A few years ago I created a to-do list for my business (different from my to-do list for clients). Nearly every day I would add something to the list. Soon, I had over five pages of things to do -- tasks I viewed as important enough to interrupt what I was doing so I could add them to my list.
Before long, every time I opened the document I got depressed. I was always adding to the list, but almost never crossing anything off.
Why? I discovered I had a number of well-worn excuses:
I don't have enough time. The project seems too big. It won't hurt to put it off a little longer. I feel no pressure to get it done. Maybe it isn't important after all.
When I looked at the tasks I did complete, I assumed they would match my highest priorities. Right? Wrong!
I surprised myself to learn that priority had almost nothing to do with it. Instead, the major factor in my decision to complete these tasks was the "Big C" -- Convenience.
I could finish them quickly and easily. I could complete them in one sitting. And I felt really good when the job was done: instant gratification.
So, what did I do with my 5-page to-do list? I deleted it. Now I feel much better.
When your prospective clients need to hire a lawyer, do they hire you? Or are they skilled at finding ways to "put it off until tomorrow" -- or much later?
I encourage you to make every aspect of your law practice convenient for both your prospects and clients -- because if they face any obstacles, they may have all the reason they need to do nothing.
Now, here are 12 smart ways to make your law practice more convenient:
Smart Way #1: Make sure prospects find it easy to learn about you. This includes having an education-based web site that answers their questions and explains in detail how you can help them. Also, I suggest you have an educational packet that contains articles and information about your services, which you can send by mail or e-mail.
mart Way #2: Make sure prospects find it easy to reach you. Do you accept phone calls from prospects -- or do you insist that they come into your office before you'll speak with them? Do you offer a toll free number -- or do prospects have to pay to call you? Do you respond to e-mails from prospects? The more convenient you make it for prospects, the more calls you ll receive.
Smart Way #3: Make sure clients find it easy to reach you. Are you available by pager or cell phone in an emergency? Can a client reach you quickly and easily on the phone? Do you return calls promptly?
Smart Way #4: Make sure prospects find it easy to get to your office. Is your office on or near a major street? Is your parking area close to your building or office? Is your office at a convenient location in the building? If on the second floor or higher, is the elevator close by?
Smart Way #5: Make sure prospects find it easy to meet with you. If prospects have a hard time coming to your office, will you go to their home or office? If weekdays are difficult for them, will you meet with them in the evening or on a weekend?
Smart Way #6: Make sure prospects find it easy to hire you. Can they hire you without having to drive to your office? Can you send your engagement letter or contract by fax or e-mail? If you have an established relationship, can they hire you simply by calling you on the phone? Or by sending you an e-mail? Can they hire you without a retainer?
Smart Way #7: Make sure prospects find it easy to pay you. Will you accept personal checks? How about credit cards? Do you offer a payment plan? Do you provide postage-paid business reply envelopes to make sending their check more convenient?
Smart Way #8: Make sure prospects and clients find it easy to provide you with the information you need. Do you have a form they can fill out and send by fax or e-mail? For larger packets, do you provide self-addressed UPS or FedEx labels?
Smart Way #9: Make sure prospects and clients find it easy to remember appointments and other important dates. Do you send them a calendar of upcoming dates, including what you need from them -- or expect of them -- by those dates? Do you send letters or e-mails reminding them of appointments? (A more tactful way to remind them is to ask if this time is still convenient for them.)
Smart Way #10: Make sure clients know when to call you to update documents. You might provide them a list of criteria or events that should prompt them to contact you.
Smart Way #11: Make sure clients find it easy to refer their friends and colleagues. You might mail to each client your referral brochure, which contains a complete listing of your services and contact information. Consider providing clients with referral postcards they can give to friends and colleagues to request a meeting with you. Offer educational seminars so clients can bring friends to meet you and hear your message in person.
Smart Way #12: Make sure clients find it easy to remember you. You might provide things that contain your contact information, such as calendars and paperweights. Send cordial-contact letters. Mail them your newsletter. Don't overlook greeting cards, gifts and donations given in their name. Also, consider hosting special events like art walks and wine tastings.
In summary: Convenience is a big factor in how prospects and clients respond to your marketing efforts. Don't allow even the slightest obstacle to come between your prospects and you. Instead, emphasize how easily prospects can do business with you. In this way, you melt the ice that freezes many prospects in place -- and help them realize that working with you is an easy, positive, rewarding experience.
Before deciding amongst the many options in Franke Sinks be sure visit us to learn more about which Franke Sink will best suit your needs.
Thursday, November 19, 2009
New Reality Show Debuts, Called New Orleans, Sink Or Swim
As if Katrina wasn’t a bad enough blow for New Orleans, geologists now inform us that, due to more exact measurements via satellite, they have been able to determine that the down but not out metropolis is sinking faster than previously thought – instead of about a fifth of an inch a year, about an inch, which is, of course, about a foot every dozen years.
Always keen to ride the crest of a new wave onto megabuck beach, a television production company, having alighted on an enormous pot of gold with a previous, highly imaginative reality show, has honed in on the sinking city and created a new show, called “New Orleans, Sink Or Swim.” The concept immediately sparked interest in the equally imaginative creative minds at the networks, and ABC raced to option it.
The show, scheduled to debut in the fall, will feature twelve people stranded in New Orleans, or one actor per inch for the twelve years during which they hope the show will run. Complications will develop as the innovative members of the cast compete to stay above the waterline, while involving themselves in the usual crowd-pleasing boy-outdoes-girl shenanigans.
Rumor has it that the show will include guest appearances by longtime New Orleans residents, among them Fats Domino, who will demonstrate, as the city gives way to the sea, how well his rotund body floats.
Also, newly reelected Mayor Ray Nagin is expected to appear and endorse rebuilding even in the area that sinks deepest. He will, however, limit his endorsement to the construction of a seaquarium.
Before deciding amongst the many options in Franke Sinks be sure visit us to learn more about which Franke Sink will best suit your needs.
Always keen to ride the crest of a new wave onto megabuck beach, a television production company, having alighted on an enormous pot of gold with a previous, highly imaginative reality show, has honed in on the sinking city and created a new show, called “New Orleans, Sink Or Swim.” The concept immediately sparked interest in the equally imaginative creative minds at the networks, and ABC raced to option it.
The show, scheduled to debut in the fall, will feature twelve people stranded in New Orleans, or one actor per inch for the twelve years during which they hope the show will run. Complications will develop as the innovative members of the cast compete to stay above the waterline, while involving themselves in the usual crowd-pleasing boy-outdoes-girl shenanigans.
Rumor has it that the show will include guest appearances by longtime New Orleans residents, among them Fats Domino, who will demonstrate, as the city gives way to the sea, how well his rotund body floats.
Also, newly reelected Mayor Ray Nagin is expected to appear and endorse rebuilding even in the area that sinks deepest. He will, however, limit his endorsement to the construction of a seaquarium.
Before deciding amongst the many options in Franke Sinks be sure visit us to learn more about which Franke Sink will best suit your needs.
Armor, Ammo, And The Kitchen Sink :: The Secret To Deployment Bags And How To Pack Them
“Survival of the fittest,” is a term that is thrown around liberally, but what does it mean? The meat of the phrase means that those who are most prepared, equipped and alert will be the ones that will come out on top of the pack. Going into a battle situation, it is to your benefit to give yourself every advantage you can think of which means to more than satisfy the criteria of the definition of being “fit.”
The secret to being prepared and equipped is having with you everything you may need in any given situation. This can be challenging when you have to carry all of your gear. However, with the right TA-50 or deployment bag, you can have enough room for everything you need, and if you pack carefully, perhaps even a small kitchen sink! The perfect deployment bag begins with essentials in an orderly arrangement. Essentials will be different for everyone, but at the core should be your body armor, some ammunition and a small first-aid kit. Here are some tips for packing the perfect bag:
1. Combinations are KEY! Try combining articles such as putting gloves, a pair of socks and a couple extra rounds in the cavity of the body armor. This will enable there to be more room in the bag as well as keeping things that you will need to use together also packed together so there is no time or energy lost in grabbing something you need. Body armor is bulky and odd shaped for packing, and chances are that if you need one piece, that you will need the same things each time so put them together in a way that they all work together. For example, if you have an extra pair of shoes to pack, consider putting something else that you will be using at that same time in the shoe to save room in your bag.
2. Zip tight bags are awesome! Water leakage inward to your bag (if it’s not waterproof or if it gets a hole in it somehow) or liquid/gel leakage outward of a container can prove to be a huge problem if you are traveling or on deployment. Zip tight baggies can save your day! Put shirts or outfits, socks, underwear into gallon size baggies if you are going to be deployed to a wet area with a lot of rain or will be trekking through water. If not, zip tight sandwich baggies around your toiletry items individually can prove extremely helpful. If one thing spills then it doesn’t get on each item turning it into a gooey mess. Also, with the use of zip bags, you will know that socks are always in one bag, underwear is always in another bag, and so on alleviating wasted time spent rearranging or hunting down items that you need NOW. Time spent hunting should be for your adversary instead of for your socks.
3. You can pack your kitchen sink and your bathroom medicine cabinet. Just because you are deployed or traveling does not mean that you have to go without necessities due to lack of space anymore. There are some deployment bags out there that are so ultra-roomy and sturdy that you can pack what you need; one of which is a safety/medical kit. Keep a few bandages, muscle pain patches, minor pain meds in travel packages, snap-light fishing glow sticks, all in one mini-tool, and snap-released hand warmers. Maybe put those in a round of duct tape or a funnel and put that in a zip baggy or just in a little toiletry case.
4. Why leave strategy to the battlefield? To win the war on clutter and mess, you have to plan a method of attack. Strategize and think about putting together your bag right the first time. What will be easiest for you and save you time? What will be something that you will actually do and maintain? Will zip baggies be something that you can do? Will arranging socks with socks work better for you rather than arranging whole outfits together? Does it make sense to pilfer through your bag each time you need something? Plan what you are going to do and then keep it up so you know exactly where everything is! Arrange things considering shape and frequency of use. Does it make sense to put something you use three times daily on the bottom of the stack? Arranging in slices instead of stacks helps. Think bread slices in a bag. That way you don’t have stacks of stuff to look under but rather can see a small sliver sample of each thing you have. Planning your bag will make your time more efficient and lower your stress level because you are more prepared in a shorter amount of time.
Incorporating a few of these ideas or using them as a holistic system really can aide you in being more prepared, more equipped and more “fit” than your counterparts or competition. Saving time, energy and mental stress will aide you in keeping your performance at an optimum while still not compromising your personal comfort. Performance levels at their optimum will ensure you are among the most “fit” and will help to guarantee your success at your mission, both on the battlefield and beyond.
Before deciding amongst the many options in Franke Sinks be sure visit us to learn more about which Franke Sink will best suit your needs.
The secret to being prepared and equipped is having with you everything you may need in any given situation. This can be challenging when you have to carry all of your gear. However, with the right TA-50 or deployment bag, you can have enough room for everything you need, and if you pack carefully, perhaps even a small kitchen sink! The perfect deployment bag begins with essentials in an orderly arrangement. Essentials will be different for everyone, but at the core should be your body armor, some ammunition and a small first-aid kit. Here are some tips for packing the perfect bag:
1. Combinations are KEY! Try combining articles such as putting gloves, a pair of socks and a couple extra rounds in the cavity of the body armor. This will enable there to be more room in the bag as well as keeping things that you will need to use together also packed together so there is no time or energy lost in grabbing something you need. Body armor is bulky and odd shaped for packing, and chances are that if you need one piece, that you will need the same things each time so put them together in a way that they all work together. For example, if you have an extra pair of shoes to pack, consider putting something else that you will be using at that same time in the shoe to save room in your bag.
2. Zip tight bags are awesome! Water leakage inward to your bag (if it’s not waterproof or if it gets a hole in it somehow) or liquid/gel leakage outward of a container can prove to be a huge problem if you are traveling or on deployment. Zip tight baggies can save your day! Put shirts or outfits, socks, underwear into gallon size baggies if you are going to be deployed to a wet area with a lot of rain or will be trekking through water. If not, zip tight sandwich baggies around your toiletry items individually can prove extremely helpful. If one thing spills then it doesn’t get on each item turning it into a gooey mess. Also, with the use of zip bags, you will know that socks are always in one bag, underwear is always in another bag, and so on alleviating wasted time spent rearranging or hunting down items that you need NOW. Time spent hunting should be for your adversary instead of for your socks.
3. You can pack your kitchen sink and your bathroom medicine cabinet. Just because you are deployed or traveling does not mean that you have to go without necessities due to lack of space anymore. There are some deployment bags out there that are so ultra-roomy and sturdy that you can pack what you need; one of which is a safety/medical kit. Keep a few bandages, muscle pain patches, minor pain meds in travel packages, snap-light fishing glow sticks, all in one mini-tool, and snap-released hand warmers. Maybe put those in a round of duct tape or a funnel and put that in a zip baggy or just in a little toiletry case.
4. Why leave strategy to the battlefield? To win the war on clutter and mess, you have to plan a method of attack. Strategize and think about putting together your bag right the first time. What will be easiest for you and save you time? What will be something that you will actually do and maintain? Will zip baggies be something that you can do? Will arranging socks with socks work better for you rather than arranging whole outfits together? Does it make sense to pilfer through your bag each time you need something? Plan what you are going to do and then keep it up so you know exactly where everything is! Arrange things considering shape and frequency of use. Does it make sense to put something you use three times daily on the bottom of the stack? Arranging in slices instead of stacks helps. Think bread slices in a bag. That way you don’t have stacks of stuff to look under but rather can see a small sliver sample of each thing you have. Planning your bag will make your time more efficient and lower your stress level because you are more prepared in a shorter amount of time.
Incorporating a few of these ideas or using them as a holistic system really can aide you in being more prepared, more equipped and more “fit” than your counterparts or competition. Saving time, energy and mental stress will aide you in keeping your performance at an optimum while still not compromising your personal comfort. Performance levels at their optimum will ensure you are among the most “fit” and will help to guarantee your success at your mission, both on the battlefield and beyond.
Before deciding amongst the many options in Franke Sinks be sure visit us to learn more about which Franke Sink will best suit your needs.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)