Integrity Marketing

Hiring Staff for the Estate Planning Law Firm

Is your firm in need of new administrative personnel? Whether the reason be growth or turnover, you probably feel pressure to hire quickly and to do it right. At the same time, you are still working full time on your duties as an attorney, making this more stressful.

So how can you hire and train your new staff efficiently and effectively?

1. Know what you need. Chances are you need more than an attractive face. You need someone adaptable who takes initiative and follows through on tasks. Before posting an ad for the position, determine the technical and interpersonal skills the person must have for the job. Use these to grade each application.
2. Do your homework. If your employee has past employment listed on his or her resume, call up previous employers and ask them about the individual’s strengths, weaknesses and work performance. It may seem unnecessary, but by contacting at least two employers, you will gain a better understanding of the individual’s work ethic and character.
3. Conduct a face-to-face interview. Because this employee will be interacting with clients, potential clients and referral sources, you should know how he or she interacts with others in a professional setting. Does he or she speak in a warm yet business-like manner? Also, eye contact and a firm handshake are a must when it comes to demonstrating respect and confidence.
4. Communicate expectations. After hiring your new employee, be sure you are clear when you outline the responsibilities for the position. A great way to do this is to create an employee handbook in a binder. You should include a little information about your firm’s history, mission and goals. Include information on vacations, sick day and benefits policies. Finally, outline specific duties for the position and provide examples, such as a script outline for phone calls, email correspondence templates and filing structure.
5. Follow up. This step can be difficult because it is not conducive to your work schedule to be watching over the new employee’s shoulder all day. Do not worry. If you are an Essential Solution client, you have a CallRail website tracking number. Depending on the laws of your state, you may be able to record these calls through CallRail to check for quality and enable you to provide targeted training based on what you hear. If you have our E2 CRM, training the employee becomes more efficient because E2 provides accountability for follow up on form submissions. Training on the CRM system is also streamlined through our Client Portal where the employee can access all training videos and step-by-step instructional documents.

Following these steps, you can confidently find the right fit for your firm. If you want to set up CallRail to record calls for a week, please submit a support ticket. If you are interested in utilizing the E2 CRM in your marketing, call James at 877-352-2021 ext. 80.

Your Firm Logo: Do You Believe In It?

You know the big ones, and chances are good you also know their narratives. The Nike “swoosh” that was created by a student at Portland State in 1971. Apple’s ubiquitous apple with a bite that started out as an illustration of Isaac Newton sitting underneath an apple tree.

Logos can be powerful.

They can also be boring, convey the wrong message, and do absolutely nothing for your law firm.

If you look at most big law firm logos, they are very simple, usually incorporating a graphic design and tend to be blue or grey. Large firms have many practice areas, so they are more concerned with conveying strength, stability and authority.

This is very different from the needs of an estate planning and elder law firm. Yes, your logo needs to convey stability, authority and strength. But it also needs to convey warmth, as yours is a very personal law firm. It needs to convey who you are, how you treat your clients and what values guide your firm.

Can a logo do all that? A good one can.

Here are some of the elements that may be part of your next logo:

• Intertwining letters in the same color scheme as other branding materials.
• A graphic of your state.
• An illustration or icon depicting a local landmark.
• Designs that echo the initials of you and your partner’s names.
• A graphic that illustrates caring for others.
• Your tagline.
• Abstract designs that echo your other branding elements.
• A graphic that illustrates inclusion or protection.

If your logo is not working for you, it might be working against you. Give James a call at 877-352-2021 ext. 80 or click here to send a support ticket to our extremely talented graphic designers.

Your Professional Headshot: The Bigger Picture

By Kelly Myers

You are a key part of your firm’s brand. Your headshot is the perfect way to show how you fit into your firm’s brand. Using the right headshot can reinforce who you are and what you do. Potential clients often will make a quick decision about working with you based on a single photo.

Here are a few do’s and don’ts to ensure your photo will convey you as someone who others will want to go to for their Estate Planning and Elder Law needs:

Do not include anyone else in your headshot. As much as you want to show off your spouse, children or family pets, your headshot should not include anyone else. And please don’t crop everyone but yourself out of the family photo from last year’s beach vacation. Photo edits are almost always noticeable, unless they are done by highly skilled professional. This is not a good place to skimp. It’s too important.

Do have a professional take your photo. Many people feel uncomfortable taking photos one-on-one with a photographer, but don’t let this deter you. Professional photographers have all the right equipment to make you look your best. Furthermore, taking headshots don’t take a long time and if they’re done well enough, you won’t need them done for a while. And this means no selfies!

Do try to relax, even have a little fun. Don’t let a photo shoot stress you out. Be confident knowing the photographer won’t let you walk away with a bad picture. Take a few deep breaths, ask the photographer to play music, make yourself comfortable. Try to think of this as fun!

Dress appropriately. In order to keep a headshot professional, it’s best to look the part. Think about what’ generally accepted for an attorney to wear and keep your audience in mind. What would you wear for your initial meeting with a client?

A picture is worth a thousand words, so be sure your attorney headshot says all the right things. Remember the tips above to ace your headshot. Most importantly, don’t forget to smile!

Client Appreciation Events

Not every estate planning law firm has a party for their clients, but we think you should give this special event some consideration. Here are some pointers:

Your clients will appreciate (hence the term) being invited. Whether you decide on a summer BBQ at an outdoor venue or a fine dining experience at an exceptional restaurant, they will feel like you are giving them something back.

You might not–but you might–have to invite everyone. This depends upon your clients and your practice. If you are in a small market and everyone knows everyone else, then yes, you do have to invite everyone. But if you are in a large market and you can put your clients into A, B, C, and D categories, and there is no cross-over between groups, you can be selective about who to invite.

Not everyone will attend. Professional party planners know that there will always be a certain percentage of people who do not attend, as well as last minute drop offs. So if you are worried about 900 people arriving for a party, fear not. They won’t all make it.

Win bigger community points: make it a fundraiser. Nothing warms the hearts of clients more than knowing that their estate planning attorney is committed personally to a cause that matters to them. It might be support for the local Alzheimer’s Association, the local art museum or your community’s senior center. Make a donation and invite representatives from the community group. If it’s the case, tell your guests that a donation is being made in lieu of a gift.

Add an experience to the event to make it memorable. One firm held a dinner at a vineyard that is home to a horse rescue program. Before dinner, guests toured the farm and learned about the horses and how they came to the farm. Another event featured a local celebrity chef who presented a cooking demonstration while appetizers were being served. Guests were given recipes from the chef on nicely printed cards that included (of course!) the law firm’s contact information.

Plan it well in advance. The event will reflect the firm, so make sure it is well planned. If you want to do an outdoor event, have a back up if the weather does not cooperate. If you are transporting people to an event, inspect the party bus that will be assigned to your group. Consider hiring a professional party planner if the details might become overwhelming.

You and your team are the hosts, not guests. As the host and the host’s team, your tasks are to make sure your guests are having fun and that everyone has what they need. It’s easy to lose of sight of this when you are the one paying for the party but remember this is a working event and not a personal party.

Does Your Website Have Proof Of Life?

This past weekend, my twin and I had brunch with one of our best friends and her fiancé. While catching up on each other’s lives, we provided a brief update on our older sister. Our friend’s fiancé promptly replied, “I don’t believe you have another sister. She’s made up.”

I don’t blame him. Ever since she started graduate school in Atlanta, Steffi is hardly ever home. Add to that the fact she has been studying and researching in Europe when not taking classes at Emory, is tri-lingual and has a boyfriend with the same name as my friend’s fiancé, Steffi seems too good to be true.

He demanded proof of life.

Believe it or not, web leads demand the same.

When online visitors view your website, read your credentials or watch your videos, they are looking for key indicators of your validity and relevance.

How?

Pictures. People want to see a person behind the website. They want to trust that the person on the other end is who he or she claims to be. The best way to do this is through up-to-date photos (and videos). If your pictures look outdated or are a few years old, you should invest in new headshots. New clients should not be surprised by your appearance when they meet you.

Blogs. By posting your IMS-provided blogs each week, you are delivering a time stamp. In hostage situations in film or the news, the captives are often pictured holding the front page of the daily newspaper. Why? It provides an assurance that the individual is still alive at a certain time. Your blogs serve the same purpose. With a date and time stamp, your blogs prove your practice is active and you are not neglecting your website or its leads.

Reviews. People change. What was once true of someone may be no more. As an estate planning and/or elder law attorney, you are only as good as “your last at bat,” to borrow a baseball metaphor. Be sure you are constantly asking for reviews from each new client. People will put more weight on more recent reviews. Why? Because they more accurately reflect the here and now – your most recent trips to the batter’s box. Have a few negative reviews in the past? Reach out and seek to make things right. Also, start accumulating positive reviews now.

Leverage your website to give your leads proof of life. To provide IMS with your updated photos or testimonials, please submit a support ticket. If you or someone in your office needs a refresher on posting blogs, visit our wiki for step-by-step instructions and video tutorials. Finally, if video is something you would like to consider, contact James at 877-352-2021 ex. 80.

Mobile Friendly Websites: More Important Than Ever

Google made it official in May 2015 – more searches take place on mobile devices than on desktops. And that was more than a year ago!

If your website is not completely mobile friendly, also referred to as featuring responsive design, please submit a support ticket so that we can get your website up to speed as soon as possible. Why does this matter?

Because Google loves mobile. And if your website is not mobile, your search ranking scores will suffer. No matter how regularly you post new blogs and add new content, even a full catalog of great lawyer videos will not help you overcome Google’s dislike for non-mobile sites.

You’ll lose access to prospective clients. Legal consumers today expect you to have a mobile-friendly website that is as high functioning as any other website they visit. You may not have the same budget as a major national bank, but they will expect yours to work just as well. If it doesn’t, they will keep surfing the web until they find one that is seamless.

Decrease in search traffic. Those Google algorithms keep changing, almost every single day of the year, and sometimes twice a day. They are not going backwards, only forwards. That means if your website had healthy search traffic two years ago and you haven’t changed a thing about your website, your traffic is probably slower than a stop-and-go on a Los Angeles freeway during rush hour.

Limiting your visitors. It’s easy to think that seniors are still using desktops, but in fact, many now use smart phones and are as digitally savvy as millennials. After all, they are on Instagram and Pinterest so they can keep up with their grandchildren.

Facilitating discussions with other family members. If your prospect wants to share your website with a family member, you can bet the family member will look at your website on their mobile phone.

Because Google loves mobile. Yes, we are repeating ourselves, for a reason. Google prioritizes mobile friendly websites in search results, boosts sites that feature responsive design and demotes those that are still in the Dark Ages. This should be the only reason you need to make the change.

Ready to bring your website up to date? Submit a support ticket or call James at 877-352-2021 ext. 80, but whatever you do, don’t let another week go by!

Rock, Paper, Scissors: Paper Still Has a Place

Paper still has a role to play in law firm marketing, and particularly for estate planning law firms. Here’s just one of many places where paper still matters in your practice.

What do you give clients to hold materials when their documents are completed?

• A double pocket folder that your office manager picked up at the local office supply store,
• That same double pocket folder bearing a simple utilitarian sticker with your firm name, or
• A double pocket folder made of heavy paper stock with the name of the firm, logo, website and phone number embossed in silver or gold foil?

You can see where we are going here. Your clients should leave your office with their documents in something branded that will help them maintain and organize these and other related documents. You might even send them home with checklists or to-do lists. You want to give them any tools you can that will help make their estate planning process as organized and efficient as possible.

And presentation is every bit as important as function.

Here’s what you will need to make this happen:

A logo. If you don’t have a logo, please submit a support ticket. Our graphics design team will be able to help develop a logo that complements any current marketing materials, especially your website.

A color scheme. Navy blue, forest green or burgundy seem to be the most popular colors for estate planning law firms, but you may want to stand out from the crowd.

A typeface. Even if you chose to use the standard Times New Roman, you’ll have a decision to make. Remember that all of your print materials must work well with other elements in your graphic identity. If you have a modern website, you don’t want traditional typeface.

Starting Your Own Law Firm

Congratulations! You’ve decided to set out on a wonderful and terrifying journey of starting a law firm.

Where do you start?

First, you need a plan. What kind of practice do you envision: high volume or boutique? Do you want to focus on elder law issues, or are you more of a Trusts & Estates practitioner? Will you start by working from a home office, or dive right into leasing space and hiring a paralegal? The more strategic planning you can do at the onset, the less time and resources you will waste as you go through the early years of establishing your practice.

Most attorneys who launch their own law firms don’t do so right out of law school. They already have working relationships with clients and a few colleagues who they know will give them referrals. But to succeed, you’ll need more than a few referrals.

If your name is on the letterhead and the door, bringing in new clients is a major part of your new responsibilities. Our first recommendation: a really good website, and if possible, having it in place before or soon after you open your doors. As a new practice, you need to establish credibility early on, and legal consumers expect to see a well designed website that hits all the right marks.

Second, prepare to invest the time and resources into lawyer videos as soon as you can. Most established firms who deal with consumers have libraries of lawyer videos on their websites. Again, this establishes your credibility, overcomes the obstacle of not knowing you and will let your website be more productive than it would be without the videos.

Third, if you can’t manage the lawyer videos in terms of time or resources consider starting your practice with the E2 CRM to boost your marketing engine. This system will allow you to make the most out of every bit of marketing data on your prospects as they become clients. Your staff will not lose time to repetitive tasks and you will know what is working, from website to phone calls to office visits, and equally importantly, what is not working.

Get your new law practice started off on the right foot with these three steps! If you want to learn more about how IMS can help, call James at 877-352-2021 ext. 80.

Networking During the Summer?

You might think that everyone takes a long holiday during the summer when it comes to networking. After all, who wants to spend a beautiful summer evening indoors exchanging business cards when you could be outside enjoying a dockside party or watching night fall over your favorite golf course?

Think of networking during the summer as a great opportunity to meet new people when the atmosphere is more conducive to establishing new relationships. Why?

You’ll meet the “regular” crowd. It’s kind of like joining a gym in January. In September and January, people who are not regular networkers come out of the woodwork. But during the summer, you’ll meet people who consider networking part of their regular routine, not those who come out when they need to pump up their business.

Fun locations and events may surprise you. Successful networking groups know that summer programming has to be fun. One chamber of commerce holds a scavenger hunt every summer, another plans their networking nights at waterside restaurants only. Be open to different kinds of events during this season.

Don’t equate casual events with low quality networking. A scavenger hunt puts you on a team, where you have to work well with others–that’s a great way for people to see your problem solving skills.

Be mindful of your attire. Summer is the easiest time for wardrobe gaffes. You may be attending a dockside event, but you are still a professional. For men, a button down shirt and khakis can work if that is what others are wearing–bring a sport jacket just in case. For women, the rules are more relaxed than in the past, but a summer business event still calls for a certain level of professional attire.

And don’t forget, whatever the season–networking is about building relationships, not handing out business cards. Don’t let too much time slip by between the networking event and meeting up for lunch with potential new contacts.

What's New With You?

Everyone has news. Some news is bigger than others, like being on the state bar committee that launches new legislation or being honored by a local not-for-profit for your good works. And there’s always news about seniors, estate planning and the law.

The question is, what are you doing with that news?

It’s not news if you don’t tell anyone. And if you don’t tell anyone, they will not know that you are among the leading elder law attorneys in the state, or that your office has been recognized by a respected organization that conducts thorough peer reviews to rate attorneys.

Your only news should not, by the way, concern your ratings. That’s too limiting and doesn’t reflect everything about you and your estate planning law firm.

There may be other people in your office who have news that is worthwhile sharing. Let’s say your office manager volunteers with a local community chest and is named to its board of directors. That’s good news, and one that you should be eager to share with local media.

Remember, clients connect with us in a variety of ways.

Someone reading your website and learning how your office is involved in the community is going to feel good about that, and it may be the little push they need to make a phone call. When they come into the office, you’ll know that this was a factor because your E2 CRM report will show that they went to your media page and read the article about your office manager and her local involvement. You’ve got a positive community effort to talk about and bond over.

So don’t hide your news – share it with the media around you!