Earn More. Work Less.
This isn’t an attorney but he offers a cogent explanation of how social medial should fit into an attorney’s marketing mix. What’s that? You don’t have a mix? Oh my, you really should have a mix. . .
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How’s business? The ABA Journal wants to know. They are surveying lawyers on the job market and the state of the economy. They’ve asked me to mention this on my blog, so here it is:
http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=9Dhw2g7bX_2bxfq4mW8eB1Cg_3d_3d
Surveys are interesting, but guess what? The job market and the state of the economy have no bearing on your life. Unless you believe it will.
If you believe the economy will materially affect your practice or job, it will. If you believe it won’t, it won’t.
Does that sound naive? Some kind of new age hooey? Well, if you believe that, then for you, that’s exactly what it is. But I have different beliefs. I believe we create our reality. I believe we can choose to be successful in the face of adversity or we can choose to capitulate, wring our hands, and suffer along with everyone else.
It’s our choice.
You can choose personal responsibility. You can choose to be optimistic. You can choose to see opportunity when others see Armageddon. In the Depression of the 1930’s, unemployment was twenty-five percent and millions suffered. But many made fortunes. I guess they understood that periods of great change create opportunities for the status quo to change. Of course that’s also why many previously wealthy people jumped out of windows.
Business philosopher, Jim Rohn, said, “It is the set of the sails, not the direction of the wind that determines which way we will go.†How are you choosing to set your sails?
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Update: In case you’re interested, here’s a link to the survey results: http://www.abajournal.com/magazine/14307_lawyers_predict_the_future
Getting exposure via published articles has long been a marketing mainstay for lawyers. In the age of the Internet, there are even more opportunities than ever as the need for quality content has multiplied.
Many books have been written on writing and publishing articles. If you are serious about promoting your practice this way, I recommend reading a few books and learning to do it right.
The basics of getting published never change. The first step is to identify those publications that are a suitable outlet for your articles. Offline, the venerable “Writers Market” (from Writer’s Digest) lists thousands of magazines and newspapers that accept outside submissions.
Online, numerous directories list electronic newsletters and web sites that accept articles. Go to any search engine and type in
Once you have determined which publications you are interested in, the next step is to obtain their “writers’ guidelines”. This is a description of the kinds of articles they want, how many words, the rights they purchase (i.e., “first publication”), and the procedure for submitting the article for consideration.
You’ll probably find writers’ guidelines on the publication’s web site. If not, contact the editor and ask if they accept articles and if so, what they are looking for.
Once you know the guidelines, the next step is the “query”. Some publications want you to submit your article idea in outline form, along with a sample of your other writing, some publications want to see the whole article first. Whatever the guidelines, your query needs to sell the editor on three things:
Your query letter should be well written and to the point. It should demonstrate that the article you propose will be relevant to their readership and interesting to read. Editors read hundreds of queries and sort through them quickly; if you want to be considered, you need to get their attention and immediately make them see the value in your article.
Getting the first article accepted is the hardest. Once you have built up a list of publications that have accepted your work, you should find yourself getting published more frequently. Until then, don’t assume that being a lawyer is enough of a pedigree to be accepted for publication. Actually, being a lawyer could work against you. If an editor assumes you “write like a lawyer,” you’ll have to work harder to show them that you can write something real people would want to read.
Don’t hesitate to start with small publications. It will give you experience in writing and submitting articles. You’ll also get a list of publishing credits and that will make it easier to get other editors to give you the go ahead.
Don’t be concerned about payment for your articles; most publications pay little or nothing anyway. But do negotiate a listing of your web site or other contact information at the end of the article. You want readers to be able to reach you.
Be patient; it will be worth the effort. Even if they don’t allow you to list your contact information in the article, just being able to say you have been published carries weight. Reprints of your articles make excellent marketing hand outs that can be used for years. And you can re-cycle your material (make sure you retained the right to do so) in other articles, speaking engagements, web/ezine articles, blog posts, reports, and so forth. Also, having been published can lead to interviews and speaking engagements and could also provide material for press releases. For example, your published article might be referenced in a press release where you offer a free report that amplifies the subject matter of the article.
Writing for publication will give you exposure and credibility as an expert in your field. It can also lead to even more exposure in the form of inquiries from other publications, joint venture partners, meeting holders, teleseminar promoters, and the like. Getting published will help you grow your mailing list, develop new referral sources, and create more clients. It will also make your mother proud.
I just finished reading, "Double Your Income Doing What You Love," by Raymond Aaron, which describes a unique method of setting and achieving goals. One of the perennial issues in goal setting is whether we should set big goals, which inspire us to reach high but usually leave us disappointed, or small goals, which we almost always achieve, but don’t take us very far. Aaron presents a system that provides the perfect answer, one I have never seen before.
"Instead of recording a goal, you subdivide your goal into three levels of achievement," he says. The first level is what we are almost certain to do, not based on our hopes but on our actual track record. "It is not much more than a to-do item," he says. But just because you are almost certain to do it doesn’t mean you will and so it is still a goal. This first level can be called the "minimum."
The next level is your "target". This is a stretch beyond what you are confident you can do.
The highest level he calls "outrageous" and it is the most challenging of the three, practically impossible to achieve.
By setting three levels of the same goal, you will always achieve that goal. You are guaranteed to succeed at some level, and thus your self-esteem is enhanced (the rationale behind setting easy goals) while you are simultaneously inspired by your bigger target and outrageous goals. You’ll hit your target goals often enough, and sometimes hit (or make significant progress towards) your outrageous goals. The bottom line of this system is that you hit more goals more often.
Aaron also suggests using monthly goals as your primary time line, long enough to accomplish something meaningful but short enough to be held accountable. Monthly goals are tactical, the mechanics of reaching our long term (annual) strategic goals.
He also tells us that while we are responsible for our lives and, therefore, the accomplishment of our goals, this doesn’t mean we are the ones who have to do everything (or anything) towards their achievement. Aaron is a proponent of delegation, urging us to do only what we love. "When you set a goal, you likely wonder when you are ever going to find time to complete it. When I set a goal, I wonder who is going to do it. If it’s not one of my special talents, I delegate it so that it gets done."
Over the last twenty-four years, Aaron has mentored thousands to success with his goal setting methods, and, not surprisingly, suggests everyone will benefit from "a mentored life." "You do what makes sense to you. Therefore, on your own, you keep doing the same thing all the time, because it makes sense to you. To have a giant leap forward in your life, you need to do what does not make sense to you. Only a very wise mentor can alert you to such new and strange actions you could take to make a huge change in your life."
I recommend Aaron’s book. In fact, I guarantee you’ll get something out of it.
Many (most?) people think identity theft is about credit and credit cards, but that’s only about a fourth of the problem. These two videos are frightening examples of other kinds of identity theft and, unfortunately, they are more common than you think.
Once you have watched these, spend a little time educating yourself about identity theft, and then tell your clients. Warn them and inform them. Tell them what to watch out for and tell them how to protect themselves. Especially now, during the holiday season, when identity thieves run like pack wolves. As the first video suggests, it could save their life.
And if you don’t have identity theft protection, think about getting some. I have what I believe is the best service available and I also sell it. (No commercials, though; if you want some information about the service for yourself and/or to offer it to your clients, contact me.)
The language of the brain is pictures, sounds, and feelings. If I tell you I saw a pink turtle, your mind will process my statement by creating a mental picture of a pink turtle. However, if I tell you that I did NOT see a pink turtle, you will still see a pink turtle. That’s because the brain can only process positive information. You can’t make a mental picture of NOT seeing something because the brain can’t process negative pictures, sounds, or feelings.
If you tell your child, “Don’t run across the street,” the message their brain sees is “run across the street.” You have planted the visual image of them doing the very thing you don’t want them to do.
Sure, as adults we have the facility to translate the negation of a thought to its positive form, but the additional step involved in doing so means there is a lesser chance that the information you want to communicate will get through.
If you want to communicate more clearly, be conscious not to plant negative suggestions in others’ minds with the words you choose. Speak in the positive. Say “It’s a pleasure” instead of “no problem”. Use the words “Call me” instead of “Don’t hesitate to call.” Tell clients, “The trial will go smoothly,” and not, “Don’t worry about the trial.”
Tell people what you want rather than what you don’t want. Tell people what to do rather than what not to do. When you phrase things in the positive, you will communicate more clearly and you will get more of the results you seek.
There are exceptions, however, and you can use them to your advantage.
The title of this article (intentionally) tells you what NOT to do, and uses a negative, the word “mistake”. In this case, the title is meant to create curiosity or “mental tension” that can only be relieved by reading the article. The title doesn’t tell you what to do, the article does, and you are compelled to read it to find out.
Curiosity is a powerful motivator because our brains want to see what can’t be seen, to find the positive image it cannot see but knows is there.
A few years ago, my wife had a potentially life-threatening illness. I went with her for a consultation with a physician who had been recommended to us as one of the top in the field.
Doctor after doctor spoke highly of him. Virtually everyone also remarked about how nice he was.
He had the right credentials, including being selected as one of the “Best Doctors in America,” and a busy, successful practice. We were fortunate to have found someone as competent and well regarded as he.
But I didn’t like him.
For one thing, when he came into the office where my wife and I were seated, he didn’t talk to us, he talked “at” us. He talked about his practice and his partners and the surgeries he had performed, as though he were presenting his CV to a panel of physicians rather than counseling real people at a vulnerable time of their lives.
He asked a few questions, but I wasn’t sure he listened to the answers. He looked at the records as he spoke, making notes, reading, doing what seemed to me what he should have done before he came into the room. There was no humor about him, nor a glimmer of lightness or humanity. No small talk. No smile.
What bothered me most, though, was that he didn’t look at us. No eye contact at all. As he talked, his eyes were on the medical records. He didn’t look up!
It was as if we weren’t even in the same room.
He told us my wife should have surgery, buzzed his nurse to arrange it, and that was that. Next case!
My wife felt that not looking at people was his way of dealing with all the death he must surely deal with every day. She was willing to dismiss this as quirkiness, in view of his outstanding reputation.
I wasn’t. His demeanor troubled me. I thought a doctor could be competent AND show some humanity.
We wanted a second opinion and got a referral to another doctor of equally high reputation. I liked him immediately. Not only was he friendly, when he talked, he looked us squarely in the eye. Unlike the first doctor, he patiently explained what was in the records, drew, on paper, a diagram of what he was referring to, and described the different choices that were available to us.
Choices!
He told us the pros and cons, and helped us weigh them. He let us know that the final decision was up to us, but he felt we were entitled to his opinion and recommendation, which he gave us (an alternative to surgery!)
I liked the way he weighed the “evidence” and helped us follow a logical path to the ultimate conclusion. It was as if he were saying, “Let’s look at this together so you can see what I see.” It reminded me of how I would speak to clients when it was time to consider going to trial.
Of course we preferred the second doctor’s opinion, but even if it had been the same, the bottom line is that the second doctor made us feel like he cared.
Doctors and lawyers counsel people in times of trouble, and we must never forget that our bedside manner is at least as important as our technical competence.
In the end, clients don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care.
I‘m in love!
Well, okay, when you’re talking about a piece of software, that might be a bit strong. But, I can’t help it…
I really am IN LOVE!
The software I’m talking about is Info Select. It’s been around for twenty years and I can’t believe I just found out about it.
Info Select is an information management system that allows you to organize EVERYTHING: notes, contact info, ideas, emails, phone logs, client data, calendars, presentations, research…
EVERYTHING!
I don’t use Outlook anymore. I use Word only occasionally. I’m getting rid of mounds of loose scraps, notes, reminders, post-its that have adorned my office for years. I can see my desk again!
I can now find anything I’m looking for by using Info Select’s robust search capability.
Here’s what one lawyer says about a previous version:
http://www.stepup.com.au/product/isw6/lawyer.htm
More info:
http://www.innovationtools.com/Tools/SoftwareDetails.asp?a=68
Here’s the company web site: http://miclog.com. They offer a thirty-day free trial. Careful, it’s addicting!
If you use Info Select, please share your experiences. If you haven’t, check it out!
David Ward
“Be a mentor with a servant’s heart!”
