Un-Billable Hour: Business Management Strategies for the Busy Lawyer Around the Community Table

This episode’s discussion around the Community Table:  Is hiring a temp I’ve already worked with previously a mistake? “It’s not personal,” it’s personnel. I need a body, even if s/he won’t stay with me. Is this reasonable? Sometimes, a contractor (even one you already know and know won’t stay with you) is the answer. Mr. Right vs. Mr. Right Now. How do you test the “seriousness” of a job candidate? Are you dealing with a real job candidate or just a person out fishing and wasting your time? Or is this 007 work from a competitor checking you out? Should I be overlapping an exiting employee with their replacement?  Trying to squeeze out a bad employee while simultaneously onboarding a good employee – can this be done? And will keeping a less-than-perfect employee onboard, while offboarding and bringing in a new person, help?

Today's guests, Erik and Elliot, will be joining Christopher on our upcoming Community Table live Q&A on February 16, 2023 to discuss all things marketing. Sign up here (it's free) to join us so you can get your questions answered!-----Acquisition, from cold lead to paying client, is the important stuff. Marketing is one of three pillars of a successful firm: finding and signing new clients. Guests Erik and Elliot Alicea, co-founders of Empirical360 legal marketing, have a passionate focus on law firm marketing built on ROI, return on investment. Get real bang for your marketing buck.Automation may not be your best bet when it comes to generating cold leads. The process differs from referrals, you need to be personal. People only look for a new lawyer when they are in trouble, so be compassionate, be human. Reach out. And by all means, answer the phone.Learn to measure the return on your marketing dollar. There should be accountability and measurable results. Know what it’s costing you to land every new client. How do you know if you got your money’s worth? And when you get a lead, hey, that’s not the end. Get the contract signed, that’s work.(Plus, if you had only ONE channel for marketing your firm, which would it be? Can you guess the answer?)

Let’s look at your law firm’s culture when it comes to tech. It’s bottom up and top down, a full circle. You can’t delegate this stuff to one department or one level. Don’t be afraid of change. Embrace efficiencies. Be better. It’s not easy, but you can do this.Guests Anthony Seale and Isabel Parker understand today’s tech better than most, and they never stop innovating. They’ve seen law firms that embrace technology and process management to improve not only the bottom line but also client satisfaction. Get better results and happier clients with tech. Listen to younger associates, ask what you don’t know. You are never too successful to get on this train. But where to start?In this episode: Resistance to today’s tech advancements is futile (and it’s costing you money). Listen to younger associates and tech experts. Make more money, make clients happier, and be better by incorporating the best of today’s newest technologies and efficiencies. Mentioned in This Episode:Open AIChatGPT“Firms of the Future: Overcoming the Barriers to Legaltech Adoption”

This episode’s discussion around the Community Table: How to focus your practice. If you’re not known for something, you aren’t known for anything. The one thing all clients in every business want: A better life. How do your services make my life better? The steps you must take after firing an employee. It’s not just about the employee, it’s also about the clients. Mentioned in This Episode:Advertising on NextdoorMeetUpTrustAndWill.comHelloprenup

In this episode: Law is intense, and you love your business. But are you trying to do everything? Trust the team you’ve hired. You can do too much, and you’re not that special. Make the best use of your time, don’t micromanage. It’s not sustainable and it’s not profitable. Learn about “calendar blocking,” building space for success. The habit you must learn. Guest Corine Rogers, a Clio systems and efficiency master, has a vital message: You can’t do everything, and you aren’t that important. Help your law firm build business operations systems, then trust your team.“Systems” are the repeatable ways you delegate tasks to others you trust. You selected your team, but do you let them do what you hired them to do? Do they believe that you believe in you? Get out of the way.Start with the tasks that you simply don’t like. Baby steps. Don’t fall victim to drowning in the mundane and the things that aren’t the best use of your time.You can’t create more hours in a day. So free yourself to do more of what you are best at and let others inside your business do the other tasks. In this important episode of The Un-Billable Hour, we hold up a mirror to help you see what you are doing to yourself if you can’t let your team shoulder some of the load. Plus, what doing your laundry can teach you about your business.

This episode’s discussion around the Community Table: How to Determine if a New Hire Is a Success in the First 90 Days How To Master the Process of Employee Contract Negotiations How To Improve Your Job Offer to a Potential Candidate

Let’s talk about practice management, tech, and production. How do you find and apply the right tech tools that help you deliver what you’ve promised to your clients?Acquiring new clients, moving cases through the process, reaching successful outputs, and applying the right business metrics that help you understand your business performance all require the right technologies. Did you know, even the simple habit of waiting until the end of the day to enter your billable time can cost you money? There’s a tech solution for virtually every aspect of your legal business.Tech is racing forward. The COVID-19 pandemic changed the way we work. Maybe you are being left behind. It’s more important than ever to understand what changed. Payments, marketing data, key points, cloud tech, it’s all a new game. Practice management and success today is about data, how you understand your value, your pricing, key performance indicators, and, ultimately, your profitability. From intake to case management to corporate success, tech is what’s driving the legal profession.Life moves pretty fast. If you don’t stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it – Ferris Bueller

How To Decide A Timeline For Firing An Employee How To Craft A Good Job Package to Attract Better Quality Applicants How To Give An Employee An Ultimatum Before Firing Them

Acquisition, getting new clients “from contact to contract,” is vital to your success. So why are so many firms struggling at the most basic levels? Guest Adam Reiman, director of coaching and live events at Lawyer.com, explains.Signing a prospective client starts the instant you pick up the phone. Clients are won or lost in those critical first moments. If you’re waiting to respond to calls or putting people on hold, you may be bleeding contracts. Prospect interest drifts away in minutes, while the average law firm takes more than three days to return an initial call. Is that your firm?It’s not just getting prospects to call, it’s about converting them to clients. Reiman, says, “Treat your leads like Fabergé Eggs.” They are precious and fragile.Reiman, a leader in legal coaching and law firm development, helps firms efficiently manage leads and turn an inquiry into a signed, paying client.In this episode: The art of being “nice.” The caller is in a tough spot. Respond quickly and show empathy. The value of in person appointments and appointment reminders. Explaining why you’re the right lawyer. What makes you special. How much follow up contact is too much, and too little. The right time to explain your fee (and how to ask for the money). Bonus: Reiman urges firms to give him a call (602-828-4415) for a free “secret shopper” experience where he’ll call as a prospective client, then provide tips and areas for improvement.

This episode’s discussion around the Community Table:How can a law firm effectively use the non-attorney salesperson in a way that meets client expectations?