Integrity Marketing

Strategic Planning at Legacy Ranch: Focus Forward

You may be surprised to learn that your American Bar Association recommends an annual law firm retreat focused on strategic planning. If you have a chance, check out the latest issue of Law Practice magazine and just flip through their articles on strategic planning, leadership and firm retreats.

“Few will question that we are in a time of unprecedented change for the legal profession. However, most law firms struggle to create, much less implement, effective strategic plans that will help them adapt to the evolving world of legal services.”
– Building for the Future with an Effective Strategic Plan, Law Practice magazine, 2017.

As I wrote yesterday, your retreat may begin with guided Horse Work on Day One. Our goals for the Equine Assisted Learning (EAL) are to help you discover new ways of thinking, collaborating and leading. We may uncover some dysfunctions and try out new ways of resolving them. As facilitators, we will debrief the exercises, frequently raising issues that everyone is thinking about but reluctant to say out loud. Working with the horses helps overcome inhibitions and establishes a new framework of honesty and trust.

The Long Game: Strategic Planning

The EAL debrief leads naturally into the first stages of long term strategic planning. Remember that you won’t be focusing on financial reports or short-term matters. You will spend  this time focusing forward on the long-game. You will explore such strategic issues as:

• What are our unique strengths? How are these relevant to our clients, and how can we leverage them?
• What are our weaknesses? How do they impact our ability to grow? What can we do to address them?
• What threats do we need to be prepared to meet? Have we overlooked threats to our business model that may be coming from disruptive technology, changing cultural values, or changing demographics in our market? How are we responding now, and what plans could we make to respond in the future?
• What opportunities exist now – or in the future – for growth, and how do we capitalize on them? Are there opportunities we need to seize, and are they in alignment with our business strategy?
• What is our Why? Why are we doing this work, what brought us to this practice area, to this community? What are our core values, and is our business strategy in perfect alignment with our values?
• What are our goals, for both the near- and long-term? Can we quantify those goals, and set an action plan to achieve them? What are our benchmarks? How will we measure progress?

These are discussions that start on Day One and continue throughout the morning of Day Two. As we facilitate the discussion, we also capture comments, ideas, doubts and conflict.

The McCafferty Law Firm and their Sticky Wall, after analysis, regrouping and editing.

The Green Sticky Wall

We use a very visual method to help you discover themes, trends and gaps. It’s fairly simple, but our clients who have gone through the process swear by it’s effectiveness. It’s called a Sticky Wall, and we use it in every retreat. At first, every brainstorming idea is captured on index cards and affixed to the wall. After the initial brainstorming session, you start analyzing the concepts, looking for strategic alignment, themes, trends and gaps in your thinking. You will regroup, edit and organize your thoughts -- right there on the wall. 

Oftentimes, we’ll leave this Sticky Wall up overnight and revisit it on the morning of Day Two. Clients frequently start re-arranging or even removing some of the cards. You’ll probably shoot a photo of the wall with your cell phone, anxious to capture the creative thinking so you can go back to it time and again gathering fresh insight with each review.

Strategic Listening; Discovering Your Story

Many of our clients begin the strategic planning discussion to discover their unique message that will serve as the foundation and guiding principle for their business and marketing.  

Our process is unique and very personal. As I facilitate the strategic planning discussion, both James Campbell and Michael Campbell sit in and take notes. They may occasionally have questions and push for more when we talk about various issues. I call this strategic listening. James is the script master and Michael is the video artist. They are listening for your common themes and the flash in your eyes that conveys your passion. In other words, they are listening for you to reveal your story.

They take pictures of the Sticky Wall, too, to jog their memories and guide their thoughts. They will usually stay up late into the wee hours of Day Three, story boarding and script writing. They don’t rest until they are satisfied they have captured your Why and have a plan to tell your story in a powerful, compelling way.

When we reconvene on the morning of Day Three, they pitch the script for your brand story video. This can be an emotional moment for you.

One client literally cried and said:

I can’t believe you guys really get me. I’ve been struggling to find these words for years, but I could never say it in a way that didn’t sound sappy. You’ve done it, you have really done it!

We understand, hearing  your own story, told with eloquence and passion, can really get to you. And it’s almost impossible to do this yourself. We are too close to our own stories. We either share too much, making it all about our own experience; or we keep up our defenses and don’t share enough, resulting a stale, impersonal story that does not resonate with clients.

Our goal is help you discover your story, and then help you tell it in a way that connects with clients. When clients hire you, they are buying in to your story. With this type of marketing, clients are anxious to meet with you, feel like they already know you, and are pre-sold on the idea of working with you.

Here is an example of the kind of personal, compelling stories that arise from this process.

Meet our client, Mike Mastry of St. Petersburg, FL. 

Mastry Law - Brand Story from Integrity Marketing Solutions on Vimeo.

So, at the end of the day, how does all this wrap up? I’ll write about that tomorrow.

Call James now to discuss your 2018 strategic planning retreat. Discover whether this is a good fit and a wise investment for you and your firm. Remember, we have very limited availability so call sooner rather than later. Most retreats are scheduled at least two months in advance. You can reach James by email at [email protected], or by calling our toll-free number: 1-877-352-2021.

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Legacy Ranch: Your Strategic Planning Retreat

Strategic Planning Retreats at Legacy Ranch: A Very Personal Experience

What’s it like to attend a Strategic Planning Retreat at Legacy Ranch? Join me for a tour through a typical three-day Retreat.

Before Day One

Your Strategic Planning Retreat is a highly personalized event. Weather permitting, you may even get the chance to experience Ranch life!

A lot of legwork goes into planning YOUR retreat, and we start long before Day One. Before we even send the Welcome Kit and Homework (yes, there’s homework), we’ll have a one-hour intake consultation. During this phone call, you will educate us on your law firm, your team, your biggest challenges, your goals for the coming year, and what you hope to accomplish during your retreat.

We also want to know your food preferences for meals and snacks, and we’ll ask you to choose a room.

Note: There’s no charge for meals or lodging, we’re happy to welcome you to the Ranch as our guests!

After the intake consultation, we create your personalized Welcome Kit and Homework, and email them out to you about two weeks before you arrive. We ask that you complete and submit your homework at least three days before your retreat. This gives us time to review and make final plans – setting the agenda, designing activities, etc. Every retreat is different because every person and every law firm is different. Your retreat is carefully designed to meet your needs and help achieve your goals.

Arrival Day – Tuesday

Most clients fly in on a Tuesday night. If you fly directly to the Colorado Springs airport (via United, Delta, American, Allegiant or Frontier), we will meet you there and bring you to the Ranch. It’s just a short 20 minute drive. If you choose to fly into Denver, you’ll need to rent a car. It’s about 90 minutes, depending on traffic, from the airport to the Ranch.

Don’t worry about dinner, we’ll have plenty of yummy goodies for you here at the Ranch! If you get in very late, we’ll have some snacks waiting for you in your room.

Your Accommodations

We try to match each client with the most appropriate accommodations for their comfort, and to meet any special needs you may have. Every room has its unique attributes, but they all have high-speed wifi internet, a clock, a charging station, luxury bedding and a humidifier (yes, the air is quite dry here year-round!).  Oh, and a fluffy Legacy Ranch robe, bathroom slippers, your usual toiletries, and snacks! The lower level rooms share a bathroom, but also have access to a private lounge area, giant-screen movie theater, game room, and wine bar. We will help you choose which room works best for your needs.

The Meals!

We will provide all of your meals and snacks throughout your stay. Whenever scheduling permits, we’ll have at least one meal prepared by our gourmet chef, Tom Letts of Denver. Chef Tom prepares amazing food right here in our Ranch kitchen – and puts on quite a show at the same time! All meals are served in the sunroom, with gorgeous views.

A New Type of Networking Event for Lawyers from Integrity Marketing Solutions on Vimeo.

Morning, Day One – Wednesday

We start early on Wednesday mornings with breakfast in the sunroom. It’s a casual affair, and a great way for us to all get to know each other better.

Depending on your goals, and weather permitting, Wednesdays may start with Horse Work. We head out to the barn to meet the horses and then on to the round pen for some guided work. Each exercise is designed to help you discover new ways of thinking, collaborating and leading. The horses are our partners in learning, in fact this is called Equine Assisted Learning (EAL).

Here is what some of your colleagues have said about their EAL sessions:

What were your takeaways from the Horse Work activity?

That I may be standing in my own way when it comes to making progress and moving my firm forward.

You can't always lead from in front. Sometimes the "go zone" is behind the organization.

Was the Horse Work valuable? Why or why not?

Yes! I gained insight into ways to move my firm forward toward my goals.

The Horse Work made me think about how I am leading my law firm ... I realize that "conventional" wisdom is not always the right answer and I need to pay attention to what is actually happening and adjust my approach accordingly.

Is Horse Work something you'd do again in the future?

Absolutely!

Here’s what Mike Mastry, of St. Petersburg, FL had to say about his experience with the Legacy Ranch horses:

I want you to know that I had a great time, I learned a lot, and I've already implemented many of the ideas that I brought home.  I came back to the office raving about the work that we did with your horses and I've raised my prices by 10% (and closed 2 sales this morning at the new prices).

Read more about Horse Work experiences at the Ranch at Could a Horse Teach You How to Grow Your Law Firm? and Why Are You Stopping Your Business From Moving Forward?

Later this week, we'll show you what to expect during the rest of your Strategic Planning Retreat.

Below are just a few photos.
(Click on any image for a full-size view.)

You know you want to come! Call James at 1-877-352-2021 to book. Obviously, we have limited availability, so don’t delay and risk disappointment.

 

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Legacy Ranch: Your Strategic Planning Retreat

The bottom line is that if a firm retreat is to be successful, leading the lawyers and the firm to function better, the lawyers must be helped to shift gears—to see the value of thinking creatively as well as analytically, to work collaboratively and to see the big picture. When lawyers loosen up intellectually, emotionally, physically and socially, there is room for a new kind of thinking to take place. -- Law Practice magazine, an American Bar Association publication

If you're thinking that 2018 could be your Break-Out year, what will you do differently to make that happen? Because you know that unless you change something -- make some sort of radical, significant change -- it's not going to happen. Next year will just be more of the same ... maybe a little better, maybe a little worse, but basically the same.

And here's food for thought: You may have to break away to break out! 

It’s almost impossible to bring inspired vision to your practice when you’re dealing with a client phone call, a staff question, or a troublesome copy machine. I think Law Practice magazine was spot on when they wrote, "An excellent way to reduce the tension of entrenched work habits is to take a retreat to a new environment, preferably far removed from daily distractions."

Why Retreat to Legacy Ranch?

Your strategic planning retreat at Legacy Ranch is your investment in tomorrow. It's your chance to loosen up, shift gears and think differently about your law firm. I spoke with an attorney a few months ago about bringing his team to a retreat. He just couldn't wrap his head around how a retreat would help grow his practice. I get it, a lot of attorneys just don't believe in retreats. They consider them a waste of time. But retreats are enormously powerful tools to forge strategic plans, and the break-out marketing that turns strategy into action.

Sadly, the attorney chose to skip the retreat. I ran across him on the web recently and saw some of his new marketing. It was obvious he had moved forward without benefit of planning, discovery or creative guidance. His video focused on what I call The Top Five Qualities of Every Estate Planning Attorney Ever. His  uninspired marketing message is that he (like you) provides his clients peace of mind, comprehensive planning, lasting relationships, client service and well-qualified legal advice. 

Yawn. 

That's not the type of marketing that drives a Break-Out year!

What is a Retreat at Legacy Ranch Like?

First, we try to make sure it's fun, because we believe you do your best, most creative thinking when you're relaxed and happy. When was the last time someone designed a work experience with your happiness in mind? (If you're thinking "Never," you're not alone!). 

Second, this is YOUR retreat. We are facilitators. We don't have any pre-formulated answers for you, we're not trying to convince you to do things our way, or just follow a system. Our goal is to help you wrestle with the tough questions, meet the tough challenges head-on, plan your strategy and discover your story. We're not going to let you off the hook when you tell us you provide clients peace of mind or personal service, or even that you've earned some prestigious awards. We're going to push you to find the more, the unique, the relevant and compelling. 

I'm writing this week about the Legacy Ranch Retreat experience, because I really hope 2018 will be your break-out year. I will share insights from your colleagues who have been here, how we approach the strategic planning process, what results you can expect, and why you will to want to come back again and again.

But today, I just want to give you a peak at what it's like to be a guest at Legacy Ranch. 

A Retreat Like None Other

When you come to Legacy Ranch, you'll feel welcomed and comfortable. We want you to relax, to loosen up and break away from your routine ... so you're ready to think outside the box, stretch your creative muscles, and do something remarkable. You will enjoy gourmet food, luxury touches, and warm friendship, not to mention incredible mountain views and Colorado skies ablaze at sunrise and sunset.

And that's just the beginning.

Scroll through our photos below for a glimpse of what's in store for you at your Legacy Ranch Retreat.

 

Your retreat experience begins at the Legacy Ranch gates.

In fall, the lane to the Ranch house is lined with breath-taking sunflowers.

Sunset over Pikes Peak from the Ranch house deck.

Weather permitting, get a taste of ranch life.

Catch a Colorado sunrise at breakfast!

Take time to relax in the sunroom lounge.

Coffee lovers will appreciate the coffee bar (and variety of teas) in the sunroom bar. Single-serve cups of a wide variety offered all day.

The Prairie View room, on the top floor, features a queen-size bed and attached private bath. Expansive views of the high plains from both windows.

The Mountain View room sleeps two in twin-size day beds. Views of Pikes Peak and attached private bath.

You will love the whimsical touches and beautiful views from the top floor Mountain View room.

Watch antelope play from your Mountain View shower.

Lodge style, tile and granite finish out the Mountain View bath.

The lower level Garden View room features a full size bed and a remote-control gas fireplace.

Relax or read by the fire in the Garden View room. This room shares a full bath with the Writer's Nook.

The lower level Writer's Nook features a full-size bed, reading lamps and an antique writing desk.

The shared bathroom for the lower level rooms with tile floor, rain shower head and granite counter tops.

Antique drop-front writing desk makes the Writer's Nook a cozy spot for reflection on the day's events.

Comfortable seating in the Learning Center enhances your Retreat experience.

You're never far from snacks, beverages and great ideas in the lower level Learning Center.

Beyond Google Rank: Is Your Website Working?

Google Rank is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to evaluating website performance.

One of the most challenging aspects of my job is helping clients make good decisions about their websites. The typical challenging conversation starts something like this:

I had a friend who knows a lot about SEO take a look at my site and they said you guys have got it all messed up! I want you to give them access to the back end so they can fix it for me!

If our conversation starts like this, just know that I have put my phone on temporary mute, banged my head against the desk, rolled my eyes and heaved an exasperated sigh. I want to hang up, but I won’t. I’ll un-mute my phone and ask, in the most pleasant voice I can muster:

What makes you think your SEO is “messed up?”

The story usually starts at a cocktail party where some self-proclaimed expert who once built a website on WordPress was trying to show off. Unfortunately, the details of the criticism have been lost in translation. And no, I am not going to give this total stranger, who lacks any sort of credentials or qualifications, access to destroy all of the hard work we have put in to get your website ranking well on Google search.

Let’s Not Jump the Shark Here

If you’re having questions about how well your website is performing, or whether it needs a facelift, a refresh, or an SEO upgrade, please just give us a call. After all, we are the experts you are actually paying every month to do this work for you.

Before you call, or even during your call, take a look at the FACTS about your website. In this digital age, we no longer have to rely on gut feelings, intuition or even the personal opinion of our friends at cocktail parties. We have these wonderful things called ANALYTICS that tell us a very truthful, accurate and informative story about how well your website is performing.

You Don’t Have to Be Certified in Google Analytics

Your personal account manager here at Integrity Marketing is already certified, so you don’t have to be. But honestly, it does not take a certified analyst to understand the most important metrics about your website. In fact, you can learn a lot from a single, monthly email.

Your E2 CRM and The One Minute Manager

Every month your E2 CRM automatically delivers a performance report directly to your inbox. You don’t even have to log in (or remember passwords, etc.) to read it. And you sure don’t have to get certified in Google Analytics!The email gives you an at-a-glance summary of your website, blog, email marketing and automation activity for the current day, the past week and the past month.

Here are the sections you’ll want to quickly review:

Number of Contacts in Your Marketing Database

Does this number look “right” to you? It should include all of your clients as well as your leads, prospects, and referral sources to whom you market, including everyone who subscribes to your e-newsletter and blog digest.

This number should steadily increase month-over-month. Keep track of it. If it’s not growing, this means you are not adding any new clients or subscribers to your database. It should grow.

Warning Flags. Call Your Account Manager Immediately if:  

• This is a very small number, say only 10 or 15. There may be something seriously wrong with your database.
• This is an extraordinarily large number, something you don’t recognize as legitimate. You may be the victim of a hacker or a SPAM attack.

Website Page Views

While this number is not the same as website visits, it’s an important number to know. Not only would you like to know how many website pages were viewed, but this report will tell you which pages get the most views. This shows you which sections of your website and blog are most popular and the typical customer path through your site.

You’ll also know if your website is averaging 50, 100 or more page views per day. This is a good gauge of how well your website is performing in terms of traffic and engagement.

Conversions and Website Signup Forms Submitted

Here is where the rubber meets the road. How many people submitted website forms (requesting a consultation, a personal contact, a download offer, etc.) or completed one of the other conversion goals established for your website? If you’re getting a steady number of website conversions, then you should be seeing the results in your appointment book. (Remember that this particular summary does not include phone calls generated directly from your website, these conversions are tracked separately.)

If You Have Workflow Automation Set Up

This email also summarizes your automation activity – showing how many times each of your workflows were activated. This gives you an idea of how well your marketing activities are integrated into your practice, how well you follow up on web leads, and the true impact of your online marketing.

Email Marketing Performance

These are your at-a-glance performance statistics for all your email marketing efforts. You’ll see how many emails were sent, how many were read, the click-through rate, exactly what links were clicked on, and how many times.

Who’s Working for You?

The email is also a very nice management tool. It shows which of your staff members logged into your CRM, when, and how often. You can see if all scheduled workflows were successfully completed … or not. Sometimes the primary reason a CRM is not working is … well … no one is using it! You’ll want to know if your staff are making an honest effort to make this work, or just hoping you will forget about it.

But What About Google Rank?

I knew you were going to go there. Google Rank – or how Google ranks your website on the results pages for various searches – is a moving target. Search results are increasingly personalized and influenced by your own online activity. In other words, if you search for yourself on Google, your results will be very different than mine, or your cocktail-party friend’s.

And here’s another hint: Results depend on the search.

That’s right. If your friend searches for estate attorney in upper New York State, and you search for estate attorney in Buffalo NY … you are likely to get somewhat different search results.

And finally: Results depend on location.

If you search for estate attorney from your office in Buffalo, and I search for estate attorney from my office in Colorado Springs we will get very different results, even though we’re both using the same search terms.

So … we send you a monthly average web ranking report, generated by a third-party (not us) that specializes in aggregating your search results on Google and giving you a general idea of how the search engines display your website. We pay for this service on your behalf to ensure you get the most accurate, objective reporting available.

There’s More to That Iceberg than You Can See on Google

Above all, remember this: Your goal is to grow your practice.

Our goal is build a digital marketing engine to do that.

Getting SEO right is one of our specialties – we have a staff full of folks who are certified specialists working hard every day to get your website front-and-center for the searches that matter most to your practice.

But that’s just the tip of the iceberg. We also work hard to make sure people click-through on your listings and actually visit your website … and to keep them engaged when they arrive. We build the path to conversion with nurturing points all along the way – from your social media to your blog and content marketing to email marketing and even automation to ensure your firm has the best possible chance of converting website visitors into delighted new clients.

So the next time one of your friends gives advice about your website, please – thank them nicely, refresh their drink, and give us a call the next day. We actually would love to hear what they had to say. Sometimes friends give great advice and you never know who will have the next great idea! (And if they are really good, let them know we're always open to hiring great minds!)

Automated Client Intake: Creating a Great Customer Experience

I thought last week might turn out badly.

Recovering from pneumonia, Thursday was my first day out of the house in more than a week. I went to Denver (about a 90-minute drive from the Ranch) to serve as a guest lecturer at Colorado Christian University. Little did I realize that the campus would be nearly deserted by the time I arrived. I was slated to teach a 300-level marketing class at 1:40 p.m. on the last day before Thanksgiving break!

Trudging across the vacant campus, I thought about all of the other things I might have enjoyed doing on this beautiful fall day, instead of driving to speak to an empty classroom. I was surprised to find a full classroom! Every single student showed up! We had lively interaction and several students stayed long afterward to ask questions in a discussion that ranged from the ethics of marketing to their fears about the job market. You can read more about their insights on Digital Marketing for Professionals here.

I won’t lie, though. Pneumonia will kick your butt and by the time I was ready to drive home, I was completely and thoroughly exhausted. Knowing I had to catch a 6 a.m. flight the next morning out to Newport Beach, CA to speak at the NAELA Summit … well … I thought it might all go badly.

NAELA Summit 2017

I arrived at the conference hotel around 10 a.m., feeling surprisingly well. It was great fun meeting up with old friends like Lisa Briley (InterActive Legal), John Shickich (ElderCounsel), and Tom Caffrey (Premium Software).

I was scheduled to speak at 4:30 p.m. on Friday afternoon – the last session before the weekend! As the day wore on and the crowd thinned out, that same feeling of dread I’d experienced the day before at CCU started to take over. I thought about all of the things I might have been doing instead of flying to California to speak to my own sales staff and a few of my closest friends!

And then a funny thing happened.

As I approached the podium, the room started to fill up. At first, just the front seats. And oh boy, was I relieved to see those early-arrivals! Before I knew it, the room was full. Then it was standing-room-only, and then people were filling up the doorway and spilling out into the hall.

Where did all these people come from, and why were they crowding in to hear me?

After a brief introduction, I asked two questions that would solve the mystery.

1. “How many of you have a client intake process?”
   Every hand in the audience went up.
   
   
2. “How many of you love your process and think it delivers a great customer experience?”
   Not a single hand in the air.

For the next hour, I shared what we have learned are the essential elements of success when implementing an automated, online client intake process. Then, from 5:30 until almost 8 p.m., we visited with attendees anxious to learn more.

Sure, I was exhausted. But what a great day!

Key Takeaways About Client Intake for Estate Planning and Elder Law

My takeaways from the experience?

• Client intake is a vital, but challenging issue for estate and elder law attorneys
• Most intake processes are broken and woefully outdated
• Improving the intake process for both the client and the law firm is a high priority

For those who were not able to attend the NAELA Summit, I have agreed to host a webinar on the same topic.  I  hope you will join us!

Automated Client Intake: Creating a Great Client Experience
12 noon (Central Time), Nov 28, 2017 

https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/969357325705561858

In the digital age, client intake is key to new client engagement as well as practice efficiency. Sadly, most intake processes are broken, and automating a broken process just means you can fail faster than ever! In this session, Jennifer will show a process that works, define some of the key characteristics of an ideal client intake process, and address issues of concern for elder law attorneys, such as data security issues, intake automation, process efficiency and case management integrations. 

After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the webinar.

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Getting Digital Right ... Are You Wearing Your FitBit?

Let's get something straight right now: Digital marketing works.

That just is no longer up for debate. Research shows that professional services firms that generate leads online are two to four times more profitable than firms that do not, or do not do it very well. They grow faster, spend less per client in acquisition costs, and make more money.

If digital is not your #1 source of new business in your elder law or estate planning law firm, you are leaving money on the table, working too hard and sending business that is rightfully yours on to your competitor.

So, why do so many think that digital is either a waste of time or a necessary evil? I even read one self-proclaimed marketing guru this week list digital marketing as one of the Top Five Mistakes you could make to grow your law practice. And, I got the usual barrage of spam emails proclaiming that Seminars are Still the Best Way to Get New Clients.

Sheesh. The 1980s called, and they want their marketing strategy back!

So How Do You Succeed in Digital Marketing?

The best analogy I can think of is physical fitness. There are so many things you need to get right to optimize your body's health. Eat a balanced diet (and what does that even mean?), get plenty of rest, manage your stress, and get proper, consistent exercise.

Every day you hear a different message about what does or does not work for physical fitness. You need 10,000 steps a day, oh wait, no you need 15,000. Exercise is useless, you cannot outrun a bad diet. Go KETO! No carbs! Carb-load! Eat everything you want, but drink this special elixir. You should lift weights. No, you need to do cardio. Running will cause a heart attack. Cross-fit is the way to go! Hot yoga!!!

At the end of the day, digital marketing is a lot like physical fitness. It's about doing a lot of things right, a few things very well, and not making any huge mistakes.

And there are a lot of charlatans out there just trying to sell you their secret sauce.

Are You Wearing Your FitBit?

I saw a funny episode of Modern Family last night, where Cam and Gloria were trying to get 100,000 steps on their FitBit by taking lots and lots of tiny baby steps. It was pretty hilarious, but sadly not far from the truth. I have known people who became obsessed with FitBit steps ... but I did not see any of them getting particularly fit.

I think the FitBit is a good thing, and if it reminds you to park a little farther away from the storefront on your next trip, that's probably good, too. But tracking your steps alone will not make you a fit and trim athlete. 

It's the same with digital marketing. People can become obsessed on one aspect, such as click-through-rate or website visits, to the exclusion of everything else. I got another SPAM email yesterday touting THE ONE THING that's missing from your website. Apparently, if you add a reviews tab to your website, THIS is going to be the magic elixir that turns your otherwise ho-hum website into a New-Client-Generating Machine!

Stop the Madness!

Digital marketing works. If you do it right. And, like physical fitness, it's not very glamorous. It's about doing all the little things properly, consistently and not making any of the big mistakes. Or at least not persisting in them!

If you're ready to get digital working for you, give us a call. The Essential Solution® gives you a solid foundation across digital assets, ensures you are doing the right things right, and opens up opportunities for you to Do Something Remarkable. 

We can even get that Reviews tab on there for you, too. (And help you manage the entire customer feedback system to not only get more, better reviews, but also improve your entire customer experience!)

We make sure you're covered with great website design on a secure platform, a well-designed sales funnel, a conversion and search optimized site, social media integration, email marketing and consistent on-topic blogging. If you're at the NAELA Summit this week, stop by our booth and visit with James and Mike. If not, just give us a call. We'll be happy to review your current marketing and give you honest answers about whether we can help you do better.

You're not going to lose 10 lbs a week on our plan. But you can start a journey toward better, more effective marketing that will boost your profits and grow your firm.

You can reach James at 1-877-352-2021. He's a busy guy, so I promise he won't talk your ear off or hound you to sign up. Plan on about 10 minutes for your first call, and see where it goes from there.

Oh, and good luck with that FitBit!

 

Partnering for Transformational Change Through Marketing

"The website designed by Integrity Marketing Solutions has changed the way we do business. The blogs, the client intake, and social media have increased our business significantly. Our investment with IMS was the best decision I could have made!"

-- Nicholas Lambros

www.lambroslawllc.com

It is our joy to partner with you along your journey to the Summit!

Results like this are the reason we are in this business.

We had fun yesterday chatting with Nicholas on the phone. His enthusiasm was palpable as he talked about how his practice has grown, that revenue is up more than 25 percent and the sky is the limit. We'll be hosting Nicholas and his team soon at Legacy Ranch, to work together on a strategic plan for continued growth. 

This is our mission at Integrity Marketing: to make a transformational difference. It's why we made the commitment, more than a decade ago, to stop offering piecemeal marketing. We decided that we would never offer any marketing solution that simply had a limited chance for success. Sure, we could sell website design, we could sell direct-mail marketing for seminars, we could even keep selling newsletters -- both print and digital. But there is no joy in simply making a sale. The joy of our work comes from making a difference for the clients we choose to represent. It comes from making friends and partnering with them to achieve success -- oftentimes, even beyond their own vision.

So, when you call to talk to James about whether IMS might be a good fit for your law firm marketing, I hope you bring your wildest hopes and dreams to the conversation. I hope you check your limiting beliefs at the door. I hope you realize that marketing is about more than a website or a workshop postcard. I hope you'll consider making us a true partner in your journey, a trusted advisor along the way to achieving more than you imagined. 

Because if you're just looking for someone to paint your name on the internet, we're not interested. We're focused on the Summit, and won't settle for less!

What Makes a Great Brand Story Video?

Storytelling, and particularly brand story video, is perhaps the single most powerful innovation in legal marketing. Brand story video brings the best of video technology together with the best of creative storytelling to ignite compelling, emotional connections.

Sometimes it’s hard for attorneys to change their mind-set from educational videos – explaining the need for and brilliance of various legal strategies – to storytelling for impact.

A few weeks ago, my real estate agent here in Colorado Springs shared her newly-minted brand story video. As I watched, I saw Holly was not talking about how many houses she had sold in the past year, or the average square footage of the homes she lists, or even the specialty niche she has built among military families. No, Holly was just telling her story. Sharing what motivates her, what she believes is her purpose. And I realized it is her personal sense of purpose that makes Holly such a great agent.

I started looking for real estate in Colorado Springs last summer. We had decided that the next move for Integrity Marketing was to build a ranch where we could bring attorneys from around the country to retreat, work on strategy, build their teams and grow their law firms.

Legacy Ranch at sunset.

I was fortunate to find Holly through an online search.

Readers who know me won’t be surprised to learn that I had a very specific list of things I was looking for in a property, to include of course, space for the horses. Holly showed me every property I requested to see. On trip after trip, I became increasingly discouraged. Not a single piece of property checked all of my boxes.

But, while I was becoming discouraged, Holly was just listening and asking questions. She was gathering the information she needed to help us find the perfect property.

I remember the moment when she finally got me talking about my vision for the Ranch. I never mentioned the number of stalls, acres, or bedrooms. I talked about bringing attorneys to a place where they could relax their defenses, work with horses, learn more about themselves and rediscover their dreams. I talked about our clients, their challenges as entrepreneurs, and the good work they do for families.

When I finally paused for a breath, she said, “This world needs more people like you.”

That was a statement I had not expected to hear from my real estate agent!

She went on to share how my vision had inspired her, and then … she thought she might know of the perfect property. When she brought me to see the Ranch, it was not to show me a place with 43 acres, six bedrooms, seven bathrooms, and a stables.

Holly brought me to see the place where my vision for Legacy Ranch could become reality.

I share Holly’s video to give you an idea of how brand story works, how it diverges dramatically from statistics, diagrams or charts. Holly’s video tells a simple, but powerfully authentic story. If you are searching for a property that is more than just a piece of real estate, if you are searching for a place to build your dreams – whether that dream is to create a home, nurture a family, or even build a retreat for lawyers – Holly may be your perfect fit. And you will know this from watching her video.

 

A Grown Up Approach to Legal Education

Days Two and Three of The Summit last week were filled with practice-building sessions like Getting Digital Right, Automating the Client Intake Process, and Marketing Elder Law.

Even though we wanted to cover the meat-and-potatoes of legal marketing education, we were committed to taking a fresh approach. Adult learning is a complicated field. You know the saying, You can’t teach an old dog new tricks. Well, there is some truth to that. It’s hard to TELL adults anything. We all bring our own experiences, our own filters, and even our own self-defenses to any learning experience. We run new information through our filter of experience, and we’re fairly confident about our ability to discern quality information from … ah … cow pucks. Of course, we’re not always right, but we are usually confident!

Adults learn better when we have the opportunity to experience a discovery on our own, to “anchor” new information to what we already know, and to process the information through our own filters of experience.

So, we tried to structure each session with more time for questions, case study scenarios, processing and reflection. We even created a study guide for our attendees to help them review and apply new information to their own practice challenges.

And – we chose our location carefully. At Cheyenne Mountain Resort, presenters had to compete with awesome scenery. One entire wall of our conference room was solid glass, with amazing views of both the valley and the mountain, in full fall splendor. We had a private exit out onto the terrace where we could retire between sessions, and a never-ending snack and beverage bar just steps away.

We shared our lunches together, out on the Terrace. These were wonderful opportunities to network, share ideas and challenges and tell stories.

And at the end of each day, we took time to bring everything back around to personal take-aways, Aha! Moments, commitments and action plans. I have recorded the Aha! Moments and will be sharing some of those over the next few days.

For now, if you were able to join us last week, here are some photos that will jog fond memories. And if you were not able to join us, here are some photos to show what you missed. Promise yourself now that you will never miss out again!

Presenters at The Summit 2017 had to compete with this gorgeous view from floor-to-ceiling windows in the conference room!

We enjoyed breaks outside on our private terrace. Here, Art Director Michael Campbell is caught trying to get some video shots.

The lake, the pool, the mountains, the resort. Ah, take me back!

 

Read This Before The Summit

Written by Kelly Myers, Marketing Director

The Summit is all about reinventing your practice. Reinventing your processes. Reinventing your mindset. That’s A LOT of change, which isn’t easy. Especially when you’re changing the practice you’ve built from the ground up. But remember, nothing ever got better by staying the same. You may have brushed off all mentions of The Summit because changing your practice doesn’t seem doable, at least, not in the near future.

That’s where I want to stop you. I want to take you back to the days of kindergarten where the cheesy “Believe in yourself!” posters were plastered around the classroom. Or your final swim meet, senior year of high school, when your parents yelled from the stands, “You can do it!” Those phrases are still relevant today; it’s the situation that’s different. Bottom line, whatever mountain stands in front of you, you can conquer it. You can transform your practice into the law firm of your dreams. Here’s a few tips on how to reach your summit:

Timing is everything. Just like any hiking exploration, you need to start early. No serious hiker is going to roll out of bed at 1pm and decide to climb a mountain. This kind of exploration takes preparation and planning. That’s why IMS is offering The Summit. The Summit is your starting point.

Bring the essentials. So, what will you bring on your climb? IMS recommends a team member. A team member is best at lifting you up when you feel like quitting. Support is the tool we need most, but often forget to ask for.

Think ahead. What’s the weather going to be like? What about the altitude change? Any hiker needs to push through the winds and the storm to reach their final destination. If they don’t? They’ll tumble down the mountain and start from square one again. Let’s face it, the climb is tough enough without having to start over. Don’t get us wrong, the incline is brutal. You’ll probably trip up the mountain, but that’s no reason to stop.

Extra advice:

Beware! Oftentimes, you’ll reach one summit only to realize it’s a false summit. You’ll know when you finally reach the peak of your mountain. Don’t allow someone or something to blur your vision of the top.

Pace yourself. This isn’t a race; it’s a climb. No one is at the summit with a stopwatch. Transforming your practice is a big deal and you don’t want the urge to move too fast to be the obstacle that trips you up.

The Summit is a lot to digest. You may not see it right away, but the challenges and obstacles of your climb are worth it. Nothing can compare to the moment you take your final step onto the summit. The view will be breathtaking.

 

The Summit 2017
October 18-20 | Colorado Springs
Cheyenne Mountain Resort & Legacy Ranch