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Thank You For Sharing

Bigstock-trust-family-hands-of-child-so-27258686-300x199One of the things we like the best at Lawyers With Purpose is being in the room with members at the programs. Whether it's a WHY Coaching Program, Retreat, or the Practice With Purpose Program. The big take away has to be the “a-ha” moments in the room.

A few of yesterday's debriefs were:

“This changed my perception of medicaid! Going back to the basics and using the tools makes it simple!”

“The steps we went through in the first 2 hours gave me a level of confidence to convey this to my clients and make their lives easier!”

“I'm always giving it away, but now I'm going to serve it up.”

The Medicaid process is simple and is wrapped into a nice little package of tools that are easy to use and fail proof. Before lunch our attendees had qualification worksheets and knew Medicaids In's & Out's!

The end of the day debriefs ….

"I would highly recommend it. It will lead to a rewarding, profitable, and less-stressful practice."

"Absolutely essential for running an elder law practice!"

"By using the software I can make eliminate errors and get it done quicker."

We are so excited to be in the room with each of you! Thank you for sharing.

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Refining Your Listening Skills & Habitual Patterns for Success

Bigstock-forward-thinking-innovation-cr-30508940-300x283Yesterday our Lawyers with Purpose members were having conversations about (1) listening skills and (2) getting off the habitual pattern we call the hamster wheel. Big Audacious Harry A$$ Goals (B-HAHG) were set and homework was involved at the end of the day to support reflective tools for them to use between now and the next 90 days to support them with their progress.

Through developing your listening skills and communicating what's in your heart to your perspective clients and referral sources, you will naturally draw them to you and they'll WANT to work with you. Isn't that your business as an entrepreneur? Guiding them and providing the leadership to help them make a decision. Your prospective clients come to you for leadership and if you don't believe that, passionately, they won't believe you either. So let your confidence show!

By changing your habitual patterns and going outside your comfort zone, you will become exposed to a whole new way of thinking. A whole new mindset. So working that muscle to create new habits with intentionality will develop the new patterns over time. Our members yesterday were in the room with 70 other attorneys in complete silence planning away to create a path for a practice with purpose.

So … getting back to the homework, our members today declared goals and started creating habits for their future. Some were simple and small steps but they were given the freedom to plan anything they wanted for their future and this planning will give them velocity and our implementation coaches will be their biggest accountability and their biggest fan! Roslyn Drotar, National Director of Implementation

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Your Brand is Solving Problems

Bigstock-Concept-Of-Brand-31480556-300x199Think of your brand, not only as a visual marketing tool, but also as a way for your potential clients and referral sources to see you as the solution to their problems. As marketplace grows increasingly more competitive, a properly developed brand will give you a competitive advantage.

In today’s world of technology, your brand is more important than ever! I want to share about an article I read in Harvard Business Review: Aligning With the Consumer Decision Journey. It brings a voice to the fact that in the digital world, the famous “funnel metaphor” no longer applies to branding. We can no longer think of our consumers on the large end of the funnel, and target our branding for specific touch points to our prospects until they narrow down their choice and decide.

In the digital world, there is a constant shift.

“Traditional marketing strategies fall short in this new world. Marketers need to drop the funnel metaphor to describe consumer touch points and instead study the evolving and increasingly digital consumer decision journey (CDJ). The CDJ illustrates how consumers add and subtract brands from a group under consideration during an extended evaluation phase. And purchase is no longer the end of the relationship. Now consumers often enter into an ongoing relationship with the brand during which they enjoy, advocate for and bond with it.

Here are some ideas offered from the article with ways you can begin mapping out your commitment to branding your services:

1. Interview your customers. Do this during your initial consult. Find out what brought them to the table and what it was they were looking for when they found you. We do this in the Synergy Meeting.

2. Gather publicly available data on search activity and patterns. Once you find out what your prospects are looking for, use the resources available to you to pinpoint search activity and patterns. Don't just examine the data, let it speak to you and show you where you can improve. We do this using the Five Key Focusers. Review the information and strategize!

3. Identify and Analyze Trends. Once you have committed to your marketing plan, you can begin the implementation. But don’t lose sight of the progress you are making. Track it and act on the things that are working, bury the things that aren’t!

Nurture relationships with your clients, prospects and referral sources. In the end, this is the perfect plan of attack to make an impact with your branding. Always think of your branding as the reason your clients and referral sources come to you. Your solving their problems. Then take your brand out and inspire though your community outreach; grow regularly through your relationship building; and specify the options for the services you can offer to solve their problem.

Roslyn Drotar, National Director of Implementation

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Attracting Korean War Vetrans for Pension with Aid & Attendance

Bigstock-The-Korean-War-Veterans-Memori-4294926-199x300Veteran Benefits “advocates” aimlessly scurry around stumbling over each other as they vie for the business of elderly, wartime veterans who need the aid and attendance of another person to assist them with their activities of daily living. As a lawyer providing services to this market, you have undoubtedly scheduled a community education event at an assisted living facility, or met with numerous home health care agencies and financial advisors with the hopes of receiving referrals. Great! But now it’s time to do something different than everyone else in your profession.

Choose and Define YOUR Market of Veterans!

World War II veterans are increasingly becoming extinct. They were the greatest generation, but a generation that is dying. Vietnam veterans, while there are a lot of them, the ones who are living and do not have service connected disabilities range in age between 55 – 65, and thus, are typically too young to be in our primary market as VA Benefits Planning clients. Therefore, you would not want to spend your precious marketing dollars on this population. So who is our perfect client?

Korean War Veterans. Over 5,720,000 people served in the military between June 27, 1950 and January 31, 1955, the dates designated by Congress as a wartime period. The youngest age of these vets should now be 75 years old, which is an elder law attorney’s sweet spot. By the age of 75, health is beginning to decline and planning for long-term care is essential. For a long time, the spot light has been on WWII and Vietnam veterans with little to no emphasis on Korean War Veterans.

If you are the only one focusing on Korean War Veterans, then you will dominate the market. To feel confident, get to know the veterans of this era and the specific issues they may have that are distinct from other wartime veterans. To begin your search, go to www.va.gov/oaa/pocketcard/korea.asp. Once you know your market, then do everything you can so your market knows you!

Victoria L. Collier, CELA, Author of 47 Secret Marketing Strategies for Veterans Benefits Attorneys (2010), Co-Founder, Lawyers With Purpose

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What Your Client’s See

Bigstock-Businessman-s-Hand-With-Thumb-33620552-300x287Yes, that's about it. It takes the first three seconds for a person to meet you, or walk into your office, take a quick look around and declare their opinion of you and your firm. And let's take that a step further, what if they are calling on the phone, looking at your website, or just seeing your business card. The first impression that you make lasts and is almost impossible to undo.

Take a quick look around and see what impressions your making and see if there is anything you can improve on. Is your conference room professional and do you offer coffee and water to make them comfortable? Is the information on your website fresh and offer credibility? What is the tone of the voice over the phone when they call your office?

Keep in mind that you don't have to have it all. It doesn't need to be the best, but it has to represent your vision of how you want them to receive you. So, for example if you meet clients in your office do you have piles of work stacked everywhere that only you can make sense of? To anyone else, it looks like clutter and overwhelming. Make sure your conference room is tidy and doesn't have boxes full of old cases.

You want people to want to do business with you and for you to come across organized and on top of your game! The impression you make is important because let's face it, you've spent a lot of marketing dollars getting that phone to ring and the client in the door. And each first impression needs to count. Be yourself, smile …. WOW them with a fantastic first impression!

When YOU Are Your Brand.

Think about all that goes into your branding. Your firm brochures, firm bio's, firm practice modules, educational booklets, your website and social media. And what is on the forefront of all those materials? More than likely, it's your head shot. Your face to put with the name of the firm.

I read a great article on www.hbr.org titled The Future of You and it goes into great detail about “Self Branding” and explains how your brand is a signal. The stronger your brand, the stronger your signal.

Our members are all great people and fantastic estate planning attorneys. But it takes more than just that. You must get that signal out there. Your branding is important because people connect it with your talent and ability to practice law. Without branding your invisible.

The article uses David Beckham as an example. The article points out that he is more successful than most of his soccer teammates simply because he (1) is distinctive and makes himself recognizable (2) predictable and consistent (3) meaningful – allowing others to understand what he does. Let's face it, there are other soccer players just as talented (or maybe even more talented) than he, but he made himself a marketing sensation!

Let us help you with your branding and marketing. Follow us on Facebook and Twitter and subscribe to our RSS feed. Or, pick up the phone and let us know where your struggling in your practice. We're happy to help!

Thank You

Well its Wednesday and I survived all the 2×4’s from being out of the office last week at the Annual Practice Enhancement Retreat – in fact my wood chipper was ready and I am merrily preparing for a few down days to share with my family this Thanksgiving weekend.  So a quick note to let you know how thankful I am for you sharing time with us last week.  WOW!!  Is all I can say.

Susan and Jeff rocked our world on Wednesday showing us the practical approach to implement the RMS™ and CES™ (Client Enrollment System) -  And who can forget Thursday when Molly and I led you to create your individual and firm time templates to ensure you had the proper “Blue” “Green” and “Yellow” time to succeed in 2013  – its time to add some color to your life!  Then Friday when Candy led us in a “First Among Equals” conversation to set our rules of engagement with our team members, and our 2013 Action plan – but remember, none if it is worthwhile without YOU and your commitment.

Thank you for who you are and your commitments to your teams and the LWP/MPS Communities!  – Many Blessings this Thanksgiving to you and your family — Dave