• By Laura Lee

Perspective and Gratitude

A Personal Note From Laura Lee

“I’m sorry the cancer has metastasized into his liver, lungs and muscles and there are no treatment options”. It was almost a year ago, and the day my life changed forever; my husband of 20 years & father of my two children was embarking on a battle that didn’t have any odds of victory according to the doctors.

A lot of emotions happen anger, resentment, fear and grief to name a few.  Anyone who has walked down this path can attest to the fact that gratitude is hard to find.

However, during the past 11 months, we have learned to shift our perspective and focus on how much we have to be grateful for, every day that we get to share together, is a blessing.

We are never promised time, most of us just take for granted the minutes, days and years. We don’t cherish the small stuff and spend way too much time worrying about things that in the long run really don’t matter.

Time.  At first we worried about how much time do we have, and when will it run out. Perspective. We shifted it to gratitude for every second and cherish the gift.

I’m thankful to all my wonderful friends (even those whom I have never met in person) and my family, for all that they have done and all the prayers that have been prayed, I know that they have made a difference. Thank you for being a part of my life. And the hospice workers who visit us weekly and make sure his medical needs are taken care of, that he is as pain free as possible, and that he has as many “good” days as possible – thank you for the work that you do and being the special people in our lives that you are.

This Thanksgiving, take the time to reflect on what you really have to be grateful for, there is so much, even when things are going wrong, if we just take the time to look for it and do a little “shifting” of our perspective.

Also, never forget that miracles happen every day, all you have to do is look for them.

With deepest gratitude and blessings,

Laura Lee

• By Laura Lee

3 Easy Ways to Boost Your Law Firm’s Search Engine Rankings

Prospects are looking for you.  Chances are, there is someone in your local community right now who is looking for the exact services you provide.

Marketing is and always has been about finding people who need you.  The question is, how do you get found? The answer has changed quite a bit over the last several years.  Gone are the days when people searched for you in the yellow pages (No matter what the yellow pages ad salesman tells you!).

Instead, today’s consumer is looking for you online. They are seeking you out in search engines such as Google, Yahoo, and Bing. Therefore, it becomes clear that if you don’t have an active, consistent, and relevant online marketing strategy you are losing business.

Yet the question remains, “How does all this work?”

Simply put, Google, Yahoo, Bing and other search engines have advanced algorithms for which they determine which websites are the most appropriate based on the words typed into their search bar.  These algorithms are secret and constantly evolving. However, based on practical experience and search engine optimization (SEO) experimentation it is fair to state that they are also based on simple human logic.  In simple terms, this logic is based on content relevancy and how many other quality websites link back to you.

So with that said, here are three easy ways to give the algorithms what they want and ensure you are found when customers come looking for your services:

Content

Back in the day, people who called themselves SEO experts would cram websites full of popular but irrelevant keywords. The belief was that if you put lots of keywords on your site and you’d zoom to number 1 in Google.  But Google quickly got wind of these “black-hat” techniques and changed their algorithm.

Today search engines are constantly changing the game as far as how websites rank to avoid people taking advantage of the system, but one thing remains the same – you must have quality, optimized, content that will engage your readers.  And lots of it! It is critical that you post to your blog on a consistent basis and frequently – at least once per week.

That’s simply because the search engines value fresh content optimized with one or two quality keywords that naturally flow within the text.  And how do you know which keywords people are searching for?  We recommend trying your hand at Google’s free keyword tool found at https://adwords.google.com/select/KeywordToolExternal

Takeaway Tip – Post to your blog at least once per week.  Make sure that you write articles that provide information that your potential clients are seeking and include targeted keywords so the search engines can find it and rank it appropriately.

Local Directories

Local results are becoming more and more common in online searches, and will continue to grow as a way that clients seek local services.  If you’re not familiar with local search, do a quick experiment in Google by typing in “estate planning lawyer near (your city)”.  You’ll notice results that link to a map above the regular search results.  These “local” results are generated by a different algorithm as the organic (or regular) results, as they seek to provide users with service providers near their desired location.

A quick way to get yourself included in such local search is to visit getlisted.org.  That will take you through signing up for several well-established data sources for local businesses like Google Local, Yelp, Bing, and Yahoo Local.  And don’t forget to optimize your profiles as well, as your keywords will dictate how you are found by local consumers.

Takeaway Tip – Go to getlisted.org and list your business in the most popular local search directors and do research to find niche directories.

Article Marketing

Article marketing is yet another way to get your information out to hungry consumers.  Not only is this a great way to gain positive public exposure, but it is a smart way to improve your search engine rankings.  When done properly, articles you post on syndicated article sites become “link bait” for other sites.  They also give you quality “link-backs” to your site—which leads Google, Yahoo or other search engines to believe your site is “popular” among consumers.  Think of links on your articles as little steps toward that number one ranking in Google!

The first thing you should do, even before you write the first word of your first article, is to do keyword research to determine what your potential clients are searching for.  Keyword research is the practice of balancing the popularity of a keyword or search phrase against the competitiveness of the keyword phrase. You certainly wouldn’t want to spend a lot of time and money targeting keywords and phrases that no one is likely to use in a search. Likewise, if 80 million plus results come up when you search for your keyword phrase you may have a difficult time getting ranked for that competitive of a keyword. So it is important to find the right combination of popularity and competitiveness.

Once you determine what keywords you should be using to allow your prospective clients to find you, begin writing articles that target such keywords– and lots of them.  You should be writing at least one article per week.  If you aren’t able to devote that much time to writing, it is possible to outsource this. (If you’re an estate planning attorney, our DFY service is s a good outsourcing resource.

Then once you have quality, keyword rich articles, it is time to submit them.  Look for article submission sites or article directories that receive a high volume of traffic and are considered authority sites by search engines.  Submitting to these sites will result in lots of free traffic to your site.

Finally, there is one more step to ensuring your site ranks well in the search engines and that’s being consistent with your search engine optimization strategy.   The steps above aren’t something you do once and never do again.  Instead, you must be working on your SEO strategy weekly to ensure your site ranks on page one (or close to it) when prospects come calling.

Would you like to talk about how we can help you save time on your marketing and help you turn ideas into action? Simply schedule a time on my calendar for a no-strings virtual cup of coffee.

• By Laura Lee

Trying to Keep Your Facebook Page Professional? Turn Off Tagging!

If you’re trying to keep your facebook page professional and strictly dedicated to networking for your law practice, a smart thing to do is disable “tagging” on your page right this minute.

If you’re not familiar with tagging, this feature basically allows anyone to upload a picture of you and attach it to the “photo” section of your page.    As you can imagine, this can cause a number of problems for lawyers, as pictures showing you in unprofessional or even just private situations can easily make their way on to the web (not to mention, some lawyers have lost their JOBS over pictures tagged on Facebook!).

So to ensure the only photos on your facebook page are the ones you authorize, use the following steps to disable the tagging feature for good:

1.    Go back to your profile page.
2.    Click on the top right “Account” link.
3.    A pull down menu will appear. Locate the “Privacy Settings” on this list and click on it.
4.    Then click on “Applications and Websites”
5.    Now, to the right of the “What your friends can share about you” option, is a “Edit Settings” button. Click on that.
6.    Find the checkbox next to the “Photos and videos of me” and UNcheck it.
7.    Save Changes.

Enjoy!

• By Laura Lee

Do You Have Enough Business? How PR for Lawyers Can Help!

We’ve spoken to many attorneys throughout the country and Canada and the answer we get to this question over and over is a resounding, “No!”

Well, that isn’t surprising. According to the American Bar Association there is one attorney for every 300 people in the United States and 1 for every 450 people in Canada.

Yikes! So, how does an attorney stand out in this very large and ever-expanding crowd? You need to become the expert in your community in the niche that your serve.

How you become this is through a combination of efforts– many which are quite affordable (sometimes f’ree) but often overlooked. Once such great tool is the development and implementation of a public relations strategy.

Inside of the public relations strategy you will have many tasks but the goal is to demonstrate yourself as an expert in your field to increase your presence in your industry and attract new business. The question is…how do you accomplish this? Simply put you must inform the public (your client base) and referral sources of the services you provide and how you are different from the thousands of other attorneys in your community. And there’s no better way to do that than being quoted and identified as an expert in the media. Being interviewed on television, in your local newspaper or other publication can vastly increase your credibility.

So, how do you gain this type of exposure?

One of the best ways is to create relationships with reporters and become their ‘go-to’ source for stories or news broadcast reports. You have to reach out to reporters and prove to them that you have expertise but if you make the right connection it can result in huge rewards. But, building this type of relationship takes work. A great way to start building this relationship is to help them do their job! They are constantly looking for ideas for stories. Be sure to keep an eye out for trends or news where you can showcase your expertise that would also be interesting to the public. Pitch the story idea to them in a complete package so they can easily pick it up and make it news.

Here’s three other ways to increase your chances of getting picked up by the press:

-Spend just as much time on your “pitch letter” as you do on your press release! In most cases, it’s the pitch letter that opens the door for f’ree publicity. The press release is often a secondary tool in this process.

-Recognize the media’s interest is to cover timely stories– not just to provide free advertising to any small business owner that wants it Before you pitch, think “is this something I would care to read if I saw it in the paper about another local business in town?” If the answer is no, go back to the drawing table.

-Tie into holidays and national observances when possible. These “hooks” dramatically increase your chances of getting covered as they automatically provide you with a timely platform when pitching the press.

Image above is of one of our private clients Heather Chubb on being interviewed on her local morning television show. If you pitch the right story at the right time you may find yourself sitting in a chair during a news broadcast showcasing your skills and abilities.

Want to learn the step by step process on how to build these relationships, and obtain great PR for your firm, check out our training “Behind the Scenes Secrets of Great Legal PR Campaigns That You or Your Team Can Implement Now” 

Would you like to talk about how we can help you save time on your marketing and help you turn ideas into action? Simply schedule a time on my calendar for a no-strings virtual cup of coffee.

• By Laura Lee

Turn Your Law Firm Team Members Into Raving Fans!

Through my years of working with attorneys I have heard more than one complaint about how their team members aren’t very good at discussing the services their law firm provides to prospective clients. The disappointment is usually because their staff members are unable to describe services to the satisfaction of the prospective client to where they make an appointment to meet with the attorney. And this is a very valid concern.

But there are a lot of people who aren’t good at sales.

So, what’s an attorney to do?

Fire all the staff and start over?

No, please don’t do that! Instead, turn them into raving fans of the firm and the services you provide.

Yes, make sure they can describe the services that your firm provides like they would if you asked them to describe their children, their favorite pet, or a hobby they are passionate about.

Get them EXCITED about what you are doing at the firm.

In my experience, the inability to describe services the law firm provides with enthusiasm is a result of not really understanding the value and benefits. Here are a few things you can try before you give your team the boot.

1. Explain why you chose the practice areas that you did.

Most attorneys choose their practice areas because they were passionate about them. Do you have a personal experience that made you choose that particular area? I once knew an attorney who had lost her husband at a very young age. Even though she was an attorney she had failed to plan properly for her own death or the death of her husband. After all, rarely to 20-somethings get motivated to do so. The story she had to tell was extremely touching and it is her passion to make sure that families don’t struggle needlessly at a time when they are grieving for the loss of a loved one. So, there was at least one person on her staff that understood that she was an estate planning attorney and could explain the services that were provided, but didn’t really have that passion that is needed to motivate people to do their own planning. That is, until she finally heard the attorney’s story.

2. Give them real-life stories of the services you provide.

If your law firm is like most, your staff is extremely busy with day-to-day tasks. Their heads are down and they are working on bits and pieces of the matters that flow through your office. But, have they ever really seen the whole picture? Share with your staff some of the stories of the problems you have solved for people. People go to attorneys to solve their problems. Just share with your staff some of the inspirational stories that you surely have and help them see, in real-life terms, how you help people.

3. Make sure they are describing the benefits instead of just the services you provide.

Your staff may be very clear and quite articulate about describing the services that your law firm provides and still not be able to effectively sell your services. The reason is that people need to understand the services you provide in terms on how it will benefit them. For example, they may understand that you litigate personal injury cases, but what they should be describing is how you put the pieces of people’s lives back together after an unexpected event like an injury due to automobile accident takes them tragically off-course. Teach them to describe your services in a way where people can understand, in terms of their particular situation, how their lives would be better if you worked with them. Ticking off a list of services you provide means very little to the general population, but taking those services and explaining how they will benefit that person will generate more clients in your door.

These are just a few examples of situations that I have observed where there may be a disconnect between having your staff members being able to bring clients into the firm. If you have a particular situation with a team member that you would like to solve, please feel free to listen to this workshop that I did with my partner Paula Woolley on effective follow-up.

Do you have more questions, or would you like to talk about how we can help you save time on your marketing and help you turn ideas into action? Simply schedule a time on my calendar for a no-strings virtual cup of coffee.

• By Laura Lee

T-E-A-M: The Key to Law Practice Managment Success

At some point in life, we’ve  all had to be a part of someone’s team. On that team, you were taught to work together, help one another, and act as one. Well in the professional world, I want to teach you to take the TEAM concept a step further as it relates to your law practice management success. As the leader in a law firm, you have to put more into the success of the firm by cultivating an environment where everyone feels like they are an important part of the team. To accomplish this you have to give the word team a new meaning:

T-Teach-As a leader you can’t assume that everyone already “knows” everything when they first step foot in your firm. Even though law is law, no two firms operate the same. Take the time to teach your staff the preferred way of doing things and make yourself available. Encourage them to ask questions and ask for their opinion. Assume that they want to advance in the firm and train them on what you are looking for in a leader.

E-Excite-Let them know coming in that they are important by having goals and rewards set in place to excite them. Don’t be afraid to take a different approach and try some of their ideas along the way.  Create a family environment where you do things together outside of work. Your team should be excited to walk in the office and see what adventure awaits them.

A-Appreciate-Every leader knows the importance of being appreciated. Just because it is the teams’ job to carry out certain task doesn’t mean that a thank you is not deserved.  Kindness and appreciation will take you a long way, because there will come a time when your team will volunteer to do things for you. As a part of the law firm industry I realize that time is not on your side so consider an annual team appreciation day. Whatever system you use just be sure and take time for your team.

M-Motivate-When a person is new to the team it’s clear that they are starting from the bottom. Create an environment that lets them know that hard work is appreciated will allow them to climb the ladder. This will motivate them to work hard and put their best foot forward at all times.

Now you know the secret to creating a profitable law firm. Who knew that the key to a success came in a four-letter word.

Do you have more questions, or would you like to talk about how we can help you save time on your marketing and help you turn ideas into action? Simply schedule a time on my calendar for a no-strings virtual cup of coffee.

• By Laura Lee

Law Firm Management: Do you have an emergency plan?

I don’t usually share too much of my personal life on this blog (mainly because I’m just naturally a private person), but this morning as I sat and drank my coffee and looked out at the early morning dew drying under the rays of the morning sun across the pastures, I realized how important this topic was for me to share.

It’s part of the journey, it’s part of running a successful business, and I need to share it.

This year has been the absolutely hardest year of my life. In January and February my husband had four major surgeries, and then we received the horrifying news from the doctors that his cancer was not only back but it had metastasized and was all throughout his body, stage IV and no treatments were available.

About that same time, I was forced to make some sudden career shifts when it became clear the person I spent the last two years and a half years building revolutionary tools and systems for the legal industry with, no longer had the same vision for the company (or the future) that I did.

Really, could life get any worse? I wanted to crawl up in bed, pull the cover over my head and not wake up. But I have 2 kids and a sick husband so that wasn’t an option.

I’m not brave, I’m not strong, I simply am. And I had to do what I had to do when it became clear my back was up against the wall.

So, I brushed myself off, let go of the anger and ego, and said we need to make the best of this—which meant I re-launched my own business that I had put on hold doing the things I talked about above over the past few years.

However, a strong team grew from the relationships that I had made during that process (being some of the dearest friends I have) and we re-built the business that I had neglected for so long within a matter of months.

So why am sharing this now? Well, it is 6 months later and my husband’s cancer is progressing, hospice visits regularly, (nurses, doctors, CNA’s, social workers, therapists, chaplains…) he is on lots of meds, and requires more and more of my attention.

Yet because I knew this day would someday come, I re-launched my business with clear plans and systems in place so that if I ever needed to take a temporary absence (whether that be a day or 2-3 weeks) I could rest easy knowing everything would carry on smoothly and efficiently until I was able to jump back in and take the reins.

I am lucky (which seems strange because most days I’m not feeling to lucky right now), but I have been given time to plan for my absence and to have systems in place, so that my business will run without me when I need to be gone. Because, I will need to be gone a few days here and there to be with my kids and my husband as we go through this journey together.

So I said all that to say: what is your emergency plan?

Do you have systems and plans in place that would allow your business to run without you should unexpected circumstances arise? Or forget unexpected circumstances! Perhaps you just want to go on vacation. Do you have things set up so you can leave town for a week and not have to worry about whether your clients are being serviced in the same manner that they would be if you were there doing it yourself?

So many of you are my friends, and I care about you, don’t leave things to chance, you have worked hard to build your business, PLEASE make sure you have a documented, systematized plan in place in case of an emergency that would require you to be “gone” because you may not have weeks or months to plan for it….as I was blessed to have.

Do you have more questions, or would you like to talk about how we can help you save time on your marketing and help you turn ideas into action? Simply schedule a time on my calendar for a no-strings virtual cup of coffee.

• By Laura Lee

Social Media & Legal Marketing – Remember You Are a Professional

I was having a conversation with one of my awesome team members yesterday about the role that social media plays in marketing a law firm and the impact it has when trying to land potential clients. It really got my mind to thinking (scary I know), and now I want to address just ONE of the things I believe lawyers should be thinking about sooner rather than later as it relates to their “public persona” online.

Authentic conversation on social media is great, transparency is awesome – but you have to remember that you are a professional.

Just like the big law firms telling law school students to watch what they are putting on social media sites because it will be reviewed as part of the hiring process, you also need to pay attention to what you are putting out there on the public platform. There are some attorneys (many that I know and like) that simply share TOO MUCH information online and run the risk of alienating clients.

I know I’m going to get some flack for this, but blogs and social media are the new yellow pages. And of course it’s also where clients are going to get to know professionals BEFORE they contact their office.

(Just like what you would do before YOU would hire someone to work for you).

So let me ask you, is the image that you portray online something that would make a good “first impression” to potential clients? If it is not, I really want to encourage you to re-evaluate your social media plan and create a guidelines and policies handbook for your law business. Yes, written guidelines for how your law office handles social media (even if it is JUST for you right now!)

Now don’t get me wrong– I’m not saying you can’t have personality and must make social media all about business without any viewpoints or friendships. What I am saying, however, is the same thing I tell my daughter who is in college – think before you hit submit or post.

I know you can set privacy levels for your Facebook profile, but who knows how long that will be good for, and twitter is not protected at all. Google your name + twitter and read through your tweet stream as if you were a potential client because trust me, more and more people will be doing just that before they call your office.
So bottom line—remember, YOU are a professional. Convey that each and every time you post.

PS- On a final note, if you are spending all day on twitter I highly encourage you to stop that too. I know “I” don’t want to see that my attorney spends most of their day chatting on social media sites (ok so I shared 2 things!) instead of working on client matters. If you have content you want to share, consider pre-scheduling it with another platform so you can focus solely on interacting with your friends/followers when you do have a chance to chat.

Would you like to talk about how we can help you save time on your marketing and help you turn ideas into action? Simply schedule a time on my calendar for a no-strings virtual cup of coffee.

• By Laura Lee

Social Media Marketing for Lawyers Means More Than Trolling for Cases

An interesting article was published today by the Wall Street Journal detailing how plaintiff’s lawyers are using social networking sites such as Facebook and Twitter to find, target and ultimately sign up new clients for their firms.

The article also briefly touched upon the use of Pay-Per-Click  and Facebook ads as part of this growing strategy, which are undoubtedly helpful for lawyers who engage in “quick strike campaigns” or campaigns designed to reach plaintiffs as a breaking injury or product liability story hits.

And while I agree that social media sites are a place to find and engage new clients in a systematic, consistent and authentic way, it’s only a small piece of the puzzle as far as an overall social media strategy should be concerned.

Remember, social media conversations happen in real time.   Never in the history of man have consumers had the ability to express their feelings (positive or negative) about a product or service to thousands of people the moment they experience them.

Of course that could mean disaster for firms who are ignorant of such conversations (ever read about the Motrin Moms debacle?) or for those firms who give less than adequate service to clients who are actively involved on Twitter or Facebook.

In the ignorance category, I’m specifically reminded of a lawyer who called me a few months ago for social media help.

Essentially, his firm (which is nationally known) did not have a social media strategy and they never quite got around to developing one either.  Until of course they were notified that their social media profiles were hijacked and someone was posting comments and information that made them look VERY bad in the public eye.

The partners of this firm did their best to jump in and fix the problem, but the damage was already done.  Yet had they been more involved in monitoring the chatter about their firm to begin with, they could have caught the imposter and started damage control right away.

So in talking about social media, I like to encourage lawyers to take a four-prong approach to their strategy in which they will:

1. Consistently and systematically connect with, and educate,  prospective clients on their practice area/ services
2. Show their firm (and trial lawyers in general) in a favorable light to the local jury pool
3. Engage in real-time reputation management
4. Connect with and reach out to the local and national media

Again, I want to reiterate that an attorney’s presence on social media sites requires more than simply trolling for cases or potential clients.

Instead, resolve to implement a comprehensive approach to social media and you’ll find the cases and clients come naturally in time.

Would you like to talk about how we can help you save time on your marketing and help you turn ideas into action? Simply schedule a time on my calendar for a no-strings virtual cup of coffee.

• By Laura Lee

5 Tips For Setting Up Your Law Firm For Outsourcing Success

The entire Legal Marketing Maven team is traveling this week to Fairfax, VA, to participate at Ben Glass’ Great Legal Marketing Conference.  Our good friend Jay Fleischman is our guest author this week.  Jay has been outsourcing the tasks in his law practice for many years, and shares below 5 tips for outsourcing success.  We’ll be back next week and ready to share many new ideas that I’m positive we will come away from Ben’s event with.  Have a great week!
~Laura Lee

Are you thinking about outsourcing certain tasks or workflow issues in your law firm?  If you are, you’re not alone.  Outsourcing is on the minds of many solo and small firm lawyers.  The promise of lower overhead, more freedom and the ability to concentrate on core business problems creates a siren song for attorneys.

But as with any other decision in your law office, you’ve got to have a roadmap; without one, you’re doomed to failure from the outset.  The notion of outsourcing is not nearly as quick and easy as making a phone call to a stranger and walking away.

Here, then, are the 5 tips I live by when outsourcing any process for my law firm:

Determine:  Think about your needs and goals.  What do you want to outsource, and why do you want to do so?  This may sound simplistic, but the “why” portion of the question gets many lawyers hamstrung.  Rather than having a reason do something, they frequently think in terms of what they do NOT want to do.  “I don’t want to be bothered with drafting these motions,” rather than, “I recognize that drafting routine motions is best left to someone else, leaving me free to carefully review and revise drafts for a final review.”

Document:  When outsourcing, don’t presume that anyone else in the world has your brain or background.  You need to be able to provide any professional with a detailed set of instructions on exactly how you want tasks accomplished.  Without such documentation, you’re leaving results up to chance.  You’re also guaranteeing that an outsourced professional (who likely charges by the hour) will need to spend more time than is necessary merely to get up to speed.

Interview:  When it comes to outsourcing for your law firm, there’s nothing more important that ensuring that there is a match of skills and attitude.  Office-bound employees are subject to vetting, so why would you not do the same with an outsourcing professional?

Manage:  The service you provide is always your responsibility, so you need to manage the work your law firm outsources.  Some tools you may decide to work with are Basecamp, Google Wave, or even Google Docs.  Wikis and project management solutions abound, and it’s your responsibility to ensure that they are utilized to maximize the efficiency of your law firm.

Hone:  Your initial experience with outsourcing will be merely a trial run for the long-term.  Mistakes will be made, none of which will be anyone’s fault in particular.  Instructions will be misunderstood or poorly communicated, and the ball will be dropped.  You will be managing each task closely, but it may be frustrating to both you and the outsourced professional.  Take the time to listen to suggestions for improvement, and make some constructive ones of your own.  Refine the process regularly and you will minimize the problems later on.

Would you like to talk about how we can help you save time on your marketing and help you turn ideas into action? Simply schedule a time on my calendar for a no-strings virtual cup of coffee.

• By Laura Lee

Law Firm Marketing Brain Tapped Dry? 4 Ways to Replenish the Source

In our world, no magic potions exist to give us infinite motivation or a download of creative energy to our law firm marketing brains. For the lawyer, the long hours and stress can tax your energy reserves pretty quickly.

Luckily, there are easy, practical ways to stimulate your brain, keep your energy up and motivation full force.  Here are a few:

Glucose

To complete any task (especially those that require a lot of creativity and ‘out of the box’ thinking like new law firm marketing campaigns), a person must have a lot of self control and discipline to keep on track and stay on a schedule. This can be taxing on your energy supply. In fact, according to researchers from Florida State University, “Some patterns of poor self control are attributable to drops in glucose level.”

So what does this tell you? If you find your mind wandering, your finger itching to go click endlessly to the outer edges of the Internet when you should be focusing on work, it may be due to low blood sugar (glucose). Replenish the supply! Drinking some fruit juice is a quick and easy response to wandering minds.

Exercise

More than just getting into your swimsuit for the summer – exercise has been shown to keep your mood elevated, reduce the risk of certain diseases and also increase your mental ability. In a paper by Henrietta van Praag of the National Institutes of Health it is shown that exercise is one of the most active stimuli in creating new brain neurons! It’s a process called neurogenesis, and it factors into your learning ability and memory retention.

Meditation

Don’t roll your eyes – many studies show that meditation can improve your ability to focus, as well as build on your emotional control. The more you mediate and learn to control your thoughts, the more attention you will be able to give to your tasks. Meditation also reduces stress and helps you to live a more balanced lifestyle. There was a study done in the Science Daily that actually shows you can reap these benefits by meditating just 20 minutes a day for FOUR days. However, researcher Fadel Zeidan points out – ‘This doesn’t mean that you meditate for four days and you are done – you have to keep practicing.’

Nature

We are all a part of nature, so it’s only (no pun intended) natural that the beauty and splendor of our world would add to the relaxation of the mind. Beyond aesthetics, putting plants in your office or even just hanging nature pictures can improve your memory! Really! An experiment conducted at the University of Michigan gave the participants a string of random numbers to memorize and repeat backwards. Half of the group was sent to a busy street and the other half to an arboretum – there they repeated the test.

Those in the arboretum outperformed by 20% or more! So, hang some pictures and if you can take weekend trips out to just relax in the natural world for a while, see if you don’t have some improvements if not in your memory, then at least in your anxiety levels.

Would you like to talk about how we can save you time on your marketing and help you turn ideas into action? Simply schedule a time on my calendar for a no-strings virtual cup of coffee.

• By Laura Lee

Free Legal Marketing Tool: Prepare Great Videos Online With EasyPrompter.com

I stumbled upon a great legal marketing resource the other day which has the potential to take the fear, anxiety and sheer excuses out of recording online videos so you can incorporate this media back into your overall law firm marketing plan.

The site is http://www.easyprompter.com and it’s just that—a web-based teleprompter that rolls a script across the screen as you record videos online.

With this tool, there’s no more stumbling for words or trying to figure out what to say next as you literally copy and paste your script onto their site, choose a comfortable font size, set the speed you want the words to scroll and start talking.

You can even insert pause brackets which physically stop the scroll for one second to remind you to slow down and take a natural break when you need to.

Not to mention, you won’t have the noise distraction of someone trying to hold a paper in front of your face or give away the fact that you’re reading a script by continually looking away from the camera.

It’s President Obama eloquence on a shoe-string budget.

I’m loving this tool and if you’re a lawyer hesitating to record videos, I know you’ll love it too.

But don’t just take my word for it, go over and try it and let me know what you think.  I’ll tackle WHY you should be doing videos as part of your law firm marketing strategy anyway in next week’s post.

Would you like to talk about how we can help you save time on your marketing and help you turn ideas into action? Simply schedule a time on my calendar for a no-strings virtual cup of coffee.

• By Laura Lee

Give Back, Get Involved…..and Get Clients for Your Law Firm

I wanted to address something today that’s seemingly fallen by the wayside in the legal industry, and that’s getting involved and giving back to your local community as part of your long-term, law firm marketing plan.

Of course let me first make clear that you should NOT get involved in your local community simply to GET back.  If you read this post with those intentions, you will surely be disappointed.

But, if you can identify a cause that you feel passionate about and truly offer some sweat equity, cash or pro-bono legal help toward making that charity, organization or non-profit flourish, you’ll find referral sources and client streams in places you’ve never thought of before.

Now I understand as a small or solo attorney, your schedule is insane.  Most of you are holed up in your offices so long that you rarely see the light of day.   But I want to throw out 3 simple ways you can give back, get involved and ultimately get more clients for your law firm:

1. If you DO have some extra time, I recommend finding a non-profit, charity or religious organization that you believe in and put some cold, hard- sweat-equity into making it grow.  Serve on a board of directors, volunteer your time or offer pro-bono legal help.  It’s a hands on approach but it will grow your network base and position your firm to make a real impact where  it matters the most.
2. If your time is limited, I suggest offering monthly contributions or donating a percentage of your fees to the charity, non-profit or religious group of your choice.  One of my Legal Marketing Maven clients gives back 10% of her fees to any non-profit group that allows her to speak and ultimately serve their members.    Of course, the group is thrilled to have her donations and she’s thrilled to work with their client base.  It’s a win-win for everyone.
3. If you have office staff willing to get involved, start your own community outreach.  Distribute blankets and sandwiches to the homeless. Buy pack packs and schools supplies each fall and personally give them to families in low-income areas.  Make care packages of toiletries and other household items and hand them out to residents living in local motels.  The opportunities here are endless , provided you have the time and support staff to make it happen.

Finally, I recommend creating a page on your website entitled, “giving back” or something of that nature so  prospective clients can see what you’re up to and how you’re using the money they pay into your firm (you’d be surprised at how much community and charity involvement influences buying decisions).   You can check out my friend  John Bisnar’s page for a great example of this.

But the overall message here is that you must get involved.  By doing so, you’ll grow your referral and client base, open the door for speaking engagements and other promotional opportunities and sleep well at the end of the day knowing you played a part in helping others in your own back yard.

And as always, I’d love to hear how this strategy has worked for you and/or your law firm in the past.  Feel free to leave your success stories (or challenges) in the comments section below!

Would you like to talk about how we can help you save time on your marketing and help you turn ideas into action? Simply schedule a time on my calendar for a no-strings virtual cup of coffee.

• By Laura Lee

A lesson on nurturing, and a FREE resource for you!

WoW! The flood gates have opened which is such a lesson in marketing.

Since making the announcement of the relaunch of Legal Marketing Maven and the awesome team I have put in place, I have been overwhelmed at the response from attorneys across my networks who are interested in working with us or who want to help us by referring business.

The important lesson here, it is important to nurture your list, and your relationships all the time, no matter what!

I confess, other than this blog and social media, I haven’t been PERFECT at this but I have been CONSISTENT with it and because of that, my calendar is full of phone conferences with attorneys and other service providers that would like to work with us going forward or simply want to reconnect to see how we can serve each other.

During these conversations, something else became clear to me as it should be for you.  Not everyone is going to be a perfect fit to be your client, and there are a multitude of reasons that can contribute to that.  Sometimes, it is simply timing and you should always look for a way to bring value to those that are in your tribe.

Because of this, and because there have been so many that do want to stay more closely connected to me and my team, I have decided to set up a F*R*E*E private forum for attorneys and service providers, to share resources, ideas and conversation – introducing LM2 Connections.

If you would like to join this private forum there are some basic guidelines you must meet:

1.  You must be an attorney (law students will be considered email us for more info)

2.  You must have a website where this is verifiable.

3.  You must have a phone number where this is verifiable.

All membership requests will be subject to our approval.

To apply, simply email help@tremendous-arm.flywheelsites.com from your business email account with your name, contact information (including website and phone number) and a short line or two about why you would like to be part of our community.

We look forward to seeing your application!

Would you like to talk about how we can help you save time on your marketing and help you turn ideas into action? Simply schedule a time on my calendar for a no-strings virtual cup of coffee.

• By Laura Lee

Online Marketing and Sales Resource for Lawyers: SocialTriggers.com

As part of our team’s commitment in staying on top of the trends and tools you need to effectively market your law firm, Legal Marketing Maven’s Content and PR Director, Amber, recently came across a site that I believe holds tremendous value for lawyers seeking to market themselves, their firm or their speaking engagements online.

The site is SocialTriggers.com run by SEO and web marketing guru, Derek Halpurn.  Over the past 5 years, Derek’s pushed more than 60 million page impressions for his own sites, maintained top rankings for competitive keywords, and most importantly, built a profitable online business with that knowledge (which many ‘self proclaimed’ gurus have yet to do!).

Here are some key things you’ll learn from socialtriggers.com about marketing your law firm online:

1. The true psychology behind how and why people buy online–  While you may not sell physical products through your website (although some of you do),  as a lawyer you ARE using your website to sell the legal services of your firm.  So it would behoove you to know what marketing elements immediately grab a reader’s attention and what elements will make your prospective client click off the page faster than you can say “hey get back here!”
2. How to increase contact form submissions and phone calls from your site—  It’s one thing to drum up traffic or clicks to your site. It’s an entirely different ballgame to get those same prospects to fill out the contact form or call the office.  Socialtriggers.com will teach you the simple psychological cues and tricks necessary to increase conversions and get more people to say YES passively through your website.
3. Data, data, data—Derek has a knack for data.  He knows what’s working online, what elements of a website test well, convert well and what seemingly clever and hot fads FAIL user tests every time.  You need this data and it’s conveniently broken down into English (not tech or geek speak) on this site.

So after talking to Derek (he personally gave us some great tips for our OWN site which you’ll see come to life in a few weeks) and reading the online sales strategies at socialtriggers.com, I truly believe the information there is vital to your online marketing strategy and I suggest subscribing so you don’t miss a beat.

And of course we’d love to hear what other resources out there have been beneficial or influential to your online legal marketing strategy.  Feel free to leave any useful links or product information in the comment section below!

As always, we’ll continue to share the resources we come across to benefit those lawyers not directly working with our marketing implementation team.   Stay tuned!

Would you like to talk about how we can help you save time on your marketing and help you turn ideas into action? Simply schedule a time on my calendar for a no-strings virtual cup of coffee.

• By Laura Lee

Officially Re-launching LM2- Coaching, Implementation and Marketing Support for Lawyers

Wow—it’s been long time coming in writing this post!

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@tremendous-arm.flywheelsites.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

Would you like to talk about how we can help you save time on your marketing and help you turn ideas into action? Simply schedule a time on my calendar for a no-strings virtual cup of coffee.

• By Laura Lee

Turn the Page

For the past several years, I put my own businesses on the back burner and devoted my time and energy to a mission, one to help small/solo lawyers build a business with systems, consistent marketing and developing a lifelong relationship with their clients.

That mission was, and is very dear to my heart, not because it is the means to my monthly income but because I know from personal experience the importance of that relationship with a lawyer.

You see, I grew up middle class, my dad was an electrician with his own business, my mom a waitress and yet, they had a lawyer who played a role in our life.  It wasn’t a transactional role, it was one of a caring trusted advisor…and I recognized the importance of this even as a child.

Fast forward a few years.

After high school, I began working for a local GP lawyer that had relationships with his clients and worked from a converted house that he turned into an office.

I started as a file clerk and thought that one day, perhaps I would become a lawyer as well.  But that wasn’t what was in store for me.  Instead, by the age of 21 I was working in a larger firm with 3 partners as the senior paralegal/office manager.  It was an estate planning/tax law office and the lawyers were awesome lawyers.  They gave excellent council to the clients, but they were stuck in the traditional model of billing by the hour and many times, it was me that had the relationship with the clients—NOT them.

I always knew there were better ways, and I have been fortunate to work, and learn from, some of the greatest trendsetters in the legal industry  (especially over the past 6 years), that are making a difference in the way attorneys in small firms are running their businesses.

In August of 2007, I made the decision to focus completely on one budding program to help build, create and coach the members. Unfortunately, over the course of the past 8 months it became clearer and clearer to me that the partner I was working with had very different views on the direction the business and what the various roles and responsibilities I typically held were…. and would be going forward. I found myself in the unsustainable position of having my reputation tied up into a program that was moving in a direction that I couldn’t agree with and could no longer effectively influence.

Despite my love for the members of that program, and my passion for what we were teaching, it became clear that it was time for me to go back to my own business of helping lawyers in the way that I always have in the past, in my own way,  bringing even more experiences to the table.

I believe that everything happens for a reason. Was this the perfect time in my life to make a change? (definitely not, – but is it ever?) I am absolutely certain of one thing, when one door closes many will open, and my needs will always be met.  I do not regret the experiences that I have had over the past 2 ½ years, and I’m proud of the many accomplishments that were made.  I have made some of the best friendships of my life, some with people that I have never even met in real life.

Spring is the perfect time for transitions, changes, and as much as it excites me, it saddens me at the same time.  I will miss the lawyers that I worked with so closely, the team members that I helped grow professionally, and working in the program that I put my heart and soul into growing that has helped many lawyers and made a difference in their lives.  I truly believe I was part of building something that will continue on, and will continue to be a resource for lawyers and make a difference in their practice and their clients lives.

It’s time to turn the page and close that chapter for me, knowing that I made a difference that mattered and will have a lasting legacy.

The exciting part is that with this new chapter the difference can be bigger and better, because of the lessons learned, experiences had, the relationships created and how they have all played a role in who I am today and the difference I can continue to make going forward.

I love new beginnings and look forward to sharing my opportunities with you.

Would you like to talk about how we can help you save time on your marketing and help you turn ideas into action? Simply schedule a time on my calendar for a no-strings virtual cup of coffee.

• By Laura Lee

Weekly Staff Meetings – What NOT to Do

Last week we discussed the importance of having a weekly meeting with your team, and some suggestions to make these meetings productive and help streamline the work flow in your law business.

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!

Would you like to talk about how we can help you save time on your marketing and help you turn ideas into action? Simply schedule a time on my calendar for a no-strings virtual cup of coffee.

• By Laura Lee

The Importance of Team Meetings and 4 Things you MUST Do To Keep Them Productive

As an attorney is important to have a team; be it in house, virtual or a combination of both,  and in order to manage your team effectively, it’s critical to implement weekly meetings so the team stays productive and your business keeps moving forward each month.

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!

Would you like to talk about how we can help you save time on your marketing and help you turn ideas into action? Simply schedule a time on my calendar for a no-strings virtual cup of coffee.

• By Laura Lee

Lawyers: Get Listed, Get Links and Get Reviews With Yelp.com

As you may know from previous posts, I’m a big fan of getting your law firm listed in as many local search directories as possible on the web.

That’s simply because consumers now search for EVERYTHING online, and lawyers who aren’t savvy to this trend (or sadly believe people under 50 still use the yellow pages) are missing out on business because of it.

Not to mention, getting listed in local directories gives you extra links back to your site and takes up more real estate  in Google, both which are great for SEO and standing out in an oversaturated legal market.

So with that said, one of the most popular local directories right now is yelp.com.  Yelp.com provides hyperlocal results for people actively looking  for services in their immediate area.  The site also allows consumers to leave reviews of your services—which can quickly help you stand out (for the better I hope) in the crowd.

Fortunately, getting your business listed on yelp is free and can be done in 3 easy steps.  They are as follows:

1.       Get Started

Simply click here to get started on yelp.com’s business page.   The screen should look like the one below:

2. Find your business

Enter the name of your law firm and city to “claim” your business.  If your business can not be found by yelp, you’ll come to the screen below and have the ability to create your own business profile:

3.       Complete your company profile

Simply fill out as much information that you can regarding your law firm.  Once you’ve done that, check your email address, confirm your listing and you’re firm will be live on yelp!

As a bonus (and for even better results), ask a few happy clients to leave a detailed review about their experience working with you.  You’ll also want to make the review process as easy as possible for your clients, which means giving them the direct link to your profile page and offering a “gift of thanks” (i.e. a gift card, discount on future services, etc) as an incentive for following through with your request.

That’s it!  Now go claim your business and get listed on yelp.com!

Would you like to talk about how we can help you save time on your marketing and help you turn ideas into action? Simply schedule a time on my calendar for a no-strings virtual cup of coffee.