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Two Legal Marketing Black Holes and A Easy Fix!

is this youI’ve had the pleasure of speaking with a bunch of attorneys this past week about their marketing, what they are doing, what they are NOT doing, what is working and what is not working. In almost EVERY conversation, I found a huge hole that NEEDS to be filled to convert more prospects into clients. I wanted to share it with you because, I’m worried that you may have it too, and it is easy to fix.

Actually, there are TWO!

First, many of you are doing workshops and seminars to help people understand the importance of doing an estate plan. You are spending a whole lot of money, time and effort to promote the seminars and get people in the door. For the most part, these seminars are generating appointments. But here’s the deal, not everyone is going to make that decision immediately.

So what happens to them? If you are like so many of the lawyers I spoke to, I was shocked to find out that they are just going into a black hole. No follow up, no ongoing communication.

YOU MUST FIX THIS!  These prospects are very hot, as they have taken time out of their busy schedule to come learn more. They just need a little more “nurturing.” And sometimes, it may take a while. Don’t flush your marketing dollars down the drain by not continuing the conversation and building the relationship.

Now, once you have done the immediate follow-up, make sure that you continue to communicate with these prospects! A simple monthly electronic newsletter is an EASY way to do that. If you aren’t sending one regularly, please reach out to me, and we can help you make that happen!

Now, the second big hole I am hearing about is with prospects who do NOT ENGAGE. Let’s face it, most of us do not have 99.5% engagement rate if we are meeting with a lot of prospects each month. Simply put, not everyone is ready to immediately move forward (we just talked about that).

Sometimes, especially with the elderly, they want to talk to their adult children, or there may be other reasons that it simply isn’t a decision they can make right then.

What happens to them? Is this another black hole in your office? If you think something IS happening, when is the last time you actually checked to ENSURE it is happening? – Do that.

In our findings, many times it is like crickets. Sometimes, there is a phone call or two made. And MAYBE a CYA letter goes out to ensure the prospect knows that no attorney client relationship has been formed….maybe.

Here is what actually works. Have a campaign – a SYSTEM for what these prospects receive. As one of our marketing services, we create campaign pieces that help you build relationships and reach more prospects effectively. We have seen the results of more conversions to appointments when we use these with our private clients. These campaigns work!

In our Did Not Engage campaign, we have created materials that go into a folder that the prospects walk out of the office with (never let someone leave empty handed!) These materials RESELL your services! They are reading materials for the prospect to read through or to share with their adult children. They agitate all the reasons planning is so important and reinforce why working with you is the right decision to make.

But, it doesn’t stop there. There are then follow-up steps that are taken after the prospect leaves the office. Letters, emails, calls, and then of course, we continue to “nurture” by way of consistent communication aka a monthly electronic newsletter, print newsletters, social media, other events, etc.

Look, here is the deal, I have worked in the Estate Planning world for almost 30 years now. I get this stuff, I know what works. And I know you don’t have huge marketing budgets. That is why we work with our clients to find a plan that meets their needs, goals, and their budgets.

I want to help you reach more people and put plans in place so families don’t encounter some of the things I did in my 12 years of caregiving for my mom, dad, husband, and mother-in-law. Like I said, I get it. What you do is important in so many ways. Let me help you. Schedule a no-strings virtual cup of coffee with me, and let’s chat.

Using Project Management Systems in Your Law Firm

Legal project management systems can be a great way to increase efficiency in your law firm, which leads to more clients and more revenue. Introducing project management strategies to evaluate your practice, identify strengths and weakness, and implement a plan for strategic growth may be one of the best investments you could make in your law firm. But as with any practice management change, you’ll have to get buy-in from your staff. Here are 5 tips for presenting legal project management to your staff in order to get the best outcome possible:

Guidance

Let’s face it, even if your staff needs help in becoming more efficient, it doesn’t mean that they’re completely incompetent – in fact, no one knows how your law firm works better than your staff. That’s why any project management approach should not be about teaching your staff things they already know, but more about guiding them to the path of more efficient outcomes. Acknowledge that your staff is aware of the basic tenets of project management, and explain that you’re merely putting their knowledge and experience into a more structured and streamlined approach in order to become more efficient and effective.

Simplicity is Key

Don’t try to achieve grand goals all at once, or take up copious amounts of work time on training sessions. Instead, focus on the simple aspects of the practice that you can turn around and make more efficient through proper project management. In fact, in order to get better buy-in from your staff with this approach, you should come to your staff and ask them what they need help with or what processes they’d like to see improved.

Concentrate on One Thing at a Time

As stated before, simplicity is key. That means you should focus on improving just one process at a time when engaging in project management in your law firm. This way your entire staff can focus on improving one aspect of the firm without losing track and getting caught up with other projects. Once this pattern sets in, your staff will become more efficient at identifying issues and – more importantly – discovering effective solutions.

Follow Up

Track your staff’s progress and follow up with them so your project management strategies don’t fall through the cracks. It’s very easy for new initiatives to fall by the wayside, especially when there is a glut of day-to-day work to contend with, but it’s important to stay on track in order for your law firm to grow.

Discuss and Debate

The most valuable information you’ll receive during the project management process is the feedback from your staff. Allow them the opportunity to discuss and debate the effectiveness of their undertakings and learn from what they’re saying. However, it’s extremely important to make sure that discussions and debates have a positive focus and that the end goal is about improving your law firm – there should never be a discussion or debate that ends without a resolution.

Would you like to learn more about implementing project management strategies in your law firm or discuss how we can save you time on your marketing? Schedule a no-strings virtual cup of coffee so we can discuss how you can become more efficient and gain staff buy-in!

High Employee Turnover Could Be Crippling Your Practice

Constantly having to replace employees who quit is a huge drain on your time, money, and patience. Training team members only to have them leave within a year can be painful and demoralizing, and your practice will suffer because of it. Below are some things to think about if you want to keep your employees happy and reduce turnover:

Compensation: The Be-All End-All?

When asked, most employees say that compensation is the most important factor when staying at job. And it is – but it’s not the only factor. Make sure you’re paying your employees a decent wage for the type of work they’re doing, and compare the wages you pay with what your colleagues pay their employees. If you notice that you’re paying much less than everyone else, you might want to consider upping your pay scale before your employees become their employees. But like I said, money isn’t the only factor. I’ve heard stories about plenty of employees who were making decent money at their law firm jobs, but left because they just couldn’t deal with the stress, felt like they had no work-life balance, or didn’t get any additional benefits like flexible PTO. Find out what’s important to your employees (besides money) and do your best to provide it. You can only work within reason, but it will mean a lot to your employees if you go the extra mile trying to provide them with a good workplace environment.

Communicate, Communicate, Communicate

Don’t wait for the exit interview to ask employees why they’re leaving; instead, conduct interviews with current employees to ask them why they’re staying, what might motivate them to stay longer, and what might make them leave. You’ll get valuable information on your strengths and weaknesses as an employer, and you’ll be getting it straight from the people who it applies to. Most importantly though, you need to act on this information where possible, because in a year from now, it could be the difference between a stay interview and an exit interview.

It’s the Little Things

Small gestures of kindness can go a long way for your employees. Does it seem like one of them is having a bad day? Take a couple minutes to ask how you can help or even just give some encouraging words. Do your employees come in early or stay late consistently in order to keep your firm running smoothly? Buy them lunch or dinner to let them you know you appreciate it. You never know how much a tiny gesture will mean to someone, so it’s a good idea to always be aware of what’s going on and how you can help, even in the smallest of ways.

If you have more questions about lowering turnover in your office or you are interested in implementing some of the strategies listed above, please feel free to schedule a no-strings virtual cup of coffee. We can also talk over how we can help you save time on your marketing.