What is the Happiness-Success Connection?
November 15, 2014
When Executive Coach Marshall Goldsmith asks audiences around the world to complete the following sentence, one word is overwhelmingly provided: “When my kids grow up, I want them to be _______.” Your response? It was probably “happy.” No other answer – successful, wealthy, healthy, well-adjusted, etc – comes remotely close. …Read More
The Easy Way to Make a Bigger Holiday Card Impact
November 3, 2014
It’s time for that staple of lawyer marketing: holiday cards. Alas, however, this seasonal routine tends to evoke groans of skepticism and displeasure. It’s a pain, it costs money, we don’t have the time to do it, I don’t’ know if it gets us new work (or helps us keep …Read More
How to Deal With Important People Who Waste Your Time
November 1, 2014
You know them: The “I need it yesterday” client. The “I’d like to pick your brain” long sales-cycle prospect. The “Can you take a quick look at this?” partner. They may be well meaning, or they may be jerks; but either way, they take up more of your time than …Read More
How to Welcome New Clients into Your Practice
October 1, 2014
Many problems with clients – perhaps even most – can be traced back to an all-too-frequent practice management oversight: they were never properly welcomed into your practice. Conversely, attorneys who provide new clients with a well-thought out welcome packet spend less time answering unnecessary questions, have fewer headaches, and more …Read More
The Daily Client Service Winner Most Lawyers Ignore
September 1, 2014
When I start working with them, only about 15% of my clients require their personnel to introduce themselves by name when answering the phone. This is true for both small and large law firms (where assistants and paralegals typically pick up after being transferred by the receptionist). This means that …Read More
Distractus Interruptus
August 15, 2014
In previous SuccessTips, I’ve advocated turning off your email alerts and periodically putting your phone on Do-Not-Disturb in order to reduce the number of times your train of thought is interrupted – and therefore your productivity diminished – throughout the day. The object is to retrain yourself to accept incoming communications …Read More
Tapping the Hidden Gold in Your Contacts List
August 1, 2014
Depending on how you think about and use your contacts list, its current value to your practice falls somewhere on a continuum from basic administrative utility to highly-prized business development goldmine. Of course, the closer to goldmine the better. Great professional service marketers know the importance of their contact lists. …Read More
Outstanding Free Resource on How Lawyers Should Use Social Media
July 15, 2014
Though every lawyer on the planet has heard about blogging and tweeting and LinkedIn and Facebook Fan pages, only a small percentage use those tools regularly in their law firm marketing. And an even smaller percentage of lawyers use them well. The jury is in, however: if you’re not employing …Read More
How to Keep Things In Perspective At Work
July 1, 2014
It’s too easy to get hooked by stress and worry – particularly when our experience of the stress and worry is (or seems) justified by the high stakes matter or financial pressure at hand. It’s all too easy to forget, in the midst of our daily work, why it is …Read More
The Secret to Staff-Generated Process Improvement
June 15, 2014
Your staff – and by that I mean everyone on your team who helps you get your work done, from your secretary to the practice group associates you supervise – have many ideas on how the work process could be improved. The problem is that they’re rarely asked to share …Read More