I wanted to update you, my loyal readers, about a free teleseminar I’m holding on Friday Feb. 12th, 2010 at 3 PM EST/ 12 PM PST entitled, “Who’s Got Your Back: How to Find, Hire, Inspire and Manage a Superstar Team to Fully Support You And Your Law Business”

As probably know, I privately coach over 50+ attorneys each month, and i’ve had this “tele-class” in my mind for quite some time. However, a few events over the past month finally kicked me into high gear in producing this content for lawyers who desperately need it right now.

First, I talked to a solo practitioner who was spending more money than ever on virtual assistants yet she was still having to micromanage and do a ton of non-legal work herself. She was frustrated to say the least, and asked for help finding “good” people she could trust to run the non-legal operations of her firm.

Then I spoke with 3 different attorneys who were spending up to six-figures with legal marketing coaches but still couldn’t seem to get their practice off the ground. After much digging, the problem wasn’t with the coaching program or even the lawyers….the problem was the TEAM in change of carrying out the plan While the attorney was spending a ton of money for training, the team was not getting the same education or “hand holding” and that directly impacted the success they were seeing as a result.

Finally, Entrepreneur Magazine called. They wanted to interview me as an industry expert on outsourcing in the legal field (which ended up on the front page of the website !). Because of the economy, small business owners (including lawyers) are struggling to afford the full-time staff they desperately need, so we discussed how going virtual is a great way to bring on quality people without the overhead, taxes and insurance required with traditional employees.

So after that series of events, I realized the issue of team building was on the minds of a lot people right now, and I decided to share my 20+ years experience on this subject to finally help attorneys build their ideal team (or properly train the team they have) so they can keep their practice growing and thriving, even in a down economy.

If you’re interested in joining me on the 12th, here are some of the key points i’ll be covering:

• The easiest way to find and hire skilled marketing and administrative professionals for your law firm without the added expense of payroll taxes, insurance benefits or physical overhead .
• How to equip your in-house staff with the tools they need to produce better work, effective marketing plans and increased productivity without additional oversight/ micromanagement.
• The BIGGEST mistake in hiring virtual staff which can cost your business thousands of dollars in unfinished work and wasted contractor fees.
• Simple ways to quickly identify and weed out service providers who are absolutely, positively a bad fit for your business.
• An exhaustive guide to what projects can be outsourced and what skill level they require so you have the upper hand when negotiating with telecommuters or service professionals.

Again, this call is free, jam-packed with content (unlike some of the pitch-fest teleseminars i’m sure you’re invited to daily) and you’ll leave knowing exactly what type of team you need, how not to overpay/sign with the wrong people or how to transform your current team into the rockstar staff you want…and need them to be.

Register now at http://www.buildyouridealteam.com

Oh and PS. I’m offering a BONUS 30 minute coaching/strategizing call with me to anyone who attends live this Friday. On this coaching call ($200 value), we’ll identify cracks in your support staff foundation and carve out a plan specific to YOUR law firm, resulting in less aggravation, increased productivity, more clients and more time for yourself in 2010 .

Just register at http://www.buildyouridealteam.com to claim your spot!

Are you an estate planning lawyer, family law attorney, business lawyer or just a small /solo attorney struggling to convert prospects into paying clients right now?

Maybe your marketing seems to be working…..people are calling the office, asking for more information– and even setting appointments, but for one reason or another those same people aren’t making the decision to move forward with your services.

If that sounds like you– don’t worry!  Hundreds of lawyers are going through the same thing right now and it’s a problem easily fixed with a bit of automation and advanced business skills.

Fortunately, you can learn the skills and strategies you need to succeed in running a small law firm that engages 97% of it’s clients (yes, that’s right— 97% should be the NORM for you) on a free call with my friend and law business strategist, Alexis Martin Neely on Thursday, October 29th at 12p PT/3p ET.

Below is an email Alexis sent out to her network.  I wanted to extend the same invitation to you, the readers of LegalMarketingMaven.com because I know you’ll benefit from the free coaching and advanced strategies you need to end 2009 with a bang– even in a down economy.

So please read below, jump on the call for some free coaching and watch your business grow!

- Laura Lee 

********

Do you know what puts most lawyers out of business… especially in a tough economy?

It’s doing the same thing over and over and hoping to get a different result. (Albert Einstein calls that the definition of insanity.)

One of biggest areas that lawyers struggle with is client engagement. With the economy being the way it is, engaging the prospects who make it into your office is more important than ever.

The ugly truth that we all must face is that when the economy is slow, you will have fewer prospects. This makes it more important than ever for you to maximize your opportunity with the prospects who do come to your office for an initial consultation.

And that’s where I can help.

After two years of intense and painful trial and tens of thousands of dollars of error, I developed a literally foolproof system for getting 97.5% of the people who call my office to make an appointment,keep their appointment and engage my law firm – at higher fees than I’d ever commanded before.

On Thursday, October 29th at 12p PT/3p ET, I’m revealing my system for engaging just about every prospect who calls my office during a free tele-conference and you’re invited. The topic is: “How to Get 97.5% of Your Prospects to Say Yes!” You’ll discover everything I did to build my client engagement rate from a dismal 50% to almost 98%…and increase my average fee from $2,500 to $5,000!

Here is some of what we’ll cover:

* A step by step strategy that will allow you to convey so much value to your prospects they’ll feel compelled to SAY YES to working with you just about every single time.

* The #1 best way to QUOTE FEES that gets almost every single person I meet with to say “yes” and to higher fees than I ever could have charged before.

* The one thing you must do before your prospect ever comes to your office to ELIMINATE CANCELLATIONS. This is a controversial strategy but it works and I’ll prove it!

* My killer system that ensures that you DON’T WASTE TIME in long, initial consultations just to find out that your prospects are just shopping or aren’t sure.

* The perfect ice breaker that uncovers your prospects biggest concerns and BUILDS IMMEDIATE TRUST in less than 15 minutes.

* How to DOUBLE YOUR PROFITS in less time, with less effort, without having to make huge changes and upset your staff.

Want to be part of this free tele-conference?

Go here: http://budurl.com/9vuk

To Your Dream Law Business!

~ Alexis Martin Neely

PS: Check out how RobRoy Platt charges FOUR time what he used to charge and has a 100% engagement rate since implementing these strategies. Watch his video at http://budurl.com/k9af Then be sure to register for the call: http://budurl.com/9vuk

PPS: Not sure if you can make the call? Register anyway. I can’t promise there will be a replay due to special bonuses only available to attendees, but if there is a replay it will only be available to those who register.

Law firm layoffs in 2009 are higher than ever thanks to a sluggish economy coupled with large, yet outdated law firms that have never mastered the legal marketing principals necessary to compete in the world of web 2.0.

I recently discovered there are entire websites devoted to following this trend, as more lawyers find themselves in the unemployment line rather than creating the business and lifestyle of their dreams.

If you’ve been laid off and are now considering a solo career—GREAT!  There’s never been a better time than now to do it!

With a little help and some insider information, you can create a million dollar law practice that provides you the security and freedom you’re looking for—even in this economy (I witness this every day in our Personal Family Lawyer Program).  It’s just going to require a shift in the way you’ve been accustomed to doing business and some fine tuning of your legal marketing skills.

You’ll also need to load up on resources designed to help you stand out in an oversaturated legal market and make a commitment to run your firm like a BUSINESS, not a traditional law practice where your only concern is billing for every email, phone call and piece of paper possible.

And when I say “run your firm like a business” I mean the client (or customer) has to become your number one priority.  You’ll have to be innovative and creative to stay competitive. And most importantly, you’ll have to learn some renegade legal marketing tactics to close clients on your services before they start “shopping around” at other firms.

I realize that sounds like a lot, but it’s a whole lot easier than you think.  If you are serious about stepping out on your own in 2009, here are some resources I HIGHLY recommend you add to your legal marketing arsenal so you can kick things off with a bang:

• Renowned legal marketing coach and million-dollar law firm owner, Alexis Martin Neely has over $22,500 worth of FREE legal marketing and practice building gifts for download here.  At a bare minimum, you MUST get these tools into your hands if you’re serious about creating a law firm that runs on auto-pilot and brings in enough money for your family to live on!
• Alexis also has a really great Holiday Call that talks about creating the law practice of your dreams in any economy.   She actually lays out the top 3 things you MUST be doing right now to ensure a steady flow of new clients.  Also, on the call is Dave Dee , a marketing guru who coached Alexis on how to build her million dollar law practice from scratch. It’s normally $47 but Legal Marketing Maven readers can download it FREE here.
• Once you get your practice set up with a physical address, get yourself listed on Local Search as soon as possible.  We have a great how-to post on getting your law firm set up on Google Maps here that will walk you through the process in 10 minutes flat.
• Finally, stay tuned and be sure to visit back here in the next few weeks as we roll out some affordable (yes, I mean AFFORDABLE) how-to, handholding products that will show you how to get free publicity as a legal expert, generate leads with social media and optimize your website so you rank above your completion in Google and Yahoo Search.

And as always, if you have specific questions that weren’t addressed by any of these resources or you would like some help developing a legal marketing strategy for your new firm, please email help@legalmarketingmaven.com for further information.

Online Business Manager and law firm marketing expert, Laura Lee Sparks, is one of the most authoritative and well respected voices on attorney outsourcing, legal marketing and being a virtual assistant for lawyers on the web.  Her advice and legal marketing campaigns have helped lawyers reach and surpass the million-dollar mark in their businesses numerous times thanks to her straight-forward advice and ability to make legal marketing principles easy to understand and implement.  For further information on lawyer outsourcing programs or to contact Laura Lee directly, please email help@legalmarketingmaven.com

Are you ready to transform your law business into the business of your dreams with legal marketing tools that actually WORK?

Are you tired of the “marketing merry-go-round” and “cash-flow rollercoaster” that comes with the territory?

If so, take a minute and check out the amazing resources at lawbuisnesssecrets.com. 

Here you will find over $22,500 worth of FREE gifts from Alexis Martin Neely, a respected and well-known million dollar law firm owner and business coach that specializes in estate planning for families.

Some of the products she is giving away include:

• Law Business Manifesto “How Every Law Practice Owner Can Get Beyond the Broken Law Firm Business Model and Into Your Dream Law Business”
• Audio Class “How to Get Off the Marketing Merry Go Round and Cash Flow Roller Coaster and Find the Freedom and Money You Deserve”
• Free Subscription to Alexis’s highly acclaimed weekly Law Business Revolution briefing memorandum
• AND, over $22,500 of practice-building gifts… absolutely FREE!

And because I know Alexis personally and have witnessed her in action, I can honestly tell you this is NOT a legal marketing ploy.

Instead, Alexis is offering proven and time-tested resources for engaging clients, earning revenue and creatively marketing your services in the field for which you specialize.

So if you feel burnt out or tired of the daily law grind, check out the resources offered at lawbuisnesecrets.com. 

After all, the stuff is FREE. What do you have to lose?

Online Business Manager and law firm marketing expert, Laura Lee Sparks, is one of the most authoritative and well respected voices on attorney outsourcing, legal marketing and being a virtual assistant for lawyers on the web.  Her advice and legal marketing campaigns have helped lawyers reach and surpass the million-dollar mark in their businesses numerous times thanks to her straight-forward advice and ability to make legal marketing principles easy to understand and implement.  For further information on lawyer outsourcing programs or to contact Laura Lee directly, please email help@legalmarketingmaven.com

For any lawyer starting to dabble in the world of online legal marketing and blogging,  Google Alerts is an invaluable tool for keeping up with online legal chatter.

Basically, this program allows Google to “alert” you any time a particular word or phrase is mentioned on the web or in the blogosphere.

I’m going to explain how to set this up in a minute, but first lets discuss some useful and practical ways to utilize Google Alerts for your law practice.

First and foremost, Google Alerts is great  reputation management tool. Law firms should always set up an alert with their company name and name of each attorney to monitor what people are saying online regarding your business or or personal brand.

Google Alerts is also a great way to keep up on breaking news within your particular practice area. For example, a products liability lawyer may set up an alert on the words “FDA recall” for an instant notification the minute a recall hits the web.

And obviously, the quicker a lawyer knows about these breaking stories, the quicker they can start “quick strike” campaigns to grab some of the clients that may have been affected by the recalled product.

Finally, Google Alerts are great way to find relevent blog topics.  For example, an estate planning attorney may set up an alert on “lost assets” or “poor legal planning” to find stories across the web of people that may have faired differently with proper estate planning or some of your services.

So now that we’ve discussed some of the ways to properly use Google Alerts, the following is a brief tutorial on how to get  set up.

Step 1: Log into your Google Account. Do this by going to http://www.google.comand signing in at the top right hand side of the page. If you don’t have a Google account, you will need to create one to sign up for Google Alerts.

Step 2:Once you login, click on “Alerts” under “My Products” on the main dashboard.

Step 3:Enter your desired term in the “search term” box. Then choose how often you want to receive the notifications (once a day, as it happens, etc) and make sure the alert will be delivered to the proper gmail address. *Note: use quotation marks on your alerts to keep specific words together– such as “medical malpractice” in the image shown below

Step 4: Hit “create alert” and you’re all done! Now just sit back and wait for the notifications to start hitting your inbox!

Online Business Manager and law firm marketing expert, Laura Lee Sparks, is one of the most authoritative and well respected voices on attorney outsourcing, legal marketing and being a virtual assistant for lawyers on the web.  Her advice and legal marketing campaigns have helped lawyers reach and surpass the million-dollar mark in their businesses numerous times thanks to her straight-forward advice and ability to make legal marketing principles easy to understand and implement.  For further information on lawyer outsourcing programs or to contact Laura Lee directly, please email help@legalmarketingmaven.com

For legal marketing professionals and attorneys, getting signed up and active on Twitter is an important step in any social media marketing campaign. 

But what’s the point of signing up if you can’t be found?

That’s where twitter directories come in.

Twitter directories are third party apps that allow you to submit your twitter handle and profile so that potential clients or colleges can find you and follow in a matter of minutes.

Clearly, this is an extremely valuable tool when it comes to networking with other legal marketers, attorneys, and members of the media that may be looking to use you as a source.  Likewise, these directories allow potential clients to search by practice area (i.e, personal injury, criminal, estates), so if you don’t utlize the 5 minutes it takes to get listed, you might miss out on a great case!

You also want to make sure you are following the key players in your industry and Twitter directories make it so much easier to do that.  They also help the key players find YOU and follow what you have to say.  Obviously, it’s a win- win situation as far as networking is concerned.

So without further adieu, here are a handful of Twitter directories to get started with.  The first two are specifically for the legal profession, while the rest offer general directories and categories in which your twitter handle and profile can be named:

• LexTweet (A service of LexBlog): http://www.lextweet.com/
• Legal Birds (powered by Justia): http://legalbirds.justia.com/
• Twitter Fan Wiki: http://twitter.pbwiki.com/Apps
• Twellow: http://www.twellow.com/
• Just Tweet It: http://justtweetit.com/
• Twitter Packs: http://twitterpacks.pbwiki.com/
• Gov Twits (Find Gov’t Employees & agencies): http://newthinking.bearingpoint.com/2008/11/20/govtwit-directory/
• Book Trade (List of publishers & book execs- great if you want to get published!): http://www.highspotinc.com/blog/2008/12/a-directory-of-book-trade-people-on-twitter/

Online Business Manager and law firm marketing expert, Laura Lee Sparks, is one of the most authoritative and well respected voices on attorney outsourcing, legal marketing and being a virtual assistant for lawyers on the web.  Her advice and legal marketing campaigns have helped lawyers reach and surpass the million-dollar mark in their businesses numerous times thanks to her straight-forward advice and ability to make legal marketing principles easy to understand and implement.  For further information on lawyer outsourcing programs or to contact Laura Lee directly, please email help@legalmarketingmaven.com

The Attorney Marketing Blog has brought to our attention a free search engine marketing tool capable of fueling the SEO campaigns of big and small law firms alike.  Apparently, the legal marketing site Justia.com and Cornell University have joined forces in allowing firms to place a free business listing on their already branded directories.  

So what does that mean for you?  Well, as the Attorney Marketing Blog points out, you’ll grab more (and higher listings) in Google from these profile pages.  And, if you’re just starting in the world of search engine optimization, your site will receive a tremendous boost from being linked into such a heavily trafficked site.

However, there are few tricks to making these listings work in your favor, so be sure to check out the copywriting/SEO tips at the bottom of the article.  Considering the listing is FREE, I recommend you do what it takes and leverage this marketing gift to the max.

Online Business Manager and law firm marketing expert, Laura Lee Sparks, is one of the most authoritative and well respected voices on attorney outsourcing, legal marketing and virtual assisting for lawyers on the web.  Her advice and legal marketing campaigns have helped lawyers reach and surpass the million-dollar mark in their businesses numerous times thanks to her straight-forward advice and ability to make legal marketing principles easy to understand and implement.  For further information on lawyer outsourcing programs or to contact Laura Lee directly, please email help@legalmarketingmaven.com

Do you want to explode your legal marketing efforts and show up on the first page of Google without the help of an SEO firm or an expensive Ad Words campaign?  Fortunately, that’s possible with the help of a separate search engine known as Google Maps.  Google Maps is a free, quick and easy way to ensure your law practice can be found by local clients by simply setting up an optimized account.

What is Google Maps, aka Local Search?

Local search is a special algorithm (or search method) that helps the searcher (or your potential client) find more relevant results closer to home.  The following screen shot of the search “divorce attorney, Moorestown, NJ” will illustrate what I mean by this:

As you can see by the image, there are 10 law firms listed next to a map at the top of the page.  You’ll also notice these listings are well above firms that spend thousands of dollars a year on SEO and PPC campaigns for better search rankings.   This happened because the client “googled” a search term + a specific location or zip code and the local search engine kicked in to trump the regular search results.

As mentioned before, Google does this to provide more relevant results for those that look for goods and services in their immediate area.  If people weren’t searching this way, Google wouldn’t have created local search.  Therefore, by simply recognizing this trend and setting up an account, your firm can snag the best clients on a shoe-string marketing budget.

How to Get Your Law Practice Set Up on Google Maps

Setting up your law practice on Google Maps only requires 15 minutes of undivided attention and access to a few good videos or pictures to upload with your listing.  To get started, you’ll have to create an account with Google’s Local Business Center (www.google.com/local/add).   Fill out your personal information and follow the instructions given.  When you’ve successfully completed this step, you can then choose “add a new listing” on the following page.

From there, you will be taken to a screen asking for general business information and a brief description of the company.  Now, before you rush through and put a blanket statement such as “Florida family law practice” in the description, remember this is a search engine similar to regular Google search.  Therefore, you must use as much optimized content as possible if you want to show up above the other listings.  Going on the example above, a better way to set up your description would be, “ABC Company is a Florida (FL) family law firm specializing in divorce, wills, estates, prenups and child support cases”.

Get Personal and Showcase Your Firm

The next screen will bring you to a more personal page where you can add the firm’s hours or acceptable payment methods, in addition to pictures, YouTube videos and a personal message from the firm.  It’s important that you take the time to utilize each of these optional areas, as Google is essentially giving you the chance to add some personality to a generic listing. Similarly, it’s a known fact that seeing pictures of the building, the staff, or maybe a video of a key attorney saying a word or two about the firm can help a client overcome the fear of calling an attorney in the first place.

This page also gives you the opportunity to add 5-7 categories in which your business qualifies.  Start by typing in the words “lawyer” or “attorney” into the blank field and see what specific categories populate.  Then choose among the drop down list the categories that best describe your law practice.   Always be sure to utilize every category possible, as this too can determine when and how your firm is shown in the local search results.

Validate Your Listing

The final step in setting up Google Maps is to validate the listing.  The following screen will give two options on how to do this: 1) an automated system can call the main phone line ask for a password or 2) Google will mail a postcard within 2-3 weeks with a password to confirm the listing.  The second option will be necessary for those firms that bounce their calls to a switchboard or a pre-recorded message, as a live response must be given with the phone option.  But whichever option you choose, follow the instructions and confirm the listing to complete the set up process.

Congratulations! You Have Now Mastered Local Search

Now that you’ve mastered Google Maps, go ahead and try your hand with Yahoo and MSN local.  The larger your web presence is in this area, the more clients you will draw in for the firm.  And as a final warning, if the listing is not optimized correctly or your firm is entering a crowded industry, it may take some time before your listing shows up near the top of the map.  Remember, at the end of the day Google Maps is just another search engine, in which time and keyword popularity will always dictate who holds the top spot on the first page.

Online Business Manager and law firm marketing expert, Laura Lee Sparks, is one of the most authoritative and well respected voices on attorney outsourcing, legal marketing and virtual assisting for lawyers on the web.  Her advice and legal marketing campaigns have helped lawyers reach and surpass the million-dollar mark in their businesses numerous times thanks to her straight-forward advice and ability to make legal marketing principles easy to understand and implement.  For further information on lawyer outsourcing programs or to contact Laura Lee directly, please email help@legalmarketingmaven.com

I am re-gifting Alexis Martin Neely’s holiday gift because it is in my opinion and that of many lawyers I have heard from a must listen to for working on your 2009 legal marketing plan for your law business. 

During the call Alexis lays out the the top 3 things you MUST be doing this next year to ensure a steady flow of new clients.  Also, on the call is Dave Dee market guru who coached Alexis to building her million dollar law practice and several Personal Family Lawyers who have implemented Alexis’ strategies in 2008 and shared their successes despite the economic crisis that is on all of our minds. 

This is a call jam packed with content and not a single sales pitch – a gift that will surely help you soar into 2009. 

To download the free recording visit www.LawBusinessSecrets.com/holiday

Wishing you all a very happy, healthy and prosperous New Year!

Laura Lee

Online Business Manager and law firm marketing expert, Laura Lee Sparks, is one of the most authoritative and well respected voices on attorney outsourcing, legal marketing and virtual assisting for lawyers on the web.  Her advice and legal marketing campaigns have helped lawyers reach and surpass the million-dollar mark in their businesses numerous times thanks to her straight-forward advice and ability to make legal marketing principles easy to understand and implement.  For further information on lawyer outsourcing programs or to contact Laura Lee directly, please email help@legalmarketingmaven.com