger cases and better clients but chase them away.

Second, you need quantity. You learn how to handle bigger cases by taking lots of small ones. You learn how to serve high-end clients by handling lots of regular folks. Quantity will lead to quality when you’re ready to handle it. (See number one above).

Third, you need to give it time. No matter how good you are or how hard you work, you can’t expect things to happen in a matter of months. Assume it will take years. You’re not cranking out widgets, here, you’re building a professional practice and that takes time.

Become the kind of lawyer (and person) who deserves and can handle the type of practice (and life) you desire. And let it happen when it happens.

Build your practice on a foundation of referrals

 

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Filed Under: Personal development, success

Do you (still) work nights and weekends?

February 1, 2018 by
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When I started practicing, even though I had few clients, I showed up at the office every day, including Saturdays. I spent most of that time setting up form files and writing form letters I could use once I got some new clients, and doing whatever I could think of to try to make that happen.

When I finally got some new clients, I started staying late at the office and bringing work home with me. I thought that’s what I had to do to make it and I was too scared to do anything else.

Maybe you are where I was. Maybe you’re working longer hours than you need to, or should. Even if you are getting things done and making money, at some point, you have to ask if this is the right way to go.

What if you set up some boundaries for yourself? What if you worked a full day but reserved your nights and weekends for yourself and your family? What if you actually scheduled took a vacation?

In the short term, as you work fewer hours, you’ll probably earn less income. In the long term, probably sooner than you think, you might see your practice explode, as mine did when I made the switch.

All work and no play really does make Jack a dull boy.

Start living a little. At night, on weekends, read novels, play games, take the kids to the park and toss a ball. If you don’t have kids, start making some. You’ll have the energy now, so get busy.

Leave your work at the office. Turn off your phone. Use your free time to get in shape. Start a hobby. Take a class or join a club. Not only will you have some fun, you’ll meet some new people (who share your interest) and have something to talk about besides work.

You’ll be more relaxed. More interesting. And have more energy. You’ll attract new friends, business contacts, and clients. You’ll have time to work on taking your practice to the next level.

You’ll earn more without working more. And finally realize that work isn’t the goal, it’s how you reach the goal.

How to earn more without working more: go here

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Filed Under: Dealing with stress, Increase your income, Inspiration, success Tagged With:

Are you doing the best you can?

January 25, 2018 by
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If you’re not achieving the results you want in your life, but you’re doing the best you can, there’s a question you need to ask yourself:

“Am I doing the best I can or am I doing the best that can be done?”

You want to live an extraordinary life. To do that, you need to achieve at an extraordinary level. If you’re not, if you’re doing the best you can but not the best that can be done, something has to change.

You have to improve your skills, your habits, or your commitment. You have figure out how to do (whatever it is) better than you’ve ever done it before.

You have to reinvent yourself and become the person who can do it the best that it can be done.

And, if you can’t do that, if you don’t have time to do that, or you don’t want to do that, you have to turn the job over to someone else.

Refer the case. Delegate the task. Ask your partner to handle that client. Find someone who can do the job better than you.

That may be difficult to hear but we all need to hear it from time to time. We have to admit to ourselves that our best may not be good enough.

If you want to achieve at an extraordinary level, you need to focus on your strengths, the things you do best, and eliminate or repair the things you don’t.

The good news is that if you are only good at one thing, and it’s the right thing, you don’t have to worry about anything else.

Want to get good at making money? Get good at getting referrals

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Filed Under: success

What do you want, exactly?

January 18, 2018 by
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In order to figure out what you want in your practice or any area of your life, it helps to first figure out what you don’t want.

Try this exercise:

Sit down in a quiet place and write, as quickly as you can, a list of everything you don’t want in your professional life. The things that take too much time, the things you hate, the things you don’t hate but would prefer not to do.

Don’t editorialize (or whine), just get it out and write it down.

It might be litigation, divorce, small cases, big cases, employees, partners, working for someone else, going to networking events, business travel, high rent, long hours, billing, collecting fees, unhappy clients, stress, too little income. . .

Don’t hold back. Write it all down. Nobody will see your list but you.

Keep writing until you can’t think of anything else.

Look at your list. It feels good to unload all of your burdens, even if it’s only on a piece of paper.

But you might also feel angry, as you see, in black and white, all of the things you have brought into your life and allowed to continue. Things that cause you anxiety, stress, time, and money.

Acknowledge those feelings and resolve to change the things that are causing you to have them.

You probably can’t eliminate all of the things you don’t like, or even most of them, at least anytime soon. But you can eliminate some of them and make some of them better.

Look at your list and decide what needs to go and what needs to change. Then, take a few minutes and make a new list. A list of things you want, based on your first list.

If you said you don’t want to handle divorce any longer, what do you want to handle instead? If you said you don’t want to chase clients to pay their bills, write down the way you want things to be.

Then, add to your “want” list anything else that comes to mind. Let your imagination soar. Do you want to work a 5-hour day and simultaneously double your income? Write that down. (NB: you can do that, as other lawyers and I can attest).

This is an important exercise because clarity is the first step towards change.

Plan, do, review. Start with this

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Filed Under: Career satisfaction, success

The number one reason most people fail

January 17, 2018 by
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Gary Keller, of Keller-Williams Real Estate and co-author of The ONE Thing: The Surprisingly Simple Truth Behind Extraordinary Results, said, “The number one reason most people fail is because they are unwilling to endure the monotony of success.”

Starting a new project or initiative is exciting. A few weeks later, when you’ve settled into a routine, the excitement will wear off.

Not much is happening. You’re bored. Going through the motions. Easily distracted. Ready to quit.

You’re being tested. Will you continue? Will you endure the monotony? Will you have faith and stay the course?

Success doesn’t happen all at once. It happens incrementally, sequentially, little by little. As you do the activities over and over again, they start to compound. Before you know it, you’ve reached a milestone.

You need to know that this is how it works before you begin.

If you’ve chosen the right goals, and the right activities to reach those goals, you will eventually reach them. It might happen slowly. You might not see it happening. You might get discouraged.

How do you keep yourself from quitting?

First, think about your goal and what it will mean to you when you achieve it. Meditate on it. Drink in the feeling. Understand that it may be hard but it is worth it.

Then, think about what it will be like if you don’t achieve the goal. Imagine how you will feel knowing you gave up.

Thomas Edison famously said, “Many of life’s failures are people who did not realize how close they were to success when they gave up.”

Don’t let that be you.

Marketing legal services is easier when you know the formula

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Filed Under: Personal development, success

Asking questions

December 18, 2017 by
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You’re good at asking questions. You do it for a living. Questions help you discover the truth, open and close doors and get a grasp on where to go next with a case or a line of questioning.

Asking questions can also help you clarify your goals and what you’re doing to achieve them.

Look at your calendar and your task list. All of the projects you’re working on, upcoming appointments, meetings, calls, emails, things you have to research, documents you need to prepare. Your day is filled with work and you’re getting most of it done.

Things are good.

You’re bringing in clients, making money, building a future. Don’t stop there. Don’t settle for the status quo. You can always do better.

Make it a habit to ask yourself questions about what you’re doing. Start with the big picture:

How can I earn what I’m earning and work fewer hours?

How can I increase my income without doing more work?

How can I bring in more clients at less expense?

How can I bring in bigger cases or better clients?

Not, “Can I?” but “How can I?” Assume you can.

Cogitate on questions like these. There are answers. You will find them. But only if you ask.

More.

Before you start a new task, ask yourself, Why am I doing this right now? Maybe it can be done later. Maybe someone else can do it. Maybe it doesn’t need to be done at all.

Asking why helps you to prioritize.

That’s “how” and “why”. You should also ask yourself “when” and “what”.

What should I do differently? When would be the best time? What should I add or remove?

Don’t forget “who”. Who should I talk to? Who could help me with this? Who do I know? Who do I want to know?

Ask questions about everything. Perhaps you are in the habit of scheduling new client appointments at a time that’s convenient to the client. Is this the best policy?

I don’t know. Ask more questions. Does accommodating the new client interfere with something else you should be doing? Does it impair your ability to finish things you’ve promised to other clients? Does it send a subliminal message that you’re hungry for business?

Interrogate yourself about who, what, when why, and how. Use your skills to spot the issues. State the arguments, for and against. Yes, I know, you could argue either side and all sides, all day long. You’re good at that, too. But don’t get caught up in that. Make a decision. Take action. See what happens.

Then you can ask more questions.

More questions to help you decide

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Filed Under: Goal Setting, Personal development, Productivity, success Tagged With:

A simple way to make important decisions

December 7, 2017 by
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Lots of options. Lots of things you could in the coming year to reach your goals.

Which one should you choose?

Should you work on Project A or Project B? Should you overhaul your website or start a newsletter? Should you work on meeting new professional contacts or write a book? If you have more than one book idea which one should you choose?

You’ve only got so much time and so much energy. How do you decide?

Everything on your list is important and valuable. In making your list, you gave a lot of thought to these options and you want to do all of them.

“I have the entire year,” you say. “I will do them all.” Maybe. Remember last year at this time? All of your ideas and plans? How many did you accomplish? How many did you start?

So don’t count on anything. Don’t bit off more than you can chew.

Instead of planning to everything on your list, choose one thing and do that. When you complete it, you can decide what to do next.

Okay. Which one should you do?

The easiest?

The most challenging?

The one with the highest payoff?

Should you stop listening to me ramble, pick something, and get on with it?

No. Do this: relax, close your eyes, and imagine it is the middle of next year. Look back at the time that has passed and where you are at that time. Think about your list of projects. Which one would you be most disappointed about not completing?

Choose that one.

The possibility of regret for not doing something will bring everything into focus. Whatever you are contemplating–work projects, career choices, schools, partnerships, where to live, when to retire, or any other important decision, unless there is a compelling, logical reason to move something to the top of your list, let your subconscious mind choose for you.

Once you choose, start immediately and don’t second guess your choice. Your subconscious mind is never wrong.

Need to get serious about marketing? Let your website do most of the heavy lifting

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Filed Under: Personal development, success
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