As I explained last week, I am turning the page and no longer working with Alexis Martin Neely and the Family Wealth Planning Institute.

Instead, I’ve realized it’s time to re-open the doors of my own business, which was extremely successful before my  decision to commit to one client in 2007—and ultimately one that changed the lives of many attorneys and practices all over this country.

So I’m excited to announce that I’ll once again be providing private coaching and high-end implementation services for qualified attorneys and attorney membership organizations in the US and Canada.

But here’s the really exciting part.

My company, Legal Marketing Maven, is now partnering with my good friend and well-respected implementation Goddess, Paula Woolley of Progressive Office Solutions and other incredible team members to provide full-service, complete marketing support for lawyers who are really serious about exploding their business this year.

So what does a full-service, complete virtual marketing team look like?

Basically, you’ll have a private coach, marketing director, copywriters, graphic designers, IT gurus, client service directors and administrative support staff virtually at your fingertips… devoted entirely to the growth, prosperity and vitality of your small or solo law firm.

You’ll also get the benefit of working with me as your personal mentor, coach and business strategist.  I’ve helped multiple businesses surpass the million dollar mark and I’m happy to give you the tools and strategies to do the same.

You will  also benefit from my network of service providers, marketing professionals and business gurus as I’m out there continuing my own personal education and staying up to date cutting edge strategies both in the legal and non legal communities. which of course is needed for long-lasting growth.

However, as I said this is a major time commitment on our part and we can only take a limited number of these high level relationships.  They are also limited geographically to ensure fairness and a true competitive edge to the lawyers we serve.

If you’re interested in becoming one of the few lawyers we serve at this level (and FYI a number of spaces are already filled—and filling fast just via word-of-mouth) please email me directly at help@legalmarketingmaven.com

Yet for those of you simply looking for a la carte legal marketing , virtual administrative services or regular marketing support on a less-intensive level, we still have plenty of options to meet the growing needs of your small or solo firm.  You can see all of our services or request more information by visiting our services offered page.

Again, I am so excited to embark on this journey with you and look forward to completely transforming law firms across the country this year.

To your success & productivity!

Laura Lee

We’ve all had to attend meetings (sometimes regularly scheduled meetings) that we simply dreaded.  Since you do want your team meeting to happen every week, the last thing you want is for it to be something your staff does not look forward to.

Here are my tips for what NOT to do with your weekly team meeting time:

Do not assume everyone can stay in the meeting for an unlimited amount of time.  I recommend scheduling 60 minutes for the team meeting, and do your best to keep it within that time frame.

Do not spend the entire time, focused on one agenda item.  Everyone should come to the meeting with a printed agenda of items that everyone has contributed to.  If you see that the discussion of a certain item will take more than a few minutes and your agenda is full, suggest that the members of your team that are involved with that item, have a separate meeting to go more in depth on the topic.

Do not forget to take notes, always appoint someone to be in charge of taking notes (keeping the same person for this each week works well) and appoint someone in charge of reviewing the notes from the previous week and making sure that all open items carry over to the next agenda.

Do not ever use a team meeting to call someone out personally about a problem.  If you are having issues with a team members you or your manager should handle those problems privately.  On this same note if you are having a problem with a team member do not make that obvious during the staff meeting, by you comments, tone, or lack of responsiveness to that staff person.

And do not control the meeting.  You have selected your team because of the talent and gifts that they bring to the table.  When you bring all of those gifts to a meeting of the minds that is conducted in a “safe place” where there are no stupid questions or ideas, your business will benefit from this weekly activity in ways that you never dreamed possible.

Do you have tips that make your meetings more productive, or a staff meeting experience to share, please post a comment, we love to hear from you!

These team meetings can be done in person, via phone, or on a video platform like skype.  Yet no matter which platform you choose, the key is to ensure they happen each week without fail….schedule it at the same time every week as if it is your most important client.

That’s because your team needs at least an hour of your undivided attention to ask questions, go over open items, provide feedback and discuss future projects in a way that’s organized. And by setting aside a specific time each week for this to occur doesn’t interrupt your daily work flow on a regular basis.

You, in turn, need these meetings to check up on the progress of your team, give them the time to hear their feedback and answer questions, hold everyone accountable, brainstorm future projects and keep everyone informed of the happenings in the firm.

Having a weekly team meeting, is a great way to do this in a controlled and focused environment where everyone gets their needs met and your team is empowered to tackle their work load without struggle, confusion or lack of clarity each week.

If you’re not already holding weekly team calls for the employees or subcontractors of your firm, now is a great time to start.  Here are a few things you should ALWAYS do during a team meeting to ensure it is always a productive and efficient use of your time:

1. ALWAYS have an agenda- This keeps the meeting focused and on track.  Essentially, one person should be in charge of compiling the agenda and gathering talking points (from every person that attends the meeting) that they would like to cover in advance of the call.  You’ll then use this to guide the conversation and ensure all issues are discussed and resolved appropriately.
2. ALWAYS Share the Stage- It’s important that meetings are a collaborative and safe space and not just what you want, need or expect from your staff.  While that will ultimately be addressed on the call, it’s equally vital to make sure everyone has a chance to voice their needs, questions and/or concerns for feedback from the group.  In fact, I recommend starting each call by celebrating the successes of the week so it naturally pulls everyone into the conversation.  You can then proceed into the agenda from there.
3. ALWAYS look ahead two weeks in each meeting- This gives everyone the big picture as to what’s coming up so no one is scrambling at the last minute…or worse…misses an important deadline for your firm.   This two week run down should include everything significant on the company calendar—and if you don’t have a company calendar, now’s a great time to start one!
4. ALWAYS take notes- meeting notes are a great point of reference…and even a refresher as your team moves through their work load for the week.  It’s also a great point of reference for you or your manager to stay on top of what was assigned and to whom.

So there you have it….4 things you should ALWAYS do during a team to ensure they become an effective…and extremely beneficial use of your time.  Once you get started with these simple tips, you’ll be on your way to having more productive, efficient and happy team and hence a more productive business in no time.

Be sure to leave a comment below with any team meeting tips you find beneficial for you and your team.  Next week we’ll discuss the top things you should NEVER do on a team call, so stay tuned!

*****

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’m sure by now you’ve heard about the necessity of implementing social media marketing as it relates to your overall legal marketing strategy.

In fact, most online gurus talk about social media marketing as though it’s the end-all, be-all to all to your legal marketing plan!

Unfortunately, most of those web 2.0 marketing “gurus” have never set foot in a law firm and don’t understand just how crazy your schedule really is!

Fortunately, there are still a few ways to engage (and be effective) in social media marketing without being “inauthentic” or non-transparent to your target market (which is a very bad situation to be in if you get caught!).

These are just a few strategies that I’ve found to be really helpful for lawyers that can’t devote too much time social networking.  I encourage you to pick and choose what works for you and just jump in as soon as possible!

1. Outsource SOME of your social media marketing- This is a really great idea for the lawyer that just doesn’t have time to engage, but really wants to.   If you’re using twitter as your main social media source, have someone on the team pre-write tweets of events, links to blog posts or other things going on at the firm that you can approve.  Then ask them to schedule the tweets in a Twitter client like Hootsuite or Tweetlater to go off randomly during the week.  Then when you actually have time to engage, you can just focus on talking to people and won’t have to worry about getting your marketing out.   You can also follow the same strategy for posting updates on Facebook if that’s your network of choice.
2. Encourage your team to start networking- This is the scariest option for most lawyers, but it can be quite effective if you set things up right!  You’ll need to lay down some guidelines, but it can be done.  For example, you may want to have your team open a corporate twitter or facebook account separate from that of their personal account.  It’s also a good idea to have them setup branded user names around the firm (for example, the people at Dell Computers use names like @JoeatDell or @MaryatDell just to show it’s a corporate account).  You’ll also want to make it clear that they can’t give legal advice! While their goal is to engage and make strategic relationships, they’ll need to direct people to a blog post or to an attorney if someone has a legal question.  Other than that, let them loose and have them engage throughout the day.  It will make work fun for them and increase your sphere of influence at the same time!
3. Outsource ALL of your social media marketing-  While some people really look down on this approach, it can be effective if done the right way and for the right reasons.  If you are absolutely intimidated by social media—or just aren’t the social type, this might be a good route for you.  You’ll definitely want to find someone that has a background in the legal industry and will use social networking to promote and engage on behalf of YOUR FIRM, not on behalf of you.   That should be the understanding right from the beginning.  You don’t want someone pretending to be you, the attorney (and I hope you can see why that’s a bad idea for a number of reasons).  Instead this person or company will be part of the “team” and will essentially be doing your marketing as though they work in-house.  If you have further questions about this or need someone qualified to handle your social media, feel free to email help@legalmarketingmaven.com for further assistance.

But as you can see from the tips above, all that matters is that you get involved.  And fortunately there are so many ways to do it that even you, a busy attorney, have no reason to stay behind in the dark ages of legal marketing 1.0.  So pick a strategy and get started with social media marketing ASAP!

Image Courtesy of Flickr

According to reports, Cohen was found unresponsive in the street about three hundred feet from her parked car along the beach of Seaside Heights.  She was later pronounced dead at Community Medical Center in Toms River.  The coroner confirmed that there is evidence a car came in contact with her body before her death.

Yet besides leaving people stunned over Cohen’s tragic and  untimely death, this story also had people hitting the internet in droves looking for answers.

So what does that mean for you as an attorney?

Well if you have a law blog, this is a great opportunity to help your clients understand this case– and the realities of hit-and-run accidents in a little more detail.

American Idol is something that’s embraced all over the globe, and I’m sure fans of Alexis Cohen would like to know exactly what steps will be taken to bring the driver in this case to justice (which is a great opportunity for you criminal lawyers out there).

Or maybe you are an estate planning lawyer.  Stories like this are a great time for you to remind your clients how tragedy can strike ANYONE at any minute of the day.  Hence the reason to name guardians for your kids and have a will– even if you don’t have a ton of money or think you’re too young for that kind of stuff.

Wrongful death attorneys  can also use this story to explain how her family may be able to go after the driver (once he or she is found) for monetary damages in civil court.

Either way, this unfortunate and tragic story is a great way to connect with your clients on issues that really matter to them.

And that’s what your blog is for– building relationships and educating your legal clients on issues that they probably never thought of as it relates to your field.

So use this story as a starting point and reach out to your clients on their level. Help them understand the true nature of cases like this and how to contact you for more information if necessary.

At the end of the day my friends, THAT  is what your clients will see as legal marketing with heart.

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  first step you should take when looking to outsource is to really determine what you are spending your time doing. I suggest keeping a list of everything you do for a week and how much time you spend doing it. At the end of the week, make three columns:

Things Only “I” Can Do
Things I Do NOT Enjoy
Things I LOVE

Next, Put a checkmark next to each item in the applicable category. Be very careful selecting the “Things Only “I” Can Do” category!  Is that really true?

Next evaluate your list, the only things you REALLY have to be doing are those things only you can do. Of course, I usually recommend continuing to do the things you LOVE to do, IF it is not a huge time zapper.

Once you have the list of things you can let go of, it’s time to start determining the type of vendor you need to outsource to.

Here is a short list of some items that I see attorneys (and other small businesses) commonly outsource:

• Marketing – Creating Direct Mail Pieces, Creating Display Ads, Creating Monthly Newsletters, Setting Up Seminars, Handling Distribution of Weekly Ezines or Email
• Admin Support: Keeper of the Gate, Email Management, Calendaring, Client Intake, Travel Arrangements, CLE Management, negotiation with Vendors.
• Paralegal Support: Drafting Documents, Research, Transcription
• Bookkeeping
• Website Development & Maintenance
• Graphic Design
  
• Social Media Management
• Blog Management

In Part II, we’ll talk about each of these categories and how to find the best vendor to outsource to.

Hint – it’s NOT finding a Virtual Assistant who can do it all!

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

After working with attorneys for twenty something years, I have to admit that I have taken on many of the same “traits”, some great, some not great. I think the one that will wreak the most havoc on your time, is that of being a control freak. The thought that “no one can do it as good as me” or “it will take too long to teach someone else”, keeps us constantly doing things that we should not be doing.

Keeping track of everything you do for a few days, and I mean EVERYTHING, will give you a great insight to how many things you are doing that you should not be doing yourself. Instead they should be delegated to someone with the right skill set that can complete the task effectively and efficiently. Give that person a clear direction on the outcome that you expect, set a definitive timeline, make yourself available for questions, and let go.  You should only be doing what ONLY YOU CAN DO!

You may be very surprised at the results you get!

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