Leo Bottary has spent 25 years in the PR business both on the agency and client sides. He's passionate about client service. His blog is not dedicated exclusively to law firm client service, but that's a big part of what I like about it. The more our industry looks outward instead of inward for new ideas, the better.
Visit his site at http://clientserviceinsights.blogspot.com/
On Sun, Mar 23, 2008 at 6:52 PM, D***** G********<******@**************.com> wrote:
Rjon:
To be honest I have no idea how this is applicable. You seem to say
that most lawyers have "bios that suck", but you dont even touch upon
how to write a correct one. How would I go about doing that?
MY RESPONSE:
Hi Daniel,
The point of last week's ezine was to get everyone thinking about what they are trying to accomplish with the bios they use on their websites & in their marketing materials and not to just copy all the poorly written bios out there. The point was to get you thinking about the fact that (most) clients don't really care about (most) of the things that (most) lawyers see fit to write about in their bios. So, if most of your clients don't care about most of the things that most lawyers waste time writing about, then what DO they care about? Hey, what am I a mind reader?!? Go out & ask them.
Pause. . .
Just looked at your website ". . . was formed specifically to change the community’s perception of what a law firm can and should do for its clients. How do we do this? By providing an attentiveness to each client’s specific legal issues while simultaneously employing technology used by much larger firms to keep costs to a minimum. We also go one step further than simply boasting of personalized attention without backing up our claim. Each one our clients receives secure access to our website, giving them the ability to view the status of their matter at the time thats most convenient for them. Why do all of this? Simply put, because every day we do our vest best to change the way law is practiced…for the better."
Not a bad start - better than most. But it doesn't really tell me anything about YOU. I need to buy your story before I'm really going to buy your law firm's story. Sorry to cut this short, but I have a telephone appointment with a Bronze coaching client that's starting in a few minutes I need to prepare for.
RR
For a piece for Good Housekeeping on couples and money differences, reporter Jeff Wuoria needs a quote and/or statistic provided by a divorce attorney, as to how prevalent financial issues are in marital problems and, possibly, eventual divorce. Contact: Jeff Wuorio, jwuorio@adelphia.net
We recently entered into a joint venture agreement with a malpractice insurance agency that represents only "A" rated carriers. Apparently they think that lawyers who learn & implement the rainmaking & client service skills contained on some of our programs are a better risk for their underwriters. And so they're offering some of our materials for FREE (that is they pay, you get for free) to the first 1,000 attorneys who submit an application to get a no-obligation rate quote. If they come back with a better rate than you're paying now, you can switch or not. Your choice & you still get some How To Make It Rain programs for FREE. We're still working out the exact details of which programs they'll underwrite for you but I'm thinking it will probably be a FREE "How To Close Every Sales Call" CD, which normally sells for $99.
Visit the main website today at www.HowToMakeItRain.com and click on the banner that just went up before you miss your chance to get something for nothing.
RR
Mr. Wayne Thompkins is looking for someone to write an analysis piece about the ability to sue third parties for shareholder
losses.
The U.S. Supreme Court is expected to rule this summer in a
major securities lawsuit that could determine whether investors can sue
third parties for their role in financial frauds. Industry groups are
seeking to limit shareholders' power in such cases, which could bar the
courthouse door to plaintiffs suing credit-rating agencies, investment
banks and accountants and law firms that may have helped clients
disguise housing-related losses. We have various high-profile cases
here where investors turned to third parties like BDO Seidman and
Morgan Stanley for liability.
Sources with knowledge of
South Florida are especially welcome to respond.
Deadline is January 4th
Contact: Wayne Tompkins directly by e-mail: wtompkins@alm.com
Watson's Formula For Succcess
" Would you like me to give you a formula for success? It's quite simple, really. Double your rate of failure. You're thinking of failure as the enemy of success, but it isn't at all. You can be discouraged by failure or you can learn from it.
So go ahead and make mistakes. Make all you can. Because, remember, that's where you'll find success. . . on the far side."
This quote is by Thomas Watson, founder of IBM so he might just know what he's talking about. And I'd like to add-on a couple of ideas Mr. Watson did not address:
1. Notice the title to this blog entry "A" formula for success, not "The" formula. I recently sold a program to a very successful lawyer who also has chosen to give back and teach other lawyers how to market their own law firms too. We later ran into eachother and laughed about the fact that we both invest alot of time reading books, listening to programs & attending seminars of people whom those "not" in-the-know would consider to be our competitors. But you have to constantly challenge yourself, learn new approaches, fan the flames of creativity by exposing yourself to new ideas. In other words, there are lots of formulas for success and I'd encourage everyone who has read, listened to, attended any of my books, audios, seminars etc. not to limit yourselves to just my approach.
2. The only two common denominators that I see in all the successful Rainmakers I work with are that they focus their practices on areas of the law or with clients or concentrate on aspects of the business of running a law firm that gets them excited; and that they get off their butts and try things. . . in other words they fail ALOT but when something does work, it generally brings with it a very nice reward.
OK, gotta run. Food's here!
Please comment or e-mail me with your biggest failures. Things you thought would be great but weren't and most important, what you learned from the attempt.
RJON
It's amazing how many professionals choose their line of work after having been a patient, client, customer etc. All other things being equal, I know I'd prefer to have a doctor/lawyer/accountant, etc. who has been through what I am coming to them for help with. I think that having had to hire lawyers and having had the client experience makes me a better attorney. It certainly helps me keep my clients' priorities in mind. And those priorities very rarely include getting a lecture from my attorney about what an idiot I am for having gotten myself into the position of needing his/her help in the first place. The next time you're counseling a client, try & couch your advice in terms of what can be done, empathize with the feelings they must be having that may cloud their better judgement and let them know that they are not the only one in the world who has gotten into their current predicament. I guarantee, this alone will boost your revenue and lower your stress from your practice.
A lawyer in NY sued her florist for using the wrong color flowers at her wedding. Click here to read the whole story. No wonder we have to work so hard just to overcome the negative perception some of our prospective clients have of us!
On Friday October 12th Grant Griffiths is hosting a free teleseminar to celebrate the launch of a brand new program every successful Rainmaker and aspiring Rainmaker should be interested in: Blawg for Profit is the culmination of six months work that Grant and his partner have invested to create a very simple step-by-step course to help you understand what a blog is and appreciate, how it can be used to make it rain for your practice.
As I've said again & again, there is no "magic bullet" when it comes to making it rain for a small law firm that in & of itself will consistently generate hundreds of thousands of dollars. Instead, the long-term successful Rainmaker knows we have to employ our favorite dozen or so techniques which each year can consistently generate tens of thousands of dollars. That way we're never "betting the ranch" on any one approach. Blogging should definitely be among the techniques any serious Rainmaker considers.
Grant has been nice enough to invite all solo and small firm lawyers to participate on the call he will be sharing some practical, valuable advice on how to effectively blawg for profit.
Also, on the call, to celebrate the release, they will be awarding one lucky winner a free copy of the Blawg for Profit course. The course consists of 4 audio CD’s, 2 DVDs, a Workbook, and several other goodies all of which are designed to make you a more effective blogger.
To qualify for the drawing that will take place during the call, visit Blawg For Profit to register now.
Kxxxxx,
How exciting! I hope you don't think me presumptuous by sharing an observation of what may be very obvious to you (it's not very obvious to the majority of attorneys in mid & big firms). OK here it goes. . . when you peel back the veneer of a big law firm what you find is a collection of smaller law firms and solo practitioners. The more you can think of yourself as a solo practitioner and treat the attorneys around you as clients and referral sources just as you would if you were actually a solo, the more success I predict for you. Just like an individual store in a shopping mall. The mall operators and the larger law firms provide a variety of services for you which relieve you of a lot of responsibilities and you might even pick up some business just from the foot traffic of the stores/lawyers around you - but at the end of the day the economics of a large firm and a solo are pretty much the same. First you have to bring in enough business to pay your share of the overhead. Then you have to bring in enough to pay the operators their profits and what's left over is what you can claim as your own. I would very much encourage you to sit down & write out a business/Rainmaking plan so you can make the most of the extra free time the firm will provide for you by them taking care of so many of the mundane things solos have to deal with and use that time wisely to make it rain, not just bill more hours. I don't mention it often on the How To Make It Rain site but in the past I have done a fair amount of consulting with mid-size firms and have helped a ton of lawyers who have come out of big firms. So don't hesitate to send me an e-mail with any questions. . .and check out the free e-book "Ten Rainmaking Mistakes Made By Solo Practitioners" I promise, most of them are being made by lawyers struggling to find success in big firms too!
Again congratulations!
RJON
