Integrity Marketing

It's Friday! The Next Two Days are the MOST Important of Your Work Week!

It's finally Friday! Right now, I'm still in the office working ... but looking forward to the weekend. I hope you are, too. Truth is, the next two days are probably the most important of your work week. These are the days when you leave the stress behind, re-energize, rejuvenate and relax.

What? You say you're working this weekend? Why? I hope it's not because you're working on your marketing!

New studies show that sitting is detrimental to your health. Those of us who sit at a desk all week are at increased risk for any number of serious health maladies, including premature death. Compound those work week hours with even more sedentary weekend hours, and you've got yourself a formula for heart disease, diabetes and general malaise.

If you were considering logging some extra work hours this weekend, I want to challenge you to flip the light switch to off, power down the computer, lock your office door -- walk away and don't look back!

Spend these next two days catching up with the your life's passions ... or developing some new ones. Run around with the kids, the dogs, the grandkids. Go boating, hiking, rock climbing. Ride a horse, a bicycle or a jet ski. It's SUMMERTIME! Enjoy your life now.

Then come back Monday morning ready to attack your work with renewed enthusiasm and purpose.

And -- let us help you out with the marketing. We're better at it anyway!

Go. Go on. Get out of here! NOW.

Law Firm Marketing & The Power of AWESOME!

It's one thing to create and optimize a website as the linch pin of your law firm marketing ... and quite another to launch a comprehensive marketing system that includes both inbound and outbound marketing.

Inbound marketing is only about half of your marketing equation -- inbound strategies are passive, waiting for people to recognize their own needs and go searching for solutions. Outbound marketing does the heavy-lifting in a successful marketing campaign. Outbound marketing is active, reaching out to target audiences and touching them with compelling, relevant messages.

Email marketing is one outbound strategy, and a fundamental aspect of The Essential Solution™.  But, unlike other ho-hum e-newsletters, your Essential Solution enewsletter really rocks!

People are inundated with digital messages. How do you cut through all that noise?

We believe in the Power of Awesome! Make the message cool and compelling, and people will make space for you.

So we turn your e-newsletter into an AWESOME digital magazine.With a digital magazine, we can optimize your content with video, audio, animations and hyperlinks. Your readers are entertained at a deeper level with interactivity, you capture their attention and engage them with your content before they can check out your competitors!

All digital marketing success is based on engagement – but that can be hard to measure and is often different for each channel.  We’re analytics geeks, and track tons of data. While open rates and click through rates are important, I’d say response rates, views and conversions are our most important data points. Reviewing those statistics across all of our client performance reports, we find that the digital magazines are consistently among the most popular website entry points, dramatically boosting Essential website performance, traffic and SEO.

Create a better experience for your readers, and reap the benefits of an engaged audience left saying, "that was awesome!"

Preview a sample

Law Firm Marketing 101: The Time Value of Money

How long have you been waiting to launch a comprehensive marketing plan ... or to redesign your website ... or get a website? Procrastination is one of the most expensive mistakes you can make in your law firm marketing, and one of the most common among attorneys.

I totally get the many reasons why you put off making a decision about your marketing. Whether it's approving a website design, writing a blog post or deciding to make that initial commitment to get started with The Essential Solution® -- attorneys are notoriously skilled at the fine art of procrastination (aka decision avoidance). I understand that you get busy with the "important legal stuff" (aka your "comfort zone"). I get that you like keeping your options open, and that making a decision is all about eliminating options. I'm right there with you.

But the one big fallacy I want to blow out of the water today is that you're saving money by not making a decision today. All too often I hear attorneys say, "I really want to do this, but I need to wait until I have more money."

Did you know that this one oh-so-simple statement is costing you hundreds, thousands -- perhaps hundreds of thousands -- of dollars? Yes, that decision to WAIT is actually increasing your marketing costs by mind-boggling amounts.

If you took Econ 151 in college, you may remember studying The Time Value of Money. At the most basic level, The Time Value of Money demonstrates that, all things being equal, it is better to have money now rather than later (read more here if you're a math geek and want to see the formulas).

Consider this real-life scenario:

1. Richard, who joined the program earlier this year, reported more than $10,000 in new revenue generated the first month that his system went live.
2. Suppose Richard had procrastinated on approving his website design. What if he had spent another three weeks debating over the background color for his banner? How much would those three weeks have cost him?

Or consider this common situation:

1. Rex, who liked the system the first time he looked into it, waited more than a year before deciding to sign up.
2. If the system generates just one new client per month (and many Essential Attorneys™ report one to two new clients per WEEK) -- how much did Rex's 12 months of procrastination actually cost him? At an average fee of $2,500, we're talking about a minimum of $30,000. My best guess is that Rex could have used an extra $30,000 last year.

What if Richard (who generated $10,000 in new revenue his first month) had waited six months or a year to get started? Do you see how quickly you can throw away thousands, even hundreds of thousands, of dollars?

The best thing you can do to keep your marketing costs down is to get started NOW. Start generating new revenue as quickly as you possibly can, then enjoy the economic truth that money today is worth more than money tomorrow.

Six Months In ... Do You Know How You're Doing?

We've reached the half-way point in the year -- a good time to stop and review your progress for 2012.  Here are some tips to make the process easier and more productive.

Step One. Pull out your written marketing plan for 2012 and review your goals. Don't have a written marketing plan? You should. Research shows that law firms with written plans generate nearly twice as much revenue.

Step Two. Print out a year-to-date Profit & Loss report from your accounting program or ask your accountant to generate one for you. Also get a previous year comparison report so you can see how revenue and expenses this year compare to last year.

Step Three. If you're an Essential Attorney™, print out your most recent MARKETING PERFORMANCE REPORT. Tip: Print it out in full color if you can, it will be eaiser for you to see trends.

Step Four: Open up a spreadsheet (or pull out a legal pad) and make a table with five horizontal columns marked MARKETING GOAL, MID-YEAR GOAL, YTD PROGRESS, GRADE, ACTION.

Record your annual marketing goal in the first column, then where you expected to be by mid-year (this may not be exactly the half-point if you got a late start, or if some of your cases are expected to close later in the year). In the YTD PROGRESS column, record what progress you have made toward achieving your goal. Then, give yourself a GRADE for that progress -- and remember, there is no A for "Effort" here, we're talking about tangible results. Finally, in the last column, write out what specific action you are going to take based on those results. If you've met or exceeded your mid-year expectations, you may consider raising your goal! If you're not quite where you'd hoped to be, write down the specific action(s) you will take to ensure success by year-end. If you have re-evaluated your goals, you may decide that one or more of them is no longer important to you, and now is the time to revise, remove or replace those goals.

You can download a sample spreadsheet here: Download MidYearReview

This exercise will help you:

1. Get organized!
2. Review your actual data in a realistic manner.
3. Evaluate your progress.
4. Re-evaluate your goals.
5. Commit to specific action for the future.

The most important benefit? YOU will be in CONTROL of your future!

Is 2012 shaping up to be your best year ever? We hope so!

I also invite you to clear your calendar and make your flight reservations now! If you're ready to grow your practice in a way that allows you to do the type of work you most enjoy, with the clients (and referral sources) you most enjoy, earn a good living and make a good life for yourself and your family -- then join us for three days that can transform your career. This is your chance to get personal, face-to-face training with IMS President Kyle Krull, Esq., and Vice President Jennifer Campbell Goddard, along with the entire IMS team of marketing professionals.

Save $100 by registering now.

Enjoy Your Law Practice ... and Your Life!

What makes a profitable and enjoyable law practice? While the details may be different for each individual, almost everyone has an ideal practice in mind -- one that lets you work with quality clients and referral sources, provide an above-average financial lifestyle for yourself and your family, and still have time to pursue your non-work passions. Remember those? Passions like time with the family, a charitable cause or ministry, maybe even a hobby or two (more time on the golf course?).

But running a legal practice, especially as a solo practitioner or in a small firm, can be exhausting. Have you ever felt like the fellow in the photo here on the left ... running in circles, trying to keep all of the plates spinning fast enough to stay balanced on those flimsy little sticks?

You have to keep up with changes in the law, updates to your document drafting software, and become your own IT person just to hook up a new printer! Not to mention marketing. Are you really expected to spend an hour a day on each of your social media platforms? And just yesterday didn't two of your referral sources mention that they wish they could read your e-newsletter on their smartphones?

Who has time for all of this ... while also seeing new clients, taking phone calls, returning emails and -- oh -- maybe logging a few billable hours here and there?

We feel your pain. IMS President Kyle Krull is a full-time practicing estate planning attorney, just like you. He knows what it's like to try to keep all of the systems in balance -- and still enjoy his practice, his family life, and an active ministry.

Kyle discovered long ago two keys to enjoying his law practice:

First, he employs the marketing professionals at IMS to handle the heavy lifting of his law firm marketing.

Second, Kyle has developed a unque consultative sales process that integrates seamlessly with his marketing. With this process, he is able to close more business, at higher fees, with greater consistency and virtually no push-back from clients (or referral sources) on price. Proven effective "in real life," the K²APS system is a Results-Based Estate Planning System that guides prospective clients to identify and resolve their most pressing estate planning concerns. 

Join us in Kansas City, Sept. 19-21 for the Marketing Fast Track, to learn how the K²APS program can help you identify, attract, and work with Your Right Client; implement a unique process to convert more prospects at higher fees, with less effort (and expense); and increase your closing ratio using proven methods in a no-high-pressure-sales approach. 

Register online now and save $100.

Save the Date: Sept. 19-21

Clear your calendar and reserve your flight now to join us in Kansas City for The Fast Track workshop, Sept. 19 - 21st!

This is your opportunity to get training directly with IMS President Kyle Krull and VP Jennifer Campbell Goddard -- along with the entire IMS Marketing Team.

Of course, one of the most important reasons to join us in Kansas City? YOU -- and your colleagues of Essential Attorneys! Meet up with your colleagues -- estate planning and elder law attorneys in small or solo practices -- who face the same challenges that you face every day ... and are using The Essential Solution® to succeed! Learn what works for them and why. Share your own ideas, develop a professional support network, and take away key insights to help grow your practice.

The Fast Track Workshop
Sept. 19-21 | The Embassy Suites on the Country Club Plaza | Kansas City, MO

Stay tuned for complete details!