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

In this episode’s discussions around the Community Table: Adding a Customer Relationship Management (CRM) program for your law firm? Hear the struggles one small firm is facing as it looks to automate CRM duties. Start with knowing what you need, how you’ll keep up with clients and follow up on leads. Software is just a tool. Without a plan, it’s useless. Start with a “sequence of contact” (and no BS).  “Misfiring” when you hire a new associate can be a headache (and expensive). How do you make sure it’s a good fit before you hire, instead of learning you made a mistake later? Treat recruiting as marketing. Start with a clear message. Know what you want and tell people.  Are you offering discounts? Here’s the thing: people don’t always want discounts; they want value. A good deal isn’t about money, it’s about service. Give clients more, don’t charge less. Make them feel special. (Do you know what a lagniappe is?) Mentioned in This Episode:Constant ContactHubspotZoho CRMKeapClio GrowLawmatics“Origin and Meaning of the Word Lagniappe” Join the next Community Table live. What’s on your mind? 

In this special, high-energy episode, we’re getting down and dirty and talking about fixing your firm. Consider this is a “visit to the doctor.” What’s ailing your firm? Guest RJon Robins is the founder and CEO of the firm How To Manage A Small Law Firm. He fixes things. Get real about the cost of client acquisition, marketing, revenue building, financial control, and finally your life as a business owner. Start with knowing that when you hang out a shingle, you run a business. You just happen to be a lawyer. Lots of lawyers have gone through what you’ve gone through. How do you turn your passion for the law into a profitable business? Hear how you can focus on the fundamentals of running a real business. Law firms are simple, at their core. Don’t overthink it. Lawyers have been running businesses for a thousand years. Learn the core nuggets that will drive your business. No fads, just the honest realities of business. No excuses. Learn how your firm can serve you, instead of you sacrificing for your firm. Get fired up, take charge, and get ahead.Mentioned in This Episode:Join the next Community Table live. What’s on your mind?Profit First for Lawyers, by RJon RobinsRJon Robins Podcast How To Manage A Small Law Firm, Free Resources

In this episode’s discussions around the Community Table: A firm owner dealing with discipline problems stemming from her firm’s understaffing is frustrated. Feeling they have the upper hand, some employees are taking advantage of the situation. How can the owner regain control? What’s the best way to staff up? In-office, remote, or even offshoring some tasks? Christopher and guest Joey Seeber of Level Legal share tips about building a team, from in-house to offshore.  An attorney wants to know if he should borrow to expand his firm in a competitive market. It’s OK to borrow money, but only if you start knowing how you plan to pay it back and what you expect in return.  Evaluating the results of an affinity or educational marketing plan when there’s no direct call to action. It all comes down to new client acquisition and the Five Commandments of Marketing!  Mentioned in This Episode:Legal SoftJoin the next Community Table live. What’s on your mind?

Law firms often focus on revenue generation, client retention, and financial performance. But guest Tracy LaLone says true success is driven by the (very real) people who work at the firm. Firms that fail to engage and recognize their people, she says, can never reach their full potential. LaLonde is a corporate trainer who focuses on engagement within law firms. She has more than 30 years’ experience in corporate training and helps firms focus on the involvement, commitment, and enthusiasm workers feel for their workplace. Surveys show only 30% of American workplaces are considered “engaged.” So, there’s room to grow if you know how important engagement is to your firm’s success. How eager are employees to get to work each day? How valued do they feel? Are you focusing on billable hours at the expense of your team’s wellbeing and sense of purpose? LaLonde explains how she targets law firm burnout and underperformance through her Hierarchy of Engagement, a pyramid of workforce factors including pay, performance, and perks; work/life balance; and a shared purpose. Learn key tips you can put to work at your firm today to nurture engagement and achieve peak performance.Mentioned in This Episode:“The Joychiever Journey: Evade Burnout, Surpass Your Goals and Out-Happy Everyone” by Tracy LaLondeJoychiever Hierarchy of Engagement Joychiever Quiz: Are You a Good Manager?“First, Break All the Rules,” and other titles from GallupALMJoin The Un-Billable Hour Community Table

In this episode’s discussions around the Community Table: A lawyer who’s falling behind wants to know why her leads are down. Should she focus on “branding” or “marketing,” and what’s the difference? While they are both part of attracting new business, they aren’t one in the same.  Branding is important. Be authentic. Who are you? What are your values? You can’t fake it, you live it. And you don’t make it up as you go, you intentionally think about who you are and develop a consistent look, tone, feel, values, and mission across your firm.  Messaging, marketing, and a clear call to action is something different. It costs money. Pay per click, local service ads, billboards, and more are about delivering a compelling message that drives potential clients to call you. Learn the “Five Commandments of Marketing.”   Mentioned in This Episode:“Getting Started With Local Service Ads,” LSA explained, Google supportJoin the next Community Table live. What’s on your mind?

Guest Charlène Gisèle is a former big-firm litigator turned professional high-performance coach. This show is about you. It’s about you being your best, taking better care of you, and avoiding burnout and other health issues. It’s no secret, the legal profession is a field filled with stress. Deadlines, precision, scheduling, marketing, and running a business. It’s a lot for anyone to handle. Gisèle helps her clients improve their well-being, increase productivity, and maintain a sustainable practice.It’s great to set goals, even ambitious goals, at the start of every new year. But don’t forget to take a moment to make a plan for yourself and how you’ll keep going, day after day, with so much weight on your shoulders. Hear how Gisèle used her own experience and a lot of professional research and training to develop a coaching method that helps stressed professionals enjoy their life and stay healthy. “You can have all the success in the world,” she says, “but if you’re not going to be around to see it, how much success is that truly going to be?” Do you feel stressed? Exhausted? Isolated? Do you know the symptoms of burnout? This is a podcast for you. You are not alone. Mentioned in This Episode:Charlène Gisèle's PodcastE-book, “Breathwork For Cognitive Performance,” by Charlène Gisèle “Burn-Out An ‘Occupational Phenomenon:’ International Classification Of Diseases,” World Health OrganizationJoin The Un-Billable Hour Community Table

In this episode’s discussions around the Community Table: Who should a solo attorney hire first? You’re building your firm. Who’s the next person you add to add (and you want avoid the wrong hire)? For starters, what do you need? Where are you wasting time? From there, “hiring is marketing,” it’s crucial you attract the largest pool of great candidates.  How do you prepare a job candidate for your hiring process? Start by being transparent. It’s that easy. “Hey, here’s our process, it may be different from what you’ve done before.” The important thing is to find what’s not only right for you, but what’s right for the new hire. And if they start by questioning your process, move on.  How do you introduce your “second in command” to your team? Maybe that’s the wrong question. “Second” in command suggests you still want people to report to you. You don’t. The whole idea is to offload daily decisions so you can focus on strategy and bigger things. There’s no “second in command,” there’s the “here’s the new person in charge for all of you.” Your language can sabotage your intentions.  Mentioned in This Episode:“Who: The A Method for Hiring,” by Geoff Smart and Randy Street “Hamlet Was Wrong,” a transcript, from Malcolm Gladwell discusses “hiring nihilism”Join the next Community Table live. What’s on your mind?

Marketing and sales are keys to building your business. But where do they meet? It takes two to tango, and “Intake” is the junction. Good intake is always worth the effort. Guest Bo Royal is co-founder of Pareto Legal and has worked with several Fortune 1,000 companies and scores of law firms. He specializes in helping small and medium sized law firms build their business and strengthen their intake process. Data tracking and quality matters. Follow the trail, understand how the marketing funnel is working and where to get prospects in the door and sign that retainer. Intake is about nurturing inbound leads – the results of your advertising and marketing – and turning them into clients.Intake can make or break all of your marketing and sales efforts. Don’t build a “leaky bucket.” You worked hard, and spent a lot, to develop leads. This is an important episode that can help you go that last mile from generating interest to capturing revenue. Track the “journey” of every prospect. It’s not luck, it’s a process. Mentioned in this Episode:Pareto LegalPareto PPC LinkedInLawmaticsNeedles legal softwareHubspotClio GrowGoogle Analytics for beginnersJoin The Un-Billable Hour Community Table

In this episode’s discussions around the Community Table:  AI is all the rage in the public media, but how are lawyers using it in real life? For starters, it can help you with written communications. Tone down an angry brief or client communication. Write advertising or blog communications. Even create Excel formulas. (But remember, it’s a tool, not a replacement for your skills!).  How do you convey the value of a paid consultation? Help clients understand what they get by paying for a professional consultation. Sometimes it starts with an explanation that every case is different, and only a paid consultation can explore all available options before hiring an attorney. Tell prospects what they can expect from you and your conversation is more than a sales call. Marketing is important. And it’s expensive. How do you know when you’re getting the right ROI? It takes some math. Do you know how much you’re spending and how many paying clients are a direct result? Plus, the risks and rewards of posting your firm’s phone number prominently. Sometimes putting your number out there generates spam and time-wasting calls when a simple online scheduling tool could be more efficient. What’s right for you?Mentioned in this Episode:ChatGPT 4Paxton AI for legal profession“Michael Cohen Says He Unwittingly Sent AI-Generated Fake Legal Cases To His Attorney,” NPRMicrosoft Excel“PPC For Lawyers: It's About Cost Per Client, NOT Cost-Per-Click,” Lunch Hour Legal Marketing on Legal Talk Network“Getting Started With Local Services Ads,” GoogleCalendlyJoin the next Community Table live. What’s on your mind?

Business and professional growth are at the core of your business. This episode is about growth. Growing your business intentionally. Are you working “for your business” or “in your business?” Guest and growth guru Rick Watson helps business owners – like you – go beyond daily tasks to focus on real growth. Watson started his consulting dynasty with a dream and twenty bucks in his pocket. He’s now the successful owner of several businesses, including a half billion-dollar registered investment advisory, and he’s the founder the National Referral Network. He walks the walk and provides solid insights. Learn to think like an entrepreneur, not a practitioner. Don’t set artificial limits on your business. This is a deep dive, and it may force you to think. It’s about culture, goals, hiring, and about directing your firm and your future with purpose. If you’re on a treadmill running daily operations and chasing leads, you may be letting your business and your opportunities slip away. Separate good growth from bad growth, cut the mundane tasks, and energize your firm today. Mentioned in this Episode:Video, “The Growth Minded Accountant: A Firm Worth Building With Rick Watson”Book, “A Firm Worth Building: Running a Better Professional Business,” By Rick Watson Join The Un-Billable Hour Community Table