Integrity Marketing

Practice Fitness -- In Practice!

I have been reading with more than a passive interest James' new practice development blog, Practice Fitness. James is applying fitness lessons he learned as a nationally-ranked bodybuilder to practice development challenges. So far, the feedback on his blog has been tremendous.

 My interest is keen,  however, not only from a business perspective -- but also on a personal level. Two years ago, I was in the best physical condition of my life. Ran a half-marathon and had a terrific time with it. Today, however, I find myself once again overweight and needing to either get back in shape or buy a new wardrobe! How did this happen?

Well ... not to be making excuses, but the truth is, LIFE happened. An illness. An injury. A death in the family. A new romance. A wedding. A honeymoon. The world made a few revolutions and the next thing you know I need a new suit!

Maybe the story of your practice is a lot the same? A few years ago everything seemed to be going so well. And then the world turned, a recession hit, the estate tax (temporarily) disappeared and suddenly ... your practice is just not quite as fit as it once was?

I know one of my mistakes was a bit of over-confidence, maybe even arrogance. When I was running 12 miles on a Sunday afternoon, and 7 or 8 miles most weekdays, I could eat virtually anything I wanted. I had a personal trainer and in addition to my running schedule, I was lifting weights and feeling ... perhaps a bit invincible? Did I really think I could continue eating pizza and drinking beer while I was sidelined with a hip injury? Of course not. The truth is, I guess I just didn't think about it. I really didn't want to.

You may feel the same way about your practice. Maybe you don't want to step on the scale and face the music? Maybe you think that if you just keep your head in the sand a little longer, you'll wake up one day and things will be right again.

Well, let me give you a wake-up call. It doesn't work that way. Every day that you avoid the scale is a day you are NOT getting better, more fit -- financially or physically.

Fortunately for both of us, James is offering up some terrific advice on his blog. I've asked him to help whip me into shape, and let me just say that it's not particularly fun. I had to step on the scale (ugh!). I had to carve out 45 minutes EVERY day for cardio. I had to cut out the pizza, the ice cream and the beer. I had to change my eating. In short, I had to get a plan for ESSENTIAL fitness, and start following it.

I've stuck with the program now for two weeks. And Dang! I'm still not thin and fit like I used to be! You see, that's the other side of the fitness story. Whether it's physical or practice fitness -- getting in shape takes time and consistent effort. You don't get there just by running twice around the track ... or by sending out one newsletter. You have to put all of the ESSENTIAL components together, and then you have to keep working at it every day.

So far, I'm down five pounds! And the best part is, I know I'm finally back on the right track. 

If you need some inspiration, visit James' blog online at: http://blog.practice-fitness.com/. In fact, click the subscribe button and get his posts delivered right to your inbox via RSS feed!

BLOG CONTENT & SUPPORT SERVICE

What are some of the benefits of blogging? You would be surprised! Not only will blogging drive more traffic to your website and improve your search engine ranking, but it will help establish your credibility in the marketplace. We continue to see more and more examples of this as we (and you) continue to blog.

We, at Integrity Marketing Solutions, provide BLOG CONTENT, SUPPORT AND DEVELOPMENT to help our clients take full advantage of online social media. As the old saying goes " Talkers are Hawkers ... Writers are Experts." Blogging helps you establish yourself as an expert in your field.

Our service includes weekly blog content support with blog post ideas and even sample posts that you can paraphrase or copy-and-paste into your blog. Your weekly email also includes handy tips to make blogging quick and easy, and to help promote your blog. Additionally, you will join us once a month for live coaching and training online.

Whether you already have a successful blog, or need IMS to design, build and integrate your blog with your website and other social media, we are ready to help.

Learn more about our Blog Content, Support and Development services on our website.

Practice Fitness -- Practice Development Blog

JAMES CAMPBELL, VP OF PRACTICE DEVELOPMENT:
YOUR PERSONAL TRAINER TO BUILD A STRONGER PRACTICE

Practice development tips from a bodybuilder? How the heck does that happen?

I've spoken to many of you over the phone about how to build your ideal practice. We talk not only about marketing, but also about your specific practice development and lifestyle goals. For some of you the ideal lifestyle and practice you had in mind when you decided to go to law school hasn't turned out exactly the way you dreamed it would. What I want to do is help bring your ideal practice and lifestyle to fruition.

We all have goals. We have goals for our career and goals for our personal life both short term and long term. Often times we separate the two, when in reality they go hand-in-hand. "I want to make more money, work less, work with better more qualified clients that are willing to pay for my services. I want to spend more time with my family." Those are GREAT goals to have and the ones I hear most often. I will post to my Practice-Fitness blog about ways to achieve your goals, not only through strategic marketing but through practice management strategies as well.

I mentioned that I have met many of you over the phone...I also have met a few of you in person. I have noticed that when I meet an attorney in person the questions they ask me are not about marketing or building their practice but are more like "Can you give me a good workout routine? What should I be eating?" and the dreaded "How much do you bench press?"

I get these questions because I am an anomaly in the estate planning / elder law arena. You don't see too many nationally-ranked bodybuilders at the annual NAELA meeting, but you can find one right here. Competing in bodybuilding is no easy task. It takes months of discipline, a strong work ethic, consistency, and the ability to see a plan through to the finish. These are all traits required to win, to be better than the average bodybuilder. I want to help you develop and hone these same traits in your practice, so that you too can WIN.

My goal is to motivate you to see your own strength and opportunities -- to be better than the average attorney. You do not have to settle for what you have, but you do have to be smart about how to get where you want to be. I will include fitness tips both for your practice and for your health. Feel free to comment or email me with questions pertaining to building your practice or building your fitness and health.

Back Dating Blog Posts

Sometimes you need to enter a blog post from a few years ago.

IMS President Gets Much-Needed Facelift

Well, Kyle did not actually get a facelift, but we just couldn't resist ...Kyle's online presence got a much-needed facelift when we redesigned and optimized his website, then set up and customized his new blog, and integrated it all with Twitter.

For those of you who do not know him, Kyle Krull is the President of Integrity Marketing Solutions, and full-time estate planning attorney practicing in Overland Park, KS. His law firm is the laboratory for all Integrity Marketing Solutions strategies, tools and programs. He also is the legal mind behind all of our products -- writing, editing and reviewing all of our legal content. While Kyle has had a website for years, we only recently assigned the talented IMS staff to bring him into the 21st century with an optimized website, integrated Twitter feed, and custom blog. We launched the new website in January -- and the results have been phenomenal.

From a previous state of Google-Oblivion, Kyle's website now holds the #1 position on Google Page One -- ahead of such self-proclaimed powerhouses as FindLaw, Avvo, and Lawyers.com! This was accomplished without spending one penny with Google, but purely through strategic search engine optimization (SEO). Kyle says nearly every client he meets with these days mentions something they read on his website.

Last week we sat down and interviewed Kyle about the state of his estate planning practice. We will be posting video excerpts from that interview on our Facebook page and blog in the coming weeks, but here is the executive summary: Being from the Midwest, Kyle is slow to brag or "toot his own horn." Where we come from, it's simply not polite to discuss money. But, since marketing is about building revenue, we had to force the issue.

I started working with Kyle as his marketing and practice manager back in 1995. He and I both well-remember plenty of white-knuckle days as we struggled to build the practice, pay the rent, and buy groceries for our then-growing families. But through the years, we worked together to design a highly-successful marketing system ... a system that Kyle uses in his practice to this day. Of course, we have tinkered with the tools and technologies, constantly fine-tuning the system.

Today, Kyle still practices full-time from a beautiful home office in upscale Johnson County, KS (one of the wealthiest counties per-capita in the nation). His three daughters finished private schools and will all be in college next year. His oldest daughter is currently studying in Europe. He sees an average of three clients per day during the four days per week that he works. He has a staff of three: himself, his wife Gretchen, and their client services director Becca Coleman. And Integrity Marketing, of course. We still handle his marketing.