RJon Robins

Don’t Be Fooled. EVERY Successful Rainmaker Is Out Here Marketing Our Law Firms!

One of the biggest problems that holds alot of lawyers back from effectively marketing their law firms is this notion that “if you’re a good enough lawyer the clients will find you”.

Of course this little ditty doesn’t hold up to even the slightest scrutiny does it?

First of all we can be the best lawyers in the world but if no-one knows about it they’re going to bring their business elsewhere.  And how is a client who didn’t go to law school, who has never attended a CLE event, and who may not even know a lawyer (which describes MOST people in this Country)… how is that person supposed to go from just barely recognizing a need for legal help to suddenly becoming an expert at devising an appropriate criteria for judging expertise and then being able to also frame their own legal issue well enough to actually find their way to the best lawyer for that particular need.

Anyway, I was recently interviewed by the Legal Broadcast Network and one of the questions posed to me was exactly on this point.  Instead of writing it all out for you, just watch the video below:

“The Competition Myth”

If you've been following this blog and watching my e-videos for awhile you probably know that I don't believe in “The Competition Myth”. 

That is, I don't believe there is such a thing as competition.  At least not when it comes to professional services.  There doesn't have to be any competition for tangible good either but that's beyond the scope of law firm marketing so I'll leave it alone for now.

Here's WHY there's no such thing as competition when it comes to professional services

  Because clients buy YOU as much as they buy your firm.  Actually, more.  And you are unique. 

  • Your motivation for the way you practice law is unique, 
  • Your perspective on how you solve problems and spot opportunities for your clients is unique. 
  • Your way of explaining options and educating your clients is unique.

AND ALL OF THAT COUNTS FOR ALOT!!!

Here's a “Secret” Not Everyone Knows About

I have a “secret” not everyone knows about.  But the most successful rainmakers won't be surprised to read that I often speak with other law firm marketing consultants, advisors and coaches. 

That's right, behind closed doors we compare notes on the industry.  We share resources including names of great vendors and those to avoid.  We even refer business to one-another when we encounter a prospective client -or even discover that a current client – is not a good fit for us. 

All the best coaches do this.  The best rainmakers in law firms do this too. In fact, the best of the best in every line of business do this.  Because it's smart business.  And besides, if you're any good you know there's more business out there than everyone could ever hope to handle.

It's a sellers' market.  Always has been.  I suspect it always will be that way too.

Recently, as you probably know I have decided to share a resource for free, with my fellow lawyers and with the legal industry at large.

For reasons described in more detail at www.LawyerControl.com I have decided to share my “Simple System For Managing A Law Firm Client Property Trust Account, That WON'T Make You Feel Like A Schmuck” at absolutely no charge.

And being the consummate professionals that they are who genuinely give-a-crap about their clients, know there's plenty of business out there for all of us and just generally like to do the right thing, several law practice management consultants, coaches, bloggers and thought-leaders in our industry have all been so generous to me and to our industry too by sharing news of this totally-free resource.

One such professional, a really good guy and from what I hear a pretty good bass fisherman too is my friend Stephen Fairley who has written a very wonderful review of the above system over at his site which you can read about by clicking HERE

Stephen & I argue all the time about all things law firm marketing.  And I absolutely LOVE it whenever he breaks the tension by saying “Well, you know if we never disagreed then one of us would be redundant in this relationship”  Right-on Stephen! 

I share this “behind the scenes” peek into the world of top-level law firm marketing consultants & coaches in hopes of inspiring you to reach-out and find another lawyer in your market who to the untrained eye may appear to be your competition. 

In reality he or she could become a valuable asset in your professional life.

Alexis Martin Neely: NOT Full of Bullshit

So I have to say, there are ALOT of people going around talking alot of bullshit about what they “think” would, could or should work when it comes to marketing & managing a solo or small law firm. And I'm talking about REALLY marketing & managing it.  As in doubling your revenues and totally transforming your business and your life.

And for the most part, I keep my mouth shut.  Because the kinds of lawyers who I want to work with are only the ones who are smart-enough to see through the facades of all those pretenders. 

Just the other day for example I spoke with a lawyer at-length, who wanted to get into one of my programs.  But he was also considering another option with someone else who will remain nameless.  Because I have learned that the best way for that lawyer to learn the difference between working with someone who knows what they're talking about with legitimately 15,000 hours + real world experience vs. a johnny-come-lately import from an entirely different industry is to just keep my mouth shut.

Same goes when you're meeting with a prospective client who is considering their other options, even if one of those options includes hiring another lawyer who you know, can't hold a candle to you. 

Just smile, keep your mouth shut and be thankful that you confirmed the end-time for the appointment when you started so you can move onto something more profitable with the rest of your day.  Seriously, you should NEVER badmouth another lawyer.  Just like I'm not badmouthing anyone here.  Just commiserating with you about something we both already know:  There are alot of people in the world who talk a good game but they're full of shit.  And sometimes the only way to know is after we buy a ticket.

ON THE OTHER HAND, it's always a pleasure to let people know when someone is NOT full of bullshit.  Even if to the untrained-eye, it may appear that “someone” is your competitor. 

Because when it comes to professional services there really is no such thing as competition.  And one of the best ways to grow your law firm is to collaborate with other lawyers in your practice area. 

For example what if two lawyers who practice in the same city in the same area of the law were to join forces to advertise and host an educational seminar?  

Half the advertising expenses.  Half the event production expenses.  More than twice the attendance because the whole is more attractive than the parts.  More great content.  And at the end of the day, a third of the audience would naturally gravitate to lawyer A, a third would naturally gravitate to lawyer B and a third would think you're both assholes and then go home and keep looking through the phone book.

There are DOZENS of examples like this.  One more is when a lawyer you know writes a great article that would be helpful for your clients to read.  Do you share it?  Do you hope they don't find out about it? 

What's the “RIGHT” thing to do?  Well, obviously sharing it is the right thing to do.  Besides, how do you think your client would feel if they were to learn that you knew about something that could help them but your own petty insecurities prevented you from sharing. 

SO IT GIVES ME GREAT PLEASURE TO THANK ALEXIS for sending this email to all the thousands of lawyers she knows to help them by sharing my FREE video training series “A Simple System For Managing A Law Firm Client Property Trust Account That WON'T Make You Feel Like A Schmuck.”

Alexis, if you're reading this, you really are the real deal!

RJON

[LBR Weekly Briefing Memo] Are You A Grievance Waiting to Happen?

From: Alexis Martin Neely
[mailto:Alexis@LawBusinessRevolution.com]
Sent: Friday, July 23, 2010 12:40 PM
To: rjon@howtomanageasmalllawfirm.com
Subject: [LBR Weekly Briefing Memo] Are You A Grievance Waiting to
Happen?

 

 I
heard a statistic the other day that just blew my mind.

Would you believe that 54% of grievances filed against lawyers are caused
by management mistakes in the law office?

That’s right, more than half the bar grievances
filed! 

When my friend (and affiliate) attorney Rjon Robins passed that bit of
information on to me, I was amazed. 

RJon recently did a survey of lawyers who had either recently started their own law
business or were seriously thinking about it.
  What he found out makes
it a little easier to understand why that percentage is so high!

Even after law school, CLE programs and all the other information
available to them, he found that many of the lawyers he surveyed have never
received any formal training on how to set up and manage their trust
accounts.    

Long story short, after he saw the results of his survey, RJon was
concerned enough to produce a free resource to help lawyers learn what he
calls his “Simple
System for Managing a Law Firm Trust Account That WON’T Make You Feel Like A
Schmuck.” 

Is that a great title or what?

And even better, it’s a simple, easy to follow system that could very well
keep you out of the clutches of the Grievance Committee.  That alone
makes the program worth its weight in gold…

Now
for another great piece of news – Rjon’s video is free, for a very limited
time.  Believe me, you need to bookmark this link and watch the video now:
https://education.infusionsoft.com/go/IOLTA/alexis

 

And
just like all the information we provide for you through our affiliates, we
want to know what you think so be sure to share your thoughts with us!

Enjoy!

Alexis

Some bad advice you may have heard in law school

There's alot of good advice we heard in law school.  But
there's one bit of really bad advice most of us heard too.  And
it's sucking the fun and profits out of way-too-many law firms.

NOT a Rhetorical Question:

What would you say if someone told you that “Owning” a law firm is a costly myth?


Please click the link ABOVE to let me know YOUR thoughts.  

Here's What I Think:

'll
admit it took me a long time to figure this out too. 

So in the
meantime while you're pondering  the implications of what I have just said
above, on this rainy Friday morning in Miami, I'll go first:

“Partnership”
is held-out like a carrot to get alot of extra work out of alot of
lawyers who were never taught and have been kept intentionally in the
dark about the business side of “owning” a law firm.


Lawyer goes to work for a firm.  Is told if you work hard and bill enough hours, someday you'll be “made” partner.


But
what if the associates didn't WANT to be made partner?  Then how would
most law firms “motivate”  those associates to Bill More Hours?

The
root of the problem for “owners” of law firms all over the world, who
are trying to wrestle with this problem, is in how they're framing it. 


Because
when the goal of a law firm is to Bill More Hours as opposed to
generate more profit, all kinds of things get screwed-up.  Beginning
with the values of the lawyers who work for the firm
.


In the old days, the “profit” of a law firm was a function of value being delivered to clients. 

It wasn't measured by the number of hours. 

Because
how long something takes to do, is usually in inverse proportion to the
resulting value to the client.  Do you want your dinner to arrive in 5
minutes or in an hour?  Which has more value to you? 

Unless you're a
defendant trying to stall the system, typically, the longer something
takes, the LESS it should cost.  At least from the client's
perspective. 

And since clients are the ones paying the bill they DO get a vote
on this.

 

Loss of Love & Profit From The Practice Of Law

What happens is that when a law firm is focused on billable hours, and then holds partnership
out as a carrot to motivate the production of more hours, the
end-result is a loss of love for the practice of law. 

And
the only lawyers who THINK they want that, are the lawyers who don't
understand the business-side of the law firm well-enough to
fully-appreciate what they're getting themselves into when they accept
this equation.


If
you've been reading my ezines and watching my videos for any time at
all you already know that, sadly, MOST lawyers don't really understand
the business-side of the legal industry very well. 

And it's not their fault! 

Because
after-all, what did they teach any of us in law school about the
business-side of “owning” a law firm?  Nothing!  Actually it's worse
than nothing. 

Most lawyers actually get very BAD advice in law school
about the business side of a law firm


The
bad advice most of us recieved may have ranged from the merely
mis-guided: “just do your work and someone else will take care of that”
all the way to the downright DESTRUCTIVE “this is a noble profession and
so you shouldn't concern yourself with making a profit at it.”


Shouldn't concern yourself with making a profit at it?  But profit is a function of value!


So
if a lawyer isn't waking up every day with his or her mind on how to
generate a profit for the law firm it's our clients who are suffering
isn't it? 

Because they don't care about “buying” hours.  They want
solutions!  And all things being equal, our clients want their solutions
delivered to them sooner rather than later. 


And here's where it gets REALLY UGLY…


When
you're NOT thinking about making a profit, you're typically not
thinking about the things that lead to making a profit either. 

And one of
those things that has a direct-connection to how profitable our law
firms are is how our IOLTA client property trust accounts are set-up and
managed. 


Of
course, if no-one ever told you that your law firm should be
profitable, and the more the better because profit is a function of
value to clients;

That is to say if
all you ever heard about was billing hours…

Then chances are no-one
likely ever taught you how and why your law firm's IOLTA client property
trust account can and SHOULD be used as a PROFITABLE law firm management tool. 

And that far from being
something that intimidates us, our IOLTA Client Property Trust Accounts
should be tools of empowerment that contribute to your being the best
lawyer you can be.  And having the most fun at the practice of law and
delivering
the most VALUE to your clients and yes, all of that is very profitable
too.

If you have not already done so…

 Please register to watch a completely complimentary series of videos I'm able to give to my fellow lawyers and the legal industry at-large but only for a short time.  It's entitled “A Simple System For Managing A Law Firm Client Property Trust Account That WON'T Make You Feel Like A Schmuck.” 

In the videos
you'll hear about how I felt like such a schmuck when I first started
my own law firm; Because, despite all the warnings about WHY not to
screw it up, I realized no-one had ever actually bothered to teach me
the HOW TO manage my trust account!

Anyway there's absolutely no cost to watch these videos.  And for reasons you'll understand if you click the link &
read some of the comments & questions in the discussion forum I can
only keep this resource out there for a limited time.

Enjoy,

 

RJON

 

p.s.  Even if you don't
normally forward blog posts to other lawyers, please forward this one. 
Because none of us should ever have to worry about how to manage our
IOLTA Client Property Trust Accounts.  And none of us has been taught
how to properly use them the way these videos do!

 

This Will Make You Feel Good About Your Law Firm!

3 Important TRUTHS About The Legal Industry They Didn’t Teach Us In Law School

Back when I
was first starting my own law firm I had a client come to me for help
starting his own restaurant.
He was a great
chef, but he had no experience and undertook no training in the
marketing or managing of a restaurant.
He was “just” a great chef.

Against my counsel he went ahead and opened
his restaurant anyway, with predictably bad results.

Years were subsequently wasted learning
expensive and embarrassing lessons the hard way.
That cost him hundreds of thousands of dollars in terms of both
opportunity costs and working capital. Too many hours in the
restaurant, struggling to reinvent the administrative wheel took all the
joy out of his business; and distractions caused by easily avoidable
“emergencies” prevented him from being able to spot market trends and
marketing opportunities.

Consequently, my chef client was always
playing catch-up with other restaurants whose chef-owners were not
nearly as talented as he.

But they invested the
time, before and after, opening their businesses to learn what they
never learned at culinary institute about the business side of the
restaurant industry.
And that made all the difference.

So the lesson for all of us is…(original post is at TotalAttorneys.com blog)