BE THAT LAWYER

In this discussion, Sarah Tetlow, CEO of Firm Focus and an expert in time and email management, shares her innovative strategies for lawyers overwhelmed by their inboxes. She introduces the ARTT system, emphasizing the 'touch once' approach to streamline email handling. Listeners will learn why they should only keep 'favorite' emails and how to categorize messages as Action, Reference, Tracking, or Trash. Tetlow also encourages direct communication when necessary, transforming chaotic email habits into a more efficient workflow.

In this episode, Steve Fretzin and Bill Himmelstein discuss:Building relationships in a transactional industry.Having focus on who and how you are helping others.The 3 Keys to Finding a Good Networking Partner.Giving with a purpose to expand the pie. Key Takeaways:Networking is rooted in a philosophy of giving to gain.Search for networking partners whose values align with yours. Take the time to qualify those you are networking with.“Anyone” is not a good client for anyone. Be specific as to who your target client is.Network with those who are trusted advisors to their clients. If there is no relationship, they likely don’t have the ear, trust, or confidence of their clients. "What givers gain means is finding people that you believe can support you back and give to them." — Bill Himmelstein Eventbrite Invitation:https://www.eventbrite.com/e/be-that-lawyer-live-coaches-corner-tickets-473685655547 Episode References: Book: The Secret of Shelter Island by Alexander Green  Connect with Bill Himmelstein:  Website: https://tagcommercialbroker.com/LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/williamhimmelstein/ Thank you to our Sponsors!Legalese Marketing: https://legaleasemarketing.com/Moneypenny: https://www.moneypenny.com/us/Practice Panther: https://www.practicepanther.com/ Connect with Steve Fretzin:LinkedIn: Steve FretzinTwitter: @stevefretzinFacebook: Fretzin, Inc.Website: Fretzin.comEmail: Steve@Fretzin.comBook: Legal Business Development Isn't Rocket Science and more!YouTube: Steve FretzinCall Steve directly at 847-602-6911  Show notes by Podcastologist Chelsea Taylor-Sturkie Audio production by Turnkey Podcast Productions. You're the expert. Your podcast will prove it. 

In this episode, Steve Fretzin and Josh Schwadron discuss:Lawyers and advertising in the United States.How Mighty is changing the personal injury law world.Secrets of personal injury lawyers.Separating yourself from other law firms. Key Takeaways:Personal injury lawyers don’t compete on fees or on what they do, they compete on marketing and on who can scream the loudest and stand out.In personal injury, lawyers' incentives are misaligned with the incentives of their clients.It’s not about a race to the bottom, it’s about creating differentiated value to get more business.Be authentic in how you differentiate yourself. It’s not about the market tests, it’s about what you embody in your marketing, your service, and your culture. "Most industries are crowded, everybody looks very similar. And if there is something unique about you, that superpower actually should be translated into a benefit to the customer.." —  Josh Schwadron Eventbrite Invitation:https://www.eventbrite.com/e/be-that-lawyer-live-coaches-corner-tickets-473685655547 Episode References: Book: The Upside of Stress by Kelly McGonigal Connect with Josh Schwadron:  Website: https://www.mighty.com/Email: js@mighty.comLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/schwadron/Twitter: https://twitter.com/joshuaschwadron Thank you to our Sponsors!Legalese Marketing: https://legaleasemarketing.com/Moneypenny: https://www.moneypenny.com/us/Practice Panther: https://www.practicepanther.com/ Connect with Steve Fretzin:LinkedIn: Steve FretzinTwitter: @stevefretzinFacebook: Fretzin, Inc.Website: Fretzin.comEmail: Steve@Fretzin.comBook: The Ambitious Attorney: Your Guide to Doubling or Even Tripling Your Book of Business and more!YouTube: Steve FretzinCall Steve directly at 847-602-6911  Show notes by Podcastologist Chelsea Taylor-Sturkie Audio production by Turnkey Podcast Productions. You're the expert. Your podcast will prove it. 

In this episode, Steve Fretzin and Emily Hirsekorn discuss:The relationship between leadership and learning. Why and when lawyers need support in their careers. 4 of the most common blocks to success. The learning that can happen at different stages of your career.  Key Takeaways:When you are growing and learning and leading in a way that is most authentic to you, that is where you are going to be happiest and most effective.Find what you really want to do and what you want your life to look like, then work backward to find out how to make that work. Come up with a narrative where you are the hero of the story. You can be confident in yourself without coming across as arrogant. There is so much to learn, and it doesn’t always have to cost money.  "I really encourage people to shift from time management to energy management, think about what keeps your energy up, build those positive habits, and then really focus on both performance and well-being because they impact each other." —  Emily Hirsekorn Episode References: Book: Energy Leadership by Bruce Schneider Connect with Emily Hirsekorn:  Website: https://www.hirsekorncoaching.com/Email: emily@hirsekorncoaching.comLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/emilyhirsekorn/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hirsekorn_coaching/ Thank you to our Sponsors!Legalese Marketing: https://legaleasemarketing.com/Moneypenny: https://www.moneypenny.com/us/Practice Panther: https://www.practicepanther.com/ Connect with Steve Fretzin:LinkedIn: Steve FretzinTwitter: @stevefretzinFacebook: Fretzin, Inc.Website: Fretzin.comEmail: Steve@Fretzin.comBook: The Ambitious Attorney: Your Guide to Doubling or Even Tripling Your Book of Business and more!YouTube: Steve FretzinCall Steve directly at 847-602-6911  Show notes by Podcastologist Chelsea Taylor-Sturkie Audio production by Turnkey Podcast Productions. You're the expert. Your podcast will prove it.

In this episode, Steve Fretzin and Denny Esford discuss:How lawyers can better plan their day and execute that plan. Build in “no” answers to your strategy. Executing your business plan first thing in the day. Content calendars, scheduling your business development, and preparing in advance.  Key Takeaways:Without having clients coming in, consistently, running your firm is just an expense. You need to have a plan to have those clients coming in regularly. Be willing to walk away from situations where you and the client are not a good fit. Plan your day so your day doesn’t have you. Lean on the basics - you do not need to be your banker, your accountant, your bookkeeper, your marketer, your receptionist, etc. "Find out where your energy is in your day because that's when you're going to be most productive, and that's where you schedule the stuff that’s tough to do." —  Denny Esford Episode References: Book: Eat That Frog! By Brian TracyBe That Lawyer Episode 205: Lesley Wallerstein: Confidence, Adaptability, and Embracing DiscomfortBook: How to Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie Connect with Denny Esford:  Website: https://www.windycitytrialgroup.com/LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dennyesford/Twitter: https://twitter.com/WindyCtyTrialGpFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/denlaw1217/ Thank you to our Sponsors!Legalese Marketing: https://legaleasemarketing.com/Moneypenny: https://www.moneypenny.com/us/Practice Panther: https://www.practicepanther.com/ Connect with Steve Fretzin:LinkedIn: Steve FretzinTwitter: @stevefretzinFacebook: Fretzin, Inc.Website: Fretzin.comEmail: Steve@Fretzin.comBook: The Ambitious Attorney: Your Guide to Doubling or Even Tripling Your Book of Business and more!YouTube: Steve FretzinCall Steve directly at 847-602-6911  Show notes by Podcastologist Chelsea Taylor-Sturkie Audio production by Turnkey Podcast Productions. You're the expert. Your podcast will prove it. 

In this episode, Steve Fretzin and David Neagle discuss:Why belief is the most important thing to your success. Getting around walls that make you seem stuck. How lawyers can overcome the struggle of negativity. The formula for solving your problems.  Key Takeaways:You don’t have a problem, you only create problems. What you see as a problem, just is. You give what is the meaning of problem. Be open to learning, be willing to learn, and take the steps to change. You do not have to be the smartest person in the room. You were never taught how to build a business, learn from those who do know how.We earn what we expect to earn.  "Most people stay stuck in their business because that's where they're comfortable. Even if they're complaining and moaning about it, they understand the problems that they have and they deal with those problems every day. But it's far scarier for them to try to blast ahead." —  David Neagle Episode References: Book: Working with the Law by Raymond HolliwellBook: Trust by Iyanla Vanzant Connect with David Neagle:  Website: https://davidneagle.com/Show: https://successfulmindpodcast.com/LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/thedavidneagle/Twitter: https://twitter.com/davidneagleFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/DavidNeagleCommunityInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/david_p_neagle/ Thank you to our Sponsors!Legalese Marketing: https://legaleasemarketing.com/Moneypenny: https://www.moneypenny.com/us/Practice Panther: https://www.practicepanther.com/ Connect with Steve Fretzin:LinkedIn: Steve FretzinTwitter: @stevefretzinFacebook: Fretzin, Inc.Website: Fretzin.comEmail: Steve@Fretzin.comBook: The Ambitious Attorney: Your Guide to Doubling or Even Tripling Your Book of Business and more!YouTube: Steve FretzinCall Steve directly at 847-602-6911  Show notes by Podcastologist Chelsea Taylor-Sturkie Audio production by Turnkey Podcast Productions. You're the expert. Your podcast will prove it. 

In this episode, Steve Fretzin and Stuart Baum discuss:Marketing missteps and mistakes that lawyers make in building their firm. Making business development fun. Leveraging what you are good at and what you like to do. Stop being selfish and learn to be a resource.  Key Takeaways:The only failure is a failure to learn from your failures. There are a lot of ways to do business development. Do it your way and find success doing the things you like. If it takes you more than five minutes to find two or three people in a good friend’s network that you can connect to people in your network, then you're overthinking it.Enjoy what you are doing, and enjoy helping others. People can see that enjoyment. If it feels like work, people will feel like they are work.  "Think about moving from being a vendor to being a partner. If I care about your business and I'm helping you be successful, you think about me as somebody who's gonna sit by your side and help you grow your business." —  Stuart Baum Episode References: Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us by Daniel Pink: https://www.danpink.com/books/drive/ Connect with Stuart Baum:  Website: https://www.largerpond.com/Email: stuart@largerpond.comLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/stuartbaum/ Thank you to our Sponsors!Legalese Marketing: https://legaleasemarketing.com/Moneypenny: https://www.moneypenny.com/us/Practice Panther: https://www.practicepanther.com/ Connect with Steve Fretzin:LinkedIn: Steve FretzinTwitter: @stevefretzinFacebook: Fretzin, Inc.Website: Fretzin.comEmail: Steve@Fretzin.comBook: The Ambitious Attorney: Your Guide to Doubling or Even Tripling Your Book of Business and more!YouTube: Steve FretzinCall Steve directly at 847-602-6911  Show notes by Podcastologist Chelsea Taylor-Sturkie Audio production by  Turnkey Podcast Productions. You're the expert. Your podcast will prove it. 

In this episode, Steve Fretzin and Sasha Berson discuss:Statistics around lawyers in the United States. The relationship between marketing and company performance. Setting expectations with your marketing team. Why you need to keep up on your advertising and marketing budgets.  Key Takeaways:Being a rainmaker is infinitely more profitable than just being a lawyer. Most marketing companies do not charge enough money to be able to provide solid, consistent results.Always ask for references from your marketing company. If they won’t provide them, walk away. If you hire a high-performing marketing team, you should be getting a 4 to 7 times return on that investment.  "The one thing that most solo and small law firm lawyers don't know is that you need to be investing 15 to 25% of future revenue into client acquisition." —  Sasha Berson Episode References: How to Pick the Best Marketing Company Checklist: https://growlawfirm.com/marketing-company-checklistHow to Get More Clients Report: https://growlawfirm.com/law-firm-report Connect with Sasha Berson:  Website: https://growlawfirm.com/Email: sasha@growlawfirm.comYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCrBWJr36by51NtPBZJAreyQLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/grow-law-firm/LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/aleksanderberson/Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/growlawfirmInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/grow_lawfirm/ Thank you to our Sponsors!Legalese Marketing: https://legaleasemarketing.com/Moneypenny: https://www.moneypenny.com/us/Practice Panther: https://www.practicepanther.com/ Connect with Steve Fretzin:LinkedIn: Steve FretzinTwitter: @stevefretzinFacebook: Fretzin, Inc.Website: Fretzin.comEmail: Steve@Fretzin.comBook: The Ambitious Attorney: Your Guide to Doubling or Even Tripling Your Book of Business and more!YouTube: Steve FretzinCall Steve directly at 847-602-6911  Show notes by Podcastologist Chelsea Taylor-Sturkie Audio production by Turnkey Podcast Productions. You're the expert. Your podcast will prove it. 

In this episode, Steve Fretzin, Michael English, and Courtney English discuss:Improving efficiency to improve your life and business.Why SOPs are so important to your law firm and business.Top challenges lawyers face in automating and scaling.Writing out the SOPs for your law firm. Key Takeaways:SOPs (standard operating procedures) are the key to creating a streamlined law firm and will allow you to delegate appropriately the activities that you, as the lawyer, do not need to be doing.Create training videos or modules to help train new employees rather than just having them shadow another employee and hoping for the best.For law firms with flat fee pricing, SOPs can create efficiencies and allow for automations that will help you to give more dollars to your bottom line.Automations save time for everyone, but you need to know what it is that is being done in order to standardize, automate, and delegate. "SOPs create consistency and responsibilities within a law firm - everybody knows what their job entails at that point, so there's no question as to the responsibilities that lay on everybody's shoulders. " —  Michael English Connect with Michael and Courtney English:  Website: https://www.streamlinemylawfirm.com/ Thank you to our Sponsors!Legalese Marketing: https://legaleasemarketing.com/Moneypenny: https://www.moneypenny.com/us/Practice Panther: https://www.practicepanther.com/ Connect with Steve Fretzin:LinkedIn: Steve FretzinTwitter: @stevefretzinFacebook: Fretzin, Inc.Website: Fretzin.comEmail: Steve@Fretzin.comBook: The Ambitious Attorney: Your Guide to Doubling or Even Tripling Your Book of Business and more!YouTube: Steve FretzinCall Steve directly at 847-602-6911  Show notes by Podcastologist Chelsea Taylor-Sturkie Audio production by Turnkey Podcast Productions. You're the expert. Your podcast will prove it. 

In this episode, Steve Fretzin and Neil Schwan discuss:Why lawyers don’t keep up with their expenses. Top expenses lawyers have that they don’t look at. Automation and outsourcing to reduce costs. The power of looking to help others first.  Key Takeaways:You may not need to wait out a full lease if you are looking to move on. There are options out there, and speaking with a tenant advocate may be able to help. Get competitive quotes every few years on your professional insurance. You can always stay with your broker if you like them, but it doesn’t hurt to see where costs can be saved. As we are in this inflationary period, it is more important than ever to pay attention to rates, negotiate with your provider or vendor, and lowering the costs that are within your control. Network with people that you can help and can also help you.  "It's a really good time to be [negotiating with your provider or vendor before your contract is up], preparing yourself or recession and inflationary periods where you can lower the costs you have within your control because there's some you just can't change." —  Neil Schwan Episode References: Brad Barkin at Embroker: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bradbarkin/Practice Panther: https://www.practicepanther.com/ Connect with Neil Schwan:  Website: https://www.schooleymitchell.com/nschwan/  Phone: 630-381-0037Email: neil.schwan@schooleymitchell.comLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/neil-schwan/ Thank you to our Sponsors!LegalEase Marketing: https://legaleasemarketing.com/Moneypenny: https://www.moneypenny.com/us/Practice Panther: https://www.practicepanther.com/ Connect with Steve Fretzin:LinkedIn: Steve FretzinTwitter: @stevefretzinFacebook: Fretzin, Inc.Website: Fretzin.comEmail: Steve@Fretzin.comBook: The Ambitious Attorney: Your Guide to Doubling or Even Tripling Your Book of Business and more!YouTube: Steve FretzinCall Steve directly at 847-602-6911  Show notes by Podcastologist Chelsea Taylor-Sturkie Audio production by Turnkey Podcast Productions. You're the expert. Your podcast will prove it.