“Referrals are my best source of business.”  Would you agree with this statement?  I’ve heard it for years from many clients.  This leads to the next question:  Is it true for your practice?

I believe many attorneys, and other small business owners, truly agree with it.  Referrals from fans are a great source of business.  What’s shocking is that so few professionals effectively put it to use.

Let’s discuss how you can unleash your fans.

Note:  The Louisville Bar Association originally published my article in the July edition of Bar Briefs (page 14).

The challenge with referrals is that, at any given time, how can you be sure someone else is actively focused your practice?  What is it about you and your firm that would cause someone to take time out of their day to talk about you – on a consistent basis?

If there were only a few alternatives in your market, the numbers might be in your favor.  The reality is that many firms are competing for your next several clients, right now.

Ego aside, many of us are very effective at our jobs.  The risk is going too far in trying to convince others.  If you’re not careful, you risk sounding like legal version of Tony Malito (although he is a dealer for the people).

Believe it or not, hiring an attorney (for any type of issue) is still a daunting task for most consumers. We need to decide which attorney is best for our situation.  We want to feel confident that we’re making the right choice.

When a consumer is in this phase of the decision-making process, he/she is trying to imagine “the experience” (not just the outcome).

We want to figure out if the person, product or service is as good as we hope.  We often look for someone to reassure and confirm it for us.  We’ve all fallen victim to a good sales pitch.  I still have some Ginsu knives and a Sobakawa pillow to prove it.

In making a recommendation, people typically talk about how they feel about it.  I “like” that she really fought for me.  I “didn’t have to worry” because he always kept me informed about my case.  I “felt” like we negotiated a good settlement.  Again, it’s about what they experienced. Read more →

Surely that was a typo in the title, right?  We just wrapped up 2015.  How could we possibly look back over 2016, already?  Rest assured, it wasn’t a mistake.

2016 Will Fly By You. What’s Your Plan?

So many of us get surprised by how quickly the end-of-the-year actually arrives. Sure enough, if you look at your new calendar, you’ll see it’s made up of 12 months, 52 weeks, 365 days, 8,760 hours or 525,600 minutes.  Yet, for many of us 2016 will seem to have passed by more quickly than we planned.  Having a plan is the key to making the most of the opportunities which lie ahead.

By now, you’ve probably looked at your business results from 2015. You’ve identified some areas you’d like to improve. You may even have begun to implement some new changes. I’ve done the same for my business.

It’s important to come to terms with the fact that we tend to be creatures of habit. We easily fall into routines that are routine and comfortable. Routines, however, can be dangerous. I challenge each of us (myself included) to commit to doing at least a few things differently in 2016.

It may be helpful to close your eyes and visualize how you want this year to end.

• What will you have accomplished?
• Where will your business be?
• How will it be different from where you began?

That simple exercise may help you to identify a few of the things you’ll need to change. Some adjustments may be relatively easy. Other changes will require much more effort. Instead of getting overwhelmed by the enormity of the task ahead, take a step back. Can you identify actions or activities requiring little, additional effort?

You may find that it’s not the size of the step you’re taking, rather it’s the cumulative effect of steps consistently taken.

Read more →

A leak can do tremendous damage before you know it.

The competitive environment for law firms is ever changing. If you’ve ever had a leaking pipe in your house, you understand tremendous damage can be done before you even know there’s a problem. Your competition continues to make moves that may catch you off guard. The damage can be severe if those moves go undetected.

In business, you’re either moving forward or sliding backwards. Standing still is not an option.

Over the past week, I’ve noticed that national, family law firm Cordell & Cordell has launched a new television campaign. Here’s a link to the commercial in the Louisville market (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cMNClTsNDfo). If you search YouTube for their firm, you’ll see that they launched their 3^rd YouTube channel approximately 1 week ago. They already have 2 other channels with a ton of videos.

What I found interesting is that their new channel has state-specific “bundles” that appear to be the same videos, simply formatted for the individual states. This is actually an interesting way to rapidly deploy a uniform, marketing campaign. For those of you in Kentucky personal injury, I’d expect Morgan & Morgan to do something similar.

I point this out for several reasons. First and foremost, we’re about to begin the 4^th quarter of the year. If your caseload is down, it’s time to investigate your competition to see if they’ve quietly changed a tactic or implemented new tools to gain market share. Remember the leaky pipe that slowly, quietly does a ton of damage? If you’re not tracking your local competitors, you might miss some tools you could incorporate into your own strategy and combat the competitive attack.

Second, you don’t have to re-invent the wheel. In the case of Cordell & Cordell’s videos, take a look at the ones that seem to have a lot of views. Could you update your videos and/or on-page content to address a similar topic? Put your unique perspective to work and launch some new content. Again, standing still is not an option. You may already be leaking clients, as well as revenue.

Third, remember to cluster or group your content assets. Just having a single page of content on a topic may not be enough. There are always related topics that can be addressed. This is even more important if the topic is a highly competitive area of law. You and your prospective clients may be thinking about the same type of case, but they may use different terms or be focused on a sub-topic issue. By creating content clusters (both in text-based and video-based content), you’ll have a better chance of appearing relevant to the search engines (e.g. Google) and your clients. Oh, and don’t forget to create several internal page links so the content creates a web of informaton.

If your house has a leaky pipe, the sooner you do something about it the better off you’ll be. If your firm is leaking clients and revenue because of a competitor’s new tactic, it could cost you much more.

For more free information and tips to help grow your practice, subscribe to my firm’s Facebook page. If you’re ready to change your marketing tactics, let’s assess your competitive environment and begin implementing a plan to grow your firm’s business. My phone number is (502) 208-9639.

You should routinely perform a law firm SWOT analysis to help you plan for the upcoming quarter and/or year. The below video is an excerpt from a CLE I presented for the Louisville Bar Association in June, 2015.

Use a SWOT Analysis to Define Opportunities

A law firm SWOT analysis gives you the ability to look at your firm strategically. From there, you can develop tactical plans based on your findings. The acronym SWOT stands for Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats. The first 2 are internal. The second 2 are external.

In this video, I provide an overview of key factors you may consider. A law firm can identify ways to use strengths to defend itself against external threats. More importantly, a SWOT analysis provides insights into how you can leverage your firm’s internal strengths to take advantage of external opportunities.

Use SWOT to Develop Individual Performance

Based on a question I received from the audience, I also address how a SWOT analysis relates to managing yourself and your associates.

GE’s Jack Welch had very specific views of how your talent pool should be managed. I began my career at GE and learned some valuable insights in this progressive organization. If you lead a firm or organization, you might find my views helpful.

I share my somewhat controversial view on dealing with the B- and C-level talent, within your own organization. I managed sales teams and organizations a significant part of my career. There’s no silver bullet, but understanding how a personal SWOT analysis can help in the development/performance of your team can provide some direction.

Earlier this year, the Louisville Bar Association published my article about how a law firm can use a SWOT analysis. Here’s a link to that article on my blog:  https://jimrayconsultingservices.com/evaluating-firms-market-position/

If you’d like to discuss issues related a law firm SWOT analysis to evaluate your firm’s growth and direction, please contact me. My cell is (502) 208-9639. For more information, feel free to SUBSCRIBE to my YouTube channel or Like my business Facebook page.

The elevator speech is a simple, concise tool you can use to start conversations.  It’s extremely helpful when networking, especially at social gatherings.  Maybe you’ve heard the term “elevator speech” but haven’t actually developed one for yourself.  The brief video, below, provides some information about the idea, it’s primary objective, and how you can use it to open the door to new clients.

I gave another CLE at the Louisville Bar Association focused on helping attorneys to grow their practices.  The presentation was titled:  Selling 101 – Proven Methods to Increase Your Client Base.  One of the topics focused on the importance of an elevator speech.

The concept is simple.  Assume you and another person are on an elevator.  As the doors close, the person asks, “So, what do you do?”  You know there’s only a brief moment to explain it, but you have to do it in a way that engages the person.  Your elevator speech should be a concise description.  Most importantly, however, it should elicit a follow up question such as, “That’s interesting, how to you do that?” or “Hmmm, what kind of clients to you have?”

Remember, you don’t have a lot of time, so finding a way to stand out – or to become “memorable” – opens the door to a potential new client.  A quick exchanging of business cards, maybe a request to grab coffee, or some other way to begin a conversation is full of potential.

An elevator speech can be extremely effective a social events.  You don’t want to aggressively “work the room,” but a few extended conversations may lead to important business relationships down the road.  Always keep in mind that your next lead may be someone this person knows (e.g. a colleague, family member, etc.).

I usually recommend that you practice your elevator speech until it’s clear and consistent.  Once you have it down, try it out on some friends to see if it makes sense.  If your description is so vague that it confused the person, you can refine it.  Better to have some “test runs” before you actually use it with someone you don’t know.

The below video is an excerpt from my recent CLE presentation.  I hope you’ll find it helpful as you continue to grow your client base.  An elevator speech is just the beginning.  For more information on business development for your law firm or small business, feel free to read the other posts on my blog.  If you have specific questions, please contact me on my cell phone at (502) 208-9639.  I’d be happy to arrange on opportunity to meet with you.